The Ship Model Forum

Wow - that's really intensive PE work. Nicely done.

I've come to the realization that Bigblueboy has included fret H twice in my set and they have omitted fret G, containing most of the smokestack parts and a lot of railing. That I could only find in this external review:

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/60/99/60997247bdd5fc1101ef335fddcae134.jpg[/img]

[url]https://modelshipworld.com/topic/25090-1350-strasbourg-upgrade-by-big-blue-boy/[/url]

The good side is that these railing parts are relatively easy to replace with the extra H fret containing railings and with some Strasbourg kit PE.

The searchlight platform of the two ships is identical and in the kit some plastic pillars are used to support it. Though these are reasonably thin, it can be improved with wire.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/1d/a0/1da0919f9afe957e9b26fe7d9394eb99.jpg[/img]

I changed the position of the supports so these all continue below the maintenance platform. Some ejector pin marks are filled up with CA.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/3b/fe/3bfe3c484df29b21c6afe6b3c0ba675d.jpg[/img]

The length of the supports is 6x14 mm and 2x6 mm. First I connected them like this.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/d9/c3/d9c3bee70cff1e9b000b2290a2379ba4.jpg[/img]

But working upside down can lead to errors, it was the other way around.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/b4/23/b42333bba296573992c755707fb37df2.jpg[/img]

The pattern of the supports was drilled through to the deck, so the roof can be plugged onto it. This is very tedious to install but the result will be much better.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/be/12/be12dea0a1a2db0a1b1a0e72e8b3604f.jpg[/img]

The drilling on Strasbourg was also passing through the PE anti-skid.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/59/5f/595f9d15dc5040fb54a10c93462cb03c.jpg[/img]

The smoke stack is now upgraded on Dunkerque. Because the kit has a horizontal plate under the funnel cap and a plastic sawtooth shaped grate on top of that, the upgrade is also horizontal. When you check Jordan's section of the ship like it can be seen on Wikipedia, the grate would be oblique. I decided to use the PE as it was intended as I had no pictures proving the error.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/30/79/30791391c58354877f247fc99c72dec8.jpg[/img]

But altogether it is better to cut a hole in the plate, because the centerpiece of the PE grate extends below it.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/31/24/3124dc7bceccf486591f80fb2840323f.jpg[/img]

That also improves the look:

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/bd/93/bd934cb8f3db437a5d5f50320fd168df.jpg[/img]

I had forgotten to remove the footrail, but that could be done now:

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/77/4c/774c7be55d885cce5733c11f62eba435.jpg[/img]

The ladders are installed with the burrs serving as locator pins, which should be a lot stronger.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/b7/19/b719ae6a7999647c9018a2813da6be97.jpg[/img]

Then the railing is added.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/e8/5b/e85bc5e0b03229bf27b05a2d9211e332.jpg[/img]

The rear maintenance platform and the ladders are a good fit.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/08/b0/08b03cafafa8290c1bfbf5c601bf7866.jpg[/img]

At the bottom some small grates are replaced and then the stack is connected to the superstructure. I'm curious if BBB can overtop this with the Strasbourg stack.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/d9/30/d930791b7b231c5c47d29052a318f48c.jpg[/img]

To get the PE hangar in, I had to cut wider in the plastic deck.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/f8/83/f8836cb94dd519b797a562cb7ab0c272.jpg[/img]

The box is fitting well into the superstructure.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/4f/0d/4f0d9e8bb43ea5348f83f5689f859340.jpg[/img]

BBB has some enormous anti-skid surfaces to add to the kit. These are quite thin and have to be straightened. The plastic obstacles need to be removed.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/c8/41/c841d6ef5ce1b07dbdf0cf0989a1b095.jpg[/img]

I don't find the source BBB uses to determine the anti-slip locations, at least the one on the hangar deck is wrong. But the detail is so beautiful I want it on Dunkerque too. Maybe I find some generic plat at IPMS Houten this weekend.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/bb/90/bb903ff9eb7c2dba22476d8cdd83c285.jpg[/img]

A small part of the superstructure is covered with PE plating. I don't see the point, because the thin splintershield now borders the thicker (though commendable) plastic shield behind it.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/00/3a/003a315bd7ed815d1256cce5e244fc27.jpg[/img]

All watertight doors are now installed with an open doorway. I suppose some will fall off after a while, I can always shut them later.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/dd/5b/dd5b6f662c8d71b4b97635d72eb0e16b.jpg[/img]

The boat supports are a nice extra detail with their tensioning cables, but the instruction is extremly rudimentary and doesn't even show the direction of the parts.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/7e/e1/7ee123b9db65972df5d417a004b37bcd.jpg[/img]

The bollards are all replaced now, something Dunkerque would also be missing if I don't find a solution.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/5c/32/5c326a01180f8e9211c0fc03eea487e2.jpg[/img]

To check the fit of the wood deck, I had to move some of the PE doors.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/96/d7/96d71cc45751157b5fda16b7655cecc2.jpg[/img]

To place the right door types I had to check on Dunkerque, all Strasbourg doors are drilled away and as mentioned no instructions are available.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/36/fa/36fa34c6773155cf41e958e2707b73f3.jpg[/img]

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/c0/3f/c03fd7ca749b6787680f0c785e55d7a2.jpg[/img]

Then it's Dunkerque's turn.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/c2/30/c230b2964808b401e0ffcbc2dd57d803.jpg[/img]

The front splash guard has 32 reinforcement triangles and for each of these you get a replacement set.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/c1/61/c161b08713b7aede03f9264f0d63ad8e.jpg[/img]

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/24/47/2447040b41819f79cbfdc3f72e469179.jpg[/img]

But I wasn't too keen on using the 2D chain anchoring bitts, so I scratched these in 3D with PE rings and wire.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/81/ef/81ef731b61830e5d4a18ce92a1614069.jpg[/img]

The deck house in front of A-turret is replaced with PE, but to avoid reflections I painted the inside black.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/af/29/af29fde6bb9d197d3bda5373f47530d0.jpg[/img]

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/bf/dc/bfdc7e5955622f7d65b8852d0b087dc3.jpg[/img]

The plane hangar is really a treat to watch, it has a moveable elevator. No idea about the interior color, I suspect this was white?

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/d2/13/d2136f79c20ffbe9d9531019c6a73962.jpg[/img]

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/1d/70/1d7014818e8df6ea7ddcb4c956039ce4.jpg[/img]

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/a5/e6/a5e607976af0fd84de443eeb29efe5be.jpg[/img]

@Neptune: I didn't want to include the complete photo, it's proproperty of a picture gallery and filled with watermarks. It was taken by a photographer named Gaston Paris. The rearmost door seems to have an externally mounted hydraulic system, that was in use on French ships as opposed to mechanic systems in other navies.

[url]https://www.galerie-roger-viollet.fr/fr/photo-officier-de-marine-a-bord-du-cuirasse-155594-2975077302[/url]
I'll check for some additional pictures of open doors.

@Dan: thanks!

Love double builds. Great project.

Ah, thanks, now I see. Indeed nothing there. However, there are often different types of doors on a ship, with the strongest ones often only used on main decks where waves might get onboard, while on higher levels, such locking mechanisms are lighter. Not sure if your picture is from the main deck?
It's an interesting door in any case, since I wonder how it did lock...

Thanks, Neptune, I included part of a picture in the top right corner of the detail view of the door fret A. These doors don't show that locking system.

I have no WW1 ships, I guess another carrier will appear later but I don't have any doubles there.

As far as I can see, that diamond shape is actually representing the locking mechanism of the door. They are stanchions that extend by the rotating movement of the handwheel, by extending, they lock the door on the edges at 6 or 8 different points to have a good weathertight closure.
Didn't see any reference picture in this topic yet.

In any case, nice build. As mentioned, it seems to be normal for you to build multiple ships in a single theme each time.

Perhaps the Zeebrugge or Oostende raids are something for you or Marijn to tackle in the future?

Thanks, Eduardo. It's like the movie, You Only Live Twice. So now the same is done for Strasbourg, but it will be different. Even the kit deck now fits easier without some sprue to extend the beam.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/63/1d/631d393c1f42cd0db2c515f8785154eb.jpg[/img]

Bigblueboy also replaces the hatches, but it won't tell you how to place them. In the instructions they are not mentioned even once. I found the ones with the viewing slits in row 3 and 4 so I used these like in the Dunkerque. If I wouldn't have that reference, I would have had to guess. So you see the advantage!

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/b7/af/b7af17c3e266c3e937df81db1f23237a.jpg[/img]

I now drill through the doors before I remove the hatches. Like that it's easier to locate and to remove the kit detail.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/0c/68/0c6881ba1382780e977ec8c2ed2cc7bf.jpg[/img]

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/7c/14/7c1454c7898d837098f28e07c79e21d4.jpg[/img]

Bigblueboy has put more effort in its watertight doors than Shipyard, the inside is now textured. The only problem is it seems to show a diamond pattern that is not reflected in reference pictures (see top) and even if it would work on the plain doors, it can not be correct for doors with a viewing slit as there is a central reinforced profile in the way on the backside. But it's nicer than the empty Shipyard inside.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/b2/42/b24239f179c666021804f9c1914484ef.jpg[/img]

I then added the rear wall of the armoured box like in Dunkerque.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/64/5c/645ca571e4980d1a950c9604ebd10fe9.jpg[/img]

Here Bigblueboy takes a step further and opens up the airplane hangar in two levels.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/10/a8/10a843ff9700a614d8ce9e9c47fffd43.jpg[/img]

A hole needed to be cut through two decks.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/a8/1b/a81b83821bab2cab7077bd50e6cc2cad.jpg[/img]

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/a1/38/a138c2bb45876786bc7acc2394cd8def.jpg[/img]

The front deck part is completely covered by PE. Apparently Hobbyboss saw some kind of continuous chess board here. It becomes now clear why Bigblueboy is the pricier set, it has included some important details that Shipyard omitted.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/9e/cb/9ecbd8b661e9d94b41815aec35615486.jpg[/img]

I hope after removing the surface detail that I can reconstruct the ship chain areas.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/3b/38/3b386cd888f861a51e5ddf27d6426cb2.jpg[/img]

The deck is glued, taking care not to get any glue through the many holes for bitts.

I'm beginning to think it's normal for you to make two ships at a time! :thumbs_up_1:

Thanks for the comments, the build is now taking off slowly.

[img]http://www.modelwarships.com/features/archives/dunkerque/dunkerque_07.jpg[/img]

It seems like at some time there was a breakwater difference. It seems that an angular plate was used in stead of the round one here, or is this something else as I see the rounded shape at the far side of the turret? I would have to alter the deck planking for that. But this difference was temporary, in attachment below you see a shot of both ships with a round breakwater.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/31/b5/31b501a9a6ebac0eb85780ca7ae10662.jpg[/img]

To get the plastic front deck to fit, some tension is active.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/67/e9/67e9d58cf7a639cba2d6dea114bba739.jpg[/img]

I avoided these tensions with a piece of sprue cut to the right length. Like that the deck will not warp.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/01/c3/01c3abc2874bb11b44cb231e045fb96e.jpg[/img]

There is a picture of open watertight doors on the ships, so I use the PE doors in stead of the kit ones. These are as detailed as the Shipyard ones, though.

This toy clamp worked well on the hull. Ther deck is now fixed completely. I did have to clip the wall left on the picture to fit it in the slots on the deck.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/7b/44/7b441086e9e715974efe6cc2c9f80bf3.jpg[/img]

Overall the deck is fitting well.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/16/ee/16ee9cca618cf8f36e0c5f3cc0ef736a.jpg[/img]

The bridge has the last two F40 doors of the Shipyard kit.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/9a/04/9a043f778c6c56613f0bdd53cdf2657a.jpg[/img]

The conning tower front has a PE cover plate, but it is shown to be applied to the plastic. As Dunkerque did have an armoured communication channel inside the bridge, the front was not armored so I'm cutting away the plastic front. This would be visible in the windshield.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/f3/e2/f3e201c7bf7badeb0b0f82e4caaba1f6.jpg[/img]

More plastic is removed for the shipyard venturi. I had to adapt the angle of the PE venturi base plate to the plastic.

[img]https://modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/27/d3/27d3dcc52197acfc4d398437c21b4472.jpg[/img]

Note that Dunkerque did not have the round breakwater around turret #1

Most interesting project!
............double build eh? ....... :wave_1: :thumbs_up_1:

I am having enough trouble ....with a single build
of an obscure French ship! ( Bretagne ) :big_grin:


best wishes, tenacity and perseverance
( you have proven that you have all that ....with your Columbia extravaganza !

Jim Baumann :wave_1:

then yours should be the same as mine as I got mine from the French naval site before it got hacked.

Thanks, but for Béarn 1927 I have detailed 1/500 plans and sections in the Marines édition book.

I have the BEARN 1927 plans if you are looking for them, 30mb.

@FFG: Strangely the Strasbourg hasn't got its own entry on that site, it's only referenced once on the Dunkerque page. I was looking to some other ships and found no reference to the carrier [i]Béarn[/i], though the destroyer [i]Béarnais[/i] is present.
@Pieter: we zien elkaar zeker op de ESM, want ik heb dezelfde modellen aangemeld als bij de SMC. Dat lijkt me een interessant boek.

This week I received both medals and measured them to be the same dimension.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/11/a2/11a2a61827cd9a12bc5f2cc2c5474ee1.jpg[/img]

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/df/41/df415ff918033f27df9f5c17be0e2034.jpg[/img]

The Dunkerque medal gives the names of famous Corsairs of the Dunkirk families Jacobsen en Bart. Vanstabel was a captain in the 18th century revolutionary wars.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/08/7a/087a3c72c4b3164795d347fa6b5eaf72.jpg[/img]

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/9b/c6/9bc6ae32a33e47113ac62fbb4cd0c8fc.jpg[/img]

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/1c/a6/1ca6da0dfd8e132f14354f5554cfe95e.jpg[/img]

Strasbourg's medal had some info included, speaking about a "steamboat Strasbourg", artist Guiraud, 1950. I did not have to pay that much for it.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/9f/cb/9fcb13128b08ec7b490a2d317a393f47.jpg[/img]

Let's get to work and sand these hulls.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/b2/7a/b27af23ee0d4a3bc40c0e909a8c96a4a.jpg[/img]

The sprues were found broken off briskly and that left some marks, but the seams were all removed cleanly.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/0d/c9/0dc9cabe8f5dc238a8acee628d88a040.jpg[/img]

Strasbourg got a degaussing cable that is missing on Dunkerque.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/0d/22/0d2255c175fb0337776fdcff1253085a.jpg[/img]

Hobbyboss indicated to drill some holes, but the leaders are touching the holes they do not want you to drill. I missed one of these, but the wood deck will cover that up.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/96/19/9619b62181fb3d11bbb66ced6060d94f.jpg[/img]

This breakwater is replaced but the deck edge thingy should remain.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/0b/85/0b85cfed1767bececf721ed928747c50.jpg[/img]

That worked once for Dunkerque, so let's repeat that for Strasbourg.

[img]https://www.modelbrouwers.nl/media/cache/33/ce/33ce610e2fcb1bac955107b1db15c93a.jpg[/img]

One thing to pay attention to are the boat rails after B turret. I saw a PE set for these in the Woodhunter deck set, so I removed the plastic. Apparently the Shipyard Dunkerque set I do want to use makes use of these plastic rails. I did not yet remove them on the second kit, so I'll try to use the PE for this one but it is very thin. Actually it's made to rest on the wood so I may have to remove the slits.

Steven, you are welcome.