Should I change out the stash?

Just as an example, I have 13 x 1/350 and 21 x 1/700s. I like the 700s, some of the old Tamiya molds really can look good with some AM help. I don't know about the Trumpy 700s though.

I absolutely agree that if you are comfortable with your abilities with 1/700 It is a great choice.  1) Variety  2) cost  3) space.
Even with the many new 1/350 kits being offered today, I don't think it will ever match the huge range of kits available in 1/700, both plastic and resin. 
And for resin, the cost difference is stunning.  The best 1/350 resin kits can cost three times the price of the best 1/700 resin offerings.
Space is a huge factor for me.  I put my waterling ships on water bases, and even with the rectangle footprint, I get ten models into a cabinet that would hold two 1/350 kits on nice bases.

Good luck making your own decision,
Rick

Glad to help choose if you want. One thing about 1/700 is that it's really, um, incestuous.

Seems like everyone reboxed everyone else's model.

Today I saw a 1/700 cruiser on ebay for $ 90 and the same kit at HobbyLinkJapan for $ 14 plus shipping. One Dragon and one Pitroad.

The first 1/700 I built in the last century was a 1/700 Dragon LHS, the Tarawa. That was a terrific kit.

This is really diverse feedback with some new points and thought processes to consider. Keep the opinions coming guys. 

Don's comment on keeping the finger dexterity up was a thought provoking one. MC I've given away 2 builds to family and friend and each one was a struggle, although the 2nd one wasn't as traumatic as the 1st. Maybe it gets easier. Have wondered on occasion what will happen to them once I'm gone and i think you hit it right

I'm contemplating buying a BB in 1/700 that I don't have in 1/350 and seeing what I think. Under the premise that if I don't end up sticking with that scale then I don't end up with a duplicate. 

I would have to go with 1/350th if for no other reason than my weird eye problen.  My focus is constantly changing even with glasses.  This makes 350th the obvious choice.  I have some 700th scale ships that I most likely will never be able to build, like my Wolverine carries.A great kit but like the others, it just sits in the drawer.

The 1/700th scale is very popular in Japan and Okinawa, has been for many decades, because of their size and more recently the amount of detail that can be added.

I work in both. I will usually get what I really want in 350 as long as it's avaliable and the rest that intrests me in 700. I get 350 for the detail and I can really get in there and add extra. I can do that with 700 but not as easily. I pretty much have all the ones I want in 350 except for the Repulse, Kaga, an Essex class, a Lexington class and a Udaloy....maybe the Pytot Velikiy. Everything else is in 700, most waterline, which doesn't bother me at all because I add a little bit if the hull with some polystyrene and place them in a seabase anyway.

Yes, the room is an issue but after a few years, I donate them to museums or veterans homes anyway. My kids will just throw them away after I go so I might as well decide their fate before that.

For me, 700 PE is no more or less difficult than 350.

It's a personal decision.

This is an interesting question for me because I wrestled with it for over a month.  When Trumpeter began providing their 1/700 kits with full hull options, Aoshima and Hasegawa followed suit, and 1/700 became an attractive option.  I much prefer full hull models, and I feel cheated by waterline kits because I feel like I am getting half a model.

But, Trumpeter has unfortunately stopped producing the option for full hull in their 1/700 kits.  Although they are doing great work in their recent kits, they do not fit into my collection anymore.  I had purchased their California and Colorado class battleships, their Texas and New York just don't fit.  I haven't purchased a 1/700 kit since.

Bill

Really hard for me to try and answer.Its your personal decision,really have no idea whats best for you and your situation.

I had two reasons for moving to 1:700.  First is the display problem.  Second, my fingers have developed a shake.  I am a firm believer in use it or lose it, so figured concentrating on smaller scales would at least help to retain what I have.

I have learned a few tricks on finicky tweezer work that I discussed in the tools forum (about shakey fingers).  Also, a few days ago I was standing in the checkout line at a Dollar Tree.  There was a pair of 31/2 diopter glasses there (had never seen that high at my local one).  I had heard that too high a magnification with cheaters doesn't work because there is no convergence ground into them, but for a buck I figured it is worth the risk.  I tried them the other day and they work fine.  I suspect they would cause a headache if I wore them the whole time I was at the bench, but I kept my old 2 1/4 and use those regularly, have the new pair now for really close work.

Potchip nailed it. I am not strictly 1/700, nor do I think potchip might be either.

But the first point is a great one. The rule of cubes gives a volume of 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 in a scale half the original, or 1/8 the volume of the original.

And I convert the ones I build to full hull. At 1/700 the draft of a ship is usually somewhere between 1/4" and 1/2". I just cut a piece of basswood over thick, trace the outline of the hull at waterline, and shape it following whatever information I have.

Rudders and shafts are easy; all kinds of props can be found in 3D print word. Left hand, right hand, four blade, five blade and on.

Plastic kit availability isn't really much more than in 1/350 I think, but in resin there is so much. I have three different classes of CL cruisers from the USN in World War Two. Two are plastic; Dragon releases of older Pitroad/ Skywave, and one is resin.

About the only negative I see is that aircraft are fussy, and decal app is a real lesson in exercising the zen mind. Sometimes I'll just do the bigger ones. 

I second the recommendation.

Bill

Disclaimier, I'm a 1/700 person. Because there are more choices, and waterline models are easy to display.

But IMO cost of a model should not be a consideration for choosing a scale. A 1/350 model is 8x the size of a 1/700 and easily 4x the effort to build one. So in a way, building one 1/350 takes 4x as long as one 1/700 for a similar level of detail per unit of dimension. Given the relative cost of 1/700 vs 1/350 kits, you are getting a better deal per $ for entainment in the larger scales. 

Key is the subject must interest you, so that the end result can be held in good esteem.  That's where 1/700 reigns over 1/350, and generally better kits (given a particular subject) due to the volume of recent releases. If you know where to buy things, for the cost of one 1/350 (not the really old ones) you can also get many 1/700 kits (be it resin or plastic) that comes with very comprehensive aftermarket sets that you don't need to fork out extra for. 

Tamiya is hardly a significant brand for 1/700 anymore, with no recent releases and many in its catalogue superceded by various competitors be it Fujimi/Pit Road/Trumpeter/Flyhawk. Only advantage is Tamiya kits are not expensive because they are old, and widely available. Trumpeter is the main stay of newer 1/700 kits of non-Japanese subjects, with Fujimi/Hasegawa/Aoshima/Pitroad specialising in IJN subjects, Flyhawk in RN subjects.

it depends on how good you are at 1/700 scale mongoose . I'm afraid they are too small and fiddly for me . but from what I have seen of your builds , it would be a piece of cake for you mate .

steve5