Battler's Connection and Strike Models both sell hull + misc pieces kits. http://www.strikemodels.com/products/ships/ http://battlersconnection.com/html/combatships.html
Gulp. Ok, after looking at those prices I managed to get my adams apple back into it's place (almost). That is a beautiful model and I do thank you for the steer. I must admit I was not expecting those prices. (See, ya gotta expect that kinda crap with us newbys) I have saved the page and will talk it over with the wife. She was wanting to help me with this and since we do puzzles together we were kinda thinking of a large, complex, 3D puzzle. This is to be our winter project and we wanted something that mean something to both of us. Thank you so much for your quick, accurate reponse. Quick question. I see a kit model of the Missouri for sale, but missing the hull. Is it possible to obtain a hull for this build? Or if no hull does the kit come with ribs?
StrikeModels has a hull for the Missouri. A thing to note, even one of the 'kits' doesn't truly come with everything you'd need to make a running model, and the level of detail on our ships is generally much lower than what scale modeler's typically expect, so while it is sort of a large complex puzzle, its a large complex puzzle that you sometimes get to fabricate or purchase additional parts for, and other times cut up the puzzle pieces you already have. You might want to contact Stephen and Keri directly with questions and they can tell you exactly what comes with a kit and depending on what you're looking to do with it, give you a ballpark on any additional cost.
That initial price is steep. However, the cost of mistakes on the more expensive plywood typically used to construct the hull is costly as well. Large quantities of marine expoxy to waterproof said hull properly, expensive. If you are gonna build 1 ship and stop, if it will be years between ships being built, or you will have to buy wood working and other costly tools (i.e. scroll saw) I would personally recommend a fiberglass hull with deck and super structure kits. Saves fabrication time and improves quality of finished product generally speaking. It is all about your personal goals, budget, and patience. Mike Butts By the way Nick I love your Colonel Klink avatar
Hi Jetta, Feel free to drop Stephen (my husband and the primary person at Strike Models) an email at stephen at strike models dot com. We also do sell the plans for the North Carolina for $20 for three sheets of plans (http://www.strikemodels.com/products/ship-plans/) if that interests you. Keri
I've seen the larger plastic models at the hobby store for nearly $1000. They are a lot smaller than our hulls, but come with more little parts. The cost for a fiberglass hull and the superstructure peices is not very high compaired to something you'd find at a hobby store.
