Thursday, October 17, 2013

WTJ & Panzerschiffe -- Comparison Photos

The following photos show a comparison between some 1/2400 scale Russo-Japanese War Pre-Dreadnought Cruisers.

Panzerschiffe "Diana" above; WTJ "Aurora" below
 First up are a pair of photos of the Russian cruiser "Diana" and its sister ship, the "Aurora".

The WTJ vessel is 52mm long, while the Panzerschiffe is 58mm in length.

Panzerschiffe "Diana" above; WTJ "Aurora" below
I should point out that both models are right out of their packing material.  I have yet to clean either one up in any way.

As always click on the photos to see a larger image . . . and open in a separate window to see the best image.

Next up are a pair of Japanese "Asama" cruisers (also usable as the "Tokiwa").

This time it is the WTJ ship that is slightly longer than the Panzersciffe . . . 55mm to 52mm.

I must also apologize for the sloppy paint job on the painted ship . . . it was done before my cataract surgeries . . . but it still works fine on the table top.

Prices between the two 1/2400 lines are comparable.  Generally speaking the WTJs are slightly more expensive ($3.75-$4.25) than the Panzerschiffes ($3.00-$4.00) although the reverse is true with the Destroyers where most WTJs are $1.25 USD vs $1.50 USD for the Panzerschiffes.

-- Jeff


Friday, October 11, 2013

New WTJ 1/2400 Pre-Dreads

Due to a serious illness, it is over two years since I last posted . . . but I'm feeling better now and today I got my first look at some of the new "War Times Journal" rapid prototype plastic 1/2400 pre-Dreads . . . and I'm impressed.


Above are a couple of views I took of the WTJ Russian Cruiser Bayan.  It measures a bit over 56mm in length in its 1/2400 format (please note that all of their rapid prototype plastics are also available in 1/3000, 1/1800 and 1/1500 scales as well as in 1/2400).

The models are hollow with some bracing so are very light weight.  This, however, does muddy their surface appearance since you are also looking inside.  Nevertheless there seems to be excellent detail . . . as can be seen with the 53mm-long British Majestic-class pre-Dread battleship below.  (As always you can see a much larger image if you open the photos in a separate window.)


The Japanese Cruiser Asama (approximately 55mm in length) can be seen below:


Finally here are a pair of Destroyers.  The DD#3s are about 24mm in length; while the DD#5s measure 28mm (the detail is certainly superior to my Panzerschiffes . . . and the DDs are a tad cheaper as well):


My next post will show some comparison photos between WTJ and Panzerschiffe versions of the same vessel.

-- Jeff