Greetings all,
Thanks for attending our March meeting. You can watch the meeting again at the following
Passcode for the recording: ^WfhTC7e
March was a catch up meeting for us. Here's the recap...
3D printed ship weapons and detail parts are going crazy. There's a new kind on the block. Heavy Hobby is releasing mostly Russian and British 1/700 and 1/350 products. They are available at Hobby Link Japan and Hobby Easy.
Same provided a follow up to the use of "Yellow Pine" on ships. Turns out this is a fairly generic name for this lumber. Same shared some examples of where pine was used extensively.
Talking about decking. Here is a photo of the USS Alabama with a beautiful new teak deck. I checked with the museum to find out if the old deck might be available for purchase. They advised that the deck needs to be decontaminated before it can be sold. They estimated the wood would be available sometime in 2024. What a great base for your Alabama kit!
Roger Schafer gave us an update on the progress of the Veterans Memorial in Brighton based on the USS Colorado. It's blocked off so it's not easy to get to. Roger reported that they're making progress. Looking forward to seeing this completed.
Roger and Jerry showed us some decals in February from a company called I-94 Enterprises. Mostly they make decals for small aircraft models used for gaming. However they have a series of decals that work great for 1/700 ships side numbers.
NIKO released the USS Absecon that we talked about a few months ago. This is a variation of the Barnaget Class. Traditional resin and photo etch kit. Looks like it will build into a nice kit.
David Angelo shared his project on the Heller Models 1/100 scale HMS Victory. We'll continue to follow David along his journey.
Fred Bustard sent me a photo of his latest creation. This is the HMCS Buckingham in 1/350 scale. This is scratch built and a beautiful representation of the ship. He's depicted it during helicopter trials and has beautifully reproduced the ship during this period.
Richard shared a model he found on eBay, made by Gaga Models, and sold by Global Toy. Not a an inexpensive kit but a nice looking 3D print. This led to a discussion about a documentary Jerry and Roger raved about called "USS United States: Lady in Waiting". It's not available to view online or on TV right now. I found a copy of it on DVD on eBay and purchased it. I'll bring it to the next meeting making it available for our members to borrow and view.
Next we talked about a publisher called Glenn Hoover. They make books that walk you through every single step of building a kit. They make three ship books including 1/350 Oliver Hazard Perry, 1/350 Tamiya Fletcher, and Trumpeter 1/350 Iwo Jima LHD-7. Planned is the 1/350 Tamiya USS Enterprise. Glenn Hoover are beyond out of the box. They are made with aftermarket kits which are identified. The books are in a checklist format so you can mark off the steps as you proceed.
Looking at new kits. Let's start with something old that's been re-released. Trumpeter has converted their iconic 1/200 Arizona to an RC model. Something great for the pool or neighborhood park.
Trumpeter has released their 1/700 USS Hawaii CB-3, which is a never built ship. It was intended to be the third of the Alaska Class Cruisers. Available now at Squadron for $53.20.
Special Hobby is also working on the same subject in 1/72 scale.
AJM Models has a new 1/700 release of the HMCS Prince David and HMCS Prince Robert. AJM make wonderful kits and this appears to be no exception.
A kit AJM is working on now is the HMS Enterprise.
Combrig announced the releases of the French Liberte in 1/700 scale. This is built in full hull and resin construction. This was a Pre-Dreadnought battleship and the lead in her class. This is a CAD drawing but it looks like a dandy.
You know the old saying. Take a deep dive in trying to fix a kit the way you want it to be and somebody will come out with a kit that incorporates all your work. We'll, that happened and it's actually kind of flattering. I've been improving upon what is intended to be a 3D printed RC model. Oto of RCSubs.cz saw what I was doing and decided to upgrade his kit. This is the kit that I wanted it to be. RCSubs will be releasing this kit soon and it includes photo etch and turned brass parts. Well done Oto!
RCSubs is also making upgrade parts and decals for the Border Models 1/35 U-Boat type VIIC sail section. If this is on your build list, these parts will bring it to the next level.
Not to be outdone by Border Models, Oto is releasing a type XXI U-Boat sail section which looks amazing. This should be released soon.
Oto is taking it to the next level by offering a bow and stern sections. When combined this will be over 7ft in length. This is printed on a high quality FDM printer.
Some new releases coming from 3D Wild. First up the IJN Furutaka/Kako kit in 1/350 scale. Should be out now but it's not showing on their web site. May still be coming. Stay tuned.
The Asama, Pre-Drednaught armored cruiser is now available in 1/350 scale. We were all drooling over this one.
Here is a gun that has been missing from the market. It is the 5in/51 deck gun that you find on the Arizona and many others. It's available in 1/350, 1/425, and 1/700 scales from Kraken Hobbies.
We came across a company in Greece that specializes only in Hellenic ship subjects. These are 3D printed models. Check them out at this link. They have quite a variety of ships from sub chasers to submarines in waterline and full hull.
We found a company that sells files for a few different guns in incredible detail. These are able to be printed in 1/200 and larger. You can find these on Cults3D.com web site where you can find all kinds of 3D files to print in ships and many other subjects.
My friend Zucas in Taiwan is working on a couple of new kits. First a Virginia class Chibi submarine as well as a generic harbor tug. You know I'll be happy!
