Trumpeter's 1/350th Scale Zerstorer Z-25

She is coming along nicely! What colors are you using on this kit? How much did it cost you?

Excellent---I have one on the way...nicely done so far.  What was your method for masking the hull and boot-stripe?  Are the main cannon barrels hollowed out?

Thanks for the replies gentlemen! When I posted this and then went back to the forum my post came right under the discussion of this very kit!  Weird!!!  Anyway -

stickpusher - I use Model  Master Light Sea Gray as my base. I'm gonna give it a dark wash with Citadel Washes Badab Black. The darker deck gray is my own mix - MM Panzer Gray with dark Sea Blue. I'm gonna give that a wash, too.

Manstein - The hull has a faint waterline molded on making masking easier. I use Tamiya Masking tape - man I love that stuff!  It follows curves real nice and STICKS where you want it! Unfortunately, the guns are molded solid. One would think that a new kit like this would benefit from "slide-mold" technology - or is that Dragon's trade secret? Anyway I hollowed out the guns on the bow turret, and I will do the rest of armament as I go.

So far the detail is nice - fit is OK. It has Trumpeter's multi-panel assembly for all the deck houses and bridge.

Not that I'm complaining - I LIKE to build, but you sometimes wonder why a tiny assembly wouldn't be a single part? Thanks again for your replies

Mark

Looking good, and you have wasted no time getting this one together!!

Jester75

Looking good, and you have wasted no time getting this one together!!

Greetings fellow modelers! The build continues! I painted the bridge and deck houses and applies a heavy wash over them and the hull and deck:

I removed a fair amount of the wash with cotton swab dipped in alcohol and toned down the harshness with dry brushing. I then began to add the little details on the main deck. Capstans, depth charges, mines, paravanes and their cranes, etc...

Moving on to the decks I found the rear gun deck had a nasty gap where it fit to the walls of the upper works. I filled it with Mr. Surfacer:

Here's the bridge and stacks fitted:

At this point I started adding some of the P/E included in the kit. Here's a shot of the fret:

Some of the cable reels:

The rear gun deck was next. I added the upper gun deck, ammo boxes, mast and P/E ladders. The railings were from my stash:

Some details added amidships:

Next I started rigging the main mast. I use UNI - Canais fly tying thread:

Well, that's it for now. I should have more pics soon. Thanks for lookin' and happy modeling!

Mark

P.S. Comments/critiques very welcomed!

Very nice---the wash pops a lot of the detail...what did you use for the wash?

And, what are you using for the rigging?  Very nice job so far!

Bill Morrison

Good job! I'm going to try the heavy dry brushing style for my next ship being painted. Oil painting style finish always fascinates me and there's much room for creative expression I think.

Pity a thread talking about price has 10 x the replies to an actual build thread. Such is the state of things (and not just in modeling) now, all talk, not enough doers.

Well this thread shows how great a kit you get for your money. The other one has turned into the usual urinary contest regarding the same old points. And I thought Armor was a tough crowd...

If I may add one critique, that hopefully the builder already caught. Some wash is needed on the deck house behind the aft funnel to make it match the rest of the ship. I am really learning a lot just by watching this build as it goes along! Very sweet! I want one...

Greetings fellow modelers! Thanks for the replies guys - it really means a lot!

Manstein - I use Citadel washes. I got 'em from a gaming store. Acrylic based, flows nicely, and is easy to remove. BTW - I love your avatar!

Warshipguy - I use UNI-Canais fly tying thread. It comes in various sizes (weights?) and colors. It's strong and takes paint well, too.

Potchip - When I started this thread it popped up just under the thread you mentioned - weird, huh? I didn't want to get involved as it seemed to get too political - (well, maybe that's the wrong word), but it did seem a bit intense. I just wanna build and post pics, but I will say that both manufacturers kits have merits all their own. The Dragon offering looks nice - I just might get that too! Maybe paint it in dazzle pattern.

Stikpusher - yes, I did see that. There's actually a few more places to touch up as well. Good eye!  Thanks for your support.

And here's some more progress. I got the torpedo launchers painted, washed, and mounted:

i also added some of the floats/rafts:

I added the supports under the bridge and the rear gun deck, and then began adding the P/E railings. These came from my own supply - (none included with the kit) :

Here's the ships boats painted, washed, and mounted:

That's it for now. The armament will be next, so stay tuned! Thanks again for your interest and replies and happy modeling!!

Mark

I love your destroyer and want it to marry my Tirpitz....

I noticed in the instructions and on your WIP that there are a couple of weird looking things that get glued down right on top of the mine rolling tracks...what are these obstructions?

Schweet!! Can't wait to start mine, but alas, that will be some time now!! Great work!

VERY VERY NICE

LOL!!! I wonder where they would be registered? Probably not Bed, Bath and Beyond!

Mark

Ooops - I forgot to add Manstein's comment to my last post! (It doesn't make much sense without it!)

Mark

UNI-Canais is ultra-light Italian fly fishing line available from Stockhard fly fishing http://www.jsflyfishing.com. It's very cheap, the rolls are very small and it's incredibly light - 1lb max. But as any fisherperson can tell you, mono is very strong for its size. I tried it, but used stretched sprue because it struck me that it had too much memory and line that light with a curl is tough to handle. I notice that you looped the line around the mast. Did you use a needle or just your eye? Also, Uber-Shipmeister Jim Baumann at Model Warship recommends replacing plastic masts with brass. I did that on my last ship and it did work very nicely. Did you have any trouble with strength on the plastic masts? They look so fragile on a 700 scale BB, and I'd guess them to be about the same on a 350 DD. And how about glue? Baumann likes plastic cement: another of their gurus David Griffiths (also a serious fan of UNI Canais) likes rubber cement and I know a lot of people use PVA for PE and Super Glue for rigging? What were your weapons of choice? (Do like your washes. A late WWII KM DD would have been in Norway or the Baltic - pretty nasty conditions. Wish there was a good way to put on convincing ice. That would be an interesting problem.)

Eric

OH yea. Does Trumpie give a part count for this kit? Anyone know what Dragon's is?

Eric

Another nice build-up going on here -

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=64051&pid=699522&st=0&#entry699522

Nice, too bad the kit doesn't include the PE railings---Dragon and Trumpeter need to get on this...the first one to get it right will get all of my ship business...

Greetings fellow modelers! Just a quick update tonight. I finished attaching all the railings and the rigging:

I got the armament assembled but not yet painted:

Getting down to the end - but still lots to do. Paint, wash and mount the weaponry, as well as touch ups with washes and dry brushing.

EBergerud - I use CA to attach my rigging. I start at one point where I tie the line, add a drop of CA and then run to my next point, tie ,add Ca, etc...  I am building this kit OOTB so I am using the kit masts. I'm kinda weird that way - I use whats in the kit, even if I have to modify it to work. But, I've always wanted to try brass for the masts. Some day! You know, that's one thing I like about the UNI-Canais thread - you can pull it pretty tight and it doesn't seem to distort the masts. Great stuff!!

Anyway, thanks for the replies and stay tuned - the end is in sight!

Happy modeling

Mark

Freakin awesome!! Lovin it!

Nice rigging indeed. It looks like you've got two weights of line - thought UNI only came in one. It certainly did the job for you.

I don't look for reasons to buy after market stuff - my OOB box stuff isn't good enough yet to look for trouble. Railings would be an exception but I think one could scratch a funnel cap. The only reason I used a brass mast was because Iron Duke's was a kind of symbolic effort - it had no resemblance at all to the real deal. So there was no choice if I wanted to rig anything. And Jim Baumann recommends it across the board. (Making a brass mast is very easy - scratch building for the one-eyed). But you obviously don't need them. Very nice railings - you've got them just right. Prinz Eugen will be safe for a few days I think

Eric