The 2018 Nautical Research Guild Conference is in progress and I’ve been here manning a vendor table for Ages of Sail. I’m not thrilled with being in Las Vegas, just not my thing, but I’ve managed to get by. The event is being held at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino, and located on the second floor.

The event is lightly attended, but the those here seem to be enjoying the talks and workshop round tables. There are only two other vendors here besides Ages of Sail, so the table gets extra attention. Makes time pass more quickly.

Sherline lathe demonstration

Of course, at these events, there are always really nice models on display, and this year is no different.

This was just a sample of the models on display. There were more. The last two photos are, of course, my own Japanese boat models, which I brought since I…

Sorry, I know this is a very last minute posting, but I was just reminded that the San Francisco Model Yacht Club is holding its annual model boat event tomorrow, Sunday, September 16, 2018, at Spreckles Lake in Golden Gate Park.

The event setup begins at 9:30am. It’s open to the public and should go on most of the day. The club will have its clubhouse open, so you can view various boats on display that aren’t out in the water. Plus, you’ll have an opportunity to see all kinds of powered RC models, some small, some VERY BIG, plus RC sailboats. There’s even a group that does free sail racing, where the boats, powered only by the wind, are pre-set to guide themselves across the lake.

Here’s the informational flyer from the SFMYC’s website:

Get set for a fun and interesting day in the park! Ω

At least one person I know wouldn’t join the NRG because he didn’t want any more paper subscriptions piling up in his house. Well, those with similar feelings will be happy to know that they can now avoid the slow mailing system and piles of journals stacking up or getting lost by signing up for a digital subscription.

Digital editions are available as either a separate, lower priced, subscription at $40/yr, as opposed to the regular print subscription included with NRG membership of $50/yr, or as an add-on to regular membership and print subscription for an additional $15/yr.

The benefits to the digital edition are many. The subscription appears to be stored on-line, and you access the editions via the web. There is a large array of tools for searching, zooming, and scrolling through your magazine. There is a drop-down table of contents, if you want to jump straight to…

Sad news for ship modelers everywhere. Seaways’ Ships in Scale has apparently ceased publication. This, according to the Nautical Research Guild, whose own Journal will be working to pick up some of the void left behind by the long time periodical. The last issue sent out was the Spring issue, 2018, which is still listed on their website, and no official announcement has been posted or been mailed out to subscribers.

If you recall, it was exactly a year ago that the publication went from bi-monthly to quarterly. To my knowledge, the issue was primarily one of time involvement of the publisher, and as recently as a month ago, they were still accepting advertising.

Speaking strictly for myself, this is sad news in that the magazine was a great way for me to get written material out to a wide audience. I’ve personally had five articles published in Ships in Scale…

The Nautical Research Guild just posted some basic previews of 4 new kits from the new ship model kit manufacturer Ship Model Okumoto on ModelShipWorld.com. This is a new company in Japan that is producing a line of kits for those modelers who want to build a frame or admiralty-style model relatively quickly and easily.

Hannah by Ship Model Okumoto in 1/70 scale.

They offer four kits, the Revolutionary War schooner Hannah, the bark HMS Endeavour, the Santa Maria, and the 17th century French warship La Couronne. All are frame-style model kits with all parts laser cut for ease of assembly.

La Couronne by Ship Model Okumoto in 1/123 scale.

Construction times on these kits vary from an estimated 100 hours for the Hannah, on up to 240 hours for HMS Endeavour. These build times are far lower than what ship modelers usually have to face when building ship…