Are these makes any good?

Generally they're pretty good, although there will be some variation in quality due age. You might check the ModelWarships.Com Reviews section for reviews of individual kits.

TSK wrote:

I am new to the hobby and been asking for tips on kit choice.Mainly build ease,subject is very broad at the moment,any warship in 700th. I was all set to go for the Charles f adams. Because my lHS have limited ship kits choice as been hard.BUT i have just found a small shop which is packed with kits old and new with loads of ship kits. There are makes i have never heard of, Skywave,Aoshima,Fujumi and Hasegawa.Are these kit good.Some of the boxes are very dusty and could be old so quality may be not for me.Of the kit make i mentioned is there any particular kit that would really suit the beginner in 700th.He had loads of kits so hopefully i will get a better choice.The recommendation of Tamiya and Dragon subjects were a failure to find.

You can find reviews of model kits at www.steelnavy.com as well as Modelwarships.com. A more complete list of reviews can be found at http://www.quuxuum.org/rajens_list/shiprevs.html. The Rajens site is compiled by a group of ship modelers (I have been a reviewer there) trying to review every ship model that has been made. Not all have been reviewed (after all, that is a VERY tall order) but most plastic and resin models have been reviewed at least briefly. WS

TSK wrote:

There are makes i have never heard of, Skywave,Aoshima,Fujumi and Hasegawa.Are these kit good.Some of the boxes are very dusty and could be old so quality may be not for me.Of the kit make i mentioned is there any particular kit that would really suit the beginner in 700th.He had loads of kits so hopefully i will get a better choice.The recommendation of Tamiya and Dragon subjects were a failure to find.

Yeah, I got on the wrong bus the other day- it was a tour group of supermodels, thing is they were all in their 40's. Bummer, gotta hold out for the teenagers...

Dude, if I could put my money where my mouth is, which I can't since I don't know you- buy

$ 20- 30 worth, one of each manuf, and build them. You'll know more than us when you are done, and we'll enjoy the show. I love old models because they smell better and they can show you some lost arts of true kitbuilding.

LHS wouldn't be in the Bay Area, would it? 

No,I am in the UK. This shop is not advertised in any model mag.

I drove past it and see some really tatty boxes in the window.when i went i i could not believe the kits he had.new and ancient.Not saying they are cheap but there is a really big ship selection.i am going to try and find some reviews and try to match the kit up.

 

If you are looking for a shop to buy kits, try Hannants in London. They are a very well known hobby store in the UK. They will also give you good advice.

TSK wrote:

There are makes i have never heard of, Skywave,Aoshima,Fujumi and Hasegawa.Are these kit good.Some of the boxes are very dusty and could be old so quality may be not for me. ... The recommendation of Tamiya and Dragon subjects were a failure to find.

The answer is, it depends.

The quality of the old Japanese Waterline Consortium (Aoshima, Fujimi, Hasegawa, Tamiya) varied.   The consortium essentially agreed on who would do what subjects.  PitRoad/Skywave was originally a member of the consortium, but they broke away early.   The consortium is now disbanded

IMO, the quality of the early Aoshima was very poor.  Fujimi was hit-n-miss.  Hasegawa and Tamiya were pretty good.   Some of the early green-box PitRoad/Skywave kits were good, some were so-so.   Several of these kits (Gato, O-class) are now in Tamiya's product list.

The quality of the current kits from these manufacturers has improved.   The newer Aoshima Bismarck is top-notch.   New Tamiya, Hasgawa, and PitRoad/Skywave are good also.   I might rank Fujimi a cut below. 

Some Trumpeter 1:700 kits are actually designed & manufactured by PitRoad.  PitRoad has marketing rights in the Orient, with Trumpeter having them in the West.

Just be aware that you might find a kit in current production which is from old molds and that it may not be up to current standards. 

Be aware also that some of the Pit Road/Skywave kits have been acquired by Dragon in recent years and have been retooled/upgraded with the addition of lower hulls, PE etc. The Adams Class DDG's and Perry Class FFG's and Russian Sovremenny Class come to mind.

If I recall correctly, Fujimi's Iowa class BB offerings were only average (in terms of moulding/detail) in comparison to Hasegawa's South Dakota class. (any comments Ed?)

If you can find it, Tamiya's WWII Japanese Agano light cruiser produces a very nice, detailed little model with very little effort. It also looks rather "elegant" and well proportioned compared with some Japanese ships of that period. 

Phil_H wrote:

Be aware also that some of the Pit Road/Skywave kits have been acquired by Dragon in recent years and have been retooled/upgraded with the addition of lower hulls, PE etc. The Adams Class DDG's and Perry Class FFG's and Russian Sovremenny Class come to mind. If I recall correctly, Fujimi's Iowa class BB offerings were only average (in terms of moulding/detail) in comparison to Hasegawa's South Dakota class. (any comments Ed?) If you can find it, Tamiya's WWII Japanese Agano light cruiser produces a very nice, detailed little model with very little effort. It also looks rather "elegant" and well proportioned compared with some Japanese ships of that period.

The Iowa class BBs from Fujimi cannot compare to the more recent releases from Tamiya in 1/700. To start with they are all essentially the same. The Tamiya kits in addition to offering crisper, and greater detail also differentiate between the open and closed bridges in the class. The Hasegawa SoDaks are far better than the Aoshima North Carolinas but fall a great deal short of the new offerings from Trumpeter of the North Carolina class. I anticipate that the announced, but not yet available SoDaks forthcoming from Trumpeter will be better than the Hasegawa kits. Having just completed the Washington from Trumpeter and comparing the completed model to my previously built Washington from Aoshima let's just say that they don't even appear to be the same ship. If you are looking for the best of the injection molded battleships and battlecruisers go with the Tamiya Iowas and the Trumpeter North Carolinas for the USN. For earlier ships like the Colorados, Misssippis, etc you will have to consider resin kits. I think one of the best injection molded RN ships that can be found right now is the Trumpeter Hood in either the 1931 or 1941 versions. Giving credit where credit is due the recent issues from Aoshima are really, really good. However, the novice modeler must be very careful not to pick up the old stuff from them as it is nowhere near the same in quality. This is one of the reasons I recommend that people new to the hobby go to Steel Navy.com, Modelwarships.com and the Rajens ship kit list for reviews (with kit numbers for I.D. purposes) before laying out any cash. WS