We had our first customer, and his 1/96 Surcouf plans are on their way to him! Hopefully I'll be getting shot by a French sub in the near future And the reason for this post: Now that Bob's announced it, I can, too I will be buying his molds for HMS Kent, SNS Canarias, and HMS Hood, and producing hulls and detail parts for them, in addition to the stuff I'm already working on. I will announce further additions to the family as they occur, and as time permits once we get moved in to the new house and shop, I'll get the website up and running. I will be taking credit cards like a real online store, so those who don't have Paypal don't need to fret. Love, the Tugboat
My plans are available in 1/144 or 1/96. Bob's hull molds are for 1/144. My first 1/96 hull will be the IJN Mogami, followed by others. I intend to support both scales, and I have talked with Charley and Rick at BC, and we're going to avoid making the same hulls. Likewise, I don't intend to do any that Bob is working on, nor Ralph. The goal is to fill the hole that was left by Swampworks retiring from the scene, not to compete . I will be doing some hulls that Swampworks did, they've been closed for like unto 2 years so I don't feel that I'm being rude on that one Greg (of Basin Shipyards) and I have discussed the need for a 1/144 "beginner's kit", and I will be using a cruiser hull, along with gearbox and pump from Basin Shipyards, and props and guns from Grey Wolf Sqdn, all set up to work together, with mounting locations indcated on the hull, with a pre-assembled wiring harness and basically everything to make it go, except a radio. (Candidates are: HMS Kent, IJN Agano, SMS Seydlitz. Eventually, I want several all-in-one kits representing various nations so a new person isn't shoehorned into being on a side they don't want to be on) If I wasn't able to do this full-time, it would probably not happen. So, life has been stressful, but wonderful at the same time Oh, and my totally cool combo sander arrived today Soo nice. Time to get those 1/96 Yamato turrets done.
With your HMS Kent, as you are no doubt aware you can also build the Neutral SNS Canarias, which can play for both sides. Other ships which might be allowed to play both ways and should be decent performers are the Soviet Kirov (technically Allied, but I think most battles would put the Sovs on the side with the least ships) and the French Algerie. Mike D
One ship I'd love to find good plans for is HMS Invincible. I will likely wind up shelling out the cash to get copies from the source, and then redoing them in 1/96 and 1/144. Then again, that's what I'm doing for Virginia and Connecticut, so its to be expected. I already have some very good sources, picture-wise, for both the US PDNs and the Invincible series (John Roberts' Warship Monograph, and Tarrant's "Battlecruiser Invincible"). Somewhere I have the web address for the museum in GB that has the original drawings available... But that's for next year. Enough to do right now
That would be awsome to get detailed plans 4 the Invincible. Hopefully you can get them sooner but no rush.
Yeah good plans for the Invincible would be nice. The ones that came with my swampy I boat were awful, and the ones I ordered from Taubman were the same crappy plans! Mike D
Yeah, that's why I am going to order a copy of the official plans from England. So really, my first battlecruiser hull will be Seydlitz, as I have good plans for that. I have really good plans for most Japanese & French ships, which given my proclivities will probably mean a fair representation from these under-represented fleets. But the I-boat was my first love So don't fret, I'll do one.
Do you happen to have plans for the Tone? I prefer the Mogamis, but everyone and their brother will have one of those, so in the quest for something unique, a Tone would probably remain rare, and use the same hull and basic superstructure shape of the Mogamis. Mike D
I have the plans for Tone, but haven't really investigated her. Since I'm at the old house (packing before movers come on Monday) and the plans are at the new one, what are the main differences? The first thing I thought of when you said "Tone" was the old arcade game "1942" (?) where you attack Japanese naval ships with a P-38, and Tone is one you attack
1942 was good, but I liked 1943 a little better...same general thing though, flying a p38 from a carrier to attack the Japanese fleet. The last "boss" was the Yamato! I need to see if I can find that game for my PC...I've seen some archade emulators out there! Tone was one of the recon cruisers that hung out with the Kido Butai for most of the war. They were originally supposed to be repeat Mogamis, but after the Tomozoru incident and the 4th fleet incident were radically redesigned. Instead of the original 15 155mm guns (6.1 inch) the Tones were redesigned to carry 8 203mm (8 inch)guns grouped all forward. Aft was seaplane handling gear to accomodate something like 6 seaplanes. These two ships (Tone and Chikuma) were used as the "eyes" of the Kido Butai, and were the only two cruiser squadron in the IJN (Sentai 8) until they joined Suzuya and Kumano in Sentai 7 in 1944 I think it was. They were the best protected cruisers in the IJN, because the armament (and therefore protection) was concentrated in one area. Both cruisers saw surface action against the USS Edsall and against Taffy 3 off Samar. Tone's number 4 plane was the one which took off a half hour late at Midway, and located the Yorktown's task force 17. Had it been on time and sent a better contact report, Midway may have had a whole different conclusion! As for combat, the Tone class ships simply won't be able to hold a candle to the Mogamis with their dual rudders and aft main guns. But, that's a good reason for people to not build them, so MINE will be unique which, I like the thought of. I'll arm it with a single stern cannon in one of the 5"40 cal secondaries and a bow gun. It won't be legal in the IRCWCC or MWC (their rules specifically call out ships in class 4 and better being allowed to arm secondaries in ships with all forward main batteries) but I think it will be legal for Washington Treaty. Besides, who is afraid if a single rudder 661 foot long cruiser with a single stern gun? I can't imagine anyone telling me they won't let me play with it...especially when on the exact same hull I could easily build a Mogami with two rudders and dual sterns, and be perfectly legal. I'm willing to sacrifice a little performance for a little uniqueness. Most of the super structure is common between the Mogamis and the Tones; same bridge, funnel, and 5"/40s like the Mogami and Yamato. Turrets are the E3 model, but I'll probably be able to get away with modifying the 6.1" turrets out there for Yamato/Mogamis. Mike D
Personally, I like the idea of having something a little different. I can't speak for all local clubs, but I know if you showed up at a Region 3 MWC battle, we'd let you run it. More boats on the water, and its not like you're seeking an unfair advantage But if it's on the same hull with most of the same superstructure, I could probably sell a modified Mogami kit. I'm not making rudders at this point, but I'll have to for the "all-in-one" kit. "Beginner's kit" doesn't sound as good hehe
Yeah, I doubt anyone out there would tell me I couldn't run it. I'm sure most captains will lick their chops and say "mmmm tasty" when they see her. I'm going to have to do some experimenting with the rudder, shafts and props to try and maximize my turning, but I think that will be part of the fun of the ship. The only thing really "illegal" about the set up I want to use is arming a secondary as a stern gun, and that's only illegal because it's not class four or better. If you like Japanese cruisers, you might be interested in Lacroix and Wells' "Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War". I just got a copy a few weeks back, and its AWESOME. Its got more detail then I could have imagined. It' a little pricey, but well worth the cash. Next I guess will have to be Friedman's "US Cruisers", as my first love is the USN WW2 cruisers. I'm not exactly sure how I ended up buying a book on Japanese cruisers first, but I did and its oh, so worth it. Mike D
I already have the Big Red Book I love that as much as I love Norman Friedman's works on the US warships I haven't found a copy of his Cruisers book, it doesn't even show on Amazon anymore I will have to get hunting
Here ya go! http://www.amazon.com/U-S-Cruisers-Illustrated-Design-History/dp/0870217186 Hopefully there will be a copy left in 3 weeks. This weekend I have a treaty battle where I am paying for a Wind class icebreaker hull and a Brooklyn class cruiser hull (and maybe a "Tone" hull if there is a Mogami for sale), the weekend after that i'm taking a trip out to Illinois to visit some family, then the week after that another treaty battle in OH. Will be a busy few weeks, then I can see what money is left over for research books! Mike D
Tugboat- I notice you said that your first 1/96 hull will be a Mogami...you don't happen to already have a 1/144 mold for it do you? If not, do you know someone who makes hulls for them? I know there is a mold out there somewhere (I've seen a fiberglass Mogami hull once) but have no idea where it is. We seem to have a severe shortage of Washington Treaty Axis in our local area: We currently have a SoDak, my Invincible (and Courageous, not operational atm) a KGV, an Iowa and I think a Des Moines. For Axis? *crickets*. The Alabama captain is going to finish his Bismarck (and is building the Suzuya out of wood), which would leave him still pretty outnumbered, so I have decided to go ahead with Project Tone. That will give me the option to join which ever side needs a boat the most. Good Mike
My hull-building plans have two overarching goals: 1) Not to duplicate what BC, Bob Pottle, nor Ralph Coles are building/developing. 2) To do ships in both scales that I support (1/144 and 1/96). According to the SCRAP page listing available hulls, Ralph does make that one in 1/144. Bob P could probably give us a better idea of when he's going to come home. I'd love to help, but I won't compete with Ralph I will have a nice lil stable of Japanese cruiser detail parts that would look spiffy on a Mogami, though. I already have an Agano plug under way in 1/144, so that will be coming out, too. Not really what you're looking for, but there it is. The US quad bofors will be done in both scales (already have a mold for the UK in 1/144), and as time permits I will do other parts in both. As the stack of boxes from moving gets smaller (movers just left) I will get production going and also start writing the website. For the Axis-minded individual, fear not for the future of the Dark Side. I want both sides to have a good selection to battle with
