Bismarck: Academy vs. Tamiya..(and what about a good IJN Yamato too please.)

Hartmann352 wrote:

Okay "Black shoes". 99% of my stash are "wingy thingys". I am looking at picking up a 1/350 Bismarck. I have found a few on "evil-bay". My question I pose to y'all is ..... Pros & cons regarding the Academy  & Tamiya 1/350 Bismarck. Is the increase in price worth it for the Tamiya? Is the Academy one sufficient? What is your take on them? if you were to plop $40.00 on one which is the better bet? Woule 30-40 on an Academy be better than 80 on the Tamiya?  All insight is greatly appreciated.  Dave, (AKA Hartmann 362)

I think you need to broaden your choices. The Revell Bismarck is better than either of your current choices and is priced similarly to the Tamiya kit. The examples of the Academy kit that I have seen led me to conclude that it wasn't worth the extra work to make it look good. The Revell kit comes with some oversized plastic railings but other than that it is a very nice kit with good detail. I sold my Tamiya kit and replaced it with the Revell kit. WS

Danke D52. I hadn't really thought of that. Regarding the Revell offering....is there more than one year of issue?

Regards, Dave.

Revell-Germany have the instruction sheets available in PDF format. It's nearly 36mb in size but well worth looking at if you are trying to decide about getting the kit. You could, even, print it out to study at your leisure.

 This is the link...

http://www.revell.de/manual/05040.PDF

 

In terms of ranking for quality, accuracy and detail it has to be -

Revell - New tool, lots and lots of detail - only a year old.

Tamiya - Excellent fit and build quality, but lacks lots of detail found in the Revell kit. Mould is 40 years or so old. You have to buy a couple of big PE sets to enhance it to the level of the Revell kit.

Academy - A very poor copy of the Tamiya kit.

Can i just add that when the Revell Bismark kit came out it was priced at £49.99 in the U.k and when i worked in a model shop and couldn't sell them, not even when we knocked them down to £45.00,  and Revell have just brought out the sister ship the Tirpitz same scale but at £70.00 and for a few more flak weapons, like to see how many they sell at that price! keith

Well, I think the main problem here is that model shops are pretty much going extinct!  There just isn't the trade available to compete with the online outlets any more.  I can't remember the last time I bought anything in a model shop; it must be at least ten years now, and I'm sure that is much the case with other modellers these days as well.  That said, when you compare the price of the excellent Revell Bismarck with the new battleship models coming out from Japan and China, the price is very competitive indeed.........

searat12 wrote:

Well, I think the main problem here is that model shops are pretty much going extinct!  There just isn't the trade available to compete with the online outlets any more.  I can't remember the last time I bought anything in a model shop; it must be at least ten years now, and I'm sure that is much the case with other modellers these days as well.  That said, when you compare the price of the excellent Revell Bismarck with the new battleship models coming out from Japan and China, the price is very competitive indeed.........

 

First, get the Revell Bismark. I built the Tamiya 15 or more years ago and today the Revell kit is just better.

 

My LHS charges full msrp for kits. I haven't been able to buy a kit there in 10 years. He has the Revell Hermann Marwede for $114........I got it delivered to my door in 7 days for $72.  How can we possible buy from brick and mortar when we can save this kind of money online. I told the owner at the LHS to get online, he won't hear of it. He will be out of business in a few years at most. Testors an Tamiya paints are also a buck cheaper online, thats a lot of savings over a year, especially in this economy.

In all fairness prices on the web have also been fluxuating wildly. Tower had the Revell Fletcher for $94 last week....now it is $112.  Something is going on! Also Tamiya 1/35th armor prices are insane across the board. I don't know if its petroleum or transportation prices or what, but this hobby is getting way more expensive than in the past. Its certainly affecting kids from getting into it, if you could find one that wants to get into it (that is).

There was actually a build-review on the Revell Bismarck in FSM not to long ago.

RoG Bismarck wipes the floor with the competiton. Not having the weather deck in three pieces, so you can remove the centre section to access the motorizaton gear,  puts it in a different league from the others, and that's just for starters.

 

 Then there's the detail, the finish options, the decals, the clear parts.... Get the WEM etch, and some WEM paints, and you're all set! Check out Ian Ruscoe's build in TMMI a few issues ago. Inspirational!

Cheers,

Chris. 

 

Bismarck: Academy vs. Tamiya ?

Neither - Revell hands down.

Eduard and TMM and WEM (I think?) have PE frets' there is even a wooden deck AM available.

Worth the 20-30$ mark up from Tamiya

Yup, I am looking forward to buying the ROG Bismarck, just as soon as get my hands on a Trumpeter 1/350 Prinz Eugen!  It really does amaze me that no-one has thought of producing this before (or that ROG let this one slip by them!).  As for model shops, I agree that if they can't compete on price, then they have no-one but themselves to blame if people shop online.  As for fluctuating prices, it is always a good idea to snoop around on the different websites to see who has the best price!  So far, Free Time Hobbies has done the best for me, but doubtless everyone has their favorites and it would not surprise me to find that different outfits are able to get better deals on certain kinds of models.... With the price of petroleum so high last year and the economy so screwed up this year, it does not surprise me that many kits have inflated or wildly different prices, and of course, even if the price of petroleum is low NOW, they will have already invested via the expensive stuff and will want to see that money come back....

Got my RoG Bismarck for £30UK delivered to the door!

Good seller on ebay called 'plasticpastimes' based on the UK south coast.

Quite how RoG can ask £70+UK for her sister ship I don't know!

It may be good, but it isn't THAT good!

It might be the dramatically falling value of the pound that is at fault, and don't forget, an IJN Kongo goes for about $160 these days, vs $85 for the ROG Bismarck......

warshipbuilder wrote:

Got my RoG Bismarck for £30UK delivered to the door! Good seller on ebay called 'plasticpastimes' based on the UK south coast.

Don't know why it is so much cheaper in UK. Yes, I can find £30UK Revell Bismark on British Ebay. Alas, the shipping is £50UK to the State side.

Tower Hobbies just increased the Bismark price from $72 to $100.

searat12 wrote:

It might be the dramatically falling value of the pound that is at fault, and don't forget, an IJN Kongo goes for about $160 these days, vs $85 for the ROG Bismarck......

Unlikely. Remember the RoG Bismarck is moulded in Poland (Zloty down about 20% against the Euro in the last 6 months) and boxed in Germany (Euro pretty steady). I notice that in Germany, the MRP for both the RoG Bismarck and the new Tirpitz is now €79.99.

Cheers,

Chris.

Okay, and the verdict is in....I'lll be saving up for a Revell. Thanks for all the input folks, greatly appreciated.

 

Okay, I'm going to "hijak" my own thread here....Who makes a better IJN Yamato?

, Dave

 You didn't mention any scale for the Yamato as she comes in 700, 450, 350, 250, and 200.

 I have built the Tamiya 350 and it still is quite a nice kit. Along with the Lion Roar set, it really stands out if you are prepared to work with Nine Frets in the box. I have also just purchased the Fujimi limited edition full hull version in 700 scale and the detail on this particular kit looks far better than Tamiya's offering in 700. So the choice is yours depending on what scale you wish to build. 

Sorry, my mistake, yes 1/350 scale Yamato. What brands are out there to choose from besides Tamiya?

Thanksd for the brief.

 Lion Roar? AM kit? If and when I can afford a Bismarck & a Yamato, They will be built OOB.

 , Dave

There are several Yamto's out there in 1/350, but the Tamiya version is by all accounts best (all the others appear to be fairly poor copies of this kit).  I believe Minihobby produced one of these, Academy, and others as well.....

surfsup wrote:

I have built the Tamiya 350 and it still is quite a nice kit. Along with the Lion Roar set, it really stands out if you are prepared to work with Nine Frets in the box.

Some pictures?

With over 1700 parts (no typo), the Lion Roar conversion set is not for the faint of heart.

http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/prodd.asp?pid=LNRLS350003

 

I have the Tamiya 350 Yamato w/ the eduard set sitting on my shelf but haven't had the guts yet to attack it. To nice a kit to screw up...lol

LeopardMan, I hear ya on the "Stuff's to good...I don't want to screw it up."

So would $65.00 for a Tamiya 1/350 scale Yamato (that includes shipping) be a good deal?

How about $87.00, (includes shipping), for a RoG 1/350 Bismarck?

Thanks for all input that has already been given, greatly appreciated.

, Dave.

$65 for the Tamiya Yamato is not to bad a deal. But the $87 For the RoG Bismarck which is about 30 year younger isn't not bad either. Either way you probably do good. And I am not for sure if Tamiya produces right now. Personally I would go with Yamato, but thats just because I always wanted one. I guess its up to you to make the choice. Good Luck.

As requested, I have listed the shared link site so you can view photos of my Yamato with Lion Roar Photoetch. If this is a pain to do, I am sorry as I have just started using a computer again after a little break. Hope you enjoy the Photos.

 

 

 

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972787/b5fec40a/15032009_003_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972791/4586507e/15032009_004_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972798/3c5ae8da/15032009_005_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972815/816e5952/15032009_006_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972831/b435ffc9/15032009_007_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972837/5d565afc/15032009_008_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972840/8c735998/15032009_009_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972847/1217cc3b/15032009_010_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972852/7b6609f5/15032009_011_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972857/b0cfd7a/15032009_012_.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/92972861/c9420b8c/15032009_013_.html

 

 

 

Some pictures?

With over 1700 parts (no typo), the Lion Roar conversion set is not for the faint of heart.

http://www.dragonmodelsusa.com/dmlusa/prodd.asp?pid=LNRLS350003

You could always use my method.  Use a Tamiya kit 1/350 (and a cheap copy for more parts) and backdate the kit to as commisioned in Dec 1941.  Including a scratchbuilt wooden deck.  Of course with all the PE, Brass Barrels, wood, WEM paints and all I got over $400 in the build.

 

 

Hartmann 352:

 

If you do one day buy the Tamiya 1/350th scale Yamato, I would definitely buy the Lionroar super set for it. I bought one for mine and it is very complete! It is pricey but don't forget you get all the brass barrels with it too.

 

Sincerely

 

Michael Lacey

The Tamiya kit coupled with the Lion Roar set can't be beat.  My only problem is the lack of hull penetrations below the waterline, a common-enough problem that RoG addressed with its 1/350 Bismarck.

Bill Morrison