Tamiya TMYTAM78015 TIRPITZ Scale Model

Arrived on time and in perfect condition

Having built the Tamiya Battleship Bismarck, I thought that building the Tirpitz would be a lot easier. Not so. It is almost the same as the Bismarck but not exactly. A few areas are different and you have to be careful. I found that painting a lot of the tiny pieces (such as the tiny guns) was helpful. In fact, I painted most of the large items as well this time before they were detached from the Sprue. Once again, items flip up and disappear into the carpet. No damaged parts in either kit I am glad to say but remember, quite a lot of the parts are very small and difficult to handle. You will find you remember a lot of words you thought you had grown out of as a youngster. They kept cropping up from time to time (I managed to avoid any of the family hearing me). You will also have to keep an eye on the plans because there are some 1mm holes to be drilled and they are not that easy to spot. I have found that my eyesight at 72 is not quite the same as it was when I was a regular builder so I have to be very careful when I detach parts and not to cut them too close. Trim them afterwards rather than find you have severed something you should not have done. Overall, 5 star rating for this ship. The box is beautiful showing the quality of the whole thing. Well worth the money.

The box alone told that this was going to be a quality model. The moulding on this is exceptional, I could not see flash on any of the sprues. The plastic is a good standard. Going to take time on this one and it would certainly deserve all the aftermarket parts which is my plan. Opted for Tirpitz over her sister ship Bismark as anything relating to the latter is almost always more expensive. I would strongly recommend this for the price!

This is a great kit but it was first released in 1979, and the Bismarck its based on in 78, so it's a bit dated now. It's not as detailed or accurate as more modern kits. It was a top of the range kits at the time, the mold has held up well and some parts have been updated over the years so it is a lot better than a lot of kits of it's age. It has a single piece hull which is always nice but the hull is lacking detail and the prow is the same as Bismarck's when it reality Tirpitz had a redesigned bow, and was slightly longer as a result. The deck detail is somewhat lacking too. If you're looking for a big cheap ship this is a good option but if you're looking for a really great Tirpitz get the Revell version. It's only slightly more expensive, is much newer (2009), has more detail, is more accurate, includes a full set of plastic railings and goes together very well. It still has it's own inaccuracies and doesn't have a single piece hull but over all is a much better kit.

Tremendous quality. Didn't have to file down any of the mouldings to make them fit flush. Seems to be rather more robust than my previous model, Prince of Wales: I haven't broken any small parts due to clumsy fingers. Challenging paint job. Looking really good, however. Delivery took about 10 days...not bad, considering it was sent from Osaka, Japan!! Instructions are clear, and are set out logically. You'll need a 1mm drill to add some holes to the decks. Enjoy!!

Just some general observation from unboxing it. It is clearly a very detailed kit and certainly not aimed at the novice (which I am). On a skill level of 1 - 5, it is definitely aimed at the 4 or 5 end of the scale. The number of parts are quite extensive and it will certainly take many, many hours to complete. I am anticipating months - doing small amounts of filing, painting, sanding, filling, etc as I go along. I am just getting back into modelling, having not built one for around 30 years. I have bought a couple of AirFix Starter Kits (Skill Levels 1 and 2) and will make my mistakes on these, before I attempt the Tirpitz. Given the price of it, I would like to produce something to be proud of. The AirFix kits can be built in a couple of hours and cost less than £10. Also, make sure you have plenty of workspace and somewhere to leave the parts lying around for a long period of time. This is not one you can hijack the dining table for a couple of hours on. In the meantime, I have been reading up on the history of the Tirpitz, as a way of immersing myself more in the build, and getting a lot more out of, than simply cementing some pieces of plastic together. I'm genuinely looking forward to building it.

Very happy with this product looking forward to being able to complete this model arrived on time

I bought this for my husband as he had bought the Bismarck, he loves it! Clear simple instructions. It turned out great!