Hi Guys!

I know this is an unusual subject in this day and age and it's probably been discussed here before, but, what would be the best ship kit for a newbie to cut his teeth on?

Believe it or not a friend's son of about 8 years of age wants to have a crack at a ship after seeing pics of my finished Prinz Eugen!

Oh, and needs to be reasonably priced too

I got a Lindbergh 1/750 KGV from Hobby Lobby for $7. Comes with one sprue for parts and full hull. Without paint, would probably take about 20 minutes to assemble. Since its so cheap, it can be used to test paint techniques.

Tamiyas destroyers, good clear instructions and ease of assembly. Maybe Revells lots too.

Academy has an easy assembly USS Missouri, pre colored parts. Titanic also.

Russ,

If your friend's son liked your Prinz Eugen, Revell makes one in 1/720 that he might enjoy. It isn't too difficult a build, and he might like playing with the snap-on lower hull (I certainly did at his age!)

I think there’s no perfect beginner kit when it comes to ships. They are, in my own personal opinion, are the hardest models to do at the beginner stage. Even out of the box some kits are very complex (looking at you dragon). The snap kits are a good idea and maybe the larger scales of 1:144 or 1/72. I enjoy ships the most because of complexity. Most modern ship kits even come with photo etch. My recommendation still would be tamiyas destroyers. The least instruction mistakes, arguably the best fit out of the box, and tamiyas plastic is very good and crisp detail already without having to add aftermarket. Most kids that see me building ships ask me what should they start with and I usually suggest revells car kits. They are a great way to start in the hobby without overwhelming beginners with huger par counts and intimidating instructions. Also I feel mistakes are easier to hide and a lot more forgiving with build errors. Ships are a tough subject to just jump right into.

I really enjoyed Wilson's stuff when the Lampoon was still being published. A magazine like that couldn't fly now with all the touchy people roaming around.

Wow guys, really pleasantly surprised at the number of responses!

My thanks to all of you. Definitely will pass this info onto my friend for him to consider.