Revell 1/350 Bismarck

Thanks for the reply Searat. Can you tell me just how much of a chore they are to do in your opinion? I may order the set just to do the rails. It just seems like to much to leave out. I'm not really concerned about radars, aa, etc.

Regards, 

Jeff 

I have the same kit, and I agree with Searat12.  Although the kit provides railings, they are somewhat oversize.  PE railings might be equally thin but tend to look better. Also, PE makes much more realistic-looking radars, cranes, AA guns, etc.  Yes, PE is a pain, but it is worth the effort.

Bill Morrison

Thanks Bill,

One concern I have is that every set I find says it's for the Tamiya kit. Is there that much of a difference? I don't want to have to start making bunch of modifications just to use PE meant for a different kit. I found a set at Tom's Model Works but it just says 1/350 Bismarck and unfortunatley the search engine on that site is pretty much useless So it's a little hard to nail down just what kit it is for. One size fits all maybe?

It makes Squadron look state of the art. (Not a knock on their service or products, they are great. The search function? Not so much...)

As I stated in my original post, I don't want to devote years to this project. Naturally I want it to look good but, I would also like to wrap it up in around 6 months.

Regards,

Jeff 

Jeff,

If you are not concerned with the radars, cranes, AA, and other small details, I would go for a build out of the box.  The kit is certainly well-detailed enough for a great model of the Bismarck.  I'm not too bothered by the slightly overscale railings because they are at least three-dimensional.  PE railings can be much too thin at the 1/350 scale.  I personally prefer PE for the other fine details I already mentioned.  But, you can get a fine build out of this particular box!

Happy modelling!

Bill Morrison

And this gentlemen is why I love this forum.

Thanks Bill. The kit comes tomorrow. I'll clean the parts and take a good look at them so I can fix in my mind how I want to tackle this. I will most likely spend the rest of the week masking. I'll post pics as I make progress.  

Regards,

Jeff 

My pleasure!  Enjoy the build!  I look forward to the pics!

Bill Morrison

here are some reviews I had bookmarked when the annoucement came out; available PEs from the usual cast of suspects (Eduard, Toms, WEM) are for the Tamiya kit. You could get generic ladders and rail sets in the meantime I guess; I am sure (?) some specific PE will come out for the revell Bismarck at some point unless the PE makers are backlogged making sets for all the new IJN 350 ships being released lately.

http://malaysiascalemodelling.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=2

http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/ships/dkm/bismarck/350-revell-peek/rvl-review.html

http://www.modelshipwrights.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=3249&mode=thread&order=0

I can't remember where I read it (on so many forums, I loose track) but one of the PE manufacturers listed a specific set for the RofG Bismarck as "TBA", so it should be forthcoming.

I have gotten as far as assembling the hull halves together. I found the the rear-most rounded portion of the deck is about a 1/16 short, so there is a glaring (to me anyway) gap. The rest of the deck is dead nuts on and fits tight, just the rear, and there's no splitting the difference front to back as the deck is held solid in place at the anchor cut-outs in the front and can't be shifted.

Some of the PE companies have generic German ship railings etc and I believe the set for the Tamiya Bismarck will do just fine, nothing that a good pair of PE scissors can't adjust.

Good luck with the build!

Thanks for the replies everyone. The kit was here when I got home from work today. When I opened it, man oh man, WOW! I think I felt it move "down there" I'm pretty excited...

The kit supplies decals for the hull camo and the waterline. I think I will just mask and paint those instead. Not sure what time frame I'm going for but, I just have to paint the turret tops in the darker color. It just seems to make it "pop" more to me.

It looks like I will just use the supplied parts for the rails and whatnot. This is my first time tackling anything this big. If all goes well, Missouri is next. That one I will use PE on.

Anyway, all parts are washed and are still drying. I'll begin masking the hull tomorrow.

I really want to do this kit justice when I display it. Any ideas or links to companies who make that sort of thing?

Regards,

Jeff

Firecaptain wrote:

I can't remember where I read it (on so many forums, I loose track) but one of the PE manufacturers listed a specific set for the RofG Bismarck as "TBA", so it should be forthcoming. I have gotten as far as assembling the hull halves together. I found the the rear-most rounded portion of the deck is about a 1/16 short, so there is a glaring (to me anyway) gap. The rest of the deck is dead nuts on and fits tight, just the rear, and there's no splitting the difference front to back as the deck is held solid in place at the anchor cut-outs in the front and can't be shifted. Some of the PE companies have generic German ship railings etc and I believe the set for the Tamiya Bismarck will do just fine, nothing that a good pair of PE scissors can't adjust. Good luck with the build!

Yep at the stern. It's almost as if the deck was molded too short at the rear. and I say that because of the way iy fits at the anchor cutouts and the bow and everywhere else fits perfect.

I was thinking of writing Revell and see if I could get another deck, but was hoping someone here had the kit to dry-fit theirs and see what gives.

I posted this on another site and got no response.

Thanks 

I'm currently in the process of gluing the hull halves together. I did a test fit and the main deck fits just fine. The only issue I have so far is that a small piece of the bullnose on the starboard half is busted off. It's very tiny so I'm sure I can fix it.

One problem I am having is gluing to midships part of the hull together. The bow and stern are fine but getting that long run is giving me fits. I don't see any way of securing it without pulling the upper half of the hull out of whack. I may just get it as close as I can and then pull any gaps with putty or styrene. Any suggestions? I don't have any clamps that are anywhere near big enough. Any tips would be welcome.

Regards,

Jeff

I placed the 2 hull halves firmly on some wax paper on the fitchen counter and used medium super glue and accelerator and kid of tacked it as I went along being sure to keep the flat bottom of the hull firmly on the flat counter. My son would squirt the acceleerator as I pushed and held the 2 pieces together with the pressure being firm and linear at the bottom.

Once the small tacks were done I ran a bead down the entire seam. After that dried thouroughly I coated the entire seam and about a 1/2" on either side with 5 minute epoxy.

Any gaps on the exterior of the hull seam was filled with the med super glue but with no accelerator.

So you're saying that your deck fits tight and at the rear most edge of the hull with no gap at all, and the front is the same, with no gap?

Thanks 

I just dry-fit mine and it fits fine. I see no gaps anywhere. 

Bill Morrison

I've read the discusson of the hull/ deck fit of the RoG 1/350 Bismarck with increasing concern. I've therefore just taped the hull and the deck together - and experinced no fit problems whatsoever! (phew!)

I started by taping the two hull halves together from the waist, and then worked outwards towards the stem and stern.  There's a centreline seam which will need cleaning up, but no more than any other 2-part hull kit I've ever built, and far better than most. I think I'll reinforce the seam from the inside with pieces of scrap plastic card, and I'll be using gap-filling CA for the join, tacked and then flooded, but I don't envisage any problems.

The deck fitted perfectly too. Again I started from the waist and worked outwards. Maybe there's the tiniest gap right at the bow, but nothing that a spot of Tippex won't cure. To add strength to the hull, I might install some sprue spacers just below weather deck level, but that'll be about it.

I've taken some piccies of all this, which I'll post presently.

As far as the etch is concerned, I talked to John at WEM about this earlier in the year. He said he wasn't planning to do a set specially for the RoG kit. He felt that it was (much) better detailed than the Tamiya kit, and that their etched set for the Tamiya kit would provide all that was needed. I'm planning on starting my Bismarck early next year, and I'm alomst certain that I'll be using the WEM etch, though, if I order it directly from GMM, their etch is barely half the price, but nowhere near as finely-etched as the WEM set.

Cheers,

Chris.

Firecaptain wrote:

I placed the 2 hull halves firmly on some wax paper on the fitchen counter and used medium super glue and accelerator and kid of tacked it as I went along being sure to keep the flat bottom of the hull firmly on the flat counter. My son would squirt the acceleerator as I pushed and held the 2 pieces together with the pressure being firm and linear at the bottom. Once the small tacks were done I ran a bead down the entire seam. After that dried thouroughly I coated the entire seam and about a 1/2" on either side with 5 minute epoxy. Any gaps on the exterior of the hull seam was filled with the med super glue but with no accelerator. So you're saying that your deck fits tight and at the rear most edge of the hull with no gap at all, and the front is the same, with no gap?   Thanks

Joe,

Yes, the main deck fit into the hull so tightly, I had to take care when prying it out again. Sounds like your kit is an abberation. I would contact Revell or the company you bought it from.

Jeff

Hey guys, thanks for checking that for me, I'm calling Revell tomorrow.

Here are the piccies of my Bismarck's hull and weather deck taped together:

First, the whole hull from below:

Next, the weather deck from above:

now the bow from below (not the best piccy I've ever taken):

and the stern:

Finally, the weather deck, right fo'rrad:

and the stern:

As you can see, no significant fit issues at all, especially when you bear in mind that the parts are only taped, not glued, together.

Oh, and use etch for at least the railings, ladders and radars. I've yet to see these convincingly represented in injection plastic in scales smaller than 1/144.

Cheers,

Chris.

chris hall wrote:

Here are the piccies of my Bismarck's hull and weather deck taped together: First, the whole hull from below: Next, the weather deck from above: now the bow from below (not the best piccy I've ever taken): and the stern: Finally, the weather deck, right fo'rrad: and the stern: As you can see, no significant fit issues at all, especially when you bear in mind that the parts are only taped, not glued, together. Oh, and use etch for at least the railings, ladders and radars. I've yet to see these convincingly represented in injection plastic in scales smaller than 1/144. Cheers, Chris.

 Passport? Never heard of one! I was at the German Naval museum at Laboe! Look it up!

 Interesting stuff I have heard this model puts the Tamiya one out to pasture. Nice to see it closer up! Thanks!

Actually, I have been very impressed by the fit overall.  I find this to be an outstanding kit!

Bill Morrison

Ok guys,

I believe I have the colors for the hull beneath the waterline. It looks like some British Crimson mixed with some Rust will do the trick. (I'm using MM Enamels) I couldn't find any sort of "Hull Red" colors anywhere so I am improvising.

I will go Light Grey for the rest of the hull and the superstructior. I just need a suggestion for the tops of the guns. Dark Grey? Dark Gull Grey?

Anyone who has done this before (or even if you haven't) please feel free to chime in.

Another question, has anyone done a similar kit and used the waterline and/or the camo decals? And if so, how did they look? Should I just skip them and paint them on instead?

Any input would be very much appreciated.

Regards,

Jeff

In her relatively short life, the Bismarck appeared in a number of different colour schemes. These are described and discussed here:

http://www.kbismarck.com/drawings.html

here:

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/paint_schemes/paintbism1940.html

and here:

http://www.smmlonline.com/articles/kriegsmarinecamo/kreigsmarine.html

The latter gives Humbrol and Floquil equivalents for most of the relevant colours. The kit colour instructions are pretty accurate too, but they give the colours in Revell Germany paints (and mixes therof) so may not be too useful on your side of the Pond.

As to Hull Red, Tamiya do a generic one in their acrylic range (XF9), or you can get the exactly correct shade, Schiffsbodenfarbe III Rot 5 in the White Ensign Models Colourcoats range. Notice that if you want the exactly correct colours, they are all available in this range.

http://www.whiteensignmodels.com/

I think the striping decals would best be used to make templates for masks, and the black and white stripes to be sprayed. I'd do this before spraying the light grey main hull colour - much simpler than the other way round. I have concerns about how well the decals would settle down over the superstructure and funnel, and don't really want to have to Future large parts of the model if I can avoid it. OTOH, since the boot-topping is provided as decals, I might use the hull striping.

Cheers,

Chris. 

Chris - thanks for the FYI on the PE, good to know that the Tamiya Bis PE will work with the Revell kit. Thanks for the pics too, glad to see fit is not an issue. Great links too! cheers

here is a link with paint chips for Kriegsmarine colors, including Schiffsbodenfarbe III Rot 5 (Underwater Hull Red) and colourcoats order #s

http://www.afrikakorps.org/kriegsmarinecolors.htm

You may be able to replicate this color starting with MM enamel Insignia red and adding increasing amounts of dark brown:

From a WIP, bottom sub is painted MM enamel Insignia Red, top sub MM enamel Insignia red + dark brown. More "brown" will get you closer to Schiff Rot 5.

Chris,

Thank you for those links! They are very informative. Now for my pitch . . . I love the WEM Kriegsmarine line of colors.  I can't wait to use them when someone manufactures a 1/350 Prinz Eugen, Admiral Hipper, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Blucher, Leipzig, Nurnberg, Emden, Karlschruhe, et al.

Bill Morrison

Revell Germany do, of course, already do a 1/350 Emden, but you'd need WEM's Imperial German Navy range of colours for that. It would be good if Revell Germany were to do kits of the other subjects on your wish-list, Bill, but, sadly, it's more likely to be Trumpeter who would then queer the pitch for anyone else.

Cheers,

Chris. 

Chris,

I meant the light cruiser that served in WWII.

Bill Morrison