Anyone know of a photo etch set for Trumpeter's 1/350 Blucher kit?

OR - Might a P.Eugen or Admiral Hipper set work at all?
Am guessing that the Hipper set might be closer than a 1945-dated Prinz Eugen set.

Comments welcome.

Hi Dave

I'm not aware of any at this time for the Blucher, but surely one can't be far off given that Flyhawk, Lion Roar, White Ensign models and Eduard all provide kits for the Prinz Eugen.

I'm using the White Ensign Models PE on my Prinz Eugen build as WEM include all the necessary pieces to back date it to 1941, but whether or not it would be compatible with the Blucher is another matter entirely.

Perhaps wait a bit and see? Maybe ask Pontos if they would consider it as they are usually quite open to suggestions.

I could not resist buying all three Trumpi kits, Prinz Eugen, Hipper and Blücher - I simply am a fan of this class of ships, despite all their shortfalls...

That being said, I compared the Blücher and Hipper kits. They are nearly identical. They even have - and that's pretty bad - the same hull. To make 'good' for this, the bow shape is incorrect for Hipper and Blücher (it's closer to Blücher), but from first judgement nothing that can't be overcome with some scratch work. The Blücher kit is the same as the Hipper with one additional sprue that offers several parts that need to be replaced, most of the around the bridge. (Bottom line, I am very happy Trumpi produced the trio, they are no bad kits at all and the only offer in the scale, way better than ancient Heller's 1/400 cruisers).

Now for your question, you should be fine with any aftermarket set designed for Hipper (WEM, Flyhawk...), stay away from Prinz Eugen aftermarket, the Prinz is a very different vessel in many details and in fact only a half sister to the Hipper, some regard her as a class of her own (together with the never finished Seydlitz and Lützow). This is pretty well represented in the Trumpi kit, so the kit is quite different from the Hipper/Blücher one.

Hope that helps a little,

Cheers,
Jan

Thanks guys,
I've pretty much stuck with Eduard etch sets since the closure of WEM, (I know they are now available under the Tom' Modelworks label, but they are not cheap!) so I might just pick up another Eduard Hipper set for now, together with some aftermarket barrels and see how we go with that.

Cheers chaps.