Hi All,
Just looking for some advice on which 1/350 scale ship would be a good 1st ship for me.
I build and finish 6 - 8 models a year mostly 1/35 armour, 1/24 cars or 1/48 aircraft but have never built a ship (I'm not counting the Airfix blob of glue that was supposedly HMS Belfast I built when I was 10). I dont mind large models with lots of parts and am not looking for a quick build. I don't want masses of pe tho', about as much as you get in an Eduard aircraft kit would be fine.
So, the ones that have caught my attn so far are Trumpeters HMS Hood and Tamiya's IJN Mogami.
Anyone got any good advice as to which kit would fit the bill? I'm a bit at sea here having never tackled anything naval before,
Thanx in advance
David

Hi David!

The Tamiya reputation for well-designed armor and aircraft carries over to its 1:350 ships, so starting with a Tamiya product should be a good way to ease into large-scale ship modeling.

One thing that especially appeals to me about ships is how well they lend themselves to super detailing, conversions, and dioramas. You will find limitless possibilities.

--Karl

I have both kits, but haven't built either yet. I wouold tend to agree with Carl though. I think the Tamiya kit would be easier to build. It is also 4 or 5 years newer and might be a bit better detailed. Generally PE is about as far as you want to take it. I would recommend at least to do the side railings for either kit. It just enhances the ship...stretch it out a bit further to do cranes, catapaults and radar you'll be leased. A lot of the kits have PE to totally replace plastic requiring you to cut away something. Sounds like you aren't quite ready for that

Other kits to look at would be the Tamiya KG V or Missouri. Those come out well. The bismarkis fine, but Lacks upper deck detail. There is the Revell version of that kit that is supposed to be far supeior, I don't know

My first big kit was the Tamiya Yamato. Pretty easy to build with a bit of PE she turns into a nice display piece....as does the Mighty Mo.

Just shop around and get a good price on whatever you buy.

Hi Karl, Hi Steve
Thanx for the sound advice
I do like Tamiya kits, the fit is rarely bad in my experience and the instruction seldom leave anything for the modeler to guess at. I think that is what I am looking for with this build, as I know very little about ships .
I don't mind adding the PE, but you are correct that I'm not fond of cutting bits off a model to replace them again, I have done it but the confidense is not that high yet .
I'll hunt around the web and on eBay and see what there is based on your recomendations, I'm sure there is a bargain waiting to be had out there with my name on it
Thanx again Guys
David

My recommendation for a first model is the Tamiya Yamato. It is rather cheap at that scale, a great ship and a great model. Fun to build, fun to look at later.

Thanx Jay
Thats two votes for the Yamato and like you say it's affordable too. I hadn't really thought about the display thing after, most of my models end up on one or other of the nephews shelves, with the occasional plea to stick mirrors/wheels/wings etc... back on , but I think this one would be a keeper. I have just the spot for it, tho' the wife might miss her dining room table eventually
Thanx again
David

Im am currently working on my first 1:350 ship and while the detaillevel generally is sufficient to my needs, then the lack of railing is very visible in this scale. Instead of buying a allround etchset I will suggest you look for one of the generic sets with reailing and ladders as they can do a big difference without trowing away too many kit parts.

Good luck

Jan

Hi Jan,
Thanx for your input.
I had been looking at some of the PE sets and saw an Eduard Big Ed for the Yamato. Looks like it supplies the railings, ladders, deck details and the catapults/crane at the stern of the ship.
Whilst the crane/catapult assembly might be a tad ambitious (for me), I can see no reason not to have a go at it and see how it turns out. I have an etch mate that I use for the small amounts of PE that I am used to, and if it turns out badly I can use the kit part.
Having looked at the instruction sheet for the Eduard set there does not seem to be a huge amount of surgery, there is some but if I get cold feet I could just go with kit parts for that section.
I'm really getting exited about this now and am trying hard not just to go out and buy the Yamato and PE set. Are there any known build issues with the kit? Any pitfalls for the unwary?
Thanx again David

One of the difficoult things for me was planning the buildingsequence - as with all types of kits theres a certain approach that will help you later on, like leaving the tracks of a tank before painting is done.

The same goes with ships, planning ahead and painting and weathering in logical steps will save some headache later on. As I am a total noob when it comes to targets (surfacevessels ) I´km not the best to advise you, but I did build my ship in subsections and painted and weatered my hull and superstructure apart - besides that, the more fidly deckparts will go on later so they won´t be killed during panting.

theres alot to learn from this feature and the following second part: http://modelshipwrights.kitmaker.net//features/2600

Cheers/Jan

Thanx again Jan,
I'll take a bit of time this evening and give it a read.
David

David,

Working with 1/350 PE really is not as difficult as it seems. Some pieces for a 1/35 tank are very small, so don’t let the big difference in scale bother you. I put together a crane for a 1/700 ship with no problems and that was the first time I had ever done one that small.

As for a kit to pick, I would listen to the other guys. I have two 1/350 kits I am working on right now. My experience is that scale is limited at this time.

But, I would agree the Yamato would make a good first time build.

ALSO…Welcome to MSW. There are plenty of members willing to help you out so do not be worried about asking questions.

Hi Everyone,
Thanx for all the great advice and the welcome Jim.
Just got back from my local model shop in Dublin with Tamiya's Yamato tucked firmly under my arm.
Just waiting on the PE to arrive from Canada via eBay and I'm all set to get started.
Well thats after I get Revell's 1/48 JU52 finished and a 1/24 Revell Pontiac Firebird that stalled at the sight of german wings in the dining room.
So be prepared for a barage of questions in about 3 weeks time : )
Thanx again all
David

David:

Lets see if I can get a few of those first questions out of the way so you can get started. Most of us build the kit in sub-assemblies. It makes it easier to paint. I genreally will buikld all the gun turrets and the superstructure pieces and as it is not a camo ship go ahead and paint them. Yamato was done in Kure gray which is pretty dark grey color. All i can tell you is in Model Master enamel it is Engine gray. I think Tamiy acrylic has a Kure Gray. With the hull, I save the propellers rudders etc for last. I handle the ship quite a bit especially when I get to PE railings and this way I dn't worry about breaking things. I think you will find everything on this kit pretty straightforward. You might wantt o get a reference book to show you close up pictures/drawings of the detail to aid in placing PE. Depending on your budget there are several. I only have one "Anatomy of a Ship" which was pretty expensive. The guys can probably give you some cheaper ones a well.

ENJOY !!!!!

Hi Steve,
Thanx for the starters . I was looking at the instructions and the first thing tamiya tell you to do is put the propellers on .
I just received the Eduard photoetch today and took a peek at the pdf instructions on their websit even my wife said "that looks like a long build", and she's used to seeing the same part built model on my self for weeks/months on end. Then she looked at the Tamiya box and said "1/350 thats tiny" then took the lid off wondering if all the fiddly bits would need to be put on saw the size of the hull, looked at the fiddly bits more closely, glanced at the PE and said "ok it's not so small, and by the way your mad"
So, I got the kit and the PE, will have a study of both sets of instructions one quiet evening and see what I can section out. Not sure which paint I will use, been having mixed results with acrylics and airbrushing (gun keeps clogging and paint does not seem to cover properly ), but seem to be ok with enamels (humbrol) they spray without clogging, cover well and I have a lot more control over the airbrush.
I took a look on eBay and that book you recomended does seem a tad expensive £22+shiping but I might get it, I did buy a book for my JU52 build which doubled the price of the build .
I got friends coming over from Texas first week in July so a sensible time to start will be after they have gone back, that leaves me with 2 weeks to finish 2 models, decorate 2 rooms, clear the garden, feed the dogs mow the lawn....you get the picture
Thanx again all
David