Here's the July 2026 meeting recap

You can view the meeting recording at the following LINK

We started the meeting with Rob discussing his Flyhawk 1/700 Scharnhorst build.  This turned out really well.  Thanks for sharing your work, Rob!

David Angelo then shared his work on his SAMEK 1/700 USS Texas.  David does an excellent job of filling in the gaps left by the manufacturer with his collection of photo etch parts and his own design work.  Great job!

I recently went to Washington and had the opportunity to tour the museum ship, USS Turner Joy.  This is a remarkable museum ship, mostly intact with only a few weapon systems still missing.  Turner Joy is a post WWII destroyer.  She served during the Vietnam war.  There is excellent access to almost every area of the ship.  I HIGHLY recommend visiting this ship if you get a chance.  

If you're interested in the Infini Model rigging wire that we discussed a few shows ago, I found that these two vendors had all sizes in stock.  

Here is a portable airbrush air source that received excellent reviews from Jeff Herne at Squadron.  I'm going to check it out at Nationals and let you know how it worked.

This next discussion generated a lot of interest and feedback.  I walked the group through my experience with measuring air quality in my work space.  I'm going to send everyone a message with more detail on where to find these tools.  

In short I found that toxic chemicals were hanging around long after i turned off my extractor.  I also found that even though I have an excellent extractor and I couldn't smell anything, I still had vapors hanging around.  In fact they last for days as models gas off.

I purchased this large room air purifier and found that it did an amazing job of removing VOC's and particles from the room.  I'll provide some additional information when I send the message out to you all.

I found that the combination of a good quality air extractor, a mask designed for removing VOC's, and the air purifier drastically improved the quality of air in my work area.  And probably more importantly the air in the surrounding areas where we have our workout equipment and exercise.  You may not care about your own health, but realize that our hobby chemicals can effect the people who also live in your home and whom you care about.

Spray painting Squadron Colors, or any other paint for that matter at high altitudes can create challenges.  Not just the dryer air, but also things like air pressure.  Doing some experimenting Jeff Herne suggested this mix of thinner, flow improver, and paint.  Doing some testing I found that this worked perfectly.  

I shared some video suggestions on the US Navy Seawolves during Vietnam, as well as the Army/Navy joint Riverine forces there.  Rodger came across this company in Vietnam that combines the two units.  More on this later...

Richard Harden shared his new project which is a "never was" Battle Cruiser that was under development by the Dutch before WWII.    

Back to B&L Models in Vietnam.  When I showed this slide, Gerald suddenly regained his eyesight.  😂

This company specialized in models from the Vietnam War.  They are 3D printed and quite good quality.  They are also expensive as they are large scale models.    

Here's a river monitor that looks like it was inspired by the American Civil War.  

Here's a Tango which was developed from WWII era Trank transports.  That's a 1/35 helicopter on the landing pad!

Having printed these same type turrets for my 1/35 PT Boat, I can appreciate the quality of these parts.  

Some new offerings from 3D Wild.  These are Tommaso's designs representing two ships from the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

3D Wild is offering a discount if you buy both ship kits, commemorating the Battle of Jutland 110 years ago.

3D Wild's partner, Nautic Models, has released an SS Atlantic Conveyor which the British used to transport aircraft down to the Falkland Islands War with Argentina

Nautic Models has also released 1/350 Amphibious Assault Ships in the Tarawa and Iwo Jima Class.  The CAD drawings of these ships look amazing.

Pit Road is releasing again a full hull IJN Food Supply Ship in 1/700 scale.  They've added new parts to this kit, although I have no idea what those parts are.  

Bunker Studios is back with some extensive 3D print improvements.  This one in particular shows bridge section for the IJN Tone.  

Somehow I screwed this up for the meeting.  This is in fact a Hunt Class Destroyer.  Black Cat Models had it right on their web site as well.  My bad.  But still a beautiful kit!

I shared some previews on a set coming from Detail Up Mania out of Korea.  Compare these photos to the ones of the Turner Joy shared earlier.  I'm guessing this is going to come with a hefty price tag based on the set they did for the Arleigh Burke kits.  They have said that a 1/350 set will follow this later.  

Dream Models is releasing a bunch of 1/700 ship models.  Subjects are Chinese, Russian, Dutch, and US.  These kits feature a combination of injection molding, 3D printed details, and photo etch.  Check out the Arleigh Burke kit at the end.  I would recommend buying them from Hobbyeasy in Hong Kong.   

If you wanted to see photos of models from the World Miniature Hobby Show and Moson Shows that I shared, please review the video recording of our meeting,  or search in Facebook for more information.