What's a good scale?

Modeling Subjects Ships
1

Hi, one of these I’d like to have a go at building a ship and would like to get an idea of what scales are the most popular with model maker’s and which brands they prefer? I’m mainly interested in military or commercial vessels, not ocean liners Steve

2

Military and commercial can encompass anything from the age of sale to modern times, but generally the older/smaller the subject, the larger the scale. 1/96 or larger will work well for a sailing ship, but not so well for a modern super carrier.

I essentially build ships from about 1900 on, and for those subjects 1/350th and 1/700th are the most popular scales. 1/700 is better if you want a large number of ships, and 1/350th is better if you like being able to see detail. There are movements into 1/200th and 1/144, but subjects are still much more limited.

3

Funny but there isn’t a bad scale. Here’s my two bits.

1/1200 or smaller. It’s pretty much about owning the finished model and gaming perhaps. or if you set out to build the entire collection of ships involved in the pursuit and sinking of the Bismark, for instance.

1/700. I think this is a great scale. There’s so much available. Pros are that they look good and are a large enough scale to have good detail. And they are reasonable cost usually. Again a good scale for a collection. Lots of aftermarket available. But they take a meticulous technique to come out right.

1/400- 1/600. Lots here and this is where you’ll start to see sailing ships. Countries that are metric like France kit in these century scales. Also there’s lots of aftermarket stuff.

1/350. This is a great scale for steel ships. it’s still kind of small for sail. Every kind of aftermarket thing you can imagine. These kits get to be expensive, and typically take a while to build.

1/100-1/200. Great scale for sail.

Anything under 1/100 gets big. Here’s the realm of wooden kits and commercial smaller vessels. it’s a great area if you are of the model railroad mentality or like to model gear, stuff, figures and lots of detail.

My own take on manufacturers is usually that I’m better than they are and can win the battle with a bad kit. But Tamiya, Hasegawa, Revell, Academy, Airfix, Zvezda, Dragon and Trumpeter all make good models.

There’s a new guy here named Tuan that just posted his modern Varyag over in ships. Take a look at that. It’s not a very difficult kit, looks like a million rubles, and probably wasn’t too expensive.

4

Thanks, Tracy White, GMorrison, A few years ago at a model boat show I was blown away by a scratchbuilt 1/72 aircraft carrier complete with aircraft, choppers etc. Needless to say where to display it was the first thought that came to mind. Steve

5

Commercial vessels seem to come in more scales than warships. By saying commercial vessels but not ocean liners, I assume you are open to smaller craft like tugs, utility craft and such. So 1:72, 1:96 and 1:192 are popular for these smaller commercial vessels in addition to the 1:700 to 1:350 range you find for warships.

I’d suggest you go to web sites of photo-etch vendors like Tom’s Modelworks, GMM and White Ensign to see the photo etch and other aftermarket accessories available in each scale. Although you may forego PE on your first models you will undoubtedly want to start using it later. Also check fittings and stuff from places like Bluejacket and Model Expo.

Lastly, many of us loved the extra detail of larger scales, so we built a lot more 1:350 than 1:700 (I actually built a lot of 1:192). But you will soon start running out of space to display the stuff unless you have a VERY large house! There are advantages to small scale and I am starting to move in that direction.

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Thanks Don I’m leaning towards a 1/72 model of PT 109 as a starter to hone my skills I will also check the sites you mentioned for more ideas. Steve

7

One thing to also keep in mind is that a lot of the commercial ship models have been around for a while and were kitted at the time that “box” scale was popular. There are some pretty oddball one-off scales for that reason. I like the 1/72nd PT-109 kit. It’s a bit dated, but I think it looks decent and catches the look really well.

8

Don,

I picked up on your reference to the add on sites. I build subs - 1:144 and 1:72. I found a few items at White Ensign and Eduard. Any other places to look? How do I know what all are available?

EDIT: Also are there wooden decks available too?

9

Gold Medal has their own website.

Toms has theirs too.

Modelwarships.com has lots and lots of build articles, plus hot links to their advertisers.

10

I like 1/350 not too big and not too small

11

BTW, if you do decide to try a large commercial ship that is not a liner, Revell of Germany offers the Columbo Express in 1:700 scale. It is a GIANT container ship and a beautiful kit. There is a photo-etch set available for it. Only gripe is that the logo decals for the containers are all Hapag LLoyd, but I believe there is an aftermarket decal set with a variety of containers. That model is pretty big even in 1:700 scale!

12

Thanks folks, given me a lot of ideas! To Don, I checked out the container ship you mentioned and yes it is an impressive vessel! Although it’s something in my case that would be out of my comfort zone as a first ship kit.

13

1/700, 1/350 or 1/400

14

For starting out, probably better to start with a simpler subject at a larger scale.

Better a 1/87 tugboat than a 1/700 or 1/350 one. In the same way, a 1/350 destroyer is probably better than, say, the Nichimo 1/400 IJN Kongo (a battleship). Even a simple LCVP in 1/35 is an excellent way to get a start.

15

To second Don Stauffer’s suggestion, another place to check out might be SprueBrothers.com. They have 2 sections under each major topic (Aircraft, Ships, Armor, etc.) one for kits, one for aftermarket accessories. Not a bad way to see what’s out there. Depending on the kit you can find resin, weapons emplacement upgrades, photoetch, and all kinds of other goodies out there.

Groot

16

Thanks Groot The problem for me is the postage costs, I’m in Australia and I’ve looked at a few things from overseas and in most cases the price of postage is double the cost of what I wish to purchase! If anyone in Australia picks up on this thread and can help me with any local suppliers for aftermarket parts and PE would be much appreciated!