Revell 1/350 Bismarck

Oh one more thing too, don't forget the Quad 20MM MG-C/38 guns were installed late April of 41, along with the 2cm_Flak_38 army AA gun mounted either side of the aft armored command post.

Prior to that date she had the 20MM single mounts installed at those positions.

Nice work so far, one point I saw on the hull painting.  The boot top was slightly larger from the false bow wave to the stern wave.  You can see it here:

http://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/paint_schemes/paintbism1941.html

Great work keep the pictures coming!

Finally got back to this one after a long hiatus. I went ahead and just painted the black and white stripes and the false bow waves. The swastika and surrounding areas where also done by hand (obviously, since the kit provided nothing but a diagram)

From all the references I have seen I realize that the red borders are probably too wide but, quite frankly, after 4 attempts and the constant masking and spraying and re-masking and re-respraying on and on and on... I'm to just say "close enough". I think it looks OK and don't want to wreck it. Enough jabbering, here is what I have so far:

View from the top:

I have a lot of the sub assemblies done as well as the main and secondary batteries so as soon as I get the main deck finished and attached I can finally get moving.

Thanks for looking, as always, any comments or suggestions are welcome.

Regards,

Jeff

It's still in the stash. Got sidelined by review builds.

it was sunk by the british.

What ever happened to this here boat?

, Dave

The decals should be OK for the hull stripes, boot-topping, and bow and stern 'bow waves', but, although black/ white camo stripes are provided for the superstructure, in practice, I can't see them settling down over such irregular shapes. Think we're going to have to paint these on.

Cheers,

Chris.

firesmacker wrote:

Here is what I have so far. All comments are welcome. Regards, Jeff

Just wait till you get to the black an white stripes and the white blobs fore and aft. I still need to get to the dark grey camo pattern on mine before I tackle those white blobs. BTW mine is the Bismarks 1/570 scale little brother.

Here is what I have so far. All comments are welcome.

Regards,

Jeff

Ok,

So I got the hull painted today. The color looks about right to me. It was my first time painting anything this big so I have a few spots where the paint ran. I am thinking that I should wait a few days for those spots to dry all the way and then hit them with some fine grade sand paper?

I'll post pics tomorrow night to see what you guys think of the color. There are some spots that have heavier coverage than others so once it is all nice and dry, I will touch it up here and there.

Pics to follow.

Regards,

Jeff

searat12 wrote:

Interesting!  I hadn't thought about that, but if the shafts are meant to turn, perhaps something could be done by an RCer.... Maybe use the deck from the Tamiya model, and the hull of the Revell?

I think if you did that, you'd have the worst of both worlds - the two-piece RoG hull, with its seam to clean up and the potential for leakages, and the three-part Tamiya deck, with the (very difficult) joins to disguise.

The RoG props are only designed to turn very slowly, if at all, and I think the mountings would break if you were to attempt to turn the shafts at any speed, such as would happen if you connected them to an electric motor. Far better to use the Tamiya hull which, as noted previously, is designed for the purpose. The lower level of detail on the Tamiya kit is not necessarily a bad thing, because detail is fragile, and easily knocked off from working models -ask any railroad modeller!

Cheers,

Chris.

I can't see any way in which the RoG Bismarck could easily be motorised. the one-piece deck kinda puts paid to that. If you want a motorised Bismarck, the Tamiya kit is a much better starting point, especially as it has a one-piece hull, and is designed for motorization. Early releases were, in fact, motorised.

The outer prop shaft housings on the Bismarck are quite complex shapes, and I imagine that RoG chose to mould them as separate 3-piece items because it's easier to design accurate tooling that way. It's interesting to note that the kit's prop shafts and propellers are designed to turn!

Cheers,

Chris.

Thanks for all the responses guys.

I think I will just end up using the British Crimson I bought. It is a pretty deep red and I think that darkening it a little will do the trick.

I'm going to tape the hull tomorrow after I get home from work and give it a shot. I'll post pics after it dries to get some opinions.

Regards,

Jeff 

Chris,

I meant the light cruiser that served in WWII.

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,

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

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.

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. 

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

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

Bill Morrison

 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!

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.

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.

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

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

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.