THE KIT…

Trumpeter’s latest “tin can” kit depicts one of the unsung (and literally unnamed) German Destroyers of WWII the Z-25. The overall content of the kit is good to excellent, containing over 120 parts of well formed plastic and Photo Etched brass (PE). The kit contains a small sheet of decals consisting of a couple of flags and a few tiny black marks. Both full hull and waterline hulls are included, as is a base to mount the ship on if you chose to build it with the full hull. (A very nice touch). Another nice touch is the extra packing protection afforded the delicate main mast piece which often arrives broken on many kits.

The kit also includes a very nice full color painting guide which includes actual colors to be used for Mr. Hobby, Model Master, Tamiya and Humbrol. This is a very nice feature since it’s a real pain to try and cross reference between paint lines.

THE INSTRUCTIONS…

An eight page pictographical instruction book is included with the kit. The instructions are clear and well drawn. They build order appears logical and no details are omitted. Overall an excellent instruction guide for the build.

THE FIT…

This is where Trumpeter’s new kits really shine. There are no unnecessary deck or superstructure seams. Unlike many kits the deck is joined along the step up from the main weather deck to the upper weather deck at the bow. This allows for assembly without deck seams.

The superstructure parts as well are well thought out. All superstructure parts come together at the 90 degree mark and at an angle to avoid seam lines in the middle of the superstructure or along parts of detail which would be wiped out by the inevitable filling and sanding. This is also true of the deck parts which join the hull at an angle so as to make an invisible seam that should not require filling which would risk damage to the deck details.

THE DETAILS…

Despite being a very small kit depicting a small ship, the Z-39's molding details are excellent. Deck planking can easily be seen on the bridge level decking. The main weather deck is replete with details including water breaks, mine rails, anchor chains and cleats.

The turrets shields and guns are molded as separate pieces which, when joined, give a very realistic look rather than a one piece molded turret as we have seen on the 5 inch guns of early Fletcher class kits. Similar treatment is given to the torpedo tubes, secondary and AA armament which is molded in several pieces to give better look only to be surpassed by aftermarket PE pieces.

CONS…

Given the fantastic detail provided for in the kit, deck railings would have made the kit more complete and a rigging diagram wasn’t included. It might be hard to research the rigging for such a relatively unknown vessel such as the Z-25.

All-in-all, a very complete kit, and a great value for a kit in the $20-25 price range.