Hey: I note that in addition to the current Fujimi (1942) 1/350 IJN Kongo battleship kit, there is now a 1/350 Aoshima Kongo - 1944 fit. I'm already partially invested in the Fujimi (which also has a sister-ship Haruna in 1944 fit just to complicate matters), so I'd really be interested in a comparison review of both ships - and with a view to what Mr. Dade B. had reported in his mighty Haruna review. It might make a good feature item for the site, since the large-scale ships have been getting some mighty good build reports lately! Just thinking...and wondering.... Stephen.

Afaik there are a 1944 Fujimi Kongo, a 1944 Fujimi Haruna, a 1944 Aoshima Kongo and a 1942 Aoshima Kirishima. No Hiei so far, but I hope to see it soon.

I have the Fujimi Haruna and Kongo and the Aoshima Kirishima and completed the latter two so far, out of the box. The Aoshima was the far better kit to built, but the Fujimi kit has a few more details. I also think (but don't know for certain) that the Aoshima kit is of higher historical accuracy. Unless I completely missed something, there are more aftermarket parts for the Fujimi model around than for the Aoshima.

Personally, I rate the Aoshima kit higher than the Fujimi kit, because of the better and more fun assembly. If you want to built a superior eyecatcher and don't mind the extra sweat, you might be better off with the Fujimi.

Yes, that would make an interesting set of reviews. The drawbacks to taking on a task like this is obtaining the kits and then finding a person who has sufficient knowledge of the ships to be able to make proper comparisons between the kit and the real ship. Comparing detail between the two kits should be fairly easy.

I would love to be able to put something like that together for anyone who would like to tackle it. The 1/350 scale seems to be the new hot bed of activity for the big ships. Plus do not forget there are some nice cruisers coming out this year as well. Mogami was the first, there are more in the pipes.

I think the original Fujimi kit the big gripe was wrong shaped casement guns. I also heard that Aoshima goofed them as well. I wouldn't know as they all kind of look alike to me and I only do one of a type. Too many on the market and at $200 or so a pop....too much new stuff coming out, besides, I am so backed up now with kits that I can just about put out as many as I bring in each year.

Fujimi's casemate shapes are WRONG. They're on an angle when they should be vertical.

Aoshima's casemates are CORRECT. They are vertical.