Bismarck/Tirpitz Question

I saw that Eduad set and it just seems to me that the second deck has diamond plate marks that look way out of scale. i'll have to go back and take a second look.

 

Yeah.....I'm not in a big hurry to get the Tirpitz, so I can wait a bit.

 

oh yeah....a Prinz Eugen would be awesome too.

A new consideration . . . Have you seen the Eduard 1/350 scale photoetch set for the Tamiya TIRPITZ?  I just saw pictures today on Ebay.  They are amazing!  And, they are reasonably priced at $34.00.

Bill Morrison

I agree, it shouldn't be long before Revell cranks out a Tirpitz as well (my guess is next year), but still no sign of a 'Prinz Eugen!' :o(

The way the Revell Germany's 1/350 Bismarck sprues are designed, it's clear that it can only be a matter of time before a Tirpitz comes along. Unless you absolutely must have a Tirpitz now, I'd wait until then, and save yourself some work. WEM have said, however, that they won't be producing a set of etch for the Revell Bismarck, so you can buy etch now, if you see it at a good price.

Although the Revell Bismarck isn't perfect, it's pretty damn close, and its way better than both the Tamiya and the Academy kits. Both of these can now be considered obsolete, and good only as the basis of radio-controlled working models.

Cheers,

Chris.

searat12 wrote:

I have sworn never to do another Bismarck or Tirpitz until a 1/350 Prinz Eugen is made available!

 

I tip mien cap...........I agree.........

 

  

 

 

but seeing as i've done the Tamiya Bismarck oob, i'm in the mood to do a Tirpitz with pizzazz  

May I provide a firm "second" for the Prinz Eugen?

Bill Morrison

Well, there are a LOT of different manufacturers of the Bismarck, and Tirpitz too, and it all depends on what level of detail you are looking for.  If you are feeling very flush, you might want to buy the Revell kit for the hull, and the Tamiya Tirpitz kit for the upper works and PE possibilities (and use the Tamiya hull with the Revell upperworks to get a Bismarck).  As for myself, much as I have been tempted by the new Revell kit, I have sworn never to do another Bismarck or Tirpitz until a 1/350 Prinz Eugen is made available!

 

OIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

warshipguy.....excellent points.........

.....first off......i want to make a very nice Tirpitz with PE.....is Tamiya the only game in town????

 

then......further down the construction list........maybe 4-5 years........should i just wait to see if someone else comes along with a kickass Bismarck????

 

I hate to sound confused........but i am. hahahahaha........hey....i'm from North Dakota......give me a break.  

There are several more considerations. First, the Tamiya kit offers absolutely no hull penetrations below the waterline while the Revell kit is much more detailed in that regard. All ships have such penetrations and they add greatly to the realism of the model.  Second, the Revell kit has a very nice one-piece main deck whereas the Tamiya kit has those hideous seams to fill trying to make the three-piece main deck work. I have seen otherwise nice models built from the Tamiya kit that were spoiled by ineffective sanding of those seams.

The third consideration is overall cost. In order to get those nice PE watertight doors as well as railings, radars, etc., requires two sets of PE. The very nice Gold Medal Models set of PE for Bismarck/Tirpits does not contain watertight doors. Finally, you would need to get a third set of PE for German-style portholes with appropriate "eyebrows" to add significant detail to the very bare Tamiya bulkheads, especially on the aft superstructure.  Three separate sets of PE added to the price of the original kit can be an expensive proposition, especially when the Revell kit includes those details.

I'll say it again; I sold my Tamiya kit after I bought the Revell kit because, in my opinion, the Revell kit is a much superior product in every regard to the Tamiya kit.

Good luck!

Bill Morrison

Thanks for the help.....

After dsome more digging, and the opinion here (which I value highly), I've come to the conclusion that:

to build the Tirpitz, I should go with the Tamiya (or course I'll be getting the PE too )

for a redo of the Bismarck with PE details, I should again go with the Tamiya.

 

 

 

Thanks again for the help.....now to just get the other kits done.  

There are quite a number of differences between Bismarck and Tirpitz, the midships superstructure is quite a bit different, as well as the torpedoe tubes, radar, antiaircraft fit, all mentioned. A kitbash could be done but....

The new Revell Bismarck kit is (from what I've seen) quite a bit better detailed, but if you're going to do photoetch most of that detail will need to be filed away for the better pe doors, hatches, the cranes and catapults, radar, etc, will all be replaced anyway. So If I were doing an out of box build I would probably choose the Revell kit. If I were going to add all the aftermarket detail sets I would go for the Tamiya. 

Just my opinion. 

You will find varied reports of the new Revell kit, some pro and some con. I personally like the new offering and sold my Tamiya kit on eBay after buying the Revell version. As for converting it into Tirpitz, you should not only look at the light AA differences but also the different radar fits and gun director fits, especially aft. Bismarck did not carry after "Wobble Pots" while Tirpitz did. You will also find that the midships cranes were carried one deck higher on Tirpitz and that Tirpitz carried torpedo tubes on deck while Bismark did not. I do not know whether these were removed later in her career, but it was a commissioning difference.  You might get by by converting the Revell kit into Tirpitz by "kit bashing" it with the Tamiya kit.

Bill Morrison

Thanks for the links. I somehow missed them when I was searching around.

Now to go find a review of the new Revell Bismarck.....

Well, there are some differences between the two ships, but not a lot (more light AA on Tirpitz as I recall).  For a weapons layout of Tirpitz over time, please look here:

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/technicallayout/armament/tirpitz/armament_tirpitz.html

And for Bismarck, look here:

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/technicallayout/armament/bismarck/armament_bismarck.html

Actually, you should probably look through the whole website, as it will tell you just about anything you want to know about these two ships....