What would be a good detailed first time (regularly an armor builder) battleship?

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

I am used to building tanks, and at one point, a couple planes. I know how to put models together and custom fabricate parts etc, but on my first ship, I would rather have one recomended to me that has good parts fit. It doesnt matter how complicated really. I dont care what scale it is, or which battleship. (WWII era preferably) If you have a kit you dont want… I may take that, so that I do not spend 30 dollars and realize It isnt what I thought it was. If you guys have them, post some pics if it isnt too much trouble.

Sorry to ask so much, I am a noob when it comes to ships.

regards,
MARC[:)]

2

The Zingdefu kits look really good and are inexpensive, I have a kit but I haven’t started it yet, I will get around to it sooner or later.

3

I’d recommend the new Tamiya 1/700 Missouri. State of the art tooling, supposed to go together well. Decent size, easy paint scheme, not too expensive ($30-40). I think it would be a good place to start.

4

I agree that the Tamiya Missouri would be a great starter (assuming that you want to do an American battleship in 1/700). Another terrrific recent kit is the Dragon Arizona. It comes with turned brass gun barrels, metal anchor chains, clear plastic aircraft and boats (paint everything but the canopies and windows), and an etched brass fret.

In either case I’d strongly recommend getting hold of the Gold Medal Models photo-etched set of parts for U.S. battleships. It contains catapults, aircraft cranes, radar screens, and all sorts of other parts for both the Missouri and the Arizona - and every other U.S. battleship of WWII. The railings from GMM are considerably better than the ones provided with the Dragon Arizona - and the Tamiya Missouri has no metal parts.

Good luck. Ship modeling is a great hobby, and this is a great time to be getting into it.

5

I have the Banner / Trumpeter 1/350 Arizona. This is a great kit and WEM has some great assessories that won’t break the bank. I got it at the 1/2 off Hobby Lobby sale for $15. I havn’t started it yet since I’m still researching on how to convert it to the Pennsylvania as it looked in 1935 - 1938.

I would also recommend the Tamiya 1/350 series of ships (Iowa class, King George class, Yamato/ Mushashi, Bismark/Tripitz). These too are worth the $50 and really don’t need any aftermarket unless you really want to get detail picky. There are some cheaper kits that are spin offs by Nichimo, but they are not as detailed nor fit as well as the Tamiyas.

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I really enjoyed the ships that Tamyia has to offer, for starting off. They all fit really great the directions are awsome and you have to do very little extra work to turn out a fine model. I would definately get photo-etch for whatever kit you buy. Good luck.

8

why dont you do the Tamiya PBR
its a great kit
or the vosper or a german E boat

9

You didn’t mention what scale you wanted to work in, so I’ll point some things out, since a 350th battleship is a daunting first time project to anyone, I don’t care how many models you’ve built. I build everything from armor to planes to cars, and a 250 part armor kit takes me a week, while a ship with the same number of parts takes me months.

700 scale is smaller, and easier to build, but if you add brass rails, etc., it becomes more difficult than 1/350 because the parts are twice as small, and hence, more fragile. 350th is great if you prefer large subjects, brass parts are easier to work with, but the cost is also higher. 1/350 also provides room for much more detail, which is reflected in the number and size of parts, meaning more work.

The new Tamiya Missouri that Martin mentioned is a good place to start, but if you add railings and brass detail parts, be prepared for lots of ‘surgical’ work.

My best advice is to start out with something smaller, like a Fletcher class destroyer in 1/350 from Taimya. It won’t take months to build, online references are pretty good, the kit and aftermarket brass details are affordable, and there’s a few people around here who know them quite well and can help you out.

One of the things we experience as shipbuilders, is that modelers from other verticals (armor, planes, etc) will jump immediately into a huge project like a Tamiya Enterprise or one of the battleships. Once they begin to realize the amount of work that’s involved, they lose interest and the project gets shelved. In some cases, good modelers won’t go back to ships because they feel everything we build is daunting, which it isn’t. Ship modeling is not for everyone, but I personally get the most satisfaction from completing a ship model, more so than aircraft or armor.

Best,

Jeff Herne

10

A good start-up ship model in 1-350 scale would be Trumpeter’s USS Cole. It’s nicely cast and the parts fit well, but the limited number of parts make it a fast and easy build. And there is the added bonus of a little touch of muti-media with the metal railings. Painting is fairly easy, with a little masking between spray coats and very little brush work. When it’s finished , the Burke-class destroyer is an impressive-looking modern warship.

11

Come on now Jeff, don’t be too hard on us 1st time sailors. I’m a recent armor convert myself. I did bite the big one and picked up the Tam Enterprise. It just looks too cool to pass up for a project. You are right, some of the larger kits are “long term” projects. I personally had to take a break form the big one while waiting for PE and accurate decals to arrive. In the mean time to satisfy my addiction to plastic, I built a Minihobby 1/350th Ticondergoa. All that’s left is dullcoat and weathering. You are right also in the fact that finishing a ship is a little more satisfying than an M1 in Desert yellow.

Another convert from “the Dark Side”

12

I didn’t mean to belittle anyone…the point I was trying to make is that big ship models require alot more time and effort than people realize, especially if you choose to do them right.

I can bang out a Tamiya battleship in 3 days…without PE or worrying about whether or not its going to win a contest. I choose to build to a level of detail that simply prohibits anything from being done in a timely manner.

Jeff