Monday, August 26, 2013

USS Arkansas BB-33 1:1800 (Shapeways)

My latest shapeways order arrived Thursday, so this model went to the front of the line.  I had tried to order twice before, but due to some technical difficulties shapeways could not print it.  I guess 3rd time is a charm.

IMO the designer did an excellent job on this model.  The turrets do not turn like a some shapeways models and it does not have as much deck detail as some others, but she fits in very well with the WotC models in comparison to detail and that is really what it is all about. Squint did do a great job fitting in all the AA gun tubs for such a small BB which gives it great depth.

Since the model represents a modernized USS Arkansas I decided to go with a late war paint scheme as opposed to the early war schemes I like for all my other USN Dreadnoughts.  It was difficult finding a color picture, so I went with what I could find and used the colors based o known camo patterns.


My version:

One thing this designer does that I which all shapeways designers did is he puts that Ships name on the bottom of most models.  I am sure it takes a bit more time and probably adds a few cents to each model, but this would save me a lot of hassle if they all had it.



As mentioned above Squints models general compare very favorable to WotC models.  To show this I took a pic with USS Iowa, USS Washington and USS California.  IMO USS Arkansas fits in very well and has as much or more detail than the WotC models.
Top to Bottom: USS iowa, USS Washington, USS California, USS Arkansas

Overall I am very please with the end result.  Once again the initial grainy appearance of the WSF has completely disappeared using the finishing process I have previously detailed in my other blog entry

http://rallyroundtheflag.blogspot.com/2013/08/shapeways-and-new-era-of-miniature.html

Enjoy!

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