Revell 1/350 Bismarck

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

Bill Morrison

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'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

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 

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!

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

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!

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

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

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 

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

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 

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 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