The Ship Model Forum

Over the years I think I have built all of the major German Kriegsmarine vessels at least 2-3 times each…
The most beautiful (to my mind) of the capital ships is the Gneisenau: So beautiful and harmonic lines! I have built the ship many years ago, both the old Airfix 1:600 Scharnhorst early version (that looks a lot like Gneisenau), as well as the 1:400 Heller Gneisenau.

My Swedish friend, Ulf Lundberg built a magnificent 1:400 Heller Gneisenau many years back, a model that won a lot of competitions, including Best in Show in the annual Norwegian IPMS championship.
UIf is a true master in using the airbrush as you can see here (take a close look at the decks): http://www.ipmsstockholm.org/magazine/2 ... nau_02.htm
When Ulf and I met this spring, he was quite amused that I liked his Gneisenau so much, but we also agreed that time as well as modeling technique and technology is moving along.
So maybe it was time to build a “modern” Gneisenau.

For a couple of years I have been waiting and praying for Dragon to release a Gneisenau – it should be simple, I thought, as Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are quite similar sister ships…..
Well, for comparison during this project, my Dragon Scharnhorst can be seen here http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... /index.htm

Well, I finally decided I could wait no longer and set you to build my own Gneisenau from a Dragon Scharnhorst – which was anything but easy to find/buy, so when a kit was available from Australia, I went along and bought it!

The picture: Gneisenau as she appeared during Operation Weserübung - well, almost. The drawing seems to be accurate save the foretop which is too high...

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Ultima ratio regum

Are the Scharnhorst and the Gneisenau sister ships?
Well, yes. But still…
Scharnhorst was built first by the Marinewerft Wilhelmshafen. Then Gneisenau followed, built by a different yard, the Deutsche Werke in Kiel.
The more you study the two ships, the more differences you’ll find! And I’m not only talking about the main mast, the catapult/hangar area and the ventilation hatches on deck – no, there seems to be a near endless list of small and bigger differences as you study the material.

What material? There seems to be much less open sources, drawings and pictures on Gneisenau than on Scharnhorst.
I used photo, both from books as well as from Internet as my main source. My main book has been Breyer/Skwiot’s German Capital Ships. Good photos, but I wish they had put in more detailed ones of the Gneisenau like they did with the Panzershiffe…
I have also used Kagero’s book as a main source: Yes, I know there are mistakes there, and I have spotted some of them. Still, all in all, the book and its drawings seem to be a thorough piece of work and the details that can be found in photos are almost always correct displayed in the book.

What Gneisenau to build: The ship was originally built with a raked bow, no funnel cap and an open Admirals Bridge – to mention some of the thing that was later changed. In its life it underwent several modifications, but the largest one – to change the 283mm main guns for 381mm was never realized.
The best known Gneisenau-configuration is perhaps the one shown in the Kagero Book - Gneisenau during Operation Berlin. Still, being a Norwegian, I decided to build my Gneisenau as she looked during the first phase of Operation Weserübung – the invasion of Norway, April 9th 1940. In this guise she and her sister Scharnhorst had a fight with HMS Renown in the Lofoten area before the Germans set speed and disappeared in the storm, Gneisenau with a sustained damage to the FDC and Turret A.

That also means, compared to Kageros Operation Berlin Gneisenau: No tower for 20mm Vierling behind the funnel, longer bridge wings, no observation platform (on top of the upper Rangefinder) and a different radar (FuMO 22, not 27). Other differences will be pinpointed during the build.

Photo:
Gneisenau as built

Gneisenau early 1940: Note MES (Anti Magnetic Cable) along the hull, long bridge wings and no hawse pipe for a bow anchor (there is one in Scharnhorst). However, a sharp bow with openings for mooring cables and fastening points for mooring chains, close to the water line (no such things in the Dragon set, so they will have to be made). No obsevation platform on top of upper Rangefinder

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Ultima ratio regum

Hello Stein!
I'll watch you interested because I will start in a few weeks with the conversion. However, I am building my Gneisenau in the state during the operation "Cerberus". I wish you much success!

Dirk

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UNSERE KRIEGSMARINE!

Dirk!

Yes, I noticed your large project!
I'm also looking forward to seeing your Gneisenau, perhaps the most interesting thing will be to see how you intend to present the construction of the new and large hangar with its (enclosed ?) catapult. This is not quite clear to me, and I do not remember to have seen any drawings or detailed photo of this build.
What is your opinion: Was it a closed hangar with folding/sliding doors "firing" sideways, a rotating catapult on top or a catapult that would be elevated up through an opening in the top of the hangar and then rotated?

The picture is showing the wreck og Gneisenau and it's new hangar in Gdynia (Gothenhafen).

Also, all the best for you project and your Gneisenau!

Stein

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Ultima ratio regum

Hi Stein,

very interesting object.
During my build of Dragons Scharnhorst i've also decided to do a Gneisenau in 1:350 later, too.
After following your buildings of Scharnhorst, Tirpitz and especially Blücher i´m quite sure your Gneisenau will be a truly masterpiece and very revealing for my later build...

kind regards and best wishes from Germany... Daniel

Hello Stein!
Unfortunately, I'm still at the beginning with my research. I still have to sift through a lot of pictures and I have ordered me some books about the Gneisenau.

Do you think this hangar on the photo? So it looks like there are 2-piece folding doors. Once I have more information I will gladly pass on to you!





@Elbe 1: Du alter Schleimer!!!

Regards
Dirk

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UNSERE KRIEGSMARINE!

Thanks guys!

It’s nice to know that there are resourceful enthusiasts out there!

So – I think I’ll take advantage of that right away:
Do anyone know whether the two small deck boats right in front of 15cm I Stb and BB were still in place during Weserübung (and Juno)?
Some sources claim that they were, but so far I have not been able to find a picture showing the boats still in place. Can you help?
If not, I’ll go for having them there – they do look nice…

Apophylis: You are probable right. Your nice picture of the hangar (that I have not seen before) seems to be showing some kind of a (double) sliding door. Also, if you look closely at “my” wreck picture, it could well look as some sliding door at the BB (port) side as well! Then – probably a rotating catapult at deck level.

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Ultima ratio regum

Hello Stein!

Have you Kagero 3D Gneisenau -book? It looks so great, perhaps it helping for super details (?)

I know, that your Gneisenau will be super model as your Blücher and others DKMs!

I haven't starting my big project, Admiral Hipper - classes, as Admiral Hipper, Blücher and 2 Prinz Eugens.
I have also 2 Scharnhorst, because the other I will building the Gneisenau, too!

Jonne from Finland

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Planning for next:

1:200 RMS Titanic in project
1:72 Type XXI, U-2540 in project
1:350 HMS Ark Royal take a break
1:350 HMS Legion take a break

... hör lieber mal auf Michi´s Rat und bau keine Schiffe die dich überfordern

I share your view that the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were two of the most handsome capital ships of World War II. I've got the Scharnhorst in my stash and am waiting on two things before I start it - more experience rigging with stretched sprue and a set from Pontos. I'll be following!

Well – let’s get to it..

The hull needs to be modified and “improved” in the following places:
- Look at Scharnhorst’s bow compared to Gneisenau’s.
You need to fill the hawsepipe/hole for the anchor and use small files to make openings for the cable/rope leads.
Also make loops from stretched sprue for mooring point close to the surface.
The bow also needs sharpening as it is far too thick: Use tough sandpaper and sand it down. Fine sanding with 400-800-sand paper.

- Scarnhorst has got almost two rows of portholes along the hull, Gneisenau has almost only got one (except for the bow and the stern area which has two. You need to fill in a lot of portholes!

- Dragon totally forgot about the MES (Anti Magnetization System against Magnetic Mines) – the “stripe” along the hull.
In my Scharnhorst I used .8mm round brass tubing and glued it down. Hell of a job!
Now I have found that Plastruct has got a half-round .8mm polystyrene strip available.
This makes this job piece of cake!

- To further improve the hull you may drill out the openings in the anchors and scrape away the “handle-bars” close to the stern. I replaced them with PE-handles from my previous Tirpitz-build. To do this, drill holes .3mm, fill with glue and place the handles into the glue.

- Scharnhorst has got 2 relative large openings for waste water on Port side and one on Starboard side (no picture here, but you’ll find lots of pictures of this).
From my pictures I can only make out one on Starboard and non on Port side in Gneisenau.
I hope I’m right, because I carefully scraped away the two on Port side..!
Since my Scarnhorst is built waterline in a scenario, I decided I wanted my Gneisenau to have full hull and be placed on stands.
It really was a lot of sanding to conceal the gap between upper and lower hull-halves (and still it’s far from perfect…)

Did I forget anything?
Yeah- remember to "beef up" the area below the cutouts for the anchors on each side. This is done in my model by using 2K epocy - and as always: lots of sanding!

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Ultima ratio regum

Like this: (picture)

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Ultima ratio regum

For painting I use WEM Kriegsmarine enamel colors Dunkelgrau 51 for the hull, Hellgrau 50 for the superstructure, Revell 37 for area below water and Revell 9 for boot topping (2 meters wide = ca 6mm).
The Revell 37 appears a bit more redish in the pictures than in real life.

I also painted the portholes. You may choose to do so, but letting them remain in hull color is not wrong as each porthole has a plate in hull color that may be drawn in front of the glass as a protection when desired.

The paint result was not 100% as I got dust/particles onto the hull. When the paint was totally dry, I used a very fine sandpaper (1200) to sand this away and smoothen the surface. I then polished with a soft cloth.
This actually saved my day!
I have had this problem before, and if sanding/polishing produces an uneven surface, you may still get away with if by sparaying a layer for transparent matt all over the hull. If not: You really have a problem!

My general experience is that it is more easy to get this sort of problems when using quick drying enamels (matt) in combination with a bit too high pressure. Paint particles simply dry before hitting the surface, thus appering as "dust".
I have not had the same problems with water based paints. My spraygun (Adler) with an .3mm opening need quite thin paint and quite high pressure to work and not clog up.
Of this reason I often use another, cheaper .5mm Iwata for larger surfaces which works with lower pressure and a little thicker paint .

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Ultima ratio regum

Nice. Will be watching with great interest!

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Martin

"Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday." John Wayne

Ship Model Gallery

Hello Stein!

As always with your construction reports: I sit, enjoy and be amazed and learn!

Dirk

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UNSERE KRIEGSMARINE!

Thanks guys!

Then to the teak deck:
This first picture show real deck teak planking from Tirpitz in different representative colors and shades.
I did this job while building another Kriegsmarine vessel in the past, to be able to mix a realistic “wash” for the decks.
As teak changes with humidity and wear/tear, I aimed to make a color representing an unpainted, clean and dry deck.
The wash is made up of my paint mix plus about the same amount of paint thinner.

Since there are significant differences in what areas that were planked in the two sisters, I had to choose a simple design for the wood deck. So I choose Artwoxmodels deck: Good fitting, good glue and no sophisticated “framing” of details allow you to cut out details you want to change.
Artwoxmodels also deliver a clean wood sheet in the same pattern as the Scharnhorst deck. This is absolutely a must as the planked area in Gneisenau is much larger than the one in Scharnhorst (more about this later).

Deck installations such as ventilators etc are not quote similar in the two sisters. I have corrected for some of this, but not all as that would produce too much cuts and holes in the original deck.
I closed up opening for the large ventilators at the base of B-turret, made some deckhouses from white plastic rods/PE and positioned the 30+ ventilator houses (from an old 1:400 Heller Scharnhorst) in their correct (?) places.
Templates for Swasticas were cut out in Tamiya tape. Spraying right onto the deck is nerve-wrecking, but everything went OK.

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Ultima ratio regum

Are you sure about this? What sources claim this? Have you seen photos of a larger planked area on Gneisenau (e.g. the a.a. battery deck)?

Yes my dear "guest"! I am.
I addition to "German Capital Ship",the Kagero book and "German Naval Camoflage" this seems to be correct and in line with original photo documentation.
I'll give you right in asking about verification of sources as it happens quite often that an error commonly is repeated over and over again i books and publications.

Hovever: Take a good look at this welknown, scanned picture showing Gneisenau in Brest 1941, and you can easilly see a planked battery deck (although the deck is painted to conceal the ship from allied bombers.

Stein

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Ultima ratio regum

Hi Stein,

nice research! I thought Gneisenau only had small parts (under the 10,5cm L/65) of the battery-deck planked in wood - like most of the sources describing it for Scharnhorst, too. (For sure not exactly the same geometry)

once again - well done until now!

Looking excellent so far. I don't have a Scharnhorst or Gneisenau in my reserve stash yet but they're on the list. (well at least one of them anyway).

Edit: *Doubletake* you actually own a piece of the Tirpitz!!!!!

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-Shane

Dallas, Tx

Working on: Revell 1/426 USS Arizona BB-39

In the Stash: USS Arizona 1/700 Dragon Premium, DKM Bismarck 1/700 Dragon Premium, Admiral Graf Spee 1/700 Trumpeter, & Prinz Eugen 1/700 Trumpeter