Lately i’ve been eyeballing this 1/350 scale resin kit (mfr unknown) of the Long Beach, and i’m really interested in doing it. Mostly an aircraft guy, but i love the idea of doing this ship at some point. But my question is, Has anyone tried tackling this thing before? And how complicated of a build might it be? If it was anything else, i woulda bought the kit and worked out the details later. But with a $300 price tag, i wanna make sure i know what i would be getting into. Any thoughts, opinions, or experiences would be awesome. Thanks!
I have not built one, but I have seen one in the box. It is a big and impressive kit. Some of the early runs of this kit had some damage problems on the bow from movement in shipping. They were replaced under ISW’s satisfaction guarantee. Packing has been improved.
A word or two about ISWs customer satisfaction policy. Simply stated they want you to be satisfied with your experience with an ISW kit. Inventory the kit when you get it. If any parts are missing, broken, or malformed beyond use, send an email to Ted Paris or Jon Warneke and they will replace them free of charge. This includes the big parts, like the hull.
When you are building the kit, if you mess up a part, you find that something doesn’t go together well, etc. again contact Ted or Jon and they will make it right. I drilled up through the deck on a LCI when I was preparing mounting holes. I got two replacement kits. When I asked if I should send one back I was told to keep them both.
I have heard that once someone’s cat knocked a completed model off a shelf - two years after the kit was purchased. The modeler contacted Ted and was sent replcement parts to fix the broken kit.
If you have any problems with an ISW kit - contact them and they will make it right.
Disclaimer - I know both Jon and Ted and have made several masters for them. I have worked at the ISW booth at several regional and national shows. One of the items which we make sure to mention during the sales pitch is the replacement guarantee. My first contact with ISW was when I bought a kit off eBay and it was short parts. ISW replaced them no questions asked. I may work for them, but I am also a happy customer.