Above are a couple of views I took of the WTJ Russian Cruiser Bayan. It measures a bit over 56mm in length in its 1/2400 format (please note that all of their rapid prototype plastics are also available in 1/3000, 1/1800 and 1/1500 scales as well as in 1/2400).
The models are hollow with some bracing so are very light weight. This, however, does muddy their surface appearance since you are also looking inside. Nevertheless there seems to be excellent detail . . . as can be seen with the 53mm-long British Majestic-class pre-Dread battleship below. (As always you can see a much larger image if you open the photos in a separate window.)
The Japanese Cruiser Asama (approximately 55mm in length) can be seen below:
Finally here are a pair of Destroyers. The DD#3s are about 24mm in length; while the DD#5s measure 28mm (the detail is certainly superior to my Panzerschiffes . . . and the DDs are a tad cheaper as well):
My next post will show some comparison photos between WTJ and Panzerschiffe versions of the same vessel.
-- Jeff
Very nice Jeff. I am looking forward to the comparison pics.
ReplyDeleteJeff
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you back on line. Thanks for the pics, I've been very interested in these WTJ models. Will the plastic allow you to drill holes for masts. I find that masts greatly improve the look of Iron clads and pre-dreads and make ship recognition easier.
Cheers
PD
Hi Jeff,
ReplyDeleteGood to see you back up and running! I am really interested in these models so will look to see the results of your comparison with Panzerschiffe in due course.
All the best,
DC
Jeff, really nice see those and I salute your return to good health !
ReplyDeleteI can see where the semi-transparent hollowness is a bit disconcerting but once the primer goes on, the details should show to advantage. Regarding Peter's question about masts, that's certainly a concern I wouldn't hesitate to try drilling holes. Seems hard to believe WTJ would go with such a crumbly or soft sort of plastic that you couldn't do it.
I had seen these mentioned another blog and I must admit to being sorely tempted by the 1/1500 versions. It's really causing a rethink of my new project, perhaps I'll wind the clock back a decade to the pre-dreadnought era. The bigger models are a tad pricey, but filling out the fleets with scratchbuilds is certainly a viable option.
Regards,
Steve
I've never had the courage to try adding masts to my Panzerschiffes; and I think that I'd even be more cautious with these.
ReplyDeleteSurely there would be no difficulty in drilling them but with their hollow interior, you might need some sort of "filler" to drill into for mast stability.
-- Jeff
Good point, Jeff. Depending upon the thickness, it may be enough to just glue the mast and have it remain stable. Otherwise, a blob of green stuff inside the cavity should grip the wire nicely once it sets.
ReplyDeleteHere and elsewhere there have been some questions raised about adding masts to the new War Times Journal "Rapid Prototyped Plastic" ships.
ReplyDeleteThis evening I received an email from Jim at WTJ discussing this. Below are the his relevant comments:
"BTW regarding masts, most ships should come with mast holes already present. The 1/1500 holes for major warships are typically .80mm in diameter (about .032") so on the 1/2400 ships that would scale down to about a .020" hole. At that size, the hole probably fills with wax and needs to be flushed out, but it is there.
Typically the ships are designed with enough thickness below the mast hole to support a mast. In the unusual event that the mast hole is directly over a relatively thin deck section, a boss is located on the underside to prevent the cross section at that point from becoming too thin. If anyone sees otherwise, it's a design error on my part and I'll ship them a replacement for free… I did that by accident on some ships during a revision update, although to be honest I masted one of them anyway and it held fine – the fit was exact (tight) and the plastic is plenty hard. Still, just wanted to emphasize that this subject has been given a great deal of consideration. Also, I am already phasing in a support design that automatically gives the
mast even more support without having to manually check for it on each ship configuration as I go.
Thanks for posting the photos, I have some I've taken of both 1/3000 and 1/2400 ships that I'll be adding to the store… just haven't had time to process them as I've been finishing up the Kaiser Wilhelm II and Formidable and been getting going on Powerful and Kasagi. Those first two should be posted to the store this weekend."
So hopefully that will help those of you wondering about adding masts . . . as well as a glimpse at some of the new ships being added.
Good steaming to everyone,
-- Jeff