Phil Reeder Posted February 12, 2011 Posted February 12, 2011 (edited) To the Royal Navy ,this class of German destroyer,were known as the "Narvik"class,,this was because they were built to replace the losses incurred to the Kreigsmarine destroyer force at the Battle of Narvik.They were very large ships,almost twice the tonnage of a RN destroyer,and armed with 15cms (5.9") guns,on paper they were formidable fighting ships.However ,they suffered a number if defects,for a start they had unreliable engines,which were prone to breakdowns,and also, they were bad seaboats,making the handling of the large-calibre shells difficult.Having said that ,like all German warships from that time,they were cracking looking ships. I was very pleased that two kits of these fine-looking vessels,are due to be released,Z-39 from Dragon ,and the subject of this WIP ,Z-25 from Trumpeter.Trumpy was first passed the post (in the UK)with their offering.At £26.99 ,it represents excellent value for money(I think the DML kit will be about £64).As I have indicated an excellent review on MW website ,in another post ,I will not go into a detailed review of the kit here,just get on and build the thing! Cheers Phil After first glueing the main decks in place,and I used masking tape to mark out the waterline,I removed the lower hull using a circular saw attachment on my Dremel. After painting the upper hull (Hellgrau 51),and decks(Dark Gray),I made the seascape by my usual method A sample of the quad 20mm,and 37mm flak guns ,using the kit PE for the shields. The twin 15cms turret has been made,and put in its location hole Model Boats mag ,ran a series of articles on Z39 ,which is proving useful for the Z25 build as well Edited February 13, 2011 by Phil Reeder
moaning dolphin Posted February 12, 2011 Posted February 12, 2011 Good to see you cracking on with this Phil, it caught my eye earlier and boy am I tempted. MWS has a review of the Dragon offering and quoting about 50 bucks which is around 37 quid, so again seems like good value for money. Looking forward to seeing this one progressing! Cheers now Bob
Phil Reeder Posted February 13, 2011 Author Posted February 13, 2011 (edited) Just some more pics of my progess so far.I really like this kit! Cheers Phil Another referance source is the Warship volumn 1 from the 70`s,it has many line drawings of DKM destroyers ,that cost £2 in a second-hand book ,worth every penny! a view of the back-end ,I`ve started to add the small deck details The two single aft 15cm guns ,you get no less then eight in the kit ,along with two twin turrets as well,helps my spares-lock no end. Edited February 13, 2011 by Phil Reeder
Shar2 Posted February 13, 2011 Posted February 13, 2011 Looking great Phil, I have one on order which I should receive on Monday. BTW what base boards do you use for your seascapes?
Phil Reeder Posted February 13, 2011 Author Posted February 13, 2011 Looking great Phil, I have one on order which I should receive on Monday. BTW what base boards do you use for your seascapes? I alway MDF 15mm in depth.I go to Homebase and buy a large sheet of it,and get them to cut into strips of various widths,(thats Free) Cheers Phil
sinnerboy Posted February 13, 2011 Posted February 13, 2011 How do you do your sea-scape Phil? looks flippin good
Shar2 Posted February 13, 2011 Posted February 13, 2011 Just seen THIS of Fleabay. Why anyone whould buy from here when you can get the same kit for £26.99 or less from retailers I'll never know.
Phil Reeder Posted February 13, 2011 Author Posted February 13, 2011 Just seen THIS of Fleabay. Why anyone whould buy from here when you can get the same kit for £26.99 or less from retailers I'll never know. Some folks have more money than sense!! Phil
Phil Reeder Posted February 15, 2011 Author Posted February 15, 2011 (edited) I`ve finished the deck details ,and have moved on to the forward bridge structure .I was impressed by the exact fit of all the parts,only a very small amount of filler was needed.However the insides of the two bridge decks contained no detailing ,what-so-ever,so I did what I could to fill this area.No doubt ,the Dragon Z-39,will have full detail in these places. Bye Phil This show the detail ,on the insides of the bridge decks. I airbrushed the bridge ,using the Valleyo No 990.It went on well another view.Again the fit was excellent ,even the support struts fitted perfectly Edited February 15, 2011 by Phil Reeder
johndon Posted February 15, 2011 Posted February 15, 2011 Nice work so far Phil. No doubt ,the Dragon Z-39,will have full detail in these places. No doubt it will but it'll probably involve 50 microscopic pieces John
Phil Reeder Posted February 16, 2011 Author Posted February 16, 2011 (edited) I`ve made a start on the aft deckhouse.This went together really well,needing only a small amount of filler.The bridge area is almost done,just the radar aerial to be added nearer completion.IMO ,this is one the best Trumpy warship kits I have built,if the Queen Elizabeth is up to this standard,then I`ll be very happy!! Bye Phil The aft deckhouse primed and test fitted. I`ve added six liferafts to the bridge per side ,although the instructions only say four,however ,I`ve found a photo of the Z-25 in drydock ,and it clearly shows six. Edited February 24, 2011 by Phil Reeder
Phil Reeder Posted February 20, 2011 Author Posted February 20, 2011 The two funnels have been done,I wondered if the funnel caps were silver ,as they were when these vessels were completed,but looking at the pic of Z-25 in drydock ,they seem to have been painted the Lt grey ,like the rest of the superstructure.Many smaller fittings for the aft deckhouse have been added.I`ve used the kit PE for the vertical ladders,doesn`t seem to be bad at all.I replaced the plastic kit supports for the aft deckhouse ,with some brass rod.It`s beginning to look like a "Narvik" now. Bye Phil
Phil Reeder Posted February 22, 2011 Author Posted February 22, 2011 It`s nearly done now.All the guns are in place,and I`ve made a start on the masts,which are very fine,and need careful handling.I`ve tried to make the blast covers for the 150mm gums from Das clay,with a small amount of PVA glue to help the das adhere to the opening Bye Phil
Phil Reeder Posted February 24, 2011 Author Posted February 24, 2011 The completed thingy is on RFI here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=64867 cheers ,Phil
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