Haven't built any ships for at least 15 years, but out of some reason I would like to give it a try again.

The ship I'm thinking about is Tamiyas 1/350 scale HMS Price of Wales. Now my question is, is this a good model for an unexperienced ship builder? Or is there some other model of a British BB that maybe are more suitable?

Thankful for any input on this subject.

Hi Thomas,

Not knowing what your skill level is as far as modeling is concerned, why not give one of the Trumpeter or Dragon Destroyers a workout first to see if it still tickles your fancy, be a heck of a lot cheaper to sample the 1/350 scale market that way. You could buy the kit and related Photo Etch set and barrels as well for a lot less than just the price of a battleship kit.

The Prince of Wales is a fine kit as is its' sister/brother King George V. I have also heard good things about the new Revell Bismarck kit.

Jay said everything...
Take a small destroyer, and (re)work your way up. It´s far better (and smaller) than getting into a battleship, with all those details you´ll have to add. Don´t forget that Hasegawa also does a 1/350 IJN destroyer, the Yukikaze, in both early (1940) and late (1945) config.

Best Regards.

I think that very much depends on how you want to build your model, out of the box or with photo-etched details. The Tamiya PoW / KGV is a very good kit and builds well just out of the box but there are excellent photoetched available for it from White Ensign and Gold Medal Models, which will add that extra layer of detail.

The recommendations for a destroyer are all good ones, I would also throw in the new Airfix Montgomery and St Albans, although at 1:400 scale you may want to consider that if you are thinking about building a few 1:350 due to the scale differences.

There is a lot of work on a 350 scale battleship, though I might add, also a little less crowded than a destroyer, but you end up with a pretty impressively sized model.

Mike