Academy releases new version of Perry-class frigate as Reuben James

Got this one on pre-order from Freetime Hobbies. Is there a release date?

In stock at Squadron

Brandon @ Freetime announced on SteelNavy that  Freetime is scuttling their new combined site with PacFront and are reverting to their old one.      

http://members.boardhost.com/Warship/msg/1308258559.html

He says they have all the orders from the combined site but you cannot access their status.    Contact them for shipping info.

Nice looking kit... My brother served on this class during the Persian Gulf Tanker war and I'd like to build him one... I'd need to do the short hull version though - is this easily accommodated in the kit?

The basic kit is a short-hulled Perry with optional parts (they don't tell you about) to make a long-hulled version.   I would be very surprised if Academy changed the way the kit is molded for the new Reuben James.

The basic  kit only comes with decals for the Perry.   Aftermarket decals are available from either Hawk Graphics (for long-hulled world-wide operators) and

or from Iron Shipwright

EdGrune

Brandon @ Freetime announced on SteelNavy that  Freetime is scuttling their new combined site with PacFront and are reverting to their old one.      

http://members.boardhost.com/Warship/msg/1308258559.html

Glad to hear it honestly, didnt really like the new site much.

I would agree on the "merged" sites, it seemed like a lot of the photos that were available on the Pacific Front site were no longer available. But I know from personal experience what a pain it can be to cram two or more into one.

Got mine today and its a really good looking kit. Academy is really doing them up with these premium editions. The pe looks great!!

Is this class of ship still operating?  What's the dope?

Here is the Wiki page on it. Seems she is in Thailand atm with some Royal Navy ships doing excercises.

Is this 350th???

Maybe

Yes

Jester75

Got mine today and its a really good looking kit. Academy is really doing them up with these premium editions. The pe looks great!!

I am hoping that Lucky Model or someone will release the PE sparately for the original Perry kit owners. The WEM PE is good, but costs ($22) more than my Perry kit ($17 at HL).

Ouch, that sucks. More than the kit and in Academy's set, there is mainly railings and the main dish so theres not alot.

I saw this kit in the box and even though I'm not into modern ships this is a GREAT buy that begs to be had...very cool kit...hope Academy keeps issuing these MOJO's and others...

Jester75

Ouch, that sucks. More than the kit and in Academy's set, there is mainly railings and the main dish so theres not alot.

The WEM is more than just rails & radars.   While half the fret is allocated to that, the set has replacement decks and bulkheads to replace the too-thick plastic stuff.    Additional bulkhead details,  roll-up doors,  boat and helo details, etc.

I

The WEM set is much more complete than the set which accompanies the Reuben James and anything which Lucky or the others may come out with. 

I think that taking the basic Perry kit at less than 20 and pairing it with the WEM details and either the ISW or Hawk decals will turn out an exemplary Perry model and will bring you in at about the same price point as the new Reuben James kit

EdGrune

Jester75:

Ouch, that sucks. More than the kit and in Academy's set, there is mainly railings and the main dish so theres not alot.

The WEM is more than just rails & radars.   While half the fret is allocated to that, the set has replacement decks and bulkheads to replace the too-thick plastic stuff.    Additional bulkhead details,  roll-up doors,  boat and helo details, etc.

I

The WEM set is much more complete than the set which accompanies the Reuben James and anything which Lucky or the others may come out with. 

I am sure that there are many builders who appreciate the completeness and complexity of the WEM fret. I will be happy to pay $10-12 for the academy fret as replacement of the plastic railing. Otherwise, I probably will build the Perry OOB.

I have a Trumpeter 1:700 Ronald Reagen on the stash, I paid $22 for the Gold Medal PE set. But I got it for a more complex, thus more expensive kit.