2024-25 Release List

[Donald M Scheef]

These are my personal opinions of GHQ’s 2024-2025 season Micronaut releases. GHQ has seen fit to include thirteen Micronaut releases in this season, perhaps to make up for having issued only eleven in 2023-2024. Likewise, there are seven modern models to make up for only five in the previous list. This is my list of favorites, in decreasing order of my personal wants:

• UKN064, WWII UK light cruisers Scylla and Charybdis. During their lifetime, they were derided as ‘toothless’ because the planned 5.25” guns were in short supply and 4.5” were substituted. They turned out to be highly effective anti-aircraft ships. I intend to purchase two of this model, plus perhaps two more for my hypothetical fleet. Scylla and Charybdis were at the top of the Consolidated Micronaut Wish list with 43 votes.

• GWB046, WWI UK destroyer ‘L’-class also known as Laforey-class. This class included a total of twenty-two ships built by eight different shipyards. As usual at this time, each shipyard’s ships differed from those of the other shipyards. For practical purposes in 1/2400 scale the most significant difference is that six of the ships had two funnels (already covered by GWB038) and the others three. Being relatively new at the start of WWI, most of the ships had active careers, including four ships present at the Battle of Jutland. The Laforeys had 28 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 23rd place. I intend to purchase six packs of three, covering the 16 3-funnel ‘L’ class destroyers.

• IJN063, WWII Japan battleship Yamato, 1945. I was surprised when I realized that this model had no votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List. Apparently, neither I nor any of the other contributors to the list recognized that when Yamato and Musashi had their amidships 6” turrets removed, only Yamato had six additional twin 5” mounts added. Musashi had additional 25mm mounts, but no 5”. Regardless, Yamato, 1945 is a ship that deserves modelling. I intend to order only one.

• GWS014, WWI US aircraft carrier CV-1 Langley. This is one of the rare ships that were not completed until well after the end of WWI but was totally changed before the start of WWII. Never a truly effective combat unit, Langley was important for the development of aircraft carrier operation. Langley had 16 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 81st place. I hope GHQ provides aircraft to go along with this ship. I have been able to confirm that the following types of aircraft served on the Langley: Boeing F4B fighter, Martin BM bomber, Martin T4M torpedo bomber, Vought VE-7 fighter, and Vought O2U scout bomber. Although I concentrate on surface warfare, I may get one of CV-1 just for the uniqueness. (On the subject of uniqueness, would anyone else be interested in the original form of Langley as Fleet Collier#3, USS Jupiter? Her three sisters, Cyclops, Nereus, and Proteus all disappeared under mysterious circumstances.)

• UKN066, WWII UK escort aircraft carrier Avenger-class. These three ships were built on American C3 P&C type merchant hulls. The American escort carrier Charger (CVE-30) is very similar, mounting a 5” gun in the stern rather than the British 3” gun. The Avenger-class had 4 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 898th place. I won’t be buying any of these because I concentrate on surface ships.

• UKN065, WWII UK aircraft carrier Implacable-class. These two ships were ‘improvements’ on the Illustrious-class with more speed and aircraft but reduced armour. Due to working-up problems, neither entered service before August, 1944. Here is another aircraft carrier that deserves a new set of aircraft. Any of the following would be appropriate: Blackburn Firebrand, de Havilland Sea Hornet, Fairey Firefly, Fairey Barracuda, and Hawker Sea Fury. Implacable-class had 16 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 81st place. I won’t be buying any of these because I concentrate on surface ships.

Finally, seven ships of the modern era. Since I limit my purchases to ships in service in the first half of the 20th century, these are less important to me. GHQ seems to be following a pattern of multiple modern ships from a single country, in this case inaugurating a series of modern French ships. I applaud this practice.

• HFN001, post-Cold War France aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. A long-overdue addition to the modern French fleet. Like the Implacable and Langley above, this ship requires a new set of aircraft. Good choices are Dassault Rafale-M, Super Etendard, E-2C Hawkeye, AS365F Dauphin, AS532 Cougar, or EC725 Cavacal. De Gaulle had 21 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 47th place.

• HFN002, post-Cold War France frigate (sometimes described as a destroyer) Aquitaine-class. These were the development of the France/Italy FREMM program. There are six ASW and two AA versions in the French Navy. I cannot see any significant difference in the appearance of these two versions. The Italian Bergamini-class has visually different radar and armament, as does the proposed US Constellation-class. The Aquitaine-class had 14 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 113th place.

• HFN003, post-Cold War France frigate La Fayette-class. These ships were among the first to employ low-radar ‘stealth’ characteristics. The otherwise similar Saudi Arabia ‘Riyadh,’ Singapore ‘Formidable,’ and Taiwan ‘Kang Ding’ classes have different sensor and armament arrays. The La Fayette-class had 16 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 81st place.

• HFN004, post-Cold War France replenishment ship Durance-class. The Australian ‘Success’ and Argentine ‘Patagonia’ are similar. The Durance-class had two votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 1600th place.

• HCN001, post-Cold War Canada frigate Halifax-class. Like the Charles de Gaulle, this is a long-overdue model. The twelve Halifax-class have been the standard warship of the Canadian Navy for over thirty years and are now ready for replacement. The Halifax-class had 14 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 134th place.

• HUS032, post-Cold War USA attack submarine Virginia (SSN774)-class. Virginia-class had 5 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 674th place.

• HUS033, late-Cold War USA ballistic missile submarine Ohio (SSBN726). Ohio-class had 3 votes in the Consolidated Micronaut Wish List, tied for 1191th place.

Separate from the Micronaut entries, I would like to applaud GHQ’s choice of the following items in Microarmor scale:
• M41D Walker Bulldog
• T27 Xylophone, ground & truck mount
• D9 armoured bulldozer
• B5N ‘Kate’
Don S.

[ww2navyguy]

Great write-up Don. Thank you. I always appreciate your summary when we get a new GHQ release list.

[33YearsGHQ]

Pulling thus back up the forum

[ww2navyguy]

Wonder how much longer until we see Batch #1 for the 2024-2025 releases? Hopefully not too much longer.

[panzergator]

Things have really slowed down. Release is unpredictable and selections are sometimes odd, with obvious choices passed over for o obscure ones. Is the rudder loose?

[7.62]

I'm not sure that the direction of travel is so much of a danger as the safety margin under the keel!

Difficult times for a small company, the strong US dollar must be hurting any exports, not sure how confident your domestic hobby market is feeling.
The 3D 'elephant in the corner' revolution must be taking a bigger slice every year, last week I used a printer to make snowmobiles and DASH-7 transport aircraft. Not likely to be on a GHQ new release list but still a distraction from their pewter so I am guilty of the dark arts advance too.
I hope that GHQ can just hang on in there and keep going, I await the 1st Feb and hope we don't all run aground!

[panzergator]

Agree. I don't expect the next batch until after the end of the sale.

[33YearsGHQ]

Bumping back up, since the first batch is available

[cinctim]

2nd Batch Up, including the de Gaulle, with pics. N/T

[Harlan]

Nice set of releases GHQ, thank you

[Vergeltungswaffe]

Interesting that Charles De Gaulle says it comes with 14 Rafaele and 3 Hawkeye but the picture shows 16 and 2.

Considering that a Rafaele squadron is 15 and there are normally 2 Hawkeye's on board, neither configuration makes sense.

[panzergator]

The Marine ACV MUST be included in the coming year. It should have been dome before the M10. My Marines need something to motivate around the battlefield in besides LAVs and LPCs, and I'm not anxious to invest in a battalion of LVTPs.