1:700 scale is a widely popular scale mainly used by Japanese ship model kit manufacturers, such as Aoshima, Tamiya

Tamiya Corporation

is a Japanese manufacturer of plastic model kits, radio controlled cars, battery- and solar-powered educational models, sailboat models, acrylic and enamel model paints, and various modeling tools and supplies...

, Hasegawa, Fujimi and Pit-Road

History

There were no standard scale in ship models before the introduction of 1/700 scale. Manufacturers such as Airfix

Airfix

Airfix is a UK manufacturer of plastic scale model kits of aircraft and other subjects. In Britain, the name Airfix is synonymous with the hobby, a plastic model of this type is often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even if made by another manufacturer....

, Renwal and Heller

Heller SA

Heller SA is a French company that produces plastic scale model kits of aircraft, cars, and ships. As of July 21, 2006 the company is in the French equivalent of administration .- History :...

 were producing ship models in various scale, ranging from 1/400 to 1/600 scale. In 1967, Revell

Revell

Revell is the brand name today of two manufacturers of scale plastic models. The original US company merged with another, Monogram, but now trades only under the Revell name. European Revell Germany separated from the US company in 2006.-Early history:...

 began to produce ship kits in a unified 1/720 scale, and Italeri

Italeri

Italeri Incorporated is an Italian manufacturer of plastic scale models of airplanes, military vehicles, helicopters, ships, trucks, cars and figures...

 followed Revell ten years after. In 1971, Japanese manufactures started to produce a series of 1/700 scale water line ship kits. This series steadily expanded over the years. At the beginning, ships of the Japanese Navy are only available in the series, but later various fleets such as those from the American, British and German navy are also included. Between 1977-1979, Matchbox

Matchbox

A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood designed to hold matches. It usually has a coarse striking surface on one edge for lighting the matches contained inside....

 also released a small number of British, German and US waterline ship kits , they were designed to be made of different colors of plastic so that painting was not required .

Due to the large range of water line kits available in this scale, it becomes popular and now widely considered as a 'standardize scale' in ship modelling. Today there are other companies outside Japan producing 1/700 scale ships as well, such as the Chinese company Trumpeter

Trumpeter (company)

Trumpeter is a Chinese company that manufacturers plastic injection moulding military model kits. Their product line consists of model ships, aircraft, cars and military ground vehicles. Trumpeter kits initially had a reputation of being somewhat less detailed than those of competitors such as...

 and Dragon Models

Dragon Models Limited

Dragon Models Limited is a Hong Kong based manufacturer of plastic model kits, diecast models and military action figures...

. Various aftermarket photo-etched detailing parts are also widely available for adding fine details to ship models.

Water Line Series

The Water Line Series was created by the Shizuoka Plastic Model Manufacturers Association in May 1971. It is a collaborative effort by three Japanese manufacturers to produce an ongoing collection of 1/700-scale kits of warships of the world . It started with four manufacturers (Tamiya, Aoshima, Hasegawa and Fujimi), but Fujimi separated in 1992 and made their own line named Sea Way Model Series. As the series name suggests, the models are produced only with the portion visible above the water, that enable them to be displayed as though they were at sea. Today there are over 180 products in the series, with most of them being ships from various WWII navies.