ship model kits made in China

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Oct 17, 2018
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At least 15 years ago during one of my business trips to China, a customer of mine , knowing that I liked model building , gave me a, at that time, brand new kit of the Le Requin in 1/48 scale by CS Moxing, or now called Cheng Models . That was the basic kit , the Advanced kit came years later.
I tried to share that knowledge with the other web site but was run out of town on the rails . How could I introduce a model that was light years ahead of kits from Italy etc.
For the following years I was a silent watcher on this and other web sites , having a great time watching the China market getting bigger and better . On subsequent visits I purchased additional kits , but noticed that the market grew rapidly and it was impossible to keep track of who was building and who was selling what.
Case in point Royal Caroline . I think the original model was offered by Land and Sea, the same company that offered the Sovereign of the Seas , and yes also a Le Requin.
So how does ZHL fit into this market . I understand that the ZHL kit only offers DVD's and no actual plans ?? Land and Sea however has a complete set of plans and building instructions, in Chinese only .
Some years ago a Russian web sites explained who is who in the China market and we need somebody from China who is familiar with this industry on the ground to please provide all of us an update. I feel most of us are doing a lot of second guessing here.

Thanks for reading my rant
Gisel B
 
the owner of ZHL is actually a member here and he might speak up or not there ia a topic or two on kits made in China and Russia and other places

i can't say much about the kits or what they contain because i do not build them, however there are members here who do build them and might offer some insight.

as far as being run out of town on rails don't feel bad about that many people have been run out of town for various reasons so welcome to the club. it is not you it is them.

this can be a good topic on kits made around the world and i encourage an open and informative chat just keep it about the kits because that is all we are interested in.

this is an international site so you may get a lot of information.
 
Welcome to the club, THIS IS NOW THE SHIP MODEL FORUM TO BE, it is growing rapidly very rapidly, but it is not only the numbers but the QUALITY of the members and also the number who comunicate on this site. Don
 
At least 15 years ago during one of my business trips to China, a customer of mine , knowing that I liked model building , gave me a, at that time, brand new kit of the Le Requin in 1/48 scale by CS Moxing, or now called Cheng Models . That was the basic kit , the Advanced kit came years later.
I tried to share that knowledge with the other web site but was run out of town on the rails . How could I introduce a model that was light years ahead of kits from Italy etc.
For the following years I was a silent watcher on this and other web sites , having a great time watching the China market getting bigger and better . On subsequent visits I purchased additional kits , but noticed that the market grew rapidly and it was impossible to keep track of who was building and who was selling what.
Case in point Royal Caroline . I think the original model was offered by Land and Sea, the same company that offered the Sovereign of the Seas , and yes also a Le Requin.
So how does ZHL fit into this market . I understand that the ZHL kit only offers DVD's and no actual plans ?? Land and Sea however has a complete set of plans and building instructions, in Chinese only .
Some years ago a Russian web sites explained who is who in the China market and we need somebody from China who is familiar with this industry on the ground to please provide all of us an update. I feel most of us are doing a lot of second guessing here.

Thanks for reading my rant
Gisel B
 
Hi:

I am currently building the Le Requin. I haven't built a ZHL kit and am not familiar with them. There are two distinct versions of the kit I'm building, shicheng version and lu hai qing kong version, both are sold on ebay. I order the more expensive of the two on a whim (it was $100 USD more). I appears the money was well spent. The ribs for lu hai quig kong version are each on individual sheets of wood that are hand selected. It's also worth noting that the lu hai quip kong version DOES NOT have English instructions. I am still learning too.

Best of Luck

Doug
 
Hi:

I am currently building the Le Requin. I haven't built a ZHL kit and am not familiar with them. There are two distinct versions of the kit I'm building, shicheng version and lu hai qing kong version, both are sold on ebay. I order the more expensive of the two on a whim (it was $100 USD more). I appears the money was well spent. The ribs for lu hai quig kong version are each on individual sheets of wood that are hand selected. It's also worth noting that the lu hai quip kong version DOES NOT have English instructions. I am still learning too.

Best of Luck

Doug
Hello Doug ,would you share your build with us in a build log?
 
Hi:

I am currently building the Le Requin. I haven't built a ZHL kit and am not familiar with them. There are two distinct versions of the kit I'm building, shicheng version and lu hai qing kong version, both are sold on ebay. I order the more expensive of the two on a whim (it was $100 USD more). I appears the money was well spent. The ribs for lu hai quig kong version are each on individual sheets of wood that are hand selected. It's also worth noting that the lu hai quip kong version DOES NOT have English instructions. I am still learning too.

Best of Luck

Doug

I can fully agree here with Zolys proposal - would be great to see your kit and the construction of the Le Requin.
 
I actually bought 2 of these kits (Le Requin - lu hai quig kong version). I'm building one for my son and the other for my daughter. I may post a few pics of my current build, but actually do a build log from the beginning with the second build. I will need some help and advice on doing a build log, as I've never done one.

Thanks
 
I actually bought 2 of these kits (Le Requin - lu hai quig kong version). I'm building one for my son and the other for my daughter. I may post a few pics of my current build, but actually do a build log from the beginning with the second build. I will need some help and advice on doing a build log, as I've never done one.

Thanks

Here you can find all the video tutorials made @Donnie how to use the forum ,attach images ,etc.

 
Hi Gisel
Welcome to the forum and a very interesting post.Quite a few of my friends on here have been 'run out of town' as you put it.I won't give a certain individual the satisfaction and have moved on of my own accord after over 3000 posts.
What is coming out of China is lightyears ahead from what is available from Italy.In fact,IMHO the products of the mantua group have actually gone backwards in many cases.
I might be wrong,but I get the impression from what I have seen is that ZHL manufacture their own kits but also act as a global distributor for other small Chinese manufacturers.
I genuinely believe the only European manufacturer that is currently trying to develop new ideas and products for the industry is Daniel Dusek.He is truly a breath of fresh air.I custom ordered various sheets in Pearwood for one of his kits that I had bought to match the planking I was using.Try asking Caldercraft or Amati to do thatROTF

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
Well put Nigel, totally in agrement with you about the Chinese kits, and also the DUSEK kits, the only other one is the LUMBERYARD DAVE STEVENS produces what we call SEMI SCRATCH BUILDS,( as a disclaimer I am no financial dealings with DAVE, just a well satisfied customer, he is also attempting to inovate the hobby with new ideas. Don PS join the other happy participents who have been run out of town THANKFULLY
 
Well put Nigel, totally in agrement with you about the Chinese kits, and also the DUSEK kits, the only other one is the LUMBERYARD DAVE STEVENS produces what we call SEMI SCRATCH BUILDS,( as a disclaimer I am no financial dealings with DAVE, just a well satisfied customer, he is also attempting to inovate the hobby with new ideas. Don PS join the other happy participents who have been run out of town THANKFULLY

Don’t forget Maristella kits,they are very good also
 
What is coming out of China is lightyears ahead from what is available from Italy.In fact,IMHO the products of the mantua group have actually gone backwards in many cases.

I would have to agree with this these companies in China are high tech and have taken older kits and reinvented them and I must say greatly improved on the originals.


I might be wrong, but I get the impression from what I have seen is that ZHL manufacture their own kits but also act as a global distributor for other small Chinese manufacturers.

I know ZHL does offer laser cutting to other manufactures. I heard somewhere just about every kit on the market used pieces and parts made in China. Seems ship modeling kits are melting into a global enterprise.

I genuinely believe the only European manufacturer that is currently trying to develop new ideas and products for the industry is Daniel Dusek.He is truly a breath of fresh air. I custom ordered various sheets in Pearwood for one of his kits that I had bought to match the planking I was using.Try asking Caldercraft or Amati to do that ROTF

what I think is this site is on the cutting edge of the hobby because it is open to anyone anywhere in the world. By doing this the site is a hub of free exchange of ideas, manufacturing, research, and development. It is difficult for people in China or Russia or Germany or anywhere in the world to have access to information held in local historical societies and museums in north America same is true the other way around. It is with great effort to locate information on steam engines in Europe. The more we as a group support the freedom and exchange of information the better those capable of manufacturing can improve and up grade products. This is a global effort by us.
 
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