Calling all Bismarck and Tirpitz fans

[NImitz]

Here is the result of a long long work.

Battle of Denmark strait has begun and the Bismarck answers the fire of HMS HOOD

Hope you'll enjoy!

All advices welcomed



Sincerely

Nimitz

[WilliamBowden]

actually not sure it matters much now, since I am about 3 hours away from finishing the ship. It's been nearly 180 hours now and she's always ready to sail! Pictures will be coming soon!

[G.A.G.]

Anyone has any pics that resolve the color of Bismarck's bridge windows area as viewed from the front under the baltic camouflage scheme? I am interested in the time frame circa May 5th 1941, but any time when the black and white stripes were going all the way up the superstructure would provide guidance.

The photos I found show that the sides of the bridge windows are caught in the white stripe. However, I have seen some modelers paint the front of the windows in various colors (black, white or grey). Any pictorial justification would be welcome.

[CWatson]

I have seen this film before, since it is now up on youtube I will post a link: It shows Bismarck in her Baltic scheme and leaves no doubt what she looked like at that time.

CW[youtube]<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bgNUgvKfT-4&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bgNUgvKfT-4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

[Olaf Held]

In addition to the video, photos show that there were subtle changes taking place, e. g. on "late" Gotenhafen photos the stripes have disappeared from the bulwark of the foretop gallery. However, I think the front of the Admiral's Bridge remained unchanged.

Earlier photo, from the sea trials:
http://weltkrieg2.de/Waffen/Kriegsschif ... -px800.jpg

The forward rangefinder (trained to starboard) is obstructing a direct view to the lower part of the black "triangle" ... the area to the left and right appears white - like the sides of the Admiral's Bridge ... on May 5th, the stripes on the bulwark of the foretop gallery were still in place ...

Happy painting ~ Olaf!

[Charlestonguy]

Just got my first 1/350 scale Bismarck and trying to put all the information I can find down before I start. I have listed what I have so far with question marks in areas that I have contradictory information or unknown.
What I would like to know is if the information is correct and if anyone can fill in the blanks. I am somewhat confused on color and cross over to WEM paint, would really like some good feedback on that area. Question marks are placed where I am not certain I have the correct paint.
Thanks

Arado Ar196A-3 aircraft (possible 4 ?)
8 � 380 mm/L52 SK C/34 (15 in) (4�2)
12 � 150 mm/L55 SK-C/28 (5.9 in) (6�2)
16 � 105 mm/L65 SK-C/37 / SK-C/33 (4.1 in) (8�2)
16 � 37 mm/L83 SK-C/30 (1.5 in)
12 � 20 mm/L65 MG C/30 (0.79 in)
8 � 20 mm/L65 MG C/32 (0.79 in) (8�4)

RAL Red 3010 =WEM ?
Boot top n/a =WEM color KM 03 or 05 ?
RAL 7001 Light grey = WEM color KM 01
Teak = WEM color C01
RAL Grey 7000 = WEM color KM 02 ?
RAL Dark Grey 7024 = WEM color KM 06 ?
RAL Redbrown 8013= WEM color 04
Black = WEM color C02
White =WEM ?
http://www.bismarck-class.dk/paint_sche ... ction.html
http://www.steelnavy.com/wem_colourcoats.htm

Edit update
Just found the message on the WEM paint.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/409174/m ... 9025/Paint

"Hull--Dunkelgrau 51 (Colourcoats KM 02);
Superstructure--Hellgrau 50 (Colourcoats KM 01);
Steel decks--Dunkelgrau 2 (Colourcoats KM 06);
Wood decks--Teak (Colourcoats C 01);

And if you're building a full-hull model:

Boot-topping--Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau 1 (Colourcoats KM 05);
Underwater hull--Schiffsbodenfarbe III Rot 5 (Colourcoats KM 04)."

I think that has most of my questions answered for now. What about the 4 Arado vs. 3? And while on the Arado I can't find the time frame for when they were loaded on board.

[Olaf Held]

I'm not sure about the Arados, I'll have to look it up.

But with regard to the colours, the steel decks were NOT painted Dunkelgrau 2. This colour was used for the dark bow and stern panels, dark grey turret tops, dark grey hangar roofs, dark grey bridge and armored conning tower roofs, roof of rangefinder hoods, almost every (more or less) horizontal (steel) surfaces (except the decks) during the final parts of Ex. Rhine. While the Baltic stripes were worn, not all of the mentioned surfaces were dark grey, even the Baltic stripes varied in appearance on some parts of the superstructure.

The steel decks were painted in a colour that matches RAL 7016, which is the same shade as the boot topping but lacking the antifouling ingredients. Due to more extensive weathering/wear and tear, the boot topping faded quite quickly. Many photos, b/w or colour, do show that the boot topping was lighter in colour than the dark bow/stern pannel. Keep this in mind when painting the steel decks/other horizontal surfaces. The RAL 7016 (or "Dunkelgrau 1") is referred to "Schiffsbodenfarbe III Grau 1" (antifouling for smaller crafts such as s- and u-boats) / "23a/23b Wasserlinienfarbe III" (boot topping colour) / "Trittfeste Au�endecksfarbe (Tr.D.) 59 (in 1941, in 1944 this was 53 while 54 was black)" (colour (lit. no wear/tear) for outer decks). This information can be found in the 1940, 1941 and/or 1944 editions of the so-called ABB. Nr. 31 (which is the KM painting regulation).

You need at least FOUR shades of grey for your Bismarck (from light to dark: superstructure, hull, steel decks, camouflage), maybe six, if you replace black and white with tones of grey for scale effect.

Happy painting ~ Olaf

[Charlestonguy]

Thanks Olaf
There is more confusion on the Arado airwing based on the log from http://www.battleshipbismarck.com/bisma ... istory.php
Here they say only two aircraft were loaded on board from 8 - 17 March 1941. I did not see an entry made for additional aircraft. I remember reading somewhere that two more were added on or about the time she was at Korsfjord. I could be wrong, like I said I can�t find the source again. I believe she had hanger space for four, which may be why some sources give her credit for four aircraft.

[amiers]

Olaf and i have disscussed the decks before. i found this, Anthracitgrau RAL 7016, which should be right.

[Charlestonguy]

Thanks again for the paint help, Model Master carries that color which is great news. Local Hobby shop will have it.

This may get moved to the paint forum but I found a handy conversion chart that might help others on here with paint selections. It has the RAL colors and you can cross it over to many types.
http://www.paint4models.com/paintchart/ ... chart.html#

[Olaf Held]

That's a real nice one, thanks for sharing!

Happy painting ~ Olaf!

[Charlestonguy]

Ok this is what I have so far on the four greys on the Bismarck.

Light Grey RAL 7001 for superstructure, Medium Grey RAL 7000 for the hull, Dark Grey RAL 7024 non wood deck. For the dark panels on bow/ stern, dark grey turret tops and gun barrels RAL 7016. Use a slightly lighter color of RAL 7016 for turret tops and gun barrels. Use a light to medium gray mix for the hull to cover the Baltic stripes.

RAL 7000 = WEM KM01 =Tam ??? = MM 4258 (Upper Hull)
RAL 7001 = WEM KM02 =Tam XF-20 = MM 4257 (Superstructure)
RAL 7024 =WEM KM06 =Tam XF-63 = MM 36076 (non-wood decks)
RAL 7016 =WEM KM05 = Tam ??? = MM RAL 7016 (Steel decks)

Paint chips from
http://mdmetric.com/tech/RALcolorchart.htm

Tam is for Tamiya
MM is for Model Master

Would like the guys on the board here to check my paint codes and areas they apply.
Please see if I have this correct and what would work for RAL 7000 in Tamiya?
Thanks

[Olaf Held]

Well, according to the link you provided, RAL 7000 should be TAM XF-20.

I don't know the TAM colour so I can't tell if it is accurate. It should be a medium grey with a very slight hint of blue in it.

RAL 7001 should be lighter with NO hint of blue ...

Then ... in your paint list, you mixed up RAL 7016 and RAL 7024.
7016 is for the steel decks and the boot topping.
7024 is for the dark bow and stern panels, turret tops (if dark grey, sometimes the whole top with the sloped sides, sometimes only the horizontal part), hangar roofs and from Norway until the sinking: most - if not all - other horizontal surfaces such as bridge roofs, roofs of rangefinder hoods etc ...

Happy painting ~ Olaf!

[Charlestonguy]

Thanks Olaf once again!
I ordered the GMM Bismarck set with Eduard AA guns for this build. It's a cheap MiniHobbies kit that was given to me so I'm using it to experiment with before jumping into the full up Revell kit.

[Olaf Held]

You're most welcome, I wish you all the joy and fun one can have building (and painting) a Bismarck ...

Happy modelling ~ Olaf!

[Charlestonguy]

Just arrived my GMM set and anchor chain, but they mixed up the order for the Eduard German AA guns by switching to a 1/700 Ticonderoga PE set. So back to the mail room tomorrow and hope they get it right this time. The numbers were mixed up, the AA set was EDU17021 and the Ticonderoga was EDU 17012 oops.
Got the paint from HobbyTown USA this weekend. I ordered the Anatomy of a Ship Bismarck book today so I'm almost ready to start.
All I have is the waterline version, someone robbed the hull, so I think I'll give a heavy seas a try this time too. Kostas has me all excited with his builds.
I'll post some pictures as I progress, as always looking for good tips from you guys.
Thanks for all the help so far!
It's Christmas and I'm pumped

[Guest]

You might try White Ensign Models. They have a paint called colorcoat that is as close to a match as you will ever find and can give you recomendations as to what colors to use. They also have colors for IJN, British and American forces in WW!!.

[Charlestonguy]

Funnel question
I installed the uptake grills per GMM instructions and you can see through the funnel, do I need to block off the grills on the inside or is this the way it should be?

[Olaf Held]

I don't think you could look through those grills from one side to the other. Inside the funnel, the uptake duct(s) would prevent this. It even could be that behind those grills/lovers fan rooms or additional ducts were installed - I don't know ...

Happy modelling ~ Olaf!

[Thomas E. Johnson]

Which Tamiya colors are close to the colors used on the Bismarck? I know of the WEM Colourcoats paints, but I don't like enamels, and I prefer Tamiya acrylics. I don't have the Snyder&Short color charts. They don't have to be exact matches, since paint colors on ships vary with exposure and lighting conditions, just close enough so they look right.