The Big One... Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck 1940 build

[NigelR32]

Yep, there's clearly a center window there. One more thing Trumpeter missed...

This is what I don't understand. Okay, this is a minor detail, but it's there. Sometimes I wonder how those kits are designed, who is responsible, etc. etc.

I mean, I can understand that they may have the wrong planking here and there, but things like this or the mis-placed stem anchor hawsehole can be seen in photos that are readily available, no secrets here. Is it really more difficult to get things right than wrong?

I have that beast added to my stash fleet on my attic. With all the threads here reporting ooopsies on the kit, will I ever dare to attempt?

Happy pondering ~ Olaf!

I fully agree with you here Olaf, but we must consider a couple of points.... This kit is cheaper than some 1/350 Battleships today and Trumpeter have got the overall shape of things right. (Unlike the 1/350 Hornet hull). personally, I would rather have to do a little fun work to accurise a kit than pay double for a spot on accurate kit.

Hey, if it wasn't for these Forums, most of us would probably never notice these issues.

[Timmy C]

Trumpeter made a lot of the parts 1 piece but that caused many details to be skewed and warped in those areas. Most of these problems wouldn't have occurred if they had moded the pieces in seperate sections like a traditional kit.

It sure isn't the first time: did it with the angled bridge parts that are on the England DE kit too - http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/sh ... 635-Ad.jpg

[Channell]

Trumpeter made a lot of the parts 1 piece but that caused many details to be skewed and warped in those areas. Most of these problems wouldn't have occurred if they had moded the pieces in seperate sections like a traditional kit.

It sure isn't the first time: did it with the angled bridge parts that are on the England DE kit too - http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/sh ... 635-Ad.jpg

What I don't understand is how well Trumpeter did the Arizona in the same scale vs the Bismarck! The only place warping was even a slight issue on the Arizona were the portholes on the rounded former hull 5" gunports towards the bow and stern... and even they weren't so bad, all things considered. That kit went together beautifully but not so much this time...

[Timmy C]

Arizona had the benefit of having portholes on an angled surface only at the lower 5"/51 level at the base of the forward superstructure, so there were a lot fewer opportunities for them to screw up. Not that this excuses them - as Tracy noted elsewhere, the hull torpedo bulge could've been much more accurate.

[Channell]

Jason Vs the Conning Tower round 2:

[Perth_shipyard]

It is just a kit at the end of the day. As we've found out even I the portholes we're perfect and all the doors are where they should be, there would still be things missing depending on what period we build a ship. Like Jason, I personally enjoy the adding of detail and fixing incorrect parts. Otherwise it's just like making a Lego toy then painting it.

Just my two cents worth, now back to making speaking pipes and fire control switches for the bridge

[BobaFettSlave_1]

jump too 5:11 for a nice shot of the windows http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcidoKLbIZ0

Dana

[Plastic Habit]

Thanks for the vid link BobaFett.

Perth's observation along with the vid, it definitively helped answer my question, in the 1941 forum, about the bridge shelter doors on the wings.

[Channell]

Still putting away on the Bismarck:



I am still waiting for my wood strips but the more I watch Perth's build the more I want to hold off on things until I get a decent PE set myself.

Still, I figure I can at least get the portholes replaced and do some fixing/upgrading on the superstructure. Here's where I am now:







And the conning tower, with my structural alterations nearly done.



At first I tried to save the molded wire detail but I've nearly accepted the fact that I'm not gonna be able to replace the portholes and save it, so I need to figure out a good way to replace it. That might not be such a bad thing detail-wise, as the molded stuff is faint and unconvincing anyway... though unless the aftermarket comes to my rescue it's gonna be a pain to replace.

[Perth_shipyard]

Looking brilliant Jason!

You can always make up the hoops for the anchors

[Channell]

There's no shortage of things to tweak and add, that's for sure! I might not be done with this ship before I retire, and that's in 30 years.

[NigelR32]

Nice work Jason, those portholes look great!!

I notice in the video shoots that there is a wall inside the door on the conning tower. You could add this if you're looking for something to do? I also think the bulges in the hull where the anchors sit are too small on the kit. What say you?

The hole for the third anchor on the bow is in the wrong place and the shape of the area at the extreme top of the bow is mishapen. I don't know what this area is called, is it shaped to allow ropes to be tied around it?

[Channell]

Nice work Jason, those portholes look great!!

I notice in the video shoots that there is a wall inside the door on the conning tower. You could add this if you're looking for something to do? I also think the bulges in the hull where the anchors sit are too small on the kit. What say you?

The hole for the third anchor on the bow is in the wrong place and the shape of the area at the extreme top of the bow is mishapen. I don't know what this area is called, is it shaped to allow ropes to be tied around it?

Yep, I plan on adding that wall too. The conning tower is actually 2 rooms:



so it wouldn't be right to be able to see straight through it.

I've been working on the bow too; I've already relocated the center anchor hawse pipe. I had my first "oopsie" there a couple of weeks ago; I was trying to maneuver the hull carefully to protect my step-ups on the stern and whacked the bow, breaking off the center protrusion (I don't know what it's called either... are they fairleads? ). I rebuilt it with styrene and putty; I'll get some pics up as soon as it's presentable.



After getting the protrusions the right shape, I'll bridge them with two small rectangular pieces of styrene to get the full effect.

The other two anchor hawse bulges are somewhat wrong too; they appear to be too small. I was planning on masking them off after I attach the deck and reworking them along with the seam. After filling the seam it might just take a couple extra layers of primer to build it up to scale...

[NigelR32]

Looks like you're ahead of me Jason!!

If you study the video shots of Bismarck as she lies today you may notice that those pieces across the top of the (fairleads) are more than just square pieces of steel. Maybe they come in the PE sets??

Did I notice in a recent film that they are now missing??

[Channell]

Looks like you're ahead of me Jason!!

If you study the video shots of Bismarck as she lies today you may notice that those pieces across the top of the (fairleads) are more than just square pieces of steel. Maybe they come in the PE sets??

Did I notice in a recent film that they are now missing??

I don't think they are on the wreck anymore... but they are ungodly small at 1/200 scale so I doubt PE would really add much more detail than .020 styrene would.

Damn,I wish I had a PE set already!!!

[Perth_shipyard]

they're both bow towing fairleads. The item on top is basically a snatch lock, so rather than having the sailors feed the towing cable through the fairlead they just open the latch place the cable in and shut the lock over it. It would have been rated to a certain weight so it wouldn't snap off easily.

Think of a simple padlock latch on a garden door and increase the size and make it out of cast Iron and wallah.

[Perth_shipyard]

bow towing fairleads on the wreck.

[BobaFettSlave_1]

Looks like you're ahead of me Jason!!

If you study the video shots of Bismarck as she lies today you may notice that those pieces across the top of the (fairleads) are more than just square pieces of steel. Maybe they come in the PE sets??

Did I notice in a recent film that they are now missing??

I don't think they are on the wreck anymore... but they are ungodly small at 1/200 scale so I doubt PE would really add much more detail than .020 styrene would.

Damn,I wish I had a PE set already!!!

They're still on the wreck, one is as it should be while the other is flipped upwards, but like you said they're ungodly small. I doubt they're going anywhere in the next 50 or so years unless something stupid like what happened to Titanic's crows nest happens. Jump to 7:27 if your interested in seeing them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQCSo7TJGo

Yeah, like you I'm really waiting for a real nice super detail kit for my build before pressing much further (hence the lack of updates). I contacted LionRoar about a week ago asking if they were planning anything, and so far no response. The KA kit is really nice and all, especially the main mast and decking, but after seeing what LionRoar did with their 1/350 Bismarck Super Detail up kit, it just pales in comparison. So I cant justify that huge price in the KA kit for the lack of detail that's still missing overall.

Dana

[Perth_shipyard]

I'm not sure about pales in comparison.... Extra doors would be nice to allow the modeller to open some up but apart from some items missing, which is always missed...

[Channell]

They're still on the wreck, one is as it should be while the other is flipped upwards, but like you said they're ungodly small. I doubt they're going anywhere in the next 50 or so years unless something stupid like what happened to Titanic's crows nest happens. Jump to 7:27 if your interested in seeing them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrQCSo7TJGo

Yeah, like you I'm really waiting for a real nice super detail kit for my build before pressing much further (hence the lack of updates). I contacted LionRoar about a week ago asking if they were planning anything, and so far no response. The KA kit is really nice and all, especially the main mast and decking, but after seeing what LionRoar did with their 1/350 Bismarck Super Detail up kit, it just pales in comparison. So I cant justify that huge price in the KA kit for the lack of detail that's still missing overall.

Dana

I just can't justify the huge price!

Hopefully the wreck gets left alone, unlike the Titanic. I doubt we'll see Leo and Kate in an insanely popular movie so that will probably help. Somebody needs to make James Cameron go back there and clean up all his fiber optic lines though; I think I saw a couple of them on the 3D history videos.

Anyway, we've got all the time in the world to build this monster, so there is no rush.

That's what I keep telling myself anyway! Hopefully future PE sets will try to outdo KA.