My previous gaming experience means I focus on the wargaming aspect over the historical recreation aspect of the game, and as such the ships I have chosen are not tied down to any one period or campaign.
We'll start off with my current fleet - the IJN. Due to budget constraints among my friends and I, we chose Figurehead's 1:6000 range of ships, and have been pleased overall with the models.

My destroyer flotilla. The fighting core of my fleet; armed with Long Lances, they handily take care of anything from opposing DDs to capital ships. Their major weakness appears to be torpedo bombers, which can ignore the very high Target scores they acheive at full speed. 6 Akitsukis, 8 Shiratsuyus, 8 Kageros.

My Cruisers. The Agano CLs act as destroyer leaders, since they are effectively 9 Damage DDs with 3 twin 6" turrets to boot. The profusion of 8" armed Japanese CAs means they can fight on even terms with anything but a capital ship or pocket battleship at range, and have heavy Long Lance armament for closer engagement. 2 Aoba, 2 Furutaka, 4 Takao, and 3 Myoko. The Ashigara awaits painting.

My capital ships. The Fusos and Ises are dated, but still effective with their 6 twin 14" broadsides. The Shokakus are excellent fleet carriers, or rather they would be if I had any aircraft! The Yamashiro had to be repainted due to the varnish getting messed up (I think the gloss varnish hadn't dried completely when I applied the spray matte varnish), and so it has no nameplate until I get my printer fixed/replaced. The Yamato and Mushashi (both as of 1941) are the remaining vessels not painted in my IJN.