Well, well, well...

I've seen photos but have yet to hold the real thing in my hand.

Just to be clear, I understand that there are people who value cost over detail, and I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. All I've been saying is that those who say the Dragon kit is too expensive have been making unfair comparisons as the kit isn't even out yet. It is very possible that the reason the Trumpeter kit is so cheap right now is that the retailers know the Dragon kit is on the way and they're trying to avoid having slow-moving stock on hand. I.E. the price might be artificially deflated. To truly have a fair argument I saw wait for 6-9 months after the Dragon kit is out so that both have had a chance to stabilize.

I'm not saying that the Dragon kit isn't better than the Trump one , I in fact have the Buchanan and it is a beauty. Just wonder if it is THAT much better to warrant the price difference. The highest retail I could find for the Trumpeter version was 49.95. I really can't wait to get the Trump version though and kinda compare it to the Dragon Buchanan and see how the details really stack up. Have you seen the Trump version yet other than the CAD drawings that are out there?

Uhhh no

Retail they're both the same price. Doesn't mean that a seller has to honor that price or tell you what the correct suggested price is. The Dragon kit isn't even out yet, so there's no true way to compare prices at this time as no one has it to discount it other than perhaps a vague pre-order. Wait until the Dragon kit has come out before comparing prices if you want to be fair.

Pretty much the same price?? Just pre-ordered the Trump one from GM for $23, the Dragon one is $50....even full retail price on the Trump kit is $20 bucks less the the sale price of the Dragon one.

Stevens International list the new Trumpeter kit for $49.95, not the $39.95 listed on the Great Models site. The Dragon kit is listed as 62.95 with a sale of 50.35! You can preorder it direct from Dragon USA for 49.95 now. You should ask them why they are jacking up the price on the Dragon kit. But don't worry, there are many other model shops that will sell it for a lot less.

Trumpeter's kit is listed on this site for $23.20

http://www.greatmodels.com/~smartcart/cgi/display.cgi?item_num=TSM5321

Any operational history on the Z-39?

Not to mention drafting a set of comprehensible assembly instructions!

$50? You gotta be kidding, no matter how many bells & whistles.

And, one hopes (assumes) Dragon will do a better job of calling out the paint colors.

First one out of the gate is Z-39 herself in her end-of-war configuration; it was an easy choice for us to make as we had the most information on her configuration due to her being tested and extensively photographed by the US Navy. After her there will be others, but of course it's not up to me to say which ship, what year, or when it'll be released.

Dragon is not worried about Trumpeter's Zerstorer. We think there will be people who will choose Trumpeter over Dragon for the easier assembly (less detail) but as they're pretty much the same price any discriminating builder will go with the Dragon kit.

What's going to be especially interesting is that Dragon and Trumpeter apparently are issuing 1/350 Z-class destroyers at almost the same time.  If I'm not mistaken, this will be the first time the two heavy hitters have competed head-to-head with each other in 1/350.  A side-by-side comparison should be pretty enlightening.

I'll be picking one of these MOJO's up as soon as they are available...I wonder if the Destroyer it is portraying is one of the more "famous" ones...

The days of $5 models are over. Revell is selling it's FIFTY year-old Long Beach kit for a retail price of $35, and $50 for a new-tool destroyer is out of line? Wait a year and buy it on the second-hand market if that's too much. Even if it takes you as little as ten hours to assemble that's still $5 per hour for entertainment.....

"Just $50" he says....

I learned my lesson on the pre-order thing.I do believe I will wait until it is actually at HILL COUNTRY HOBBIES thank you. Then I won,t be dissappointed. tankerbuilder.

Yeah, my bad---they list it now as pre-order...

It ain't in stock yet; we haven't even got the test shots done. I think they're jumping the gun a bit.....