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  1. Tugboat USS Nokomis YT-142, December 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor 1941 This 1/100 model was made from scratch by myself. Documentation was not easy to find. I started this project with a rather succinct plan of the torques and the water lines of the hull in order to model it in 3D. It was not easy because of the low resolution of the plan. At the beginning this project was planned for a 1/350 scale. But the result was really exciting, so I decided to continue and to realize a model in 1/100, my scale of preference with the 1/200. Other plans were more complete, allowing me to continue the design of this historical ship. Thanks to Roland for his documentary contributions. A good documentation is essential for a serene realization. Thanks to Bernard Huc for his 3D help on the "Tug pudding", the front fender of the tug. It was a real pleasure of creation and assembly. My most successful 3D project so far. The design subject that lasted several months here: History: USS Nokomis (YT-142/YTB-142/YTM-142) was a Woban class harbor tug built in Charleston, South Carolina in 1939-40. General characteristics Class and type Woban class Type: District port tug Displacement: 218 tons Length: 100' 10" ( 30,5 mt ) Width: 25' ( 7,62 mt ) Draft: 9' 7" (3 mt) Propulsion: Double Enterprise Diesel electric, single propeller Speed: 12 knots Crew: 8 members He was assigned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1940. The Nokomis was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. She was the first ship on the scene to assist the USS Arizona, and left the area due to the impending explosion of the battery below deck. It was then assisted to ground the USS Nevada, with the Hoga (YT-146), and the YT-153. December 7, 1941, just minutes after the attack was over: The grounding of the Nevada prevented the blocking of the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Then the USS Nokomis fought the fires and dried out the battleship USS California for three days. This effort made the California salvageable, to be put back into service later in the war. The Nokomis was also the last ship to move the surviving YC-699 barge before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Nokomis accompanying the CV-8 Hornet returning to Pearl Harbor after its raid on Tokyo After the war, the Nokomis continued to serve the Pearl Harbor ships until she was de-commissioned in May 1973 and then sold to Crowley, San Francisco. She was renamed Sea Serpent and served for many years in San Francisco Bay as a tug and pump boat. In 1989, after the Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Nokomis and the Hoga (which had served the City of Oakland as a fireboat) again fought fires alongside each other. The Nokomis was renamed Panamanian and abandoned, like many other tugs, to decay and rust. It was rediscovered in mid-2002, in the mud flats of Hunters Point, San Francisco, by tugboat captain Melissa Parker. It was purchased at an auction for $50 to benefit the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society (HTERS) and was originally moored at Pier 80 in San Francisco. The 501 nonprofit organization was dedicated to historical research, hands-on engineering education programs for disadvantaged Bay Area youth, and cooperative programs among historic ship organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. HTERS acquired an operational sister tug, the USS Wenonah, with the intention of using the Wenonah as a floating class to generate interest in HTERS to help raise funds to restore the Nokomis. After falling behind on dock rental fees, the two tugs were moved to Treasure Island, but dock rental and insurance fees continued to accrue, eventually costing the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society both vessels. Sinking of the Wenonah (Sister Ship) The Wenonah was turned over to the Coast Guard for disposal, and Bay Ship & Yacht in Alameda took over the lease of Pier 1 at Treasure Island, which included taking possession of the Wenonah and Nokomis. Both vessels were scrapped in 2010 in Alameda. The Wenonah was a sister ship to the Hoga. It would have been a great resource of parts to restore it. The Nokomis was the oldest surviving naval vessel from the Pearl Harbor attack. The barge YC-699 in SF Bay and the tug YT-153 on the East Coast, along with the Hoga, are now the last surviving naval vessels from Pearl Harbor. http://www.runcornmodelboats.co.uk/USS_Hoga.html Some photos of this beautiful, typically American tug in 1/100 scale. Thank you all for your encouragement throughout this exciting project. The Nokomis' display case completed in February 2023:
  2. Okay, those of you who had thought that I'm slowing going off the rails may be right, after all! Recently having been immersed in building Curtiss and Republic aircraft prototypes, I decided to look around and see whether anyone had done a Curtiss XP-46. I thought that perhaps LF Models had done one, but no joy, so I guess I was mistaken. However, while scrounging around on-line, I ran across the Shapeways 3-D printing site, and sure enough, someone offers there an XP-46 printed in a variety of smaller sizes, including 1/72. (Sorry bigger scale guys, but a table large enough to model a 1/32 scale aircraft would probably cost a king's ransom... My only real experience with 3D-printed objects was a set of WWII 1000 lb bombs, which were very nice, except of course for the textured surface. Since these bombs could have been assumed to have a rather rough coating, this was no major problem. Of course, surface on a 3D model refers to the block-like effect that you get when trying to print various sloped features. Think of Lego's blocks. A house built of lego's bricks can be very smooth. An egg built of Lego's, not so much. This height between layers is known as resolution, and while the resolution has improved a lot over the years, it is still an effect to be considered. After all, a 3D-printing machine capable of printing an infinitely-smoothed surface would probably take an infinite amount of time! As for me, I don't think I have that much... Anyway, I took the plunge and Pay-Pal-ed my $34.00 US to the kind folks at Shapeways, and in two or three weeks (they are no doubt printed upon demand) I had the following goodie in my hand (Sadly, there are no decals nor instructions...😉 The propeller and canopy are printed as part of the model, each joined by a single column of plastic, rather that being printed separately, using a myriad of support structures. These items must be trimmed off -- no simple task, given the lack of clearance. You will also note that all the parts, i.e., wheels, gear legs, wings, tail, exhaust, etc. are all molded in one big piece. Certainly makes assembly easy! I tried several different shots, trying to show the texture of the model, but due to my rather moderate photography skill, I was not successful. In the end, I decided just to start work, and let the pictures speak as things progressed. A couple more things to mention. First off, I snipped off the canopy from the cockpit floor, as far down as I could manage, leaving a short stub with which to hold the part. The canopy, of course , is the same texture as everything else, and NOT transparent. Therefore, I am going to have to try and get it smooth enough to either vacuform, or resin-cast a new one. Problem is that the canopy is molded full size, with no allowance made for the thickness of a vacuform plastic sheet, which may mean a canopy formed would be too oversize to use, or, alternatively, because of the thickness of the printed canopy as well as the fact that the rest of the printing stub is attached underneath the hollow canopy, it will require a large amount of work to get produce a master for moulding that would be either smooth or clear enough to use in the end. Second, the cockpit area is simply a sort of rounded tub, with the other end of the printing stub attached, and the fuselage sides in the canopy area are very thick, which will make it tough to fake some cockpit innards. Third, the actual aircraft just had to be, as one might fear, a sort of polished-look natural metal aircraft, and it remains to be seen whether I can achieve a smooth enough finish to pull THAT one off. We will eventually, of course, find out, and I may just have to take a dive, and paint the whole thing solid black and call it a WWII Recognition Model! Anyway, I began by sanding everything all over, with various 800 grit sanding devices, ranging from nail files, sponge sanding sheets to sanding paper. Hard to get around those already-added detail parts, I should also add! Then, I sprayed on a coat of Mr Surfacer 1500 Primer, sanded again, and then shot on a coat of Alclad II Black Primer, and sanded some more. This is akin to the guide-coat painting process used when repairing cars, where two different-colored layers of primer are sprayed atop one another, and then sanded, which then allows one to see the high/low spots: As you can see in the above photo, after all that, we are still a long way off from a polished metal surface! In addition, the propeller was moulded with blades that were quite thick, with no discernible trailing edge, so a LOT of sanding was needed there, before even getting to THIS stage. I might mention also that the plastic used is rather tough and slightly rubbery, which does not make for fine detail, and in the end, the only panel lines I will end up with will be those panels I can manage to paint. I will not be scribing any lines on this baby, and will consider it a victory to just show the control surfaces! There will be several more trips to the paint booth to try and resolve these issues, and we shall all see the outcome together. After all, I only THINK (and hope) that I can pull this off, but... Next is the canopy in it's present stage, after a lot of sanding, and so far, 5 different dips into the Future/Pledge trying to fill the roughness, At the moment, at least, I still have canopy framework: This will not be a moment-to-moment kind of build thread, but I will update it now and then. In fact, I have already started a new stock, fairly early P-47B build, using my favorite Academy kit as a sacrificial lamb. As I can think of no new techniques or skills that will apply here, I'm not planning on doing a build thread for that, probably just an RFI in the end. Thanks for looking in, and for any who may be interested in this new, weird off-shoot of modeling, welcome aboard! Conversation, opinions and general hob-nobbling are all welcome. Ed
  3. Hi all For the recent 40 years commemorative Falkland War GB, I built a 1/200 Vulcan and really enjoyed it. It's set me on a self-imposed mission to built all of the British Falkland War aircraft types in 1/200 scale. All I've achieved so far is to splash varying amounts of cash on obscure white metal or 3D-printed kits, which hopefully can form the basis of what I'm after. Really, it's time for me to get some of them on to my workbench and what better excuse than this Salty Sea Dog. I'm going to start with this pair of 3D-printed Sea Kings, which I bought via the Shapeways marketplace. At first sight these may appear identical, but in fact they're not. The one on the left (which is advertised as a Westland WS-61), features a dorsal radome but lacks an engine intake screen and a winch. The one on the right however (apparently a Sikorsky SH-3), has the screen and winch, but no radome. I'll be converting these to an HAS.2 and HC.4 respectively, possibly with one having folded rotors. Strangely, both models lack their starboard mainwheels, possibly as the results of a printing error. Slightly annoying, but easy to fix. Before anyone shouts, I should add that Sea King HAS.5s were also used in the Falklands War, so at some point I may need to buy another one of these tiddlers Merry Christmas.
  4. This is my new project. Length: 79 m Launch date: 2 April 1921 Beam: 11 m Shipyard: Great Lakes Engineering Works Shipyard: Great Lakes Engineering Works, Detroit, USA IMO: 8971815 Flag: Portugal Documentation has been gathered over the last few weeks to get a good basis for designing this beautiful and atypical vessel in good conditions. This ship with its pre-dreadnought style has an extraordinary story to tell after 101 years of tumultuous life. Beautiful stories that motivate me, because in 1/100 scale, this ship will require a lot of work before being printed (length 79 cm, width 10.8 cm). Once again thanks to Roland who found me some original plans from the American shipyard archives. A bit of history: 1921-1942 - the early days Launched in 1921 at the Great Lakes Engineering Works in Michigan, the S.S. Delphine was, at 78.65m and 1,255 tons, the largest yacht built in the United States that still exists today. Her first owner, Horace Dodge, of American automotive fame, designed Delphine's unique quadruple-expansion steam engines, which still operate today. Sadly, Dodge, one of the greatest yachtsmen of his time, died four months before the boat was completed. The yacht passed into the hands of her family, who cruised and attended all the major boat races. In 1926, Delphine caught fire and sank in the Hudson River. Five months later, in New York, she was revived to her former glory. 1942-1946 - the war years Like many other yachts of her era, when the United States entered World War II in 1942, Delphine was placed in the naval service. Renamed U.S.S. Dauntless (PG61), she served as flagship to Admiral King, head of the U.S. fleet and chief of naval operations, and unofficially as a presidential yacht. According to legend, the yacht went down in history as the Yalta yacht, where the world leaders of the time, Churchill, Truman, Stalin, prepared the Yalta convention. 1946-1997 - the formative years After the war, the Dodge family bought the Delphine from the Navy. She was almost permanently moored at the private jetty on their Rose Terrace property in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Anna Dodge sold the Delphine in 1968 to the Lundeberg Maryland Seamanship School, where the Delphine served as a steamboat training vessel for 18 years. Since 1986, the yacht has passed through a succession of owners, both commercial and private, and eventually ended up in Marseille, where she remained for many years in a state of increasing disrepair. In 1997 it was bought for scrap by the current owner. 1997-2003 - the years of restoration Although separated by over 80 years and an ocean, the first and current owners of Delphine have much in common. They are passionate yachtsmen, successful businessmen and have passed on the love of yachting to their families. Delphine's new life is the result of extensive historical research by the owner's daughter. Fortunately, the original drawings, detailed plans and photographs were available to work from during the refit and restoration. This extraordinary yacht, with its 13 cabins, vast entertainment areas, has artfully recreated the bygone era of the 1920's, with all the latest equipment and communication facilities. Renamed in September 2003 by H.S.H. Princess Stephanie of Monaco, the S.S. Delphine was inaugurated in September 2003. S.S. Delphine is one of the most unique and exceptional yachts in the Mediterranean fleet. In 2004, she received the annual showboats award for best refit. In addition to her beauty and comfort, the S.S. Delphine still boasts the distinction of being the largest steam yacht in operation. In 1921, she represented the pinnacle of technology and fashion with her quadruple expansion-recovery steam engines, each developing 1,500 horsepower. Today, she is a living example of how far yachting has come and, at the same time, how little has really changed. Steam engines are as reliable and have the same reaction time as modern diesel engines, without the noise and vibration. The 2 engines of the Delphine. https://youtu.be/456XAZslSYY https://youtu.be/28wO5ZF0QUw
  5. SS Hydrograaf, 1/100, hydrographic ship of the Royal Dutch Navy. Shipyard: Fijenoord shipbuilding and engineering company in Rotterdam Keel laying 11 October 1909 Launched 26 January 1910 Employed 4 May 1910 Out of service 16 October 1962 Active status Home port Den Helder; 1985: Amsterdam Owners: Netherlands Owner 1998 - Rederij de Hydrograaf BV Weesp Charterer Dutch Glory Previous owners 1910 Royal Netherlands Navy 1964 Sea Cadet Corps, Rotterdam 1985 The Sailing Museum Ship Foundation, Amsterdam General characteristics 1910 Hydrographic ship 1985 Saloon boat Length 40.5 metres Width 6.70 metres Draft 1.80 metres Displacement 297 tonnes Passengers 200 maximum (since 1985) Propulsion and power 2 steam engines, two screws, 411 hp 1985: 2 MAN diesel engines, 2 x 480 hp Speed 10.5 knots Port of Morlaix (29), France. A little history: The ship was built in 1909-1910 by the Scheeps-en Werktuigbouw Fijenoord in Rotterdam . The ship was launched on 11 October 1909 and launched on 26 January 1910. As was customary at the time, it was a steamship with two coal-fired steam engines. With a draught of only 1.80 metres, she was perfectly capable of operating in the shallow coastal waters of the southwestern Netherlands, the Zuiderzee and the Waddenzee. On 4 May 1910, the Royal Navy commissioned the Hydrograaf . As a rule, the ship served as a depth survey ship in a particular area from April to October. Outside this season, it was not possible to carry out bathymetric surveys because of the weather. The vessel was officially commissioned and decommissioned for each season. During the winter months the ship usually stayed in Hellevoetsluis or Willemsoord, Den Helder . The ship did not sail in the grey colours of the navy, but had a black hull and yellow superstructure. In 1921 the ship was reinforced by the Eilerts de Haan, built at the same yard. The Hydrograaf was used several times as a royal yacht during visits of Queen Wilhelmina, Prince Hendrik and Princess Juliana to the waters of South Holland and Zeeland. There was a cabin below deck at the stern for this purpose. During the royal visit to Zeeland in 1921, the royal party spent the night of 15 to 16 September on board the ship, which was moored in the port of Vlissingen. In May 1940, the ship left Vlissingen for England. During the Second World War, the ship was used as an accommodation ship for the bomb disposal service. On 25 September 1943, the ship arrived in Harwich to serve as a depot ship. After the conquest of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen, the ship was placed at the disposal of the commander in Zeeland in October 1944. She immediately served again as a survey ship to better map the important access to the port of Antwerp. After the war, the ship returned to the service of the Hydrographic Service. As such, she was withdrawn from service by the Royal Navy on 16 October 1962 and replaced by the modern ship Zeefakkel. She was the last coal-fired steamer of the Royal Navy. From 30 August to 8 September 2006, the Hydrograaf was used as a stage for the theatrical performance of The Sinking of the Titanic, one of the open-air performances at the Zeeland Nazomer Festival. The audience was taken on a journey through Zeeland's waters from various ports, during which the story of the sinking of the Titanic was told as a metaphor for the decline of Western civilisation during a tour of the ship. Wiki. This ship often comes to France, in summer, during the various national maritime festivals, such as "Tonnerre de Brest", La semaine du Golf du Morbihan, Terre et Mer etc. Thanks to Roland for finding me the necessary plans to draw the hull in 3D. At 1/100 the ship will be 40.5 cm long overall. A nice model never reproduced in plastic, there is a paper/cardboard version. https://www.postbeeld.nl/vnhphydro100-stoomschip-hydrograaf Some nice examples exist in a large scale sailing version. I had the chance to see her several times, at Brest 2000, at sea, and more closely in the port of Morlaix, which is what gave me the idea to reproduce this elegant ship in 3D printing lately. The version will probably be the 1910 one, at least with the elements I have at the moment. 1/100th scale sketch of the hull, nothing final, nothing finished:
  6. A request from a Swiss friend. A Guppy kiosk conversion ( Porthmouth Sail version ) for a Gato Class submarine to represent the USS Torsk 423 with a 1:72 Gato Class Revell hull. I have to release the big sonar under the hull also. I found a lot of drawings on this excellent Gato Class website: http://www.gatosubs.com/mkptsail72draw.htm Unfortunately they are not very accurate, see picture, but they did help me a bit to start my 3D drawing. Luckily, you can find a lot of pictures of the USS Torsk in a dry dock during an interview and docked at the museum, especially on Flickr with HD pictures of individuals. This submarine kiosk looks simple in terms of shape, but it's quite the opposite. First sketchs:
  7. First topic. Tracy Island 2.0......it's 2.0 because I made this 2 years before but only used "left overs" etc.etc. That one was sold so I thought....let's try it again but better and more detailed. So....I started to "study" Blender and bought a 3D printer to make a lot of things I need myself. I'm making a Tracy-Island cutaway model like the one in the books Started with the TB1 Launchbay and here's what we've got untill now. The rocket ( F-Toys) was bought, all the rest is handmade and it's only 22x11x6 cm ( Rocket is 5 cm ). To be continued...ps...looking for a F-Toys TB2 model.... Visit my website
  8. Venturing out in this new world requires you to take a big step. In order to be able to make a 3D print, you need a 3D design. There are a number of sites where you can find downloadable 3D designs. I started this topic as a placeholder for a list of sites where you may be able to find a design that fits your need. most sites also undertake to help you further with Q&A sections and tutorials. http://www.thingiverse.com - free designs http://www.myminifactory.com - as can be expected, designs of minis for games http://www.youmagine.com - many free to download designs http://www.cults3d.com - free and paid designs http://www.pinshape.com - free and paid designs http://www.yeggi.com- a search engine for 3d models http://www.turbosquid.com - paid designs - some free, many not allowed to print http://grabcad.com - free designs http://www.cgtrader.com - paid designs http://clara.io/library - free designs http://www.prusaprinters.org - free designs http://www.tinkercad.com - free designs https://nasa3d.arc.nasa.gov/models/printable - Nasa repository of 3d files https://3Dexport.com - free and paid designs https://www.3dagogo.com - free and paid designs https://3dprint.nih.gov/ - bio medical models https://www.gambody.com/search - wide range of (mostly) paid designs http://wargaming3d.com/ - aimed at war gaming https://fab365.net/ - all kind of models, mostly paid but some are free https://www.heroforge.com/ - aimed at fantasy figures - paid designs https://www.scetchfab.com - Other sources: As museums are increasingly digitising their collections you may find good quality scans of original artefacts ideal for modelling e.g. Smithsonian 3D collection includes a downloadable Bell X-1 https://3d.si.edu/object/3d/bell-x-1:6c69a6bb-55e6-4356-8725-120ff7f8d652 an Apollo capsule and many fossils which could be fascinating model subjects Other option is a search facility for 3D designs. here is one: https://www.stlfinder.com I’m sure there are more, so feel free to add them in a reply. I will add them to this opening post so that it can serve as a (hopefully) handy resource.
  9. F-16I SUFA Interior 3D Decal (QD48046 - For Hasegawa Kit) 1:48 Quinta Studio When Quinta’s innovative products first came to our attention a few months ago they caused quite a stir, as well they should. The replacement Instrument Panels and internal details are mind-boggling to look at, because we’re used to seeing simplified styrene instrument panels, or Photo-Etch Brass panels with either two layers of etch, or laminated parts that can be tricky to glue together, even though they are pre-painted for your ease. But decals? These aren’t your run-of-the-mill decals though, they’re 3D printed in many layers and colours on a flat carrier film, having as much in the way of elevation as is needed to complete a realistic panel printed in the correct colours, complete with shiny dial faces, lustrous MFD screens and metallic-effect hardware, and often including cushions and seat belts in the set. Each set arrives in a ziplok bag with a folded instruction booklet protecting the decals, which are also separately bagged, so they should reach you in good condition. The pictorial instructions are printed on glossy paper, and are shown in full colour as befits the awesomeness of the sets, showing exactly where each part should go on the actual model, so there’s no confusion due to the “pictures speak a thousand words” maxim. Additional hints and instructions are also included, marking out parts needing bases, kit parts and other useful tips. The technical instructions in the text-based sheet gives additional tips to the new user about maximising adhesion and preventing lift at the edges by wicking in super glue. This set for the Hasegawa F-16I Sufa supplies all of the front and rear instrument panels and side consoles. Also included are the cockpit sidewalls, seat pads, seat belts, seat handels and seat placards, as well as RBF tags. Conclusion They’re still a highly impressive product and look to be very useful, even more so to those who are not fans of PE (Like myself). Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  10. Hello I'm hoping you folks can really help me out, as I am looking for an old 1/72 vacuum form diorama set from (???) in which it had fortified bunkers and trenches with a Pak-40 cannon and some other vehicles in it, sorry I can't recall sorry this goes back at least 30+years I thought the set was from Airfix, but it is probably from someone else like ECSI. The roofs of the bunkers could be lifted off so you could adjust your models/soldiers from within the bunker as needed. I know the set has long been retired??? But I was hoping to get some detail images of it for a project I would to build upon, any help would be appreciated! Cheers Mates! Please see images here, thank you! https://www.pinterest.com/mikegross5691/dioramas/
  11. Hey, Looking at the plethora of 3D model files available online, I as wondering if there is any established shopping place for printed minis? Having an own printer is out of question for several reasons but I'd be up paying for some printed stuff. Does anyone have a suggestion? I only saw Etsy so far but the offer is somewhat limited and Ebay has close to none, surprisingly. Many thanks in advance!
  12. Nearly 4 years ago I started an attempt at scratch building a Short Sperrin (scale 1/72) using CAD modelling, my CNC-machine, 3D printing and Vacuum forming. I got as far as a nearly finished CAD model and a few moulds made in the CNC-machine, but life got in the way, so the project ground to a halt. I recently felt the urge to take it up again but I quickly realised what a big project the Sperrin is regarding the number of moulds required (at least 18), so I decided to pause it again. Instead, I am doing something much smaller and more simple but using the same techniques. I have always had the ambition to model the most important planes of my real world aviation career, so I thought why not start at the beginning. I started to fly gliders when I was 14, and much of my training and my first solo was in a Grob 103 Twin Astir registered SE-TZL. Thus, SE-TZL will be the subject of this build. Here is my plan, process and progress so far: I started off by collecting as many images and references of the Twin Astir as I could. These were used in trying to create accurate drawings/profiles. The profiles were then imported into the 3D modelling program Blender where I created an accurate (hopefully) 3D model of the Twin Astir. Here is a simple render of the 3D model: The 3D model was then chopped up and turned into moulds (still just on the computer) and scaled to 1/72. I decided to create female moulds in order to get the dimensions accurate when vacuum-forming. The 3D moulds are then sent to my kit-CNC machine which will mill the moulds for me. And here it is milling the left-hand side fuselage mould. I have managed to mill the moulds for the stabiliser and the two fuselage halves, so that leaves the wings and canopy moulds to be milled. I will hopefully get that done over the weekend. Here is a picture of the right-hand side fuselage mould and the stabiliser mould. I have also vacuum-formed the right side of the fuselage and the stab. It really is a small model, and I think it is going to be a little tricky to build, especially since this is my first vacuum formed model! This is my very simple homemade vacuum-forming machine: And here is the right-hand side of the fuselage vacuum formed together with the stabiliser:
  13. It is easy to be wise after the event, and it is in some such light that one cannot help viewing the probable work of the Firebrand in the Pacific had not Japan surrendered. As it is, this aircraft has not had a chance to prove its formidable capabilities against our erstwhile active enemies. That the aircraft is formidable there can be no doubt and the writer cannot help but feel a twinge of regret that circumstances, past and recent, prevented it from demonstrating the quality of its powers. - Flight, September 27th 1945 It was never my favourite aeroplane, and we would have been very poorly placed if it had been necessary to go to war strapped to such a lumbering giant. - Cdr Maurice Tibby I like Firebrands. To me it’s one of those rare aircraft that unfortunately did not benefit from the ‘if it looks right…’ rule of thumb. Despite looking very much the part of the capable carrier strike aircraft, it was rather lacking in too many respects. As far as appearances go though, in my opinion it’s a winner. The front half resembles a leaner Sea Fury, without the camel hump rather detracts from the latter’s lines. Even that barn door of a fin doesn’t entirely diminish the overall impression of ruggedness. The choice in 1/48 is limited to Magna’s resin offering, and the various online reviews of said kit don’t inspire a massive desire to search out an example. I seem to remember, at a SMW long ago, that Dynavector showed a prototype master for the Firebrand for their next vac release. Sadly they exited the kit business not long afterwards. For a while I’ve idly entertained the possibility of scratchbuilding a Firebrand, and recently I’ve made some small movements in actually doing something about it. Time will tell whether it gets very far. I don’t expect this to progress rapidly, so if you’re tempted to use the ‘popcorn’ emoji then be sure to stock up. If in the meantime someone goes ahead and releases a decent kit, then no one will be happier than I. Anyway, the current intention is to 3D print some of the more complex parts (propeller blades, cowling perhaps) and use ‘traditional’ scratchbuilding techniques for other parts of the airframe. That notwithstanding, I think it’s likely that I shall end up drafting most of the airframe in 3D, since I think this might be useful for scratchbuilding purposes (e.g. for creating bulkheads, ribs, and other cross sections). To do this I’m getting to grips with a couple of free 3D packages, namely Autodesk’s 123D and Fusion 360. Of which more later. Expect this thread to be a series of semi-random posts as I flit back and forth between research, 3D modelling and, eventually, perhaps even some proper plastic bashing. By no means do I consider myself a Firebrand expert (plus I’m learning the software as I go along), so if anyone has any hints or advice in either area they would be most welcome. cheers, Jason
  14. SMS Battleship Baden Kagero Super Drawings in 3D SMS Baden[ was a Bayern-class dreadnought battleship of the German Imperial Navy built during World War I. Launched in October 1915 and completed in March 1917, she was the last battleship completed for use in the war; two of her sisters—Sachsen and Württemberg—were incomplete when the war ended. The ship mounted eight 38-centimeter (15 in) guns in four twin turrets, displaced 32,200 metric tons (31,700 long tons; 35,500 short tons) at full combat load, and had a top speed of 21 knots (39 km/h; 24 mph). Along with her sister Bayern, Baden was the largest and most powerfully armed battleship built by the Imperial Navy. Upon commissioning into the High Seas Fleet, Baden was made the fleet flagship, replacing Friedrich der Grosse. Baden saw little action during her short career; the only major sortie in April 1918 ended without any combat. Following the German collapse in November 1918, Baden was interned with the majority of the High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow by the British Royal Navy. On 21 June 1919, Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter ordered the scuttling of the fleet. However, British sailors in the harbour managed to board Baden and beach her to prevent her sinking. The ship was refloated, thoroughly examined, and eventually sunk in extensive gunnery testing by the Royal Navy in 1921. The Baden design was actually used as the basis for the later Bismarck and Tirpitz. This latest release from Kagero flows the now familiar format, with a short history of the ship, covering eleven pages, including:- The construction outline General characteristics of the hull Armour Machinery and propulsion Armament Fire control Ships oats and other equipment Complement SMS Baden Commanders Operational history The next fifty seven pages are taken up with the wonderfully rendered 3D drawings that this series has become known for. Although with this release quite a bit of the lower hull is also shown which is a bonus particularly the torpedo tubes, rudder and propellers. The renderings show every part of the ship both in wide angle and close up which show some amazing detail not seen in other publications. The last ten pages contain more 3D renderings that have been produced in real 3D. Kagero have kindly included a pair of 3D glasses to view these pictures and whilst it is a little gimmicky they do work rather well, with the guns and equipment standing out of the page. Conclusion As we’ve come to know what to expect from this series I can’t really say much more, other than if you’re a maritime fan you really should have them all in your reference library. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  15. IJNS Aircraft Carrier Taiho Kagero Super Drawings in 3D Taihō (meaning Great Phoenix), was an aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Possessing heavy belt armour and featuring an armoured flight deck (a first for any Japanese aircraft carrier), she represented a major departure in Japanese aircraft carrier design and was expected to not only survive multiple bomb, torpedo, or shell hits, but also continue fighting effectively afterwards. Built by Kawasaki at Kobe, she was laid down on 10 July 1941, launched almost two years later on 7 April 1943 and finally commissioned on 7 March 1944. Taihō was formally commissioned on 7 March 1944. Following several weeks of service trials in Japan's Inland Sea, she was deployed to Singapore, arriving there on 5 April. Taihō was then moved to Lingga Roads, a naval anchorage off Sumatra, where she joined veteran carriers Shōkaku and Zuikaku in the First Carrier Division, First Mobile Force. All three carriers engaged in working up new air groups by practicing launch and recovery operations and acting as targets for mock aerial attacks staged from Singapore airfields by their own planes. On 15 April, Vice-Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa officially transferred his flag from Shōkaku to Taihō to take advantage of the carrier's extensive command facilities. Shortly thereafter, the First Mobile Force departed Lingga and arrived on 14 May at Tawi-Tawi off Borneo, where the fleet could directly refuel with unrefined Tarakan Island crude oil and await execution of the planned Kantai Kessen ("decisive battle") known as Operation A-GO. When American carrier strikes against the Marianas indicated an invasion of Saipan was imminent, the Japanese Combined Fleet staff initiated Operation A-GO on 11 June. Taihō and the rest of Ozawa's First Mobile Force departed Tawi-Tawi on 13 June, threading their way through the Philippine Islands and setting course for Saipan to attack American carrier forces operating in the vicinity. On 19 June 1944, Taihō was one of nine Japanese aircraft carriers involved in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. At 07:45 that morning, she was turned into the wind to launch her contribution (16 Zeros, 17 Judy’s and nine Jill’s) to Ozawa's second attack wave. As Taihō's planes circled overhead to form up, American submarine USS Albacore, which had spotted Ozawa's carriers earlier that morning, reached an ideal attack position and fired a spread of six torpedoes at the carrier. One of Taihō's strike pilots, Warrant Officer Sakio Komatsu, saw the torpedo wakes, broke formation and deliberately crashed his aircraft into the path of one torpedo; the weapon detonated short of its target and four of the remaining five missed. The sixth torpedo, however, found its mark and the resulting explosion holed the carrier's hull on the starboard side, just ahead of the island. The impact also fractured the aviation fuel tanks and jammed the forward elevator between the flight deck and upper hangar deck. With the ship down 5 ft (1.5 m) by the bows due to flooding, the forward elevator pit filled with a mixture of seawater, fuel oil and aviation gasoline. Taiho's captain marginally reduced her speed by a knot and a half to slow the ingress of seawater into the hull where the torpedo had struck. As no fires had started, Vice-Admiral Ozawa ordered that the open elevator well be planked over by a flight deck damage control party in order to allow resumption of normal flight operations. By 09:20, using wooden benches and tables from the petty officers' and sailors' mess rooms, this task was completed. Ozawa proceeded to launch two more waves of aircraft. Meanwhile, leaking aviation gasoline accumulating in the forward elevator pit began vaporising and soon permeated the upper and lower hangar decks. The danger this posed to the ship was readily apparent to the damage control crews but, whether through inadequate training, lack of practice (only three months had passed since the ship's commissioning) or general incompetence, their response to it proved fatally ineffectual. Efforts to pump out the damaged elevator well were bungled and no one thought to try to cover the increasingly lethal mixture with foam from the hangar's fire suppression system. Because Taihō's hangars were completely enclosed, mechanical ventilation was the only means of exhausting fouled air and replacing it with fresh. Ventilation duct gates were opened on either side of hangar sections No. 1 and No. 2 and, for a time, the carrier's aft elevator was lowered to try to increase the draught. But even this failed to have any appreciable effect and, in any case, air operations were resumed about noon, requiring the elevator to be periodically raised as aircraft were brought up to the flight deck. In desperation, damage control parties used hammers to smash out the glass in the ship's portholes. Taihō's chief damage control officer eventually ordered the ship's general ventilation system switched to full capacity and, where possible, all doors and hatches opened to try to rid the ship of fumes. Unfortunately, this simply resulted in saturation of areas previously unexposed to the vapours and increased the chances of accidental or spontaneous ignition. About 14:30 that afternoon, 6½ hours after the initial torpedo hit, Taihō was jolted by a severe explosion. A senior staff officer on the bridge saw the flight deck heave up. The sides blew out. Taihō dropped out of formation and began to settle in the water, clearly doomed. Though Admiral Ozawa wanted to go down with the ship, his staff prevailed on him to survive and to transfer his flag to the cruiser Haguro. Taking the Emperor's portrait, Ozawa transferred to Haguro by destroyer. After he left, Taihō was torn by a second thunderous explosion and sank stern first at 16:28, taking 1,650 officers and men out of a complement of 2,150 down with her. The titles in this series from Kagero are being released thick and fast. This is the 39th title in the Super Drawings in 3D, and another superb reference book for modellers. Continuing with the tried and tested format, but due to the short nature of the ships career there are only four pages of information, yet covering items such as:- The Hull Propulsion Armour The Hanger Conning Tower Armament Aircraft Radars In Service These are followed by ninety pages of the beautifully rendered drawings we have come to expect, covering all external areas of the ship, and although rather a plain ship in comparison with some of the other titles in this series there is a lot of detail provided, such as the retracting searchlights and their covers on the flightdeck edges. Something I didn’t know the ship had. Each rendering has brief annotations which give useful insights as to what the areas are and the subtle details included. There are no detailed 3D drawings of the ships equipment or aircraft, which is a bit of a shame, but you can get most of the detail from the main renderings. The drawings of the quarterdeck and the boat hangers are probably the most interesting part of the ship, just a shame that the aircraft hangers themselves haven’t been included in the drawings, probably due to the lack of accurate material available on this design. The centre pages are taken up with two full width views from the starboard bow and aft quarter and with a pair of side views of the island area showing the camouflage she most likely wore when she was sunk. Unlike the previously reviewed book on the HMS Warspite, this edition does include an A1 sheet of line drawings of the ship, with a three view on one side in 1:400 scale and slightly angled views on the reverse which aren’t to any particular scale. The fore and aft views on this side, however, are also to 1:400. Conclusion This book is certainly a lot thicker than the other titles reviewed here and if you have a set of optivisors then the detail contained therein can be put to good use if you’re building either the Tamiya or Fujimi 1:700 kits available. I just hope that Fujimi release an example in my preferred 1:350 scale one day. As with the others in the series, this book could form part of a superb library of 3D drawings that any maritime modeller will be proud of. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  16. HMS Warspite 1914-1919 Kagero Super Drawings in 3D HMS Warspite was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship built for the Royal Navy during the early 1910s. Other than the Battle of Jutland, and the inconclusive action of 19 August, her service during World War 1 generally consisted of routine patrols and training in the North Sea. Warspite, the sixth warship of the Royal Navy to carry the name, was laid down on 21 October 1912 at Devonport Royal Dockyard, launched on 26 November 1913, and completed in April 1915 under the command of Captain Edward Phillpotts. Warspite joined the 2nd Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet following a number of acceptance trials, including gunnery trials, which saw Churchill present when she fired her 15 inch (381 mm) guns. Churchill was suitably impressed with their accuracy and power. In late 1915, Warspite was grounded in the River Forth causing some damage to her hull; she had been led by her escorting destroyers down the small ships channel. After undergoing repairs for two months at Rosyth and Jarrow, she rejoined the Grand Fleet, this time as part of the newly formed 5th Battle Squadron which had been created for Queen Elizabeth-class ships. In early December, Warspite was involved in another incident when, during an exercise, she collided with her sister-ship Barham, which caused considerable damage to Warspite's bow. She made it back to Scapa Flow and from there to Devonport for more repair work, rejoining the fleet on Christmas Eve 1915. Having escaped the trap the 5th Battle Squadron headed north, exchanging fire with both Hipper's battlecruiser force and the leading elements of Scheer's battleships, damaging Markgraf. When the squadron turned to join the Grand Fleet the damage from a shell hitting the port-wing engine room caused Warspite's steering to jam as she attempted to avoid her sister-ships Valiant and Malaya. Captain Phillpotts decided to maintain course, in effect circling, rather than come to a halt and reverse. This decision exposed Warspite and made her a tempting target; she was hit 13 times, but inadvertently diverted attention from the armoured cruiser Warrior, which had been critically damaged whilst attacking the leading elements of the German fleet. This action gained her the admiration of Warrior's surviving crew, who believed that Warspite's movement had been intentional. The crew regained control of Warspite after two full circles. Their efforts to end the circular motion placed her on a course which took her towards the German fleet. The rangefinders and the transmission station were non-functional and only "A" turret could fire, albeit under local control with 12 salvos falling short of their target. Sub Lieutenant Herbert Annesley Packer was subsequently promoted for his command of "A" turret. Rather than continue, Warspite was stopped for ten minutes so the crew could make repairs. They succeeded in correcting the problem, but the ship would be plagued with steering irregularities for the rest of her naval career. As the light faded the Grand Fleet crossed ahead of the German battle line and opened fire, forcing the High Seas Fleet to retreat and allowing Warspite to slip away. Warspite was holed 150 times during the battle, and had 14 killed and 16 wounded; among the latter warrant officer Walter Yeo, who became one of the first men to receive facial reconstruction via plastic surgery. Although she had been extensively damaged, Warspite could still raise steam and was ordered back to Rosyth during the evening of 31 May by Rear-Admiral Hugh Evan-Thomas, commander of the 5th Battle Squadron. Whilst travelling across the North Sea the ship came under attack from a German U-boat. The U-boat fired three torpedoes, all of which missed their target. Warspite later attempted to ram a surfaced U-boat. She signalled ahead for escorts and a squadron of torpedo boats came out to meet her. They were too slow to screen her effectively, but there were no more encounters with German vessels and she reached Rosyth safely on the morning of 1 June, where it took two months to repair the damage. Upon the completion of her repairs, Warspite rejoined the 5th Battle Squadron. Further misfortune struck soon afterwards, when she collided with Valiant after a night-shooting exercise, necessitating more repair work at Rosyth. Captain Philpotts avoided reprimand on this occasion, but was moved to a shore-based job as Naval Assistant to the new First Sea Lord, Admiral Jellicoe. He was replaced by Captain de Bartolome in December 1916. In June 1917, Warspite collided with a destroyer, but did not require major repairs. In the following month, Warspite was rocked at her moorings in Scapa Flow when Vanguard, a St. Vincent-class battleship, exploded with the loss of hundreds of her crew when an ammunition magazine detonated. Early in April 1918 she joined the Grand Fleet in a fruitless pursuit of the German High Seas Fleet which had been hunting for a convoy near Norway. In 1918, Warspite had to spend four months being repaired after a boiler room caught fire. Captain Hubert Lynes relieved Captain de Bartolome and on 21 November he took Warspite out to escort the German High Seas Fleet into internment at Scapa Flow following the signing of the Armistice. This is the latest book of Kageros 3D Drawings, and the 38th in the series, which is building up nicely into a superb single point of reference for maritime modellers. Following the now familiar format, but with only four pages of text giving the information on the design of the ship and its operational service; these are followed by seventy three pages of beautifully rendered drawings covering all external areas of the ship, and it is these drawings that set this series above others as the show much more detail than any period photograph can show, or that shown on 2D plans. Each rendering has brief annotations which give useful insights as to what the areas are and the subtle details included. The last nine pages contain drawings of individual items, such as the main turrets, secondary and tertiary armament, ships boats, (ranging from the 50ft steam pinnace right down to the 15ft dinghy), torpedoes, and the various calibres of shells she carried. Unfortunately this title doesn’t come with any line drawings or plans, unlike most of the series. Conclusion This is another great addition to the series and will be very useful if you’re building the Trumpeter 1:700 kit, although it will be just as useful for any other scales. It’ll certainly be a nice addition to any maritime library, especially those with family connections to this great ship as I do. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  17. The Light Cruiser Emden Kagero Super Drawings in 3D SMS Emden was the second and final member of the Dresden class of light cruisers built for the Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). Named for the town of Emden, she was laid down at the Kaiserliche Werft (Imperial Dockyard) in Danzig in 1906. Her hull was launched in May 1908, and completed in July 1909. She had one sister ship, Dresden. Like the preceding Königsberg-class cruisers, Emden was armed with ten 10.5 cm (4.1 in) guns and two torpedo tubes. Emden spent the majority of her career overseas in the German East Asia Squadron, based in Tsingtao, in the Kiautschou Bay concession in China. In 1913, she came under the command of Karl von Müller, who would captain the ship during World War I. At the outbreak of hostilities, Emden captured a Russian steamer and converted her into the commerce raider Cormoran. Emden rejoined the East Asia Squadron, after which she was detached for independent raiding in the Indian Ocean. The cruiser spent nearly two months operating in the region, and captured nearly two dozen ships. In late October 1914, Emden launched a surprise attack on Penang; in the resulting Battle of Penang, she sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug and the French destroyer Mousquet. Müller then took Emden to raid the Cocos Islands, where he landed a contingent of sailors to destroy British facilities. There, Emden was attacked by the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney. The more powerful Australian ship quickly inflicted serious damage and forced Müller to run his ship aground to prevent her from sinking. Out of a crew of 376, 133 were killed in the battle. Most of the survivors were taken prisoner; the landing party, led by Hellmuth von Mücke, commandeered an old schooner and eventually returned to Germany. Emden 's wreck was quickly destroyed by wave action, and was broken up for scrap in the 1950s For number 37 in their series of Super Drawings in 3D, Kagero have chosen another great subject, the German light cruiser SMS Emden. Normally with these books, the first fifteen or so pages provide much of the design, specifications and history of the ship. Well, not in this case. Whilst there is a potted history of sorts, it only takes up the first four pages and is very brief indeed. The next fifty three pages are filled with beautifully rendered 3D drawings covering every part of the ships structure, weapons, boats and sundry equipment. The drawings are really clear and perfect for the maritime modeller to see all the useful details that could help make that masterpiece that we all strive for. Being in full colour also helps with the painting. Unlike the rest of the series, this book does not come with the large full colour pullouts that complimented the previous releases. Instead you can order them, now rolled rather than folded, from the Kagero website. Apparently the folded ones weren’t easy to frame? This book also doesn’t include any plans, which is a great shame as they are really useful to the maritime modeller. The final sixteen pages contain the weird looking 3D pictures, for which you will need the red and blue glasses that Kagero provide. Conclusion Following the now tried and tested formula that Kagero have made their own this book is superbly produced. If you have a kit of the Emden in your possession then you really need this book to make the very best of it. Just a shame they haven’t included at least the plans as they are most helpful to the modeller. Highly recommended Review sample courtesy of
  18. HIJNS Yahagi Kagero Super Drawings in 3D The four Agano-class cruisers light cruisers operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy. All were named after Japanese rivers. Larger than previous Japanese light cruisers, the Agano-class vessels were fast, but with little protection, and were under-gunned for their size. They participated in numerous actions during World War II. The Agano class was followed by the larger Ōyodo-class cruiser, of which only a single vessel was completed. The Imperial Japanese Navy had developed a standardized design for light cruisers as flagships for destroyer and submarine squadrons, based on a 5,500 ton displacement, shortly after World War I. However, by the 1930s these vessels were obsolete, as contemporary destroyers were faster, carried more powerful armament, and had greater endurance. As soon as the restrictions of the London Naval Treaty were removed, the Navy General Staff developed a plan within the Fourth Fleet Supplemental Budget to build 13 new 6000 ton cruisers between 1939 and 1945 to replace the Tenryū, Kuma, and Nagara-class cruisers. These vessels were intended to be the flagships for six destroyer squadrons and seven submarine squadrons. The new design was finalized in October 1937; however, construction was delayed due to overloading of the Japanese shipyards. Construction costs came to 16.4 million yen per vessel. The design for the Agano class was based on technologies developed by aboard the cruiser Yūbari, resulting in a graceful and uncluttered deck line and single smokestack. Unlike most Japanese designs, the Agano class was not overweight, so it exhibited good stability and seaworthiness. The Agano class was armed with six 152 mm Type 41 guns in three gun turrets. These guns were also used on the Kongō-class battlecruisers, some of these weapons having been removed from the Fusō-class battleships and the Kongō class during their modernizations in the early and late 1930s, respectively. This gun fired a 100 lb (45 kg) projectile 22,970 yards (21,000 m). The Agano class was unique among Japanese cruisers in that its main armament could elevate to 55 degrees, but this was still not enough to make them effective as anti-aircraft weapons. Secondary armament included four 76 mm Type 98 DP guns designed specifically for the class, in two twin turrets amidships. Anti-aircraft weapons included two triple 25 mm AA guns in front of the bridge, and two twin 13 mm mounts near the mast. The class also had two quadruple torpedo launchers for Type 93 torpedoes located below the flight deck, with eight reserve torpedoes. The torpedo tubes were mounted on the centerline, as was more common with destroyers, and had a rapid reload system with eight spare torpedoes. Being mounted on the centerline allowed the twin launchers to fire to either port or starboard, meaning that a full eight-torpedo broadside could be fired, whereas a ship with separate port and starboard launchers can only fire half of its torpedoes at a time. Two depth charge rails and 18 depth charges were also installed aft. The class was also equipped with two Aichi E13A aircraft. The first two vessels in the class (Agano and Noshiro) had a larger flight deck with a 26-foot catapult. The later Yahagi and Sakawa had a shorter 19-meter catapult. The engines were a quadruple-shaft geared turbine arrangement with six boilers in five boiler rooms, developing 100,000 shp (75,000 kW) for a maximum speed of 35 knots (65 km/h). Like Yūbari, the Agano class had its stacks join into a single funnel. All of the vessels in the class were updated with additional anti-aircraft weaponry and radar at various points in their service lives. Commissioned on 29 December 1943 Yahagi, the subject of this book, saw action in the Marianas in May/June 1944, during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. After the US invasion of Okinawa on 1 April 1945, she was ordered to accompany the battleship Yamato on its suicide mission against the American fleet at Okinawa. Yahagi was hit by some seven torpedoes as well as a dozen bombs, and sank on the afternoon of 7 April 1945. This latest book of Kageros 3D Drawings is actually the 36th in the series, which is building up nicely into a superb single point of reference for maritime modellers. Following the now familiar format the first eight pages contain text describing the design of the ship and its operational service; these are followed by sixty three pages of beautifully rendered drawings covering all external areas of the ship, a lot of which shows up details that you couldnt get from period photographs of plans. Each rendering has brief annotations which give useful insights as to what the areas are and the subtle details included. The last eighteen pages show similar detail, but are printed in such a way that you need to used the red and blue 3D glasses provided, otherwise they make you eyes go a bit weird. Whilst this is a bit of a gimmick it does work and gives the reader a sense of proportion and depth of the ship. A while ago Kagero stated that they werent going to include plans with these books and were going to sell them rolled up so that buyers could mount them in frames. So, it was a bit of a surprise to find that they have included a double sided A1 sheet of plans. One side contains five views of the ship in 1:350 scale, along with a couple of scrap views of the funnel area. On the opposite side plans of the superstructure, aircraft handling deck and main mast, some in 1:350 and some in no particular scale. Conclusion This is another great addition to the series and will be very useful if youre building the superb Hasegawa 1:350 kit, although it will be just as useful for any other scales. The 3D pictures at the back of the book are a bit of fun and its surprising how well they work even with the cheap cardboard glasses included. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  19. SMS Viribus Unitis Kagero Super Drawings in 3D In 1907 the navy of the dualist, multinational Austro-Hungarian Empire placed an order for a new class of warships, whose design was based on the “all big gun” concept pioneered by HMS Dreadnought. Eventually four Tegetthoff class vessels were laid down, including the flagship Viribus Unitis, Tegetthoff, Prinz Eugen and Szent Istvan. The last warship of the class was not completed until well into World War I. The vessels’ careers were not especially eventful. They spent most of their service lives as a “fleet in being” anchored in a well-protected port of Pola with only occasional trips to the Fažana Channel (well-screened by Brijuni Islands) for gunnery practice. During the war the ships were manned mainly by reservists, while the most promising and experienced members of their crews were detached to serve onboard submarines or torpedo boats, or assigned to land-based units. The second ship of the class ended her career in rather dramatic circumstances, which is why she perhaps deserves a more detailed treatment. Launched in late June 1911, Viribus Unitis had an overall length of 152 metres (498 ft 8 in), a beam of 27.9 metres (91 ft 6 in), and a draught of 8.7 metres (28 ft 7 in) at deep load. She displaced 20,000 tonnes (19,684 long tons) at load and 21,689 tonnes (21,346 long tons) at deep load. She had four Parsons steam turbines, each of which was housed in a separate engine-room. The turbines were powered by twelve Babcock & Wilcox boilers. The turbines were designed to produce a total of 27,000 shaft horsepower (20,134 kW), which was theoretically enough to attain her designed speed of 20 knots (23 mph; 37 km/h), but no figures from her speed trials are known to exist. She carried 1,844.5 tonnes (1,815.4 long tons) of coal, and an additional 267.2 tonnes (263.0 long tons) of fuel oil that was to be sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, she could steam for 4,200 nautical miles (7,800 km) at a speed of 10 knots (12 mph; 19 km/h). When completed the ship mounted twelve 305-millimetre (12 in)/45-calibre K 10 guns in four triple turrets. Her secondary armament consisted of twelve 15-centimetre (5.91 in)/50 K 10 guns mounted in casemates amidships. Twelve 66-millimetre (3 in)/50 K 10 guns were mounted on open pivots on the upper deck above the casemates. Three more 66-mm K 10 guns were mounted on the upper turrets for anti-aircraft duties. Four 21-inch (530 mm) submerged torpedo tubes were fitted, one each in the bow, stern and on each broadside; twelve torpedoes were carried. With their series of books in the 3D format, Kagero never fails to deliver. This particular publication on the Austro Hungarian battleship not only provides a superb history of the ship, one which I knew very little, if anything about before reviewing this book. Since there really isn’t much in the way of history to this ship therefore it only takes the first five pages to cover it and includes the following:- Design Naming of the ship The Only Overseas Cruise Archduke Ferdinand’s Final Voyage Helping the Goeben Bombardment of Italy’s East Coast The Empire of Many Governments First Signs of Collapse at Pola Viribus Unitis Under the Red Ensign The Navy of the National Council Assault of the Flagship The Remains The rest of the fifty nine pages are filled with beautifully rendered 3D drawings covering every part of the ships structure, weapons, boats and sundry equipment. The drawings are really clear and perfect for the maritime modeller to see all the useful details that could help make that masterpiece that we all strive for. Kagero have recently made the decision not to include the full colour pullouts and plans that the rest of the series had. Instead you can order them, now rolled rather than folded, can be ordered from the Kagero website. Apparently the folded ones weren’t easy to frame? Whilst this is a shame, they have included several overall A4 views of the ship and the centrefold covers the full A3 size, showing the ship anchored at sea, which is beautiful rendition, in fact it’s one of the best I’ve seen. The last ten pages of the 3D renderings, give closer details for the turrets, ships boats, boat cradles, ships cranes, the bridge structure and rather unusually the propellers. The most useful sections are those drawings that show how the anti-torpedo nets were hung from the poles along the sides of the ship, as these would have been similar throughout the worlds fleets from that period. Conclusion Following the now tried and tested formula that Kagero have made their own, this book is superbly produced and with the unusual subject matter will become a must have for any maritime modeller or historian. With only the Combrig kits available, it may have a lesser role in the modelling field, but with the later release of a Top Drawings title, also from Kagero, it may come in handy for a scratch builder. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  20. DKM Pocket Battleship Lutzow Kagero Super Drawings in 3D Deutschland was the lead ship of her class of heavy cruisers (often termed a pocket battleship) which served with the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. Ordered by the Weimar government for the Reichsmarine, she was laid down at the Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel in February 1929 and completed by April 1933. Originally classified as an armoured ship, (Panzerschiff), by the Reichsmarine, in February 1940 the Germans reclassified the remaining two ships of this class as heavy cruisers. In 1940, she was renamed Lützow, after the Admiral Hipper-class heavy cruiser Lützow was handed over to the Soviet Union. The ship saw significant action with the Kriegsmarine, including several non-intervention patrols in the Spanish Civil War, during which she was attacked by Republican bombers. At the outbreak of World War II, she was cruising the North Atlantic, prepared to attack Allied merchant traffic. Bad weather hampered her efforts, and she only sank or captured a handful of vessels before returning to Germany. She then participated in Operation Weserübung, the invasion of Norway. Damaged at the Battle of Drøbak Sound, she was recalled to Germany for repairs. While en route, she was torpedoed and seriously damaged by a British submarine. Repairs were completed by March 1941, Lützow returned to Norway to join the forces arrayed against Allied shipping to the Soviet Union. She ran aground during a planned attack on convoy PQ 17, which necessitated another return to Germany for repairs. She next saw action at the Battle of the Barents Sea with the heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, which ended with a failure to destroy the convoy JW 51B. Engine problems forced a series of repairs culminating in a complete overhaul at the end of 1943, after which the ship remained in the Baltic. Sunk in shallow waters in the Kaiserfahrt in April 1945 by Royal Air Force (RAF) bombers, Lützow was used as a gun battery to support German troops fighting the Soviet Army until 4 May 1945, when she was disabled by her crew. Raised by the Soviet Navy in 1947, she was subsequently sunk as a target in the Baltic. Yet another release from Kagero in their Super Drawings in 3D series of softback books, this one concentrating on the Pocket Battleship Deutschland/Lutzow. Totalling eighty Five pages the first thirteen pages are taken up with the ships history and covers:- The construction outline Early Service and the Spanish Civil War Wartime Operations Combat activity from Norwegian Bases Final demise The next fifty nine pages are taken up with the wonderfully rendered 3D drawings that this series has become known for. Although with this release quite a bit of the lower hull is also shown which is a bonus particularly the rudder and propellers. The renderings show every part of the ship both in wide angle and close up which show some amazing detail not seen in other publications. The last thirteen pages contain more 3D renderings that have been produced in real 3D. Kagero have kindly included a pair of 3D glasses to view these pictures and whilst it is a little gimmicky they do work rather well, the guns and equipment standing out of the page. This title also comes with two A1 fold out double sided sheets. The first has drawings of the ship and certain parts of the superstructure, all in 1:200 scale, which hopefully will be a portent of things to come from, say, Trumpeter. The second has plans of the ship as she was in 1942 and drawn in 1:350 scale, along with numerous detail drawings of armament and equipment ins 1:50 and 1:100 scales, all very useful to the modeller who may like to convert the Academy Graff Spee into the Lutzow. Conclusion As we’ve come to know what to expect from this series I can’t really say much more, other than if you’re a maritime fan you really should have them all in your reference library. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  21. DKM Heavy Cruiser Admiral Hipper Kagero Super Drawings in 3D Admiral Hipper, the first of five ships of her class, was the lead ship of the Admiral Hipper class of heavy cruisers which served with Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine during World War II. The ship was laid down at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg in July 1935 and launched February 1937; and entered service shortly before the outbreak of war, in April 1939. The ship was named after Admiral Franz von Hipper, commander of the German battlecruiser squadron during the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and later commander-in-chief of the German High Seas Fleet. Admiral Hipper saw a significant amount of action during the war. She led the assault on Trondheim during Operation Weserübung; while en route to her objective, she sank the British destroyer HMS Gloworm. In December 1940, she broke out into the Atlantic Ocean to operate against Allied merchant shipping, though this operation ended without significant success. In February 1941, Admiral Hipper sortied again, sinking several merchant vessels before eventually returning to Germany via the Denmark Strait. The ship was then transferred to northern Norway to participate in operations against convoys to the Soviet Union, culminating in the Battle of the Barents Sea on 31 December 1942, where she sank the destroyer Achates and the Minesweeper Bramble but was in turn damaged and forced to withdraw by the light cruisers HMS Sheffield and HMS Jamaica. Disappointed by the failure to sink merchant ships in that battle, Adolf Hitler ordered the majority of the surface warships scrapped, though Admiral Karl Dönitz was able to convince Hitler to retain the surface fleet. As a result, Admiral Hipper was returned to Germany and decommissioned for repairs. The ship was never restored to operational status, however, and on 3 May 1945, Royal Air Force bombers severely damaged her while she was in Kiel. Her crew scuttled the ship at her moorings, and in July 1945, she was raised and towed to Heikendorfer Bay. She was ultimately broken up for scrap in 1948–1952; her bell resides in the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. This softback book, in their Super Drawings in 3D series is another brilliant addition to this ever increasing range. The 3D renderings are as beautiful as ever and show the ship as she was in December 1942. As usual you get a full tour of the ship showing the tiniest detail in a format that can really help the modeller, especially as there are areas or points of view that you just wouldn’t get in photographs. The whole ship above the waterline is covered with just a cursory glance at the propellers. Perhaps the only area they could improve these books is with the inclusion of some of the underwater fittings and fixtures. The first eight pages contain the text which covers her design, development, powerplant, armament, anti-aircraft armament upgrades and her war history. The rest of the seventy seven pages are filled with the 3D renderings. In addition Kagero have also included an A1 double side sheet of plans, with one side contain full side, top down, bow and stern views in 1:350. The other side contains a ¾ view off the bow in what looks like 1:200 scale along with some large scale drawings of the ships foreward turrets Anton and Bruno, along with three styles of ships boats. Conclusion The clarity of each rendering is what makes this series of books a must have for anyone interested in maritime history in general or these ships in particular. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  22. Its called the 3Doodler.It "writes" on things and fresh air!You can build with it.It uses ABS plastic.A thin rod of ABS is fed through the barrel of the pen and heated to melting point.A cooling fan near the nib dries the ABS instantly.Watch the video on the link below.You can fill gaps, draw thin lines of ABS plastic.It costs $75.Looks like a really useful tool. http://hexus.net/tech/news/peripherals/51861-3doodler-75-3d-pen-hits-kickstarter/
  23. Russian Protected Cruiser Kagero Super Drawings in 3D The Imperial Admiralty contracted William Cramp and Sons of Philadelphia to build the ship, and her keel was laid in October 1898. Launched on 31 October 1899, under Captain Vladimir Behr, she was commissioned into the Imperial Russian Navy on 2 January 1901. During the Battle of Chemulpo Bay at the start of the Russo-Japanese War, Varyag (under the command of Captain of the First Rank Vsevolod Rudnev) accepted a badly unequal battle with the Japanese squadron of Admiral Uriu (one armoured cruiser, five protected cruisers and eight destroyers) in a heroic attempt to break out from Chemulpo (Inchon) harbour 9 February 1904. Chemulpo was in neutral Korean waters. Admiral Uriu gave the Russian ships in harbour a written ultimatum to sail by 12:00 noon or be attacked in the harbour itself. Captain Rudnev sortied, accompanied by the gunboat Koreets; having lost 31 men dead, 191 injured (out of 570) and outgunned, both ships returned to harbour by 1:00 p.m., the crew decided not to surrender, but to sink the ship. The crew was saved by transferring them to the British cruiser Talbot, the French cruiser Pascal, and the Italian cruiser Elba; the captain of the American cruiser Vicksburg declined doing so as a violation of U.S. neutrality. In 1907, Vsevolod Rudnev (by that time dismissed from Russian naval service in the rank of rear admiral) was decorated with the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun for his heroism in that battle; although he accepted the order, he never wore it in public. Varyag was later salvaged by the Japanese and repaired. She served with the Imperial Japanese Navy as light cruiser Soya. During World War I, Russia and Japan were allies and several ships were transferred by the Japanese to the Russians. She was returned to the Imperial Russian Navy at Vladivostok on 5 April 1916 and renamed Varyag. In June, she departed for Murmansk via the Indian Ocean, arriving in November 1916. She was sent to Liverpool in Great Britain for an overhaul by Cammell Laird in February 1917, and was due to re-enter service with the Arctic squadron of the Russian Navy. However, following the Russian October Revolution on 7 November 1917 crewmen who had remained onboard hoisted the red flag and refused to set sail. On 8 December 1917 she was seized by a detachment of British soldiers. Assigned to the Royal Navy in February 1918, she ran aground while under tow off of Ireland, but was refloated and used as a hulk until 1919. She was then sold to a German firm in 1920 for scrap, but ran aground on rocks off the Scottish coast in the Firth of Clyde, while being towed to Germany. She was scrapped in place from 1923-1925. With their series of books in the 3D format Kagero never fails to deliver. This particular publication on the Russian protected cruiser Varyag not onlyprovides a superb history of the ship over the first 15 pages covering the following:- Design Naming of the ship Construction and Commissioning Hull Structure Armament Machinery Additional equipment Beginning of service Battle of Chempulo Bay Further fate of the ship The rest of the thirty nine pages are filled with beautifully rendered 3D drawings covering every part of the ships structure, weapons, boats and sundry equipment. The drawings are really clear and perfect for the maritime modeller to see all the useful details that could help make that masterpiece that we all strive for. Being in full colour also helps with the painting, but they only show the ship as she was when she wore the white and buff uppers and green anti-fouling, whereas at some point in her career she also wore red anti-fouling dark grey upper works; although they do show this scheme in four pictures at the end of the book. Unlike the rest of the series, this book does not come with the large full colour pullouts that complimented the previous releases. Instead you can order them, now rolled rather than folded, can be ordered from the Kagero website. Apparently the folded ones weren’t easy to frame? What you do get though is a nice set of plans on an A3 sheet, with 1:350 scale on one side and 1:700 scale on the other along with 1:100 scale diagrams on the armament and 1:200 scale of the ships boats. There is also an A3 poster with the full colour profiles of the ship in both of its main colour schemes. Conclusion Following the now tried and tested formula that Kagero have made their own this book is superbly produced. If you have a kit of the Varyag in your possession then you really need this book to make the very best of it. The plans and diagrams will be most helpful in the sort of areas the modeller rarely sees. Very highly recommended Review sample courtesy of
  24. Friends, KP -Kovozávody Prostejov now puts on sale the next version of the beautiful glider SG-38th This time versions are gondolou.Model is fully processed 3D modeling and CAD-CAM technology into metal molds. Search on sale at all good retailers. Info and insights on: http://www.kovozavody.cz/ http://modelweb.modelforum.cz/2015/03/19/novinky-kovozavody-prostejov-9/#more-96715 Very best regards
  25. Hi, before I start I have no affiliation with this company what so ever. I just thought that any builders of 1/700 US or RN warships should take a look at this site. http://www.3dmodelparts.com/ship-accessories/?sort=featured&page=2 I received my order of octuple pom pom's today and am totally amazed at the quality of the parts. These are 3D printed in acrylic resin and are very fine, they are much easier than photo-etch and have 3D barrels. They can also be set at any elevation, so are ideal for diorama's. I hope that some one finds a use for these as I think they are amazing. There are several different weapons and a few structure parts available. Mick ps, I have been chatting to the owner and he is asking for suggestions on his new items.
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