by Robert Apfelzweig
1/350 DKM Tirpitz 1943 (Tamiya)
About four years ago when I decided to re-enter the world of model shipbuilding (after about 40 years of attending to other matters), I purchased a number of the "standard" 1:350 model warships by Trumpeter and Tamiya from various sources before actually settling down to build one. I obtained this Tamiya 1/350 Tirpitz through eBay as a kit that had been started by someone who apparently then lost interest in it. They had assembled part of the bridge and glued it in a misaligned way to the deck, and so I had to break it apart and reassemble it in the course of building this kit. I purchased the Tom's Modelworks photoetch set but soon found that it did not have enough railing for the entire kit, and so I ordered a similar and more extensive set from Gold Medal Models (a vendor to whom I have returned time and again with subsequent kits). This kit represented my first attempts at using stretched sprue for rigging (it took a bit of experimentation to learn how to heat the plastic so that I could get the right thickness as I drew apart the two sprue ends), and I painted the ship in Tamiya's recommended camouflage scheme before I had access to an airbrush system. Had I built this ship today, I would have ordered brass gun barrels, which were not widely available when I built the kit. I would rather keep the plastic barrels than have to break off the primary and secondary gun turrets in order to upgrade. All in all, though, I am quite pleased with my efforts, and have learned quickly (thanks to this website and a few others) how to improve my growing 1/350 navy.
