What types of ships interest you?

M1 A1 A2 Tanker wrote:

Ok guys.... I plan I starting to build some ships for a change of pace. I have been modeling on and off for over 20 years (yes, mostly off ) but I would rate my overall skill as in the middle not a beginner but not nearly as good as some guys I know here in Colorado Spings and other I have seen on the net. So my questions are as follows:   What is the best company to start out with? What is the best scale? Should I jump into the PE for ship railings and such right away or would you recommend get some kits done first? Any specific kit you would recommend starting with?   Thanks  Guys.............

If you are interested in steel ships and would like to start out with something that is of good quality in a large enough scale to avoid some early frustrations go with the Tamiya Fletcher or the Trumpeter England in 1/350. Both are excellent kits, reasonally priced and you have the option of obtaining aftermarket photo etched brass detail sets should you want to. Every company out there has made its share of clinkers, however some companies do better than others. Before buying anything you can research reviews of ship models at www.steelnavy.com or modelwarships.com or on the rajens list.

On those sites you can also research potential subjects in say 1/700 scale which offers a tremendous number of ships not found in larger scales. In fact you can build whole fleets in 1/700. I prefer to work in 1/700 because of the variety and space considerations as my favorite subjects are battleships. In large scales you don't have room for a lot, even in a big house. In 1/700 the armada can be huge. WS

I completely eccho Mr Dreadnought's views.  I also work only in 1/700, but would suggest that you start with flexing your muscles  in a small 1/350 build - and the Trumpeter England or Tamiya Fletcher are the right places to start.  Save PE for the second build, after you're comfy with doing a ship in recent memory - like you say, skills go away after some on and off time.

 If you want to flex another muscle on this first build, then maybe you might want to consider building your DD or DE as a sister with an interesting camouflage schme, starting from Measure 22 (http://www.shipcamouflage.com/measure_22.htm) or working up to something like a challenging pattern with colors like Measure 31 (http://www.shipcamouflage.com/measure_31.htm)

Note: a table here (http://www.shipcamouflage.com/fletcher_class.htm) tells you what measure (color set) is used with a particular pattern (visual shape) on individual ships during their careers.  Somepace on the web there is a set of 2 dimensional pattterns for thouse schemes.

 At any rate, this camouflage business is an integral part of ship modeling, as much as PE, just like with armor, and is a skill you can develop in parallel with PE, starting easy and working up.

 Welcome aboard!

Rick