"Mixing and matching 1/2400 ship manufactures?" Topic

I have started to collect some 1/2400 ships from the dreadnaught era. I have always liked GHQs models so that is were I started. But I am looking for some models that GHQ does not have (particularly Japan during WWI).

Which manufacture's miniatures would be best to be on the table with GHQ models?

I am concerned that some manufacture's miniatures would not look good next to GHQ models. For example Panzerschiffe limited detail or Nawars scale difference might stand out like a sore thumb.

In fairness I have not seen either companies' models in person so this might not be the case. What would recommend for a back up manufacture to fill in the gaps that GHQ cannot provide?

CinC – which is in transition (parts of it anyway) had some ships outside of the main combatants:

link

Scroll down to WWI ships…

War Times Journal also has some in various scales – including Pre-Dreds:

wtj.com/store/index.html

Links to all of the companies I know about in my informal database of naval miniature manufacturers: link

GHQ, C-in-C, WTJ and Viking Forge are all true 1/2400 scale. Many of the Viking Forge castings look very hand-made, so may not mix well with the other three. Whatever you choose, I recommend getting all the members of a class from the same manufacturer, to avoid oddities like varying gun barrels and slightly different turret and superstructure bits. Each manufacturer has its own character.

Navwar doesn't make any 1/2400 ships, so you don't need to worry about them.

Panzerschiffe ships are overscale, so just look bigger. I have found that certain models or classes of ships mix into my fleets fine (I have quite a few Panzerschiffe DDs, TBs, and small craft), but most of the larger classes (cruisers and up) do not mix well with fleets of other brands. Panzerschiffe turrets look HUGE, the gunbarrels look super thick, the superstructures are too plain and missing detail, etc.

I don't have any of the Tumbling Dice ships to compare, but in photos they look nice enough. They also have a very hand-sculpted appearance, so might mix better with Viking Forge.

I also don't have any of the pre-dreadnoughts by Molniya Miniatures. Until WTJ came along, they made some of the only extant 1/2400 models of certain pre-dreadnoughts.

- Ix

I have Panzerschiffe Russian and Japanese "Tsushima" fleets. A while ago I bought a sample of some of the WTJ 1:2400 predreadnought ships. Here's a brief blog report with some comparison pictures. link

I do not have any GHQ produced ships. But from they pictures in the GHQ web store, I would opine that the WTJ ships should fit well as long as you obtain the same ships from a class from the same producer.

Jim

Keep in mind that IMO none of the other manufacturers have the detail that GHQ does. Years ago I bought the same class from 2 different MFG and then added the GHQ model when it became available. Though the other models are nice and I added some extras like masts, they look oddly bare when alongside the GHQ. So I too advise getting all ships of the same class from one MFG.

Only a few manufacturers have comparable detail to GHQ. WTJ is easily the equal of GHQ, but they are 3D printed resin. You'll have to fashion your own masts, but WTJ now produces fighting tops. Their WWI stuff is a bit limited, but they have tons of pre-dreads. They also have the Jpn semi-dread Aki.

SeaBattle are fairly comparable, but they don't make much of anything pre-1918, and very little of that.

CinC is good, but less detailed. They are currently unavailable, as most of their lines were recently sold and the new owner is still getting sorted out. They sell tripod masts separately and have Kongo w/ 3 funnels.

Viking Forge is next. Maybe not as crisp as CinC, but more robust and less fiddly. CinC stuff often seems kinda sterile. TONS of pre dreads, some better than others.

Tumbling Dice is comparable to VF. They have pre-dreads, but mostly stop at 1900.

Molniya makes some really esoteric pre-dreads, but they are almost comparable to VF and TD. They have Kashima.

Panzerschiffes are really basic. Their plus is the extent of their lines. It's 'UGE. They have most all of the Japanese semi-dreads.

Hope this helps.