Sorry in advance if this is too weird for a Wednesday morning but it’s sort of a hybrid post so I’m not sure where it goes.

I have a design for a RBM in 1/100 scale I’m looking to get built up and photographed — yes it’s a boat and not a tank but as a patrol craft could easily be involved in a land dio using 1/100 (“15mm”) scale models. The RBM has apparently served in Iraq for instance.

Here’s the design — the hull has a cut on the bottom so the model can be built full hull or waterline (the lower hull is separate).



I’m wondering a) if armor modelers might be interested in such a model for dioramas and b) if anyone here with expertise in small scale kits and good photography skills would like to paint one up. Thanks!

I would think armor modelers would be interested in it, but not in that scale. There are a few 1/35 scale small craft that seem to be pretty popular. If it were 1/35, I would do it, but not in 1/100. I have no 1/100 figures or accessories to go with it and am not interested in buying a bunch of stuff to do a one-off in another scale.

Definitely understood that 1/35 is THE scale for armor modelers. I made this model for miniature wargamers, and was just wondering if anyone here modeled in 1/100 scale. The models are small and less detailed of course but the scale allows actual tank battles to be semi-realistically portrayed (at least in built up or other obstructed terrain).

Would it be feasible to increase the scale to 1/72?
There is a lot of armour modelling going on in that scale as well. Sometimes called Braille Scale ....
/ Robin

Possible yes, but for now it needs to stay at 1/100 scale, because my customer base is wargamers who play with very small miniatures, called "15mm" (1/100 scale).

If any of you have seen the WWII miniature wargame "Flames of War" that game is played with 15mm miniatures.

However in a diorama, a 1/100 scale ship might actually go well with 1/72 scale vehicles. If it's set further back in the background of the diorama, it could give a good perception of distance ....

There is a modest amount of crossover between modellers and miniatures wargamers, so I'd imagine there is some interest there. The subjects is kinda esoteric, even for wargamers, but at the right price I'm sure it will reach a niche market, which is what I dare say you expect.

As for anyone willing to build and paint it for photos, yeah, I'm sure several of us here would be good to do that. I would be, for sure. I used to sculpt patterns for N scale (1/160 scale) wargame armour (Perrin Miniatures stuff 10 years ago or so), so 1/100 is almost huge by comparison.

I'm in Canada and if you still need someone to build and paint it, contact me by PM.

Paul

I think it looks really neat. 1/100 is Architecture scale and is quite used in the Civil Engineering world...that is where you'd find your figures (and perhaps Shapeways makes 1/100 figures).

The issue with 1/100 and smaller scales is that the prints and resin cast tend to lose the details. The machine guns look nice here, but will they appear as simple rectangles and rods when printed?

As for painting, I thought that you normally go with DWartist (David Woods) as your painter.

How large is it? What is the L, W, H in inches or centimeters?

I agree about the smaller scale of this model would hurt it's appeal to most armor modelers. That said, it is a great looking design and an interesting subject matter.


BTW, you can get this high a detail print for something at the model's present scale but you won't find it at any of the common print shops like Shapeways. To achieve that level of detail you'd have to step over to someone with one of the truly high end 3D printers used commercially. The level of detail that these machines can achieve is remarkable but not cheap.

Jim
LSA

1/100 scale would appeal to Gundam Sci-Fi robot modelers although I wonder what good a 7.62mm machine gun would do to a huge 1/100 Gundam.

It's useful for Gundam water scenes and there are a few 1/100 Gundam figures around. Gundam supposedly takes place in the future though so I don't know if a 2018 RIB would fit in...