I was hoping that the second time I ordered plans from Profile Morskie the delivery would be faster than it was 4 years ago. This is week 5 with no delivery of the paper 1/144 Java plans yet. I emailed PM about the slow service and was told the plan should arrive "next week". I was sent a pdf of the plan within hours of complaining but have not been able to open it. Seems like deja vu! The bottom line is that whenever the paper plan arrives it will be too late for the hull plug to be finished before the weather is too cold for making a fiberglass mold. Looks like the Java plug will be a winter project and the mold won't be made until April.
If you want to send me the pdf I can take a look at it and possibly jailbreak it from that silly password encryption nonsense he uses. Maybe get you at least able to use the pdf. My email is admin at rcwarshipcombat.com
Thanks for the offer Nick. If the paper plans don't arrive next week I'll send you the pdf. I notified PM the attachment couldn't be opened. No response yet.
I have a set of Java lines that I traced from the Dutch Navy drawings scaled to 144:1. If interested, I can clean them up a bit and send your way.
Have people had problems with PM plans? I can't complain about the Hawkins Class cruiser plans I got from PM. The plug went together nicely and the lines flowed well between all but 2 frames (that was a very minor issue). The Hawkins plan was incomparably better than some really dreadful ones being sold when I first starting making 1/144 hull molds 22 years ago. PM is sending me another pdf. Perhaps that will open.
When I got paper plans from them it took a comically long time to arive, maybe 6-8 weeks. They also came folded vice rolled, which isn’t great but probably won’t matter for me. I ordered the pdf version the next time and had no issues opening the files, they seem pretty nice for the 3 ships I have plans for
The guy who draws the plans told me flat out that using actual naval plan sources (rather than photos) is boring and not something he was interested in. It came up when I asked why he doesn't do much for WW1 era ships. Not many photos. His plans usually form a good enough hull, but the actual accuracy of the hull or topside details is questionable. Still better than Goff though I think...
I compared PM vs Miyukikai for the QE and they were spot on. It would be interesting to overlay Steve’s Dutch Navy drawings with PM and see if there is an appreciable difference. I have multiple large scale pdf plans I have printed up from PM and can say the basic dimensions and features of the hulls all appear to be good. I don’t pay much attention to the topside bits.
Yeah that's the funny thing, his hullforms generally seem good, but his reactions to the idea of using original plans when I exchanged messages with him was a little offputting,odd,strange? I assume he's getting source material from somewhere for the hull lines. Maybe he just views the value in his work being the topside stuff based on photo interpretation and plans and he cribs hull lines from other sources?
I understood that they do not send paper plans. pdf only. I went to local print shop with my swiftsure plan from them. $10 a sheet. quality and detail with 2 view and perspective drawings was excellent.
The Goff plans I bought in the 1990s for Sri Ayuthia and Espana were unusable. The frames didn't match up at all so they went in the paper recycling bin. I later found good top and side views of both ships but had to 'guesstimate' the lines for both.
PM/Black Dragon still sells paper plans in multiple scales. I think they wanted to phase them out a few years ago but didn't. The prices for their paper plans include shipping. I'd have to pay a little more to get a pdf plan printed than to take in a paper plan and have it copied.
After 7.5 weeks the Java plans have arrived. I hadn't fully appreciated what small ships Java and Sumatra were until I unfolded the plans. The lines are simple compared to the Hawkins Class bulged cruisers, but the plans took so long to arrive I can't complete the plug and take a mold from it before cold weather arrives. The plug will be a winter project with the mold likely to be completed in April.
It is rather short, but I believe the other dimensions and tonnage are such that it will be very usable. While it will be a tight 2.5 unit build. I think with conscientious construction it will prove highly versatile!
The 6" gun shields are too small to accommodate a BB cannon so the gun(s) will have to be in the superstructure. Of the 10 guns (4 superfiring fore and aft, and 3 pairs down the sides) only the fore and aft guns are in front of superstructure elements. The quarterdeck gun barrel would have to be trained out 10-15 degrees to get any down angle but the gun ahead of and above it will have a good down angle firing straight aft. I'll probably run it with a single 1.5 unit cannon in the #9 gun position, and a CO2 capsule system with a Palmer 'Rock the Boat' regulator like my other Class 1 and 2 models.
I forgot to ask if people want a scale Java Class hull or one deepened ~3/8" to give the extra displacement allowed. I'm undecided. I've made three Class 2 hulls but deepened only the Profintern/Krasni Krim. I didn't modify the hulls for the Abercrombie/Roberts WWII 15" gun monitors or WWI Terror Class 15" monitors and was able to build them light enough to float at scale waterline. I think an experienced modeler could build the Java Class with an unmodified hull but only with a CO2 capsule system.
