Thanks all! Here's an encore for this week's action.
I really went on a Bismarck blitz this weekend; I had most of the day to work on it today again. Funny when the best weekends seem to be the ones I "don't have anything to do".
Today was spent getting stuff done on the aft half of the superstructure. I also painted the big superstructure pieces that haven't already been painted so what you see is the final color minus weathering. I don't know how I survived modeling all these years without an airbrush!
I decided to leave the door on the main hangar slightly open like in one of the historic pics I've seen; it adds interest but also saves me the work of having to do much to detail the inside. I understand the Bismarck didn't have her Arados in the time I am trying portray her, but I installed the "double decker" spray shields (just above the forward secondary guns) that Bismarck didn't have yet either so 100% authenticity is already out the door. In the great tradition of Bismarck models I recon I should have a couple Arados out on the catapult, one with wings folded up and one with wings extended.
Some more tips for big bissy builders out there:
As anyone who has done them knows, getting the tiny PE bar steps on the ship are a giant PITA and there are A LOT of them. The thick plastic loves to break micro drill bits and you can spend hours trying to carefully measure and drill out holes for them. On the flip side, if you try to use the PE bar steps as advertised (with the KA set at least) and try to bend down the minutely sized ends then glue them on you quickly find it's no easier to get them on and they aren't likely to stay there long either.
Here's what I've found works best for me after trying several different things:
First, DON'T sand off the kit molded "rungs" all the way, right away. Mark the vertical rise with a piece of 1/16" tape (the width of the bar steps); you'll notice the molded rungs can be seen beneath the tape. Then take a small, sharp awl (I use one meant for leatherwork) and carefully poke holes along both sides of the tape where the kit rungs are. Afterwards, sand the rungs completely off and hit the awl holes again, making them just as deep as the tabs on the PE replacement rungs.
When it's time to install them, dip the rung ends in a little puddle of super glue and slip them in the holes. You'll get something that looks good, is perfectly straight, much sturdier and takes far less effort to achieve. I did the rungs in picture #2 of this post exactly that way; unfortunately I had already sanded off the other ones so I had to wing-it on the placement.
I wish I had figured that out much earlier in the build!
Also, I'm doing my "baseboards" (Somebody help me out, what's the nautical term for them?) with black Pactra pin-striping tape; it's a bit expensive but the tape works well if you don't try to use it on tiny curves and bumps, and cut it on every bend and angle (otherwise it will lift up after a while). After laying the tape, go back with a tiny brush and gloss black paint to fill in the gaps. The paint + a spray of dullcote will take out the shine and will also help keep the edges of the tape down, saving you lots of work trying to mask and paint them... or god forbid, try to do them by hand (though none of this applies if you are a Leonardo or Michelangelo
).
I've got most of the PE on the lower superstructure and am currently working on adding details I either obliterated or that are missing altogether. It's gonna be a bigger job than I thought. The Bissy also got propellers and a complete below the waterline spray can repaint job to fix some earlier errors and oopsies. Things may change but for now I am probably still gonna go with a super-clean "museum model" look in the end.
:
though I have to admit the work is far more rewarding now than it was replacing portholes or details I sanded off.