Blue Devil wrote:Which brings up another question. After looking through my admittedly meger reference material, it looks to me as if the differences between the ship in '41 and '45 were pretty minor. Basically radar fit and less AA armament in '41. Sounds like a pretty easy backdate. Am I close to right?
If you're talking "1941" then you need to differ between pre-Brest and post-Brest.
Pre-Brest, let's say at the time of the sortie with Bismarck, you would need to modify these things:
1. The two forward high-angle AA-directors are lacking their domed tops (in German: "Wackeltopf"). This pair was handed over to the Russians, together with the aft pair from Bismarck and together with the 3rd ship of the second batch of Hipper class cruisers, the L�tzow (Feb. 1940). In place of the domed tops, ordinary 3m-rangefinders were installed.
2. The AA platform in front of the conning tower, directly above the Admiral's Bridge, had a surrounding solid bulwark from Brest on, whereas the earlier version just featured a railing and a searchlight instead of the Flakvierling.
3. The large tyfon directly under the foretop gallery was located - or let's say, "protruding", from the bulwark around the foretop gallery, on stb of the ship's centre-line. I had difficulties fixing this on my 1/700 model as it interfers with the searchlight. With a Flakvierling mounted there, the logical step was to relocate the tyfon at the u/s of the foretop gallery (where it was located to a more afterly position when compared to the position before).
4. The AA platforms on either side of the funnel were searchlight platforms pre-Brest (if I remember correctly).
5. Additional torpedo stowage containers. If you want to represent a 1940 Prinz, the two triple �flat� containers aft of the funnel and the double �upright� torpedo container at the stb funnel base need to be removed. Just aft of the funnel, boats were stowed in 1940 (and I have yet to find out to which location they moved). I�m not quite sure WHEN this happened but if you are doing a 1941 Prinz during Op. Rhein�bung, then the torpedo containers are correct.
6. The four triple torpedo launchers did not feature their anti-spray copula.
7. The additional deckhouse beneath the searchlight platform of the main mast needs to be removed.
8. Aft of this additional deckhouse, between the main mast and the aft rangefinder/gun director base, there are a few changes in the layout of the bulwarks. I don�t have access to photos right now but check p.4 of this thread here. There is a photo which shows the additional bulwark. I�m pretty sure it wasn�t there in 1941.
Of course, there are many more minor changes and you already noted the AA and radar arrangement, but the above are the main things I can recall from memory.
Hope this helps,
Happy modeling ~ Olaf!
as thay are doing it in 1/350.I wil be getting the Prinz Eugen in 1/700 by Trumrpter do you think the WEM PE Set will work for these ships
