I started on the 1/350 USS Arizona from Banner and almost two years later I have almost nothing to show, caught up in the detailing stuff, which was dumb to do on my first naval model.

So I decided to switch gears, bought a 1/700 Fujimi Graf Spee, and built it in 2 days. Much more fun, painting left to do, but feel fairly confident it will go well. Felt so confident I bought a Hasegawa IJN Kinugasa.

Question: I see a bunch of 1/700 kits, but can't find enough reviews (modelwarship.com and steelnavy.com were the most helpful) for the older 1/700 kits, that I want to concentrate in order to cut my teeth further. Is there a site / forum where a guy like me can find out which kits have held up through the years, can be reasonably brought up to today's standards w/o spending a fortune or massive amounts of time? Looking for WWII period ships, any nationality. Personal recommendations would help a lot.

And now back to my modeling bench, awaiting for your help. Thanks fellas, this is a lot of fun, think I'm hooked for life.

nt

Hello Peter, I tried to send you an e-mail but it bounced back. Please contact me via rbatykefer_jr at hotmail.com. Welcome to ship modeling!!! IHS, Ralph B.

Well, you are watching the right web sites.

1/700 scale just makes more sense. Half the size, and a quarter of the footprint compared to 1/350 scale ships. The smaller scale lets you display the major WWII Kriegsmarine units in a 24" x 24" area. And there would still be room for samples of destroyers, U-boats and support ships.

Trumpeter CV 2 USS Lexington and battleship Bismarck are nice.

Tamiya did a good job of the cruiser Prinz Eugen.

Tamiya also does a box of small harbor craft ( tugger set ) Simple, but satisfying. (Hey. I finished something today!)

andy

I agree, great kit, and better yet, less than $20, yes, call me cheapo, but my wife runs the budget in my house.

The kit is just the tip of the iceberg, now I have to find references....and decide which time frame to model.