scaledecks.com - New Products Coming Soon!

[D-Boy]

"And, let me make the generic statement of, "Do please keep the comments and suggestions coming!" I enjoy hearing from the model-building community..."

And we appreciate your sponsorship of this board, and the ability to interact with the manufacturers and purveyors of the models and accessories we love (and desire). The ability to have a back and forth with someone about their product and business plan is rather extraordinary... so thanks for undertaking the conversation.

[johnd13]

Re. wood decks for Revell box-scale kits:

You might have done a study or thought of this already, but I am under the impression that while these kits get a lot of buyers among the new initiates, how many of those newbies actually know about wood decks for their models? How many of them would care? To me, wood decks are up there with PE - by the time you're thinking of using them, your knowledge of kits would make you look towards buying much better kits. Asides from the occasional conversion, wreck, or test model, how many modelers at the wood deck & PE stage actually buy Revell box-scales?

You can get brass barrels and photo etch for the 1/426 Arizona:

CNC Barrels

7e3b_1.jpg (23.64 KiB) Viewed 5660 times

Tom's Modelworks

Gold Medal Models

And, the results can be pretty good, too. Here is Mike Ashey's Build:

Mike Ashey's 1/426 Revell Arizona

Now look at this build of the 1/535 Missouri... This is spectacular:

Revell 1/535 Missouri

Well, actually that's pretty nasty. It's tough to find pictures of quality-built 1/535 Missouri models on line. Whlie you might all use that as a "See? We told you so!" I just think that's... sad.



But I will concede the point that I personally, along with probably just about everybody else on this forum, would prefer to work with better kits. So I am not looking so much for the hardcore builders like us who might want to go back and build a ship in 1/426 scale. What I would hope to catch would be the kid who got one of these to build, hit the Internet to do a search on "Revell 1/426 Arizona" and was led to the scaledecks.com website. There he could see that we offer a wood deck for his kit and then also see all the other decks that we offer along with photos of our decks in place in various builds. If I can catch a few of those kids and let them know "you can make a fantastic build out of your Arizona - something to be really proud of - and when you are done, there are a whole lot of other ships that you can build, too!" then I will have done my bit for the warship modeling community.



And for every ONE of those that I get, there will probably be another FIFTY that are built in an afternoon, unpainted, screwed up, and destined to meet their demise in a backyard in a feeble attempt to replicate history in small scale when combined with a few firecrackers.



I prefer not to think about the FIFTY. I prefer to think of the ONE.



Don't worry, though! We'll be sure to make lots of other offerings in 1/350, 1/400, 1/700, even the more rare 1/450, 1/500 or 1/600 series. Plus the occasional 1/96 RC model. And the 1/200 Arizona. And I have a request for the 1/200 Yamato, not to mention the 1/250 Yamato that I already have on my shelf.

So much to do!

[Pagodaphile]

"And for every ONE of those that I get, there will probably be another FIFTY that are built in an afternoon, unpainted, screwed up, and destined to meet their demise in a backyard in a feeble attempt to replicate history in small scale when combined with a few firecrackers"

Dang John ! You are one of us !

The sad thing is that if a kid tried that now, he would be sent to mandatory counseling and put on Janet Napolitano's watch list.

Uh oh... I think I just made it on the list.

[Seeadler290]

Actually it was the Gold Medal Models ad for the Revell box scale USS Arizona in FSM that lead me to try my hand at ship models. The fine detail of the GMM set just looked great (and do-able). What I am saying is that even my first attempt at ship modelling not only included a PE set, but was partially CAUSED by wanting to try a ship with PE. The old Revell Arizona might likewise be a gateway to other modelers interested in trying new techniques/products on a cheap model where a serious error would not have such great consequences.
...and most viewers would not know of the inaccuracies or poor techniques and think the "boat" looked rather impressive. A great way to build new modeler confidence.

[hartlyred]

Wood decks are a totally new subject to me. Does Scaledecks include instructions and finishing recommendations? I would like to start setting up for the New Jersey and include the photo paper decks. Lately it seems like I'm becoming a MASTER in disaster recovery, but with out guidance, these decks would most likely wind up in the garbage. That would be a sad waste of money and effort!

As a beginner I'll not be doing any removal of molded deck detail. I do plan to order either a WEM or GMM etch set. Is photo paper the right choice for me?

TIA

[johnd13]

Wood decks are a totally new subject to me. Does Scaledecks include instructions and finishing recommendations? I would like to start setting up for the New Jersey and include the photo paper decks. Lately it seems like I'm becoming a MASTER in disaster recovery, but with out guidance, these decks would most likely wind up in the garbage. That would be a sad waste of money and effort!

As a beginner I'll not be doing any removal of molded deck detail. I do plan to order either a WEM or GMM etch set. Is photo paper the right choice for me?

TIA

These are great and appropriate questions for a beginner, so let me respond to each of them...

Each deck comes with a full set of instructions. We also include the full "frame" that goes around the cut deck, and this material is great for practicing with on scrap plastic. (Personally, I like to glue samples to the UNDERSIDE of the main deck just to see how well various glues stick, how it looks when attached, etc. It's a good secret tip that is also included in the instructions!) In terms of "finishing" I like to just leave the wood natural - it looks great. No finishing required.

The New Jersey is a great kit - I've built it myself. Personally, I would go with the Tinted Wood deck for that ship. It really looks great - and for me it looks more "woody" than paper - maybe because it IS real wood!

The good thing about our decks is that they are really easy to work with. They have cutouts for all the deck detail, and you just drop it right into place. It lines up with all the deck detail, and it is really, REALLY hard to screw up. In effect, what you are doing is just laying down a micro-thin sheet of wood were you would be laying down tan paint to make the plastic just LOOK like wood. Unfortunately, plastic painted tan looks like... "plastic painted tan." If you want your decks to look like real wood, I would recommend... "real wood." See how easy this is?

Seriously. It is really, really easy - and it will make you look like a super-fantastic model builder. The wood deck is way easier than painting, as you don't have to worry about masking or trying to get all the edges right or anything. The edges are pre-cut for you.

When you have laid down the wood deck on the plastic (if it helps, just think of it as a thin layer of "wood paint") then you assemble the kit as normal. If you have pieces that glue into holes on the deck, there are holes in the wood that line up with the holes in the plastic - again, just like you would glue pieces to a "painted deck." The paint wouldn't get in the way of assembly, and neither does the very thin wood layer. Same thing. And as you would attach the photo etch to the plastic kit, you do the same with the wood in place. Rails, typically, attach to the outer edges, and our decks are cut to fit the deck inserts and not extend over the edges. It all works out really well.

Our slogan is "For scale modelers, BY scale modelers." Welcome to the hobby! You're going to have fun, and we do our best to make sure you get excellent results.



-- John D. --

[Guest]

Do you have a UK supplier? Your postage is more than the product!

[johnd13]

Do you have a UK supplier? Your postage is more than the product!

There are two things we can do here...

First, I have a supplier in Germany - but not yet in the UK. So perhaps that would work for you.

The scaledecks.com website assumes International Express shipping, which has full tracking. It is basically a slightly discounted Federal Express shipment that the United States Post Office offers. However, when people want to save some money, I am always willing to just ship the envelope Internatonal First Class postage. There is no tracking, but I have never had a problem.

If you send an email to me at johnd@scaledecks.com with what products you are looking for, I can weigh them out in the envelope and quote you a price using International First Class. If you like the price, pay the invoice. If not, let me know and I'll cancel the order before you have to pay anything.

How's that?

Normally I can do International First Class to Europe for about $5 - $10 U.S. - and most of the weight is in the envelope and not the deck! So that means you can order multiple decks and still get that really cheap shipping for a combined order.



-- John D. --