Hi all i was bought the Tamiya 1/350 Bismark and the KG5 for my birthday on opening the box i wondered if the Bismark must be a rerelease of an older kit as there is a battery box moulded in the bottom of the hull and 2 propshafts with propellers but no mention of any of this in the instructions.
I imagine this was like the Airfix 1/12 Bentley 4.5 supercharged which was originally sold to be motorised but they have removed it on the new release but you can still see the remnants of it in the kit.
Incidentally the props looks really good quality.
Should that be the case would the original instructions for the motorised version still be available anywhere.
The original kit 78001 was motorized, but it was reissued almost immediately and thereafter non- motorized. To motorized it you’ll need the whole setup, gear box, motor, battery contacts.
Those prop shafts look aftermarket(?). Did you buy it on eBay?
It’s been reboxed a lot, with a $$$ jack each time, but it’s the same old kit.
Lots of good PE around for it.
My son bought it from the lms for my birthday so I don’t know maybe someone bought it with the extras then returned it.
I have the original kit that I built back when it first came out and still have it. That is defenetively used and the shafts are am products. Looks to me like the like the original mold. Look around for a date inside the hull or under the deck parts. Should be Tamiya with a late 70’s or early 1980s date stamp.