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I have looked at that site a number of times over the years and I agree it can sometimes contain some pretty interesting stuff. The only problem I have with the site is the lack of photographs on the models they are selling, and it always seems that the sellers for the models I am interested in have a super high opinion of how much their older model is worth! Like I said it could just be the ones I'm interested in, others may have better luck. Lou

Steve Interesting on your final choice on this hull. I agree on much of your historical choices/reasoning mostly because when these ships were built they were under a very strict deadline and getting them done in time probably promoted more than one 'get-er-done' and 'good enough' decision along the line in order to make them battle worthy in time. As for possible corrections to the finish you were unhappy with or with any other finish for that matter, have you ever considered trying normal household bleach? I have used it in some furniture refinishing projects in years past to deal with things like rings left in the wood even after stripping the finish. Never tried it on pine but it might work the same way. Lou

Denis That is the second time you have tossed me a curve ball about the 1/96 Spanish Galleon when we discussed the Revell 1/96 kits.! Once in email and now on the forum. Somehow I can never remember that it was ever made. Getting too old Lou

Hi Mike I may not be doing the search right, but there seems like there is really very little available about the Master Korabel kits on MSW except Daria's build and to be honest If my build ends up looking as good as her's is at this point I will be very happy. She is doing work that is as good or better than many people much older than her can do. Lou

Hi Mark I very well could be wrong but I think the only other ship that could be considered a sister ship to the US and Constitution would be the President. There were some changes in the President as well but for modeling purposes she was probably close enough for Revell to use the name for the same kit. I don'r know if it was ever done Lou

Hi Denis I also looked at your blog and the scanned pages of the main instructions. If Seadogrich blew them up enough he will be able to see that the kits are the same except as you say, no interior cabin details and a couple of other things that are in the same area. I have never built the US so I was not completely sure until now. Lou

Another possibility is if you are looking for the Revell kit instructions you can go here: https://www.revell.com/support/instructions.html If it is the rigging you are looking for then you can scroll down to 85-0398 on the left column. They are listed as for the Constitution but should be the same. Click on the right hand column and you can download a PDF file of the original kit instructions. In the same location and number you will also see the instructions for the hull and mast construction of the Constitution. They should also be the same as the United States except for the stern cabin and transom areas. Hope you can find what you need Lou

Mike You would think I would take my model of the Brigantine Phoenix out and look at how Korabel does their kits. That is one of the reasons I am following Daria's build, so she can show me the right way to build a kit from this company before I try it myself. Thanks for the information. Lou

Mike It looks to me that the markings on the sub-deck could come in useful for keeping the planks straight when Daria does the deck...... ? Lou

Greg I have lived in this mild climate for so long that if we reached temperatures in the 40s I would just be a puddle on the floor with eyeballs sticking out! In fact most people in this area do not take heat well and not many even have air conditioning except in their cars. Luckily the ocean breeze helps us avoid most of that kind of heat. The highest temperature for my city that I can find is 36.6 in June of 1955. It does get a little hotter a few miles from here in Seattle because of the way the ocean breezes blow. Lou

Interesting temperatures. They are about the same as our hottest months, (July/August) for about 3 or 4 pm in the afternoon. The rain and stuff in your forecast looks about the same though. Lou

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