Bismarck by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - GPM - 1:200 - CARD and PE

[maaaslo]

Not bad at all, i must say...

[maaaslo]

Regarding the grey parts not working the way you wanted, did you consider forming and fitting the part and only soing the "glass" portholes once its fully formed? I reckon if you use hair dryer on full blast to soften the plastic a bit...

[CDW]

To simulate glass on small portholes, could you use Micro Crystal Clear instead of the mylar? Being water based, maybe it would have undesired consequences on the paper, I don't know. 

[Dan Vadas]

54 minutes ago, maaaslo said:

Regarding the grey parts not working the way you wanted, did you consider forming and fitting the part and only soing the "glass" portholes once its fully formed? I reckon if you use hair dryer on full blast to soften the plastic a bit...

Pav, each "glass" is only a round piece 1mm larger than the actual hole. I used my punch to make them. The problem was that where the kit said to make the slit for the change of angle was just a bit too close to the last porthole. It was something I had forseen, but it turned out being worse than I thought it would be . I should have glued more bracing underneath the section where the slit was. I'd have had to fill and paint the slit anyway, now I've just got a heap more filler and painting to do . No problem, I can do that .

 

38 minutes ago, CDW said:

To simulate glass on small portholes, could you use Micro Crystal Clear instead of the mylar? Being water based, maybe it would have undesired consequences on the paper, I don't know. 

I probably could have CDW, but I don't have any. Doesn't matter now - there are no more portholes to do in the hull. I'll be a lot more aware of this if there are any portholes in rounded areas of the superstructure .

 

  Danny

[BANYAN]

Very nice work on the hull Danny, looks like you have mastered this build medium.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[hof00]

Just awesome Sir!!

You are a much braver man than I.

 

Cheers....HOF

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Pat and Hof.

 

I've done a few more bits and pieces. The last of the Filler has been applied to the hull, I'll sand it down when it's dried properly :

 

As I'm getting near the end of filling, sanding and touch-up painting the hull it's about time I made the Stand for it before turning it "right-way-up". I used 1mm and 0.5mm card in an "I-Beam" type configuration similar to the one I made for Amatzukaze. The holes were punched out with a 4.5mm die in my RP Toolz punch set :

 

The two parts of the stand ready for paint :

 

And with a coat of matt black. I'll give them a couple of coats of matt clear later :

 

The last thing for today is the framing for the Main Keel :

 

  Danny

[CDW]

When it comes time I actually do start one of my card models, your build logs will help give me much more confidence and hopefully help me better understand what kind of things I need to pay close attention to. Fitting those hull panels, putty and touch-ups.

Seems like you have really made quick progress on this model. 

I would dread to think I had to cut out all the chipboard frames for a model like this. Seems that laser cut frames are the way to go by far. 

[Dan Vadas]

1 hour ago, CDW said:

I would dread to think I had to cut out all the chipboard frames for a model like this. Seems that laser cut frames are the way to go by far.

They are definitely the way to go . Actually I'm not all that happy with the laser cut frames on this model, they are a very loose fit. The frames on Amatsukaze were a much neater fit, not too tight, just right. Another reason I'll be going back to Halinski for my next card model.

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

I've skinned the Main Keel, which is also the housing for the central prop shaft.

 

This went together reasonably well, except that it doesn't quite line up with the marks on the hull - both lengthwise and across the middle section. This is no big deal, as it will get a touch of filler at the join and then some touch-up paint :

 

  Danny

[popeye the sailor]

the hull is look'in super  

[jct]

looking good Danny...if I may ask what are you using to fill, I used a wood putty on my Pinta hull?

J

[cog]

"I've skinned the Main Keel" ... what a pitty to take it all off again ... it looked so good ...

[Dan Vadas]

5 hours ago, jct said:

what are you using to fill?

I'm using Testor's filler (grey tube in the pic below). It's designed for Plastic filling, but it works OK on paper. I find it's a lot finer than any of the Wood Fillers I've got.

 

I squeeze enough out of the tube for the job I'm doing onto the piece of chromed steel in the above pic, then I use a flat Xacto chisel to apply it. It dries very quickly, so I thin it down with Isopropyl Alcohol as I'm using it by dipping the chisel into the jar of alcohol.

 

It sands very easily too, using 150 grit for the initial sand, then 360 grit, and as a final finish I wipe over all of it with a Q-tip dipped in Acetone.

 

  Danny

[Landlocked123]

Hi Danny,

 

Well, you are virtuoso in wood and now card.  All else being equal, which do you prefer?

 

Best, 

John

 

[Dan Vadas]

5 hours ago, Landlocked123 said:

All else being equal, which do you prefer?

Thanks John . Wood is easier, but I don't really have a preference at the moment. I'd say they are pretty even.

 

  Danny

[amateur]

Did you ever had a try at plastic/PE?

 

Jan

[jct]

Thanks for the tip Danny

[Dan Vadas]

9 hours ago, amateur said:

Did you ever had a try at plastic/PE?

 

Jan

The last Plastic model I made was before the invention of PE. Just kidding, but it seems like that long ago . In any case I was unaware PE existed at the time.

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

I'm currently working on the Propellor Housings, Shafts and Screws. I'm a little undecided as to which way the screws should turn. I've Googled "Propellor Rotation" and come up with either conflicting opinions, or "it doesn't matter". Any thoughts? as (of course ) there is nothing in the kit instructions regarding this.

 

I'd guess that the Starboard screw should turn clockwise (viewed from the stern) and the Port screw anti-clockwise as per the usual twin-screw method. This could be open to conjecture, as I've found that Titanic's screws were the opposite to create more prop wash to attempt to assist the (undersize) rudder to work more efficiently - whether that contributed to the collision with the iceberg may have been a possibility but that's another story. In any case Bismarck has twin rudders, so that wouldn't have been a problem.

 

So the question is - which way did the central screw turn? I'm guessing it wouldn't have mattered either way, but if anyone has definitive information it would be appreciated before I glue on the blades.

 

BTW - I'm going to duplicate this post in "Ship's Plans and Project Research" in case someone who doesn't follow this thread has the info.

 

  Danny

[BANYAN]

Hi Danny, you will get many conflicting results from google or similar searches as the direction was a design criteria and differed from ship Class to ship Class.  Even to this day,  ships have different propellor configurations to meet the design requirements, which are determined by the winning bidder/tender (and accepted by the Navy/Company) unless specifically detailed in the tender request/Contract.  There are arguments offered about fuel economy versus maneuverability etc etc. for the different configurations.  Also, as you have summised you need sufficient flow over the rudders to make them effective.  Even with twin rudders, if they were not big enough, or incorrectly placed, they may not have been effective with a particular screw configuration.

 

Unless you can find  a contract or authoritative document that states what the configuration was, I would recommend the best way to determine this would be to look at any photos of the screws if any exist.  The pitch of the blades (I think they were all fixed pitch in these days) will indicate which way they turned? For the central screw, I would not be surprised if it turned in the same direction as the motor output to minimise gearing and complication.   It may also be that this screw was only used if extra/the highest speed was needed.  That does not help you determine the direction, but apart from the pitch, if you know the motor/engine type, it may be possible to trace that back as well to find it's mechanical properties .....

 

I would be very surprised that a ship of this fame did not have propulsion information, including about the screws, published about it somewhere. 

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for that Pat. As it happens I have a very good source of information (HERE) kindly supplied to me by Wiley in the other forum I posted to. It has everything I need, and the best thing is that it's almost exactly the same as the screws I'd glued together just before I saw the post . The pics clearly show the screws the way I'd figured they would be, two clockwise and one counter-clockwise. The only difference I could see was that I didn't give them quite enough pitch, but I can live with that :

 

Here are the parts for the outer housings. The "hourglass" shaped ends didn't have laser-cut bracing, so I cut a couple from scrap card. There's a fair bit of stress on the ends when the sides get glued on. As usual the kit design is inadequate :

 

I decided to see if I could roll the shafts from card instead of using styrene tubing or brass wire. I'm pretty happy with the result, even though they aren't quite perfect. I used some styrene clamps around the appropriate size drill bit to help with gluing them :

 

Some of the parts for the housing, shaft and screw assemblies :

 

The housings ready to fit to the hull. I think I'll leave the screws off until later in the build. I still need to do some other work on the hull first. Nothing has been painted yet :

 

  Danny

[BANYAN]

Glad to hear you were able to resolve it Danny; the model is looking very good.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[popeye the sailor]

if your still looking Danny,  I posted a site for semore that might help

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks Popeye, I've saved the link. Lots of useful info in there .

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

I've finally finished all the hull, including the touch-up painting. I managed to match the colours very well. They'll look even better when the matt clear goes on :

 

 

 

  Danny

[hof00]

Looking awesome!!

[Old Collingwood]

Looking Superb Danny   really really good  i think card is the ultimate in skill as it is so delicate,  you are the master at this for sure.

 

OC.

[semorebutts]

that looks awsome!

[Fernando E]

Looks fantastic Danny.

Cheers......Fernando