Liberty Ship Jeremiah O'Brien 1:700

[Dietrich Maerz]

I would never have thought that a 1:700 is something for me. But I gave it a try and I am in love now with the little ships. They are highly detailed and very nice to build. This is my first effort and I also gave it a try with the water (since most of the 1:700 are waterline). The model is 7.5" long.

I am looking forward doing some more challenging ships, mainly the Bismarck again and some of the Imperial ships like the SMS Scharnhorst or SMS Kurfürst - in a heavy storm!

[Leroy]

Nice job, Dietrich! My late father-in-law would have loved this. He worked to restore the companion ship to yours (the John Brown, in Baltimore) and served on these as a chief engineer during the war.

[Scott C.]

Nicely done for such a small scale, and the water is very convincing as well

[Ralph P]

Dietrich - It is going to be interesting to see your more challenging models in future threads...Nicely done model...

[Jeff V]

Very realistic! I love the water.
best wishes,
jeff

[blinky]

Aren't these little 1/700 boats great?? The subject matter is almost unlimited as well. I love the WWII Japanese Navy kits in this scale, there are some amazing kits of everything from oilers and tenders to river gunboats and trawlers. Great job on the JO'B. Just remember these little boats are like peanuts and you can't stop at just one!

eric

[Dietrich Maerz]

Thanks Ralph and Jeff!

Eric,

I found that out already. This is crazy. I bought that little ship because I am waiting for the Hood and thought I give it a try. I choose this one because we were on that ship in SF three years ago.

And now I am hooked! Browsing the web I found out that nearly all of the World War 1 and earlier ships of all the countries are available. I always loved the 1906 - 1918 ship area. The level of achievable detail is unreal, the market is huge and the prices are reasonable!

To model the water is also not that tough. It is acrylic gel and paint. Works like a charm. All one needs is to be brave ...

And there is a big difference whether I build the Bismarck or Hood with all bells and whistles for $ 300.- or in 1:700 for $ 80.- ....

[blinky]

That's right, the subjects being kitted are amazing not to mention the detail sets available! Really the only limit is your eye sight and sanity. And as you mentioned the prices are great as well. You can easily afford to build the "Great White Fleet" and have plenty of room for it in this scale.

I also really like what you did with the water. I've used a tinted two part resin that worked great but could melt the boat if I wasn't careful which in retrospect was pretty dumb. The gel you use looks like you can sculpt it easier......I see torpedo wakes, shell splashes, maybe a periscope or two in your future?

Thanks for posting Dietrich, you've got blood up again for these kits! I'm going to have to dig out my tools this week and see what kind of damage I can do!

eric

[Federico Perez]

Great work on the Liberty ship!

Here is a link for a Japanese modeling series, this program(in several parts at youtube) is about a 1/700 WW2 US Enterprise carrier(waterline) and a Japanese destroyer(full hull) is just an example and inspirational programs of how much detail can be put into this small scale and how GOOD it looks!!

There are several diferent subjects in this series about WW2 ships/armor and ships and even if is in Japanese language, the shown modeling technicks and prosess make it easy to follow along.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S88XTf1iDs&NR=1

This is the final chapter for the Enterprise ship model in it's almost finished stages, be sure to wacht from the begining for all the modifications this modeler did to this kit!!

[Dietrich Maerz]

There are some awsome Japanese modeller. They have a way with small things! Reminds me of the big radio, the submarine and the comment in "1941"!

The next 700 I will try is the SMS Grosser Kurfuerst and the SMS Gneisenau. A little bit of the "Risikoflotte"!