madtatt

Back on the right side. Here too, fill with styrene sheets. I let my printer work properly and made a few more basic structures. And they're going on the scaffolding now. As you can see, the slant is supposed to hold a fan. The right side also received its appropriate framework and further connections from the middle to the lower level. It's filling up. Edit the top right corner. With a mix of kitbash and styrene plates. The right edge was covered with parts of Iron Doom. In the middle I inserted a printed profile with 2 components glue. Not only intended to look good, but also to reinforce the most unstable part of the scaffolding. The fans were also placed in their positions. Prime everything properly. And a picture for the overall impression. Kitbashing is really extremely time consuming. But it brings a lot of depth. And fresh from the cabin… There’s nothing left to see of the gap. In gray it looks completely different. By the way, my favorite color. This would also complete the middle panel. However, it is possible that one or two tubes still come to mind. Let’s move on to the next level. Since I have also covered the back of the scaffolding, I can now put it upside down and carry on sensibly without bending my fingers. The same procedure here too. Relatively poorly detailed structures from the 3D printer in connection with styrene plates and old model building remains. And of course all sorts of tubes that wonderfully conceal unwanted gaps. And that brings us to the current status of my model.

@Canute It's cool to sink into another world with your nephew, Ken. @CDW I have rarely worked on a model as precise and detailed as this one. In principle you wouldn't need any glue. Then let's start with the base. This is now made of PVC and not of wood as I had planned. It’s easier to edit, I’m a locksmith and not a carpenter. I created threaded rods in different lengths and angles. Then try to find the best one. It fits. Back wall to it... I will make the framework for the Dio in two parts. So I can also disassemble the Dio with the falcons, for example to go to a trade fair. Pushed together and good. I will then cover the gap with all sorts of greeblies and styrene. Then the little bird can take a seat for a test. Above is the last plate and everything is filled, sanded and primed. The small dormer from the 3D printer was placed under the falcon to conceal the holder. The base is now ready to receive the Death Star surface. First I printed some simple structures, which were then refined using greebles and styrene using a kitbashing process Then prime thickly to smooth the surface. A filament printer always leaves streaks. Now come the first slightly finer details. I start lining open areas with styrene sheets. This is based on the surface of the falcon. This gradually creates ever finer surface details. A new test to see if everything fits. The right side. I use the upturned ramp of the falcon to conceal the slit in the two diorama halves. The same on the left, but with parts from an old kit. The truncated pyramid is further refined. The same with the quarter circle. And so things are progressing slowly but steadily. The two plates fit together well and there is no gap. There should definitely be parts of my old tiger on the plate. Who recognizes it?

I finished weathering the hull without the cockpit and engine cover. Here are the pictures… Now it’s on to the cockpit and its lighting. Apply the decals first after removing the surface details. Otherwise I would have had problems with Microsol myself. Falcon 3D figures are great. Far livelier poses than Bandai’s rigid sitting ones. Unfortunately, Chewi is missing the cartridge belt, but otherwise great. What is of no use at all from the original kit are the LEDs. They’re way too weak. Disappointing for a 400 euro kit. Especially since there are very bright lights for a mere 8 cents apiece. To be on the safe side, an additional pair were installed behind the cockpit. Then drilled holes in the blackened transparent part and lo and behold… Let there be light. 💡 I thought for a long time whether I should do the open thing or that use a glazed cockpit, I use the clear part. It's important to me to see the light reflections that the glass casts. There was no glass in the film, otherwise you wouldn't have been able to see the actors properly. And that's the point... This was the first time that a part didn’t sit perfectly. A huge gap had to be bridged with Mr. surfacer. After all, what are we model builders for, close the gap. I only had to score a new board seam with a mini chisel afterwards. Then again panels painted in different shades. And a lightweight Panel Lightning. Individual records immediately get more depth. Finally the panel lining and the decals. The cockpit is now also on the fuselage. You had to use a lot of force to snap the component into place. With all the color, however no wonder. So aging is complete. Control the light and found good. If an LED is defective, I no longer have the opportunity to change it anyway. The plugs for the control unit still had to be soldered to the cables. Then, of course, check again to make sure everything is still working properly. The cover of the weapon bays is still missing. And then everything could be wired up. Ready. This would complete the first part. The easy part. 😅

Next, I’ll focus on the top. The base coat with the colored plates is on, now the lengthy process of aging starts again. But worth it. I even extended it a little at the top. The art of these surfaces, which consist of many individual panels, is to emphasize them differently. This creates a sense of depth. I found the underside a bit too homogeneous, but it was only my practice object. Therefore, after the panel lining, I did a panel lightning. In other words, individual plates were masked again and a black shadow was cast in one corner. And I also emphasized the small squares on the panels with the base color. Think the 3D blaster damage is really great. But that’s why I didn’t understand why parts of the inner ship can only be seen in one of the larger holes and I filled the other holes with leftovers from the rummage box and styrene. And now, the filter is on it too. The lid is only put on to see if the mandibles and the upper side match the sound Next I worked on the scaffolding for the diorama. The idea was to let the falcon fly through a kind of halved tube. This will then be equipped with a Death Star surface, which I will create later. But as I said, first of all it's about the framework, which will probably be made of wood. I built a 1:144 scale model out of cardboard. Now we take a small step towards lighting the drive. In the original kit, only very few LEDs are provided for the drive, which has already been criticized by some model builders. A remedy had to be found. So I got myself a lighting and sound module from America. The engine light strip consists of 34 super-bright mini neopixel LEDs. These are glued to a carrier also included in the set and intrigued into the fuselage. Fits great. Then I cut the plug. The cables will be extended here later and new small plugs will be soldered on, because I did not build the control unit and the loudspeaker into the model, but into the diorama. And so the wedding could be celebrated today, the big lids have united. The retaining clips and lines to the mandibles have been added. This is how the frame for the diorama was created again. This time with the original model. Everything has to be right before construction. And what can I say, I'm completely satisfied. The rear engine cover was still missing. I put the hood aside and took care of the internals of my Falcon again. First I stuck a strip of styrene behind the LEDs and lined the sides with foam. So that the light cannot be seen from the front through the jaw cracks. Then I extended the cables. The electronics should be in the diorama, not in the model. Then connect it and run a test. What can I say, great. But see for yourself:

That is the scaled-down replica of the 1977-era five foot/1.7 metre Millennium Falcon shooting miniature, which had 3 landing gear boxes and 5 landing feet. (this is commonly known as the A New Hope (ANH) Falcon, although to be pedantic that name was applied retroactively to the 1977 film after its release).

I was ten when the film premiered here in Germany and I think that we can no longer convey to today's generation what this new universe did to us back then. I don't want to say that the film influenced me, but it did make a big impression on me. I didn't build a spacecraft, but I turned my judo suit into a Jedi's jacket and a sawed-off broomstick and electrical tape into my laser sword.😄 And when Bandai brought this fantastic Falcon onto the market, it was all over me...

Hello everyone and welcome to my construction report. I’m not only a friend of warships but also a Star Wars fan from the very beginning. And when Bandai released this amazing Millennium Falcon model, I was blown away. This project will depict the famous falcon from Star Wars in a diorama. He should fly through a halved tube. This is based on some film scenes, where he flies through the interior of the not yet finished Death Star, for example. I’m really looking forward to the project because I’m going to build a ship that doesn’t plow through water but through space. And these are the ingredients. Bandai really went all out here. There has never been such an accurate and detailed model of the falcon. But as always, there is room for improvement Greenstrawberry offers some good etched part sets for science fiction. The Bandai figures in the kit are actually okay. Their drawback is that they are completely rigid. The company Falcon 3D Parts from the USA has four good sets for this. I took this one because I think Luke's pose is great. “It’s not a moon.” They also offer much better electronics. More on this later in the construction report. Since I started this kit at the beginning of the year, it's starting again in fast motion. First, the Mandibles. Everything in the kit fits really well. Here is the first time I had to putty. It’s amazing the level of detail Bandai has created here. Everything very delicate. With my 3D printer I created this black, inconspicuous part in the middle of the Falkon. This will be the later holder for the threaded rod that holds the model on the diorama. Well hidden in the lower weapon bay. Continue with the bottom side of the falcon. All gaps are excellently covered on the ramps. The lower part of the falcon is finished and looks very good. After priming and pre-shading, the first base coat is on. I chose Vallejo White Gray. Pure white would have been too cold for me. The first three panels are painted red. It was quite complicated because I hadn’t thought about installing the flap control later. Plate after plate it goes forward. A lot of masking work is required. The decals are still attached, and let’s start with the panel lining. A filter of khaki, blue, gray and green is now applied to the lower half. The wash consists of brown and dark gray. And secure with clear coat. Back to the mandies. They too have received a wash. The chipping and fading are still missing. Let's install it. Ok, having fun with chipping. I can experiment on the underside without fear of messing up the model. You don’t see much of that in the Dio anyway. But first a fundamental consideration from me. In chipping the falcon, I leave the template of the original for two reasons. First of all the color of the chipping spots. The different colored plates are supposed to give the impression in the film that Han and Chewi are repairing the falcon with all sorts of spare parts that they got from a junkyard. For example with a plate of a red or dark gray painted YT freighter. So far so good. However, if paint were to flake off the red replacement part, the original color of the falcon should not appear underneath, but rather the primer of the spaceship from which this plate originally came. Also, all the other panels painted in the original color of the falcon seem to have almost no scratch marks at all. So when are all the plates on gammelt? The next reason is that the chippings taken from the film and adopted by Bandai in the decals are way too coarse for this scale in my opinion. That fits more in 1:35. So I reinterpret my falcons and this is the first result. Although I still don’t know if I’m really satisfied. Lets go..... And then on to fading. On the underside the dirt runs inwards towards the middle, so think again. I use it very sparingly as it often quickly becomes too much. Let’s finish the subpage. The last streaks of dirt were still missing and I refined the chipping a little. This completes the underside of the falcon for now.

Thank you for the praise. When I tackle the Yamato there will of course be a construction report, Yves. But I fear that it will take a while before that happens. I'm currently pursuing a slightly different model building project that involves a completely different type of ship. I will then show it in the Non-ship/categorised builds section. So all that's left for me to do now is to present you the pictures of the finished model and wish you a lot of fun looking at them. I would like to thank you again for all the nice comments and I am happy that you have accompanied me. So raise the curtain...

Yes Keith, that's really a monster. But not quite as big as the next giant. My Yamato in 1:200. And yes, I get a little claustrophobic when I think about all the 1:200 ships that I still have in the pipeline here. Yamato, Rodney , Mikasa.... But I still found a decent place for the darling.

Let's slowly come to the end. Since I liked the row cutters and dinghies on deck so much, I chose the period from April 1941. The last yawls in the davits have come on deck. A PE set from a destroyer in 1:350 had to be used for the cable drums. Let's breathe more life into the model. Sole sailor at work. Two images that inspired me to create the following scene. A picture for the family of the big ship. This gives the yawls more substance in the davits. Next Back. This causes anger on the part of the supervisor. 😆 Take provisions with you. Stand still. A frequently seen image on the internet. And my implementation. Apart from the railing and small things, there wasn't much missing. Tomorrow I will present you the finished ship.

So far, a clean and good job.

I'm following this build with excitement because I'll be making this model too. And so far your work is fantastic.

Thank you very much. Let's get to the rigging. Of course, the main mast must be completed first. Then the tension cables... And lastly the mizzenmast. The pictures here are not entirely in chronological order. You can already see the mast in the last post. Now all the masts are up and things can continue. First I built a device to run the longwave antennas parallel between the triangles. This way you can get the same tension on both sides. And the first threads are already hanging. Now came a point that got on my nerves. Four cables each led from the two double-stranded long-wave antennas, which narrowed into one towards the mast. Then the rest was easy. However, the rigging is not yet complete, as I still had to attach searchlights and anti-aircraft guns to the funnel. according to my motto, always work from the inside out. And from the front. The last two searchlights are on the gallery. With that to the on-board crane. First scratched two rope drums. OOB only bare roll. The crane body is already finished and there are still endless components. The angle of the crane arm had to be exactly right so that it would fit into the boom. A cross brace against the beating of the rope and a lamp were also scratched. Everything comes together like that. I created the crane rope with silver-colored white rigging thread. Fits perfectly into the crane holder. And so the rigging could also be completed. The foremast. And here are pictures of the complete rigging.

Thank you very much, I am so happy to read this. I have actually already won one or two prizes with my ships. Unfortunately that won't happen with this ship. I'm just too afraid to travel with this huge monster. But on this page, I don't know if you know her, I won first prize with her. From the comfort of my model making room. 😄 ModelWarships.com

Thank you very much both of you. My chest swells, as they say in Germany when something makes you proud. Then we'll see if I can continue to meet the high expectations. How about starting a little performance. Inspired by this picture... The Arado AR 196A floatplane is usually most shown standing on the catapult ready to take off. But since Pontos already provides the removable rail system, I wanted to simulate a little exercise of how the bird is pushed out of or into the hangar. First Test. Then I repurposed a few figures and modified them a little... I think that's how it works. Cockpit installed The Arado also becomes a small work of art with Pontos. She is attached to her sleigh with the white rigging thread, which cannot be seen. And still glazed with Micro Kristal Klear. And that's how I implemented the scene. The officer shouts, the sergeant also shouts louder and a mechanic tries to repair the hydraulic jacks. The pilots are laughing their heads off. And from a different perspective. Then it was the turn of the 10.5 cm. And on deck. I was already looking forward to the next component. The individual parts of the bridge wing. Always Pontos. Really not a cheap deal, but the wealth of detail gained is absolute. You can hardly get any closer to the original. And installed. When installing the railing I still had to make corrections because Pontos had forgotten something here. This sheet metal was used to close the created bridge wing. And when it was extended, like here with me, it naturally prevented the sailors from falling off. It was formed by me from thin brass sheet. That's how I like it again. Now the crew can safely get on the bridge wing. When mounting the 37mm double flack, i noticed that Pontos had once again made a mess with their research. The ladder to get to the rear deckhouse is missing. Railing snipped and a ladder fumbled in. The missing ladders and railings are still installed at the back. And boxes on the other side. Like the army's 2cm Flak 30 mentioned above. Here's another close-up of veteran's searchlights.

Thank you OC. And what better way to do it on a Sunday morning than to continue my little report for you. And now it was really time to bring out the big guns. The blast bags from Pontos are really nice, it's just a pity that they're always the same. But of course it looks better this way than it appears openly. Anton has aged, Bruno has not yet. The wire rope wheels have been distributed on deck. The next 3.7 cm twin mount from veteran and a cleaning crew. Then let's finish the tower. Start with the fire control. The camouflage stripes are already on here too. I then paint the etched parts later with a brush. These fine details simply cannot be masked. And so he can get to the top. All that was missing was the 2 cm C/38 quadruple mount. This completed the front part of the superstructure. Let's go back to the rear deckhouse. The base of artillery direktor D missing some details. And finished the two Boat cradle. The lower missing part of the main mast in the hangar is created using a profile. And this is how it can be installed. Pontos still supplies the rail system on which the onboard aircraft were pushed. This will still play a role in my model. On to the next mass production. This time the transportions boats. The first one takes up space. The lower part of the main mast is also being refined. And again cellulose paper is needed. This time for the signal bridge. The signal flags that were stored here are covered with a canvas tarpaulin. This is completely missing OOB. It couldn't stay like that. Better. Now I had to come up with something to attach all the signal lines. To do this, I cut an etched ladder in half. Finished and approved. And so the signal bridge could also be installed. Now we come to another special feature of the DKM. The Bismarck carried the army's 2cm Flack 30 on board. It was therefore mandatory to also carry the trailer called “Sonderanhänger 51”. German complicated legislation. 🙄 But Pontos also thought of that. They just forgot the tires. I then printed them out. Then the next delicate part of the main mast for guys with strong nerves. And on with it. Now the signal lines could be pulled. One last time I had to use paper tissue and wood glue. Starboard Port side

@Yvesvidal Thank vou Yves. Yes, I have seen this misrepresented at times too. This photo of the Bismarck's chimney leaves little room for speculation...😄

Then I want to go with my little boat. We come to the rear deckhouse. Here you can see very clearly from the crampons on the right what the drilling templates from Pontos will do. First test. I need to show the lower part of the main mast and cover some of the inside because I want to show the hangar open. There was also a little scratch work missing on the night control post. And towards the bow. The deckhouse grows and is adapted to the original ship. Here too, the kit is missing some details like parts of the gangway. Now it was time to prepare the upper part of the tower. The obligatory angle check. First fix the bridge between the tower and the chimney and then go to the front hangars. I really wanted to build the small boats. They were secured with rigging twine and rope tensioners. Then it was time to produce boats like on an assembly line. Here too, a little scratch to refine the fittings. Align with the boat cradle And finish building. The admiralty boat is also amazing. Now it was time to raise the foremast and equip the top gallery. The struts, railings and signal lines were still missing. Now the boats could also take place. Here you can clearly see that the underwater hull of the boats was not painted red but dark gray. Still putting the Pontos catapult together. And installed. Greets, Jölle

Thank you very much for the likes and for taking a look. @Ian B Do that Ian. The entire DKM set from Veteran gives the model a lot of additional accents. These would be all the sets I used. @Keith_W That's right, so I couldn't show the model publicly. It is only allowed in my private rooms because it is a historical model building. I would then have to cover the swastika at an exhibition. I've already done that with my older models with whom I took part in model shows. Sticker on it and good. And that's exactly how I see it, history is history and belongs to the dark past of my country. That doesn't make me a fascist. I am a model building nerd and am fascinated by the archaic warships of the 18th and 19th centuries, regardless of which country they come from. And I would like to build it without any political interests.

Thank you very much. I am very happy to be here with so many excellent ship modelers. 😃

Thanks Ken. Then further. Let's take care of the little things on deck. First of all the paravane called otters and the rear breakwaters. Then to my self-created tents for the companionways Pontos supplies the framework, but I had to make the canvas myself. I made them out of diluted wood glue and tissue. Painted with a beige brown and aged. And placed over the companionways. From the other side. Here are the skylights improved by Pontos. Since my ship was to be shown at full speed, the gangways had to be in their loading position. Here too, the brackets were scraped from Sytren profiles. And the gangway in front of it. The depth charges and smoke generators were also missing from the original packaging. No problem. Pontos also excellently expands the rear roof windows. And again the extended Pontos set is extremely detailed. The screw protection and the boom was still missing on the outside of the fuselage. Greets, Jölle.

Thanks for the compliment, Chris.😊 In order to do this, of course I need reliable information about this ship. I used photos of which there are really more than enough and the book "The Battleship Bismarck (Anatomy of The Ship)" by Stefan Draminski as my source. Absolutely recommended if you want to build a historically accurate Bismarck. Additional to that i had very good background information from my model building friends from Germany who are working very intensively on this ship. Years ago we founded a small and very special forum that mainly deals with the German Navy. But all other navies were also treated. Graue-Flotte And it goes on. It's the weekend and I have time... ⏳ One segment still goes on the tower in the front structure. After that it's time to stop, otherwise I could have problems if I want to raise the foremast. But first check the angle of the camouflage scheme again.📐 Everything fits together. And so the tower slowly grows taller. Then let's move on to the chimney. Here I had to proceed differently when painting than with the superstructure. Since it is extremely detailed, I painted the camouflage stripes in front of all the attachments. Otherwise it would not have been possible to mask him properly. I then laid a variety of pipes using lead wire. And so the funnel gradually fills up. The pipe also received a small upgrade. Crane installed. And the railing. Ready to put the crown on the whole thing. First get rid of the rough plastic tubes. And sorted what felt like 1000 brass tubes from Pontos. One of the things I particularly like about Pontos is their drilling templates. No matter whether it's for the tubes or for the crampons on the hull or the superstructure. It couldn't be more accurate. That's why I prefer Pontos to KA Models. Absolutely 100 percent hole spacing. That's the way it has to be. Then the holes are drilled out and the pipes are put into place. Still insert the inner workings. That's why the coronation now follows. Note that unlike the Tirpitz, the Bismarck has an aluminum cap. And take a seat for the sake of rehearsal. Greets, Jölle.

Nice, a neighbor. 😉

Thank you Mike. I've had a quick look at one of your ship models and I'm afraid with the quality you are building, they'll need that time. Unless you can do magic. 😄 II have a little time before I have to go to work, so I'll continue a little. Then the crane booms. Again, a very delicate work. Here I soldered the parts to get more stability. And then he can go to the gallery. The platform for the rangefinder is also being prepared. And that's the gem from Veteran that belongs there. Her the first weapons from Veteran Models. An incredible amount of depth. They look fantastic when painted. And with that the admirals bridge can be put together. But the 2cm C/30 gun from Pontos is also impressive. A little bit of rigging is already attached as I won't be able to get to these places afterwards. The tower slowly grows taller. Finally, another test to see if everything fits together. Well, that's it for today. Greetings, Jölle

Thank you for the warm welcome. 😊