After watching Discovery Channel last night which feature the Bismarck, now I want to build one! How large would a 1/350 Bismarck go? Any manufacturer you know which makes the best and accurate ships:

1/350 Bismarck
1/350 Prince of Wales
1/350 Tirpitz
1/350 US Enterprise

I'm thinking about the Tamiya one for I have known this manufacturer for its excellent plastic, details and fit.

Thanks!

Hello Shonen, You are correct in naming Tamiya! Tamiya makes the best injected plastic ship kits in 1/350 scale. There Bismarck model is about 30 inches long, a good size model. Just like in aircraft and Armor, there quality and fit are top notch! Accurate detail to build these ships the way they were !
All of the ships you have named, you cant go wrong with the Tamiya Line.

HTH,
Garry

OMG! 30 inches! As long as 3 rulers. I find it kinda big. How bout the 1/700 one?

The 1/700 scale Bismarck is 14 inches long or about half as big as the 1/350 kit.
Now, Tamiya does not make a 1/700 Bismarck. They do make the Prince of whales, and The Hood, each great kits! The only company that makes a 1/700 Bismarck and Tirpitz is Aoshima. They are not the quality of Tamiya, But build into nice models. Good fit, just light on detail. I have built two of them. 1/700 kits are nice, I just have to strain these old eyes to work on them, LOL!

Cheers,
Garry

Thanks for the info! I may get 1 1/350 either one of this in the early quarter of 2004.

I dunno if Tamiya has retooled their 1/350 line, but the Tamiya warships sold here, SR, are of the "motorized option included" variety. Hence, some kits have their decks - most notably the Yamato/Musashi BBs - "cut" in sections. This could be very annoying since if you plan on making them static models, the seam of the deck will be hard to fill. It'll take lots of patience to do it (trust me, I've done it meself - and it still isn't perfect).

I've got the Tamiya Musashi BB and it is BIG. Ok, not as big as the Tamiya Enterprise, but impressive nonetheless. It is still under construction. One thing about the Tamiya Yamato/Musashi is that the tripod antenna is incorrect - the bottom half, that is. I reckon some of the more experienced members here (and those of SMML) would enlighten you on that one.

One thing about model ships - particularly the 1/350 scales - is that they just BEG you to give them PE. And yes, a ship model isn't what it looks like until you give it PE. However, OOTB is still good, but for some reason, ship models - as opposed to armor and aircraft - NEED PE (whereas armor and aircraft PE is an option, not a necessity). That's just my opinion. Not being stricken by Advanced Modeller Syndrome, but I still think that model ships to be complete need PE.

Do check also the other manufacturers. I have found that Japanese manufacturers have better detail on their ships. I wonder why? Their detail is very crisp. I have a 1/700 Japanese destroyer and I was amazed that such a small kit have such fine detail. I think Fujimi makes a 1/700 Nimitz (they do have a separate kit for the airwing), and there's also Hasegawa's waterline series which is equally impressive.

Panda does two Arleigh Burke-class DDGs in 1/350 with PE included, while Trumpeter has the Sovremennyy class DDG in 1/350 also I think and with PE as well.

On your list, other than Tamiya, Revell also has 1/400 kits of the Enterprise, New Jersey, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Academy also has a Bismark and Tirpitz in 1/350 - I reckon these are clones of Tamiya. Then there's the Fujimi (I think, not sure) or Mini-Hobby (or was it Mini-craft? Now I'm confused) 1/350 Enterprise kits - two of them, actually, one with the old control tower, the other with the updated radar complex.

MOTORIZE!! Yum yum hehehe




Yep, I know all ships (or a majority of them) need PE. Thanks for enlightening some info. The reason I prefer 1/350 more is in the details. I can paint small ones but never on a 1/700. Or maybe that's the way it is. I'll try my luck first with the German U-Boat by Academy and build it OOB. In this kit I may determine if I can do the large and quite detailed 1/350 or the smaller yet very little detailed 1/700 kit.

Hmmm.... I have gone through some research on PE parts. Which PE suits best for these line of models? Do I have to buy 2 sets for a single craft or 1 would do?

Good morning Shonon, You only need one set per kit. Like if your building the Bismarck, they will be labeled, Bismarck pe set . If I may suggest a brand to start with. Toms model works pe sets, the brass they are made from is thicker than most. That makes it easier to bend and work with, with not being over scale. And they are less money then most. The only drawback to the TMW sets is that there instructions suck! But there pe sets are a good starter !

HTH,
Garry

This thread kind of interests me. I haven't used any P.E. yet and I really wondering about it. I can see how it really adds to a ship. What I'm wondering about is how much it adds to a 1/700 kit? Isn't the rule supposed to be that you only put on what would be seen at a distance? For example, when painting 1/35 figures you're supposed to paint details that can be visible from 15 feet away since people can focus as close as about 5 inches and 5 x 35 is about 15 feet. Based on this you would want to have things visible from about 300 feet, 5 x 700 inches. Does any of this make sense?

I admit that part of this is my innate cheapness. I just have a hard time justifying paying more for a P.E. set than I did for the model itself. I'm wanting to get into 1/700 over 1/350 to save money and room.

Don't worry Shonen, if you're still having problems with the PE set after a couple of tries, Garry will be happy to fly over to the Phillipines and drop by your house to give you a hand! :-)
Just kiddin' Shonen... #:-)
Garry has been one of the members who has been EMMENSELY helpful to me in my recent turn to the 'Dark' side,..oops,...errrr.. I meant, the 'floaty' side.
He's a good man, and a good resource, just remember to water him daily, and make sure he get's plenty of southern exposure! #:-)

Tread.

Hey, I resemble that remark ! Just dont use any mirical grow on me. I'm to dang big now !

Garry

I must agree, I remember posting here a long time ago and I think he's always giving me a good reply. Thanks man!

Whats PE?

Howdy Scunge,

PE is Physical Education...nope, it's Proper Etiquette!...no, wait, that's a lie, it's Photographic Evidence!..yepo that's it!....I think, ..but...I've got it, Polarized Edition, nahhhh, gotta be more like Popular Euphemism..............ahhh, I give up.
Probably something silly like Photo Etch.

Tread.

Just kiddin' Scunge. :-) PE is the acronym for the phrase Photo Etch. It's essentially a thin sheet of brass that has been Photograhically Etched with acid based upon a (generally) computer generated layout of parts that has been historically studied and reproduced upon the sheet. This sheet of micro-scale 'additions' to the model in question is sold as an aftermarket item that modelers can purchase so they can use these "PE" parts to 'super-detail' their respective model kit.
hth.

Tread.

So these are extra brass parts that you glue on?

Yes, PE brass parts. on ships you can add railing ladders, hatches and doors, radars, cranes, catapolts. The posibilities are endless. Usualy these parts are attached with super glue then painted. This adds a lot of realizm to a ship model. Specialy the railing!

HTH,
Garry

railings? Wow those gotta be small. Also, where do you get these things?

Yeppers there small, but it depends what scale you are building in. !/700 are tinny, I will not use pe on this small of scale. Though there are a lot of modelers that do! I like the 1/400 and 1/350 scale and the pe is much larger on these.
You can by PE sets at most online stores, and some of the larger hobby shops.

Cheers,
Garry

I just saw the Bismarck 1/350 by Academy. Is this a good alternative to the Tammy one?