345 replies to this topic

[Peter M. Skaar]

Great work on the Jacob Van Heemskerck, Healey!  I also enjoy the history of the ships that you provide as well.

[healey36]

Thanks, Peter...never been one to shy away from the esoteric 

[Dave Franklin]

I think Yubari was a couple of hundred tons lighter, but the Tromps were ~25 ft shorter...

[healey36]

Yubari was a lovely ship...too bad she was a one-off.

[healey36]

Picked up a number of things at Historicon yesterday, one being this GHQ pack of 231 armored cars that includes PE for the aerials:

 

 

C'mon, really? First I've seen. Need these for a scenario I've been working on.

[Peter M. Skaar]

I got a pack on those a long time ago.  I have not done anything with them but they are great for early War scenarios.  

[Mark Hinds]

Dutch light cruiser HNLMS Jacob Van Heemskerck in 1/2400 by XPForge. Added a mainmast (but should be a tripod config), ODGW etched base, homemade label.

 

 

 

The second Tromp-class light cruiser, she escaped the German invasion incomplete. Towed to Britain where she was completed as an AA cruiser. Served in numerous theaters, refitted twice during the war (which she survived). I believe the Tromp-class were the smallest light cruisers to serve in the war, but correct me if that's wrong.

 

 

Excellent; are you planning to do the Dutch battlecruisers?  I am, eventually, since Figurehead has models for them.  

[healey36]

I got a pack on those a long time ago.  I have not done anything with them but they are great for early War scenarios.  

I haven't purchased any new GHQ armor packs for a long time...I was a bit shocked at how expensive the armor stuff has gotten. I'll have to look and see if there are other vehicles offered by GHQ that include PE. I can only imagine how fiddly this would be.

[healey36]

Excellent; are you planning to do the Dutch battlecruisers?  I am, eventually, since Figurehead has models for them.  

It would be fun to build the proposed Dutch battlecruisers...I think XPForge has one or two of them in their offerings. 

 

I found a guy selling out a bunch of Figurehead 1/6000 stuff at Historicon yesterday. I picked up a Bismarck/Tirpitz pack along with 1941 versions of the Pennsylvania and Colorado class BBs. At two bucks a pack, I couldn't just leave them there (not sure why not, lol).

 

My scales are starting to overlap. I have Bismarck in 1/2400, 1/4800, and 1/6000. Doesn't make much sense.

[healey36]

CL Jintsu by my good friend Matt Schreck:

 

 

Rebased her on an ODGW etched base and labelled; otherwise, as completed by Matt.

 

 

[Peter M. Skaar]

Matt did a great job on the Jintsu, Healey!  I have tons of GHQ 1/2400 WWI and WWII ships to paint one of these days.  Some of the ships in the GHQ catalog are painted by me and I need to get a few more done for myself.

Here is the Helena



Here is the IJN Yugumo



Both ships are still in my collection but loaned to GHQ for the photo shoot.  I still need to base them.

[healey36]

The Brooklyn-class light cruisers proved themselves absolutely lethal in action, sporting fifteen rapid-firing 6-inch. These, and subsequent classes of USN CLs, were terrific ships. Nice job on Helena, Peter.

 

Not much can top the lines on the IJN DDs. Lovely job on Yugumo.

[Mark Hinds]

Pending completion of ships from my current Malay Barrier project, here are some 1940-era European 1/6000 from 20 years ago...

Cruiser is French Emile Bertin (needs funnel mods and a deck repaint), and two 2400-tonne type contre-torpilleurs (large DDs).  The red is linoleum non-skid deck covering, and the cruiser should have it as well, as I later found out.  Second image is a model from a French museum showing this material roughly from the second funnel aft.  It extends to the stern, but is partly obscured by mines in the model depicted.  

 

[healey36]

Nice...are those Figurehead castings, or ones you made yourself?

 

Interesting air-recognition markings on the French cruiser; I've not seen them before. 

[Mark Hinds]

Nice...are those Figurehead castings, or ones you made yourself?

 

Interesting air-recognition markings on the French cruiser; I've not seen them before. 

Figurehead 1/6000, cleaned up and DDs removed from bases.  The masters were probably made the old fashioned way, by gluing together measured pieces of material.  In very small scales, when a structure has a lot of pieces, if you don't compensate for the thickness of the glue layers, the net effect can look too high, which IMHO is common for this line.  So sometimes I hack away at the upper layers to get rid of some of the height, and may have done so with the Emile Bertin.  

The stripes were used during the Spanish Civil War, and after the 1940 Armistice.  On my 1/2400, I put them on ships used before the Armistice, because they look cool.  See the following image of modified CinC 1/2400:

 

And here's an image of the French CA Algerie, from the Paris naval museum:

 

 

[Mark Hinds]

Matt did a great job on the Jintsu, Healey!  I have tons of GHQ 1/2400 WWI and WWII ships to paint one of these days.  Some of the ships in the GHQ catalog are painted by me and I need to get a few more done for myself.

Here is the Helena



Here is the IJN Yugumo



Both ships are still in my collection but loaned to GHQ for the photo shoot.  I still need to base them.

 

I forgot to complement you on the images of your painted GHQ above, which are photographed and lit so that one can actually see the shape of the model, unlike some of the others.  (I want to see what I'm buying).  

[Peter M. Skaar]

Thank you very much, Mark!

[healey36]

I spent Friday/Saturday at IPMS Nationals, held this year (2025) in Hampton, Virginia. If you're into plastic models, this is the show to attend. There's a big vendor area and a ton of models on display, all built by the members. The work covers a broad spectrum of skill levels, but most of it far outstrips anything I'm capable of doing. It's hard to pick a favorite, but this Airfix Fairey Gannet in 1/48-scale was right up there:

 

 

I don't build many plastic models anymore, and this is a terrific example of why, lol. 

 

I bought a bunch of supplies and tools in the vendor area for the workbench (along with a couple kits to throw up on the shelf), and got a chance to catch up with a few old friends. Maybe the best part was the weather, which was terrific. 

 

The Tamiya booth had a tribute to the late Shunsaku Tamiya, founder of the company who passed away recently. Got a chance to talk with some of the reps...he must have been a terrific guy. I know he sure put a lot of joy in my life starting some fifty years ago. 

[Peter M. Skaar]

Wow!  That is some great work on the Fairey Gannet which I am not familiar with at all.  It looks like it kinda wanted to be a jet but not quite.  The detailing on the model is fantastic on this unusual subject.

Like you, Paul, I gave up on doing larger scale plastic models years ago and decided to concentrate on small scale stuff for gaming.  I still do appreciate well done models, of all scales, when I see them.

[healey36]

Trip down memory lane...found a 1/2400 Superior kit for Tirpitz:

 

 

Bought quite a few of these Superior kits at the Ship Shop in Annapolis, Maryland, back in the day. Not sure if I'll ever build it, though; worth more to me in the box.