Looking for an IJN "Pagoda" battleship in 1/350

Hasegawa recently released the IJN Nagato within the past several months in 1/350. I think there are another couple either about to be released or just recently released as well.

Thanks Stikpusher......just checked the Dragon USA site and looked at the Nagato information.  Looks like a great kit...........

I appreciate the help...

RODC

rodc wrote:

I have seen some 1/700 scale Japanese "pagoda" battleships but was wondering if there is anything out in 1/350? RODC

Go to Free Time Hobbies, on line, and you will find a number of 1/350 IJN kits. In plastic will be Nagato & Mutsu, Kongo, Kirishima, and Ise (in battleship carrier hybrid configuration). You will also find additional IJN cruisers and destroyers from plastic and resin manufacturers. WS

Wow Dreadnought52, that Ise is a nice looking kit......would love to add that to my stash!  Price is a little steep though.  I have had no experience with Fujimi kits.......how do they stack up with respect to quality and ease of construction?

RODC

They are all excellent kits with the exception that the Nagato/Mutsu have CAD lines molded directly into the hull.  But, these can be filled with patience. And, they are all very pricey!

Bill Morrison

rodc wrote:

Wow Dreadnought52, that Ise is a nice looking kit......would love to add that to my stash!  Price is a little steep though.  I have had no experience with Fujimi kits.......how do they stack up with respect to quality and ease of construction? RODC

I have not purchased the new Ise (I'm waiting for the full battleship version, I don't care for the hybrid version currently out). So I can't tell you how good or not it may be, however there has been some discussion of this kit on SteelNavy.com and Modelwarships.com. You might want to scroll through the message boards there to see what has been said about it. I do have the Yankee Modelworks Kirishima kit which is really gorgeous. I also have the Nagato kit in plastic. Do note that there is a major flaw in the Nagato kit (Mutsu also). The CAD lines actually appear in the plastic. I don't know if this was an attempt to depict plating or not but they are too deep and too obvious. They can be filled in or you can ignore them and build the kit as is for the 99.99999999999% of the rest of the world that won't know the difference. Otherwise the Nagato/Mutsu kits are VERY nice. When you do a 350 kit you will find yourself adding additional detail parts which will run the price up even more, especially the photo etched brass stuff. If you go with the high end upgrades your can have $400 into this kit in a flash. Do a bit a research on exactly what you want before buying. You may find it cheaper to go with one of the resin kits rather than the plastic after you get done "upgrading" the plastic one. WS

The Fujimi Kongo is a better kit than the one from Aoshima (they also make a Haruna, while Aoshima also makes Kirishima), and I agree about the Nagato/Mutsu kit from Hasegawa, it WOULD be excellent, except for the CAD lines (and it is very expensive too!).  The Fujimi Kongo is about $50 more expensive than the Aoshima, but the moldings are a lot finer and better detailed (you can get an Aoshima Kongo for about $150, or even less if hunt for it!).  The Nagato kit sells for a bomb, as does the Ise hybrid battleship.... Fujimi USED to make the Kongos in 1/450 scale, and once in a while they turn up on ebay (I have Haruna in this scale) for a fair bit cheaper than the current offerings in 1/350, but they are not up to the current standards of moldings (they go well with the old Hasegawa 1/450 offerings though).......