The Ship Model Forum

Work continues at a slower pace than I'd like... but hey, I'm not doing this for a living so cut me some slack! 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.

Anyway, here's some gratuitous full ship shots:







I have a question for Bismarck gurus... What exactly is supposed to be amidships under the catapult? Did it go all the way through on the real ship like it does on the model?



Thanks!

Channell wrote:......I have a question for Bismarck gurus... What exactly is supposed to be amidships under the catapult? Did it go all the way through on the real ship like it does on the model? ..............

Hey Jason

I'm not a Bismarck gurus... but on the Richelieu ,there are two of these "passages" of many watertight doors ,leading to the parts of the ship are located here,this may be the case on your Bismarck
your bismarck starts having really look great
best regards
Nicolas

Great build so far!
I wish one day i can buy that scale and build it!
Will keep following every update.

Extremely nice thus far. Keep going.

Thanks all!

Nicholas, you are right. I happened to find a photo on the German archives that shows it was a path straight through with doors to the interior of the ship.

Anyway, here's the result of this week's efforts:

















I finished doing the porthole eyebrows/shields and vents on the main portion of the superstructure, plus added too many details to mention and painted. There are some details left out because they will be easier to install afterwards and/or are too delicate to handle much so they'll have to go on after the superstructure is permanently attached.

There is much touch up to be done too; my black "baseboard" turned out a bit too thick and otherwise needs some cleaning up.

Very nice.

It's a hot one out West this weekend... I'm not used to 105 degrees.

I've been struggling to get the black "baseboards" done well; who knew it would be so hard to get a 1/32" straight line along the bottom of the superstructure pieces! My first attempt gave me lines that were just too thick and I didn't do any better trying to mask them smaller.

My next attempt includes a bit of desperation:



... and providing the stuff actually stays put in the long run, it gives good results:





I decided not to risk tape on the smaller parts like around the vent bases and skylights; those are painted. Hopefully I can lock everything in place with dullcote and if necessary run a tiny bead of super glue underneath before gluing the superstructure down to keep the tape in place.

I've also been bouncing around on modifying/cleaning up various smaller pieces of the superstructure as well. Behold my last porthole replacements on the whole ship! :



And a couple more shots:





This nazi tainted death log isn't over yet, though for me it's almost as challenging to see through as WWII itself. I'm sure Admiral Lutjens is laughing at me from hell.

Until next time...

Channell wrote:It's a hot one out West this weekend... I'm not used to 105 degrees.

I've been struggling to get the black "baseboards" done well; who knew it would be so hard to get a 1/32" straight line along the bottom of the superstructure pieces! My first attempt gave me lines that were just too thick and I didn't do any better trying to mask them smaller.

My next attempt includes a bit of desperation:



... and providing the stuff actually stays put in the long run, it gives good results:





I decided not to risk tape on the smaller parts like around the vent bases and skylights; those are painted. Hopefully I can lock everything in place with dullcote and if necessary run a tiny bead of super glue underneath before gluing the superstructure down to keep the tape in place.

I've also been bouncing around on modifying/cleaning up various smaller pieces of the superstructure as well. Behold my last porthole replacements on the whole ship! :



And a couple more shots:





This nazi tainted death log isn't over yet, though for me it's almost as challenging to see through as WWII itself. I'm sure Admiral Lutjens is laughing at me from hell.

Until next time...

Ha ha-- I've been feeling the same way putting assorted photo etch on the bow deck/forward breakwater section!!!

Tim W

Making some progress... this week I finished modding and started putting together the upper forward superstructure and admiral's bridge:









See if you can tell what I changed from the stock kit... If you can't, that means I did a good job!

There's quite a bit of work left to do here but I'm continuing to move along...

(edit) I just found out why everyone hates photobucket! There's no way in hell that I'm paying for bandwidth... all my previous pics are still up at: http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/bisma ... t=3&page=1

Here are some more pics; this week's work includes adding the rest of the rails onto the funnel, some ladders, black "baseboards", yet more seams and installing the rest of the decks on the forward superstructure.

Just for fun, here's the Arizona and unfinished Bismarck together. I've got a 1/200 Missouri pre-ordered too; it's really gonna be interesting to see all three together!

Hello Jason

it's crazy how the arizona fait little at side of "Bisy"........ !beautiful painting you made on your Bisy
I can not wait to see it finished!
cheers
Nicolas

LE BOSCO wrote:Hello Jason

it's crazy how the arizona fait little at side of "Bisy"........ !beautiful painting you made on your Bisy
I can not wait to see it finished!
cheers
Nicolas

Thanks! I can't wait to finish it; this is without a doubt the biggest (and most time consuming) model project I've ever attempted.

This week the Bismarck grew some railings and bar steps as well as various bits and pieces all over the superstructure. It's hard to believe that's 10 more hours of work since last time... this thing is taking forever to build!









I'm still trying to decide what I should do with weathering on the superstructure; I'm going for a newly commissioned ship and kinda like the "very clean" look so I suppose I'll keep weathering to a minimum.

KA did an excellent job on the rails; unlike many other parts of this build they go on pretty quick and with little hassle. I still have plenty left to do but I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! It looks like I'll finish just in time for the 1/200 Missouri.

Until next time!

hello Jason

the laying of the PE gives "life" to your Bisy,the worck is clean and crispy if you think the work is long on a model at 200em....next time, do it in the 700 there is less to posed......but more small
"bon courrage" for the continuation?Jason , distrusts, if at the end of the tunnel ,there is a bright light......and a type with of keys ,it is not good
cheers
Nicolas

Fantastic build of this beast.

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 ).

Digging your work Jason looking real good thanks for posting......

Many thanks Kevin! I really do appreciate all the encouragement.

Well, another week has passed and yet more progress was made:







I got the 8 main antiaircraft guns put together (but not yet painted) and added yet more railings. The aft conning tower also got new window slits in the same manor as the main conning tower several months ago; strangely enough Trumpeter had molded them in reverse, with a raised line and half-circle!? instead of a slit.





You may have noticed none of the stairways are in yet, that's because the superstructure pieces are still not permanently attached. I am a bit torn (yet again) over whether I should "glass" the portholes as they look good as-is and the clear styrene actually seems to throw the effect off by being too deep looking... even with the porthole mods they are still too thick for a truly realistic effect. I also need to black out the interior so you can't see straight through the ship; I plan to strategically glue strips of black poster board inside the hull to accomplish that.

The fun never ends in Bismarck Land though I have to admit the work is far more rewarding now than it was replacing portholes or details I sanded off.

Jason,

I see that you are a Monster addict as well. My wife gives me ALL sorts of hell for drinking the stuff, but man, I love it. Down one before a run... BEST WORKOUT EVER.

Your 1/200 Bismarck is looking awesome, regardless of how badly you want to set it on fire. Keep it up.