Dawie van Rensburg

Build Report 03 - Decking Detail in progress and 95% complete: Thought it wise to protect all these small and delicate parts

Build Report 02 I continued working on the Pontos Upgrade parts Various parts painted and ready for final fixing to the model Wooden deck prepared Tripod cannons also ready for placement on the model Finally Bismarck arrived - had to unpack and see what I was in for! A very intimidating model . . . . Testing the size of the base - all fits well! Drilling holes for the port holes and ladders Seriously small stuff to fix! 0.3 and 0.5 mm holes to drill and ladders to fix! Inserting the mesh for the water ports Primer and pre-shading The hull painted and water line added Preparing and painting the camouflage stripes and false bow wave The entire hull sealed with Pledge floor polish, weathered and finally sealed with matt varnish Wooden decking added Preparing and painting the top deck markings Bismarck is now permanently fixed to its base from where the rest of the build will continue . . .

Brain, you are a 100% correct. My estimate is that you can spend at least a few months working on just the upgrade kit before you have to start assembly of the actual model. I must admit though, really looking forward to assemble and work with something with substance!! These small parts and micro assembly doesn't do it for me anymore - will be wonderful to work without a magnifying glass and tweezers!! Thanks for the encouragement and support! Dawie.

Kevin, Yes, thanks for the feedback. Found a few discrepancies so far on the Pontos Kit - follow the link below for more detail as posted (start at the bottom of page 39) http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=123012&sid=d89ee9cde371cb241cf079add3d34030&start=760 Regards, Dawie.

Started my build log yesterday - Bismarck by Dawie van Rensburg - Trumpeter - PLASTIC - Scale 1/200 Pontos Detail Up set "Advanced" upgrade kit. Obviously plastic most probably molded in China?, but will be built by myself here in sunny South Africa. Brain, when I did my research on which ship to build, I seriously tried to get hold of the Amati model, but I just could't find any. My quest must have been driven by my wood modeling background . . . . !! Made peace with this and decided to try the plastic world of modeling - I think the availability of the Pontos Advanced upgrade kit made the difference and the challenge worth my while . . . Dawie.

For the record - here goes . . . . Build Report 01 Still awaiting the delivery of the actual Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck model. Has been cleared through customs and should arrive soon! Ordered and received the Pontos 27001F1 Detail Up Set Advanced upgrade kit late November 2014: Promptly started to short all the different parts: Started building the catapult first - less intimidating? Small gets another meaning when you work with photo etching parts: Good progress with the masts and some ladders and walkways: Again, small gets another meaning - building the 20mm flack guns: Some of the upgrade parts completed, painted, weathered and ready to be fixed on the actual model: I decided to complete the future base for the model as well. Dimensions 1450mm x 400mm - ironwood. (6mm glass panels to be ordered on completion of the model). I think once the hull is completed and painted, I will mount it to the base and work on the rest of the build from this position. Lessons Learnt 01 Early days, but I feel can share the following: 1. The Pontos upgrade kit is both excellent and intimidating! Don't underestimate the patients and skill required to construct these parts. 2. In some cases their is a definite lack of detail to construct some of the parts. This makes it difficult and sometimes very frustrating to complete! Will appreciate any feedback, comments and/or build suggestions going forward. Regards, Dawie.

For more detail on the Pontos 1/200 Trumpeter Bismarck visit the ModelWarShip Forum - follow this link: http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/index.php. Go to modelwarship.com General Forum, Manufacturers and Suppliers, and click on Pontosmodel 1/200 Bismarck Detail Up set Kit. The best summary for the present 1/200 Bismarck kits from Pontos is the following (copied from this forum): This is worthy of a repost! With thanks to "Timmy C" 23001F1 Basic Set: 1st version of the Basic Set that did not contain any corrections. This has been discontinued, and replaced with 23001F2. 23001F2 Basic Set: 2nd version of the Basic Set, containing all of the corrections. This is what is currently being sold. 21001F1 Add-On Set: has all-new parts, but does NOT contain parts from the Basic Set (which is why it's cheaper). When you combine the Add-On Set (21001F1) with a Basic Set (23001F1), you get... 27001F1 Advanced Set: The whole enchilada... the most complete (and most expensive) set containing all of the Pontos parts you can possibly get. The Advanced Set contains all parts of a Basic Set (23001F1 or 23001F2) + Add-On Set (21001F1) _________________ Glenn Cauley Ottawa, Canada Go to page 37 and start reading from there - the previous post are basically history in the development and final availability of the latest upgrade/advanced kit. Regards, Dawie