Calling all Bismarck and Tirpitz fans

[Olaf Held]

Be careful with that red brown (orange???) for the turret tops. Just use a flat red, softened down. Furthermore, you should have a look at contemporary photos showing this camouflage, and then decide what to do with the top of turret B (well, with all turret tops)...

You should trust photos only (wink, wink)...


Happy painting ~ Olaf!

[CrazyJoeDavola]

Hello all,

I have recently picked up model making; I have done several 1/35 armour models and have stepped up to ship building. My dad had a half complete 1/350 USS Enterprise CVN65 which I completed as a surprise for him and I am onto my next challenge. The Bismarck. I wanted to go all out so I also purchased a PE bismarck set and wooden deck to go with the kit.

the kit: Tamiya 1/350 Bismarck
add ons: WEM Ultimate Bismarck/Tripitz Set
Pontos DKM Bismarck Wooden Deck Type 1

Status: Finished Painting hull, nearing deck mounting stage

Problem: I went to dry fit the 3 deck sections to the hull and noticed a fairly large gap (1/16' or 2mm) between the centre deck and the rear deck (Image 1). The front and rear decks are sitting perfect and flush to the bow and stern of the hull. (image 2/3)

Any suggestions how to fix this problem? I am very concerned as I have the pontos wooden deck to apply afterwards. 1 Do close the gap by merly shifting the rear deck towards the bow, resulting in the gap at the rear most stern portion (image 4) and have the wooden deck hopefully cover it up or 2. Should I leave the gap as is and place the pontos wooden deck across the gap?

Thoughts, suggestions, anything will help,

Thanks everybody! Cheers!

[Harquebus]

As you may know, many of the Tamiya 1/350 battlewagons were produced during the time when the motorized model was in its heyday. The Bismarck was designed to be a sailing, motorized model so the center deck was made removable for easy access to the batteries and other maintenance.

The gap between the deck sections was designed to be minimal and it is usually molded correctly but during the production process, sometimes it is said that the plastic is not allowed to cool properly before released from the mold and thus the plastic contracts and shrinks a bit as it is removed, resulting in the gaps you are experiencing.

That being said, most people opt to fill the gap with appropriately sized pieces of sheet or scrap styrene and sand them flush to the surrounding deck. Gaps at the stern and bow would be more difficult to make it look right.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

[Aur]

Yes, styrene will work.
Luckily, I don't have any problem with both of my Tamiya Tirpitz kits..
Like Harq said, fill the gaps on the center decks.

I found many errors in my Tirpitz build, for example the wrong trunked funnel shape (should be squared, not rounded). So, I recommend anyone with the Tamiya Bismarck/Tirpitz not to go super detailing or fixing all of the errors, cause there are so many, and will take lots of time. Better save the effort for the accurate Revell kits.

Welcome to ship building, and good luck with your Bismarck!

Aur.

[Aur]

Hi all,

I have been trying to find a good photo that would clearly show Tirpitz' funnel details, but only found a very blurry shot of her fitting out, so I wonder if there is a higher resolution version of it... Any other clear shots of the funnel would be good as well.

Thanks in advance,

Aur

[Aur]

Hi all,

I have been trying to find a good photo that would clearly show Tirpitz' funnel details, but only found a very blurry shot of her fitting out, so I wonder if there is a higher resolution version of it... Any other clear shots of the funnel would be good as well.

Thanks in advance,

Aur

Forgot the picture..

[CrazyJoeDavola]

As you may know, many of the Tamiya 1/350 battlewagons were produced during the time when the motorized model was in its heyday. The Bismarck was designed to be a sailing, motorized model so the center deck was made removable for easy access to the batteries and other maintenance.

The gap between the deck sections was designed to be minimal and it is usually molded correctly but during the production process, sometimes it is said that the plastic is not allowed to cool properly before released from the mold and thus the plastic contracts and shrinks a bit as it is removed, resulting in the gaps you are experiencing.

That being said, most people opt to fill the gap with appropriately sized pieces of sheet or scrap styrene and sand them flush to the surrounding deck. Gaps at the stern and bow would be more difficult to make it look right.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the information; I filled and sanded the gap smooth.

I look forward to the joys of ship building!

Cheers!

[GTDEATH13]

Be careful with that red brown (orange???) for the turret tops. Just use a flat red, softened down. Furthermore, you should have a look at contemporary photos showing this camouflage, and then decide what to do with the top of turret B (well, with all turret tops)...

You should trust photos only (wink, wink)...


Happy painting ~ Olaf!

Thank you for the feedback Olaf. I have found some black and white photos of the ship with this camouflage. I think that dark grey turret tops could be an option, perhaps the safest one.

[Airborne]

Hello guys,

New to this forum but not modeling. This is my 8th or 9th ship I am building but the first one I am goign all out with. But I have 2 qeustion about the bismarck I am building.

Question 1: I got to the point where I am to paint and mount the Arado plain. But in this scale (1:700, to small for me...) the plain seems a tad to but. Not much but enough for me to notice... Is there some one who had the dimensions of the real plain and especially the distance between the point where the wings fold and the fuselage? It seems to me that if I cut and fold the wings and cut of the plastic that goes into the catapult, the plan would not fit in the hangars. I already asked my grandfather (expert on planes) but he could help me. See pictures


Where the wings folded indicated by the scalpel


Arado on catapult, doesnt it look to big?

Qeustion 2: As I cant fins any detailed photo's op de bolders. Does anyone know if the bolders on BIsmarck and Tirpitz ( next project) were raised from the deck or if the wood deck was laid against them? This As I could not get all of the bolders masked all around (too small) as can be seen in the picture.



Thanks!!

[LenFricke]

Robin,

I can't help you about your questions about the planes although they do look a bit off and totally lack detail. But what caught my attention was in the last photo in which you have painted the capstans tops red and green presumably for port and starboard. I believe this is way off as the many photos I have seen of the Kriegsmarine's heavy ships show them as having the capstans with vertical stripes that appear to be black and white. There are some very good photos of the Prinz Eugen during operation Weserubung showing the augmented army Flak guns and the capstans can be clearly seen. See the photos on pages 19, 22, 44, 67,85 and 86 of Mirosaw Skwiot's photo book on the Hipper Class. Or look at the photos on page 22 of Leon & Asmussen's German Naval Camouflage vol 2 in which the Tirpitz's capstans show this same pattern. Or page 55 showing the same pattern on Admiral Scheer in a color shot which suggest the striping was white and a blue gray. This pattern can even be see on the Nurnberg on page 92. Page 129 of vol 1 has a very good photo of the Prinz Eugen's capstans. And on page 30 has a good shot of the Bismarck's which also suggests the top of the capstans were white. I'm not a rivet counter but could not help noticing the capstans were not correct.

Someday I hope to visit Arnhem and Nijmegen and walk the key battlefields of Operation Market Garden. In the early 1990s I traveled through this area but did not have the time to explore. My cousin was a guide at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam but now lives in Harlem with her Dutch husband and many children. I also want to see the model of the Dutch battlecruiser that was never built but plans were made for it prior to WWII. I think the model is in a museum near Harlem. My email address is Len.Fricke@gmail.com

Len

[Aop Aur]

I also want to see the model of the Dutch battlecruiser that was never built but plans were made for it prior to WWII. I think the model is in a museum near Harlem.

Is it the Dutch's German-designed battlecruiser 1047? Would love to see pictures of it, as I would simply go crazy with such neverbuilt ship models and always get the inspiration to finish my builds in stash:):)

Regards,
Aop.

[Airborne]

I'm not a rivet counter but could not help noticing the capstans were not correct.

You are correct thatthe capstan's are not correct. I did that with the view of me as the captain of the ship. When I need to boss around the ship as a captain, I get so tired after a few days and at that point I foget what is is what.

I also want to see the model of the Dutch battlecruiser that was never built but plans were made for it prior to WWII. I think the model is in a museum near Harlem.

Is it the Dutch's German-designed battlecruiser 1047? Would love to see pictures of it, as I would simply go crazy with such neverbuilt ship models and always get the inspiration to finish my builds in stash:):)

Regards,
Aop.

After a bit of googling, yes it is the 1047. And not knowing about any museum in Haarlem that has a connection to the navy, there is a Navy museum in Den Helder, and that museum has a lot of models. Not only dutch but also US, RN, DKM.

EDIT: Found the answer of qeustion nr2. While browsing another casf topic I saw the word Osprey and remembered I have 1800+ Oprey books on pdf (75GB) and found this:

[Aop Aur]

After a bit of googling, yes it is the 1047. And not knowing about any museum in Haarlem that has a connection to the navy, there is a Navy museum in Den Helder, and that museum has a lot of models. Not only dutch but also US, RN, DKM.

EDIT: Found the answer of qeustion nr2. While browsing another casf topic I saw the word Osprey and remembered I have 1800+ Oprey books on pdf (75GB) and found this:

Thanks for the reply.

Please take lots of photos of those models for me, too!

Also, regarding your arado plane dimensions, did you check out the bismarck-class.dk yet? The best online site for german ships info and references..
Here is the Bismarck menu page in which you can find quite a few Arado's information, history, as well as plans.. http://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/b ... _menu.html

Hope this helps and good luck with your build!

Aop

[Airborne]

Aop,

I tried a few times to check bismarck-class.dk but couldnt get on the site (weird laptop) untill late last night. The plane is, depeding on height-width-length wise, 1 to 2 mm to big. Not much but noticeable.

Thanks, Bismarck is almost done, just the plane, masts and a few decals. Reason I asked, the next project is the Tirpitz (1:350) and I want to build it historically correct. So I am slowly getting into the preparation phase.

[Aop Aur]

Aop,

I tried a few times to check bismarck-class.dk but couldnt get on the site (weird laptop) untill late last night. The plane is, depeding on height-width-length wise, 1 to 2 mm to big. Not much but noticeable.

Thanks, Bismarck is almost done, just the plane, masts and a few decals. Reason I asked, the next project is the Tirpitz (1:350) and I want to build it historically correct. So I am slowly getting into the preparation phase.

Hello,

1:350?
Is your Tirpitz Revell or Tamiya? If possible, go with Revell, as it is much, much more accurate and detailed, and also cheaper. I am building Tamiya Tirpitz, and I found so many noticeable errors e.g., the funnel and bow...

Would you be waiting for Pontos Models upgrade set for Revell Tirpitz? That would help you a lot.

Please post some photos of your finished Bismarck, too!

Cheers,
Aop

[Modelist1976]

Hello.

Does anybody have some German standards DIN in using during the Second World War, according to which built warship.?
I also have copies of the original plans for the battleship Bismarck shipbuilding but I do not know whether they are complete. Maybe someone have similar but complete. I can replace the missing drawings.

[RaceFuel]

Unfortunately the Revell Tirpitz isn't really cheap anymore. It went out of production so the lowest price I've seen of it is $150 US..and goes up from there.

[Aop Aur]

Unfortunately the Revell Tirpitz isn't really cheap anymore. It went out of production so the lowest price I've seen of it is $150 US..and goes up from there.

I tried searching for it and yes it is extremely expensive... I looked up their own catalogue and the kit wasn't there..... This is my favourite ship and Revell is the only hope I have to create the most accurate Tirpitz. Would they continue production again in the near future? If not.............

Aop

[Dan Banks]

Revell and some other Mfg. have been doing this for years. They will take model out of production because of lagging sales, make room for new releases, or because they feel like it. When they think demand has grown, they will put it back in production, many times as a "new release" I'd like another Tirpitz too so here's my 2 cents. BRING BACK THE QUEEN!

[pascalemod]

I joined the forums and plan to show my builds here. Bismarck is the proper one. I have the Revell 1/700 with Eduard PE, Kriegsmarine railings, and brass barrels for the main guns. I dont think I have the other smaller guns though which kinda bothers me, so lets see.

My question is though which paints from Taimya acryllic is the correct hue for the gray? XF19? 20? 24? I am going for the Denmark strait camo, so mostly gray with the wave.

I wanted to post some pics but Ill revert with something more acceptable later.