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 Author  Topic: 1/35th scale detail set from Lions Roar on e.Bay
  FRANK

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of FRANK  Posted on: Jan 6, 2008 - 2:56pm
Hello to all my fellow scale ship modelers who frequent this board-

I was just looking at an e-bay listing today under the heading of PT BOAT and some one is selling the 1/35th scale super detail set for the new Italerie PT boat kit! There are only 2 days and about 17 hours left at this writing! The top bid is $51.00 with 2 bids.

The reason for this post is that this beautiful set goes for well over $139.00 if you were to order it right now from your hobby dealer!

I just want to pass this info along! I'm very short on cash after the holidays and I'm saving up for the Italerie kit little by little!

I checked out the web site for this kit and it looks like it's a beauty! Some one ought to jump on this one-FAST!!

Frank Ryczek, Jr.
Modeler/Friend RON 10 PT-169 "ZEBRA SNAFU"

HIGH TIDES ALWAYS!

YOUR FRIEND THROUGH SCALE SHIP MODELING AND PT BOAT HISTORY!

Total Posts: 349 | Joined: Oct 7, 2007 - 2:09pm | IP Logged

David Waples

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Waples  Posted on: Jan 6, 2008 - 3:36pm
A friend of mine is corresponding with this shop in Hong Kong. He's blowing these sets out. My understanding is he has more on order too. It will be interesting to see how high this bids up. The US prices seem to be very high based on what we've seen so far.
Dave

David Waples

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FRANK

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of FRANK  Posted on: Jan 6, 2008 - 5:34pm
Hi Dave-

It seems to me, as well as my fellow scale ship models that I've talked too, both in and out of the hobby shop loop, that the after market photo etched stuff is really great, but it's very over priced.

Case in point! Take the Revell 1/72 scale GATO sub for example! The kit you can find in any good hobby shop for about $75.00 or under. I've seen it for as high as $100! Now here's a poor ol' average hard working modeler guy, paying bills and modeling on a budget (I'm speaking of myself here, retired now), by the time you get the kit and all the after market goodies for that sub you're into a grand or more!! It's NUTS !!! And there are even more companies pushing the after market stuff up and under our noses.

What's a modeler to do?? Research and scratch build!!

Thanks for you input on this Dave! Let's see if anyone else agrees or disagrees with this!

Smooth sailin'

Frank Ryczek, Jr.

Modeler/Friend RON !)

HIGH TIDES ALWAYS!

YOUR FRIEND THROUGH SCALE SHIP MODELING AND PT BOAT HISTORY!

Total Posts: 349 | Joined: Oct 7, 2007 - 2:09pm | IP Logged

David Waples

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Waples  Posted on: Jan 6, 2008 - 8:52pm
Hi Frank,
Yes, it can sure get expensive. The after market upgrades can really drive up the cost of a build. What it does is bring a degree of detail that would otherwise take the modeler many hours to duplicate on their own. Not to mention the expense of milling machines and so on.

I have the 1/72 Gato in my basement right now. Building this right out of the box makes into an awesome kit. Or you can add the following...
Upgrade deck plating from Eduards - $80.00
USS Tang upgrade set from Nautilus Models - $80.00
5" gun update from Nautilus - $20
Crew figures - $20 plus
For me to do all this myself would take hundreds of hours and would probably cost more than what it would cost to buy these parts. But you know, and back to my original point, it's not necessary. Same with the Italeri PT kit. It builds into a beautiful kit on its own but you can drop a lot of cash into after market upgrads. Some of the details in that Lion Roar kit are amazing and would be very expensive to build on your own. But you don't have to do it to make a very nice model.

As for the companies building these parts I can tell you that the majority of them are not getting rich. Most are cottage industries and are doing it for the love of the hobby and the challenge. I am friends with a gentleman who owns a company that makes 1/700 scale resin ships. The models are expensive but the work that goes into these is huge. My friend describes his business as a hobby. He builds these kits for the love of it. The cost of the equipment that is required to make these things is very high too. 3D printers, CAD programs, laser printers, raw material, etc. are very pricy.

It's very easy to get sucked into the details. I'm as guilty as anyone. But it's up to the individual how crazy you want to get.

The important thing is to enjoy the hobby and make it your own. I hope you get a chance to build either of these kits. They are two of the best out there all by themselves.
Dave

David Waples

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ducati650

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of ducati650   Send Email To ducati650 Posted on: Jan 7, 2008 - 10:06am
I totally agree with Dave. In my PT495 build of the Italeri kit I used the PE that came with the kit and bought PE ammo belts. I looked at the Eduard PE set and while nice, I didn't think it would make a big difference in the finished model.
The Lions Roar PE set is amazing but too pricey for my blood. The only part of it I would have really liked is the section that addresses some kit issues with the roll-off racks. Had that section been available by itself, I might have done it.
I chose to spend my time and money on casting parts to backdate and on paints and finishes. A model this size uses up a lot of WEM colour tins!



Like Dave says, every modeler needs to make it his own and do what give him the most enjoyment. I think a full-boat (no pun intended) kit and Lions Roar PE build would be a great project.
Ed


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FRANK

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of FRANK  Posted on: Jan 7, 2008 - 10:59am
Hi Ed and Dave-

First off I have to say, Ed your PT model is one fantastic piece of art! And Dave, yes I too realize just how much goes into the making of a model kit.

I've been ship modeling for well over thirty years and I'm a very frugal modeler, and I build a lot of my own details whenever I can with my own limitations. I think both of you will agree there is a certain point when you have to throw up your hands and say, "I can never make this from scratch!" There are just some things that are left to those who can produce them better than you yourself can ever attempt to do, and with that said I do shell out for the after market stuff as well.

There are some very nice out of the box models that I have seen built! The Italerie PT is a fine example as is the Revell Gato. I have just learned that Lindberg Models is coming out of their corner with a 1/72 scale Japanese sub model(s) in two different versions one with the mini subs on the top deck. I guess that Lindberg wants in on the action too. I like Lindberg models. I have built three of the Lindberg PT 109s and they are all radio controlled. You have to give Lindberg a lot of credit though. They were the first model company to come out with a 1/32 scale PT boat model that everyone had to have. It's been re-issued three times. But if you went and compared the Lindberg to the Italerie 1/35 scale, the Italerie will win in a landslide.

Thank you both for your logical inputs, fellas! I like your way of thinking!

Frank Ryczek, Jr.
Modeler/Friend RON 10

HIGH TIDES ALWAYS!

YOUR FRIEND THROUGH SCALE SHIP MODELING AND PT BOAT HISTORY!

Total Posts: 349 | Joined: Oct 7, 2007 - 2:09pm | IP Logged

ducati650

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of ducati650   Send Email To ducati650 Posted on: Jan 7, 2008 - 11:41am
Thanks Frank.
I agree and use PE and after market resin pieces when I can and if it will make a better model. I temper that with price. I can and have taken a $40 kit and spent $120 on PE and resin. I have over $250 invested in the 495 build and that doesn't include that displace case I bought.
The kit builds a great model out of the box. There are some errors that Al Ross' data package spells out and are pretty easy to correct with normal skills. The hardest involve the torpedo racks and their bases. I didn't correct it all. I made some improvements to the racks and called it close enough. The LR PE set addresses them very nicely but it just isn't worth it to buy the whole PE set to fix the racks. I could have done it with styrene but didn't. I had way too many things to do to back date the kit to a combat boat in late '44. It took 6 months of research and construction to finish it. If i was building another boat, I would fix the racks myself and still pass on the PE sets. The Eduard set is much cheaper but does less. It does not fix the racks.
The most important thing is to build the kit. I'm hoping for a 103 series conversion kit to come out. Man, is that going to be expensive!!


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David Waples

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Waples  Posted on: Jan 7, 2008 - 6:49pm
You know my favorite model of the U-Boat was built with no after market parts at all. And trust me, there's lots of after market parts for this boat. But check this out. The skill in completing the kit in terms of finishing is excellent and the setting makes the model.




Dave

David Waples

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Frank J Andruss Sr

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Frank J Andruss Sr   Send Email To Frank J Andruss Sr Posted on: Jan 7, 2008 - 9:14pm
Dave

Did you do this wonderful looking Sub Diorama? The water is just wonderful. I would love to have you do something like that for my Exhibit. Can you contact me at mosquitofleet@comcast.net. I can invision 2 1/72 Elco PT Boats on patrol, somewhere in the South pacific.


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David Waples

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Waples  Posted on: Jan 8, 2008 - 5:53am
Frank,
I wish I could take credit that model and water diorama. It's probably the best I've seen. I've only done one water diorama and this is it. It's a pair of 1/700 PT boats and as you can see it's very small. It was a project for the boat club I've been attending. Probably not big enough for your exhibit. :-)

If you look very closely there are even small figures on the boats. The boat in the foreground is PT-105 and I did it based on correspondence with Mr. Keresey, skipper of that boat. It even has a .50 mounted on the foredeck but you would never know it without a magnifying glass. It was a test of my skills of which I realized I needed more of after this project. :-)

The guy that did the sub model is on the Fine Scale Models forum. He did this some time ago. You may be able to contact him there. I'm not sure how to find him. Unfortunately I don't have the time to devote to such a project with everything going on in my life.

Thank you











David Waples

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