I've received the New Jersey set today and I don't have the right words to describe it. It's just truly astonishing!
The Photoetch parts are done in a superb way, layer after layer, there are absolutely no edges with "steps". The thing that most fascinated me in the Photoetch parts are the nano meter precision fit, and a feature that I never seen on any PE set: The ultra thin connections between the parts and the fret. This is something a lot of PE makers should learn! This will greatly decrease the time spent sanding off the edges of the PE parts. All the brass parts are in a separate bag, I don't know how they can achieve such small and precise details on the turned brass parts, but good job Pontos!
I think that the collaboration Pontos have with Veteran Model is 100% spot on! The resin came in plastic bags , sealed off, 1 or 2 details are slightly damaged but nothing beyond repair. Melvin from Veteran Model really do a great job, the photos on the internet just don't justify the beauty of the resin parts, you have to see it in person to understand the quality of it.
The wooden deck is just superb, I did not tried to dryfit it yet, but I think it will fit well. The details are well done, the only small issue is that all the laser cut details are a bit dark, but maybe some painting, weathering tricks will do the job.
It's the fist time I'm trying dry transfers. I did a test with a little black "x" on a piece of paper, the transfer is intuitive, really easy and the effect cannot be compared with water slide decals, it just can't. Print quality is impressive. The only trick is to get the dry transfer in place correctly and don't screw up, since it's a one way trip, but Pontos kindly give us some spare.
Finally the packing. All the resin and brass are protected in sealed bags, the deck and PE parts are put inside a clear foil which is opened from one part (not like other set makers that squeeze their PE in sealed bags or tape them on a piece of cardboard). The box is done from hard cardboard, minimalistic and will protect the content.
All in all, I can really say that in my opinion, Pontos today is the NUMBER 1 in ship aftermarket set. I've tried all kind of PE , from WEM, GMM, Flyhawk, Voyager, Griffon Model, Eduard etc. but Pontos beats them all. I'm not saying that the others are crap, but Pontos is just way out of the league.
Keep doing those amazing sets, this is what people like, an all-in-one set that gives everything that we need to make a lifelike replica of the real thing. The prices are in my opinion "brutally" low, for 160USD I've got 350+USD content, I did a WWII Missouri with all the resin and best PE available at that time (1 1/2y ago) and cost me about 600 USD, this time I'm looking at a 300 USD model that will be (I hope) much more detailed than the last one.
So Pontos, keep the work flowing, and be fast with the USS Enterprise set
Bye,
Sandro.
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