FUJIMI Models sends us News and first images of what seems to be a definite pattern from the major manufacturers of late, the introduction of their offering of 1/350 scale Naval Figures in plastic injection mold!

News and images in from Tamiya Models,, of some very interesting looking figures in 1/350 scale injection mold plastic, to further enhance and add realism to your builds!

The Skjold class of missile fast patrol boats is characterised by its speed, reduced signatures, small size with heavy weapon load and its littoral combat capability.

The Skjold ('Shield') has an air-cushioned catamaran hull (surface effect) which, with waterjet propulsion, provides high speed and manoeuvrability.

Gold Medal Models announce their upcoming 1/400 USS Ward/Four Piper Destroyer Photo Etch Set. These pre-sized and pre-shaped railings are designed for the Mirage 1/400 Wickes Class destroyer kits. This very inclusive fret will be available around mid-April and retail for $14.00 USD.

News (and first images) in from across the pond at MPM Models, Czech Republic, of their anticipated release of the German IIA U-boot!

Join me in taking a closer look at Fujimi Models new 1/350 IJN Battleship Kongo. If you take a really close look, you'll see the 1/350 styrene crew!

Pavla Models, Czech Republic, sends a very interesting announcement of a new, full resin kit, in 1/72 scale.

As a producer of mainly aircraft (and a few AFV) and related kits and a/m parts, this new release from Pavla supports the fact that the shipbuilding genre is growing!

New aftermarket manufacturer Accurate Model Parts have introduced a line of new abd very exciting looking fabric flags to greatly enhance and add realism and beauty to your next build!

Part two of a News series, focusing on new company Accurate Model Parts and their decal products, this time, we look closer at The 7th U-Flottille Snorting Bull insignia, and the quality decals available from AMP!

MSW Crew-mates Wink Grise and Dougie Martindale have paired together once again in business for the shipwright, formerly of U-Brass Company, these two gents have developed a new company, Accurate Model Parts, and have plans on offering many products for us shipbuilders, that are essential to the accuracy of our builds.

South Africa placed a contract for three Type 209/1400 submarines in July 2000 on Howaldtswerke-Deutche Werft (HDW) and Thyssen Nordseewerke. The Type 209/1400 displaces 1,450t surfaced and 1,600t dived. The Type 209/1400 submarines replace the French-built Daphne Class submarines, SAS Spear, SAS Assegai and SAS Umkhonto which were decommissioned in 2003.

The first submarine, SAS Manthatisi (S101), was built by Howaldtswerke at Kiel. It was launched in June 2004 and commissioned in November 2005. The second and third submarines were built by Thyssen Nordseewerke in Emden. The SAS Charlotte Maxeke (S102) was launched in May 2005 and commissioned in March 2007. The third submarine, SAS Queen Modjadji (S103), was launched in 2006 and will be commissioned in 2008.

Son of a Gun

Remember I said this is a family site!

White Ensign Models announces the upcoming release of their 1/350 WEM PE 35101 1/350 Nagato photo etch set. John Snyder and Peter Hall have really out done themselves with what will be the largest photo etch set ever offered by WEM. This outstanding set will retail for $98.55 USD.

Aoshima Models brings us a post war twist on an Imperial Japanese Navy war survivor. In 1947, the Japanese destroyer Yukikaze was given to the Republic of China and renamed the Tan Yang. Aoshima announces that they will kit this final version of the famous destroyer in their new 1/700 Full Hull Chinese Destroyer Tan Yang offering. This kit is scheduled to hit the market in late April of 2008. Retail price for this kit will be $20.12.

Ahoy Mates!
LionRoar sends us Details and images of three new 1.700 scale A/M upgrades in WWII, ship-board artillery...

The Mistral and Tonnerre BPC (Bâtiment de Projection et de Commandement) ships, are the French Navy's new 21,300t amphibious assault, command and power projection ships. The ships have been built by DCN in partnership with Thales and Chantiers de l'Atlantique.

Each ship has the payload capacity and versatility to carry up to 16 heavy helicopters and one-third of a mechanised regiment, plus two LCAC hovercraft or up to four landing craft.

Are you looking to add an auxiliary ship to an Imperial Japanese Navy diorama? Pit-Road Models may have what you are looking for. Available late April 2008, these finely casted resin ships from troop transports to seaplane tenders will retail for prices between $65.00 to $80.00.

Have you ever wanted to do a D-Day diorama but just don’t have the room? Dragon Models has the solution. Coming in April of 2008, Dragon will release their 1/72 LCM(3) Landing Craft + M4A1 w/Deep Wading Kit from the Armor Pro Series. This kit includes Dragon’s 1/72 LCM(3) landing craft and a brand new 1/72 M4A1 Sherman with the deep wading trunks. Dragon also packs photo etch and other diorama goodies in this kit for the modeler.

Following in the footsteps of the first, very successful release of the Japanese Antarctica Observation Ship, SOYA, from Hasegawa Models. Japan, comes this second version of the vessel. Here is a "sneak peek" inside the box of this yet to be released kit

Flagship Models are "thinking spring", with a batch of March releases, including new aftermarket photo-etch, decal sets, and new "How-To" instructional materials!

Staying with the New Vanguard Series, Osprey Publishing proudly announces part two of their upcoming nautical releases, US Cruisers 1883–1904, The birth of the steel navy. This book covers the rebirth of the U.S. Navy into the New Steel Navy of the late 1800s. Due to hit the shelves in June of 2008, this soft cover book will retail for $17.95.

Continuing the New Vanguard Series, Osprey Publishing proudly announces their upcoming nautical release, British Submarines of World War I. This book covers the development of the British submarine that was to be used off of an enemy’s coastline. Due to hit the shelves in June of 2008, this soft cover book will retail for $17.95.

The Galicia and the Castilla are 13,900t logistic support ships, based at the Rota, Cadiz, naval base in Spain. They are capable of a speed of 20kt and have a range over 6,000 nautical miles.

They were built by Izar (then Bazan) at the Ferrol shipyard and the vessels were commissioned in 1998 and 2000, respectively.

Building on their growing list of 1/700 Essex class carriers, Dragon Models is proud to introduce the upcoming release of the 1/700 CVS Princeton. As with most of the Premium Edition level models, this kit comes complete with photo etch details and a clear flight deck. This kit will be released in April 2008. The retail price has yet to be announced.

Wiener Modellbau Manufactur builds upon their 1/350 Austro/Hungarian Navy SMU 5/6 Submarine with the announcement of the release of the 1/72 Austro/Hungarian Navy SMU 12 Submarine. The retail cost of this multi-media resin kit is $229.19. Join me and take a look at this very nice kit.

Royal Model, known for their excellent armor accessories, announces their upcoming release of 1/35 PT Boat Accessories. Included in their aftermarket offerings is photo etch for the 37mm canon, resin .50 cal machine gun mounts, photo etch for the torpedo roll off mounts and resin life jackets. No retail price has been given yet and the release date is unknown at this time.

Wiener Modellbau Manufactur announces their upcoming release, the 1/72 Austrian Torpedo Boat SMS Adler. The one piece hull and 65 of the main kit parts are cast in resin. The kit will also include a very nice photo etch fret and wooden masts. Retail price is in the $300.00 range and this kit will be available in May.

Keeping up with the new Trumpeter New Orleans class cruiser releases, Tom’s Modelworks announces a new photo etch set just for the 1/700 San Francisco and New Orleans. Bundling up their cruiser photo etch sets, Tom’s announces the 1/700 SF/New Orleans Package. Starting off with rails PE Set 715 – Catapults, Tom’s adds Set 717 Heavy Cruiser, & Set 753 Naval Doors to this special set. Bought separately, the sets retail for $33.00. Put them all together as the SF/New Orleans Set, retail price will be $20.00, a savings of $13.00. This set is available now.

Staying on the forefront of the model ship industry, Pit-Road announces two new upcoming kits. First up, partnering with Trumpeter, Pit-Road unveils their 1/700 British Navy Tribal class destroyer. Next, building on the success of the 1/144 LCAC, Pit-Road surprises everyone with their 1/72 Maritime Self-Defense Force LCAC. The price and release dates for these kits have yet to be announced.

Osprey Publishing announces the ninth book in their “Duel” series. The Victory vs Redoutable - Ships of the line at Trafalgar 1805 will take the reader back to October 21, 1805 as the ships of Royal Navy square off against a powerful Allied force. This book by Gregory Fremont-Barnes documents the battle that etched Lord Nelson’s nave in the annals of naval history. This book will retail for $17.95 and be out in May of 2008.

OK, for those of you who have been after us to re-run our 1/350 scale 5"/54 mounts, I've just ordered a production run. You can place your orders now for Pro 3505 and we'll ship them as soon as they arrive.

Cheers,
John Snyder
White Ensign Models
http://WhiteEnsignModels.com

ARLINGTON, VA — At 10:29 p.m. last night the Navy confirmed it hit the falling defense intelligence satellite using an SM-3 missile fired from the deck of the USS Lake Erie in the Northern Pacific. Navy officials say the missile likely destroyed its intended target, the satellite's 1,000 pound fuel tank.

"There are good first indications the shot was successful. There was an explosion on impact and over 80 pieces of debris were detected after initial assessments," an official said.

Always working to meet the need of the modeler, BMK announces the release of their latest turned brass barrels for the model ship community. The 1/350 Japanese 20 cm/50 (7.9") 3rd Year Type No. 1 replacement barrel set is custom made to replace the plastic gun barrels that come with Aoshima’s 1/350 Takao kit. The set includes 10 turned brass barrels with realistic, open drilled muzzles. Simply cut off the original plastic barrel from part E3, drill a hole in the remaining blast bag and glue in the brass barrel.

Building on the success of their first two resin kits, Admiralty Model Works announces the upcoming release schedule for their new kits. Relatively new to the model ship world, Admiralty Model Works has already proven themselves with their 1/700 Federal German Navy Hamburg Class Destroyer and HMS Courageous, 1917. Admiralty’s kits, thus far, have fallen into the World War I and Post World War II genre. Their latest releases will hold true to this pattern. From the looks of the upcoming kits, the future is bright for Admiralty Model Works.

Helping to preserve the history of the tall ship, Aoshima Models announces their upcoming sailing ships 1/350 Danmark and 1/350 Esmeralda. These two beautiful clipper ships are very reasonably priced at $15.84 each. They are expected to hit the shelves in mid March.

The Virginia Class new attack submarine is an advanced stealth multi-mission nuclear-powered submarine for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare and littoral (shallow water) operations.

In an effort to correct the hull deficiencies, Imperial Hobby Productions announces the upcoming release of their 1/700 Jean Bart Replacement Hull. This one-piece, resin waterline hull has the correct bulges and porthole pattern for the Jean Bart. It is configured to accept the Trumpeter’s kit superstructure. The retail price for this hull is $30.00. For those interested in purchasing this hull, please contact IHP.

Staying on top of the host of current model releases, White Ensign Models announces their upcoming 1/700 HMS Repulse Photo Etch fret. The set features tailored-to-fit railings, with an option for canvas dodgers, completely re-designed pom-poms and Oerlikons, and re-scaled quad .5" machine guns that have also been re-designed for easier assembly. As with all WEM products, it will ship post-free worldwide. Retail cost will be $16.70 and pre-orders are being taken now.

Digging in to the archives, Tamiya Models announces that they will re-release the 1/72 Vosper Fast Patrol Boat Perkasa. Originally released as a motorized model, this Vosper Fast Patrol Boat will be sold as a static display model kit. This popular classic retains all of it nicely molded detail and will build into a fine replica of this legendary maker’s patrol boat.

Continuing to push the envelope with new releases, Trumpter announces the latest 1/700 release, the French Navy Battleship Richelieu, 1946. This kit is of the final variant of this famous French battleship as she returned post-war to Toulon, France on Feb 11, 1946. The kit consists of 366 parts on 10 sprues plus lower and upper hulls, waterline plate and display stand. The completed kit measures nearly 14” long. Retail price will be $38.95.