Canute

Nice work, Keith. That looks very realistic.
 
John

Very nice work! The "bite" torn off the roof is an especially excellent detail.

Thank you to everyone for the comments and likes. 
 
 Between doctors, caregiving, and getting the yard and house ready for the 4th there's been little time to work on the model. 
 

 

 
 Some good progress and some not so good progress. Say bye to the searchlight, stupid thing looks like those old loudspeakers that were carried on top of trucks in the 30's.
 
 The searchlight housing is a bell I received with the crown broken off. I tried adding a one hole stanchion top but that made it too long. i'll remove and rework, we'll see what I can come up with. 
 
 I'm happy with the hose and steam gun made from 24 gauge annealed wire. The cut off pipe that holds the steam gun handle and light board lamps are made from the same jewelry findings. The fore lamp is okay, it's one of those it is what it is items. 
 
 I am not happy with the ships bell. It was the smallest bell I could order (I ordered two) and both came with the crown opening filled. I tried to drill out the hole but couldn't as the hole is a .015 inch opening and my tiny drills were not up to the task. As a work around I made a hole in a pice of wood that the crown would fit in and glued the crown into the hole. it works but it doesn't look near as elegant as it would have had the crown had a hole. The more I look at it the more I want to rip it off as well. That's another "we'll see" item......sigh.

 
I'm pleased with the "bite" out of the starboard side roof, by the size and shape, I assume was made with a miss aimed bucket loader.  

 
 I think the enclosed area on the port side wall was for isolating and running a gas engine to run a electrical generator. I know that they had to have a generator because of the lights but there were also water pump/pumps and the furnace's automatic coal feeder. If there was more space and there wasn't an open flame (the furnace) I'd say they were all belt driven by a single gas engine so I'm thinking electrical motors would make more sense. If the enclosure did in fact house a gas motor they would have wanted to put that behind a closed door away from the furnace. If you look at the original photo above, in front of the cut off pipe holding the steam gun there are what appear to be old fashioned gas cans (?) and that's as far away from the furnace as you can get on this tub. 

 
 Only after I'm happy with the alterations will I weather the engine room. The pilothouse is not yet glued to the engine room roof. 

 
 After the engine room is finished I'll start building the hull as there are items inside the engine room that need to get made and installed. 
 
 Thank you to all for your support and for following along.
 
   Keith

the interior looks like a real, full-sized ship!
astounding attention to detail Matthias

Absolutely amazing!

Wow, this build is so next level. I am amazed and humbled every time you update this thread 😁
 
 

Super job detailing the turrets. I still can’t believe how you do the railings.
alan

The railings and ladders are incredible Phil!

Way cool, Phil. The railing turned out great. 

Mark,
  Thank you very much!
 
Half of the turrets are fully assembled with railings, handles and ladders now:

The shaping of those railings is tricky.
 
They still need painted and sealed.

Im In Alan,   "Little Piddle" there is also a "Greater Piddle"  I believe.
 
OC.

Trumpeter has good detailed and reasonably priced kits. Great Value for money. The selection of kits also is getting better every year

Also agree, happy medium gives the best off both worlds. Watch when you position the boats on this deck Jolle, space is a premium, considering the Micromaster Pinnace is quite a bit shorter than the kit one, l found it a tight squeeze to shoehorn them in, that’s when l had to add extra steelwork supports to support the extra boat cradles, it just goes on forever Jolle 😂, you might want to check out the pinnacle style, l did remove the helm screen on the last one that l made to make it look like it was from another ship, did manage to gently break this of and change the rear cabin, this probably makes it a bit nearer the period for 1905. Shall put up a photo off book l purchased that was a good help for photos and info. Shall also get said info from you on anchor chairs for Bismarck definitely 🤛 Your model is coming on a treat 👍

Thanks, Mike.
I absolutely agree with you. Especially when it comes to all the little things. With cannons, small boats, and the crew for example.
It's fantastic how much more depth these details can add to the model. The pinnace wouldn't get as much out of it, even with the set of pontos from the original kit model.
 

 
But when I think of fully printed sections like the bridge you mentioned, I'm just as torn as you are. Where does model building end, and when do we enter the realm of simply assembling Lego bricks? But everyone has to decide that for themselves.
I think, as is often the case, the happy medium is the right way.
 
 

Beautiful work Jolle!  The new 3D printed accessories for model ship kits is another advancement beyond PE.  It's amazing that you can buy 3D printed bridges for a number of models - not sure how I feel about that, as that seems to be more about assembling than modeling.  I have bought a number of 3D sets for my various kits to model small details like small boats, guns, ammo boxes, etc.  

And immediately, I have the next nerve-wracking construction phase ahead of me.
But I was particularly looking forward to this part. I’m starting to incorporate a miniature marvel of 3D printing technology into my model.
The 50-foot steam pinnace. https://forums.kitmaker.net/images/emoji/google/star_struck.png?v=14
But first, I have to get it into the cradles and onto the struts.
I made a jig for that.
 

 
One each for the starboard and port sides. The stripes aren’t exactly evenly spaced on the two sides, and I have to take that into account.
 

 
I now glue the cradles onto the gauge and can then align and change them easily without damaging the now quite delicate Mikasa.
 
  For example, the distance to the access to the higher deck is important, as the pinnace’s rudder extends quite far out. And toward the bow, I have to pay attention to the funnel rigging.     I have the same problem with the cradles as I did with the cutter amidships.
They don’t fit where they were originally printed. And besides, only three were planned. But the pinnace rests on four struts, so I need one more cradle. It’s nice that four boats will be hanging from the davits at the stern later, so I can repurpose the cradles.
Then I took out the profiles and adjusted them. It’s better.     And so the first pinnace could be placed in its cradles and placed on the deck for testing. You can see a faulty print in the hull. This has already been claimed, and I’m getting a new one.
In front of the boat, you can see a thin round rod. This is supposed to simulate the funnel rigging. You really have to think of everything. At least you should try to, so you don’t end up on your backside in the next step. https://forums.kitmaker.net/images/emoji/google/worried.png?v=14
 

the layout & shape of the aft superstructure appears to be wrong according to these links.
Starboard view off Norfolk Navy Yard, 3 June 1942. http://www.navsource.net/archives/01/015560.jpg
November, 1944. http://navsource.net/archives/01/055/015515g.jpg
in 1945. Line drawing by A.L. Raven http://www.navsource.net/archives/01/015596.jpg
http://www.navsource.net/archives/01/55a.htm

I worked at the rear section, added as Mich details as possible.scratch built, 3d print + PE work.
 

Some more progress, the wood deck has finally been fitted and the hull primed. I used Mr Aqueous Surfacer, but in a spray can, which I used since it was much easier to cover larger areas, but also because I didn’t have the glass jar ones. I also skipped completely priming the gun tubs because I didn’t want to lose out the wooden deck detail. I might skip priming the superstructure because spray canning it might make me lose detail. I heard that not using a primer makes the paint flake off the PE, does varnish help seal the paint?

Some blemishes from dust and paint sticking, to be dealt with:

Work hours: 144 hrs

The cockpit tub starts to become busy. I added the seat belts to the seat and then this was glued into the tub. I really like MFH seat belts, as they look good and are relatively easy to assemble. There are white metal buckles and PE parts and two widths of blue ribbon. All got assembled using double sided tape, which has a strong bond and is supplied with the kit. I bought seat belt sets for other kits too, like for my 1/12 Tamiya kits.
The manual placed the headrest/rollbar before the seat, but I chose to do it after, because it was easier to fiddle in the seat belts behind the seat.





Cheers Rob

Should be an interesting build. I'm in.

Should be an interesting build. I'm in.

Planking bends amidships are generally gradual, with the greatest curves needed at the bow or stern.  What I've done with pre-soaked planking needing more bend at the end is to put the end into my mouth ... Don't scoff, since perhaps there is something in saliva that helps the process - then I cautiously use my front teeth to slightly crimp the wood sequentially, with hand and tongue forming a tighter radius.  One can 'feel' the fibers strain and just start to crack a little, which is the cue to back off.  Its a bit of an art, but with  some practice its worked for me.
  Different species of wood have a variety of tastes, but as with wine tasters, one does not swallow but rinses with water to cleanse the palette.

Thanks.
 
I know some people "pickle" brass with Sodium Bisulfate (SPAREX NO. 2) to clean the surface and provide a bit of roughness. It is an acidic solution. This is usually done before using a blackening solution.
 
Caustic soda (Sodium Hydroxide) is a strong base and has been a component of soaps for a long time. Concentrated sodium hydroxide will cause chemical burns on the skin.