"Seeking advice for 1/700 gaming models" Topic

As my attention has lately turned to aerial attacks on surface targets, I've started to consider what sorts of targets I might enjoy attacking.

When I started attending Enfilade in Olympia, WA in 2016, I discovered daveshoe and KSmyth were using 1/700 and 1/600 models to make irresistibly attractive air attack games (miniatures gamers do love toys!). I like the idea so much, I'm going to try it myself.

In the last few years I've built a number of gashopon 1/144 pre-painted aircraft, so I've gotten plenty of practice with gluing, decaling, and weathering plastic models, but I haven't tried to build a 1/700 scale plastic ship since I was a tween, and never for gaming. They seem a bit fragile and unsuited to the purpose. I'd appreciate advice from anyone who's been doing this already:

• Tricks to make fragile ship models more durable for gaming
  
• Kinds of paints to use
  
• Order of assembly and painting: Paint first and then glue? Glue first then paint? Spray paint large parts, assemble and glue, then detail painting? ….something else?
  
• Unexpected discoveries (both pros and cons)

All personal anecdotes and advice welcome.

For context: my first plan is to attack the Tokyo Express with my (already painted) 1/200 planes. My 1/700 shopping list includes a couple freighters, a handful of destroyers, and the seaplane carriers Nisshin and Chitose.

If that works well enough, I may step up to building ships for one or more of the great carrier battles of 1942.

For now, I have no plans to do any naval gaming with these, but I might branch into PT boat attacks to increase the range of my Pacific War gaming into the New Guinea theater and the 1943 Solomons campaign. It would be easy to add 1/600 or 1/700 PT boats, Japanese Daihatsus, barges, etc. in a series of small projects.

- Ix

In case you haven't seen any of the aforementioned games:

Interesting. I have and continue to build 1/700, mostly for my friend Manny( who you know) I would probably paint first, glue together, then touchup pain what was needed. As antennas can break while handling I might not even bother putting them on. If a ship is basically one color( USN measure 21 for example) spray or airbrush the whole thing on the sprues, then touch up when completed.

My 1 2/3rd cents worth( adjusted for inflation)

For me, it is assemble first, then paint.

Lots of great looking aircraft and ships there.

Lots of good fun with both aerial and PT Boats/MTBs/S-Boats on shipping, subs, and warships

For my Skyhawks, I added nylon brush bristles to the front of my 1/600th A-4s to replicate their refueling probes. All have survived thus far.

Love those flak bursts and shell splashes.

For my Skyhawks, I added nylon brush bristles to the front of my 1/600th A-4s to replicate their refueling probes. All have survived thus far.

What kind of glue do you use?

I've been using nylon bristles to replace small scale aircraft bits like antennae, pitot tubes, cannon barrels, etc. I can't find a glue that will hold them well enough. I managed to get some antennae to stay in some hollow 1/144 styrene Hellcats by making a big enough hole to cure some Bondic, but that won't work for most applications. CA glue doesn't stick to nylon very well, PVAs are just weak, E1000 and silicon and epoxies are too hard to use in such tiny quantities. What works?

Love those flak bursts and shell splashes.

Me too. The Dave & Kevin air attack games are very atmospheric (double entendre intentional).

- Ix

I own a load of 1/700 ships for WWII and a few for the Falklands. I use 1/600 and 1/700 scale aircraft. Carriers are fairly easy to assemble. Dds and Cruises are also not too difficult especially if you have ever worked on models before. Larger ships can be more difficult. I've been putting models together since the 70's. I tend to leave off very small details as many are somewhat fiddly. I also paint mine after. Spray cans and or an airbrush make that pretty easy. Paint are widely available. There are paints especially created for WWII navies. You can buy sets for Early war Japanese and so on. Life Color is the manufacturer.

Hth

John

I think it depends on the ship. The 1/700 Kaga requires that you paint and assemble in stages. The hull goes together in layers, some bits of which are recessed, so it's impossible to remove mould lines and the like if you wait till the end.

OOB a lot of the older 1/700 kits are fairly crude and only become fragile if you add photo-etched parts.