Gremir Models 1/200 Scale IJN Suzuya

[treadhead1952]

Hi All,

Well, I finally broke down and purchased another of Michael's fine kits, this one is Number 065 the IJN Mogami Class Cruiser, Suzuya. This makes 14 of his ship kits, out of 18 possible, that I have. I sort of like the idea of being able to print my parts out as needed. It also lets you make other ships in the class by changing a few little details like numbers or titles and details. Like his other ship and aircraft kits, you place the order, pay up with Pay Pal or a check and he sends you a link to down load the kit. Once you have the down load on your hard drive, open it up and send the supplied registration E Mail and he sends you the Registration Code that you save to the Model file and you are in business.

There are 57 pages that are meant to be printed on to card stock, 2 more that are for regular paper as well as four more pages for card stock to make up the base for the project. I would suggest that you make it early on as a place to hold this behemoth. Just roughly measuring the vertical hull formers shows it to be around 40 inches long overall. Along with all the parts there are 15 pages of assembly drawings covering various stages of the build. There are also 14 pages of photos of the completed ship to help you as well. There in are all the aids that you get to build this one with the kit. But there is also a link on the Gremir Models page for the ship to the Fantom Model site that has a lot more information to assist you. I will be running a build log of this one when I get it on the ship yard ways to construct so hopefully that might also offer a little more information on it's construction.

As with a ship model of this size and complexity, there are lots of details. While you can be a purist if you want and go all paper and card for the entire structure with a few bits from wire, you can also order up brass gun barrels, which I fully intend to avail myself of. I will also be using some Avast railings to save myself a lot of time and aggravation. Other than those concessions to more modern parts, some stretched sprue for rigging and possibly a thing or two here and there, the rest will be card and paper. Looking over all the parts after spending an evening printing it out on 110 pound card stock, I can attest to the fact that Artur Zaranski, the designer, didn't miss anything that I could spot off hand. I have built up a couple of the Mogami Class in 1/700 scale, there were four of them overall, and have the Morski Monograph on hand to assist with details, so I sort of have an idea of how this thing is supposed to look.

The parts are meant to be laminated in some cases, the pages have a table that tells you what gets built up to what size so there isn't any confusion. They vary in thickness from .03mm to 1.0mm to 1.5mm to gain the required stiffness and strength. The hull former is constructed so that the joins are off center from one another to help make it stronger. There are three pages of Templates to assist you in cutting and making up the parts that aren't supplied in card. I can hardly wait to start cutting paper and gluing things together!

[Ron40]

Looks to be a worthy subject and highly detailed. I have also
been debating a ship model from GreMir Models. Will be watching
this build with interest.....Ron

[Don Boose]

I have this model, although I doubt I will ever have the temerity to try building it.

I very much look forward to watching your build of this famous IJN warship, Jay.

Don

[treadhead1952]

HI Guys,

Ron, I am currently working on Gremir Models HMS Savage, an S Class Fleet Destroyer. It is pretty well along and you can check it out from beginning to where it is now here.

Gremir Models HMS Savage 1/200 Scale

It has just as much detail as the Suzuya, just a little smaller ship. Michaels designers pack them full of goodies so each one is a real beauty when completed.

Don, gee, I also have the Halsinki Fuso, GPM Oyodo, Modelik Emden and HMS Sheffield along with a whole bunch of other smaller craft also waiting for a chance in the builders blocks. Actually, I am learning how to work on these card model lovelies with some that are a bit more forgiving, ie. I can print out replacement parts easily or are like Michael's offerings. Once I feel a bit more comfortable working them over, I will be jumping all over the big boys. Since finding goodies like the brass barrels from Model Hobby over in Poland and other extras like AvantCard railings and such, the learning curve is shortened a little bit.

.: WWW.MODEL-HOBBY.PL :. Internetowy Sklep Modelarski - Modele Kartonowe, Modele plastikowe, Akcesoria modelarskie

AvantCard - Home

These larger scale ships are a real hoot to work on when compared to all the tiny 1/700 scale ones that I have in the past. I am even turning to some of the early ships like the Oldenburg, Lavoisier, and Admiral Ushakov that I never was attracted to before. Mostly because of Michael and Gremir Models offerings and being able to tinker at them in my own time frame. I have the Oldenburg hull forms printed out and laminated, just waiting for a bit of time to complete one of the other ships to start on it. Who knows, I might even get a taste for them like I do have for the IJN and RN ships.

Suffice it to say, if you want to try your hand at a quality ship model, Gremir Models is a hard one to pass on. With 18 ships to pick from and the ability to reprint as many copies of any parts you may need for your own personal use, you can really learn how to build them up.