Model Monkey Sneak Peeks

[ModelMonkey]

And USS Lexington CV-2 funnel designs are under way. First up is an early funnel from about 1928 through the early 1930s, prior to the addition of the large AA platform high up.

Here's the early Lex funnel at about 50% complete next to Saratoga's 1944-1945 funnel for comparison. As you can see, they are very different. Most noticeably, Lexington's funnel is taller. Sara's was lowered in 1942. Looking at the aft ends, Lexington's aft 8" Fire Control Station is very conspicuous. Sara's Mk.37 Director Platform and Tower are likewise very prominent.

Lexington's funnel had four conspicuous configurations and 3D-printed designs for all four are coming. They will be 1928-1935, 1936-1940, and 1941-March 1942, and May, 1942 (Coral Sea).

The early 1930s Lex funnel is not suitable as an early Sara funnel. Sara's 1930s funnel, while the same height, has starboard side searchlight platforms in a lower position and has catwalks on both sides of the funnel. Lex had a single catwalk on the starboard side until about 1936 when she received her large AA platform.

I'll make a 1930s "tall" Sara funnel soon for those who want one.

[MAJOR-B]

Steve,
looking great..
Are you still planning on doing the Midway class Island and what scales are they going to be produced in?

[Canal Watcher]

Steve,

I'll definitely take a '36 Sara funnel. Already got the Bridge and the turrets for the Trumpeter kit. In fact, you've sold me on the '44 Sara as well. I'll add that to my Tamiya kit as well.

[TOMLABEL]

Fantastic!!!!

Thanks, Steve!!

Kelley

[ModelMonkey]

Steve,
looking great..
Are you still planning on doing the Midway class Island and what scales are they going to be produced in?

Thanks! A Midway design is coming in popular scales, including one design for the classic Revell kit.

Steve,
I'll definitely take a '36 Sara funnel. Already got the Bridge and the turrets for the Trumpeter kit. In fact, you've sold me on the '44 Sara as well. I'll add that to my Tamiya kit as well.

Thanks! Lex funnels are at 80% complete - see renders below, alongside the completed Saratoga 1944-45 funnel, for comparison. Sara's 1936 funnel is similar to the Lex 1928 design, although the 01 level is very different in detail and the secondary conning station has a different number of facets. There is much more detailing to add to the Lexington funnels and some tweaking. Note the dramatic difference in height between the Saratoga wartime funnel design and the three earlier Lexington designs. Perhaps Lexington's funnel height would have been reduced, too, had she survived Coral Sea.

Fantastic!!!!
Thanks, Steve!!
Kelley

Thanks, Kelley!

[ModelMonkey]

The USS Lexington CV-2 1936-1940 funnel design is complete. It is ready for printing in 1/350 now and will be in 1/700 tomorrow.

Due to the extraordinary amount of acrylic plastic required to produce it (41.05 cubic cm in 1/350 scale) and the time needed to print it, this design is unfortunately very expensive.

Here are some teaser renderings, some with the 1936 bridge tower already available:

[Jim21680]

These look really cool, Steve...looking forward to seeing one arrive in my mailbox. Thanks

[MartinJQuinn]

[MatthewB]

IS the 1942 Lexington Funnel to be completed soon?

I just acquired a Trumpeter 1/700 USS Lexington (which will be my first Carrier to build), and I noticed that it's Funnel and Island were not very accurate (seems to be a fish-mash of different dates).

I am debating what to do about that.

MB

[ModelMonkey]

Thanks, Jim, Martin and Matt!

IS the 1942 Lexington Funnel to be completed soon?...MB

Yes, specifically for May, 1942, very soon, probably in a couple weeks at most [edit: done!]. Detailed, authoritative documentation for the 1942 post-Pearl Harbor refit appearance is scant, especially port-side, so research is continuing. These funnels are expensive so I want to get the design right from the start. Any help with researching May, 1942 funnel details is most appreciated.

But first, a 1/700 scale 1936 funnel. Hope to have that ready tomorrow. [edit: DONE!] Re-scaling always requires some changes for printability. I'll have an as-built funnel design done, too, for Lex and Sara.

[John W.]

Steve -
By far the fastest way to find pictures of the port side of the '42 stack is to spend all of this weekend staring at pictures until you are blurry-eyed. Get a consensus of the fellow modelers who have been providing you assistance in the past. Vowing the time for action has come, you begin your final CAD renderings, finish at 1:34 AM Monday, then upload the CAD to Shapeways Monday afternoon. Announce on this site the stack has passed Shapeways checks and is now ready for production in several scales. Breathe out. Tuesday, Shapeways ships first twenty products. Thursday morning, someone totally clueless that your project has been on-going, will post twenty pictures from Uncle Mortimer's Brownie Box Camera which was found in the attic Sunday night at 11:35 PM (how ironic is that?). Four pictures show the entire port side of the funnel and bridge structure with full sun behind the photographer which highlights every subtle detail including several significant details not in the frame of any other picture. A fifth picture shows an oblique view of the stair-stepped quad 1.1" mounts in front of the bridge establishing beyond doubt the bulwarks in front of the mounts are rounded, not squared off as most have assumed.

Only way.

[Mark McKinnis]

Steve -
By far the fastest way to find pictures of the port side of the '42 stack is to spend all of this weekend staring at pictures until you are blurry-eyed. Get a consensus of the fellow modelers who have been providing you assistance in the past. Vowing the time for action has come, you begin your final CAD renderings, finish at 1:34 AM Monday, then upload the CAD to Shapeways Monday afternoon. Announce on this site the stack has passed Shapeways checks and is now ready for production in several scales. Breathe out. Tuesday, Shapeways ships first twenty products. Thursday morning, someone totally clueless that your project has been on-going, will post twenty pictures from Uncle Mortimer's Brownie Box Camera which was found in the attic Sunday night at 11:35 PM (how ironic is that?). Four pictures show the entire port side of the funnel and bridge structure with full sun behind the photographer which highlights every subtle detail including several significant details not in the frame of any other picture. A fifth picture shows an oblique view of the stair-stepped quad 1.1" mounts in front of the bridge establishing beyond doubt the bulwarks in front of the mounts are rounded, not squared off as most have assumed.

Only way.

What really sucks about all that is that you are not wrong!

[ModelMonkey]

Alrighty, the May, 1942, Battle of the Coral Sea appearance USS Lexington funnel design is complete. As John said, I'm breathing out. It's ready in 1/350 scale and 1/700 scale.

See: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=162588&p=693826#p693826

[TOMLABEL]

Beautiful, Steve!!! Awesome!!!

Thanks for doing these class funnels (as well as the forward island structures)!

Kelley

[John W.]

Steve -
Yes, now you may breathe out.
I have ordered my '42 stack, and that'll be it for a while. Unless . . . We'll, I keep watching, let's say that.

How do you see the future in general terms after this flurry of creative activity on your part, and those of others like Carl?. Just curious if things are panning out for all your collective effort.

[ModelMonkey]

Thanks for the patronage, John!

PM coming your way.

In addition to one in 1/350 scale, the 1/700 scale 8 May 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea USS Lexington CV-2 funnel design is complete. See:

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=162588&p=693878#p693878

[ModelMonkey]

....How do you see the future in general terms after this flurry of creative activity on your part, and those of others like Carl?. Just curious if things are panning out for all your collective effort.

Thanks for asking! I can't speak for other designers, who may have entirely different experiences, but here are some observations and thoughts based on my experience.

Unfortunately, despite great comments from purchasers regarding the detail and quality of the parts they have received, sales have been continuously declining since January (down 60%).

Generally, sales are coming from repeat customers (thank you, guys and gals, love ya!) rather than new customers and that is not sustainable for long. Analysis of sales data indicates that from the existing pool of ship modelers, not enough are willing or able to try something new, no matter how good the design is. And being a new technology, a lot of modelers simply don't know 3D printed parts exist, a challenge I hope to help resolve - your help is appreciated in getting the word out.

The good news is that some modelers are indeed willing to try a product made from a new process, and willing to learn new part preparation techniques such as the use of an "air eraser" to smooth surfaces. Importantly, 3D printing technology is improving, printers and designers are learning together what works and what doesn't, and more materials are being investigated for 3D printing use. The Royal Navy recently 3D printed a full-scale drone aboard a ship at sea that then conducted a real mission. It is now possible to 3D print a burrito. There are huge increases with regard to medical applications. All of this work in other industries helps improve what is available to ship modelers as more is learned.

IMHO, there are several factors adversely affecting sales, most probably:

1. Cost of the parts. This is because 1) FUD and FED remain expensive materials, and 2) 3D printing is labor intensive. It takes several hours to print a part being laid down in layers 16 millionths of a meter thick. Once printed, much handling is necessary to clean it prior to shipping. This is all reflected in the cost. And the cost goes up considerably as the size increases.

2. Continued reluctance of modelers to try a new technology that costs a lot (nobody likes getting burned). Shapeways does not send samples to designers so I rarely have any photos to show of the finished product(s). Furthermore, photos of unpainted, translucent FUD and FED parts show the print lines through the model, misleading the true character of any print lines on the surface, making them look worse than they really are. Surface print lines do exist, but they can be smoothed by sanding or using an inexpensive "air eraser" emitting baking soda (preferred method - careful air eraser use leaves details intact).

3. Bad press lingering from the early days. A few years back, when 3D printing first became a possibility for ship modelers, the technology was in its infancy and those working with the new processes and materials were learning everything for the first time. We didn't even know what we didn't know. The printers were weak, output was inconsistent, and those operating the printers had never done so before - there was no repository of expertise. Quality at that time was quite disappointing to say the least. Consequently, there was much said about 3D printed products that was understandably, and justifiably, very unflattering. Those impressions have lingered, despite huge improvements in quality and expertise. Now the parts are consistently as good or better than the parts found in plastic kits, just ask those on this website who have one of my products in hand. A problem with a design can be quickly corrected without having to cut a new steel mold. But, it has been very tough to overcome the initial bad press.

4. Some production issues remain that frustrate a new customer unfamiliar with how 3D printing works. These issues are all being overcome as the industry matures.

5. Decreasing interest in ship modeling generally. We ship modelers are a small segment of an industry that is largely in decline. It is probably true that there are simply fewer customers each year. Also, the average age of ship modelers is increasing, meaning that there are fewer new modelers willing to try 3D printing, even though this technology is more often taught in schools and students are very familiar with the capabilities.

6. Shapeways has difficulty printing objects or tiny details for smaller scales that will survive cleaning. Although both Shapeways and designers are learning ways around that limitation, some things just can't be printed in 1/700 - yet.

Sadly, too, many who have pushed hard for a product to be designed do not follow through with an actual purchase. This wastes valuable design time that could have been spent on a design that would be more popular and therefore more commercial. I am more reluctant now to accept a request for a design unless there is clear market data indicating that sales are certain.

What I've learned is, generally, that if the requested design improves existing kits available in several scales, preferably for a model that everybody has in the stash (think USS Arizona, Yamato, Bismarck, Hood) the product will continue to sell. The potential customer base is larger, then. That way, the cost to design a product can be spread across more products keeping the price for a single item as low as practical.

So, a request to make a design to fix a single feature for an obscure kit that had a limited production run 10 years ago only available in resin in 1/700 scale is likely to be declined. Actually, guaranteed to be declined.

Hopefully, sales will improve this summer. If not, I will be shifting efforts to armor subjects in order to keep the business going, thus there will be fewer new designs for ship modeling subjects, if at all. Let's all hope that won't be necessary.

[D. Lindsey]

The pieces all look great Steve. If 1/350 BB55 to a '42 BB56 conversion ever becomes available I'm buyin whatever the cost!!!!

[TOMLABEL]

Steve,

I greatly appreciate all of the design/research/marketing time you have put into all of your designs, especially for Lex/Sara and the Yorktown classes. You have given new life to many kits that would have languished in stashes for eternity. I have some of your Yorktown class islands in in the 487/350 scales but still need the 1/487 ENT and Hornet islands and the 1/350 Hornet and Lexington island/funnel also. And, down the road a bit, I want to dig out all those Revell Essex class kits too!

I've just about finished smoothing out the 1/350 Yorktown island (although I should have had this done 1.5 months ago) with the air eraser (very easy and great tip there!) and will send pics once I've painted it.

I plan on purchasing the others, but I have to budget/spread out what I can get and when - but have no fear! In the process of having my transmission rebuilt so I'm having to take a hit on that at the moment, but I have my stash that is going to need your parts so I hope they will continue to be available!!!

I encourage you to keep up the marvelous work you are doing, but totally understand the limitations and market considerations you are dealing with. Hoping others will take the leap and save themselves a lot of time and trouble given that you have alleviated a lot of that for them with your products!

EDIT: Still hoping you have plans to do something for the 1/487 Yorktown class hangar deck area!!!

Kelley

[Brian K.]

Do you still plan on a 1941 Lexington funnel? Have you given thought to a 1/700 1941 Colorado bridge For the Trumpeter Maryland or West Virginia kit.