Seaways’ Ships in Scale Ceases Publication

Sad news for ship modelers everywhere. Seaways’ Ships in Scale has apparently ceased publication. This, according to the Nautical Research Guild, whose own Journal will be working to pick up some of the void left behind by the long time periodical. The last issue sent out was the Spring issue, 2018, which is still listed on their website, and no official announcement has been posted or been mailed out to subscribers.

If you recall, it was exactly a year ago that the publication went from bi-monthly to quarterly. To my knowledge, the issue was primarily one of time involvement of the publisher, and as recently as a month ago, they were still accepting advertising.

Speaking strictly for myself, this is sad news in that the magazine was a great way for me to get written material out to a wide audience. I’ve personally had five articles published in Ships in Scale over the years, but no more.

Still, this is an opportunity for the Nautical Research Guild to expand the Nautical Research Journal and to hopefully pick up some of those Ships in Scale subscribers to reach a larger audience.

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HMS Alert Follow Up and Youtube Video

At the 2016 NRG Conference in San Diego, CA. Photo by Ryland Craze.

And, since Ages of Sail needed some kind of Youtube presence, I took my review photos, construction photos, and completed model photos, and put them together into a slide show with text transitions and some classical music.

I actually put this together about a year ago and then forgot all about it. I was looking at posting some other video recently and rediscovered it. So, here it is in all its splendor, HMS Alert from the Shipyard paper model kit, with some additions…

And, just in case you want to try building this kit yourself, here’s a link to it on Ages of Sail: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/hms-alert-1777-1:96—shipyard-mk019–paper-model-kit.html

Note that it now appears as part of two other combination sets. In this one, which included Le Coureur: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/30-anniversary-collection–the-opponents–shipyard-mkj005–paper-model.html

And this one, which includes Le Coureur as well as HMS Mercury: https://www.agesofsail.com/ecommerce/30-anniversary-collection–north-europe-part-2–shipyard-mkj003–paper-model.html

Ship Model Okumoto – Youtube Videos

I just put up a post about the frame model kits from Ship Model Okumoto and immediately found some interesting stuff on Youtube.

Here is just one of the interesting videos showing one of the models going together by the kit designer Akira Okumoto. In this case, it’s the model of the French warship La Couronne. What I find particularly interesting, beyond the kit itself, is how he doesn’t use any kind of framing jig to build it.

He also makes cuts to the wood with a Japanese-style saw freehand, just following a line he draws on the wood. There’s no final sanding for correction. He just cuts the wood and glues it into place and that’s that.

There are several videos. Of course, he’s speaking Japanese, but most of video is just following the build. Interesting stuff!

 

Ship Model Okumoto – New Frame-Model Kits

The Nautical Research Guild just posted some basic previews of 4 new kits from the new ship model kit manufacturer Ship Model Okumoto on ModelShipWorld.com. This is a new company in Japan that is producing a line of kits for those modelers who want to build a frame or admiralty-style model relatively quickly and easily.

Hannah by Ship Model Okumoto in 1/70 scale.

They offer four kits, the Revolutionary War schooner Hannah, the bark HMS Endeavour, the Santa Maria, and the 17th century French warship La Couronne. All are frame-style model kits with all parts laser cut for ease of assembly.

La Couronne by Ship Model Okumoto in 1/123 scale.

Construction times on these kits vary from an estimated 100 hours for the Hannah, on up to 240 hours for HMS Endeavour. These build times are far lower than what ship modelers usually have to face when building ship models. Normally, models like these have to be built from scratch or from semi-kits (like those from The Lumberyard), and can take many months to a year or more to complete.

Santa Maria by Ship Model Okumoto in 1/80 scale.

Given that these models require only enough sanding to clean up the char on the laser cutting and to bevel the frame edges, I suspect that working on these models should create a fairly limited amount of dust.

Now, don’t quote me on this, but I believe the intent of these kits is to build them as is – that they are not just the beginnings of a model to be planked over, painted, rigged, etc. You might be able to do that if you really want, but I think these are pretty well designed to be stand-alone kits.

HMS Endeavor from Ship Model Okumoto in 1/80 scale.

Of course, the kits, being from Japan, have instructions written in Japanese, but these days, phone apps like Google Translate, make that pretty much a non-issue. Plus, I understand that the instructions are well illustrated with color photos.

Check out Ship Model Okumoto here: https://ec.en.ship-model.net

Also, read over the details of each kit, as reviewed on the NRG’s Model Ship World using the links below:

Hannah, 1/70 scale

HMS Endeavour, 1/80 scale

La Couronne, 1/123 scale

Santa Maria, 1/80 scale

If I learn more about these kits, I’ll post updates. Ω

SLEEPING CAR of the 1929 ORIENT EXPRESS – Super Detailed Kit

Agatha Christie / Poirot fans take note!

It may not be a ship model, but this new kit from Amati looks pretty awesome. I imagine just about any modeler would enjoy taking on this 1/32-scale model of a 1930s luxury sleeping car. I’m told that this monster of a multimedia kit comes in at about 30 pounds, shipping weight!

Ages of Sail

Amati Model has outdone themselves with the release of this new kit. It is a 1/32-scale model kit of the Sleeping Car of the famed Orient Express, known for luxurious accomodations and international travel across Europe, connecting locations as far as Calais, Istanbul, and Athens.

The new Amati kit measures over 28″ in length and features multimedia construction, using high quality wood, parts of photo-etched brass and nickel-silver, highly detail metal casting, and more.

The model features a super detailed interior and a removable roof top, so you can access it all.

The kit, which will be in stock very soon, is a very high-end kit and lists for $1199, but we will have a special introductory sale price of $999.

While your waiting to purchase yours, check out this teaser video posted by Amati

As soon as our shipment of the new kit comes in, which should be in…

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Building a Gozabune (Kobaya) from Paris Plans – Part 8

The latest on Le Petit Galère from Paris’ Le Souvenirs de Marine. The major hull detail are wrapped up here as I’m getting closer to laying down some paint on the model.

Wasen Modeler

So, I drilled out the rogui on which the ro, or sculling oars, pivot. I used a sharp point to start the hole and finished up using a small drill in a Dremel rotary tool. Because I’m starting to consider painting the model, I’m going to hold off on adding the pins to the rogui until some later time.

Also, I found more structural work to complete before I have to deal with the rails, so I’m putting that assembly off for the moment.

Finishing Mortises

Today, I finished the remaining mortises. I did these the same way as the ones done earlier, laying out strips of tape to maintain even spacing, but the mortises at the todate (transom) and the miyoshi (stem), were a little smaller and slightly closer together. 

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Kumanogawa Hayabune (熊野川の早舟)- Model by Kouichi Ohata

Here’s a nice large scale model of a traditional Japanese boat used in a local festival built by ship modeler Kouichi Ohata. Ohata-san provided me with photos and information and I hope to try building one soon, but it will be hard to match the beauty and detail of his model.

Wasen Modeler

1/10-scale Kumanogawa Hayabune model by Kouichi Ohata

Kouichi Ohata is a Japanese model builder who lives in the southern end of Mie prefecture, near the Pacific Coast. He runs the family orange orchards, and in his spare time, creates some magnificent works including a large 1/35-scale RC model of the Flower-class corvette H.M.S. Compass Rose, from the film and the book The Cruel Sea.

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New and Bigger Longboat Kit from Model Shipways

I just saw a post on Model Ship World announcing this new kit from Model Shipways. This is basically a larger, armed version of the Chuck Passaro-designed 18th Century English Longboat kit. The original kit was a 1/4″ scale, or 1:48 scale, model that measured just under 12″ long. The new kit is produced at 1/2″ scale, or 1:24 scale.

The new kit is then just about 2′ long, which should make it an easier build for beginners. I’d add that while many people call the original kit a “beginner” kit, having built it, I would never recommend it for beginners. The only thing that might be okay for beginners in that kit was the simple rigging and the low price. However, this kit’s size should make it much easier to work on, still retaining the simple rig and relatively low price of $119.99.

The price of this kit includes the new cast metal cannons and other fittings, all basswood strips and laser-cut parts with no plywood used (still a cheap wood), and photo-etched brass decorative scroll work, rather than the printed paper ones from the smaller kit. It also boasts a full 48-page instruction booklet.

To check out the listing, click here: http://modelexpo-online.com/Model-Shipways-MS1460-18th-Century-Armed-Longboat–Laser-Cut-Wood-Metal-Photo-etched-Brass-Kit_p_3218.html

The smaller kit appears to be available still, and it still makes a nice, small display model. The new kit matches the scale of the 21ft English Pinnace kit, and should make a nice addition to any ship modeler’s collection. Ω

King Khufu’s Solar Boat – Woody Joe Kit – Model Built by Don Dressel

Several years ago, Woody Joe came out with a unique wooden model kit of the Solar Barge of Khufu, also known as Cheops, King of Egypt from 2589 B.C. to 2566 B.C. The ship was buried with King Khufu, and intended for use in the afterlife. It measures 143 feet long and is one of the most well preserved, largest and oldest vessel ever discovered.

Woody Joe produces this 1/72-scale kit, making heavy use of laser-cut wooden parts. It’s a beautifully designed kit, with the model measuring around 23″ long when complete.

It’s designed to be fairly easy to build, though of course the instructions are in Japanese. Mr. Dressel reported that he did have some difficulty interpreting some of the instructions until he downloaded the Google Translate app on his iPad.

Zootoyz, an excellent online seller featuring Woody Joe kits, lists the kit as a Level 2 kit on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most difficult. Woody Joe suggests that completion of the kit should take about 25 hours, which makes it one of their quicker builds.

The kit has a list price of ¥22,000, which is around $200. And, with Zootoyz new wooden model online shop and it’s introductory discount extended through the end of June, the price comes down to $184 plus shipping.

For more information about King Khufu, see this Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khufu

Or for info specifically about the solar boat, there is this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khufu_ship

Mr. Dressel says he will be displaying his model at the upcoming 2018 NRG conference in Las Vegas, which is just a few months away.

Zootoyz: All Wooden Kits, Discounts, and Revamped Website

Zootoyz, which is my go-to online shop for all things Woody Joe, has created a new website dedicated to wooden model construction and is currently featuring special discount pricing in celebration.

If you’ve ever visited them before, you may recall seeing a few lines of plastic kits and some various odds-and-ends kits. While the main Zootoyz online shop still exists, to make it easier for those of us interested specifically in wooden models from Japan, they’ve created this specialized site, which you can find here: https://www.japan-wooden-model-kits-zootoyz.shop/index.html 

But something else to note besides a much more organized site, is that they are listing a couple brand new architectural kits from Woody Joes new line of models featuring places from the famous woodblock prints of Hiroshige’s 53 Station of the Tōkaidō . The new kits were only just announced by Woody Joe and are the famous Nihonbashi bridge and the Arai Sekisho, one of the many stations which regulated travel on the major roads. These are mini-kits that sell for around $40 each, plus shipping.

Note that the trees are included, but the figures and grass are not. This one has nifty little boats and a couple 2-D silhouette figures though.

Note that the trees are included, but the figures shown are not. There are, however, a few 2-D silhouette figures inside the building, checking the records of travelers.

Being small, you might as well buy more than one, as I think the shipping will be the same. Also, if  you’re getting one of the bigger kits, these mini-kits are a nice add-on to your order and they make nice quick diversions. Woody Joe lists them as 8-hour kits. So, they should make nice weekend kits.

Also, if you place an order from the new site, there’s currently an introductory sale going on through June 24th – Just remember Japan is a day ahead of us in the U.S.  So now is a good time to get your new Woody Joe kit! Ω