Greetings fellow modelers! Here’s my latest endeavor for your viewing pleasure, Trumpeter Models 1/350th German destroyer Z-25. Here’s the kit contents:
The color plan I will be following:
The one piece hull with the decks attached:
Adding the rudders and the prop shafts:
Here’s the bridge and stack subassemblies:
The base painted hull:
I dry fit the upper deck and bridge to check for fit - so far everything went together easily:
Well, that’s it for tonight. Stay tuned for more pics soon! Thanks for lookin’ and comments/critiques appreciated!
Excellent—I have one on the way…nicely done so far. What was your method for masking the hull and boot-stripe? Are the main cannon barrels hollowed out?
Thanks for the replies gentlemen! When I posted this and then went back to the forum my post came right under the discussion of this very kit! Weird!!! Anyway -
stickpusher - I use Model Master Light Sea Gray as my base. I’m gonna give it a dark wash with Citadel Washes Badab Black. The darker deck gray is my own mix - MM Panzer Gray with dark Sea Blue. I’m gonna give that a wash, too.
Manstein - The hull has a faint waterline molded on making masking easier. I use Tamiya Masking tape - man I love that stuff! It follows curves real nice and STICKS where you want it! Unfortunately, the guns are molded solid. One would think that a new kit like this would benefit from “slide-mold” technology - or is that Dragon’s trade secret? Anyway I hollowed out the guns on the bow turret, and I will do the rest of armament as I go.
So far the detail is nice - fit is OK. It has Trumpeter’s multi-panel assembly for all the deck houses and bridge.
Not that I’m complaining - I LIKE to build, but you sometimes wonder why a tiny assembly wouldn’t be a single part? Thanks again for your replies
Greetings fellow modelers! The build continues! I painted the bridge and deck houses and applies a heavy wash over them and the hull and deck:
I removed a fair amount of the wash with cotton swab dipped in alcohol and toned down the harshness with dry brushing. I then began to add the little details on the main deck. Capstans, depth charges, mines, paravanes and their cranes, etc…
Moving on to the decks I found the rear gun deck had a nasty gap where it fit to the walls of the upper works. I filled it with Mr. Surfacer:
Here’s the bridge and stacks fitted:
At this point I started adding some of the P/E included in the kit. Here’s a shot of the fret:
Some of the cable reels:
The rear gun deck was next. I added the upper gun deck, ammo boxes, mast and P/E ladders. The railings were from my stash:
Some details added amidships:
Next I started rigging the main mast. I use UNI - Canais fly tying thread:
Well, that’s it for now. I should have more pics soon. Thanks for lookin’ and happy modeling!
Good job! I’m going to try the heavy dry brushing style for my next ship being painted. Oil painting style finish always fascinates me and there’s much room for creative expression I think.
Pity a thread talking about price has 10 x the replies to an actual build thread. Such is the state of things (and not just in modeling) now, all talk, not enough doers.
Well this thread shows how great a kit you get for your money. The other one has turned into the usual urinary contest regarding the same old points. And I thought Armor was a tough crowd…[^o)]
If I may add one critique, that hopefully the builder already caught. Some wash is needed on the deck house behind the aft funnel to make it match the rest of the ship. I am really learning a lot just by watching this build as it goes along! Very sweet![:P] I want one…
Greetings fellow modelers! Thanks for the replies guys - it really means a lot!
Manstein - I use Citadel washes. I got 'em from a gaming store. Acrylic based, flows nicely, and is easy to remove. BTW - I love your avatar!
Warshipguy - I use UNI-Canais fly tying thread. It comes in various sizes (weights?) and colors. It’s strong and takes paint well, too.
Potchip - When I started this thread it popped up just under the thread you mentioned - weird, huh? I didn’t want to get involved as it seemed to get too political - (well, maybe that’s the wrong word), but it did seem a bit intense. I just wanna build and post pics, but I will say that both manufacturers kits have merits all their own. The Dragon offering looks nice - I just might get that too! Maybe paint it in dazzle pattern.
Stikpusher - yes, I did see that. There’s actually a few more places to touch up as well. Good eye! Thanks for your support.
And here’s some more progress. I got the torpedo launchers painted, washed, and mounted:
i also added some of the floats/rafts:
I added the supports under the bridge and the rear gun deck, and then began adding the P/E railings. These came from my own supply - (none included with the kit) :
Here’s the ships boats painted, washed, and mounted:
That’s it for now. The armament will be next, so stay tuned! Thanks again for your interest and replies and happy modeling!!
I love your destroyer and want it to marry my Tirpitz…
I noticed in the instructions and on your WIP that there are a couple of weird looking things that get glued down right on top of the mine rolling tracks…what are these obstructions?
UNI-Canais is ultra-light Italian fly fishing line available from Stockhard fly fishing http://www.jsflyfishing.com. It’s very cheap, the rolls are very small and it’s incredibly light - 1lb max. But as any fisherperson can tell you, mono is very strong for its size. I tried it, but used stretched sprue because it struck me that it had too much memory and line that light with a curl is tough to handle. I notice that you looped the line around the mast. Did you use a needle or just your eye? Also, Uber-Shipmeister Jim Baumann at Model Warship recommends replacing plastic masts with brass. I did that on my last ship and it did work very nicely. Did you have any trouble with strength on the plastic masts? They look so fragile on a 700 scale BB, and I’d guess them to be about the same on a 350 DD. And how about glue? Baumann likes plastic cement: another of their gurus David Griffiths (also a serious fan of UNI Canais) likes rubber cement and I know a lot of people use PVA for PE and Super Glue for rigging? What were your weapons of choice? (Do like your washes. A late WWII KM DD would have been in Norway or the Baltic - pretty nasty conditions. Wish there was a good way to put on convincing ice. That would be an interesting problem.)
