Well, I guess I've come full circle. I started out building WWII aircraft, became entranced with WWII armor, and now, I just picked up my first 1/700 WWII ship (Tamiya's Hornet). I know absolutely nothing about the quality of kits in this genre. The Tamiya kit I have looks like a typical Tamiya product, ie; very good. If I were looking for comperable quality in other kits, would Trumpeter, Skywave, Hasegawa, Fujimi, and Aoshima provide it? I know it's hard to say, as some kits are just better than others, but I'm just looking for some general guidance. Are there companies I should just shy away from? Are there some you can trust to provide uniform quality?

Any help in this area would be greatly appreciated. I have to chuckle, though. Whoever thought a jarhead would be modeling ships - by choice! LOL

Cheers,
Mike

Generally speaking. Skywave and Tamiya are the king. Some DML/Dragon and Revell of Germany kits are reboxed Skywave kits and cheaper. Aoshima, Hasegawa, and Fujimi are hit and miss. The older kits are pretty bad, but the new retools are great. As far as how to tell the difference between the two, I will have to defer to someone with more knowledge in the matter.

Trumpeter in 1/700 is mostly miss. The only good kit I have seen is the new modern Iowa class battleships. This was a joint effort with Skywave is the reason for the high quality. All of their other kits in 1/700 are DML and Tamiya knock offs. Some are decent and some are really, really bad.

If you have a question about a particular ship, just ask!

Good Luck,

Would like to see some more modern ships on both 1/350 and 1/700 scales......how about a 1/350 Wasp class ship, or a Whitbey Island class in either scale.....and in plastic instead of resin.....I stumbled across a web site the other day that had some resin kits of some amphib transports....but they were anywhere from $69US up to $150US.....too rich for my blood!!!

I would love to see more modern ships and a 1/350 Wasp class would be great. I hope someone does make that kit. I am hoping that Trumpeter comes through with their 1/350 Nimitz and Kuznetsov.

I scratchbuilt a 1/350 model of the USS Saipan, and the trouble with the amphibs are well decks, a real paint to tool in injection...it would also make for a big kit...

Jeff Herne
Modelwarships.com

Yes it would make for a big kit...but it would be smaller than the Tamiya 1/350 Enterprise or Iowa ships.....and as far as the well deck beiong a pain to put into injection....Revell and Dragon both have the the amphip ships in 1/700 scale....would be no problem to blow them up to 1/350 scale. Hell as far as the Wasp and other amphibs go...the only real difference would be the decals....they could put enough decals in for all the ships.

Something else I was thinking of was a 1/350 Arleigh Burke.....I think there is one available in Asia....but haven't seen one here yet. Could be just 1/700 scale though

There are, or soon will be two. The first one is by S-mars and it is not worth any amount of money or time spent on it. The second one is going to be put out by Panda AKA Dragon. This kit holds a lot of promise.

Jeff,

Are you going to post some pics for us? I would love to see a 1/350 amphib.

Thanks,

[quote]Yes it would make for a big kit...but it would be smaller than the Tamiya 1/350 Enterprise or Iowa ships.....and as far as the well deck beiong a pain to put into injection....Revell and Dragon both have the the amphip ships in 1/700 scale....would be no problem to blow them up to 1/350 scale. Hell as far as the Wasp and other amphibs go...the only real difference would be the decals....they could put enough decals in for all the ships.

Just blowing up the size isn't all its cracked up to be. You are talking about making whole new molds for a kit. Most of Revells were old reboxed versions just redone. Being a fulltime shipmodeler, I am hoping someone comes out with an amphib kit in 1/350 as well as a Burke, but I am not holding my breath on the amphib. There is a kit of the A. Burke due to be released this year though.

Bud

Yes, the blowing up of a kit, or pantograph, is not what it is cracked up to be. I picked up a S-Mars 1/350 Burke which is a pantograph of the 1/700 Skywave version. You would think that since they copied a good mold it would at least be okay. However, it did not even come close to being an okay kit. What a mistake!

Maybe trumpeter will put a 1/350 amphib on their production schedule.

All I am saying is that is Revell and Dragon made an amphib ship with a well deck in 1/700, then how hard would it be to make one in 1/350....I guess the question was that it would be difficult to make the well deck in 1/350.....but seeing as revell and dragon did it in a smaller scale....other than more detail, and it being bigger....would it not be relativly the same making it in 1/350?

Anyone build the Revell Germany new kit of the USS Wasp? Have seen it in a few stores lately. Is it worth the $30CAN they want for it? Or is this just a reboxed Dragon kit? Not that that would be a problem either.

The Revell Germany kit of the Wasp is actually a nice kit. Not sure how the currancy difference between the US and Can is but I paid about $18 US for it. Well worth the money in my opinion.

On the subject of doing a well deck in 1/350, the problem isn't actually doing it. The problem is the cost involved. To do it right and not create another S-Marrs problem, you would have to make new molds. The cost of those molds would be in the area of thousands of dollars per piece(this according to info I requested while interested in a JFK in 1/350) and that would price the kit out of reach for most modelers. Not sure what the break even point is, but it would number in the hundreds of sales just to break even. Don't think we could support this endevor with the small percentage of shipmodelers there are and the smaller number that model in 1/350. Our only hope would be that Trumpeter comes through for us but don't look for it in the next couple years.

Jeff J
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theplasticnavy/url.here[/url]

Heck I would take a 1/350 Wasp. or other amphib ship even if it didn't have a well deck.....just mold the doors closed. That way if someone did want to scratch a well deck...they could just cut the doors open and away they go......

I would take a 1/350 Wasp or any other modern Amphib and Carrier as well.

I have the 1/700 Wasp also. It is a very good ship and goes together well. The aircraft leave a little to be desired. The harriers are okay. The CH-53's are a little odd shaped and around 1/800 scale. The V-22's are around 1/900 scale. I purchased two DML amphib sets to replace the kit aircraft and too add the smaller landing craft. I too purchased it for around $18 USD and it is worth it.

I also forgot the Wasp is a new mold for Revell of Germany. Also if you have not seen it, check out Peter's Wasp in the galleries...WOW!

My Saipan is currently in the posession of a private collector in CT, but I'll contact him and see if I can get some photos from him.

I've given some thought to doing one is resin, but with an anticpated price of $500, I doubt many would jump on it.

Jeff Herne
Modelwarships.com

Jeff,

From what I have seen of resin carriers, $500 for a Tarawa class would not be a bad price. You are right not many would jump on that. By the way, I wonder how many 1/350 carriers Blue Water Navy has sold?

When you consider the fact that not many people can afford that 900.00 retail price tag, they probably don't sell alot. I would bet though, that they do sell enough to make some profit off them or they wouldn't keep making them. Look at the just released Lexington. I bet Trumpeter takes a bite out of their market because of their releases. Remember they are releasing Lexington and Saratoga along with a Nimitz class carrier. That will be a big job. If you think of how many Nimitz class ships there are, alot of modelers will buy more than one to build each and every one of them. Now that is going to be a money maker. I think with enough rumbling, they might consider doing an amphib subject. I for one would love to see some IJN kits in 1/350.

Jeff J

Jeff,

That is my hope that Trumpeter puts out some good quality 1/350 carriers and does well enough to continue.

I am selling off most of my 1/700 scale stuff in the hopes that 1/350 continues to grow at the pace it is.

Jeff

What do you have? and How much?

send me an email at the address below and I'll send my list. Got some nice aircraft and armor kits as well.

Jeff
[email protected]

hmmmm...first of all, tamiya kits are always the best especially for starters. for me i am interested in 1:700 models therefore i stick to it. i tried not do other scale. if you really want improve your skill, stick to one scale first before moving on to another cause at different scale, the technique is different....hmmm... someone selling 1:700 kits? have it started or it is still sealed in box?