Reviews : Tamiya British Prince of Wales Battleship Boat

The kit I purchased was an older one that only had a single bomber but even then flash and extra mold pieces were miniscule so it went together really well. BEWARE though as the instructions show you how to use a hot iron to melt/crimp the pins of the gun turrets underneath the deck to allow for secure fit yet allow for rotation. This is well after the instruction to glue hull to waterline base so actually impossible by this stage, TIP add base to hull late in the build. Biplane near impossible so suggest rig something like a strut to separate upper and lower wings as very difficult to keep them perfectly parallel. As stated mine was an older kit with full Japanese instructions so in places difficult to understand assembly steps and actual colors so I created my own color scheme. Using a few wood colors and short strokes managed to create a realistic looking wooden deck without the need for the aftermarket kit so pretty pleased with that. TIP #2, use guitar string/wire as a spacer between the bomber and deck of the ship to very good affect (I also use this for antenna on 1/35 scale armor model kits).

This kit depicts the King George V-class battleship 'Prince of Wales', as she appeared near the end of her short career at the 'Battle of Malaya', shortly after Pearl Harbor. This is a very straightforward kit to assemble; parts detach easily from the molds and even the tiniest parts can be handled using tweezers. Smaller replicas of 'Nell' and 'Betty'-type Japanese bombers are included with wires & platforms. The planes can either be depicted with wheels down or airborne as another poster showed in the photos. You will need wire cutters or something similar to cut them for attaching the planes; I actually had to go to a model shop & show them what I was doing so they could find the right tool to use! In the end, I am more than satisfied with the result.

I used a different camo scheme than dipicted on the box and paint instructions. Was a nice ship to build, but I did not include the Japanese planes in the build as I put the ship and the Repulse in a small diorama with an E-class destroyer.