When we have discussions about kits we’d like to be able to buy and build, the subject of 1/350 scale often seems to be an important criteria. Often I think it may be a standard now for 20th Century steel warships.
It occurred to me that the first 1/350 kit I ever built was really quite recently, the Trumpeter CA-38.
Prior to that San Juan Caps, Hawaiian Pilots, Montrose, Currituck, Pine Island, Campbelltown, Eastwind… well you get the idea.
The only older kit I can remember was the Revell Emden, on that scale.
Surface ship. Academy’s Graf Spee. Subs- Dragon’s twin set of USS Dallas vs Soviet Alfa Class. Since around the early 1980s when Tamiya introduced their big battleship line, 1/350 has indeed become the standard “big scale” for warship kits in injection molded plastic.
It’s been a while, but maybe Tamiya’s Fletcher or Banner/MIniHobby/Trumpeter’s Arizona. I’d done ships for a while before that, but they were all box scale, and it’s harder for me to pick out my first 350th kit because of that.
Does anybody know which came first? The resin 350th lines of the Tamiya kits? Before that the biggest common scale line was 400 scale from several European companies.
No 1/350 as yet but I plan to grab-up one of those USS Texas as soon as it’s released. In fact the only vessel I have done is a 1/700 Type VII U-Boat. The Texas will probably be my only 1/350, all other vessels in my stash are 1/700.
Mine was the Dragon/DML USS Ohio (SSBN 726). Then, I used to build and sell them while I was stationed on the USS Maine (SSBN741) during off-crew periods, building them as whatever boat the buyer wanted. I charged $300.00 for each one and made a small fortune before retiring.
As others have said, the box scales of old make it hard to remember which one was the first 1/350 th. However , most recently was the Trumpter USS Nimitz that I gave to a friend’s son who served on her while in the Navy.
I would have to say the first " True " 1/350 ship was the U.S.S.North Carolina ( The Trumpeter Kit ) This one was the reason I now build , kit wise , 1/350 mostly . My scratch built stuff is rail-road scales of 1/87 , 1/48 , and 1/160 . All my R.C. ( what few there are now ) are 1/96 and 1/72
Back in the late-70s/early-80’s I bought a Gulfstream Models USS Bainbridge (DD-1) resin & brass kit mastered by John Ficklen. Bought it at the Squadron Shop retail store in Wheaton, MD
That same kit has been re-released in one manner or another by Blue Water Navy, Yankee Modelworks, and most recently by Blue Ridge Models. Somewhere along the line the add-on white metal stacks were incorporated into the upper hull casting
My first was the Tamiya Bismark back in the 80"s. I didn’t have an airbrush at the time, so it was all hand-painted. Took a long time to complete, but looked great. It was lost in a battle with a cat a couple of years after it was completed. Who’d have known that a housecat could so easily destroy the pride of the German fleet! Cats are now permanently banned from my home.
I don’t think I’ve actually built a 1/350th scale ship yet, though I did buy a 1/35th scale Kniaz Suvarov (pre-dreadnought) model a year or so ago that I hope to eventually get started on.
Zvezda one, right? There’s been a recent build log by Swannie here, will be useful to you. That was probably my third.
EDIT: brain function returning. Many moons ago I built the Tamiya Bismark, oh maybe in 1982. But then a very long period called getting married, having a kid, education, house, move etc.
I remember that shop from its opening on Sligo Avenue in Silver Spring and its move to Wheaton. After leaving the D.C area in 1975, I would visit that shop every time I visited family there, and was extremely disappointed that it closed. Thanks for the memory!
My first is the Trumpeter HMS Dreadnought which is still sitting on the Ways. If I don’t finish it pretty soon it will take me longer to build her that it took to build the original!
My first 1:350 was the Tamiya King George V with Gold Medal PE. I saw an article about it and someone’s build in Scale Ship Modeler Magazine and had to try it. I still have it in a display case I made for it along with my DKM Bismark. They have to be at least 15 years old