So I have been designing models for Shapeways for over five years now. And not surprisingly, I am running low on ideas. I have a few units on my to do list to tide me over for a bit, but that will only last so long. Therefore I wanted to start a thread for the community to help me keep the models flowing. This list is not just for me, but any other Shapeways designers that may be in the same boat.
If you have an idea for a 1900 to 1950ish naval unit that needs a Shapeways model, please post it. Include any pictures, drawings or links you may have to help aid in the design. The more info I have, the more accurate I can be. I am open to basically any naval unit, surface or submarine, real or fantasy, major or minor navy. I'm not any good at design planes and probably won't attempt them. Put go ahead and list them anyway, other designers might get some inspiration this list.
I think most of the Team Decks are covered, but there may be some missing from the Briggs/SWO, Frozen Seas, Seas a Blaze or Swizzel collections (I apologize if I am missing anyone elses decks) It would be great to fill these out since the cards already exist.
There are MANY 1/1800 WW2 warships available from WoTC, WTJ, Shapeways and 3D printers. However, here are several suggestions and I hope someone is inspired to create these as I do not believe they exist in 1/1800 scale.
These first few are of the Illustrious class of carriers which went through several modifications throughout their service lives. I know there are many modifications to many classes of warship, but these in particular are noticeable and it is rather difficult to convert the "standard" early war Illustrious clas, of which there are several available from a number of sources, to these versions.
1. HMS Formidable c1942- very similar to Illustrious, but with AA sponsons at the quarters and corresponding cut-outs on the flight deck
2. HMS Illustrious, HMS Formidable, HMS Victorious circa late 1944-45- by this point, the aft flight deck round down was mostly gone and the flight deck length extended. AA armament enhanced for use with the British Pacific Fleet. All three are roughly similar.
3. HMS Illustrious c1946- OK, this is post-WW2, as Illustrious completed a refit late in 1945 which eliminated the front flight deck round-down, further extending the flight deck area. It is possible her sisters would have undergone a similar conversion (her half-sisters Indomitable and Indefatigable did, I believe) had WW2 not ended in 1945. Maybe good for a "alternate-end WW2" scenario? Certainly different aircraft would have been used in 1946, which is interesting.
I can provide plan and elevation for #1 and #2, but only a port elevation and several photos for #3, if interested.
4. Royal Navy LCT Mk 4- yes, need some more landing craft (or do I?)
5. Royal Navy LCT Mk 8- completed at the end of 1945, so technically post-WW2. These prove useful for a 1955 Suez Crisis scenerio if you are interested in that era.
6. French Torpedo Boat (or Light Destroyer) La Melpomene class (8 or 12 in class?). I'm surprised no one has created this in 1/1800. At least I think no one has. The SW search function is not great.
I can think of lots of WW1 ships not available in 1/1800. I think WTJ and a few Shapeways designers are slowly adding to the missing battleships, battlecruisers, cruisers, etc of the Grand and High Seas Fleets (and others, such as the US Atlantic Fleet). Not sure there is much interest in models of WW1 ships in 1/1800 as so much already exists in other scales. But, in any case, this is a wish list, so here goes a few I don't think are at the top of most lists:
7. HMS Furious 1918- as I mentioned in my earlier post, this is the version with a flight deck fore and aft of the superstructure and tripod mast. Obviously this did not work for the Royal Navy and Furious was eventually converted to a "flush deck" carrier with a contiguous flight deck. But this version landed balloons!
8. SS Cap Trafalgar- AMC
9. SS Carmania- AMC. Who doesn't want a sea battle between two armed liners, #8 vs #9? Didn't turn out too well for either one, however.
And last, there are many post-WW2 ships not modeled, and of course the list continues to grow. However, as not to get too far outside this group's area of interest, I only propose two Soviet designs from the 1950s, which could have been built 10 years earlier under different circumstances.
10. Destroyer Neustrashimmy, c1955, also referred to as Project 41. Only one built, but was supposed to have been a large class of large destroyers.
11. Escort (Destroyer Escort or Frigate) "Kola" class, c1953, also referred to as Project 42. A large class of small escort.
If any of the above are inspirations, please let me know and I'll dig up as many elevations, plans and photos as possible.
Heya Squint, you could do me a big favor and make some flight stands. Adding a lattice between them and inverting half seems to help keep costs down. Still have several dozen aircraft of the Korean and Vietnam wars I need to base.
I've tried to keep an eye on Briggs/SWO project and add in miniatures to match. But over time I've fallen behind and not sure what needs to be covered. Anything you want to see done let me know.
Amazing work Squint! I see you did the USS Wolverine, how different would the USS Sable be, aside from island? Judging from this picture they don't seem all that different. I really like the Wolverine and Sable, I still have my two scratchbuilt versions on my shelf.
Last Edit: Mar 18, 2021 0:52:46 GMT by nrnstraswa: Image broke
Hey, if you are still designing models, I would love to get Japanese sub classes that aren't out there yet: - A1 - C1 (w midget sub markers) - J1 - J3 - KS - KRS
Hey, if you are still designing models, I would love to get Japanese sub classes that aren't out there yet: - A1 - C1 (w midget sub markers) - J1 - J3 - KS - KRS
I apologize to squint if I'm out of line for speaking up in his thread but I have a Type C1 available. It does not have midget sub on it, but that's an interesting idea. Do you know how they carried the midget subs?
I apologize to squint if I'm out of line for speaking up in his thread but I have a Type C1 available. It does not have midget sub on it, but that's an interesting idea. Do you know how they carried the midget subs?
The midget subs were used at Pearl Harbor and several other engagements. they were Type A Midget Subs.