Small Scale Military Headquarters

Has anyone heard about the 1/1000 line of ships FOV is supposed to release? Hadn't heard of these until I just stumbled on them. Could be cool.

http://www.flyingmule.com/products/UM-86001

There was discussion of them six months (?) ago when they announced their 2008 releases. I think these will be cool but I wish they would have chosen a more mainstream scale. I would love some company for my 1/700th ships!

I haven't seen any reviews of the new BISMARCK...but I was disappointed that it's 1/1000 scale. I would preferred have least 1/700 scale.

i wonder if it will be waterline or full hull. The scale will be kind of small should they decide to do submarines in it. May pick it up if i see it at TRU.

I agree with the above posts.. This would've been really cool if it were in a mainstream scale like 1/700 or 1/350. Unfortunately, like their 1/32 aircraft, FOV drops the ball again.

I just saw the new Battle Extreme Series show up in my AO, the Apache and Black Hawk repaint. I was looking at the back of the box to see what the new line-up was, and was surprised to see the Bismarck shown as a Battle Extreme series.

I'm not really sure how big 1:1000 scale is but I think the reason FOV is releasing the Bismarck at 1:1000 scale is because they are probably trying to jam it in the Battle Extreme Series box, so that it would be easily available too Target and TRU without increasing the price and space shelf.
I'm looking forward to this regardless of the scale if this will mean more warships are going to be made by FOV.

i think 1/1000 is a standard wargaming scale. Also, making it 1/700 would mean a bigger and more expensive model. Probably not a risk they were willing to take with a new ship series.

In 1/1000 it will be about 9.5 inches long. I wonder if it will be waterline or full hull. I would bet waterline.

^I'll take that bet.

While it will certainly be a nice ship, I am still puzzled why FOV did not go with the more standard 1:700 scale. Gearbox Toys had a line of diecast 1:700 ships that retailed at Wal Mart and elsewhere in 2004 (and which have been recently found at Tuesday Morning stores.) The boxes were not much larger than 21c's standard 32x aircraft box.

aferguson wrote:i think 1/1000 is a standard wargaming scale.

Sorry, but I have to disagree.

There are about 14 different scales used in naval wargaming, depending on the era and scope. Scales run from 1/6000 to 1/160, but I've never seen a game run, or miniatures in 1/1000.

In fact, about the only genre that uses 1/1000 as a "standard" scale is sci-fi models. A lot of Star Trek models come in 1/1000.

Personally, I think they went with the old "scale to box" method....

Hmm..it's a 1/1000-scale ship...but it's 10 inches?

I used to build 1/700 ships when I was little, and from what I remember, an Essex-class carrier in that scale was around 7-8 inches. And I know the Bismarck was a little smaller than the Essex. So it can't be 1/1000.

And look at the dimension of that FOV Bismarck...10 inches long, yet it's only 1.5 inches wide? That is one narrow Bismarck.

So this FOV ship *might* be around 6-5 inches. Maybe even four...if it is 1/1000.

Either way, it's too small for me. That's why I decide to build my own.

bismarck was a little over 800 feet long. In 1/1000 scale thats 10 inches about.

aferguson wrote:bismarck was a little over 800 feet long. In 1/1000 scale thats 10 inches about.

You're probably right. I suck at scale conversion.

The Motor Pool says that these will be waterline models. I think I would prefer the entiire hull myself.

I wonder why we don't see more pre-assembled/painted ships in 1/700? I would sure like to add to my collection, especially with cruisers, destroyers and Liberty ships.

Hi,
Its early in the morning, so I'll give it a shot anyway. If the actual ship was 800 feet long, and the FOV replica is modeled in 1:1000 scale, then I think that converts to around 8 inches or so in length. My guess is that they chose this scale so it would fit in their standard "Battle Extreme" series box. These are the same boxes used for the recently released 1:72 scale halftrack with PaK gun, Apache, Black Hawk, and so on. So, while a 1:700 scale ship might have made more sense to a wargamer, I'm not necessarily sure they were aimed at that segment of the market. For around $25 bucks or so, I think they were really aimed at the toy market or casual collector.

Keep in mind that FOV really doesnt tout their replicas as museum quality, so you get what you pay for, even if that doesnt sit well with the rivet counters. Its a nice attempt to replicate a world renowned ship and nothing more.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

Hi Olifant,
I couldnt agree more. I would think someone would step into the 1:700 scale warship market and begin offering highly detailed models of both WWII and modern era combatants.

If I were a manufacturer, I would make it so that the hulls were detachable at the water line, so you could offer the ship in both full draught and waterline versions, thereby satiating everyone's appetite.

Other ships that would do quite well are larger scale litorral ships such as PT boats, E-Boats, Vietnam era Brown Water Navy ships, Higgins Boats, etc. Seems as if there would be a strong following out there if someone would step forward and take the bull by the horns...

800 feet at 1/1000 scale is .8 of a foot or .8 X 12 inches which is 9.6 inches. Since bismarck was a bit longer than 800 feet, that would make the model 10 inches in 1/1000 scale. So the scale is accurate and the model wasn't just sized to fit a box. They may have chosen the scale, to fit the box, but the scale is correct.

Hi AFerguson,
You could very well be right. I havent seen the item yet or its box. The point is, I dont think FOV ever said this was going to be the "be all and end all" of model warships. Its a simple replica much like some GI Joe toys model, in simplistic fashion, some types of weapons systems we're all familiar with. I think that if you're looking for utmost accuracy, you might want to stick with building models. For $25 or so, its a nice looking, fully assembled specimen of a world famous warship that might draw new blood into the hobby. To expect museum quality accuracy for this price, I think some people are asking a bit much.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

lightning2000 wrote:Other ships that would do quite well are larger scale litorral ships such as PT boats, E-Boats, Vietnam era Brown Water Navy ships, Higgins Boats, etc. Seems as if there would be a strong following out there if someone would step forward and take the bull by the horns...

I would love to see some of these, especially an E boat. About the only similar item I ca remember was a diecast 1/72 PT boat put out through TRU a few years back. I almost picked one up but some of the detail was obviously not to scale and that ruined it. I would really love some 1/72 stuff like this done by a more detail oriented manufacturer.

How big would a diecast 1/72 scale U-boat be?

Hi,
Frankly, I think a company such as Hobby Master would be the ideal candidate for such a venture. Thus far, they've produce a credible array of aircraft and vehicles and they're known for doing things other manufacturers might not address, for whatever reason.

Since they own their factory, they have a batter handle on costs, which could help to keep the line's prices in check for the forseeable future.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

lightning2000 wrote:Hi,
Frankly, I think a company such as Hobby Master would be the ideal candidate for such a venture. Thus far, they've produce a credible array of aircraft and vehicles and they're known for doing things other manufacturers might not address, for whatever reason.

Since they own their factory, they have a batter handle on costs, which could help to keep the line's prices in check for the forseeable future.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

Can we expect you to take the bull by the horns and talk to HM about this? Tell them you have hundreds (OK, three) of customers clamoring about this!

I like the idea about a removable hull piece, but I wonder if wargamers would be willing to pay the extra money for that feature. Also, isn't 1/700 a little big for gaming?

Not being a gamer myself I don't have a clue what I am talking about.

MRC is already doing 1/700, pre-built submarines through their "Easy Model" line.

They are also being released as kits under the "Hobby Boss" brand.

So far, about twice as many subs have been released as kits.

Some of the subs available as pre-built are:

World War II
German
Type VIIB
Type VIIC 1941
Type VIIC 1944
Type IXB
Type IXC


Modern
Chinese Type 33 SS
Russian Akula SSN
Russian Kilo SS
JMSDF Oyashio

American
SSN-21 Seawolf
SSN-23 Jimmy Carter
SSN-688 Los Angeles
SSN-772 Greenville

I have all of the "Easy Model" subs. The detail is quite good and is as good as the DML kit of the same class.

Hi,
I'm not a tabletop gamer either. You could be right about 1:700 being too large for gaming. We sell the Gearbox line of 1:700 scale ships, and they're pretty large. Cant imagine how much space you would need to reenact an engagement at say several thousand yards. Just thought it might be a neat idea to let the collector display it in either mode.

Lightning2000
www.themotorpool.net

lightning2000 wrote:If I were a manufacturer, I would make it so that the hulls were detachable at the water line, so you could offer the ship in both full draught and waterline versions, thereby satiating everyone's appetite.

I think FOV might try to split it up, full hull for the Enthusiast Edition, and water line hull for Action Series.

i remember when i was a kid i had some small plastic ships that had the removable hull option so you could have waterline or full hull. They were only about 4 or 5 inches long or so but were pretty nice, as best i can remember. May have been by Bachman or somebody like that.