iwo jima

Academy is coming out with a 1:350 scale Wasp-class LHD.   Should convert to an Iwo Jima with not too much difficulty.

Academy had a test shot at the IPMS Nats last month.   It was very nice & well molded.  Surface detail was petite -- not overdone as seen on some new models.   The kit had a hangar deck and well deck.   It will come with an air wing and a couple of LCACs.

Expected release date is December 09/January 10.  MSRP in the 200 USD range

EdGrune wrote:

Academy is coming out with a 1:350 scale Wasp-class LHD.   Should convert to an Iwo Jima with not too much difficulty. Academy had a test shot at the IPMS Nats last month.   It was very nice & well molded.  Surface detail was petite -- not overdone as seen on some new models.   The kit had a hangar deck and well deck.   It will come with an air wing and a couple of LCACs. Expected release date is December 09/January 10.  MSRP in the 200 USD range

It's funny that you mention the Iwo Jima, she is tied up right across the street from my building. Her paint is in really bad shape right now, a weatherer's dream!

It sure would be nice to see some more 1/350 amphib models.  I was on the Iwo Jima back in 1993.  Being a Marine, there's a certain fondness for the Iwo Jima.  She was also the first ship I was on.

-Jesse

Listen up, oldtimer, this is the new Iwo Jima, (LHD-7), not the one you served on, you know, the one with sails. 

Here's your old boat, LPH-2:

subfixer wrote:

Here's your old boat, LPH-2:

If you want to go that route, Iron Shipwright offers the Guam (LPH-9) which is also of the "old" Iwo Jima class.

http://ironshipwrights.com/ships_350.html

And if you can find one, Aurora made a USS Guadalcanal LPH, sister to the "old" Iwo Jima.   Now long out of production but it was one of the better of Aurora's kits.  They appear on eBay, but be prepared to spend almost as much as the ISW kit for one

subfixer wrote:

where did you say i could get the new verison? 1/350 size? i wanna call and order it!!!                                     Here's your old boat, LPH-2:

It is not available yet.   It will be available late 2009 early 2010.   This information was provided by the Academy rep at the recent IPMS National convention in August 2009.    He said the MSRP would be about 200 dollars.

Like other Academy Model products it should be available through your local supplier, or at online shops such as Squadron,  Freetime Hobbies, Sprue Brothers, etc.  Your final cost may vary by supplier, his discount, taxes, shipping & handling.  

Wow thats a bit much! is that normal for ship models? or is Academy in expensive model company. ive never done a ship model about how long would it be?

Archangel554 wrote:

Wow thats a bit much! is that normal for ship models? or is Academy in expensive model company. ive never done a ship model about how long would it be?

At 844 feet long, a 1:350 scale model would be a bit under 2.5 feet long.

The current generation of 1:350 scale aircraft modern carrier models have their MSRP in that range.   They can be found in shops (brick & mortar or online) for 125 or so.   Academy is just setting their price at a point relative to the current market.   In some instances Academy may be less that the market.  Example their new Graf Spee, its half the Trumpeter, but the quality is less than the Trumpeter.

Some expensive kits may even get seconded off to other sites at a deeper discount.  The Academy Perry's MSRP was 40 dollars,  I found one at Hobby Lobby for 20-ish, then took the 40% off coupon).

In the light of the recent kerfluffle over the Lindberg sub, I think I'd wait until it gets released instead of trying to be the first one on my block to have one.   That and wait until the resellers get ahold of them and begin knocking the price down some. 

I've seen it.  I'll likely get one. But not for 200.   They'll likely be a hundred or so in six months.  I'll buy then.

 

wow thx for the info, yeah a friend of mine just got off of that ship from deployment he siad and wants me to build him one..... or at least find him one. so the 1/350 size is pretty common size for ships?

Archangel554 wrote:

wow thx for the info, yeah a friend of mine just got off of that ship from deployment he siad and wants me to build him one..... or at least find him one. so the 1/350 size is pretty common size for ships?

Your original post asked for a 2-foot long model which keyed me into the 1:350 scale range at 2.5 feet

The other option is the Revell/Germany kit of the Wasp LHD in 1:700 scale.  It will be half the size of the 1:350 scale kit or about 15 inches long.   It is available now and the price is in the 20 to 30 dollar range. 

See the article at Internet Modeler

http://www.internetmodeler.com/2002/february/first-looks/rg_uss-wasp.htm

The most common ship model scales are 1:350 and 1:700/1:720.  In Europe 1:400 is popular (consider it metric 1:350).   There are other scales with varying popularity and model support

Hey-subfixer-- I do believe there was a third IWO. The NAVY had two being built in BREMERTON when my ship,U.S.S. OZBOURN- D.D. 846 went in for F.R.A.M. That was way back and that IWO looked NOTHING like I see being represented as the IWO. Perhaps it was a failed design? It wouldn,t be the first time. They had problems with that ship even on launch day.She rolled to starboard  about 15 degrees and stayed there!Thats the right side to non-shipbuilders! That ship had a closed bow like a regular carrier but it was almost a perfect half circle. The stern looked like it was grafted from a freighter! Since I transferred to the MARINE CORPS and was a fleet marine on carriers I never saw that ship again! I do wonder from time to time what became of those two. They were about 645 feet long at flight deck!     tankerbuilder

tankerbuilder, at that time period you were most likely seeing lph uss iwo jima as she was launched, 17 September 1960  &  commissioned  26 August 1961. the next iwo jima is the lhd wasp version.

There was an Essex class CV being built at Newport News (CV-46) that was to be named Iwo Jima,  but she was cancelled and broken up at the end of WWII.