But I have noticed in my searches on the internet for these items, there are no boats, submarines, or amphibious vehicles to really speak of. The only ones I have seen are the Elite Force Navy Seal raft, a Power Team Elite raft, and a Power Team Elite patrol boat. I know the latter two don't really qualify as 1:18 military replicas. Does anyone have any idea why none of the aquatic vehicles are being made? I know some items would be way to costly to make in 1:18 scale like a aircraft carrier or a destroyer, but what about items like patrol boats, amphibious beach landers, and such? My knowledge of military vehicles is limited, but there has got to be at least a few aquatic vehicles from WW II, Vietnam, or Modern military that would be feasible in 1:18 scale. Any opinions or facts regarding why these items are overlooked?1:18 scale watercraft?
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spect_spidey
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1:18 scale watercraft?
I just recently got into the 21st Century and BBI 1:18 scale military items. I think they are excellent, although some pieces I may have to sell body parts or children to obtain. But I have noticed in my searches on the internet for these items, there are no boats, submarines, or amphibious vehicles to really speak of. The only ones I have seen are the Elite Force Navy Seal raft, a Power Team Elite raft, and a Power Team Elite patrol boat. I know the latter two don't really qualify as 1:18 military replicas. Does anyone have any idea why none of the aquatic vehicles are being made? I know some items would be way to costly to make in 1:18 scale like a aircraft carrier or a destroyer, but what about items like patrol boats, amphibious beach landers, and such? My knowledge of military vehicles is limited, but there has got to be at least a few aquatic vehicles from WW II, Vietnam, or Modern military that would be feasible in 1:18 scale. Any opinions or facts regarding why these items are overlooked?
But I have noticed in my searches on the internet for these items, there are no boats, submarines, or amphibious vehicles to really speak of. The only ones I have seen are the Elite Force Navy Seal raft, a Power Team Elite raft, and a Power Team Elite patrol boat. I know the latter two don't really qualify as 1:18 military replicas. Does anyone have any idea why none of the aquatic vehicles are being made? I know some items would be way to costly to make in 1:18 scale like a aircraft carrier or a destroyer, but what about items like patrol boats, amphibious beach landers, and such? My knowledge of military vehicles is limited, but there has got to be at least a few aquatic vehicles from WW II, Vietnam, or Modern military that would be feasible in 1:18 scale. Any opinions or facts regarding why these items are overlooked?
afraid not, you pretty much listed everything thats out there, lots of us have been pushing for WWII landing craft, or a nam era PBR, buts so far nuthin, sorry wish i had better news, but you could always make your own, thats what lots of folks around here do, i remember somebody posting pics of a landing craft
...ken
Semper Fi
"if you haven't been there, shut the f@#k up"
0311
Semper Fi
"if you haven't been there, shut the f@#k up"
0311
21c has had a prototype of a Vietnam PBR for years now but it has never been produced. There is still hope, however.
Otherwise, nothing. Even patrol boats etc are pretty large in this scale.
Two alternatives i've explored are r/c boats and card models. I recently bought a Dumas 1/20 scale r/c PT boat. It's 4 feet long and a little over a foot wide. Expect to pay around $200+ for the kit. I bought one that was built up but needs a fair bit of work and it cost me just under $300. You can find them on Ebay from time to time. Dumas makes a smaller 1/32 kit as well so don't confuse the two. The 1/20 is four feet long....and quite spectacular i might add..
Card models are models built out of heavy paper stock. They have the image of the subject pre-printed on them and you fold them to shape. They are a lot better than they sound and can be made into suprisingly nice models. The beauty is that even though they don't come in 1/18 scale you can enlarge photocopy the pieces up to 1/18 scale and then build the model.....and thus end up with a 1/18 scale model. I'm just beginning to dabble with this.
I started to do a 1/18 scale U-boat but realized that i didn't have the skill/experience yet to do it so i'm going to make a couple of tanks first, for some practice and then go back to it but i'm certain it can be done. It won't look as good as a real, plastic model but will still look pretty good and considering there are no alternatives, i think it's a great way to go. I also plan to do a Flower Class Corvette one day when i have the experience. That's about the biggest ship i have room for (it will be a little over 11 feet long). Even escort destoyers are almost 17 feet long in this scale!
Otherwise, nothing. Even patrol boats etc are pretty large in this scale.
Two alternatives i've explored are r/c boats and card models. I recently bought a Dumas 1/20 scale r/c PT boat. It's 4 feet long and a little over a foot wide. Expect to pay around $200+ for the kit. I bought one that was built up but needs a fair bit of work and it cost me just under $300. You can find them on Ebay from time to time. Dumas makes a smaller 1/32 kit as well so don't confuse the two. The 1/20 is four feet long....and quite spectacular i might add..
Card models are models built out of heavy paper stock. They have the image of the subject pre-printed on them and you fold them to shape. They are a lot better than they sound and can be made into suprisingly nice models. The beauty is that even though they don't come in 1/18 scale you can enlarge photocopy the pieces up to 1/18 scale and then build the model.....and thus end up with a 1/18 scale model. I'm just beginning to dabble with this.
I started to do a 1/18 scale U-boat but realized that i didn't have the skill/experience yet to do it so i'm going to make a couple of tanks first, for some practice and then go back to it but i'm certain it can be done. It won't look as good as a real, plastic model but will still look pretty good and considering there are no alternatives, i think it's a great way to go. I also plan to do a Flower Class Corvette one day when i have the experience. That's about the biggest ship i have room for (it will be a little over 11 feet long). Even escort destoyers are almost 17 feet long in this scale!
I would love to see a U-boat, I remember a few years ago lots of people were talking about how to approach XD watercraft -- should it be a full ship with a stand, or should it be a waterline model (only half-complete), etc.
I know my dad would love to see an XD Graf Spee, too -- it was captured right near the town he grew up in, and he has always been interested in it and Capt. Langsdorff. My dad isn't into the "collectibles", but he'd sure get a kick out of seeing something like that, I'm sure....
L
I know my dad would love to see an XD Graf Spee, too -- it was captured right near the town he grew up in, and he has always been interested in it and Capt. Langsdorff. My dad isn't into the "collectibles", but he'd sure get a kick out of seeing something like that, I'm sure....
L
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Threetoughtrucks
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What about a DUKW? It covers all bases. It's a boat, it's a 2 1/2 ton truck, it carries a machine gun. They also used a DUKW with a 105mm howitzer as beach landing support. There are even pics of two DUKW's rigged together carrying a P-38 from a ship to shore.
Sounds like it would be right up our alley
Personally I would like to see a WW2 destroyer escort or sub chaser in 1/18, but I think Wally wouldm't carry the box
TTT
Sounds like it would be right up our alley
Personally I would like to see a WW2 destroyer escort or sub chaser in 1/18, but I think Wally wouldm't carry the box
TTT
Sometimes I am the windshield, sometimes, I am the bug.
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Threetoughtrucks
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Sorry, but the Graf Spee wasn't captured. It was wounded and believed Brit intel reports that Brit battlewagons were waiting for it outside the harbour (none were available) and Langstrom ordered the Spree scuttled in the harbour to avoid the press storm the sinking of the Graf Spee by Brit ships would have occured.
No ships were waiting for it besides the three wounded Brit cruisers. A straight up fight at that point would have given the Graf Spee the advantage but Brit intel scored a big victory by spreading the story that big battlewagons had arrived to help the three wounded cruisers and German intel believed the story. They ordered Langstrom not to loose a battle to the Brits. He didn't.
A great story about gallant men, on both sides.
TTT
No ships were waiting for it besides the three wounded Brit cruisers. A straight up fight at that point would have given the Graf Spee the advantage but Brit intel scored a big victory by spreading the story that big battlewagons had arrived to help the three wounded cruisers and German intel believed the story. They ordered Langstrom not to loose a battle to the Brits. He didn't.
A great story about gallant men, on both sides.
TTT
Sometimes I am the windshield, sometimes, I am the bug.
Oh, of course I didn't mean to imply otherwise. When I said "captured," I meant that it was taken out of action and its men were captured. The ship was scuttled by its captain, that's one of the things that makes the story so great. Langstrom, as I'm sure you know, was a fascinating man. A real man of honor.
In any case, it'd be a great item to have, though to have it in 1:18 we'd have to settle for just a section of it.... or buy a new house to store it in ....
Law
In any case, it'd be a great item to have, though to have it in 1:18 we'd have to settle for just a section of it.... or buy a new house to store it in ....
Law
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spect_spidey
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Hmm. Couldn't these large watercraft be done in sections? For example, say an item is four feet long in 1:18 scale, couldn't it be sold in say one foot sections? It would allow these large pieces of military history to be represented in 1:18 scale, but make it easier on retailers to stock. Also collectors could then have the option to purchase the full scale version by buying all sections or just a section or two to set up a diorama. Even if it isn't practical for a company to do these items in 1:18 scale, why haven't any sailors or seamen figures been released?
well first off, what large watercraft is only 4 feet long in 1/18 scale? Even a PT boat is over 4 feet long in 1/18 scale, and it's not a very large watercraft at all. And who is going to buy the front 1/4 of a PT boat; which is basically the prow up to where the cabin starts. A truly large watercraft, like a U-boat, is over 12 feet long in 1/18 scale. A destroyer about 22 feet, a crusier about 33 feet etc. Selling them in tiny segments is practical from a packaging point of view but the reality is that nobody is going to buy large ships one foot at a time, simply because the foot you buy isn't all that interesting by itself, it's only interesting if you have all the other one foot sections. The other problem is width. Large watercraft are not only long they're wide too. A one foot section of the Bismark could be as much as 6 feet wide...the beam of the Bismark being about 108 feet. Ships are big!
A similar idea has been proposed for large aircraft, like bombers and that is a bit more workable but i still don't see it happening.....just wouldn't be enough mass market appeal for small portions of a B-17, i don't think.
A similar idea has been proposed for large aircraft, like bombers and that is a bit more workable but i still don't see it happening.....just wouldn't be enough mass market appeal for small portions of a B-17, i don't think.
IIRC, this is where we ended up in the discussion a few years ago!
A "sectional" battleship was proposed, but it was determined to be too difficult. These things are so huge, and even die-hard fans might balk about getting the fifth section that looks pretty identical to the previous four. There just isn't a way to make every section distinctive and "worth getting" to anyone but someone who wants the whole ship. And if there were ENOUGH people who wanted the whole ship, there'd be no point in going sectional. They could just do the whole ship.
The only compromise would be to only release some sections, with no hope for getting a full model. Getting a bridge, or a gunning station, or a crew quarters, or engineering.... That would still be neat, but it's not the same thing....
Law
A "sectional" battleship was proposed, but it was determined to be too difficult. These things are so huge, and even die-hard fans might balk about getting the fifth section that looks pretty identical to the previous four. There just isn't a way to make every section distinctive and "worth getting" to anyone but someone who wants the whole ship. And if there were ENOUGH people who wanted the whole ship, there'd be no point in going sectional. They could just do the whole ship.
The only compromise would be to only release some sections, with no hope for getting a full model. Getting a bridge, or a gunning station, or a crew quarters, or engineering.... That would still be neat, but it's not the same thing....
Law
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Threetoughtrucks
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