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1:350 Tirpitz kits; Differences?


jagdtiger46

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As far as I can discern, there are at least four 1:350 Tirpitz kits currently available; Tamiya, Academy, Trumpeter, and Revell AG. Aside from the Trumpeter kit, which I believe is new, all all the others just re-pops of the Tamiya kit?

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Guest PetrolGator

I know little about the Academy kit, but I -think- it's similar in age to the old Tamiya kit. That being said:

 

  • Revell kit is the newest, and is surprisingly good. Of the three, this is the best OOB build. The kit also has the most available aftermarket. Depending on how far you want to take it, you can get a ton of photo etch, resin, and wood accessories for this kit.
  • Tamiya kit is cheaper, but far less detailed. It, however, still has excellent fit like most Tamiya offerings. I have this kit with the WEM ultimate photo etch kit, brass barrels, wood deck, Eduard AA offerings, and WEM decks. However, being an older kit, the PE is very, very hard to locate and often times is sold far above its value. I think FreeTimeHobbies still has some in stock. They will not rip you off.

 

Either way, I suggest visiting ModelWarships and checking out many of the excellent builds of both of these kits.

 

I hope that helps.

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I second what PetrolGator said. I have the Revell kit and it is awesome. The detail is enough to work without a PE set, or you can elect to get the minimal and build it to a very fine level. I went all out with mine with three sets of PE and wood deck from Pontos.

I highly recommend the Eduard set for the following reasons.

Revell did not plank the forward anchor chain area of the forecastle; Eduard has this in the PE set.

Open grates along the edge of the AA mounts are included with the Eduard set.

Depth charge racks are included in Eduard. Most of these parts are compatible with both Bismarck and Tirpitz.

Tom’s PE has all the basic PE sets needed for Bismarck or Terpitz and is very affordable.

The Pontos wood deck also includes anchor chain and draft markings.

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As I recall from having the Revell kit; the main deck is molded as all one piece, as opposed to Tamiya which splits the main deck into two or three pieces. Therefore, with the Revell kit, you don't have to deal with deck seams.

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Guest PetrolGator

I'm probably going to bring my Tamiya Bismarck to P-cola when we go visit the in laws. If I do, I'll take pictures for you.

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