The Ship Model Forum

Thank you Jim!

Today I had to quickly build another missing detail: the two rear vents, which also have paddles attached to them. I had a hard time getting myself to do this, because for a long time I had no idea how to solve it.

I made the details based on the drawings, from copper wire, leftover photo etching, and tin wire. The paddle holders were bent from Eduard ladder etching, which I cut in half first. The paddles are stretched sprue pieces, I flattened their ends. This way they can actually be removed from their places, like in real life, and it will be easier to paint the pieces later. Of course, the openings on the holder are not circular, but I'm flexible about that now...
Oh, and I've already painted a whole figure XD English legionnaires from Ion models


It's slowly taking shape.

WOW!

Hello! Today's post is about two things:

Point 1)
I made some progress with the conning tower, it was very difficult to assemble the bottom, top and upper mast of the bridge. Needless to say, it didn't work at first. I originally imitated the glass windows of the bridge with a transparent plastic sheet, but the vapor from the instant glue corroded it, and I only noticed it after it dried... So I knocked out the windows, and in the end I filled them in with 3D varnish.


Based on photos, I replaced 1-2 missing small things:

a box whose function I don't know, a brace that was missing for the platform under the bridge, and a deck door that was on top of the conning tower,

a small structure dangling from under the wheelhouse, Since it is easier to handle, I want to put on as much rigging as possible before the final gluing, but now I am stuck because it occurred to me that the base and top of the bridge may not be covered with metal but with linoleum (or corticene), because many people do it that way on their models. I was looking for a photo where a small part of the floor is visible, but I couldn't decide on the color or material based on the picture.
All I found about this says that the decks were covered with wood, and linoleum was used inside the ship. So I am waiting for ideas, because now I can paint it over, even if it is difficult.

Point 2)

While chasing after the linoleum, I stumbled upon this good quality photo on the Heeresgeschichtliches Museum's Facebook page, which shows the Viribus Unitis. I think the ship in this photo is green, I think it was made in 1912-13. Two new things appeared on this one that I haven't seen before: the color of the metal plate at the bow of the ship is different from the color of the panels running under the anchor chains. In my opinion, the edge of the ship, where the railings run, and the bollards, is dark gray, while the larger part under the anchor chains has been given the ship's dark green color. Accordingly, I may repaint the whole thing, if you agree with this.
What shocked me much more: dark draft, you can see, there is a protective draft on the tops of the turrets!!! Has anyone seen this before? Or is this something completely new to me?? You can see that this material is over the top plate of the turret, there are cut outs, which let the turret's prominent elements peek out. In some places, the whole thing is even slipped. It's amazing This is what I don't have the guts to put up... but it's very interesting.

Brilliant work on the bridge. It looks phenomenal.

Thanks Martin! It still has some errors, but I'll leave it at that.

Reflecting on the canvas covering the turret, I found another picture, and here the German text highlights it. Damn, I thought I found something new, but I just didn't read it carefully...
Until I get confirmation on the colors and linoleum covering, I'm tinkering with the smaller things, like this boat crane. Unfortunately, Eduard doesn't offer this as a new part, so I adapted the existing one as best I could. The fire control positions of the side batteries also improved with the small elements shown in the picture to their inner sides, and I will also put the small box there, it's not finished yet. It also need to be repositioned based on the drawings and pictures. I noticed this too late, so I didn't seal the parts' mounting points on the deck in time.

Very impressive! incredible details and research. Great eye to spot the canvas cover, i would never have noticed that. This is getting better and better!

Hello!

SG1 Thank you your kind words.

But...Nothing very spectacular has happened in the past few weeks, except that the base frame is finished (I also ordered the glass cover 2 weeks ago, but they haven't said it's ready yet...). I glued the tops of all the hatches on, and I supported each one with small sticks.. I also glued the stairs where needed. Unfortunately, it turned out as I expected, nothing in the world is visible from the interior. Sometimes the color of the floor peeks out, but nothing else. A sailor is also finished, who is coming up a staircase from between the decks. I have no idea how the hell Marijn Van Gils paints his figures the way he does, maybe I'll hire out this job another time What I tinkered with a lot was the frame above the gangways, which could be covered with canvas. I bent the arches into shape, then glued the stiffeners on from drawn thread. To make the this the same height, I used two matchsticks as a template, quickly drew them up, and then cut off both ends of the threads... The frames on the stern are smaller and narrower than the ones used on the bow of the ship, considering that the front one was already an opening two stairs wide. The covers are interesting because several of the back covers were foldable, not just opened upwards. That's why I tried to imitate the insulating stripes with black stretched sprue on the inside of these white covers.


Since there was no reaction to the raised issue of the linoleum covering around the bridge, I haven't dealt with it since. I'll wait a little longer, because once the rigging is completely up on the mast, nothing will be painted underneath...

Looks stunning...fantastic job

its looking very very excellent; plenty of detail-- but razor-sharp!

well done

I am eagerly awaiting your next instalment
Jim Baumann

Those curved frames are stunning. And so are the painted sailor and the insulated covers. Bravissimo

Somehow, this project has escaped my attention so far and will have to go back and look through it from the beginning.

On linoleum: I don't know at what stage you aim to show the ship, before or during the war? At the beginning of the war the German navy at least decided to rip out all linoleum due to its relatively high flammability - linoleum is composed of lineseed oil and cork on a jute backing.

Such sisal-mats where also used on the decks of torpedoboats of the Austro-Hungarian navy - otherwise the space under deck would have turned into a baking oven in the Adriatic.

I seriously think that the result of this build is one to which the term 'museum quality' truly applies!
What a marvellous model!

This is a truly fantastic model.
Very clean and meticulously crafted.

Exquisite detailing. Really looks fantastic.

Thank you for taking us to school.

Thank you gentlemen for the kind words, but let's not rush ahead, the end result may not be what I would like. The last few days, for example, were unfortunately not very productive, and the result of my work has become rather doubtful...

Wefalck! I want to depict the ship at the turn of 1912/13, shortly after it entered service, which is why this linoleum thing would be important.

So, I'm looking at the pictures and drawings to see what details have been left out so far, small things anyway, but still clearly visible. The model is missing the place for some temporary cranes, which can be used to lift in torpedoes, for example. The cranes are not, but I replaced their small connection points with 1-1 circular photoetch piece. Then a telephone and the rear winch controller were missing on the aft deck.
I really hope that Viribus Unitis was also equipped like this, because I couldn't find a photo of it with a clear view of the stern, and the picture was taken on the Prinz Eugene. I put this together from the usual scraps. The bottom of the phone is a cylindrical element, the top is 1 mm evergreen thread, and I glued on the sides a few elements. The controller wheel is a 1/700 photoetch cabble reel piece. Then came the question of the windows on the balcony. Firstly I filled the gaps of the windows with 3D varnish, then pressed the black-painted frames on top. It became black and not some bronze or gold color because I have never seen such a metallic shine of the frame or the railing in any photo. In my book about the Szent István, it was written that the railing was wrought iron. I think it was simply black. If I was wrong, I will leave it at that. But considering that the balcony was made from the inside, I wanted something extra here. Then I saw in this photo that one of the windows is open! Since there are 6 photoetchetch parts in the box, and there were 5 on the ship, I cut one apart, which became the frame, and one went inside, as if it were just open window frame. You would have thought that even then, nothing of the whole thing is really visible... The nameplate is still missing, but for now, as long as time allows, I can't varnish underneath, and the topcoat can't be applied either...

What I really don't like now, however, are the metal plates visible at several points on this deck, 4 of which were placed in the shape of a rectangle. I don't know what they are, but they are quite spectacular. The plan was to draw the black parts along the template with a black marker, and then use a brush to draw over each line with the color of the deck, as you can see in the picture. Well, this doesn't look pretty up close. I'm working on a new solution, but if it doesn't work, maybe I just repaint the 1-1 black stripe. If I don't report back by then, happy holidays to everyone and happy building!

I should have a look, whether I have a picture of the large cut-away model of her in the Heeresgeschichtliche Museum in Vienna and decks it has. But you probably know this model already.

Sszabi, the solution you found for the metal plates looks very convincing, bravo! telephone and winch controller are little masterpieces.

Sszabi wrote: Fri Dec 19, 2025 3:15 pmThank you gentlemen for the kind words, but let's not rush ahead, the end result may not be what I would like. The last few days, for example, were unfortunately not very productive, and the result of my work has become rather doubtful...

Hello Sszabi! Are you maybe suffering a little from AMS (advanced modellers syndrome)? Of course, we all see our own little mistakes the most, but to me, your work looks consistently excellent!

Those 'metal plates' add a nice touch of detail to the decks. Is is always amazing how much can be simulated with just a little paint!

Hi Szabi,
I would use black decal cut to size to give the metal plates more definition.