1:350 Arleigh Burke destroyer model - Trumpeter vs. Dragon???????????

keilau wrote:

The Dragon #1022/1023/1028 Arleigh Burke kits have been around for a while and received generally good press. http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/prodd.asp?pid=DRA1028 The recent Trumpeter releases cost twice as much. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXVUF3&P=SM Are there any comparison review of the two kits yet?

Well, from Trumpeter's aircraft, especially their 1/32 scale WW II aircrafts (Just finished their P-51 kit, got a Corsair, Hellcat and their extremely good Avenger on the stash. Finshed the P-47D Bubbletop before that). Trumpeter has always been about "Making kits that are stupidly expensive, but when completed, are award winning IPMS show stoppers right out of the box".

I build DML's Burke before. The detail is only so-so, fit good enough, my kit also contain a set of photo-etch ship rails. I don't know how Trumpy's kit works, but if its anything like their Avenger or T-Bolt kit, then yea, it will be more expensive, but the amount of details and works should beat the crap out of the Dragon one! 

EDIT: So its a personal prefrence issue. If you want to build a model that is "Good enough" to display on your fireplace mantle, get the Dragon one (you can find it on some places for like 12 bucks! Which is what I paid for mine). But if you want to pay more for a stunning show piece with very little aftermarket parts, then maybe you should go the Trumpeter's route.

dzhou wrote:

EDIT: So its a personal prefrence issue. If you want to build a model that is "Good enough" to display on your fireplace mantle, get the Dragon one (you can find it on some places for like 12 bucks! Which is what I paid for mine). But if you want to pay more for a stunning show piece with very little aftermarket parts, then maybe you should go the Trumpeter's route.

No, I don't believe "more expensive" necessarily translated into better. I want to see an one-on-one comparison between the new Dragon 1028 vs. the Trumpeter kit. The Dragon Dragon 1/350 Buchanan (at $40) has generated a lot of Emphasiuism among the ship builders here. Can the trumpeter kit top that? What will $80 buy us?

I have the Trumpeter 1/200 Sovremenny. It is a big kit and an excellent buy at $45. What will $80 Trumpeter ship kit buy us?

I have not seen the Trumpeter 1/32 bobbletop, but read in FSM that it was good, but not any better than the Hasegawa which is at half the cost.

I build mostly 1:48 aircraft kits and do not have a single aircraft trumpeter kit on my stash. I have compared the recent kits of F-15E from Revell and Hasegawa. The Revell kit is excellent at a fraction of the cost. I still have more Hasegawa aircrafts than Revell kits. Some of the classic 1:48 F-4, F-104 from Hasegawa still have no matching offer from others. But Revell has shown that excellent new kits do not have to be excessively expensive. The Revell F-86D 1/48 and Bismarck 1/350 both show that.

I paid $31 plus shipping when I pre-ordered the Dragon 1023 Arleigh Burke. I would be really interested in knowing how you got it for $14. I hope that is not from an garage or estate sale, which do not count. 

ModelWarships wrote:

I have not yet seen the Trumpeter kit. But it will likely be based on the Pit-Road 1/700 kit. Dragon's kit is the same as the Panda kit as Dragon simply bought the molds and added some PE to it. It is not a newly tooled kit like the Buchanan.

Dragon made the following claim on their 1/350 U.S.S. Preble DDG-88 Arleigh Burke Class Destroyer kit.

http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/prodd.asp?pid=DRA1028

Equally state of the art is Dragon's new 1/350 scale kit of the USS Preble. The model is based on previous Arleigh Burke-class model kits, and it features a widespread application of slide-molded components. There is also a liberal offering of photo-etched metal parts to add a delicate touch and to more accurately represent small details. Thus, items like ladders and platforms can be modeled more realistically. This kit has been highly engineered for accuracy and ease of assembly, and modelers will gain great pleasure from creating this 1/350 scale replica. Indeed, this Dragon kit represents a suitably high-tech rendition of one of the U.S. Navy's newest and most potent warships!

Are they justifiable? Is the Dragon #1028 different from their earlier Arleigh Burke kits?

Firecaptain wrote:

I didn't think the Trumpy kit was out yet........

Sprue Brothers has 4 in stock now.

Cybermodels has a review up and I my guess was around 85% spot on....

In the end, when asked whether they prefer the Dragon or the Trumpeter one, they went for the Trumpy one. Simply put, Trump went out their way to make the most detailed and accurate Burke it seems. Link 16 and other antennas (details other company would miss) are included. RAST dome in clear and extend all the way below deck. Open or close hanger doors. Clear SH-60 (mask it right and it will look awesome). The rails surronding the deck can be posed up (non-flight operation) or folded (for flight operation). Yes, it's twice the money. But as cybermodel said, If you want a a quick build, or just starting into ship models, then their Burke is good fit. If you are experienced and want a contest winner, go for the Trumpy!