Building 1/700 - 1/350 ships

[Mundy]

I've been happy with Dragon's kits. I don't feel the need to replace the weapons on them. Slide molding tech is pretty amazing nowadays. Trumpeter tends to be hit and miss. Trumpeter and Academy put out an Indianapolis at around the same time. Trumpy managed to bork the rear hull by completely missing the sharp cutoff at the back. Ditto with their Yorktowns -- completely blew the forward hull shape. Looked more like an oil tanker than the proper graceful lines.

Their short hull Essexes are supposed to be pretty good, so I may try one sometime. Next CV after Independence will be Gambier Bay, though. Hasegawa did a great job with that kit. The only discrepancy I've read about was a rangefinder on the island instead of the two air watch stations which replaced it by the time she was sunk.

BTW, if England looks a bit "dirty", I gave her a wash job. Seemed right with that light colored scheme. I took a hiatus about 10 years ago with a Warhammer 40k/FB obsession. It did teach me a lot about painting, which I'm now trying to apply to "real" models.

Ed-

[coreyjones]

I have always found pastels work great for weathering, or paint the panel lines lightly with a flat black and then paint over it. Then when you are done with all your painting spray something like future floor polish over it and it will seal in the paint and keep dust from ruining the coat. If we are just talking about just ships i have only built the 1/350 scale Yamato. If you want to get a great wood effect you must go to the larger scales. The newer Hasegawa Akagi has a aftermarket kit set where you can install wooden decks and photo etch parts. I use to model on a competition scale, but its been years. If ya'll have any questions feel free to ask,

[wdolson]

When I was a teenager I discovered weathering with women's make up. Eye shadow works great for browns and blacks. I did feel rather self conscious buying make up in the local drug store when I was 17. The cashier didn't even blink though.

Another trick I learned from trial and error I haven't seen anywhere is to use white glue to attach anything you want to attach for painting, but may want to remove after you paint like canopies on aircraft kits. The white glue comes up with a fingernail and it sticks well enough and makes a good enough seal to do the painting with the airbrush.

Bill

[Mundy]

This is my current project, USS Benson. I don't think I'll use a wash with this one. I'm going to use a lighter blue via drybrushing to pop out the detail a bit. Basically I need to add the misc bits like the K gun & depth charge racks the torpedo mounts, masts and finally the railings. All the racks are photoetch, but they're not hard to do.

Before I start Independence, I'll need a photoetch set. Gold Medal has one and so does Eduard. I'm leaning towards the later as it's about half the price. The former runs about 2/3 the cost of the kit itself.

Ed-

[John 3rd]

Talked it over with my wife and we might try to buy a 1/350 for a Christmas present. In people's opinions what are the better Japanese models out there for this scale? Price? Where to buy?

THANKS!

[Mundy]

I know Hasegawa is up there.  I would love their 1/350 Akagi, but the $300-ish price puts it out of my reach right now.

I think Dragon is out of Hong Kong.  Their stuff is great.

Here's my favorite source.  Very ship-friendly.  You can sort through the categories on the left.

http://www.freetimehobbies.com/

EDIT:

Here's a source of inspiration for me. Good place for reviews, too.

Model Warships

Ed-

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: John 3rd

Talked it over with my wife and we might try to buy a 1/350 for a Christmas present. In people's opinions what are the better Japanese models out there for this scale? Price? Where to buy?

THANKS!

The new Tamiya 1:350 cruiser kits are really nice, but they are up there in price too. I'm in Canada and they go for around $189 a pop with limited photo-etch or extras.

The older Tamiya 1:350 Battleship kits are still nice, but there is a new Yamato kit out that is fantastic but will run you over $300.

I have the Hasegawa 1:350 Akagi and it's a beauty, but after all the photo-etch, extra aircraft and stuff I've spent close to $500.

The newer Japanese aircraft carrier and battleship kits from Fujimi and Hasegawa are nice, but I just can't justify paying almost $400 dollars a kit and that doesn't include any extras as Bill pointed out. I went all out for the Akagi, but as much as I'd like to get more of the Japanese CV's in 1:350, I just can't justify the expense anymore.

Dragon's kits are also nice and cover a few of the American CVL's and many different U.S. Destroyer classes.

I really think the trumpeter 1:350 ship kits are the best value for the scale. They may suffer a little more in terms of accuracy, but are still great value compared to the other manufacturers. They are improving every kit though in my opinion.

I hope this provides you some additional information to help choose your upcoming project. Also, any kit you are thinking about getting, just google for reviews and you'll find tons of helpful info to help choose the right kit for you and your family.

I've also ordered from Free Time Hobbies and they have a fantastic selection. Bill swears by Squadron and gets deals all the time.

[AW1Steve]

England is one ship I'd very much like to build. My wife is particularly fond of her. In 1942 her uncle was aboard USS LST 342, which was torpedoed by RO-106. England sank RO-106 in her sub sinking spree. So my spouses family has always had a soft spot for USS England.[:)]  

[wdolson]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon

The new Tamiya 1:350 cruiser kits are really nice, but they are up there in price too. I'm in Canada and they go for around $189 a pop with limited photo-etch or extras.

The older Tamiya 1:350 Battleship kits are still nice, but there is a new Yamato kit out that is fantastic but will run you over $300.

I have a couple of the older Tamiya 1/350 kits. They are older kits, so you don't get the eye popping detail from the new high pressure molds, but for the era, they are probably the best in the scale, and they are well priced.

I have the Hasegawa 1:350 Akagi and it's a beauty, but after all the photo-etch, extra aircraft and stuff I've spent close to $500.

The newer Japanese aircraft carrier and battleship kits from Fujimi and Hasegawa are nice, but I just can't justify paying almost $400 dollars a kit and that doesn't include any extras as Bill pointed out. I went all out for the Akagi, but as much as I'd like to get more of the Japanese CV's in 1:350, I just can't justify the expense anymore.

Dragon's kits are also nice and cover a few of the American CVL's and many different U.S. Destroyer classes.

I haven't seen all the 1/350 kits out there, but among those I have seen so far the best looking carrier kit I've seen is Dragon's Independence class I think. It has more detail (complete hanger deck) and has the nice new molding.

I really think the trumpeter 1:350 ship kits are the best value for the scale. They may suffer a little more in terms of accuracy, but are still great value compared to the other manufacturers. They are improving every kit though in my opinion.

I hope this provides you some additional information to help choose your upcoming project. Also, any kit you are thinking about getting, just google for reviews and you'll find tons of helpful info to help choose the right kit for you and your family.

I've also ordered from Free Time Hobbies and they have a fantastic selection. Bill swears by Squadron and gets deals all the time.

I've bought a few kits from Free Time, though it was several years ago. I have no complaints. For some 1/700 scale kits I watched the currency markets and bought a few from Hobby Link Japan. When the Yen to Dollar conversion is favorable (which it has been the last year, the yen has taken a beating since the 2011 earthquake), you can get some pretty good deals out of Japan on kits made in Japan. I haven't seriously looked at ordering any 1/350 kits form Japan because I think the shipping would probably kill any savings I got on the kit.

Bill

[Mundy]

ORIGINAL: AW1Steve

England is one ship I'd very much like to build. My wife is particularly fond of her. In 1942 her uncle was aboard USS LST 342, which was torpedoed by RO-106. England sank RO-106 in her sub sinking spree. So my spouses family has always had a soft spot for USS England.[:)]  

That kit's definitely one of the cheaper ones to get. For it's price it was a great deal.

Ed-

[SqzMyLemon]

ORIGINAL: wdolson

I have a couple of the older Tamiya 1/350 kits. They are older kits, so you don't get the eye popping detail from the new high pressure molds, but for the era, they are probably the best in the scale, and they are well priced.

Dragon's kits are also nice and cover a few of the American CVL's and many different U.S. Destroyer classes.

I agree, despite the age of the Tamiya BB kits they still stand up well. I have the old Yamato, Bismarck and KGV kits. I also bought photo-etch detail sets for all three to improve the detail but even without it they would still be great looking models.

I have the Dragon Independence and you are spot on, detail looks great. I paid $140 for it.

I went a little nuts in Vancouver this year at a hobby shop I go to that has a 25% sale every year. I bought a 1:400 Anniversary Titanic (Academy), 1:350 Italian BB Roma (Trumpeter), Japanese BB Kongo (Hasegawa or Fujimi I can't remember) and 1:700 ships of the CV Franklin and Hancock I believe (Trumpeter).

[wdolson]

If you want hollow gun barrels for the old Tamiya kits, you can buy some aftermarket and they would look just as good as the new mold kits. In the end you would probably still have more money left in your pocket. I think the price of the Yamato jumped from around $50 to almost $200. What could they do to quadruple the value?

Edit: BTW, Squadron has a sale on big kits right now - http://www.squadron.com/category-s/2949.htm?searching=Y&sort=2&cat=2949&show=300&page=1

Bill

[Cavalry Corp]

Is there anyone in UK in the market to make me a New Jersey in some sort of display box on a diaroma of sea?
Its for a business client in China , suggest 1/700 or similar. right price for good work.

Please PM me gingerdragon@btconnect.com

[Mundy]

ORIGINAL: SqzMyLemon
I have the Dragon Independence and you are spot on, detail looks great. I paid $140 for it.

I lucked out with mine. I had been hemming and hawing for months between Independence and Gambier Bay, until I checked Freetime's clearance page and Independence was $90 at the time. Made that choice easy at the time. I still want a CVE, though. Dragon also has the Princeton kit, and I think the gun galleries and such are a bit different, so it's not just a clone of the other kit.

Ed-

[tanksone]

Hi, these pics were courtesy of my opponent. I believe they are 1/700 but could be larger.

[tanksone]

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[tanksone]

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[JocMeister]

That looks REALLY cool! Tell him we want HIRES pics! [:D]

[Mundy]

My other project mostly finished. I need a few railings on the upper decks and the rigging to do, but I'll get to that whenever.

USS Benson.





I was going to work on my 1/350 Dreadnought, but I got my 1/700 Arizona in the mail and couldn't resist. I usually struggle with "braille scale", but this one seems to be going alright. I got a wood deck for it, and it looks pretty amazing. My plan for this one is a Pearl Harbor diorama, with her, Vestal and a couple quays in a peaceful little scene.



Ed

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: tanksone

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That is magnificent work!