New 1/350 Battleships ???

I fully concur on the possibility of a 1/350 scale North Carolina or Washington. While the resin kits are magnificent builds, $300.00 for a model ship is way beyond my means, and of that of about all the other modelers I know. I think that is Trumpeter's trump card. While the Essex and Hornet (And the Lex, mine is on pre order) are by no means cheap, they are attainable on a working man's budget. Another point of agreement...It would be great to see the Knox class frigates done in plastic in 1/350th or, better yet, 1/200. Heck, if the price was reasonable I'd buy a dozen of them! (can't tell I'm an ex Knox sailor, can ya?) There are at least six variations of the class I can reel off of the top of my head, but at $160 per ther's only so much kit-bashing I'm able to do. Hopefuly some exec. at Trumpeter will peruse these posts and see potential dollar signs.

QUOTE: Originally posted by subfixer Is there an ALABAMA conversion for the YMW's kit?

YMW makes a Massachussets, which should be able to be made into 'Bama without too much effort. http://www.yankeemodelworks.com/bb59.htm

Check out Chris Decker's post on the new North Carolina kit on www.steelnavy.com 's message board. Retail price and pre-order price have been set. Warm regards, Craig

I tell ya, Atlanta is a grest place to be...in fact, I'm planning on attending the Nationals in 2005. As for Cleveland, I've kinda lost hope, it'll be at least another two or three years before the Browns can get their act together and actually start winning some ball games. As for Boston, booo, can't stand the Sox.

My brother lives in Baltimore...haven't seen or heard much from him in awhile, probably won't get there myself for at least another year or two...who knows...

Yea, I was listening... :-)

Jeff

I'm new to the world of 350th shipbuilding - the Trumpeter carriers got me hooked! I've read with interest, all the intel about new 350th injection molded releases due out in the future.

The mention of Crusiers sounds interesting. Having grown up outside of Boston, I moved down in the Baltimore area about 10 years ago. Great cities - great ships!

I've never been to Cleveland, but I hear that it is a fine city also! Recently got back from visiting relatives in the Atlanta area. It was warm there, but not as warm as in the reception these fine ships had in Guadalcanal.

Jeff are you listening?

Oh what the heck I'd buy an Ark Royal too so that makes three ! Problem is I will buy almost anything also. By the way Jeff I returnrd to modeling about 3 years ago but didn't get into forums and stuff on the web until ayear ago so maybe it takes sometime time to get reoriented

I agree with you Death (boy, there's some irony,huh?) Ark Royal would be a good subject...but we have to consider that ever-recurring question...outside of the UK and Commonwealth, how well would it sell?

And that doesn't mean us, because we're the exceptions to the rule (we'll buy just about anything that floats). We have to look at the modelers around the world that aren't here...

In my travels, you'd be amazed at how many modelers don't participate in the forums and sites on the web...baffling, really.

I'd buy an Ark Royal, so there's two...we're off to a good start!

Jeff

What about a 350 Ark Royal (WW2)?Does that meet the criteria of famous ships?I know her sinking didn't result in a great loss of life,but she certainly did more than Yamato!

If I know Midship Models (and I do), I'll bet it'll be a high quality kit. With regards to the other kits in your closet, well, I wouldn't be too worried, there have been other kits in the past that had smaller scale sisters...the Revell AZ for example...still being produced, even though the Banner/Trumpeter kit is out there.

Jeff

Well it appears there is lots of good news in the pipeline for 1/350 scale nuts any thoughts on the quality of the So. Dakota that may appear soon ? Also will the new Hood make me want to get one to put next to my Heller 1/400 which I think I did a nice job on ?finally will the North Carolina decrease the value of the 3 Renwal 1/500 I have in my closet of the Washington that I hoped some day would be my retirement nestegg? Hopefully the marketplace will convince manufactures to continue the trend that we have seen recently

I'd be satisfied with some Forrestal class CVs. Especially the Ranger. These ships have been ignored forever.

The only alternative to the Banner kit is going with a Tom's Modelworks or Iron Shipwrights resin kit.

Tom produces a nice PE set, and there's enough aftermarket stuff out there from L'Arsenal to really improve the Banner/Trumpeter kit. In the end, it will probably be cheaper than the resin kit. A company called LionRoar apparently does a set of brass inserts to face off the Arizona supertructure, eliminating the need to sand the )1 level at the portholes.

Jeff

PS: Martin, I didn't realize that Midship had annouced the SoDak...oh well, so much for having a secret!!

Does anyone know of a good quality 1/350 scale of the USS Arizona. I have an old Banner model but I think the quality is lacking?

Is there an ALABAMA conversion for the YMW's kit?

Trident has "announced" a 1/350 SoDak class BB in their Midship Models line for sometime now. Given the delay in getting the 1/700 DD's to market, I wouldn't push the stuff you are building off the workbench just yet...it may take awhile.



If you can't wait - and can afford it - the YMW kit is superb...

I know, but can't tell....you will get one eventually, and more than likely NOT from Trumpeter, and definitely not from Tamiya. That's all you're getting from me on this one.

Jeff

OK, where are the South Dakotas in all of this?

I was just busting your chops Shelby...for a long time,the Lindbergh kit was the only game in town...but sadly, it sorta looks like a Hood!

The Heller kit can be made into a gem with some effort...and money!

Hopefully, this will be a moot point in a few months and we'll have a new Hood too.

Jeff

Jeff,
Sorry about suggesting the Lindberg kit. I was asked to make a presentation on the destruction of the Bismarck and at the time I needed a model of the Hood quickly. I grabed the only model of the ship my hobby store had. Nobody in the audience knew that the model was inaccurate. Along with the Tamyia KGV, POW, and Bismarck with their photo eched parts my Lindberg Hood did not look to bad. I added some parts from my spares box and with a few tricks she looked pretty good. She looked good enough for me to get through the presentation. I was recently invited back and asked to bring the "fleet" back. Thanks for the information on the USS North Carolina I can't wait.

You're very right Jeff, it is all about the money. Part of the forum is for the modeling community to share their opinons with one and other. If one of the kits are not available may some one has an idea on how to scratch build one. Just being able to bounce ideas off of everyone is why I'm here.

Of course I'm referring to injected molded...with the exception of the IJN CV, everything else is already out in resin...

As of this moment, I'm hearing NOTHING about an Alaska...and here's why...there were two ships in the class (that saw service), they're not famous like Hood, Graf Spee, or Indianapolis, and they weren't around long after the war. Futhermore, they were a bit of a white elephant...although they were very pretty ships.

We have to remember something folks...companies like Trumpeter, Panda, etc., are in the business to make money (that funny paper with the numbers and images of dead important people). Let's just say they're going to allocate X amount of dollars into a ship kit...do they produce an Alaska, with all the historical restrictions I listed above, or do they release an Indy, Hood, Graf Spee, or some other vessel that's etched into the minds of nautical modelers either due to tragedy (Hood, Arizona, Graf Spee) or popularity (Iowa, Yamato, Bismarck, etc.) or by sheer numbers...Essex, Fletcher, Atlanta, etc....

I want the forgotten individual ships more than anyone...Roma, Scharnhorst, Takao, Nurnburg, Sheffield, Suffolk, Detroit, Hipper, Perth, Canberra, Repulse, Renown, Rodney, any of the Pearl Harbor ladies, California, Pennsy, WeeVee, Tennesee, etc...but in the end, it's all about numbers...the number of kits they can sell, and the how much profit they can make, both in the short term and long term. Face it, ships that were sunk in combat draw far attention that those that weren't...Bismarck, Hood, Arizona, Yamato, Musashi, Prince of Wales...all have been kitted in 1/350 plastic with the exception of Hood.

Let's just be thankful we're getting new kits...period. As long as we keep buying them, eventually, most of us will get something on our list of kits that we really want. We all want more than just one ship, I know I do...so if they toss us each a bone once a year, great, we're better off than we were even a year ago...

I can remember, not so long ago, when the only 1/350 injected kits were Tamiya...Yamato/Musashi, Bismarck/Tirpitz, Missouri/New Jersey, KGV/PoW, the Big E CVN-65, and the Fletcher...everything else was resin.

Now, thanks to Trumpeter and couple others, we have 3 Essex Class, a Yorktown Class, a Liberty ship, a North Carolina coming, and a slew of modern Russian stuff (which doesn't really do much for me). Panda is doing a series of Burkes, ICM/Alanger released their Konig kits, and now Eastern Express has released a Borodino in 1/350, and Hasegawa is doing a 1/350 Mikasa!!!

All in all, it's a great time to be a 1/350 ship modeler!!!!

Jeff

It seems that Trumpeter is listening and acting on our requests. The 350 scale North Carolina will be a most welcome addition. Jeff, I hope when you are hinting about Japanese Aircraft carrier, the Hood, and American crusiers you are referring to injection molded kits. Not many of us can afford the $300-$400 resin kits no matter how wonderful they are.

Aargh!! Shelby!! How could you!!! Not the Linbergh Hood!! Excuse me while I recover from these convulsions...

The Lindbergh kit is a bath tub toy...nothing about the kit is accurate...seriously. Not even the poor hull is shaped properly.

If you want a large scale, accurate HMS Hood, then get the Heller 1/400 scale kit. It has some minor errors, but most kits do. Add in White Ensigns photoetched set, and resin aftermarket fittings (Walrus, pom-poms, UP launchers, life boats) and you've got a gem, albeit a pricey one.

Alaska has been mentioned several times, but as of right now, I don't hear any mention of it. I can tell you to expect a couple of USN cruisers, an IJN carrier, and perhaps a German capital ship in the next year or so. As for North Carolina, they *should* be stateside and available before winter is over (summer for you folks down under).

That's all I know.

Jeff

This is for death----There is a fairly decent Lindberg model of the HMS Hood out. I think it is a 1/425 scale don't hold me to it. It is not exactly Tamiya standards or Trumpeter but it did look good sitting with my HMS Prince of Wales and King George V and Bismarck.

Now that we know that a 1/350th North Carolina is comming the next questions is when?

I would love to have a plastic 350th kit of the either one of the Alaska class cruisers. Is there any hope in the future for them? Jeff please give me some good news.

Mike

I guess Death doesn't read... (I can picture the dude in the black robes with a copy of FSM)

Unless a plastic ship company springs up in Australia, no, chances are you'll never see HMAS Australia (or Hobart) or any other OZ or Anzac naval subjects.

As for Hood...good grief man...read between the lines!!!!!

Jeff

Great,more Yank stuff!! What about a decent 350 Hood or even a Suffolk or County Class cruiser (HMAS Australia or other OZ ships)

Yes, a 1/350 USS North Carolina...

Jeff