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Colossus-Building the Bismarck-Trumpeter 1/200th
- Thread starter White_Wolf
- Start date
Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
Awesome!
Taking on life now 
That did make a difference!
It is really taking shape now and is a beautiful model!
Bob
It is really taking shape now and is a beautiful model!
Bob
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
Thanks Bob, it is taking shape, but I think the fiddliest parts are yet to come.
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
Right, one more small update...
My original intention to have the actual model done by the end of July is out the window. I spent a lot more time on the davits than originally estimated, and they are still not in positions yet. Part of the exercise was scratching the missing life boats.
Back when he went in the Baltic for trials, Herr Bismarck had a number of four lifeboats on the main deck. The boats are missing from the kit so there was no other option but to scratch them. As records show, there were only 4 davits (2 pairs) present, towards the bow. The other two lifeboats on deck did not need davits, as the big 12 ton cranes would have put them in the water when needed. Long story short, the davits were only present in the aftermarket MK1 kit, resin , bent and totally unusable. So, more scratching for me to do .... yay (not really).
Styrene and PE plus swearing (a lot) and there it is, one davit. Repeat 3 more times.
Two scratched boats and one original, from the kit. Used that one as reference, the scratched ones ended up being less than 1 mm shorter. Won't be able to tell the difference when mounted is my excuse to not go back and redo them.
Bismarck had 4 Arado 196 sea planes, PE parts from the aftermarket MK1 kit. This is the lot needed for the cockpit. I have one plane on the catapult, and one with wings folded in the hangar, door open so one can see a bit of the nose showing.
Now I have to glue the davits in place, rig them with EZ line, the long handrails on the main deck (joy), then these thingies on the hull (boat booms), scratched stuff again. And rigging, they will be showing in the "folded" position. The real thing had another cable attached, not present in the image below.
Maybe another week of work ...who knows.
As always, thank you all for looking and for the kind words.
Laurence
My original intention to have the actual model done by the end of July is out the window. I spent a lot more time on the davits than originally estimated, and they are still not in positions yet. Part of the exercise was scratching the missing life boats.
Back when he went in the Baltic for trials, Herr Bismarck had a number of four lifeboats on the main deck. The boats are missing from the kit so there was no other option but to scratch them. As records show, there were only 4 davits (2 pairs) present, towards the bow. The other two lifeboats on deck did not need davits, as the big 12 ton cranes would have put them in the water when needed. Long story short, the davits were only present in the aftermarket MK1 kit, resin , bent and totally unusable. So, more scratching for me to do .... yay (not really).
Styrene and PE plus swearing (a lot) and there it is, one davit. Repeat 3 more times.
Two scratched boats and one original, from the kit. Used that one as reference, the scratched ones ended up being less than 1 mm shorter. Won't be able to tell the difference when mounted is my excuse to not go back and redo them.
Bismarck had 4 Arado 196 sea planes, PE parts from the aftermarket MK1 kit. This is the lot needed for the cockpit. I have one plane on the catapult, and one with wings folded in the hangar, door open so one can see a bit of the nose showing.
Now I have to glue the davits in place, rig them with EZ line, the long handrails on the main deck (joy), then these thingies on the hull (boat booms), scratched stuff again. And rigging, they will be showing in the "folded" position. The real thing had another cable attached, not present in the image below.
Maybe another week of work ...who knows.
As always, thank you all for looking and for the kind words.
Laurence
Your attention to detail is amazing. It's really going to pay off.
Duke Maddog
Well-known member
Stunning, stunning work! I'll never be this good! 
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
I sure hope so MP, thank you !Your attention to detail is amazing. It's really going to pay off.
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
Stunning, stunning work! I'll never be this good!
Thank you Mark, but I beg to differ - we have our preferred subjects, you are building in a scale that is challenging to most - myself obviously included. I happen to like ships, and the submarine diorama was the first attempt at doing something this size (mind you, the sub is 1/72 scale, this is 1/200).
Keep doing what you're doing because you are doing it very very well
.Laurence
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
Time for another small update. Most things done, scratch and all, but then there's the rigging and that will take a long time. The lack of reference is much worse than I thought. Although many have built the model (in different scales etc), when I compared their models with the very few photos of the original, it looks like they got it not quite 100% correct. Extra wires, lack of wires, wires being anchored to the deck in all weird places and all sorts. Some builders did mention the lack of reference material, some pointed at different books and stuff. Only one mention somewhere mentioned a name of a guy who allegedly emailed Blohm & Voss and got the rigging diagram from them. Then, few others mentioned the Kagero book Bismarck in 3D or something to that effect, that apparently has the diagrams within. Long story short, I don't have it and I will rely on whatever info I have. If any of you gents have suggestions on this matter, I am happy to listen.
The two life boats and corresponding davits. The strange positioning might look strange - barrel so close and under the davit - might make you wonder how were these turrets going to operate in the first place. But, the davits and the boats on the main deck were all removed before the first and only mission Bismarck went on. This layout was only for the tests that were conducted in the winter of 1940 in the Baltic sea.
Ship boom - scratched and rigged. 0.5mm copper wire used.
Felix who loves laying on the box of the next project, the heavy M1142 fire fighting vehicle, a Trumpeter kit.
As always, thanks for watching.
Laurence
The two life boats and corresponding davits. The strange positioning might look strange - barrel so close and under the davit - might make you wonder how were these turrets going to operate in the first place. But, the davits and the boats on the main deck were all removed before the first and only mission Bismarck went on. This layout was only for the tests that were conducted in the winter of 1940 in the Baltic sea.
Ship boom - scratched and rigged. 0.5mm copper wire used.
Felix who loves laying on the box of the next project, the heavy M1142 fire fighting vehicle, a Trumpeter kit.
As always, thanks for watching.
Laurence
Heavens Eagle
Well-known member
All I can say is use your references as much as possible. Then extrapolate what they are showing and what the purpose and thought is. My Arizona is that way in that it had so many refits over the 20+ years it was in service. You really have to just ponder and extrapolate what it is you are dealing with.
The build is really looking superb Laurence! Keep at it, you are doing and awesome job!
The build is really looking superb Laurence! Keep at it, you are doing and awesome job!
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
You wore poor old Felix out.Everything looks believable to me, keep going.
Thanks Mike - don't let Feelix fool you though - he comes there, plays cute and cuddly, then he reveals his true intentions - FEED ME BISCUITS !!!!
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
Thanks Paul, that is true about refits / changes. In having said that, most photographs I found were taken during the build and possibly prior to the sea trials in the Baltic (which is what I was after to start with). There are so many different opinions about colors and stuff, but I have not heard anyone arguing about the rigging for example, or the arrangement of the boats on the deck and so on. I have to use the photos I could find, and it's painful. Having said that, I think it won't be too far from the real thing, as it were back in late 1940.
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
White_Wolf
Master at Arms
Another week another "not quite finished yet". Rigging continues, hand rails on the main deck has begun, but only a portion at the stern, because of the space I need along the hull to do the rigging.
For now, I managed to finish all the rigging around the superstructure in front of the fore mast.
Hand rails on the main deck near turrets Caesar and Dora.
Tomorrow will make a start on rigging the fore mast and main mast. Here's a taste of what I am about to get myself into:
Fore mast above
And the main one - I can see another week of work on the rigging alone ... joy...
Thanks for watching,
Laurence
For now, I managed to finish all the rigging around the superstructure in front of the fore mast.
Hand rails on the main deck near turrets Caesar and Dora.
Tomorrow will make a start on rigging the fore mast and main mast. Here's a taste of what I am about to get myself into:
Fore mast above
And the main one - I can see another week of work on the rigging alone ... joy...
Thanks for watching,
Laurence
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