Shiff33 Pinguin 1/400 scale

[Bento]

These are the main 150mm guns of the Schlesien

and this is the draw I used to built them.

[JIM BAUMANN]

Looks like top rate modelmaking!!!

REALLY interesting and cleanly built!

Jim Baumann

[Bento]

Looks like top rate modelmaking!!!

REALLY interesting and cleanly built!

Jim Baumann

Too kind of you! Very glad you appreciated it.

[Ralf]

Wow!

[Bento]

Here you can see some small equipments that are going to be placed on main deck: the hatchway holds - some of which are covered with tarpaulins - and some winches for the cargo derricks.


This is the main bow winch, it was built with pasticard, Evergreen rods and small resin parts I turned myself.

Finally here's the first coat paint to realize the Pinguin disguised on Greek Kassos cargo.

On the upper work I opened the starboard main gun hatchs and I also placed some of many ventilators (I'm not sure of this word). The in-white name of the ship, on both hull sides, was painted using a paper stencil.
One question about the name of the ship: examining the Kassos picture, the name of the ship was certainly painted on stern and on the sides of the hull, but you can not see it on the sides of the bow. Could it be missing or simply not visible?

[Burkhardt]

Very nice, I will be checking your progress often.

[Dave Wooley]

Ralf This is superb workmanship particularly the winch . I'm looking forward to your blocks and rigging detail? Have you any photos of how you made the winch ?Thanks for posting ,a most interesting subject.
Dave Wooley

[frank2056]

This is a fantastic build. How did you make the windows? They are very even.

Frank

[Yannis Karystinos]

This model has character . The build is very clean, details are crisp and well defined and your painting and weathering skills are top notch. Congratulations Bento.

Regards
Yannis

[Bento]

Thanks to Dave and to you all, I'm very glad to read your words!
Now, I'm working on the derriks riggins, I just started to built the main masts recently. I used turned brass pipes for the main section and steel rods for the thin ones. I normally simulate the small blocks with black vernish clots and the bigger ones with photoetched scraps.
Unfortunately I haven't taken any other pictures during the winch building, but besides the difficulty due to the small size of the parts, the construction was quite simple. I started shaping, glued together with white glue the two lateral bulkheads and drilled the holes for the horizontal shafts. Then I glued the plastic bulkheads on the winch base. I repeated the sequence for the little rear bulkheads. I turned the pulleys from small resin or plastic rods. As I didn't know how to obtain the pawls very little gear, I simulated them during the painting.
As for the windows, I drew them with a compass as you can see to the picture. I took a picture during a work-test.

I drilled a hole in the middle of each window and then I carved them with a new blade N11. Subsequently I glued the windows frames with acrylic matt clear varnish - Lifecolor paints, naturally - using the photoetched parts from Tauromodel item 400/10. To glue small photoetched parts and other little details I often choose the clear varnish so to have enough time to place the details correctly. When dried, the clear acts like a real glue, and if necessary, you can reinforce the fixing with some cyanoacrylic glue anyway.

[Dave Wooley]

Hi Bento Thank you for the detailed explaination . I find blocks quite tricky to make but at your scale even more so. At 1:144 I can afford the luxury of glazing which does add that extra dimension to the model. Great build .
Dave Wooley

[Willie]

Hi all,

Bento, congrats on your superb job. I am simply speechless : not only the Pinguin, one of the myths of my childhood, not only scratch built, not only at this scale, but also with this detail level... The winches are unbelievable...

Very best regards and keep the excellent job,

Willie.

[Ralf]

I�m speachless... Well done!!

And the maingunflaps are superb!

@Dave: Sorry, its not me... Its Bento! But 100% agree!!!

[Torpedo]

Absolutely stunning. Please document your steps. How did you do the planking and other things? Is this also suitable for a rc/controlled model on the water?

[Bento]

Thanks again to you all for the compliments to my Pinguin. As in my personal models' stock I hadn't any fittable hull for the ship, I decided for the naval traditional building system by keel and frames. Needless to say that this building system is also suitable for rc/controlled models.



These are the pictures of hull and main deck weathering. All the in-placed small details were separately weathered as you can easily see in the life-boats picture below.



The Pinguin, when disguised as Greek cargo, shows only four life-boats on the deck - to make precise - four white whale boats. In order to build them, I sculpted a Milliput master on which I thermoformed their hulls.
To make sure I worked out all the details, I built, refined and weathered each single life-boat before placing it on the deck.

[GTDEATH13]

Do you give painting lessons?

Astonishing... simply astonishing...

Why did you chose this scale?

[JIM BAUMANN]

Stunningly sharp-- very effective muted look to the paint!

Lifeboats look very splendid!

If you have any photos of the hull building process--I also would be intrigued to see.


very good--and nice to see it being posted here

JIM BAUMANN !

[Bento]

Hi Jim, this is the male master in Milliput glued over a drill bit and reinforced with two ltttle plastic triangles to obtain a strong support able to resist to the pressure of the warm plastic sheet. I heated over a wax candle up one plasitcard sheet, about 10x10 cm., and, when it was enough softened, I pressed it over the male master.

I admit, this is a rough system, but despite that, it works. I simply repeated the process when some moulds were not right.
To perfectly obtain the life boat sheer, I cut each moulds, re-put on the male master and to simulate the flooring I drew and printed it with my pc.

Ps
I chose the 1/400 scale because I started building ships many years ago with the Heller kits, and ever since I kept on with the same scale..

[Ralf]

@Bento: Superb!! Realy good work... I wish, I had the ability... Im very impressed...

Hm, the washing is good, realy good... How long does it take a ship to rust? Do you think the german KM was "washing" their ships too? I dont know... What do you think? How long was "Pinguin" the SS "KASSOS"? Perhaps this is not important...

[Bento]

Hello Ralf, thanks for your comment, I'm sorry for my late answer, but lately I have been very busy...
I have not a prcise data about how long time is required to see rust spots on a ship, but for sure you can see them pratically on all ship pictures. The Pinguin was disguided as Kassos for about three mounths and I think enough time to show some rust and weathering effects.





At present this is the work status of the Pinguin: I placed the four life boats between theirs tackles, the two booms fitted on the ventilators, and also I completed the handrails over the boat deck. Near the fore castle I placed a trestle covered by a tarpaulin, I suppose mounted, to hide the two motor boats removed to simulate the Greeek cargo. In order to change a little the overview and to add some details I covered with a tarpaulin one of the four white whale boats. The fore castle trestle I created was quite difficult, at last I preferred to built it with welded copper beams. I also equipped the main bow winch with his chains and some other details. I hope my English correct enough, see you soon.
Benedetto