| David in Coffs | 16 May 2015 11:23 p.m. PST |
Anyone know of a reasonably cheap source of 1/700 scale civilian ships? There are two Japanese RoRo ferries ($20 ea Arii "Sunflower Line") but very few container ships or tankers post WW2 at a reasonable price. |
 Virtualscratchbuilder   | 17 May 2015 6:51 a.m. PST |
As an avid collector of 1/700s in both plastic and resin, I have a pretty good feel for what is out there. Not only are modern non-militaries nearly non-existant, but 1/700 and cheap do not belong in the same sentence. Loose Cannon does some post war stuff ('50's and '60's) but entry level prices start at $40 USD-$50 and the bigger kits are on the other side of $100. USD And unfortunately they seem to be perpetually out of stock at Freetimehobbies.com. I have never seen a kit of more modern times that I can remember other than what you mention and the occasional ocean liner. |
| David in Coffs | 17 May 2015 7:22 a.m. PST |
Thanks VSB!
There is that Revell container ship but for my table too big
I saw somewhere a mention of the Atlantic Conveyer
Perhaps PT Dockyard might come to the rescue |
| daveshoe | 17 May 2015 9:26 a.m. PST |
I have one of Loose Cannon Productions Atlantic Jamaican RO RO container ship. It is a nice model, but pricey ($25) and it feels kind of small compared to the warships. You can see some pictures of it at this link: link I've just been thinking about scratch-building some ships, since I don't think they need to be too accurate. Dave |
| Mako11 | 17 May 2015 1:14 p.m. PST |
Just get a bit of balsa wood, and cut, carve, sand into shape. Add details with cardboard, or styrene plastic sheeting/tubing, as desired. It's really surprisingly simple to do, and is probably the least expensive option. Extruded blue or pink Styrofoam can be substituted for the balsa wood, if you prefer. |
| David in Coffs | 17 May 2015 2:46 p.m. PST |
Many thanks!
There are two smallish fishing boats in with the Pitroad Japanese FACs |
| David in Coffs | 18 May 2015 4:05 a.m. PST |
G'day Dave – many thanks for the link – I really enjoyed both games write ups and pictures.
I agree the container ship looks small…
So I have ordered another 2 Arii RoRo ferries from Japan with postage they work out at less than $20 USDau each.
With some ex WW2 shipping I should have a reasonable convoy for the Gulf or Straights
Many thanks again everyone |
| Defender1 | 18 May 2015 8:30 a.m. PST |
Microfrom Models does a freighter in 1/600. Very basic but might help you out. |
| Dave Crowell | 18 May 2015 10:41 a.m. PST |
Not a lot of modern civilian ships in any scale that I have been able to find. Scratchbuilding at least enough to allow id of type shouldn't be too hard. Save the really detailed models for the main combatants. |
| David in Coffs | 20 May 2015 2:15 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the info on microformmodels.com they have some very interesting buildings in both 1/600 and 1/720 that I might order. You are right that the 15cm long freighter in 1/600 is a bit plain and at $9.75 USD I might try to convince PTdockyard to make a small tanker to go with my Arii ferries etc. |
