Trumpeter should replace their ship kit section with monkeys, the results would be better................

Someone gave me a Trumpeter The Sullivans today and words to accurately sum up just how bad it is would all be censored . I really didn't think it was possible but they made a crappier kit than their North Carolina.

No joke the USS The Sullivans by Trumpeter is an almost complete waste of plastic. You can use the hull and major structures but if you want something that doesn't resemble the old Lindberg motorized battleships you might as well resign yourself to sanding off all the detail including everything but the locators for the deckhouses off the decks. Plan on puttying and sanding the turret seams and replacing the turret hatches, don't even bother looking at the directors, 20mm's and 40mm's Swipe a set of stacks from a Tamiya kit, sand the "walkways" off all the decks, replace all hatches/doors/scuttles. Sand off and replace all the bracing details (a fair number of which are not even close to plumb), don't forget to sand off the half-assed attempts at ladders (at least the aztek stairs are separate parts). Will Trumpeter *ever* get a clue what hawse pipes are and what they look like? Also plan on moving the hull side exits for the hawse pipes, no biggie since what's there is not even a bad joke. While you're swiping the stacks from a Tamiya kit swipe the main director, torpedo tubes, torpedo tube doghouse, rafts and aft prop-shaft brace (the thing Trumpeter molded is more appropriate to a BB it's so clunky). So-so attempt at K-guns. What I think are torpedo and AA directors at best vaguely resemble the real thing.....if that. The depth charge loading davits are clunky (OK, so I'm being overly kind myself there). Plan on somehow making chocks and replacing the anemic bitts.

I'll give them this, while crudely molded the props are slightly better than Tamiya's in shape and you can actually use the prop shafts.

It's obvious they copied Tamiya's kit but the result looks like what a Xerox machine on a bad acid trip might produce. They should slap a $2 price sticker on this pig and sell it at the dollar store to kids. Kids won't mind $2 for something to throw together with tube glue and glossy square bottle Testors paint to have something to shoot at with BB guns then give the old Viking funeral with firecrackers.

Reply to
Ron Smith
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Ron Smith wrote

I take it you'll be buying a dozen or so then, Ron.

RobG (The Aussie One)

Reply to
RobG

No but I just happen to have a Tamiya kit somebody started the hull and deck on that appears to have met with a solvent spill and I have lots of resin 5" turrets and 40mm's and enough extra PE 20mm's to maybe make fixing Trumpeter's latest pile of feces into a satin purse. What offends me is somebody without a deep aprts box will buy the Trumpeter kit and they'll have to spend some serious bucks to fix it, or they'll just put it on the shelf and leave it there.

Reply to
Ron Smith

I have heard less that gratuitous remarks about this kit since it was issued. I just don't get it. I just saw the Hood and it is beautiful and well detailed. Now The Sillivans and North Carolina come along and (from what I hear) they are toy like. Why would any model company issue such night and day quality kits? If ALL Trumpter's kits were the same quality we would at least know what to expect and be more willing to purchase one sight unseen, but the way things are going now there is no way I would do so until I saw the kit in person.

What the heck is is going on with Trumpeter? I have yet to actually see a Sullivans, but I can hardly wait now. Of course I won't be purchasing one. I just want to see what it really looks like in person.

Rusty White

Reply to
Rusty White

If they'd bring their ships up to the consistency and quality of their armor models it would be a huge step forward. Personally I think they're now trying to see how low they can go with quality and still sell stuff.

I might post some photos on SN or MW if I have the time, have too much work on camo design sheets to finish today.

Reply to
Ron Smith

Schizophrenia?? Sounds like Hobbycraft. They issue one set of kits that are really nice and the next set are real crap. No rhyme, no reason. Gotta be schizophrenia!!

Bill Shuey

Reply to
William H. Shuey

I suppose I could offer some technical advice on making kits if they want it. At least My BWN kits never got this sort of review LOL. I would have gone into a Coma ;-) Maybe they should just copy the BWN kits. I thought the NC was someones sick joke till I had to do the brass for the kit. I wanted to fix the problems with the kit but was told by the buyer of the art that kit builders would not want that. Just redo the plastic I was told.....just stupid if you ask me. What is the point if the parts in plastic are wrong. Thank goodness I still have several kits of the Johnston I did years ago. My 2cents

Mike Bishop

Reply to
MDB446t34

Rusty White wrote: : : What the heck is is going on with Trumpeter? : They act like they have several mold design/cutting teams, some of which are good, some of which are ummm, still learning...

Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Burden

Rusty White wrote, among other things:

"Night and day" seems to be a corporate policy that applies to Trumpeter's line of aircraft kits as well.

Charles Metz

Reply to
Charles Metz

I have yet to buy a Trumpeter kit, but the local hobby shop owner assures me they are hit or miss - you really don't know what's going to show up in the box holding a new release. Which has a lot to do with why I don't own a Trumpeter kit. That and the fact that I've got more than enough in the stash already to keep me busy until I die - and beyond. ;-)

WmB

Reply to
WmB

i was given an sm79. ot looks really good in the box. but it has stayed there for 3 years while i've built every other sm79 out there.

Reply to
e

Ron has a terminal case of sour mouth. Please Ron, use some floss; or even better, soap.

My theory is that China is annoyed at the worthless dollars (in the form of US t-bills) that they get for stocking the shelves of our Super Wal*Marts. Molding a poor US warship is a subtle message to all of us that the jig is up, or soon will be.

When that happens, I doubt that Ron will be able to afford ANY plastic kits from China.

On a positive note, maybe then we will be able to ship containers of Monogram/Aurora/Lindberg kits to China. Or even better, perhaps some charitable chinaman will buy Ron's stash for Pennies on the Yaun.

..../V

Reply to
Vess Irvine

What I'd like to know is, how do you know they don't already use monkeys? Maybe that's the problem.

Reply to
frank

Reply to
Ron Smith

Swore in November 2004 that he would never again haunt rec.models.scale if George Bush won the election.........

Simply by posting on rec.models.scale after that time you have proved how empty and worthless your verbal spewings are Vess (not that we really needed any further proof).

Reply to
Ron Smith

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