Titanic

[Black Country Mon]

Hello I'm looking for a little advice. I am trying to decide on building the Trumpeter Titanic 1/200, but have also read reviews on the Minicraft Titanic 1/350. As anyone built either of these kits and what are the opinions. Also noticed the Trumpeter Titanic as a upgrade kit, does the Minicraft. 

Thanks for any advice.

[Mark Harmsworth]

Oops. You should ask in the ship area - not here which is for non-modelling help issues. Big loud banner says so.

[Mike]

59 minutes ago, Mark Harmsworth said:

Big loud banner says so.

He's right.  We'll forego the ritual beating and public flogging because you're new though.  You might want to read the headers to the forums on occasion though.  Especially the red ones

[Killingholme]

The answer to your question depends on a few factors such as modelling experience, commitment to accurate detail etc etc.

 

I've built the Minicraft 1/350. It is an old kit, but well loved by the modelling community. There are loads of build logs available online (e.g. http://www.titanicmodel.net/build.html) and there is a lot of aftermarket available for it. Unlike more modern kits I'd suggest you really DO need to use quite a bit of etched brass aftermarket to make a model to modern standards.

 

Trumpeter 1/200 is massive and very expensive. Great if visual impact is your main aim. I've long held that larger scales are best if you're new to ship modelling, so long as you pick a subject that you are confident you can see through to completion! You could complete this kit to a good standard straight from the box, but there are some areas where shape and accuracy is called in to question and some inexplicably missing details. General consensus online seems to be it fits together well. Again, there's loads of aftermarket available, (of course at exponentionally more cost than that available for smaller scale kits). You could probably spend more on it than my car is worth!

 

Another option worth considering is the Academy 1/400. It's a well fitting kit, decently sized, and there's lots of aftermarket available for it. It seems to get overlooked due to the odd scale, but it's worth considering. It's been re-boxed by Airfix and Revell in the past. There's also a premium (?) edition which includes a basic etched set, and some versions with LED lighting kits, if that's your sort of thing. In my view the moulding somehow lacks the 'character' of the positively ancient Minicraft moulding- which is something I find very difficult to put in to words- but is certainly a lot easier to put together without recourse to loads of aftermarket etch.

 

Will