INDIANAPOLIS, WHICH KIT?

Down Time

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 17, 2022
Messages
836
Looking to do a 1/350 Indianapolis, which is the better kit, Academy or Trumpeter?
 
I have seen neither kit in person, but I will say having the 1/800 Kitty Hawk and vs Trumpeter kits, details wise, I would normally go with trumpeter

The thing that gives me pause though is that this a a recent tooling from Academy. They have really stepped up their game in recent years. I know many of their recent aircraft toolings are excellent quality

So seeing what I could find, came across this

Oddly enough, it looks like Academy did a Trumpeter style model better than Trumpeter

http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/ships/ca/ca-35/Compare-Acad-vs-Trump/index.htm

The big plus for me with the Academy kit is the water line hull option split at the water line where Trumpeter, who normally does that went with a split down the middle full hull meaning you have to deal with a potential seam down the middle.
While I prefer waterline hulls, I guess if doing a full hull, you may still have to deal with a seam at the water line on the Academy kit, but I would find that easier

The rest of the ship seems to have pros and cons for both but It also seems the Academy kit generally wins out on some if the finer detail stuff

Also with the Academy kit it apparently included some parts making it possible to build the older version of it, or possibly are parts that could be used for building the sister ship USS Portland
 
You're gonna need a bigger boat...

Seriously, though-I don't know if you're interested in books on the USS Indianapolis and her sinking, but I recommend "In Harm's Way", by Doug Stanton.
 
Last edited:

Latest posts

Back
Top