Model Ship Kits for Beginners: 1/700 or 1/350, Waterline or Full Hull

For a first model ship kit, a 1/700 waterline kit is the compact choice: the hull stops at the waterline, so the ship sits flat as if at sea, and Tamiya, Aoshima and Hasegawa all make them. A 1/350 full-hull kit is twice the length, shows the whole hull on a stand, and carries more parts.

Ship kits differ from Gunpla in the same ways as other scale kits: parts are glued, painted by hand, and often finished with thread rigging. The two big choices come before any of that, though: the hull style and the scale.

Waterline and full-hull ship kits compared

Waterline and full-hull kits show the same ships in two different ways. Tamiya describes waterline models as leaving off the hull below the waterline so they can be displayed as though at sea, in contrast with models that reproduce the entire hull, most of which come with display stands.

Neither is the better kit. A waterline ship suits a scene on a sea base; a full-hull ship shows off the shape of the hull, the propellers and the rudder.

Ship kit scales: 1/700 and 1/350

Ship kit scales run from 1/72 to 1/700. Wikipedia lists 1/72, 1/96, 1/144, 1/200, 1/350, 1/400, 1/450, 1/600 and 1/700, and calls 1/700 a widely popular scale used mainly by Japanese ship kit makers.

Tamiya says it chose 1/700 for the Water Line Series so that different ships could be compared directly, and gives the size of the battleships Yamato and Musashi at that scale as about 37 cm (14.5 inches). The same ship at 1/350 is twice as long, so it needs about twice the shelf length.

Size also brings parts. Airfix places large ship kits at skill level 4, with more than 200 parts, so a big 1/350 ship is a project for after a smaller first build.

Ship model kits in 1/350 and 1/700 scale

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Who makes 1/700 waterline ship kits

The 1/700 Water Line Series is a shared range from several Japanese kit makers. According to Tamiya, the Shizuoka Plastic Model Manufacturers Association created it in May 1971, and today Tamiya, Aoshima and Hasegawa make the kits, with more than 150 products in the line-up.

Wikipedia adds two details. Fujimi was one of the four original makers but left the series in 1992 to start its own Sea Way Model Series. And 1/700 is no longer only Japanese: the Chinese firms Trumpeter and Dragon now make 1/700 ship kits too.

Because the whole series shares one scale, a destroyer from one maker and a battleship from another sit side by side at the right relative size.

What a first ship model build involves

A ship kit asks for a few habits that a snap-together Gunpla kit does not:

• Glue. Parts are joined with plastic cement, which softens the plastic so the joint fuses.
• Tiny parts. Guns, railings and small boats are fine moldings, so cut them from the sprue carefully with nippers and clean the marks with sanding sticks.
• Painting. Hulls, decks and fittings all need paint. Spray painting Gunpla covers primer and base coats in a can, and painting Gunpla covers brushes for small details.
• Rigging. Wikipedia notes that ship kits typically supply thread in several sizes and colors for the rigging, which goes on near the end of the build.

Airfix’s list of tools for any plastic kit covers the rest: a hobby knife, tweezers, clothes pegs for clamping, cement, paints and brushes.

Displaying a finished model ship

A finished ship needs a display that suits its hull. A waterline ship can sit on a sea base: Tamiya’s Water Line Series page points to its Ocean Effect Plate for creating a water display. A full-hull ship stands on the stand that usually comes in the box. Either way, a case keeps the rigging and fine parts free of dust, and display cases covers the sizes and types.

Other good first kits: model tank kits, model airplane kits, or the full beginner kits guide.