Surfing around the web I found a couple of announcements of new kits.
Freetime Hobbies is taking pre-orders on a Tamiya 1/700 Saratoga (CV-3). This seems slightly weird. I’ve got the Trumpeter version, and it seems like a mighty nice kit - especially with the addition of any of several photo-etched sets available for it. Last time Tamiya did an aircraft carrier (the Yorktown [CV-5], it was a disappointing dud: a very slightly modified version of the company’s almost-40-year-old Enterprise. If Tamiya can do a better Saratoga than Trumpeter, great - but I’m not holding my breath. Anyway, here’s the link: http://www.freetimehobbies.com/1-700-tamiya-uss-saratoga-cv3-aircraft-carrier/ .
The more interesting release is from Trumpeter: a 1/350 Russian World War I battleship, the Tsarevich. You have to give that company credit for picking subjects that modelers wouldn’t have dreamed of ten or fifteen years ago.
Trumpeter also is announcing a 1/200 Iowa. There’s no information other than the box art, but it appears to be in the ship’s initial configuration (with the open bridge).
Thanks for posting the information Professor Tilley. I preordered the HMS Roberts which is another new 1/350 ship from Trumpeter and I saw a picture of the Tsarevich as well. Although I have Zvezda repop of the Knyaz Suvorov/Borodino/Oriel, I will probably pick this up.
Stevens International has the HMS Roberts listed for $79.95 and the Tsarevich 1917 version at $89.95. It looks like Trumpeter will be putting out a 1904 version of the Tsarevich and a HMS Abercrombie, as well as a 1944 version of the USS Indianapolis sometime in the (hopefully) near future…
I haven’t bought any aftermarket parts for it either, but Gold Medal has three sets: one listed as “Lexington-Saratoga,” one as just “Saratoga,” and one as “1930s Air Wing.” I haven’t seen any of them in person, but they all look excellent.
John I believe the Saratoga is the Fujimi molding of the Lexington. A good portion of Tamiya’s 1/700 scale line of ships are Fujimi moldings. Fujimi on the other hand in the last couple years has produced all of the Pearl Harbor raiders as new tool releases.
If Mikey’s right about that, it’s disturbing. That old Fujimi kit was pretty bad - even by the standards of its day. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure the Tamiya Shokaku is a completely new tooling - as the Iowa- class battleships certainly are. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I have real doubts as to whether Tamiya can beat Trumpeter.
I’m not sure about the Iowa’s but they might be Fujimi’s older molding as well since the Trumpeter Iowa class is 100 times better(I have USS Missouri 1991 in my stash). But Tamiya still owns them in the 1/350 scale Battleship department since Trumpeter still doesn’t have a 1/350 Iowa class or Yamato class BB’s in their inventory. Tamiya’s Shokaku It might be based on the old Fujimi kit but I have the new tool Fujimi Shokaku and it blows the Tamiya kit away in detail and parts count(over 200 parts).
I’ve got the Tamiya 1/700 Missouri and the Fujimi one. They have absolutely nothing in common. The Tamiya version, for instance, has a three-piece hull (port, starboard, and bottom), and the deck planking seams are countersunk. It’s a beautiful kit. I’m pretty certain the Tamiya Shokaku was a completely original tooling as we’ll. (I believe it was reviewed in FSM.). I’m not aware of any Tamiya ship that’s an actual copy of a Fujimi one. If Mikey knows of one I’d be curious to hear about it.
Some Tamiya kits are reissues (sometimes modified a bit) of older Skywave kits. Examples include the Bogue-class escort carrier, the German Z-class destroyer, and the British O- class destroyer.
The Tamiya Saratoga according to freetime hobbies show it is in stock but I don’t know what it looks like but I can assure you it is not a skywave kit. The Skywave Saratoga is the Trumpeter Saratoga and I have the Trumpeter Lexington and that is the skywave lexington.
The machinations of kit manufacturers are really beyond sorting out. I wasn’t aware that Skywave had a Lexington or Saratoga - but it doesn’t surprise me.
All I know for sure is that the Fujima and Tamiya versions of the Missouri are completely different kits. Beyond that I think I’d better keep my mouth shut,
Yeah I know but Skywave is in partnership with Trumpeter Like the new Fujimi kits Skywave actually passed Tamiya’s kits in quality and parts count. On to the Bogue class carrier that looks like the old DML USS Independence carrier they put out in the 90’s.
I’ve got the Tamiya USS Bogue and the Skywave HMS Charger in my stash. (The Charger was a Bogue-class CVE sent to Britain under Lend-Lease,). The kits are identical with two interesting exceptions. The Tamiya kit has a upgraded weapons sprue, and the aircraft are different. The Skywave version has two aircraft: a B-17 and a PBY (presumably helping the ship on convoy escort duty). The Tamiya one has Tamiya Hellcats, Helldivers, and Avengers. (I’m pretty sure the SB2Cs are wrong for a CVE.). Otherwise the parts are identical.
I’ve also got a Dragon Independence. It’s a completely different kit representing a different ship type. (CVLs were considerably bigger than CVEs.). My vague recollection is that it started out as a Skywave kit; it certainly looks like one.
I don’t think my stash is as big as a lot of people’s are, but it’s embarrassing. So many fine kits, so little time…
I’m sure your right about the Independence being a skywave kit the thing was horrendous I built a Atlanta class cruiser from Dragon from about the same time frame and that was a better build than that even though the weapons sprues were the same. I believe Helldivers did operate from CVE’s later in the war but mostly it was F6F’s TBM/TBF Avengers and Dauntless Dive bombers that operated off of CVE’s.
B-17?? That’d be a nice little model in Coastal Command camouflage.
Charger would also have the opportunity for a Western Approaches color scheme I believe.
Edit: belay that. Charger fought the good fight as a training ship in Chessie Bay.
Martlets would be the probable complement.
I think it would be hard to find a Helldiver on a Bogue, but I suppose anything is possible. It’s an earlier CVE class. Most of them in the Pacific were ferry vessels. Don’t be fooled by decks crowded with P-38s.
Of course these models can be dozens of other ships.
My Halfzeimer’s-afflicted memory played another trick on me. The Skywave British escort carrier kit is HMS Tracker.
Wikipedia has a decent article about her. She did wear Western Approaches camouflage (which is shown in the kit). Her original air group consisted of Swordfish and Seafires; she later switched to Martlets and Avengers.
Bottom line: it’s a nice kit - and even better with the improved weapons in the Tamiya box.
I now have in my stash the following 1/350 kits: Trumpeter’s HMS Dreadnought 1915; Revell’s S.M.S. Emden; Hasegawa’s HIJMS Mikasa, and Zvezda’s Russian cruiser Varyag. I very well may get the Tsarevich just to have a Russian battleship of this period. At my age, with the size of my stash, I must be insane to buy it but…