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Carl They get to have summer down there this time of year. Lou Greg looks like we posted at the same time. Enjoy the warmth! 95 is a little warm here for me. We seldom get that hot here in the Pacific NW.

Ahhh! Midnight requisition! I doubt he will be missed anyway. He doesn't look all that fresh. Lou

Did you get written consent before the demise of the donor? Lawyer Lou

Who knows Possibly we are being allowed to witness the birth of another Doris, and she will have room in her life for both, (and still get better than Dad ) Looking forward to more of your work Daria, bows and fingernail polish just add to the enjoyment. Lou

Whoops That's why people like me should leave things like this to more capable people like you! I was so wrapped up in the 40s that I missed the more obvious and necessary 5" gun director relationship. The only way to do it would be to replace the arms with another set of pulleys like you use elsewhere and make the line go around them all in the same direction! Carry on MacDuff I'll be pealing some potatoes back in the corner watching again. Lou

gas I REALLY hate making comments on fantastic work like this as suggestions always seem to be critical and there is nothing to criticize on what you accomplished so far. I was wondering, if you ran your string in a figure eight between the director and the 5" allowing you to fasten the 40s to the other side then each 40 would then track the same as the 5". When the 5" tracks outward to Port for example so would the 40 on the port side. The same would happen to the Starboard 40 when the 5" trained outward to the Starboard. Does that make any sense to you? The same thing could be done by extending the arms of the 40s and attaching them on the opposite side but the amount of travel would be less. Lou

Patrick I must disagree with your assessment on the quality of your work. Whether its creative juices or full bladder you are doing what appears to me to be a fantastic job. I am not sure I agree with the assessment that building a solid hull is all that much difficult than building a plank-on-bulkhead double hull. When you do the first planking on a double planked hull you pretty much have a solid hull that you use as a base for the second planking using thinner wood. But that is me and others may not feel the same. I do agree that the kit is dated and that this is proven by the method you are following with your build. I could be wrong but if you finish this model using Chuck Passaro's modifications/improvements you will be the first on this forum to have done so. That in and of its self will be something to be proud of. If you are in Kindergarten then there are those of us who are still in Preschool! I picked up my Sultana this year after reading Chucks posting and finding it for something like $30 on eBay. It's an older kit but like you said the kit has not been changed in forever! I will add it to my pending list, even though the list is starting to look more like a hoarding list! Lou

I think you may be milking it for the sympathy factor........... And possibly the extra beer. Now get back to work, I have the same toothpicks and model and I want to see how the look mounted. Lou

Danny It looks like you were all RIGHT! It appears that the Bismarck used the gun control optical range finder units to also house the gun control range finder radars. According to the info supplied by Ken, in the case of the main gun units at the top of the superstructure the addition added so much weight that the units had to be redesigned so the bearings could handle the load! Lou

Here is some of the stuff I have found in an admittedly short search. It appears that that Dan was right about the domed gun directors also being radomes as indicated in the last paragraph. Lou The fire of the main and secondary batteries was directed from the command posts, which were located forward, astern, and above the foretop platform. Each of these three posts mounted a rotating dome with an optical rangefinder and a FuMO 23 radar instrument. The command posts were connected by armored communication shafts to the computation rooms under the Armour deck forward (section XV) and aft (section VII). The FuMO 23 antennae had a rectangular shape and measured approximately 2 m. high and 4 m. wide. They had a frequency of 368 MHz, and operated on an 81.5 cm wavelength with a power-output of 9 kW at 500 kHz. The maximum effective range of this device was about 25,000 m. However, the German FuMOs were not equipped with the PPI (Plan Position Indicator) display system that is so familiar in today’s radars, but a simple A-scope display instead. Therefore, they could hardly detect more than one target at the same time, and bearings were not very accurate either. The lack of PPI was one of the reasons German capital ships were so redundant and equipped with three sensors. The foretop command post, under the command of the First Artillery Officer (I.A.O.), was above the foremast, at about 31 meters above sea level. It was equipped with a 10.5 meter base range finder (Basisgerät BG), and had a visual field of 360º. The forward command post was attached to the forward conning tower, and had a 7-meter base rangefinder, however, due to the superstructure, its visual field was smaller. The after command post had a 10.5-meter base rangefinder of similar characteristics as the one in the foretop. Each of the four main battery turrets ("Anton", "Bruno", "Cäsar" and "Dora") was equipped with a 10.5-meter base rangefinder too, and in case all three command posts were put out of action in battle, the turrets could then proceed individually to local fire.1However, the chances of scoring a hit with each battery firing on its own were less than under a centralized command. The central turrets of the secondary battery had also their own 6.5-meter base rangefinder. The anti-aircraft fire was directed by four command posts, each equipped with a 4-meter rangefinder. Two of these command posts, covered by spherical cupolas (Wackeltopf), were on either side of the foremast, and the other two uncovered posts amidships aft.

Dan Sorry, I didn't mean it as a clarification, only as a question. I have never really done any research on the Bismark other than reading the history like I am sure all of us have. Jan Although it is possible that the Bismarck did not have true gun control radar, it is clear in at least most of the pictures I have seen of the better models that he/she did have some kind of radar. There are bed spring style radars located on both the forward main gun control and the aft main control units and because of their location their aim would follow the direction of the gun control units. That would suggest that there was at least an attempt at using the radar for gun control. Just like ship mounted radar in the US and some other countries it may have been primitive and unreliable, but it does seem to have been installed by 1941 unless the models are wrong. (How could that be?) I will try and look a little closer into it but I am sure that you or someone here has dates and levels of German radar development at hand and will have a better answer long before I can do it. Lou

Hello Dan I have been lurking in the background avidly following your build. Very enjoyable and informative. I do have a question about your "raydomes" though. Does the manufacturer list them as radar domes? I always thought of them as optical gun directors, possibly for the secondary armament due to their being located so low to the waterline and on each side of the superstructure. Just a question as no matter what they are they look great. Lou

philo Nice to see your work. Ships of the air are one of my favorite subjects. By the looks of your shop it looks like you have a lot of interests besides airships. Lou

Patrick Good to see you back and your nose at the grindstone! Looking forward to some more fine progress. Lou

I don't know if these will fill the bill for you or not. https://www.mcronse.eu/al22517f-hermione-la-fayette-set-of-14-die-cast-figurines-189-artesania-latina-p-46117.html#.WiWpZlWnG00 They are listed as 1/89 scale and are about 20mm tall but at least one is about 21mm and another is only15mm, (Must be a cabin boy). I chose this link only because you can enlarge the picture at least large enough to get an idea of what the figures look like. They are available through a number of vendors at all kinds of prices. A couple of sites are even offering free shipping for Christmas. Hope this is useful to you. Lou

Jim Thank you for sharing. The Mellon is stationed here in Seattle, (Not far from where I live) but the painting looks like areas in Alaska and northern British Colombia. Just another aspect of your talent. Not only do you depict the ship and sea/weather state but the location where as you say, you may never have been and make it all look "right". Lou

Hello Jason I also live in the Puget Sound area and I was thinking that the mountains/water/Orca's looked more like the area around the Puget Sound entrance in which the mountains would probably be the Olympics. You can't really see much of the Cascades until you get much further into the sound closer to Seattle. Either way it is a very accurate looking picture and I can think of several places around here that still look like that even today. I have had the privilege of being followed by Orca's twice, (Two different times) across the sound while traveling by boat, and it is quite the thrill to watch several animals that are larger than the vessel you are riding in sweep by less than twenty feet away! Jim Pleas keep up showing your paintings, It is becoming a morning fix for me to looks and see what you will grace us with for the day. Lou

Wow So many options! I have never made anything from a 3D printer and had no idea that the cost could be so inexpensive. Looking forward to your brass version Charlie. I think you will be impressed on how easy it is to do. Lou

Hi Charlie You might try using a straight tube of K&S brass, (Or solid rod if you prefer). Cut a piece somewhat longer than you will need and chuck it into a Dremel, drill, or what ever you use and file the taper on the end. K&S tubing has fairly thick walls. When you get the taper you want cut a notch at the bending location and fold it 45 degrees. you can then either solder or if you prefer glue it and like stated before build the base from anything you want. One way would be to take the next size larger tubing and make another tapered cone just like the first and when you have the right shape cut it off and slide it over the other main pipe. Again solder or glue. You can do pretty much the same thing using aluminum tubing but I find the softer metal, not being able to solder it, plus it likes to clog my files more trouble than using brass. Give it a try, if nothing else it is a cheap experment. Lou

Brian I am not going to add to the 'Opinions and ideas' as not only is unnecessary but there is no way i am even qualified! But I have come to the opinion over the years that if there are multiple suggestions on how to do something then there are multiple ways of doing something and that eventually you will come up with the way that WORKS FOR YOU. I am sure you will be able to find YOUR WAY. I will be watching from the back corner as I do not want to learn any more naughty words than I already know. Lou

Denis By your explanation I have to agree that it must be a newer kit of six or less years old. Now the only question is, were the decals just bad to begin with, or did they become bad with poor storage? I have two places where I have to store my kits. The basement of my house, and a large closet on the main floor. The basement is pretty dry year around and unheated but you have to remember that the relative humidity here in the north west runs high pretty much year around. The inside closet on the other hand is mostly room temperature and it seems to be a much better storage location than my basement, at least to me. Still good work on your kit though. Lou

Hey Denis I for one have full faith that you will be able to overcome and correct the decal issue. Looking forward to see what it takes, as OC says it's an old kit and decals are the first to go. Lou

They are stalking the hull waiting for it to capsize! Hopefully not in your case. Lou

Hi Denis You may want to try and sand the surface and edges of your cut out parts prior to gluing. The CC card plastic may be coated to protect the printing. Just a thought. Lou

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong but I think the "Redneck hot tub things" are floater net baskets. They could be thrown overboard I think but were intended to float to the surface if the ship went down quickly. (The nets not the baskets). On your Blue Devil it looks like your net baskets are empty. Not a good idea considering on how the Blue Devil model likes to turn upside down so much! Lou