Work as begun on my Tamiya 1/700 Z Class Destroyer. I submitted an in-box review of the kit last week so it should be up soon. The kit contains two Z Class Destroyers. The first will be done straight OOB before the Project Barbara upgrades. The second will be with the Barbara upgrades and spruced up a bit with PE.

The lower hull consists of two pieces, the hull itself and the bottom plate. The two parts fit together well however the bottom plate is slightly larger than the hull. I've been feverishly wet sanding with sanding sticks to smooth out the join between the two. Parts of the superstructers have been assembled, however they're not attached yet. I'm going to attach the AA guns and some of the details parts after painting.

Very nice start Scott.

Thanks Kenny, I hope fo finish up the superstructure sub-assemblies tonight and should be laying paint in a day or two.

I've had my eye on that kit for a while. Thanks for sharing your build with us!

The superstructure assemblies are complete minus the AA guns. I just need to do the turret assemblies and add a few other details before the painting can begin. The life rafts and other details will be added last after painting.

There are very fine mold seams on some of the parts that required some careful scraping and delicate sanding, but nothing out of the ordinary.

Here's a shot with a penny so you can see how small this thing is.

Very nice Scott.

Nice ship, I have one of these underways too - i have found the masts very hard to get strait, and it might be helpful replacing them with brass wire.

Do you paln on adding any etch?

Cheers/jan

Originally I was planning on building the first straight out of the box, with the 2nd one in the kit getting the full treatment. However, I had ordered a PE set for my Prinz Eugen including a generic set of AA guns and I'm considering using the PE AA guns on this one since the sets are only $5. I'll decide today or tomorrow if I'm going to use them on this build.

I spent some time looking over my references and concluded that the masts should not be completely vertical, they angle back a noticable amount.

What's the consensus on the accuracy of the kit? I think I read somewhere that certain details are not accurate, but I haven't seen the kit in person so I don't have a clue. Actually- the point could probably be made that I don't have a clue regardless!

I did an in-box review of the kit that should be posted any day now. The only real accuracy issue with the kit are the main turrents. In reality, the backside of them should be open as they were not enclosed. Also, the kit has the guns laying in a trough which cuts across the top so the guns elevate from the middle of the turret, which is completely wrong. The tops were enclosed and there should only be an elongated opening in the front and on the front beveled edge of the turret. I'll post some pics when I get a chace to show you what I mean.

Cool, the in-box review is up.

Tamiya 1/700 Z Class Destroyer in box review

The main mast has a slight curve to it, not sure if I'll be able to get it completely straight.

Hi Scott
My advice would be to replace the mast by brass rod or a scratchbuilt one from stretched sprue or evergreen...
Brass rod is the better way, it will also cope with the rigging
Hope this helps
Rui

Thanks Rui, great tip!

I'm in the process of fabricating a replacement main mast with brass rod, this should look and work much better than the kit part.... I hope.

I'm still patiently awaiting the arrival of the PE railings, AA Guns and Radars. I decided to do both ships, Z37 and Z39 with the PE add ons and I think I'm ready to attempt such an undertaking.

In the mean time, here are some photos to illustrate the inaccuracies of the main single mounts. Note on the photo of the real thing how flat and agled the front plate is. There is a perpendicular to the barrel the top of the turret near the front. When you look at the kit parts see how off the turrets are? The kit parts have the barrel lay in a groove on the top, when the guns should be sticking out of the face. Also the bulge is at the rear of the turret top parallel with the guns. Not even close to the real thing.

Very nice work so far.

I have started working on one of my own, tossing in PE sets and parts from Lions Roar, Tauro, Tom's, and White Ensign as well as some scratching and bashing. I am planning on getting a thread going in a day or two.

I enjoyed your review.

Ah-a!

Welcome back Jay!!!
Long time no see - is everything ok with you? I really hope so!
It's good to have you aboard again

Cheers,
Rui

Thanks Jay, I appreciate the comments and the interest. The Lion Roar PE sets I ordered finally arrived from Hong Kong so I can get back to work on these Destroyers.

Hi Scott and Rui,

Sounds great Scott, I just got done wadding up a couple of ladders from the Lion's Roar Extra Ladders Set for mine.

Great work so far Scott, look forward to the rest. Great pic on the single mount, really shows how "off" is the plastic version.

PS - Welcome back jay!