Are right I got a deal on Tamiya 1/350 USS North Carolina and I know there is a bunch of PE out there for it, so my question is which one?

I like detail and I know Lion Roar makes one that is over the top, my question is is it that make better than say, Tom's or Gold Medal? Are there others or stuff to dress Tom's and Gold Medal that will rival Lion Roar with it's metal barrels, props and chain etc. for less money?

I'm a tight wad so I hate to drop $70-$80 on Lion Roar when I can get Tom's for under $20. Granted I'm likely comparing apples and oranges as I haven't built many boats and zero in a long, long time. I've never used Lion Roar so I only know what I've read about them thus far, which is much either, I will say there kit looks very impressive.

Thanks in advance,
Dave

I've got the Lion Roar North Carolina set and it really is a winner. If you *only* want PE, then yeah, Gold Medal will see you through, as Lion Roar will be overkill. Loren's stuff is a little thicker than Tom's, although Tom's has a good price to performance ratio. On most of my builds I end up using stuff from all three, but Lion Roar is usually in the lead.

Lion Roar uses differing thicknesses for their PE, so stuff like radars will be on a different kind of brass than say, railings. When you factor in all of those barrels, real brass screws, ship's bells, etc., Lion Roar's sets are actually pretty cost effective. Trying to buy all of that stuff separate from different manufacturers, the cost won't be far off and may even end up costing more than simply buying the Lion Roar set. But again, if you only want PE, the other guys should serve your needs.

The Lion Roar from what I've seen of it looks pretty sweet, BUT since I'm not a big ship modeler I've never used PE on a boat ... geez I don't remember the last boat I built but I was going to do the New Jersey as being a former Marine I call fire in from the NJ so I havd a attraction to it. However, I got the USS North Carolina for $40 and that was a little hard to pass up seeing how my LHS has it for $139.95 plus tax ... so plans change as I knew the NC had some really detailed PE out there compared the the NJ. Still might build the NJ at some point will just have to see how the NC goes.

The Lion Roar for the NC is available on eBay for $79.99 shipped and that seems to be the best price going for such a massive PE kit, most are about $100. It will be some time before I get to it as I have a lot of amour and softskins I need to get to, I'm use the the PE on those which I'm assuming is slightly larger so it will be a challenge for my thick fingers to do those itty-bitty parts ... I don't want to spend $80 to be annoyed I can do that for free. LOL.

Hey thanks for the advice I'll know more of the direction I want to take when the kit arrives and I get a look at it, It will be a nice change from the same-o same-o. Who knows might even build a plane too.

Dave

Hi Dave,

Don't forget that we at White Ensign Models also make a set for the 1/350 North Carolina. You'll find our PE 3585 here:

http://www.whiteensignmodels.com/acatalog/U_S__Ships___Aircraft.html

And with the dollar strong against the Pound right now, you'll be getting a good buy. Also, all our own products (except our Colourcoats paints) ship post-free worldwide.

I as ususal, concur wuith dADE. gET THE lIONROAR. tHE GUN TUBES ALONE ARE WORTH THE EXTRA PRICE. iF YOU ARE GOING FULL HULL WITH THE nc READ MY ARTICLE ABOUT THE POPSICLE STICK SPREADERS FOR THE LOWER HULL TO UPPER HULL CONNECTION. yOU'LL SEE WHAT i MEAN IF YOU PLACE THEM TOGETHER. pUT THE DECK IN PLACE AND THEN PUT THAT UPPER HULL ON THE LOWER AND YOU WILL FIND IT IS A BIT WIDER SO i USED A COUPLE OF WOOD POPSICLE STICKS TO SPREAD THE LOWER SECTION OUT ENOUGH TO MATCH. tHEN GET gATOR'S MASKING SET TO DO THAT REALLY NEAT CAMMO PATTERN. i DID A WRITE UP AND PICCTURES A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO.

I'll check this out as the dollar/pound ratio is better than normal right now.

Since you're a model company I'll tell you I've noticed that there is a huge hole in the market (It least in my searches) of US troop ships such as LPH's, LPD's, LST's, LHA's and the like ... in my travels to build a ship model, logic would dictate that I would want to build a ship I've been on at some time.

So I've noticed that there is a HUGE gap in the market of these types of ships. They're are a few 1/700, but zip, nothing, nada in 1/350 scale and what very few 1/700 there is out there is pretty expensive for the tiny size of the model.

Anyway I'll check out your site and see how it compares. Thanks!

Hi Dave,

I have a couple of sets left over from our resin kit of the North Carolina, and since this kit won't be produced again, I'll let you have them at a reduced price. Contact me at [email protected].

Jon Warneke
Iron Shipwrights