Model Monkey 3D-printed Scale Models

P-51 Mustang fans! "Bonkin", a superb modeler from Yorkshire, UK, has completed a beautiful 1/24 scale model of P-51D Mustang "This Is It!" from the classic Airfix kit. This particular aircraft was assigned to the 352nd Fighter Group, 8th Air Force and flown by the group commander, Colonel Joseph L. Mason.

Click the Large Scale Planes link below for more photos of Bonkin's model and a description of how he built it.
https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/105889-124-airfix-p-51d-mustang-this-is-it/

"Bonkin" chose to outfit his model with several Model Monkey products, including:
- Upper Cowling
- Wheel Well
- Rudder Pedals

Our upper cowling and wheel well were designed directly from scans of the original North American Aviation builder's drawings for maximum accuracy. Our cowling has a much more accurate shape than the kit parts it replaces. Our wheel well is far more detailed and since it includes an accurate wing spar it corrects the Airfix kit's inaccurately flat wing dihedral. Our rudder pedals include accurate raised NAA logos.

The Airfix kit was also released by Heller and MPC.

And, of course, we offer nameplates for all versions of the P-51.

See these models and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

Large scale Tiger and Panther tank fans! Happy to announce a Maybach HL230 P30 motor is now available in 1/16 scale. The model has been available in 1/25 scale and 1/35 scale and now we've decided to go BIG.

The Maybach HL230 P30 motor was used during World War Two by German heavy and medium tanks and tank destroyers including:
- Tiger I (the first 250 vehicles had an HL210 motor)
- King Tiger (also known as Tiger II, Royal Tiger, Königstiger)
- Panther
- Jagdpanther
- Jagdtiger
- early Sturmtigers (Sturmmörserwagen)

This large model is recommended for:
- Bandai 1/16 scale Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger I
- Hachette 1/16 scale Tiger Panzer
- Hobby Boss 1/16 scale Sd.Kfz 181 “Tiger”
- Mato 1/16 scale Tiger I
- Mato 1/16 scale King Tiger
- Tamiya 1/16 scale Pz.Kpfw. VI "Tiger I" Ausführung E
- Tamiya 1/16 scale King Tiger with Porsche Turret
- Tamiya 1/16 scale Sd.Kfz. 173 Panzerjäger "Jagdpanther"
- Tiger Models 1/16 scale Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger I
- Tongde Model 1/16 scale Kingtiger-Porsche
- Torro 1/16 scale Tiger I (Dynamic kit)
- Trumpeter 1/16 scale King Tiger with Porsche Turret
- Trumpeter 1/16 scale Jagdpanther early Version
- Verlinden Productions 1/16 scale Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger I Ausf. E
- and more!

And, of course, we offer nameplates for armored vehicles.

See these models and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

USS Constitution "Old Ironsides" fans! Happy to announce pairs of Congreve 24-pounder "Gunades" are now available in 1/96 scale (for Revell) and 1/76 scale (for Model Shipways). Other scales may be possible.

This pair of models represents the two captured Royal Navy Congreve 24-pounder "shifting gunades" fitted to USS Constitution in 1814 under the direction of Captain Charles Stewart.

A "gunade" is essentially a specialized cannon that blends the design of a long gun (traditional cannon) and the weight-saving and ease of handling characteristics of a carronade (a short, lightweight cannon).

The models feature a King George III monogram on the top of the barrel.

In 1814, the American privateer "Fox" captured the British merchantman "Stranger" which was carrying weapons to Jamaica intended for a British frigate under construction there. Among the captured weapons were new Congreve gunades cast in 1813. Constitution's captain, Captain Charles Stewart, arranged to have a pair of the new gunades brought aboard USS Constitution. Stewart replaced the two forward-most carronades with a single Congreve gunade and the two rear-most carronades with the second gunade. The weapons were aboard ship when Constitution simultaneously engaged and defeated HMS Cyane and HMS Levant in February, 1815.

The Congreve 24-pounder gunade was a radical, experimental pattern of smooth-bore cannon designed by Sir William Congreve in the early 19th century. It was created for the Royal Navy and Royal Artillery to offer a lighter, shorter gun that could still pack the punch of a heavy 24-pounder.

The goal was to produce a lighter gun than the standard Blomefield 24-pounder long gun while still allowed for "double-shotting" (firing two cannonballs simultaneously) without adding excessive weight to the ship or carriage. The gun's designer, Colonel William Congreve, was able to achieve this goal by creating a much shorter gun of just 7 feet, 6 inches long, thus reducing the weight to about 4100 cwt (hundredweight, about 4500 pounds). He also redistributing the metal, concentrating most of it around the breech (the back of the barrel) rather than the chase (the front). Compared to the standard Blomefield 24-pounder cannons then in service, the Congreve gunade's muzzle resembled a carronade, the breeching ring was omitted, and the trunnions were cast much further rearward.

The two captured gunades brought aboard Constitution were known as "shifting gunades" because they were rigged to allow them to be easily and quickly moved from one side of the ship to the other during combat.

For maximum scale accuracy, this pair of models was designed from contemporary drawings of the guns held by the Royal Military College, and a detailed description of the guns published by William Congreve in 1814 entitled "A Concise Account of the Origin of the New Class of 24-pounder Medium Guns, of reduced Length and Weight, proposed by Colonel Congreve, for the arming of Frigates".

We also several other weapons and fittings for USS Constitution and USS United States, including two types of 24-pounder long guns, 32-pounder carronades for Old Ironsides, 42-pounder carronades for USS United States, a Brodie galley stove, two types of capstans, shot racks and shot, shot trays and shot, and various types of rigging blocks.

And, of course, we offer nameplates for all six original US frigates.

See these models and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

US Navy submarine fans! A valued customer in Virginia is converting his 1/144 scale Trumpeter Gato-class fleet submarine kit into the Balao-class boat USS Lionfish SS-298 as she appeared in 1945. To help complete the conversion, he chose to replace his Trumpeter kit's USS Gato fairwater (sail/conning tower) with a recently updated Model Monkey USS Lionfish fairwater. The update includes the addition of handrails. Here are some photos of the model we sent to him.

USS Lionfish is preserved as a museum ship, designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986, and is now on display at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts. Never receiving the GUPPY modification, she retains much of her original World War Two appearance.

"An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the [Balao-class] boats had slight internal differences. The most significant improvement was the use of thicker, higher yield-strength steel in the pressure hull skins and frames, which increased their test depth to 400 feet (120 m)." - Wikipedia.

Compared to a Gato-class fairwater, the Balao-class fairwater was more compact and hydrodynamically superior.

Balao-class fairwaters are also available in other popular scales including 1/72, 1/180 (for Revell), 1/200, and 1/350.

And, of course, we can print nameplates for any Balao-class and Gato-class submarine.

See these models and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

US Navy battleship fans! Happy to announce that a USS Pennsylvania BB-38 Boat Deck, Casemate and Cranes model, as the ship appeared at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, is now available in 1/350 scale. Link:
https://www.model-monkey.com/product-page/1-350-uss-pennsylvania-bb-38-boat-deck-and-casemate

The model will be available in 1/700 scale and 1/429 scale (for Revell) shortly.

The model is intended to help build USS Pennsylvania BB-38 from your 1/350 scale USS Arizona BB-39 model kit.

Although Pennsylvania and Arizona were sisterships, they were not identical twins. This model captures the many conspicuous differences between Pennsylvania's boat deck, casemate, and cranes, and Arizona's.

Features:
- Overall dimensions and features scaled from official US Navy construction drawings of the actual ship obtained from the US National Archives.
- Accurately shaped deck, vents, and splinter shields.
- Accurate asymmetric splinter shielding configuration. Splinter shields on the real ship were not mirrored port and starboard.
- Forward 1.1-inch "Chicago Piano" circular splinter shield tubs correctly positioned for Pennsylvania (Arizona's tubs were positioned slightly further aft).
- Incinerator exhaust pipe (Pennsylvania's incinerator was located below the boat deck within the casemate and therefore not visible. - Arizona's incinerator was positioned on the boat deck.)
- Subtle plank detail.
- Deck edge waterways.
- Subtle recesses for forward superstructure and funnel, available separately.
- Recess for funnel is an accurate ellipse, not an incorrect oval with slab sides, and matches the footprint of the Model Monkey-designed Pennsylvania funnel available separately.
- Doors of the correct 3-bar type.
- Skylights, hatches, doors, ready service ammunition lockers and ammunition hoists accurately sized and located on the boat deck and within the casemate, in positions and configuration unique to Pennsylvania (Arizona's were different).
- Accurate portholes (properly called "airports") of the correct size (standard US Navy 11-1/4" diameter), properly positioned, with rigols (eyebrows). (Arizona's portholes did not have rigols.)
- Accurate vegetable locker bulkhead ventilation louvers (Arizona's louvers were different).
- Subtle, raised bases for 5"/25 cal. anti-aircraft guns (guns not included).
- Accurate and detailed fresh water tanks properly positioned on the starboard side of the funnel (Arizona did not have fresh water tanks on the boat deck).
- Accurate antenna trunks (Arizona's trunks were positioned differently.)
- Accurate fire hose configuration.
- Motion picture camera projection room partially surrounding the port side boat crane kingpost.
- Accurately located interior bulkheads surrounding the 5"/51 cal. anti-ship cannon stations (guns not included). Interior bulkheads include ammunition hoist and door detail.
- Integrated barbette for 14"/45 cal. triple-gun Turret No. 2 (turrets available separately). Barbette includes accurate footrail and handrail detail.
- Boat handling cranes (Arizona's cranes were different).

A superstructure model is also available. Link:
https://www.model-monkey.com/product-page/1-350-uss-pennsylvania-bb-38-superstructure-december-7-1941

And, of course, we offer nameplates for both ships of the class, USS Pennsylvania BB-38 and USS Arizona BB-39.

See this model and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

US Navy submarine fans! A valued customer in California is converting his 1/72 scale Revell Gato-class submarine kit into the Balao-class boat USS Tang SS-306. To help complete the conversion, he chose to replace his kit's fairwater (sail/conning tower) with a Model Monkey USS Tang fairwater. Here are some photos of the model we sent to him.

USS Tang sank 33 ships for a total of 116,454 tons. Her captain, Commander Richard O'Kane, received the Medal of Honor for her last two engagements (23 and 24 October 1944).

"An improvement on the earlier Gato class, the [Balao-class] boats had slight internal differences. The most significant improvement was the use of thicker, higher yield-strength steel in the pressure hull skins and frames, which increased their test depth to 400 feet (120 m). A Balao-class submarine, the USS Tang, actually exceeded her depth gauge's maximum reading of 612 ft (187 m) in 1944, when taking on water in the forward torpedo room while evading a destroyer." - Wikipedia.

Compared to a Gato-class fairwater, the Balao-class fairwater was more compact and better shaped thus hydrodynamically superior.

Balao-class fairwaters are also available in other popular scales including 1/144, 1/180 (for Revell), 1/200, and 1/350.

And, of course, we can print nameplates for any Balao-class and Gato-class submarine.

See these models and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

US Navy heavy cruiser fans! Avid ship modeler James Bird is converting his 1/350 scale USS Indianapolis CA-35 model kit to sistership USS Portland CA-33 as she appeared during the desperate Pacific Ocean naval battles of 1942. To help complete the conversion, he chose to replace his kit's parts with a set of Monkey Monkey Portland parts. Here are a couple of in-progress photos he sent to us of his inspirational Portland conversion model and some photos of some the Model Monkey parts he used.

USS Portland CA-33 was one of the most highly decorated US Navy warships of World War Two. She fought in ever major Pacific action including Coral Sea, Midway, Guadalcanal and Leyte Gulf. She survived the war earning 16 battle stars for her service.

In one of her most remarkable engagements, she fought the Japanese battleship Hiei in a brutal nighttime action during the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942. Despite being badly damaged from a torpedo hit, Portland was able to start serious fires aboard Hiei and she sank the Japanese destroyer Yudachi, all by gunfire in what some historians called a "barroom brawl".

Indianapolis and Portland were sisterships but not identical twins. Indianapolis was completed as a flagship with additional accommodation for the admiral and his staff. USS Portland was not. Thus, Indianapolis had a longer forward superstructure that extended aft alongside the forward funnel and into the aircraft handling deck. Portland, having a shorter forward superstructure, has a longer aircraft handling deck. Her aft superstructure is also somewhat different.

Converting an Indianapolis kit to Portland is a big project, recommended only for very advanced modelers. To build an accurate Portland, the conversion project requires replacing the entire Indianapolis kit's superstructure and turrets. Our Model Monkey parts include the major superstructure components needed and we offer a set of turrets with details unique to USS Portland.

And, of course, we can print nameplates for both ships of the Portland-class: USS Portland CA-33 and USS Indianapolis CA-35.

See these models and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

Fletcher-class destroyer fans! A valued customer in Texas is converting his 1/144 scale Revell "Round-bridge" Fletcher into a "Square-bridge" ship. To help complete the conversion, he chose to install a Model Monkey square bridge pilot house, a recently updated square bridge deck and combat information center, and a quintuple torpedo mount. Here are some photos of the models we sent to him.

The update to the bridge deck model includes the addition of a helm with ship's wheel, compass, and engine order telegraph. These details can be seen through the open pilot house doors and portholes (more properly called "airports").

The models are available in other popular scales including 1/350, 1/200, 1/125 and 1/96.

We offer two different Fletcher square bridge pilot house versions. The difference between them is the door configuration. To honor two major Fletcher-class builders, we call one pilot house type the "Bath Iron Works" version, and the other we call the "Bethlehem Steel" version. The real pilot houses were not named. The model you see here is a "Bethlehem Steel" version with door on the aft bulkhead. The "Bath Iron Works" version has a door on the starboard side, aft. To help identify which pilot house is correct for your model, we list ships known to have one version or the other in our catalog on the pilot house product webpages.

We also offer a "Round Bridge" in most popular larger scales.

The 2,050-ton Fletcher-class was one of the most successful wartime and post-war destroyer classes of the US Navy and arguably the most significant class in the Pacific war. 175 ships of the class were produced over a 32-month period during World War II. They were produced in two groups: 58 were built with a high, "Round Bridge" and 117 (two-thirds of the class) were completed with a low, "Square Bridge" which afforded better visibility for anti-aircraft defense.

Several Fletchers served in foreign navies. The last in service was Mexico's Cuitláhuac, the former USS John Rodgers DD-574, retired in 2001.

And, of course, we can print nameplates for any ship of the class in US or foreign service.

See these models and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

Yorktown-class aircraft carrier fans! An avid ship modeler in Virginia is building a 1/350 scale model of USS Yorktown CV-5 as she appeared pre-war in 1940. He chose to equip his ship with a Model Monkey island. Here are some photos of the model we sent to him.

In 1940, Yorktown was painted in a light gray called "Standard Navy Gray #5". She sported a large, black "Y" painted on both sides of her funnel. Her flight deck was treated with a stain called "mahogany" which was a rich reddish-brown or "maroon" tone that stained the wood while allowing the wood grain to remain visible, though often appearing quite dark in black and white photographs.

Building Yorktown as she appeared in 1940 presents the modeler with an opportunity for a very colorful "Yellow Wings" air group. In 1940, the "Yorktown Air Group", which was later designated as "Air Group Five" (CVG-5), included the following core squadrons:

- Fighting Squadron Five (VF-5): Grumman F3F-2 and F3F-3 biplane fighters.
- Bombing Squadron Five (VB-5): Curtiss SBC-3 Helldivers and Northrop BT-1s.
- Scouting Squadron Five (VS-5): Curtiss SBC-3 Helldiver and later the Vought SB2U Vindicator.
- Torpedo Squadron Five (VT-5): Douglas TBD-1 Devastators, some of which were used to test experimental camouflage during Fleet Problem XXI in 1940.

Yorktown Air Group Aircraft Identification Colors and Markings in 1940:

- Tail Surfaces: entire fin and rudder painted in "Insignia Red" to signify the aircraft belonged to the USS Yorktown Air Group.

- Wings: The upper surfaces of the top wings were painted "Orange-Yellow" (often called "Chrome Yellow") for high visibility if an aircraft went down at sea. "Orange-Yellow" was a rich, golden-yellow color with a slight orange tint, often matched to modern FS 13538.

- Fuselage: Generally left in Natural Metal (aluminum) or painted with Light Gray or Aluminum Lacquer.

- Squadron Section Markings: individual squadrons and sections were further differentiated by colored bands and cowlings:

​​​​​​​Section 1: Insignia Red (Full cowling)
Section 2: White (Full cowling)
Section 3: True Blue (Full cowling)
Section 4: Black (Full cowling)
Section 5: Willow Green (Full cowling)
Section 6: Lemon Yellow (Full cowling)

- Section leaders had a chevron painted on the top of the upper wing in the color of their section.

- Identifying Letters and Numbers on Fuselage and Wings: black.

And, of course, we offer a spiffy nameplate for all three ships of the Yorktown-class, USS Yorktown CV-5, USS Enterprise CV-6 and USS Hornet CV-8.

See this model and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™

Lexington-class aircraft carrier fans! Here are some comparison photos of our 3D-printed 8"/55 cal. Turrets in 1/350 scale and the corresponding parts found in a popular injection-molded plastic kit of USS Saratoga CV-3 by Trumpeter. Our Model Monkey parts appear in blueish-gray.

The Trumpeter Saratoga kit's turrets' gunhouses have shape and fit issues and lack detail. Our Model Monkey turrets avoid fit problems because they are 3D-printed in just 2 parts: the gunhouse and the trunnion. Separate trunnions allow you to position the guns at any realistic elevation, unlike the Trumpeter turrets.

Our Model Monkey turrets also feature extensive and accurate rivet detail and rangefinder ports and covers astride the guns. The Trumpeter turrets have no rivet detail nor do they have the ports or covers.

The Model Monkey turrets come in two different configurations just like the real turrets. The two superfiring turrets have rangefinders on the sides of the rear of the gunhouse with distinctive hoods ("ears"). The turrets on the flight deck did not have large rangefinders. Although Trumpeter got this right, the "ears" on the Trumpeter kit's superfiring turrets are incorrectly shaped and poorly detailed.

Our turret models for Lexington-class kits are also available in other popular scales including 1/700.

And, of course, we offer nameplates for both ships of the Lexington-class: USS Lexington CV-2 and USS Saratoga CV-3.

See these models and many more at:
https://www.model-monkey.com/

Have fun. Monkey around.™