February 2025 Ship Club Meeting

Greetings,

Thanks to everyone who attended ship club Saturday, either in person or via Zoom.   

Here's a LINK to the recording of the meeting.

Before I get started, I did hear from John Widmar.  He's been occupied and unable to join us the last few months.

The following is a recap of what we covered during our meeting....

We missed Sam's discussion about his diorama of the Light Cruiser, USS Raleigh CL-7 and USS Sunnadin ATA-197 after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  The Raleigh had taken a torpedo hit and some additional strikes.  She is depicted tied up to the quay with ropes and supported by the Sunnadin, along with units used to re-float ships that have sunk.  Sam's base was created using aluminum foil and resin.  Sam provided an excellent discussion which you can review in the attached video recording.

The cat's out of the bag on the new paint from Squadron.  I was sworn to secrecy about this but last week Brandon had the big review and also just did a demonstration of using the paint.  Brandon acquired Scale Colors paints from Jeff Herne who started this business several years ago.  Jeff is now working for Squadron and Brandon's wife will be making the paints in Georgia.  They are still making all their initial colors and should be complete in a week or two.  Brandon is open to expanding the color line and offerings supporting this line of pain.

A little about the paint.  This is a water based paint.  Jeff formulated this paint to be less toxic, and user friendly.  The paint is formulated to be sprayed directly from the bottle using an airbrush.  It is not formulated to be brush painted, although you can do minor touchups with it.  You can use their thinner, or a mix of water and IPA.  I can tell you I cleaned my airbrush with a formula of 50% Windex with Formula D, and 50% IPA and it cleans magnificently.  I would also say that the colors are well matched to recognized references.  

Here's a sample of their color range and some references to paints that are in progress.  Check Squadron for updates on their color range.

Speaking of paint.  Colourcoats (enamel based paint) should be back soon.  Richard advised that the new owner suffered a minor stroke, but is doing well and should be back on track soon.

I shared with the group the Dspiae chopper that I won from the Model Geeks Podcast.  That one is no longer available, but it has been replaced with this one.  Advantages of these choppers are...

• Precision angeles.
• Robust stop block
• Carbon steel cutting blades made in Germany so less likely to wobble or move when making a slice.

I shared some information about rigging wire I learned about from William Adair who is scratch building this 1/144 WWI aircraft.  

It can be bought on Amazon in a variety of sizes for much less than some hobby resellers provide.  

Rob Weilacher shared his Tug-In-A-Day project.  This tug has just a few parts.  The railings are 3D printed.  It can be bought in three different scales.  

Rob also showed us his Loose Cannon 1/700 Victory Ship.  

We showed progress on Rob's Bogue class carrier from Tamiya.  If you'll remember Rob added a photo etch flight deck that he thought really improved the quality of the build.

Another completed ship today was Rob's 1/700 Loose Cannon USS Midway.  Rob also gave this kit positive reviews.

Rob's last ship is the Loose Cannon USS Okanoga, APA 220.  Also positive reviews.  There's a lot going on with this kit!

And how about some wingy things!  Rob shared his aircraft from Tom's Modelworks.  These were older prints in gray.  Most of what Richard is doing is clear, but check with him to confirm materials.

David Angelo's HMS Victory journey continues...

David scratch built his ship's boats.

Here is David's masterpiece nearly complete.  David is working on a nice case to protect his excellent work.

Roger Schafer gave us a great talk on the British S Class Destroyer from Aoshima.  This kit included another ship which was HMS Cornwall.  

My contribution this month was the second of my 1/72 Type A "Midget" submarines from Fine Molds.  I found this one more enjoyable than the Pearl Harbor version.  I'm now working towards some bases for these two models.  More to come...

I received a kit we talked about a few months back.  This is the HMS Victory with in 1/700 scale with full interior detail.  The question is should it be built with the hull buttoned up or displayed open?  Hmmm....

New models that we've seen...

Doggy Industries will be releasing a French Navy Destroyer of the Cassard Class.  

I found a build in progress of the USS Alaska by a builder that goes by SQ Model Maker.  I've seen a lot of his work before and it's quite good.  

He's going all the way with the following...

• Trumpeter 1/700 kit of the USS Alaska
• Ship Yard Works detail upgrade set.  
• Hull bottom upgrade (found on eBay and sold by Ace Model) 
• 3D resin parts from Mini Model Studio (seems like everyone's getting into 3D ship parts!)

You can follow his work on Facebook by the same name.  Lots of good tips for working with photo etch parts!

Our friend, Oto Gerza, has done something I didn't think I would ever see.  He's releasing his passion for the type XXI U-Boat in 1/700 scale.  It consists of three pieces.  The bow section, the stern section, and a guide for joining the two sections together.  They should be available in a week or two.  I'll check to see if anyone is interested in this kit when ready.  

Starling Models is working on a new kit of HMS Venus in 1/700 scale.  This is an Emergency Class Destroyer and the second in this series.

There's a new USS Arizona on the horizon coming out of China.  This kit will likely be sold through 3D-Wild.  This manufacturer normally produces resin kits that break 90 degrees to the centerline.  However this is their first venture into injected molding.  

Trumpeter is releasing a kit of the modern French helicopter carrier, Jean Di Arc.  (Joan of Arc to you and me).  This kit seems to be following Trumpeter trend of adding more photo etch.

Eduard is expanding their naval offerings with some 3D printed detail sets in 1/350 scale.

3D Wild is also partnering with a gentleman in Brazil who's company goes by the name Blandy Maquetes Navis.

They focus on Brazilian subjects.  Their ships mostly came from the US and Great Britain.  Here are some examples of his scratch build/3D printed models...

You'll recognize this boat as a US WWII Sub Chaser.

This boat is US PC class sub chaser.  Those railings are 3D printed, although they are exploring photo etch for their kit offerings.

Here are the models that he has made so far.  Very nice and award winning models!  I sent him our virtual challenge coin.

So who is this gentleman?  Meet Rafael Purgly who is developing his line of model ship kits.  We'll be looking forward to seeing his kits come to 3D-Wild.

Finally we showcased the work of Joseph Lavendar and his amazing scratch build 1/1500 models.  This is the model of the RMS Carpathia.  It's a whopping 4 1/2 inches long!  

December 2024/January 2025 Ship Club Meeting

Thanks to everyone for attending today, both in person and online.  Here's a recap of today's meeting.

Here is the link to today's recording.  Zoom has fixed the trim function so I think this is edited  correctly so you don't have to listen to a lot of jibber jabber.  
Meeting recording

We started the meeting with an excellent presentation by Sam Bartlett on Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) A-Target "Midget" Submarines.

We then transitioned into our Pearl Harbor related models, starting with Rob Weilacher.  Rob built this 3D printed kit of an ST class tug boat.  The kit comes with two tugs and sells for about $20 plus shipping.  Rob said that it went together quickly once all the 3D supports are removed.  Here's the  LINKto this kit on eBay

Next Rob shared his Kraken 1/700 model of the USS Shaw.  Rob advised that sales have been so successful that they had to stop sales on their site until they get caught up.  Rob told us that this was an excellent and detailed kit that went together well.  Look for Kraken to to be back once they get their sales caught up.

Rob then shared his 1/700 L'Arsenal Catalina.  These are 3D printed resin.  Rob advised that these aircraft prints have lots of supports that take a long time to remove and clean up.  But at the end of the day it makes for an accurate model.  Rob advised that he prefers Tom's Modelworks aircraft as they are easier to work with.  

Next up with Roger's 1/700 Corsair Armada kit of the USS Vestal.  Roger shared a great deal of the history of the ship, her crew, and some interesting details about the ship at Pearl Harbor.  Roger advised that there was lots of confusion about the paint scheme of the Vestal.  The kit instructions suggest it was painted in Measure 1.  

We came back to an old favorite of the club which is the USS Arizona from Trumpeter in 1/200 scale.  Victor advised that he decided to go with the blue paint scheme as it would provide more detail.  Victor also painted the deck and used colored pencils provide different shades to the deck.  

David Angelo contributed to the Pearl Harbor theme, starting with the USS Neosho.  This was his prototype for the 

David's second contribution was the USS Tangiers (AV-8) which is also an older Loose Cannon models kit.  Rob advised that he's building this kit and will add the L'Arsenal Catalina to the flight deck at the stern.  We'll be looking forward to seeing that.  Excellent model and build from David.

I had a couple of contributions.  

First was the I-16 carrying a 1/700 A-Target "Midget" submarine to Pearl Harbor.  This is the Tamiya kit which includes the little submarine.  I added the Tom's Modelworks "Axis Submarine" photo etch set.  This includes railing on the sides as well.  The model was painted with Tamiya paints.  Both submarines were rigged with lycra rigging from Infini.  Originally I was going to mount the model to the base of this inexpensive Trumpeter display case.  I felt that it needed some more height so I cut a piece of foam and created a water base.  I used artist acrylics to paint the water and white ink to depict the white water.  At the end of the day I decided I didn't like the ink for white water as it tended to settle in the trophs instead of the water high points.  I'm not sure I'll use that technique again.

My next contribution was the Fine Molds 1/72 A-Target "Midget" submarine.  This was an excellent little kit that went together very well.  The kit has excellent weld lines on the hull that looked like weld lines.  Some details are missing such as rivets in the hull.  I opened up what few flood holes there were which are located in the coning tower.  Once I did that I needed to add some detail on the inside so I inserted some tubing to depict the crew tunnel and periscope mast.  

The base that comes with the kit are horrible and boring.  I'm working with a 3D designer to create a proper boat cradle.  I also got some 1/72 IJN figures.  I think this could make into a very nice display.

On to new projects.  As mentioned I'm working with a 3D designer.  I have a 1/35 PT boat project that has been on hold waiting for technology to catch up to where I could add proper turrets, cradles, and guns.  Not to mention some other parts that I would like to improve on the kit.  The technology is here now.  Here is the test print of the 1/35 Mk. 17 machine gun turrets.  More on these later...

Tool time!  I watched a video from China and they used Acupuncture Needles for applying very small amounts of CA and PVA glues.  I bought some and am amazed at how well they work.  I shared a bunch of these with the club.  But I have more if you need them.  Sam mentioned that they could also make great antennas.  And, if you're feeling some pain you can insert them in just the right spot to make you feel good again!  That's a joke!  Don't try that at home.  

You may be familiar with Sasa Drobac's designs on Shapeways under the name DiStefan.  Before that company went belly up Sasa started looking for alternatives.  Lately he found a printer in China and Canada that he's been working with.  These parts are in 1/144 scale.  The original parts I ordered came from China.  To make a long story short, Sasa sent me the same parts from his Canadian printer as well.  Team Canada wins!  

Here's the print from China.  As you can see the quality is not very good and not a whole lot better than Shapeways.  The ICM kit part this is meant to replace is actually better.

Here's the print from Canada.  These are much better than the China printer.  I do think that Sasa can improve the fidelity of these parts.  Although you can see that some of these guns printed better than others.  

Some good news in the paint world.  Colour Coats paints are back!  It may take a little while but Richard advises that he's put in a big order and expects to receive product soon.  

I guess everyone knows I like submarines.  Oto Gerza from RCSubs.cz continues to expand on his static model kits.  Now he's taking his passion, which is the type XXI submarine and making them available as 3D kits in 1/200, 1/350, and 1/400 scales.  AFV club makes an excellent model of this subject and offers a photo etch update set as well.  But this offering from Oto surpasses it.  This is a test sample but you can see that the model has open flood holes in the hull, which is unheard of in this scale.  These should be available in a couple of weeks.  When I have more information I will let you know.

ICM released four different Dreadnaughts in 1/700 scale over the past few years.  They are now releasing all four kits in a single package.  These are all full hull and build into nice models.  

Here's an example of the model built out of the box

Flyhawk produces a very nice detail set for the Konig.  Squadron has a couple left.  

3D Wild is releasing a model of the USS Wasp in 1/350 scale.  This looks like it will be a remarkable model.  It is produced in limited edition of only 50 copies.  Richard pointed out that the CAD drawings show the wrong type of railing.  If you decide to go down this route be sure to check with Richard at Tom's Modelworks for correct railings.  

Something I've never seen in an aircraft carrier kit of this period is the ceiling detail which includes the storage of aircraft and parts.  3D Wild has included that in this offering which includes the trolly for moving heavy parts around the hangar deck.  Check out 3D Wild for more details.

Trumpeter is back with a new tool, 1/350 kit of the USS Arizona.  Their sister company, Hobbyboss, released a 1/350 version of this model.  However this promises to be something new and more accurate.  More information when available.

UPDATE:  I heard from Brandon that he doesn't think this is real.  At least it's no longer on the radar.  If something changes I will be sure to let you know.

Trumpeter is also releasing a 1/350 Gerald R Ford.  

Brandon did a nice in box review of this kit which you can watch from this LINK

We took a look at some very nice models posted around the interwebs.  This is an Atlantic Models kit in 1/350 scale of the HMS Avon Vale which is a Hunt Class Type 2.  Rob took it to the next level by adding Micro Master guns to the kit.  Excellent finish of model and base.

A model from a model ship club out of Taiwan did an excellent job with this 1/350 USS Enterprise, CV6.  I like how they displayed the three aircraft types on the base.

Then we looked at the Big E made by Penghao Jing out of Qingdao, Shandong, China.  I think we all agreed this was an amazing accomplishment.  The hangar deck had some amazing detail and lighting.

The steam from the cat launch was well received by the group.  

The lighting of the bridge and hull number on the sides is amazing

The figures and handling equipment all looks very active and natural

The lighting and detail of the hangar bay was beyond belief.  

That's a wrap for our December/January meeting.  See you all in February!