Tamiya 1/350th all good?

Way back in the day when I used to go to model shops, they wouldn't let you open any of the kits (you opened it, you bought it!), and the nearest model shop was miles away.  Yes, the convenience of a model shop (when you are lucky enough to have one close by) is fine, but there is a cost to such convenience that I just won't pay any more, and you just can't beat the selection online.  I don't worry about high shipping costs either, because I don't really care if the model or paint, or what have you gets here today, or a couple weeks from now, and so the shipping costs are generally very reasonable (like $8-10 for a 1/350 HMS Hood, which cost $75).  You just have to shop around online to find what you are looking for at a cost that you can afford, and be a bit patient (all of these kits that come out at extravagant cost when new, will drop in price fairly significantly after six months or a year, and strange as it may seem, that kit will STILL be available, so it is worth 'biding your time!').  At the end of the day, it's your money, spend it as you like, and where you like!

searat12 wrote:

but them's the breaks!

Not if I can help it! Some of us prefer the service factor. I can open a model and look through it before buying it if I want. Saves me money that way. I can also run down when I'm out of paint and buy it then and there without having to wait for the shipping companies or pay high shipping costs for fast delivery. Try that with your online shops.

Again, generally, not in the UK. Some on-line dealers give you 10 - 15% off, but that's about it, and it's rarely enough to balance out the shipping costs. I use on-line stockists for stuff I can't get through my LHS.

Plus, if you don't support your LHS, it won't be there when you run out of matt black enamel at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon! Also, maybe having to pay full MRSP allows me to have at least eight good LHSs within half an hour's drive of my house.

Cheers,

Chris.

I can't say as how I have bought a model in a shop for at least 15 years..... Shop online and you will get much better deals, and much better selection than any shop can possibly offer..... Yes, it means the eventual doom of the model shop, but them's the breaks!

Unfortunately, in the UK, paying full retail is the norm. You can sometimes - but by no mens always - find deals at model shows. OTOH, I sometimes think that in the US, MRSPs are deliberately set high, so that shops can have 40% coupons, and still turn a profit.

Cheers,

Chris.

I can't remember the last time I paid MRSP for any model... I got my Tamiya Bismarck on Ebay for $30, which is about 20 quid, last time I checked.... It still had the orignial price tag on it though... $99.00!!  The Revell kit is selling for around $80 last time I checked....

Depends where you buy it. I paid £45 for my Revell kit, in December 2007. The current MRP in England for the Tamiya kit is £48.99. Mind you, the newly-released Revell 1/350 Tirpitz is £70...

Cheers,

Chris.

Good points about the Revell Bismarck, although it must be admitted, the $50 price reduction you get with the Tamiya version sure pays for a a lot of putty and aftermarket PE!

The Revell Germany Bismarck is far, far, better in terms of detail and overall accuracy than the Tamiya kit. It wasn't designed as a motorized toy to sail on the local pond, for a start, so doesn't have inaccurate break lines on the weather deck so that you can change the batteries! It's worth every penny of the price difference between the two, and then some.

If you want to choose a Tamiya 1/350 kit to build OOB, with maybe etched railings, ladders and aerials, I'd go for the Fletcher-class destroyer. Accurate, well-detailed, parts fit like a glove, challenging colour schemes (or you can just go for overall Haze Gray/ Deck Blue), not too expensive and doesn't take up a huge amount of shelf space when built.

Cheers,

Chris.

I've built both the Iowa class New Jersey and CVN-65 Enterprise, both from Tamiya and both in 1/350 scale. Both were excellent kits with no fit problems as I can remember. (I built them about 10 years ago) Packaging is very good, same goes with the instructions. Both ships came up looking fantastic without aftermarket parts etc, although I did purchase a couple of extra sets of aircraft from Tamiya for the Enterprise.

I have Tamiya's 1/350 Missouri and Trumpeters Lexington also in 1/350 scale on my "about to do pile..." I have no doubt the quality of both of these models will be excellent and I look forward to starting them. They are expensive, but you know what they say...you get what you pay for. I don't think you could go wrong with any of Tamiya's ship kits.

Hope this helps a little.

Well, as I recall, the big Tamiya kits in 1/350 ain't exactly cheap either (around $50-60?), but they ALL go together very well.  When these kits were first introduced in the late 70's, they were THE kits to buy, and set the standard for everyone else (and up until quite recently, continued to do so!).  I just bought an old Tamiya Bismarck in 1/350 for $30 on Ebay, and it still has its original price tag of $99.00 on the box from 20 years ago (when a dollar was actually worth something!).  I have done some test fitting of the deck and other major parts, and they fit like a glove..... Same with the Fletcher, and every other Tamiya kit I have ever bought.  In fact, and from what I understand from all the reviews, really the only major difference between the old Tamiya Bismarck and the brand new version by Revell is that the Revell ship has a lot more underwater details, such as vents, etc.  And others may correct me if I am wrong, but I believe Tamiya is the only outfit that makes an injection-molded Missouri-class battleship in 1/350, which has had a lot of good reviews too, and of course the Tamiya Prince of Wales is very good....

As for Trumpeter, this is a fairly new outfit in China, and while some of their later kits are quite good, some of the earlier ones have raised a lot of hoots of derision!  I have several Trumpeter kits too, and the ones that I know are good include HMS Hood, and Jeremiah Brown (Liberty ship), and I have heard a lot of good things about the Trumpeter Richelieu......