The best kit maker

[Denzel]

I am starting to look in taking up 3/350 ship modelling it as to be that scale because, I have sausages for fingers, could you let me know which kit makers are the best.

[Shar2]

I guess it depends on how much you want to pay for a kit, what genre and what era. Hasegawa, Fujimi produce some great kits ofJapanesewarships, but are pretty expensive. Tamiyas ships are very nice but are getting on a bit apart from their latest releases ofJapanesecruisers. Trumpeter have the largest range of ships at the moment most of which are very good although they do contain some inaccuracies. Dragon kits are excellent, particularly their Scharnhorst and soon to be released USS Independnce looks very nice. Academy kits are slightly cheaper but having built their Graf Spee I would say they're up there with the better manufacturers. I think I have kits from all the manufacturers and haven't really found a really duff one. Airfix have started producing kits in this scale with their HMS Trafalgar and HMS Illustrious. Then there is also Zvesda, AFV Club, Bronco and Aoshima to consider.

Then once you have bought a kit you may want to consider making it even more accurate by getting some PE or resin upgrades.

Oh yes! all the above are for plastic kits, if you want to do something in resin then there are specialist manufacturers such as Yankee Modelworks and White Ensign Models, both of which produce great ktis, but at a price.

Edited October 9, 2010 by Shar2

[Phil Reeder]

I would recommend for a starter kit,in 1/350th,one of the Dragon Buchanan destroyer kits,They are really accurate ,and fit together with great precision.They have some PE,to play with,to get used to using it.They have comprehensive painting instructions ,which will help a great deal

You also have a chioce of waterline or full-hull.I believe Hannants still have some in stock at the earlier price of £29.99

Good luck,Phil

[Mike McCabe]

Personally I would recommend the Tamiya Prince of Wales or King George V. They are good kits, can be had for a very resonable price, aren't too crowded as smaller warships can be and there are loads of accessories available so you can make the model to suit your level of desired finish

Mike

[Chris Hewitt]

I agreed with Phil start with a small ship ,not a battleship or carrier,1/350 is a good scale to start

[Denzel]

Personally I would recommend the Tamiya Prince of Wales or King George V. They are good kits, can be had for a very resonable price, aren't too crowded as smaller warships can be and there are loads of accessories available so you can make the model to suit your level of desired finish

Mike

Thanks all and Mike,

I have been busy on E-bay and bought Tamiya King George V and a Bismark Motorised kit how doe's that work, USS Fletcher with Eduard photo-etch and my partner got me the Trumpeter USS Lassen,so thats a start.

[PDH]

I've watched the responses to this thread with great interest as a couple of months ago I decided to have a go at ship modelling again. I would add that I have been modelling on and off for many years and have had a go at most of the mediums available - resin, plastic, etch etc.

I used to do a lot of ship models in the days of Eaglewall but I decided 1/1200 scale was beyond my eyesight these days. I had a look at 1/700 and 1/600 but they didn't do anything for me so settled on 1/350.

Next was to decide what to model. Well I settled on Royal Navy 1939-45 and got busy seeing what was available. I quickly bought an ISW resin HMS Hesperus and a Tamiya KGV, both at knock down prices. The KGV was just too big as a starter kit and the Hesperus is not the world's greatest moulding and will need a lot of work. First job is to convert it into waterline model, a lot of sanding to do! This will be slow build, trying to improve/add detail to it as I go a long. I must admit I prefer destroyers, corvettes etc to the larger ships.

As there are so few RN WW2 plastic kits available I was still trying to decide what to use as a starter/confidence builder model when this thread appeared.

All the advice offered was great and and I decided to changed tack with subject matter slightly to include any WW2 destroyer/small ship.

So I've followed Phil's wise words and ordered a Dragon Buchanan, got it for £30 delivered, which I though was pretty good, and am currently looking to buy the additional photo-etched sheet Cyber-Hobby issued for it (have tracked one down in Louisiana USA as most of the major model sites are sold out). When its all here I try and make a start.

One question for the experts - can you tell me what's a good starter kit for a resin ship? I would prefer RN WW2 small ships as that will definitely be the way I would like to progress in the future.

Many thanks guys for the words of advice..................

[Phil Reeder]

I've watched the responses to this thread with great interest as a couple of months ago I decided to have a go at ship modelling again. I would add that I have been modelling on and off for many years and have had a go at most of the mediums available - resin, plastic, etch etc.

I used to do a lot of ship models in the days of Eaglewall but I decided 1/1200 scale was beyond my eyesight these days. I had a look at 1/700 and 1/600 but they didn't do anything for me so settled on 1/350.

Next was to decide what to model. Well I settled on Royal Navy 1939-45 and got busy seeing what was available. I quickly bought an ISW resin HMS Hesperus and a Tamiya KGV, both at knock down prices. The KGV was just too big as a starter kit and the Hesperus is not the world's greatest moulding and will need a lot of work. First job is to convert it into waterline model, a lot of sanding to do! This will be slow build, trying to improve/add detail to it as I go a long. I must admit I prefer destroyers, corvettes etc to the larger ships.

As there are so few RN WW2 plastic kits available I was still trying to decide what to use as a starter/confidence builder model when this thread appeared.

All the advice offered was great and and I decided to changed tack with subject matter slightly to include any WW2 destroyer/small ship.

So I've followed Phil's wise words and ordered a Dragon Buchanan, got it for £30 delivered, which I though was pretty good, and am currently looking to buy the additional photo-etched sheet Cyber-Hobby issued for it (have tracked one down in Louisiana USA as most of the major model sites are sold out). When its all here I try and make a start.

One question for the experts - can you tell me what's a good starter kit for a resin ship? I would prefer RN WW2 small ships as that will definitely be the way I would like to progress in the future.

Many thanks guys for the words of advice..................

Hi PDH,

A good bet for a starter kit in Resin would one of WEM`s Glowworm/ Havelock kits,not to pricey,and a darned sight better than the ISW Hesperus kit. I`ve built two and I think they are well worth the pennies.

Just my opinion.

Good modelling ,Phil

Edited October 14, 2010 by Phil Reeder

[PDH]

Thanks Phil,

I do think WEM is the way to go, the Havelock would go well with the Hesperus.

One for the Christmas list I think.

[Shar2]

When it comes to detail and good old British subjects, you can't really go too wrong with WEM.