madtatt

Thank you so much, Jeff, that's so kind. But let's see if I can improve the poses even further. But first i am making a long strip of colored tissue paper is placed around the remaining railing of the bridge and cut at the corners. Once the strip has dried, I can fold over the top edge between the cuts and glue it down. A small model-making spatula with a ball head helps to neatly shape the tarpaulin against the railing. Then age again and you’re done. Once that was done, I looked at my work and thought, hmm, how could I make it a little more interesting? Maybe create a little scene where the crew is attaching the tarpaulin to the railing? Let’s see, Jeff. 😉 So I started this test run… …with styrene, an old railing and a few sailors. So far so good. Only one thing bothers me. Unfortunately, I only thought of it after I’d finished the railing on the rear bridge. And that would have been the perfect spot for this little section of groyne. It has the most space to properly detail it. Now I have to figure out where else I could fit it.

Now that I’ve mastered the doors, I’m moving straight on to the next section, which I was dreading again. The mere thought of the tarpaulin that attaches to the railing made me break out in a sweat. This is where my homemade handle really comes in handy and calms me down a bit. It securely holds the part in my vise, making it much easier to work on. I first cut tissue paper to the correct size using my paper cutter and dyed it brown. Then, using a very thin mixture of water and MIG acrylic glue, I applied the paper to the railing. Shaped and aged, I’m already satisfied with my first attempt. Placed on the ship again for testing and it fits. Even at the stern, where the space between the bridge and the mast is extremely tight. Everything is satisfactory. After I succeeded with that, I continued tinkering a bit with the stand for storing the signal lines. You can see a first prototype in the following picture. The height is currently flush with the railing. I think I’ll make it a bit higher, though. I’ll also make the signal flags out of tissue paper and put them on the shelf. Let’s see how that looks.

Thanks Jeff. Today I dealt with the doors of the wheelhouses. I discussed the color of the inner door panels with users who possess considerable maritime knowledge. Wheelhouses are usually painted white on the inside, so I logically painted the door panels white as well. But I didn’t like it at all. A user who served in the navy told me that bulkheads were often painted grey on the inside. And I followed that example with the doors. I think it just looks more harmonious.

Thanks a lot, Mike. Believe me, that really annoyed me too. Especially since you spend a lot of money on these aftermarket kits, which makes it even more frustrating. I would be very happy to see a little twin of my ship in one of your build reports. Preparing the interior of the wheelhouses proved to be a real challenge. After a few setbacks and starting over, it finally worked. And the many helpful tips from users in all the forums where I post my build logs contributed greatly to the success. But now, on to the forward wheelhouse. There was much more space here than at the stern, and I could really let my creativity flow. You probably know how it is. Making and preparing repetitive parts is often a tedious and boring task. But when it comes to arranging them on the model, it’s like Christmas and Easter all rolled into one. That’s when I really enjoy it. That’s exactly what happened in the Mikasa’s wheelhouse. I arranged the individual parts as shown in the pictures of the museum ship. Again, I positioned them a little further away from the base of the compass mast to save space. Officer and sailor on deck and full speed ahead. In room two, a sailor I had modified sits in front of the desk. The officer is shouting instructions. Let’s put the lid on and see what else is visible of the whole scene. It’s very difficult to get a proper exposure with the camera. Because I have to get the lens very close to the wheelhouse, I’m blocking the light from the work lamp. However, I think you can see enough to guess what is going on in the room.

And now a small step further. Both steering wheels and the engine telegraphs are finished. Let’s start with the small wheelhouse towards the stern. It’s quite cramped. The floor is still a bit shiny from the glue, so I touched it up with matte clear varnish. I initially wanted to put figures in here, but I decided against it. Otherwise, it would look too cramped. I also did a little trick with the compass. I cut a piece off the bottom part with a scalpel so I could get it as close as possible to the front wall of the wheelhouse and the steering wheel would fit properly behind it. You can’t see any of it afterward. And I even tried placing it on the Mikasa to see how it works. I am very satisfied with that.

The good thing about getting older is, I'm getting there too, Jeff. I'm already looking forward to all the stupid things I can do then.😅 The bridges are demanding all my attention as well; they're really tricky. Especially when, like us, you have a tendency to get bogged down in details. But we'll rock it.💪

I understand exactly what you mean, Jeff. Now comes the fun part. It's great that you managed to get some veteran parts. I'm also familiar with Distefano's website and, funnily enough, I was browsing it yesterday. I could imagine ordering one or two parts from there as well. Nevertheless, nothing beats the master, as you so aptly put it. Unfortunately, Micro Master has a very limited product selection. By the way, they now also have printed anchor chains. I bought my chains here, though: WWII War Ships Anchor Chain They are quite good and much cheaper than Micro Master. However, they have a rather long delivery time because they come from China.

I guess it's me. 🤭 And I have to agree with Jeff, a wonderful model. 👍

I'm so glad things are moving forward with your Bismarck project. 💪 This is going to be an amazing project in your hands.

Mike's building something really nice and unusual again. 👍 Great, I like it a lot. I'll be following along.

@Jeff59 That's right, Jeff, we're going to make the puppets dance now. 😄 Now, to be honest, your build report inspired me to do this. That's why I put so much effort into the compass, and I'm happy if you like it. All four are finished now. And of course, it has aged. @realworkingsailor and @Jim Lad Thank you so much for your very detailed explanation. 👍 My maritime knowledge is constantly being improved by users like you. I also learned from a user on shipmodels that these soft iron bars are called Flinders bars, after the inventor Matthew Flinders. Oh, I also learned that there was a compass in the wheelhouse towards the stern. That's why I made four. It's fantastic what you can still learn in these forums..

An excellent Bismarck, Ian. 👍 Cleanly built and painted.

I think so too, Ken.👍 So, on to the final stage of construction. First, cut the acrylic beads into shape. With thousands of beads, it’s okay to produce a little bit of waste to get the best possible result. After priming, you can easily select the best ones. The ones on the left were my favorites. I’ve since received several photos of various column compasses from friends or found them online. Some of them have a flap over the sight glass. I’ve recreated this feature because, in my opinion, it looks more authentic than trying to depict the glass itself. Then I often saw a round inclinometer, which I replicated with a tiny brass plate. There was usually a maintenance hatch underneath. Finally, I attached a vertical tube, which is also found on some compasses. I don’t know its purpose, though. And with that, the first compass is finished. Now, the obligatory size comparison with the figure. I’m satisfied with that now. I just need to make three or four more. I don’t know if there was a compass inside the small wheelhouse. I can’t really imagine there was, as the cabin would be quite full otherwise. I think it was just on the roof, right?

So, I’ve finished my first test compass. A few things are still missing, like the compensation spheres, since it’s just a prototype. The acrylic beads are quite easy to work with. It’s just rather difficult to hold them steady while cutting them. But it worked. And here it is, primed. Now you can really see if it turned out well. I think the compass looks quite good. It’s just a prototype; it can be made a bit more accurate. But now I’d like to show you a picture of what actually triggered my compass crisis. When I placed the huge thing on the small wheelhouse at the stern, I thought to myself, something’s not right. That’s why all the fuss. So for now, I’m just glad I’ve found a solution. I’m actually still considering making it half a millimeter taller so it reaches halfway up the window. I’ll think about that tomorrow.

Thank you for this information, outcast2. I measured the compass this morning. I could have done it right away. The result is 8.2 mm. That means it would be 164 cm tall ( 64,5 inch). The diameter is 2.3 mm, which would be 46 cm(18 inch). So, quite a hefty piece. I don’t think that’s going to work. So, I already started tinkering with the new compass this morning. The beads won’t arrive until this evening, but I was able to take care of the base. I think it looks a lot more authentic now, both in height and diameter.