The first thing you hear about this kit is how freaking huge it is. It's big, true... but it's not too wild and crazy, all things considered:
for size comparison:
1/72 Revell Gato
1/200 Trumpeter Bismark
1/200 Trumpeter USS Arizona
1/350 Revell Tirpitz
Here are some general kit pictures:
The model compares favorably with Trumpeter's other 1/200 offering, the Arizona. Detail is crisp and fit is excellent. I am normally not a fan of molded-on stuff as it usually looks bad but most of it actually works here! The only molded detail that I don't like and want to replace so far are the porthole shields and porthole "eyebrows" as well as the bar steps on the stern and gun turrets/superstructure.
The hull itself is very "In the rough" compared to most plastic ships; the connection points for the interior braces show through to the outside and need to be sanded down, plus there are heavy mold lines to sand as well. The hull is nearly devoid of detail too... but at least hard core rivet counters will have a clean slate to add exactly the right number of rivets onto it.
Unlike other ships I've built, the kit engineerings makes assembling the superstructure almost too easy; the pieces are molded together and stack up like lego blocks. This saves a lot of seam work; in fact the only major real seams on the whole ship that need work to hide are from the the weird cutout on the bow ... I suppose it was a necessary evil to get the hull to come out of the mold.
Don't think building this ship is gonna be any easier though... the box says there there are 1800+ parts. I didn't count but I don't doubt it! This is a HUGE job which will keep the average builder busy for months... if not years !!
Monolithic molding creates other problems too... all the portholes on angled parts are likewise angled so they could come out of the molds and aren't straight. Some are misshappen, especially on the curved parts like the bow or in the superstructure around the secondary guns. It's probably gonna be more work to fix the portholes than it would be to assemble the superstructure in pieces!
Speaking of guns... they are plastic. I also bought the detail-up kit from Trumpeter even though it makes me mad that it's an obvious money grab; there is no good reason those parts couldn't have been part of the standard kit. Trumpeter did the same thing on the Arizona
They are almost necessary for a good looking ship as the plastic ones leave a lot to be desired. At least Trumpeter gave us PE instead of plastic "Aztec steps" in the standard kit like the Arizona had.My other big gripe about the model is the deck. The plank pattern is wrong, nothing on the deck is "boxed out" in the planks like the real boat and the area under the anchor chains is just plain plastic when it should at least be scribed with plank lines. Perhaps Trumpeter figured we'd all slap wooden decks on our Bismarcks so they didn't bother? It's a bit frustrating because I prefer to paint decks to look like wood but the deck here is just too subpar to accept as-is.
All and all, it's what I'm starting to expect from this company... brilliance and blatant stupidity all rolled up into one. But if you are patient enough to fix the errors and follow through to the end, you will have a jaw dropping piece. I couldn't help but notice one company online is selling completed handbuilt 1/200 Bismarck models for over $12,000... this kit has the potential to outshine that offering for only a few hundred bucks... and a few hundred hours!
