Trumpeter 1/350 HMS Dreadnought 1907 WIP

I am building the same kit at this time.  Also building the SMS Konig on the same group build.  Will be paying close attention to how you tackle this build.

Marcus,

Thanks for checking the build out.  I love the pictures you posted earlier on your Dreadnought build, and hopefully I can get some pointers on any issues you have run into.  Did you have any issues with the seam amidships?

Steve

It was very uneven and I had to putty and sand a lot to remove the seam.  I had to trim the main deck to make it fit at the bow.

Marcus McBean

I am building the same kit at this time.  Also building the SMS Konig on the same group build.  Will be paying close attention to how you tackle this build.

i have both of these too and the other 3 KONIGs (don't ask) plus a 1/700 DERFLINGER.

I'll be watching this one, too, Steve - I've got the 1915 version on the bench. The hull is together, though, and I don't recall having any problems with it.

...whoops - my mistake - mine clearly has been sanded across the bottom seam, so both it and my memory are ploblems...

Marcus, Wayne and Brian,

Thanks for checking out the build, I always appreciate it.  Thanks for the heads up on the seam issue, it is good to know that it is a kit issue and not a fitting issue.  At leastI was not surprised when I spent most of the day filling and sanding.

Here are a couple of pics from that fun party today.

Steve

The seam issue went along the whole legnth of the ship as shown.

After about 5 filling and sanding episodes, I go her buttoned up fairly nice.  I'll check again in the morning to see what I missed.......

Nice start; I don't build ships ....yet...but this looks very cool;  well after you solved the seam problem 

Thanks Steve, it really is a fun and cool build.  I usually build sailing ships although I have been known to sneak in a steel navy once in a while.  Doing a more modern ship gives me the opportunity to work on a different type of weathering technique.  This U-Boat was the last steel ship I did about 2 years ago.

Steve

Steve,

As you know I'm also working on this model. I too had problems with the seam. Lots of filing, filling, and sanding!

The picture below is before I did the filing, filling, and sanding - obviously

Mike

It is looking good Mike, you're doing a great job on her. Thank goodness I finished mine last night.

Steve

I finished filling and sanding and added the bilge keels and mounting holes as well as priming the hull.  Now I m going to try and paint the decks and see if I can come up with a convincing aged wood deck look.

Steve

And one more of the entire hull.

I began work on my Dreadnought about a month ago, with White Ensign PE to supplement what is already provided by Trumpeter. I also bought the Artwox wood deck. So far, things are going well. I didn't have as bad a seam problem as you and others seem to have had, although it did require some filling and sanding. The wood decks complicate the build, as their thickness makes it impossible to put on some of the deck fittings as well as I'd like. I have built up most of the bridge, and found the WE PE for the bridge front just a tiny bit wider than the plastic part it replaces. Their watertight doors are also a bit too large, making fit of decks above them poor. To that end, I filed the tops of the doors until it fit right. Fortunately, it was in an area where the doors will be virtually invisible. I will test fit other replacement doors, and leave them off if they don't fit. My next big task is to assemble the secondary guns with the WE PE. They will look great, but will be a bit of a pain. The Kagero 3D book on Dreadnought has been a godsend. Good luck with your build!

Ships,

Thanks for checking my build out.  I appreciate the heads up on the wood decks and fit issues.  I have heard the same thing from other modelers here and on other forums, although it seems that people either love or hate the decks, there are very few who are ambivalent about them.

On the seam issue, I believe I was partly to blame, as I should have used weights inside and along the seam when I saw they were not mating as well as I would have liked it.  One thing I found was that none of my clamps were the right size to fit inside and outside along the seam.  So much for measuring twice and cussing once.  I am going down to Home Depot tomorrow to pick up some appropriate sized clamps for the other ship models I have going now and in the future.

One of the reasons I chose the Eduard PE sets instead of the WEM is that the WEM was mainly designed for the Zvezda model which is why some of your parts are oversized.  Don't get me wrong, I love WEM PE but I wanted to be sure of the fit before laying that much out for their set.  There are a number of extra parts on their PE set that Eduard does not have and I am not sure if I can scratch build them.

I would love to see some pics of your build and hear more of how your build is coming along.

Steve

Am just about to start this same build with almost the exact same compliment of AM stuff, the only difference being a Wood Hunter deck instead of an Artwox one. Will definitely be following along with interest.

When I ordered the WE parts, I thought it was for the Trumpeter kit, so that was my fault. One of the downsides I have seen so far is that the PE that Trumpeter provides is extremely fragile. Any time you fold the really delicate stuff, like platforms with railings, you had better make sure you do it right the first time, or it will likely break at the fold. So far, the absolute worst part has been the platform that goes on the fore funnel for the steaming light. Bending and folding it has been a nightmare, and one section of railing broke off while folding. Fortunately, it may actually work out better that way, as it will be easier to just fold the railing now and glue it to the platform. The other annoying part is the set of baffles that go in the funnel. There is so much bending and folding that I guarantee they will also break. In the midst of working through that issue, I did come up with a good idea. Paint the small funnel caps that fit into the funnel black, like you need to do. Then, place the top funnel grate on top of it in the final position, (don't glue it on, though). It works best if you leave the grate on the PE fret. Then take a contrasting color, white or light gray, and spray or hand paint the cap through the grate. It will give you great lines that show where the baffles should be attached to the cap. That will ensure the baffles line up with the grate. I'll try to get some pics on when I get a chance

Bill,

Thanks for following my build.  I loved what you did on the Zerstorer so I'll be following along on your build also. It will be interesting seeing all these Dreadnoughts being built.  After looking in on your's, you are right, you are at about the same place that I am.  Are you going to prime again with black?  I like that idea, but I am concerned that the black will darken all the other colors too much.

Ships,

I agree that the Trumpeter brass is really fragile and you can break it by staring at it!  Did the WEM PE come with enough rails to replace all the Trumpeter rails or are you going to have to still use it?  I know the Eduard did not, so I'll have to be extra careful on them.  I would love to see the method you have come up with.

Steve

docidle

Bill,

Thanks for following my build.  I loved what you did on the Zoroaster so I'll be following along on your build also. It will be interesting seeing all these Dreadnoughts being built.  After looking in on your's, you are right, you are at about the same place that I am.  Are you going to prime again with black?  I like that idea, but I am concerned that the black will darken all the other colors too much.

The WEM has enough rails to replace the Trumpeter PE, which doesn't really cover much more than the Admiral's walk area. Why they only did that one portion of the ship mystifies me. There are some duplicates with the Trumpeter PE, so I'll have some spares for future projects. I'm about to start working on adding parts to the 12 pounder guns. There are 3 pieces for each gun in the WE set, and I may augment the gunsights with very thin rod to make the actual sights. the 0.5 mm rod I have is too bit, so I may have to hit the hobby store this weekend to see if there is maybe 0.25 rod available.

I haven't tried to put any pictures up here yet, so I'll have to look into it to see how it is done. Once I figure it out, I'll let you know.

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that, after searching the instructions for at least 5 minutes, I can't find where these units go .

I had thought they might be around the stacks since that's mainly what is shown other than the hull. I guess I just need a little help here - I don't even know what they are. Anyway, here's the page and my plea for some assistance:

Mike

Mike,

Those are the three anchors that go on the bow. Why Trumpeter has you assemble them here in this particular step is a little bit of a mystery...you don't need them or install them for quite some time later on. HTH!

WBill,

Yes!! It helps me realize what an idiot I am not being able to recognize the anchors .

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I guess I just didn't look at pages 21 and 22 closely enough to see what they are.

Mike

No problem Mike! I'm building the same kit and had my own 'head scratcher' moment with it too so don't feel bad!

Ships,

There is a "tutorial" up in the general question section of the forums.  The main thing is to have a photo sharing site with your pictures, I use Photobucket.  Then after you have your pictures uploaded, you can copy and paste them on your post.  There are a couple more steps, but they are covered in the tutorial.

Mike,

Bill is correct, those mystery things are the anchors and yes, I too had a time trying to figure them out until I looked at the pieces on the sprue and had my a-ha moment.

Steve

I have been gluing PE hatches and skylights on the deck as well as painting the inside of of the hull flat black.  I intend to use Krystal Klear on the port holes and a plastic tube on the hawse holes.  Pictures to follow.

I put on hatch covers for the foc'sle deck after I put the wood deck on, as I noticed there was  a small overhang on the covers, (maybe due to the WEM set being made for what is apparently a slightly larger Zvezda kit). I've now started working on adding the PE parts to the 12 pounder guns. It isn't as bad as I was thinking, and it's actually sort of fun putting those little guys together.

Tnanks for the info. I haven't done anything with a photo sharing site, so I guess I need to join the 21st century!

Ships,

The Eduard hatches also have a bit of a overhang but I am not too worried if I decide to use the ArtWok deck, I'll just have to finagle it a bit.

As promised, here are a few more pictures of the build and where I am at.  I painted the interior Model Master Flat Black 1949 so that the scuttles will have a bit more depth and also to make sure that the interior is dark.  I plan on gluing a piece of sheet styrene between the hawse holes even though I will attempt to glue on plastic/rubber hoses to represent the structure between the deck chain holes and the hawse holes on the sides.  Right now, you can see right through them and down into the hull.

I started on the hatches PE so that I can get used to working with it again.  Last time I used PE was on the Revell 1/72 U-Boat VII-C two years ago.  I did forget to prime the PE although it will get primed with the deck after I get them all on.  I am also trying out Gator Glue for the PE.  It works pretty well, although I have to slow down since it does not have the instant+/- hold that Cyno glue has.

After I finish the PE on the decks and other sub structures, I am going to pre shade with either black or dark grey.

Steve

That looks great so far. One piece of PE that I wish either Trumpeter or WEM had included was the grates for the hawse pipes. Also, WEM only provided 4 chain stoppers in their set, but the Kagero book shows 5. Guess I'll have to decide who gets left out!