I picked up this model a while back and am wondering if anyone has any experience with it. I haven’t been very successful in finding any info on it and am curious as to what I may be getting my self into. From the info that I have found, it is not deemed to be as good a kit as the Tamiya one and that aftermarket PE kits for the Tamiya model should be okay.
If anyone has any other input or advice it would be appreciated.
from what i remember from building the 1-350 tirpitz from academy, it is basically the same kit as tamiya. i checked the parts of the tirpitz to a tamiya bismarck and they are virtually identical. the tirpitz went together very well and i had no trouble installing a pe set to it . you have two choices of photo etch sets to use on the kit. they are from either gold medals or eduard. the only problem i faced was converting the appropriate assembly stages from each instruction book to match the photo etch part numbers as the instructions differ somewhat. once that was achieved, i had no problems installing the right pe parts at the correct assembly stages. it only took about an hour to transcribe the instructions and the you should have no problems and she will look great coming out of your shipyard!
I’m building the Minicraft version right now, which is the same kit since the instructions say Acadamy. The only probelm so far is the fit between the hull and deck and some of the superstructure has some gaps. There were also some sink spots on the hull that needed filling at the waterline. Anyhow, this is still a fun build and what I have been told and have seen at Modelwarships, the GMM, Tom’s, WEM, and Eduard PE goes on without too much frustration or loss of blood. I’ll know in a week when my PE arrives.
Scott
Thanks for the input guys. From what you say and from what I saw over at the modelwarships site, it sounds like I got a pretty good model for what I paid for it. Since my original post I’ve gotten the PE set from Eduard. I probably won’t get started on her until the summer. But I am getting kind of antsy waiting to dig into that big old box so I might have to take a break from armor before then.