Modeling ships and trying to work out the different scales used

[McColm]

Hi guys ,
I'm in need of some help when it comes to choosing the right scale in ship kits.
I build in 1/72, although I ventured into 1/144. I have seen  the odd ship kit in this scale, I've never come across 1/288. Does this exist ?
Could someone please explain the different scales used in simple speak?
Many thanks

[Mr.Creak]

Never came across 1/288 anything.
But I can tell you you're going to have a limited choice if you're ship modelling in 72 or even 144 scale.
I'm primarily 72/ 76 scale (wargaming you see) but have ventured into 1/700 for naval.
There's a larger choice in 700 than 600, and it results in ships that aren't too big to put on a wargames table but still large enough to kitbash.
Anything smaller tends to be one piece mouldings (okay 1/1200 is usually kit form, but few parts and relatively rare anyway).
At that scale - 1/700 - a typical battleship is about a foot long and a destroyer around 4-6 inches (and 1/720 isn't too far off in compatibility).
Whereas an MTB is a foot or so in 72 scale, and a Flower class corvette is 2' 10" (3-1/2" in 700) the latter is rather larger than storage space, let alone a wargames table will accommodate more than one of!

Oh, and the aftermarket accessory situation is pretty good in 700 scale.

[McColm]

Thanks

[Hobbes]

Yep, the main ship scales are 1/700, 1/600 and 1/350. There are a few ships in 1/72, but these are large and expensive (U-boot) or small ships (Airfix RNLI Severn class).
There are some oddballs (e.g. old Revell kits in box scale).

[Thorvic]

Warship Modelling is basically 1/700 & 1/350 scales for kits, Airfix did 1/600 but their recent stuff is all 1/350 and Heller do 1/400.

You can get 1/72 ship models but anything bigger than an MTB/Submarine is generally intended for the Radio Control working models.

Its really down to what subject matter you want to build and how much you want to pay as that will define what kits and accessories are available to you. Bare in mind that some of the more exotic scale kits will limited to just one or two kits, giving you interesting stand alone models but with few other similar kits to complement them.

Have a look at ModelWarships.com to see what the scope pf Warship Modelling is like.

[Dizzyfugu]

Revell did German rescue boats in 1:72 (Hermann Marwede - collector's item and rather overpriced once it pops up somewhere, and the Berlin [probably the same kit, re-boxed], and with MANY wrong details when you compare it to the real things) and AFAIK also in 1:200. There was also a 1:125 exploration ship and a 1:160 paddle steamer from Revell.

[martinbayer]

Lindberg does a Landing Ship Dock in 1/288, see e.g. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LNDKYF, but it's certainly the exception rather than the rule.

Martin

[McColm]

What materials do you recommend for creating a dockyard /port or harbour scene in 1/72 scale ?

[Rheged]

What materials do you recommend for creating a dockyard /port or harbour scene in 1/72 scale ?

I used balsa,but that was about 50 years ago. You might find some  OO scale railway trackside items that can be modified.

[Mossie]

CMK's Martime Line has a whole range of resin items to build a dockside diorama in 1/72.  It's a German dock to go with their U-Boat, but probably could pass muster for any nation up to around 1950.  Will be expensive to create a whole dock though.
http://www.hannants.co.uk/search/index.php?product_category_id=&product_division_id=&manufacturer_id=299436&code=&product_type_id=&scale_id=&keyword_search=&setPerPage=100&currency_id=

[Weaver]

What materials do you recommend for creating a dockyard /port or harbour scene in 1/72 scale ?

I used balsa,but that was about 50 years ago. You might find some  OO scale railway trackside items that can be modified.

The railway modelling world has a VAST selection of buildings and equipment, a lot of which will probably be applicable. They may even have dockside equipment: trains run onto docks after all.

[jcf]

The classic warship modelling scales are 1/8" = 1'(1/96), 3/32" = 1'(1/128), 1/16" = 1'(1/192),
and less commonly 3/64"=1'(1/256) and 1/32" = 1'(1/384). Fittings in most of these scales are available
from ship modelling suppliers. Pre-moulded hulls are also available, and there are kits, but they are not
like injected styrene kits, and in the case of many of the inexpensive kits you may just have a rough
carved hull that needs to be refined, most superstructure features need to be scratchbuilt and the supplied
fittings may or may be complete, or even usable.  
Note that much of this stuff is not economy priced and quality can be extremely variable.
A couple of suppliers of ship modelling supplies:
http://loyalhannadockyard.com/

http://floatingdrydock.com/

Airplane scale (1/24, 1/32, 1/48, 1/72, 1/144 etc.) modelling is a relatively recent development in the last
half century or so, and the standardization on ~1/350 to ~1/700 for plastic warship kits is also of this period.
It was probably influenced by the scale standardization pursued by the wargaming crowd.
Earlier production injected styrene kits are all over the map scale wise.

Your best bet is to go the scale-o-rama route, find a ship or boat which has lines you like, fits the general
requirements etc., and just say it's scale X. Then fit it out with the necessary bits 'n bobs in said scale.

[Pellson]

What materials do you recommend for creating a dockyard /port or harbour scene in 1/72 scale ?

Any harbour diorama in 1/72 will be half-a-flat sized. A CVN alone will be somewhere in the region of 4,5 meters long!!

While a newer and perhaps not as detailed scale, there are actually a lot of accessories available at quite reasonable cost in 1/700 for harbours, including piers, drydocks, cranes of different sizes as well as moorings, barges and even oil cisterns and different work boats. Google "skywave harbour set" or "Water line harbour set" and you'll find a proper selection. Also, obviously, there's an abundance of different ships, more or less naval, available at a more or less reasonable cost in this scale, should you want to populate your harbour with more than one ship.

Also, vehicles, tanks and even aircraft are available, partly as accessories to various ship kits but also as kits in their own right (albeit with not very many pieces/unit) so that you - if you like - can combine a naval base with an naval air station within the same, still reasonably sized, diorama. Think San Diego Naval Station or Mayport, for instance.

As an inspiration, look at the diorama in said scale below. Also find a link to the site where its construction is descibed.



http://modelingmadness.com/others/features/ldio/ldio.htm

Good luck with your project

[McColm]

Thanks for your replies .
I found a copy of Peco Setrack oo /ho planbook third edition . Pages ; 22,32,70 &71, have dockyard or dockside layouts. Page 22 has a Castle Harbour plan.

[Logan Hartke]

Think San Diego Naval Station or Mayport, for instance.

That's my neck of the woods.  We usually have some pretty big ships out there, too.

Cheers,

Logan