RN WW2 1/350 kit recommendations (dismissals)

[Redstaff]

Hi all,

After a bit of advice from hopefully the ones in the know

I've been modelling on and off now for 50+ years and I've built loads of aircraft and now I'm into building F1 and rally cars. However, I've always wanted to built a decent size (1/350) Royal Navy ship from WW2, such as Hood, Prince of Wales, King George V, Belfast etc and am after recommendations of which are good kits or which are best avoided, and what aftermarket parts are available and recommended or not worth bothering with so to speak.

1/600 and 1/700 are too small for my aging eyes and sausage fingers, so 1/350 seems the ideal size as anything bigger would be too big to display in my cabinet.

I've got years of modelling experience and have picked up tips and tricks over the years and have all the usual tools etc.

Any advice or links to get my head around building something like this much appreciated

Many thanks

Ian  

[socjo1]

Hi Ian, maybe it is worth wait a few weeks for Trumpeter's Dido anti aircraft cruiser class? Renders are very promising, and Didos were very interesting ships.

There are mamy fantastic 3D-printed aftermarket sets, it is fast-growing family. Look for producers like Micromaster, Black Cat Models or Swordfish models.

Regards, Michal

Edited June 28, 2024 by socjo1

[Redstaff]

Thanks Michal

That's an option to think about, but I'll probably stick with one of the 4 above as i have read about them in the past and that gives me a bit more interest. At the minute i'm leaning towards Hood or Belfast 🤔

Once ive picked a victim ill have a search around and see what detail sets there are, I'm assuming deck, barrels and PE are the usual options?

thanks

ian 

[73north]

for my money - Tamiya Prince of Wales ( 1986 Tool ) 1/350 scale - plenty of aftermarket available 

Eduard etch is great , if you want a museum quality etch set - the Pontos set is the one to go for 

 

above all , easily obtainable , and fits together like a dream , I still have my kit , I made from 1991 .

Edited June 28, 2024 by 73north

[Redstaff]

28 minutes ago, 73north said:

for my money - Tamiya Prince of Wales ( 1986 Tool ) 1/350 scale - plenty of aftermarket available 

Eduard etch is great , if you want a museum quality etch set - the Pontos set is the one to go for 

 

above all , easily obtainable , and fits together like a dream , I still have my kit , I made from 1991 .

That's not a bad shout, I'd forgotten about the POW kit. I'll have a look into it over the weekend 😀

Ian 

[Tegethoff]

Battleships:
King George Class - Tamiya has two models King George V and Prince of Wales. Both are mid 1980's releases. They go together very smoothly but are showing their age. Pontos do fantastic after market kits - one for each of the battleships - but they are 2x the price of the base model. Eduard do more limited photo etch. I've only used the Pontos kit which was a fantastic set, but the AA guns were complicated. 

Queen Elizabeth Class Trumpeter do Queen Elizabeth and Warspite, Academy do Warspite. The Pontos kit is for Academy's model. Flyhawk do kits for both. Haven't built this. 

Nelson Class - none. Dragon have one due for release later this year. Trumpeter have had one waiting to be released for years.

Battlecruisers:

Hood - Trumpeter released one around 2010 - its hull needs a bit of fitting to go together but there are Flyhawk and  White Ensign kits. It is also big. 

Repulse -Trumpeter do a kit. I haven't seen many reviews. 

[k7rkx]

10 hours ago, 73north said:

for my money - Tamiya Prince of Wales ( 1986 Tool ) 1/350 scale - plenty of aftermarket available 

Eduard etch is great , if you want a museum quality etch set - the Pontos set is the one to go for 

 

above all , easily obtainable , and fits together like a dream , I still have my kit , I made from 1991 .

I would concur with this recommendation. I've had a little burst of 1/350 modelling recently and am in the process of building POW. It's fit is as good as some of the more recent kits. Yes, some detail is lacking, but overall it's great. I've used the eduard sets for railings and details (the cranes are the worst part of the kit). If you want to invest more, then micromaster gun directors are great and I've used black cat pom poms. There are plenty of wooden decks out there.

 

I did build the Trumpy Repulse many years ago and that was really nice and it comes with all the pe railings.

 

Finally, if it's of interest, the Trumpy Cornwall was a nice kit, again, it comes with pe railings.

 

 

 

Edited June 29, 2024 by k7rkx
More detail

[Vlad]

The old Tamiya 1/350 PoW also has my vote. Goes together very well and looks pretty sharp. Does need dressing up in some photo etch to get a good level of detail by modern standards, but the Eduard set is quite accessible and easy to use. Others, like Pontos, may be more thorough in detail but also probably harder to work with.

 

Tha Trumpeter 1/350 kits of Hood and Repulse are OK. Their fit isn't great as they pre-date Trumpeter using slide-molding; many deckhouses are split with sides as separate pieces resulting in a lot of seams, and they have some accuracy issues. However they do build into nice large models that ultimately look good (I'm a rivet counter on Repulse in particular so I am more critical of that one).

 

And in general, ignore kit painting instructions and follow appropriate researched sources, such as this for PoW:

 

[Redstaff]

Thanks for all of the replies and suggestions, much appreciated 🙏 

Looks like the concensus for a first dabble in 350th is Tamiya POW with an Eduard set and maybe decking?

Once I've cleared the bench I'll start looking at gathering some bits together 

Cheers

Ian 😀 

[Vlad]

Just don't bother trying to build Eduard's pom-poms 🤣 the kit parts are OK especially since the shields cover a lot of it (which is accurate), or replace with 3D printed ones if you feel like dabbling in that.

[Rich75]

The Tamiya King George V and Prince of Wales get my vote too, I'm midway through my KGV, the base kits are pretty basic by today's standard but the amount of aftermarket parts available is amazing. I've used a lot of the Eduard PE on mine but if I was to do it again  I'd go the 3d printed route for a lot of it especially the gun directors and anti aircraft weapons, micromasters or black cats pom-poms and oerlikons really make a difference. The Pontos sets are extensive but both are for the Prince of Wales kit and one builds an early version of King George V, it's not for the KGV kit. I'm a big fan of the KGV class so I'd love to see another being built, good luck with whatever you choose, I look forward to seeing it underway...

 

[Redstaff]

Thanks guys for all the recommendations 😀 

The POW kit seems to be the way I'm going to go, any recommendations for the best place to get the aftermarket stuff?

Hannants perhaps, or are there any specialised maritime suppliers like we have for the cars in Spotmodel and Hiroboy. Preferably UK based. Ebay and amazon seem very thin unless you want wooden decks from China or Eduard from Germany.

Thanks again for all your help

Ian 😀 

[Rich75]

I'd go micromasters and black cats for the AA guns and directors personally, eduard make sets for cranes and railings, BNA modelworld is a good source as well, especially for wooden decks. One thing I'd bear in mind is the number of small items you might not think of straight away, things like watertight doors, ladders and scuttles can make a big difference in detail levels. You can disappear down the rabbit hole really quickly on a Capital ship....

 

[k7rkx]

My current POW, I am using -

 

Eduard POW Cranes & Railings set

Eduard POW detail set - both sets are widely available at Hannants etc. I got mine from Eduard direct during one of their sales. If you go on the Eduard website you can look at the instructions to see what parts are included,

Black Cat pom poms (ordered direct from them) - I tried making the etched ones from the Eduard set but gave up and got these - they're great

Micromaster directors - ordered direct. They do the pom poms as well

Hunter Wooden deck - from forevermore1998 on ebay. About £16 with free postage from China. Took about 2 - 3 weeks to arrive. 

[Redstaff]

1 hour ago, k7rkx said:

 

Hunter Wooden deck - from forevermore1998 on ebay. About £16 with free postage from China. Took about 2 - 3 weeks to arrive. 

Thanks for the info, I was looking at these wooden decks from China and wondered if they were any good as they seemed cheap. But if you've used it, I might try one 😀

Are the pom poms and directors just generic RN sets, or are there different versions?

Cheers

Ian 

[foeth]

5 minutes ago, Redstaff said:

Are the pom poms and directors just generic RN sets, or are there different versions?

 

The  pompom directors sets for all(?) KGVs are the Mk IVs. From II to IV differ only a little; you'd need the Mk IVs with the radar antennae (type 282). The four anti-aircraft directors do differ quite visibly between ships of the class, you'd need the HACS Mk IV set for PoW: these are the round directors (also with radar, type 285).

[k7rkx]

13 minutes ago, Redstaff said:

Thanks for the info, I was looking at these wooden decks from China and wondered if they were any good as they seemed cheap. But if you've used it, I might try one 😀

Are the pom poms and directors just generic RN sets, or are there different versions?

Cheers

Ian 

As per what @foeth said re: directors. On Micromaster's website, when you view the products, they list the types of ships the product is applicable for. As for the pom poms, I believe the guns are generic.

 

With regards the wooden decks, I've used that seller for all my decks and have had no issues.

 

Finally, I forgot to mention I got metal 14" gun barrels. Can't remember the make but there a several options out there,

[foeth]

7 minutes ago, k7rkx said:

As for the pom poms, I believe the guns are generic.

 

There are minute changes in the Mk V/VI, but nothing to worry about and does not apply for PoW.... (Once looked into it https://ontheslipway.com/octuple-pompoms-part-ii/ ) For PoW you'd need a quad pompom of Y-turret.

 

 

[Redstaff]

Looks like I need to do a bit of swotting up about POW and the KGV class so I can be a bit more informed when I eventually gather the bits and make a start  

Days gone by I was happy building oob and trusting the manufacturers, but these days, the research and learning makes the builds much more enjoyable, I know a fair amount about F1 and rally cars, but ships aren't my strong point  

 

Ian 

[Rich75]

1 hour ago, k7rkx said:

Finally, I forgot to mention I got metal 14" gun barrels. Can't remember the make but there a several options out there,

Master Model perhaps ? I have a set for my KGV and also the 5.25", really nicely made..

[k7rkx]

52 minutes ago, Rich75 said:

Master Model perhaps ? I have a set for my KGV and also the 5.25", really nicely made..

Yes, I those are the ones!

[Redstaff]

On 01/07/2024 at 10:35, Rich75 said:

You can disappear down the rabbit hole really quickly on a Capital ship....

I think I'm there now........the more research I do, the more confused I seem to get 🤔

Let me take you a little wander through my confused mind and please feel free to chip in and put me on the right path if I stray....

Tamiya POW kit on order.... Easy

Wooden deck on order with chain.....Easy  

10 off 14" metal barrels on order....  Easy ish once I'd figured which were which

All 3 sets of Eduard etch will be ordered when best price sorted 

Now the confusing (for me) parts needed or not, going to build it later version with disruptive camo

8 off twin 5.25 turrets, thinking of going with barrel set and eduard PE rather than 3D as finished builds with kit parts look ok

2 pounder pom poms, I think I'm going down 3D printed route and I think I need 5 off 8 barrel and 1 off 4 barrel for rear turret?

Does every pom pom have it's own Mkiv rangefinder therefore I would need 8, but I can only account for 4 (2 on each side in front of pom poms)

7 off 20mm Oerlikons that will have PE from Eduard kits to spruce up? I assume they're all single barrel?

1 off 40mm Bofors (according to kit instruction) but haven't got a clue where this is or if it is ok or not?

 

Sorry it's a bit of a long thread, but it's my first ship model apart from a glue bomb HMS Fearless 40+ years ago, I want it looking good and correct, but don't want to break the bank so to speak. Plus any UK suppliers/stockists of black cat and micromasters parts to cut down postage would be helpful please 

 

Many thanks

Ian  

 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

8 hours ago, Redstaff said:

1 off 40mm Bofors (according to kit instruction) but haven't got a clue where this is or if it is ok or not?

G'day Ian, AFAIK the single 40mm Bofor was fitted to POW on the quarterdeck, on the centreline very near the stern.

 

8 hours ago, Redstaff said:

7 off 20mm Oerlikons that will have PE from Eduard kits to spruce up? I assume they're all single barrel?

Many RN ships had twin 20mm Oerlikons in powered mountings but I'm guessing that in this case (POW) they would be singles. I'm afraid I don't know where these were fitted though.

8 hours ago, Redstaff said:

Sorry it's a bit of a long thread,

No apology needed. There's nothing wrong with asking members for advice, clarifying points etc.       🙂

 

HTH. Regards, Jeff.

[Rich75]

12 hours ago, Redstaff said:

Let me take you a little wander through my confused mind and please feel free to chip in and put me on the right path if I stray..

I'll do my best, just need to consult one of my books, I wouldn't like to give you the wrong info and I'm slightly out of the loop atm, certainly single barrel 20mm, pretty sure there were only 4 pom-pom directors, I'm thinking 4x8 barrel pom-pom and 2x quad mounts if you're thinking of building the last configuration but I'll have to check. In the meantime I'm sure someone could confirm that.

No need to apologise for long threads, everyone likes to help and give advice, wait till you start building her!

[foeth]

There was indeed one 40mm bofors on the stern, army-style unit (and Kerrison predictor); don't know if this combo is available in print though. Pompom compliment is 5x8 and 1x4 (Y-turret), but only the two pairs on top of the hangars had directors. There initially were tubs between the HACS directors both on the bridge and after director platform for the UP launcher directors, but the former was replaced by the type 271 radar (lantern) and the latter remained empty. She was fitted with 7 single-mount Oerlikons in December 1941, location as in the Tamiya kit, so depends a bit which month you want to build her (think added in South Africa while on her way to Singapore?). Anywhere between July and December 1941 if you are going to add the camouflage and pompoms on the turrets, otherwise overall grey with UP launchers. If you are going to add 3D printed boats on camouflaged version; there was a change in boat compliment compared to as-built after Bismarck destroyed several.