Hi David,
Thanks for the compliments!
I hope to be able to offer the 1/700 superstructure in parts. The final configuration depends on printing requirements.
The 1/350 superstructure had to be offered fully assembled mostly because of its size, and offered only in Frosted Ultra Detail (FUD). By separating it into decks and laying the decks out for printing, the array of parts became too big for the printer.
Even fully assembled (smaller "footprint"), it is so big that it exceeds the printing requirements for Frosted Extreme Detail (FXD) therefore can't be offered in that material. The other advantage in designing it fully assembled is that fewer parts keeps the price down; Shapeways charges a fee for each part since each part gets cleaned by hand at the factory (more parts = more labor = higher price).
Since the 1/700 superstructure is smaller (1/8th the size of the 1/350 superstructure in volume), it will be far less costly to print, and at the same time more likely to be able to meet FXD requirements. I hope to be able to separate it into 3 or 4 parts for easy painting yet still meet requirements for FXD, a better material for smaller objects, and keep the price reasonable.
With this design's complex geometry, even in 1/700 scale, an airbrush will probably be the best painting technique due to the exposed internal fighting top. The fighting top is essentially open on the bottom and there is a lot of structure inside that is visible but would be really difficult to access and paint with a brush in any scale. See:
Attachment:
Model Monkey 1-350 Pennsylvania Superstructure 1945 forward e.jpg
I'll know more when I begin to re-scale the design for 1/700 and upload it to Shapeways for analysis.
[edit: Done! 1/700 forward superstructure is available in separate pieces.]Thanks again!
I’ve been looking at your 1/350 West Virginia superstructure and was wondering if you can do it in 1/700 since I have an old Classics Warships kit i want to build. I’ve ordered the MK19 directors in 1/700 for my Houston and West Virginia. I also want to get fighting tops if they’re available. I found your products to be great so far. Please keep it up. Even if it will dent my wallet.