Gidday lads 1st post here.

Hav'nt built myself any ships yet but after seeing some fine examples here I might give it a go.

Any tips on size, shape, brand, price.

Any help welcome.

Hey Dan and welcome to the saltier side - Model Shipwrights!

Personally, I like 1/700 scale. The price is right - anywhere from $20 - $35 USD for battleships. 1/700 is also good for limited display space. As far as manufactures, There's a host of good kits - Tamiya, Trumpeter, Hasegawa, Fujimi, Dragon & Midship Models to name a few.
Now, if money and space are not an issue, or you just have to have it, the 1/350 scale is booming with Trumpeter leading the way. They have an awesome selection of WW2 US carriers and are now getting in to the battleships with the North Carolina and the HMS Hood. Tamiya is kind of the bench mark (Trumpeter is blowing them away) and Hasegawa is a new player with some nice kits.
I haven't even started with resin ($$$) and Revell's 1/72 submarines (I have 2).

Basically, price and scale are a personal preference. And, if you see a kit and have a question about it, these are the guys to ask. If it's been made, they've built it.

Kenny

Gidday Dan

A warm welcome from across the Tasman.

I am kinda new around here too.

I second Kenny's advice but I personally found the 1/700 scale real hard to work with the parts were so small and needed a lot of clean up. But I enjoyed it and its a great starting point.

I have on my to do list a selection of 1/72 U-Boats and E Boats and at some stage in the future I would like to try a 1/350th Bismark or German Battleship.

There is plenty of variety in ship modelling and there are some really great people on this site who have advised, supported, mentored and motivated me.

As they say pull up a keyboard and mouse and enjoy surfing this site.

Being a big rugby fan I just have to say go the AB's over the Wallabies this weekend.

Regards

Sean

Welcome aboard Dan! I have to echo what the others have already said; 1/700 gives you economy as far as both cost and space are concerned - but I find the smaller scales quite a challenge. Haven't yet tried one of the newer 1/350 kits but they look like a good compromise (albeit quite expensive).

My personal like is for 1/72 scale, although of course you are more limited there for both choice of subject and storage/display space.

It's really a matter of deciding what you think you might enjoy and getting stuck in - there are plenty of people here who will be happy to encourage and guide you.

Enjoy!

Sean 2 beers aussies by 10..lol

Thanks for the tips lads. I am a fan of trumpeter at the moment with good quality cheap armour kits comin outa their ears. is it the same in the ship building world.

I would like to go bigger than 1/700 ootb. Is that the way to go. I have no idea on accuracy but to me if it looks like a ship.....it is a ship if you know what i mean.

Cheers and good luck.

Aust 33 Nz 23 lol

Hi Dan

It will be a close game no doubt about it.

Regards

Sean

Dan,

Most of the new kits a fairly accurate. For example, Trumpeter's new HMS Hood was designed in partnership with the HMS Hood Association. IMHO, unless it just screams out at you or you're building a museum piece, most inaccuracies are ok. And, most can be fixed with aftermarket photoetch.

Kenny

I built 700 scale years ago and found it merely satisactory. Discovered that 350 scale (which I could purchase for under $40 a the time) offered so much more started buying in. If you like battleships, the Tamiya ships are still abolutly wonderfull and practically build themselves. Now If you like Aircraft Carriers, by all means the Trumpeters. So far I've built 5 BB and 3 AC and just have loved building every single one. Get a nice PE set from Tom's (which is generally the least expensive and doesn't go overboard with cutting up and replacing pieces). As close as you are, check out Luckymodel or Hobbyeasy in Hong Kong. Great prices and the shipping is probably half what it takes stateside.

Let me also welcome you to the site!


I've got limited experience with the 1/700, and certainly there are a lot more to choose from, and they are much less greedy on "display space".

But I'm a big fan of the 1/350 scale at this point. I get a great deal of enjoyment in doing a lot of added detail work, either with aftermarket sets of resin and PE or scratch building details that I can see in the photographs but haven't been captured in the kit. While there are plenty of PE sets for 1/700, that's just so small and I can't imagine how those who work in that scale do so well.

And of course the cost can really add up with 1/350. But while it does add to the cost (and time!!!) the ability to do a lot of detail work makes 1/350 my favorite.

I'd pick a subject you like and try a simple build first. You'll figure out a lot from that and there are plenty of folks here who'll be glad to help out.

Once again, welcome aboard!!

Tom