madtatt

Thank you very much Jeff, very thoughtful. 😊 Let’s move on to the next yawls: the small steam launch. I haven’t found a 3D printer for this one, so I emulated Jeff.. Originally made from the box, the boat really doesn’t look anything like it. First, I removed the rough outline of the engine and the bulky center bar of the upper section. Then I inserted a grating floor. The Bismarck’s former bridge wing was trimmed and fitted. Cheers to the etched parts grab bag. And I removed the suggested grating at the rear. Now I made a bench seat and glued in the ribs from profiles. I attached an etched grille from the KA set to the rear. We still need a boiler. It’s also only rudimentarily represented in the original, so there’s room for more. A small profile should represent the engine and its cylinders. A few flanges on top—you can never have enough. Then, little by little, more details were added: piping, a handwheel, and a support for the tilting funnel. A small instrument panel at the front rounds it all off. Everything is then mounted on a styrene strip for easier handling. More piping and a second handwheel. It never hurts. And then I am quite satisfied with the whole facial expression. Let’s put the whole thing in the little boat. Let’s put the funnel in for a test. Ferrules are really great for small funnel. So far, so good. Now we’ll apply the paint, and then we’ll add the small parts like the propeller and rudder.

@Jeff59 Ah yes, if real life didn't always distract you from the beautiful things. 😁 Model building is like meditation for me when I come home from work and enter this little microcosm. 🧘‍♂️ I'm already looking forward to seeing what happens next with your Bismarck. 🫵😉

Many thanks again, Javlin. This weekend, I had planned to finally finish the pinnaces. The funnels had already been laid down and installed, but there were still a few small items missing that I wanted to add shortly before the end to avoid tearing them down again. Two more boat hooks scratched on each pinnace and the portholes glazed. A chain hoist is installed to secure the boats. Railings and companionways mounted on the foredeck. I need to refinish the deck where the pinnaces rest. During all the adjustments, I scratched the paint surface and had to patch it up. I’ll have to go back to that. Slowly life comes into the place. A new sailor has also started his service. He checks the tension on the pinnace’s chain hoist.

Thank you very much, Yves, for the great comment. Today just two pictures of the finished guyed funnels. This completes the first piece of rigging work. Now I can devote myself to the pinnaces again.

Ahoy, landlubbers. After a short creative break, I’d like to return with a mini update. I’ve pushed the pinnaces back again because I first have to take care of the funnel’s shrouds. I’ve given this a few thoughts. Rope tensioners definitely need to be installed; anything else would be illogical. How can I best do this without too much effort? Here’s my solution: First, I cut stanchions into small pieces. The green arrow points to pre-cut stanchions in a scale of 1:200. I want to use them as rope tensioners. The yellow arrow shows some in a scale of 1:350. They’ll serve as eyelets on the funnel. First, the rigging twine was attached to the eyelet and glued into the lower hole of the funnel. It’s working very well so far. It’s important for me to always use enough twine. This simplifies the whole knotting and threading process. Being cheap isn’t cool here. Then I thread the yarn through the two holes in the cut-off railing support. The yarn is passed through the deck eye and the second rope tensioner is put into position. The first piece of rigging on the funnel is finished. Painted with aluminum paint, the thread running along the outside of the rope tensioner is almost invisible. I’m happy with that and can now focus on the next pardunes.

I agree, Jeff. 👍 And I'll continue working on the Mikasa a bit soon.😉

Hi Jeff. So that's what this is about. This is a controversial point. First, these photos. I think there's no sign of these structures on it. But there's also the opinion that they were added later. The opinions are 50/50. So, since you've already tested it, I'd add it. It definitely sets itself apart from the mainstream.

Ahoy, Jeff. Good point, I thought so too. I also ordered more boats than I needed. It would be a really good idea if they made boats and accessories for specific boat types. That would make things a lot easier. And we have the same opinion about the wooden decks. I also wish I had gotten a deck for the Bismarck from Scaledecks. It was out of the question, and eventually I gave up and used the wooden deck from Pontos because I wanted to get further. And it wasn't suitable for the Mikasa either, since they don't even offer one for that boat. I even wrote to the company and asked if they could consider producing one for the Mikasa. I never received a reply. 🫤 Thanks for the flowers, Jeff. I'm taking a little break from model building at the moment. I have a lot of other things on my plate and don't want to lose focus while working on the Mikasa. 😉

Good morning, Jeff. Let's not misunderstand each other, you're talking about the Bismarck's group listening device, right?! (Gruppenhorchgerät) Arrow on the photo.

Very nice, I'll definitely be on board. When I see your Scharnhorst, the Bismarck will definitely be a great model. By the way, if you need materials for building the Bismarck, contact me. I have quite a few photos of this ship. Even pictures that aren't available online.

Oh yes, Javlin. Tell me, when I think about how much money I've put into my Bismarck, unbelievable. But it's just money. And when the result is pleasing, it makes the model builder's heart happy. I'd be happy to hear more from you. 😊

Thanks for the info, Jeff. You're absolutely right, these fantastic prints from Micro Master add so much more depth to the model. So it doesn't matter if they're not entirely historically accurate. 😉

I also really like the early look of the Yamato. That's why I've been looking for the additional turrets. You can get them from this company, for example... Yamato 155mm Turret

Thank you both for your wonderful and inspiring words. Wow, Jeff, when I see your Mikasa, my heart melts. She's turned out so beautiful. What I don't understand, Jeff, is that you're talking about three pinnaces. Where exactly would the third pinnace have been stand on Deck? Javelin, thanks again for your compliment. It makes me very proud. So, for my research on this ship, I'm almost exclusively using what I can find online. I do have a few books about the Mikasa and the IJN, but they're often about their historical background. Strangely, the pictures and technical information about this famous ship are very sparse. Which, as you say, is a real shame for such a large scale, as there's so much detail that could be included. I found the following page on the Internet, which helped me figure out how I wanted to display my pinnaces. Steam Pinnacles, Pickets and Tenders Among other things, you can see the following two photos which contributed to my decision not to change the cabin. Here you can see the pinnace with its cabin fully fitted and without a tarpaulin. It's also not as elaborately painted as in the following photo, which reinforced my intention to paint it a warlike gray. It shows the H.M.S. Royal Sovereign. And so I decided not to make any changes to the Micro Master boats. I simply didn't feel comfortable removing the splash guard from the rudder and damaging the railing. The manufacturer of the 3D print is located on the other side of the planet, and another Micro Master order for me has been stuck in customs for over three weeks anyway. I didn't want to take any chances. First, the basics again. There's a narrow edge that I had to negotiate with the cradles. So I lined the front part of the cradles with styrene. Fits quite well. Then the base colors were applied. As already mentioned, this one also uses the gray of the war paint. Then a mandatory aging process. This is the first step. Man, those boats look great. And put it on the deck to test it.

Ahoy, Jeff. Oh yes, I've also noticed that space is at a premium on the ship. I don't see any end in sight. But the fun is also the challenge, right?! Thanks again for the helpful tips. I've also been thinking about the final appearance of the pinnaces. I examined the following two photos, although I don't know if they are the Mikasa's boats. The fact is that there was no helmet screen, just like there was no cabin. There was apparently only one tarpaulin. I'm a little torn about how to proceed. I'm really afraid of destroying the pinnaces when removing the two parts. As you know, they weren't exactly cheap and come from the other side of the world. I really have to think carefully about whether to take that risk or just install the boats as they are. There's virtually no historical evidence of this ship, including the appearance of the pinnaces. 🤫