Hi all,

First of all, best wishes to John “Deacon” DuGene who had his ACL repaired Friday.  I heard from him and he’s doing well.  But he hasn’t met his physical therapist yet.  Muhahaha.  Speedy recovery John!

On another note.  I’m very happy to see that you’re getting your vaccines.  While the majority of us are voluntarily getting COVID vaccines, not all of our group will be getting it for different reasons.  I’ll just ask that everyone remain respectful to each other.  

Here’s a link to the recording of the meeting.  

Topic: Ship Club Meeting

Start Time : Mar 6, 2021 09:45 AM

Meeting Recording:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/UPGfEvdEYbD8bsaSbnrZ0vSOh9kp--fkdFOfaBT4CzAcsgH-pfnvQTHE7vdz7eh1.C3T9K6w_gqqDho_Q

Access Passcode: Sig.P6#H

Moving on, Richard started by sharing some 3D printed parts that he purchased from Kraken Hobbies which was a new one for me.  They produce 3D printed parts and upgrade sets for 1/350 and 1/700 kits.  Here’s a link to their site…

https://krakenhobbies.com

We followed up on model railroad scales and how they might relate to our scale modeling.  Here’s the table I put together.

We then talked about a company in Germany who is finding a way to market 3D printed models and also sell the files.  It will be interesting to watch how markets will be established to provide files to modelers, but still protect their rights.  RCSubs in the Czech Republic is selling kits with three different options.  1). Print file plus photo etch. 2) Photo etch only  3). Complete photo etch and printed parts.  By the way, if you like 1/72 submarines, or larger scale submarines, this is the place to get your detail parts.

https://rcsubs.cz

David Angelo sent us some photos of his two tankers that he’s working on.  Unfortunately David wasn’t able to log in.  We’ll catch up next meeting

I shared some new products coming to market.  One of my favorites is Black Cat Models.  They produce high quality kits that take advantage of 3D printed resins for details.  They have some great kits they’re bringing to market but the supply chain isn’t where they need it to be so the kits are coming out slower than they would like.  Richard expressed some of the same issues with his business.

Here are some of the kits they are planning to come out with.  The first is a Bathurst class Corvette from the Australian Navy.  The winch for the paravanes is a work of art.  

About to release is a series of 1/350 LCI’s in three different styles.  Much of this was made possible by the LCI 713 museum in Portland.  Here’s a link to their web site… USS LCI 713 (L) - Amphibious Forces Memorial Museumwww.lci713.com › About › AFMMBrochure. Jerry Gilmartin is a retired Chief and instrumental with this museum and the PT-658 museum, both in Portland.  

We marked the passing of Mr. Tserng MH who was the founder of AFV Club in Taiwan.  AFV club kits are really wonderful injected molded subjects.  They also offer very nice upgrade sets if you want to take it to the next level.  

From Flyhawk I shared a different kit line that they are offering.  These are People’s Liberation Army Navy.  These look like typical high quality kits that you come to expect from Flyhawk.  As expected these are 1/700 scale.  The Type 055 Destroyer sells in Japan for about $65 to $70.  The submarine kit sells for about $30 at Hobby Link Japan, but currently out of stock.

From Pit Road I came across an interesting kit in 1/700 scale.  It’s a Japanese Coast Guard Cutter.  I suggested to Richard that it’s screaming for photo etch parts.  As it turns out Pit Road has a couple of different Japan Coast Guard Cutters and offers separate photo etch sets for them.  You can find the kits from a variety of sellers and on eBay for about $25 each.  

Naval weapons have really taken off.  TAKOM has come out with Yamato and Bismarck turrets in 1/72 scale.  That Bismark turret will fit inside the Yamato turret.  The Yamato sells for about $75 and the Bismarck sells for about $65.  You can purchase wood deck metal barrel upgrade kits for each subject.  Note that the barrels don’t elevate.  If they come out with a 5in mount… I could be in!  

I mentioned that I had a rough experience with Stynylrez primer.  I have been a fan of this product for a long time.  But this last batch which appears to be new is horrible.  I bought it in the summer so it wasn’t subject to freezing.  But when sprayed it left artifacts, pebbly finish, and gloss.  I contacted Badger several time and they have not bothered to call back.  I’ve sent them emails with photos and nothing.  John Miller from Model Paint Solutions told me that he’s had several customers complain about recent Stynylrez purchases.  I’m really put off by their customer service and I may be breaking up with them.  I have a call into Spray Gunner in Florida to see if they can shed some light on the issue.  Below is the test I did on my other paint mule.  On the left is a heavy coat as I would normally spray.  You can see it’s blotchy and artifacts sprayed all over.  Yes, I mixed it thoroughly.  On the right is a series of lighter coats.  Again blotchy, rough, and glossy.  

Rob gave a talk on Corsair Armada.  He knows Mike C who lives near in Georgia and recently visited with him.  I have a couple of their kits (Vestal and Wasp) but didn’t know that much about the company.  Below are some of the new kits Mike is working on.

Here’s an AO-3 tanker.  Looks like you have some competition Dave!  

Rob also shared some of his completed Corsair Armada kits.  Really nice work Rob!

AUCTION!!!

Finally Rob is offering up another kit for auction.  This time it is the Corsair Armada USS Louisville CA-28 1944.  This is a resin kit with photo etch details.  It retails for $69 at Free Time, but is sold out.  Proceeds from the sale support or club.  Shipping cost is included.  Thank you Rob!  The bidding will start at $15.  Send me an email message with your bid and I will keep everyone posted with the latest bid amount. 

Thanks again for everyone who came.  I look forward to seeing you next time, and I hope soon in person!

Dave

 Jerry Beasley forwarded a video about darkening and staining wood model decks.  Worth a look.    

Thanks to everyone who made it to Saturday's meeting.  I appreciate everyone sticking around while I worked through my new computer issues.  Special thanks to Brian who helped me discover the problem.  I will edit out that early awkward part of the meeting.  

Here's a link to the recorded meeting.  I tried to edit the video but I don't think it worked.  If that's the case move ahead to about 2:40 into the meeting.

We started off reviewing what everyone was working on.  

Victor Prall shared an update of his Titanic.  He purchased the detail set 

Victor pointed out some nice sets of figures available from Tori Factory.  Here are some examples including Jack and Rose.  They make some figures for my Titanic Egg Ship, but they would look like Macey's Day Parade balloons.  

Next, Rob Weilacher shared a couple of his projects.  The builds were supported by history provided by Sam Bartlett which are attached in the previous post to this.  Rob's completed project is the USS Wainwright which is from the JAG Belknap kit, no longer in production.  These sometimes appear on eBay so if you're interested keep an eye out for it.  

Rob is now beginning construction of the USS Long Island.  This is a kit from Loose Cannon.  It looks like David did an amazing job with this kit.  Rob expressed being intimidated by this kit, but is ready to take it on now.  What caught my eye on this one is that there is no island.  

The photo etch structure looks amazing.  David advises that he's modified it slightly to make it a little less pronounced.  

We welcomed back John Widmar with his latest build, the Seaplane Tender USS Currituck AV-7.  This resin kit is from AJM models.  You can find this kit available on eBay for $95 delivered.  

We then moved on to talk about modeling disasters and how you recover from them.  This spurred on by my exile build of a 1/144 F-14A Tomcat.  It was coming along perfectly and then...disaster.  I was getting ready to touch up a little bit of overspray when I hit the paint bottle with my arm.  Lacquer paint launched with the precision of an AIM-9 Sidewinder and landed top and bottom.  The lacquer paint instantly ate through the previously painted surface and it was on thick.  One wipe of the paint and as you can see it was gone.  Sorry Maverick!  

Moving on cost $14 to replace the kit.  Fortunately all the other parts (missiles, burner cans, landing gear etc. were finished and untouched as they weren't attached yet.  I was able to recover the cockpit and wheel well.  Recovery was easy and quick.  Had this been my little Flower Class Corvette, it would have hurt much worse.  

So what did I learn?  Keep my paint bottles of this type in a rack and just draw paint using a pipette.  

I think we all enjoyed sharing stories about our own modeling accidents and how we recovered... or didn't.  

And then...down the rabbit hole...

I recalled seeing some nice halyards (two lines threading through a pulley on a yard arm for the purpose of flying signal flags) in 1/350 scale.  I wanted to see if I could make them and if it made sense.  I practiced using Infini lycra 70 Denier rigging line.  The pulley's were made using UV glue.  At the end of the day I think they looked nice, but they look oversized to me.  I may try 40 Denier line to see if I change my mind, but for now I'm thinking it's not worth it.  I'll let you know what I do.

We ended the meeting talking about how we go start on modeling ships.  For me it was the Revell Cutty Sark.  I remember building that with my dad and the morning I woke up and it was fully rigged.  I can still see it almost 60 years later.  

Jerry Beasley talked about how he came back to ship modeling with the 1/35 Italeri PT Boat kits.  Those led to his current project which is the USN CB-90 variant.  

Rob Weilacher shared how he came to buy the post WWII, USS Lexington.  

David Angelo shared his memory of saving for the USS Midway, also post WWII configuration, and how his brother nearly lost his life when he accidentally destroyed David's completed model.  

Both Blake and Gerald had what could have been disasters turn into happy accidents.  In Gerald's case spilled thinner created a nicely weathered water line.  In Blake's case an attempt at snow came turned into a still used weathering technique.  

Good memories and stories.  Thanks for sharing.  We'll catch you all next time.

 Articles from Sam Bartlett for today's meeting...

USS Wainwright

USS Long Island

Thanks to everyone who attended our first meeting of 2021.  As you know I lost my primary computer hard drive so I'm going to do the best I can with my old HP laptop.

I successfully recorded our meeting video.  You're welcome to watch using this link...

Meeting Recording:

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/aYYK2XpxeokTHeraykSXBnVlFrKG3sji_cyDmVd20x5e0zPjI9OpobcccIe0xcr0.3ul4F1hCtBeM_hiq

Access Passcode: $1cf=IER

We started the meeting looking at an old photo of a Flower Class Corvette deck gun.  These are typically 4 inch Mk. IX Naval Guns used on these ships throughout the war.  We decided that there was a lot going on in this photo.  This boat does not include the typical wood foredeck planking.  The crew were cleaning the gun.  We noticed the object above the gun breach attached to the top of the shield which was determined to be a light for night operations.  The crew did not look dressed for action.  We determined that the gun fired a 31 pound, 4 inch shell which typically were stored on racks around the perimeter of the gun deck.  

This photo shows another Corvette with the same gun.  No light as we see above.  However you can see the business end of the rounds next to the railing in the foreground.  As with the above, there's a lot going on in this photo as well.  

Next Jerry introduced Mattias Linde who joined us from Sweden.  Mattias has done some incredible work with 3D printing to super detail his 1/35 Tiger Model CB-90 kit.  Jerry is converting his to a US Boat.  Hard to say if Tiger Model is still in business.  

Next Rob shared with us his collection of CGN Cruisers.

First up is 1/700 CGN-37 USS South Carolina from JAG Models

Next up is 1/700 CGN-25, USS Bainbridge from JAG Models

Third is 1/700 CGN-38, USS Virginia from Dragon Models

Currently Rob is building the 1/700 JAG Models Belknap class cruiser.  This is the same class Cruiser that our own, Gerald Schafer, served on.  Gerald served proudly on the USS Jouett.  This is a really good looking kit.

All of these kits are out of production.  You can occasionally find them on eBay commanding very strong prices.  

Next Roger Schafer shared with us his Seed Models IJN Mine Sweeper in 1/700 scale.  This model is about an inch and a half long, molded in resin, and contains photo etch detail parts.  As you can see, there's a whole lot going on in an inch and a half!  Roger reported that he had good luck with Gorilla CA glue.  It has good viscosity and has a little play time.  

Roger found that some of the photo etch was too small to work with.  He also reported that the mast is photo etch and will bend very easily.  He also said the navigation lights were too small to deal with.  You'll definitely want your high powered optivisors for this one.

Roger also decided that he preferred to use guns from his spare box rather than try to use the photo etch guns in the kit. Roger liked the natural droop of the railing simulating rope or chain.  

As you can see the model is coming along nicely.  As I mentioned to Roger earlier, all the parts look nice and square to the ship, which is a hard thing to do with a subject this small.  Roger said that when he painted it, all the detail seemed to vanish.  It's definitely easier to see unpainted.  

Next Roger shared with us another kit from IBG Models.  This is the G-Class destroyer Glowworm.  IBG is better known for aircraft and armor/vehicle kits.  But they released a series of British Destroyers in British and Polish service.  They are waterline kits in 1/700 scale and include a comprehensive photo etch sheet and decals.  Roger describes them as similar in quality to Flyhawk kits.  Detail is very crisp and the moldings are clean.  Several of these are on sale at Free Time Hobbies and are very reasonably priced between $20 and $25.  Looks like a great value.  

Next I shared the 1/350 Flower Class Corvette, the basis of which is the Mirage kit.  The basic structure of the hull and deck houses is very good.  However parts such as vents and depth charges are lacking in detail.  So I lost my mind and went completely overboard.  I added details from the following...

Black Cat Models (Large vents, 2 Pound Pom, Cable Reels, Twin Lewis Machine Guns, Ships Pelorus)

Micro Master (Anchors, 4in deck gun, Mushroom Vents, small vents, ships boats, life rafts, Roll off rack, depth charges loose, depth charges with arbors.

White Ensign Models (photo etch everything as none included with kit.

Hunter or Wood Hunter (wood deck).  

Holden8702 (figures)

The ship is being modeled as the fictitious K-49 Compass Rose from the book and movie, The Cruel Sea.  There is a scene in the movie where the Compass Rose has detected a U-Boat directly under sailors who were survivors of a ship that just sank.  The captain drives his boat to the U-Boat, launches and rolls depth charges, ultimately killing the survivors in the water.  One of his crewmen from the 2lb Pom yells "murderer" at the captain.  Would this have happened?  I'm not sure but it made for a very dramatic scene in the movie.  

I went on to talk about how I modeled the dodgers that cover the railings on the bridge.  I used a method I learned about from Jim Bauman.  It's a very simple process.  First the rails must be painted.  Then I dip a tooth pick in PVA glue and run it around the inside of the rail framework.  The PVA has enough tension that it stretches across the opening and dries that way.  In the photo below I used Elmer's Glue All on the two right sections.  Interestingly it dried completely tight without any bulges or wrinkles.  It also dried frosty.  The next two moving left I used Gator's Grip.  You might be able to make out that this was more wavy.  It dried crystal clear.  Both glues have their place, depending on the look you want to achieve.  The single section on the far left is an example of the Gator's Grip painted.  I had originally read that water based paint would dissolve the PVA glue.  I used Tamiya paint and that didn't happen to me at all.  The next step is to paint the outward facing side of the rails.  In the end you have what looks like canvas on the outside, but on the inside where the glue is clear you can still see the original color of the railing.  Keep in mind that the large the gap between the railings, the harder it is for the PVA to do its thing and keep the railings covered.  It's perfectly okay to add more PVA after the original layer dries.  I think the key is to make sure the PVA is 24 hours dried before painting.  

This photo shows the difference between the Elmer's and Gator's Grip glue.  On the sections that I painted you can see the gray pained railings and also the waviness of the Gator's Grip.

Of course, as soon as I invested in all this, Black Cat Models comes out with a 1/350 kit.  I'm sure I have more invested in my build than in the cost of this new kit.  Oh well, it's a good thing I don't drink much.  😎

Next Rob shared a board game from his youth.  These are available again from Board Game Geek.  

Finally Rob was generous enough to offer as a fund raiser for the club, a 1/700 JAG Virginia Class Cruiser.  As I write this the current bid is at $45.  I'll keep the group up to date on the bidding.  Here's a link to a review of this kit.  Good luck on the bidding and thanks again Rob!

I will be scheduling some build time meetings soon.  Stay tuned for updates on that.

You all stay well!

Dave

 If you’re interested in purchasing a kit from Loose Cannon East, here is David’s most current list.  Contact David directly at the email below.

David also has a facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/loosecannoneast