"Many models needed for Guadalcanal naval battles" Topic

The organization I work for is interested in using ship models to help portray the various naval battles off of Guadalcanal in 1942. While there are numerous ways to do this (paper models, mining eBay for Axis and Allies ships, etc.), I said I would ask the true experts on TMP for the best way to do this. So, for the sake of argument, suppose you wanted to have representations of ALL of the warships in the Battle of Savo Island (both sides) for 20 (!) classes. What would you suggest as the best tradeoff for in terms of price/visual appeal/scale/letting students play around with the models, etc. I think the painting jobs would be cursory (at best) and the ships would be mounted on some base. They would also have to survive long enough to be used for more than one year. This list is not exclusive; just the best I could come up with in 5 minutes.

Thanks for your expertise and interest in national security.

V/R,

1:3000 by Navwar are probably your best bet – not especially detailed but good recognisable ships. For value for money they can't really be beaten and they are chunky so will cope with heavy handling. 1:2400 are wonderful models but cost about three times more, whilst 1:4800 or 1:6000 are probably too small if instructing a class.

Painting is very simple – grey base coat, darker grey 'wash', then dry-brush with paler grey. You can paint details, but for what you want this will suffice. Mount on pre-cut MDF bases – you can include the name, class, etc, and away you go.

As an idea of what to expect here's HMS Warspite:

and a rather more basic paint-job; Exeter, Achilles and Ajax:

As an idea of size, the cruiser in the foreground is about 2" long.

Good luck with your project,

Nick

Perhaps Figurehead 1:6000 ships? A CA would be about 1/2" long or so. I only use 4 colors on mine (grey, wood, black and white), but if your purposes are what I suspect they are, you could get away with a single color.

The nice thing about Figurehead ships is that they are so small they have very little that can be broken off of them. Despite that, they're pretty detailed for their size.

Another thing I like about this scale is that you can use 1 foot to the nautical mile.

Regards,

Scott Chisholm

The 1:2400 models by Panzerschiffe are also a good bet, cheap and nearly indestructible. If you don't paint them at all, they're already cast in "battleship gray".

The larger the model, the easier to paint, so 1:3000 will be easier than 1:6000, 1:2400 even easier than that.

- Ix

…I think the painting jobs would be cursory (at best)…

Seems like it would be a real shame to do just a cursory paint job on GHQ 1:2400 Micronauts. The sculpting is so detailed, they practically cry out for a detailed paint job. I have Figurehead too. Cruisers and DDs at 1:6000 are mighty small, but a cursory paint job would work for them. Can't comment on the others since I don't own any.

1:6000 are very small, but beautifully detailed. I suspect the destroyers might be too small though – I mount mine two to a base for ease of handling, which is a possibility.

As an idea of scale, here are Bismarck and Hood in 1:6000 – two of the biggest ships in the Atlantic but still tiny!

Another vote for Panzerschiffe. Good balance of cost, size and appearance.

Gentlemen,

Thanks for your thoughts. I will pass them on to the real deciders. Some company is going to get a big order.

V/R,