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PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 10:53 am 
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Not looking for a particular class or early vs. late war. Just looking for a good kit to start super-detailing in 1/700 scale.

Does Fujimi have one on par with their current IJN carrier kit quality ? Or even a CL on par ?

Thanks,
Rob

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PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 2:44 pm 
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So, what's most important to you - the amount of detailing that comes with the kit? Accuracy? Scale? some combination? There's a lot of different ways to answer your question. How much work to "super detail" do you wish to do?


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PostPosted: Mon Jun 05, 2017 5:03 pm 
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A question I would ask, too. I've bought a couple of Tamiya's destroyers, but they're really poor, and not even a good starting point for superdetailing or scratching. How does Pitroad compare against Tamiya and others?
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 12:28 pm 
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Quote:
How does Pitroad compare against Tamiya and others?


To a large extent, the more recent a mold, the better the kit. It's not always the case, but that's a good, general rule.

In Tamiya's case, their Fubuki and Shiratsuyu class kits date back to the 1970s, as does their Shimakaze. Those Fubuki kits have since been superceeded by first, Pit-Road's versions (2007-2009), and now Yamashita Hobby's versions (2015-17). The Yamashita versions seem excellent, though I have yet to build one, so I cannot comment on fit. But their scale and accuracy are superb. The Pit-Road versions are nice, but made many compromises to accommodate all versions and fits. Probably best to use to the Pit-Road kits to model Fubukis in the as-built fits, as that is what the deck layout most resembles.

Tamiya's Shiratsuyu kits have been eclipsed by both the Pit-Road (2011) and Fujimi (2011) versions. IMHO, the Fujimi version is more accurate, and probably the best of the new Fujimi DDs.

Tamiya's original Shimakaze has been eclipsed by the Pit-Road version (2015), which is very good save for a few fit issues with bridge parts. However, Tamiya retooled Shimakaze is set for release next month, so it may pay to wait and see how that one measures up.

Tamiya released the Matsu class in the mid 1990s, which easily surpassed the original Fujimi versions, which are terrible. Tamiya's version is great for shape and scale, but somewhat devoid of details. Pit-Road released the simplified Matsu version kits known as the Tachibana class in 2004, and I think those nicely done.


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PostPosted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 6:11 pm 
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So...in general, Pit Road over Tamiya!
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 06, 2017 8:17 pm 
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The Yamashita Hobby 1/700 IJN Fubuki is sweet out of the box. I have one in the stash but have not started work on it yet.

I'm not an expert on the type so can't speak to accuracy, but the parts count is amazing for such a small ship.

Boxed both with and w/out PE:

https://hlj.com/product/YMS02030

https://hlj.com/product/YMS02028

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 10:51 am 
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Dan,

Sorry for the late reply - got busy at work !

Turns out your response to the Tamiya/Pit Road question answered most of what I wanted to know.

Perhaps an additional specific question:
1. What are the new Fujimi DD/CL kits and how do they look ?

Thank you,
Rob

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 2:33 pm 
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If you haven't seen the newest Tamiya Shimakaze pics: viewtopic.php?f=49&t=14523&start=220


I don't see that Fujimi has released any new 1/700 DD kits since introducing the Shiratsuyus. They seem more focused on turning out different iterations of their current line, as well as offering more of the easy to build NEXT kits off of the same classes.

In CLs, they are offering the Agano class, and Isuzu. I have none in hand, but from what I see, they appear to be pretty nice.


Last edited by Dan K on Fri Jun 23, 2017 8:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 2:50 pm 
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The Tamiya Shimikaze looks pretty nice! Is it currently available?
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 08, 2017 4:15 pm 
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One more month.............


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 9:57 am 
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Who carries the Yamashita brand?

Bill


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 5:00 pm 
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Pit Road was unknown to me as they aren't available locally. I bought several as Freetime ia having a Pit Road sale (dumping the line??) and am really impressed.
They appear even to be better than Tamiya's upcoming Shimakaze. Some of the Pit Road kits contain upgraded part sprues called "Neo". The weapons and equipment on these sprues are better than the 3D printed stuff I've been using.
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 14, 2017 6:02 pm 
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The Neo series was, one might consider, a competitor to the Finemolds line of injection-molded accessories. Not *quite* as detailed, but perfectly serviceable and miles ahead of the stuff in traditional PitRoad kits.

As for Yamashita, a few options:
Hobby Search in Japan: http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/search?typ1_c ... =yamashita
Hobby Link Japan: https://hlj.com/search/go?af=selectmanu ... shitahobby

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