Calling All IJN Kongo-Class Fans

[Gernot]

Whew, looks very nice in these latest build-up photos. I think 3-D figures in 1:400 and above is probably a sane course of action, while 2-D is more than good enough for 1:600 and below. I won't buy the Nagato but this one I am most certainly going to scoop up.

[Kym Knight]

Medical Question?
I just sold one of my kidney's to pay for the 1:350 Akagi, is it possible to sell the other one for this kit and keep modelling?

[Bill Clarke]

Medical Question?
I just sold one of my kidney's to pay for the 1:350 Akagi, is it possible to sell the other one for this kit and keep modelling?

Not unless you can get another one from some where else mate.

The freight on this beastie will be enourmous HLJ will only ship it via registered post because of the value.

[V-103]

Aoshima would have a real hard act to follow if this is what Fujimi's got. The kit looks superb in those photos. I especially like how the funnel tops look. Also, the launches have canvas tops molded in clear plastic. Semi-transparent effect?

[MartinJQuinn]

Aoshima would have a real hard act to follow if this is what Fujimi's got. The kit looks superb in those photos.

I agree - but I'm going to wait to see how Aoshima's compares before making any decisions.

[William J]

Medical Question?
I just sold one of my kidney's to pay for the 1:350 Akagi, is it possible to sell the other one for this kit and keep modelling?

people can survive with only one lung you know - this might defray the costs Kym

Bill

[William J]

As of date of posting (12 March 2008) - the sale price equals AUD$162.00

I'll be next to you in the operating theatre Kym

Bill

[Tegethoff]

I'll definatley get this kit. How much do you think I can get for someone else kidney?

[Kym Knight]

How much do you think I can get for someone else kidney?

That's what I was thinking. One of my neighbour's has been a real pain in the arse for quite sometime
"Hey Paddy, come over here mate, I think it's time to bury the hatchet" HeHe!

[HMAS]

As of date of posting (12 March 2008) - the sale price equals AUD$162.00
I'll be next to you in the operating theatre Kym Bill

My but you two are cheap!
Some ladies I know, get that per hr on average
Tony

[MartinJQuinn]

Some ladies I know, get that per hr on average
Tony

Just ask the (soon to be ex) Governor of New York!

[rickhobbs]

Guys, if you are from the states, there's a pretty good deal at Dragonusaonline.com. I've got the kongo kit for only $159.99 and free shipping. That'll be better than getting it from overseas and paying through the nose for shipping.

Rick

[Aidan]

OOH !!! VERY NICE, Kidney for sale, one carefull owner, will trade for a 1/350 Kongo

[Devin]

Aoshima would have a real hard act to follow if this is what Fujimi's got. The kit looks superb in those photos.

I agree - but I'm going to wait to see how Aoshima's compares before making any decisions.

Wait, Aoshima and Fujimi have kits of the exact same ship coming out?

[chuck]

Anyone seen any information on Aoshima's Kongo yet? Is it also late war?

[Kym Knight]

Chuck, the word is that Aoshima are doing an earlier version. How much earlier ????

[chuck]

It would be interesting if they decide to do a 1914 version. 1st WWI battlecruiser in plastic! But realistically I expect it will be a early war (WWII) version.

[Gernot]

Regarding the Aoshima Kongo, they would indeed be dumb to do the ship in the same period. On the other hand, the 1914 as-built look is not going to find many buyers, since most modern Japanese people are much more impressed with the greatness of the IJN during the liberation of Asia than during an earlier conflict where they did not stick up quite as much

Thus, I suspect that Aoshima will create a 1941 version of the ship which, very much like the Takao class, has the capability for more or less accurate portrayal of all four ships. Some things will obviously not be possible to get accurately done, so the modeller will have to work a bit there (much like Maya needing extra work on the hull compared to her sisters).

There are some blogs I found on this topic, which I give a quick translation of below (hmm, it seems the blogger makes similar points, more elegantly than did I LOL):

http://momo120.blog69.fc2.com/blog-entry-278.html

2007�11�27

This month's ModelArt and ModelGraphix magazines states that Aoshima is planning to add to their Ironclad series after the Takao class with the Kongo class. First sales date is projected as spring of next year, while pricing is not yet disclosed. Fujimi has already announced a Kongo for release in the spring of the coming year, so the two kits will end up in competition.

Why release two such rare kits in competition...? With the name recognition of the ship and a large scale to boot, there will be demands for very detailed research, so there is no doubt that there is a lot of duplication happening.

According to ModelGraphix, this game of musical chairs regarding 1:350 is the result of the market for 1:700 being filled, but I prefer to think that it is simply a game of chicken. With the economy booming again and companies having enough wherewithall to engage in a variety of options, this can only be good for us modellers.

One comment to the blog entry:

This is the first I hear of an Aoshima Kongo. They did such a good job on their Fuso class that I wish personally that they had taken to doing that one in large scale instead. Of course, there is the problem of popularity to consider. Still, two at once? They should rather have opted for an Ise class, the Hiryu or a Zuikaku I think. Yup, I agree with you about the chicken race. Nice phrase there!

I think the time of selling a single kit in huge numbers has passed, so I suspect they are thinking along the lines of getting buyers to accept a very high-quality kit at high price.

http://momo120.blog69.fc2.com/blog-entry-327.html

2008�03�05

Aoshima still hasn't made public any details, the below is just speculation really, but I think it will be critical whether Aoshima can keep the list price of their Kongo kit below the 14285 JPY mark (inclusive of the 5% sales tax). In other words, if they keep below this line, it will enable high-volume dealers to sell the kit at 9999 JPY which would be fantastic. If the price of Fujimi's Kongo does not change at the final release, the cheapest discount sale price would be around 13000 JPY, so Aoshima's price would be a big winner.

Disregarding intentional dumping, let's think a little about the contents of a battleship kit selling for 14285 JPY. Previously, when I wrote my impressions about the Aoshima Nagato kit, if taking the Aoshima Takao kit mold as a baseline standard, I wrote that I expected that the number of parts could be decreased by about 25%. If furthermore the main equipment and weapons parts could be distributed independently as with the Takao sprues X and Z, the number of parts needing new design could be reduced measurably. Even supposing that the differences between all four ships need design of separate parts for the upper structures, I don't think it is too difficult to make the kit at the price I proposed.

Suppose that the molds, of same quality as the Takao kits, break through the 10000 JPY mark, and that while only the largest differences between the four ships are realized we can expect four different ships to be released, then would the Fujimi Kongo still be the favorite? This point will no doubt determine to a large degree the future direction of the 1:350 scale market. From the modeler's point of view, I don't think that there is majority opinion of looking at the Nagato contents and choosing it even though it is a bit expensive. Sales of expensive and detailed kits to the few maniacs, or sales of lesser-detailed and cheaper kits to the mainstream modelers, neither of these is in essence a wrong approach I think; however, if that is the case, which one is more eagerly accepted by the market will show clearly which market segment is dominant in the 1:350 market.

Of course, the above is all speculation, and we could just as easily suppose that Aoshima release a kit along the lines of the Takao molds for 15000--16000 JPY, or one along the lines of the Nagato mold which would not differ measurably in price from the Fujimi offering. Still, considering the Aoshima planning policy until now, and also that Hasegawa sold weapons parts for the Nagato separately, I don't expect that we will see a kit with similar contents and price to the Nagato.

Well, this was a post dwelling entirely on speculation, but very soon when the sakura are in full bloom we will know the truth, and I for one am looking forward to that very much.

[chuck]

Casual examination of the photos of the 4 ships suggests the number of superstructure parts that can be shared in any accurate WWII era representation would be few. Even the Japanese 14" turrets of the 3 sister ships differed somewhat from the original British 14" turrets on the Kongo. The pagoda masts of the 4 ships are sufficiently different that I doubt many parts can be reused from one to the other. Hiei certainly would need an totally new tower bridge. The stacks and the searchlight towers are also different from one ship to another.

[Gernot]

Agreed. On the other hand, for a price of 10000-14000 yen maximum, speculatively, we don't expect necessarily perfection; a suitable compromise could be found. Even if none of the ships is accurate OOB, this would not stop modelers taking advantage of the cheaper price to build all four, with modifications and scratch-building.

Notice: the sakura blooms in Tokyo are expected around 27 March, with full bloom predicted around 3 April. I hope there will still be some left at the time of my wedding, to be held, as is fitting, at the Togo shrine in Harajuku on the 9th