Tom's ModelWorks 1/350 German Photo-Etch Railings

TOM'S MODELWORKS
GERMAN 1/350 PHOTO-ETCH RAILINGS
Set 3599 - 3bar Rails/Set 35101 - German WW1 Rails

Reviewed by Martin J Quinn
February 2026

Tom’s Modelworks has sent us two different sets of 1/350 photo-etch railings for German ships to check out:

3599: German 3 bar railings
35101: German WW1 Rails

Both sets come in the usual Tom's Modelworks packaging.

TOM'S MODEL WORK SET 3599

There is one fret included. As per Tom's website: 1/350 scale three-wire rails as used on large German ships in both World War 1 and World War 2. Stanchions are relief-etched for better definition. Research has shown that these rails are different from standard US and Royal navy three-wire rails. Enough main deck railing is provided for a Bismarck-sized model. The wire rails are relief-etched on one side with the stanchions thicker than the wire.

Included in this set are:

- 3-bar rails with drooped chain
- 3-bar rails with tighter chain
- 3-bar pipe rails (superstructure)
- Vertical ladders

As mentioned above, on one side of the fret, the stanchions are relief etched. Make sure you have that side of the fret installed facing out on your model!

INSTRUCTIONS

Instructions are one page, showing the different styles of rails. It includes a photo of Bismarck for reference.

TOM'S MODEL WORK SET 35101

Same as above, there is one fret included. As per Tom's website: Some World War 1 German battleships and battlecruisers carried two-wire railing such as this set in 1/350 scale provides. Others carried three-wire rails as in set 3599. Research has shown that battleships Ostfriesland, Westfalen, Helgoland, Prinzregent Luitpold, Friedrich der Grosse, Konig Albert, Kaiser and Markgraf all carried this two wire style of rails. Others may have also. Battlecruisers Seydlitz, Goeben, Derflinger and Hindenburg also carried two-wire rails, but, for instance, Moltke had three-wire rails. The wire rails are relief-etched on one side with the stanchions thicker than the wire.

There are seven different items on this fret, including:

- 2-bar main deck railings, with drooped chains
- 2-bar pipe rails for the superstructure
- 2-bar pipe rails with "canvas dodgers"
- 3-bar pipe rails for the superstructure
- 3-bar pipe rails with "canvas dodgers"
- Vertical ladders
- Main deck entryways & leadsmen's platforms

As with set 3599, on one side of the fret, the stanchions are relief etched. Make sure you have that side of the fret installed facing out on your model!

INSTRUCTIONS
Instructions are both sides of one piece of paper, showing the various railing and explaining where they go, plus a few photos for reference.

CONCLUSIONS

These two sets of German photo-etch railings are very well done. I really like the relief etching, the canvas dodgers, and the attention to detail that is shown in the different types of rails provided. I also like how it's called out in the instructions where the rails are intended to go on the ships. Anyone building German WW1 or WW2 heavy units will find these railings extremely useful, especially for the 1/350 ICM and Combrig World War 1 kits that don't come with photo-etch. Highly recommended!

These sets retail for $20.00 USD each, which I think is a great price.

3599: 1/350 German Battleship and Cruiser Rails $20.00 USD
35101: 1/350 German WW1 Battleship and Battlecruiser rails $20.00 USD

These sets are available directly from Tom's Modelworks, whom I'd like to thank for this review sample.