Various 1:350 Bismarck kits....Need advice

CaptDag

I  am interested in purchasing a historic warship model for my 14 year old son. this will be his first and I feel a 1/350 Bismarck would be a good choice. Could Anyone give a breakdown on the different 1/350 Bismarck kit from Lindberge, Academy, Revell ,tamiya and Trumpeter? I'm a little hesitant to pay $100+ for his first ship. would one of the cheaper brands give a good representation of this great battleship? thank for any help.

Trumpeter marketed their 1/350 Bismarck kit in the US by the Mini Hobby brand. It is an older mold and the lines are soft compared to the Tamiya kit of the same age. I used to see it at Hobby Lobby listed for $40. It is an excellent buy for your son's first kit using the 40% coupon. However, it may be out of production now. I still can find it at Megahobby web site.

The Mini Hobby kit part count is almost identical to the Tamiya kit. I suspect that it was a knock-off copy of the Tamiya at Trumpeter's early day. The draw back as a first kit is the complexity. It is a challenge, but not insurmountable for a 14 years old with some modeling experience.

The absolute best of the lot is the Revell kit.  It is highly detailed and will make an excellent representation right out of the box (except for the handrails).  It can be super detailed with after market photo etch and brass gun barrel sets.  It will be a difficult but rewarding project.

Next would be the Tamiya kit.  Old but serviceable, not as accurate and not nearly as detailed.  The Academy kit is simply as less well molded copy.

The Lindberg kit is a BB gun target.

All this being said you may want to consider how much interest your son has in battleships or in this period of history.  Battleships are extremely complicated vessels and models of them will have a great deal of repetitive work to complete them.  I usually recommend something smaller for the first time builder like the Tamiya USS Fletcher or the Trumpeter USS England.  Both excellent kits that will produce a good result with care in painting and assembly and will avoid overwhelming a new or new to ship modeling modeler.  WS

Hello, Capt.  May I make a modest suggestion?  I'm guessing you are a modeler, or were when you were his age.  Rather than you simply picking out a kit that appeals to you, why not take him with you to cruise your local hobby shop on some pretext.  If you do model, tell him you are looking for a kit for yourself.  If you aren't, tell him you did it when you were his age and are thinking about getting back into it.

You might get a more harmonious result if you watch what appeals to him and make your choice based on that.  I don't want to over step here, but one of the easiest ways to turn a kid off on modeling is to hand him a kit that he really isn't interested in.  Also, could a kit like Bismark in 1/350 be the best choice for his first build?  Italieri has a great 1/35 LCVP, certainly a historic item as it has been described as the boat that won World War II.  I've built it myself and while it has some challenges it is a good kit for a first timer, has lots of detail (probably the most detailed LCVP on the market) and there are some aftermarket upgrades if he wants to go that way.

I hope you don't  mind my suggestions.  I'm trying to get my grandson into the hobby and though he is several years younger than your son, I think some of the same principles apply.  I did the cruise the hobby shop ruse with him and watched what he looked at.  Later I went back and got it, then helped him build it.  He loved it and is excited about the hobby and "our workbench".  Pretty neat for this grandpa.

Bob

Stay away from the Lindberg kit; it is not even a reasonable facsimile of the real thing!  The Revell 1/350 Bismarck is an outstanding kit that might be too much for a first ship, unless your son has a great deal of modeling experience. Either the Tamiya or Academy kits would be excellent first tries.

Good luck!

Bill Morrison

Revell's Bismarck, of course, becouse of new, acurate and very detailed press forms.

You don't say exactly what his level of modeling experience is.  Is this his first ship model, or first model period?  If it is his first model ever, then the Academy, Tamiya, Trumpeter, and Revell may be too intimidating with their greater parts counts and complexity.  If he is, however, an experienced modeler in other venues, then by all means go for it.  Remember though, that ship modeling is a bit different from other types of modeling.  IMHO, for a beginner, the Lindberg would be the best bet to get his feet wet, so to speak.  Good luck with whichever you choose, and don't forget, we want pics!

The best bet for yr son will be Academy kit. You can even got it less than 45. Good details and not too shabby.

If you want to go for the best, New Revell Bismark is the best.

The Lindberg kit is very basic and simple and isn't much more than a motorised "toy" compared to the later offerings. Academy's kit is a part for part clone "knock off" of Tamiya's. Tamiya's is an early 80's (?) offering which was top of the heap when it came out, but is now somewhat dated by the newer kits - it's still a solid kit though. I don't know much about Revell's or Trumpeter's kits except that they're much more recent.

If it is for your son let him decide if the representation is good enough, I say.

Tamiya is an older kit and was designed to be motorized, so if you want an accurate depiction it would need some work.

Sorry, don't know why some parents insist to give or build for their kits 100% accurate kits, not like the kids would know the difference.

My son models and for me it is more important that he has fun and does his own stuff, he is not interested in producing a gold medal kit that is accurate but to have something cool on his shelf to display.