How about upscaling one or two of those 1/700 Japanese liners and commercial vessels. modelbob@hotmail.com
Aoshima coming out with a BB Kongo too? I wish I had known that earlier (though doubtless it will be just as expensive!). Perhaps they will come out with a Kirishima too!
Did some checking on the Aoshima Kongo, and there seems to be some controversy as to whther it will be an ‘earlier’ or ‘later’ version compared to the Fujimi offering which is due out very soon. Also, two more points about the Aoshima version; first, it is expected to be less expensive than the Fujimi version (it is also thought that it will be simpler, with fewer parts, and perhaps not quite as accurate, but no confirmation of this as yet), and second, Aoshima is implying that they may in fact produce the whole class, while nothing along these lines is being heard from Fujimi (yet!). If the latter is true, this will be a good thing, but I expect there may be some production issues, especially if they plan on keeping the price down (the different ships in the class had quite a few differences in turrets, pagoda masts, stacks, etc). On final point, the Aoshima version will not be available until some time next year, so if you just can’t wait, the Fujimi version is the one to go for now!! Sure would be cool if one of them decided to crank out a Yamashiro as well!
This same thread pops up every so ofteen and always gets lots of responses. I think the last time we saw it, it went well beyond ten pages. And, as always, I like to weigh in with my preferences. I know some have been offered in resin, but these recommendations are for plastic kits;
Soviet nuclear battlecruiser Kirov/Frunze class
SMS Von der Tann or Seydlitz
USS California, post Pearl Harbor
WWII Gearing class destroyer
WWII Tribal Class destroyer
Closest thing for 1/350 scale for the T-2 is the 1/425 scale Monogram T-2 from the Commanders series.
The Revell Mission series tanker San Juan Capistrano is a T2. It’s been recently rereleased as the Esso Glasgow, but includes the original guns/tubs.
And the Revell Attack Transport Randall/ Montrose has also been rereleased, which is based on a Victory ship. See Onyxmans project.
These are both 1/400ish scale, and incorrectly flatbottomed, but not waterline. The T2 in particular needs to be cut down to true waterline.
USS North Dakota…
…or at least the Delaware class with parts to complete either
Here’s my two cents worth
- USS Maine 2. USS Olympia 3. Newport class LST 4. U-Boat type VIIc 5. USS Gato 6. US S-boat sub 7. British “Town” class cruiser—I think those would be interesting builds, especially the first two. I remember building the Revell Olympia when I was a kid and always liked it. It was one of the best model ships Revell made.
I’m not greedy , I’ll settle for any of the Omaha class light cruisers .
[#ditto]
I’d like to see a kit of any of the ww1 German Light cruisers, they are some of the best looking ships!
Thanks, Bondoman and Mike - good information in case (especially since it is highly unlikely anyone will issue these as true 1/350 new kits).
Cheers, Rick
If anybody issues a 1/350 Victory I’ll be mighty ticked off![:)] But I’d be the only one.
My pics, and I know I’m just dreaming:
RMS Majestic (1), or Teutonic
C4-S-A1 troopship
Fred
Just to expand on that a bit, the 1950s Revell “flat bottomed” kits that I’m familiar with, ie the "Esso Glasgow, Hawaiian Pilot, USS Montrose, have a waterline that is roughly at their light draft. The ships’s would ride like that if they had no cargo, and maybe a limited amount of fuel, salt water ballast and fresh water in their tanks. In the case of the Hawaiian Pilot and Montrose, they could reasonably be left with that waterline, although some work should be done to the exposed rudders and stern aperture. Also, at least part of the propeller would be visible at that draft. Those two types of ships have the engines located midship and would have fuel and ballast tanks in double bottoms along the length of the ship.
The T-2 is a different matter though. Her engine is aft, and tankers, up until only recently, usually don’t have double bottom tanks. So a tanker without any cargo would ride down by the stern somewhat. For that reason the Glasgow, at a light draft and also on an even keel, is unrealistic and is best cut down to a deeper waterline. IMHO
Fred
Thats actually good to know but where exactly is the actual waterline for the T2 class of tankers?
Four stack Ruben James
Marine carrier
At Fred’s suggestion, I obtained a very nice set of plans of both the T2 and the VC2 from the Smithsonian collection of U.S. Maritime Commission ship’s plans.
Please excuse the home made large format photo shop, here they are with glasses for scale.
The tanker-
The Victory ship-
I’m delighted in particular with the T2 drawing, it was produced at/ by Marinship in Sausalito, CA which is about 5 miles from where I sit, visible from this room across the Bay. My future subject, the Mission Carmel, was launched from those yards in 1943.
According to the drawing, the draft is 29’ - 11 1/2" call it 30’ and the depth is 39’-3" which I would think was measured from the main deck. This leaves a freeboard of 9’-3"+.
These dimensions are listed as “moulded” i.e. on the inside surface of the cargo area, and are at design load. The drawing has a kind of artistic waterline fore and aft that scales about 10’ below the main deck, so that’s the dimension.
Here’s one that looks full.
Here’s one that exhibits the down at the stern attitude Fred suggested.
Here’s a ship that looks very light.
While she looks fresh out of the drydock, and probably empty of most everything, the freeboard looks to be maybe 20’, which would mean cutting down the model’s hull by at least a third. (see why below).
The Revell T2, using the beam, scales pretty close to 1/375. As a note the Pine Island scaled about 1/425, both ship and Martin Mariner. I left the amount of freeboard alone as it looked pretty good compared to photos, and I’d think the ship’s weight didn’t change much.
Fred’s listed the scale of his Victory, if I remember it was 1/400. The freeboard on the Revell T2 kit is about 32 feet. In this shot, before I owned the plans, I eyeballed a waterline, with allowance to be sanded flat.
That’s a nickel on the poop deck for scale.
That tape line scales about 15’ of freeboard, which after sanding off a couple hundredths will be closer to a fully laden ship. I think I’m going to relocate the waterline a little higher just to give her a more purposeful look.
I hope this answers your question.
Bill
A significant omission from the list so far is BB35, USS Texas. She is the only surviving warship of the Dreadnought era and, if I am not mistaken, the only surviving USN warship to have seen service in both WW I and WW II. She is preserved near Houston, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife staff are most helpful in assisting with research. A 1/350 kit of her is long overdue, and would be a perfect subject for Dragon to undertake.
Great analysis Bill. When you start your T-2 you should add this to a separate thread on that build. The Montrose scaled at 1/375, or close to that. I don’t think I ever checked the scales on my two T-2 builds and I don’t have them handy, but if they are also 1/375 rather than the advertised 1/400, that’s good to know.
The pictures of the light T-2s are instructive. Even those are probably ballasted down a little by loading seawater in the cargo tanks. They wouldn’t go to sea without some ballast, both to get the propeller immersed and to avoid blowing around like a balloon on the water. Here’s a pic of a really empty tanker.
Fred