channell

I'm bringing this project back from the dead if that's OK with y'all. I'm also doing a log on another site but I thought I'd  share my misadventures here too for those who are interested. 😁
 
I've been through a rocky past few years when it comes to scale modeling... I've started several ambitious builds but only finished one (a 1/200 HMS Nelson) and ran into enough frustration/burnout that I ended up boxing up my modeling stuff and walking away for quite some time because of it. 
 
(edit) Here's a couple of pics of my Nelson, just for fun...
 

 

 

 
Anyway, the world spins in circles and me along with it... The bug has bitten again and I've come back refreshed and renewed with an urge to succeed where I failed in the past... and I'm restarting where it pretty much all began for me: superdetailing the Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck.
 
The original subject of this thread is pretty much trashed... I accidentally dropped it in an icy self-storage parking lot during a move about 5 years back and it's been sitting in a box getting even more broken and loosing parts ever since. Luckily for me, I'm a big spender and bought 2 of these kits back then... the aftermarket has since put out a metric crapton of add-ons for this kit which I've collected a lot of over the years too. 
 
Here's the main plan... I'm still aiming to do Bismarck as she appeared late in 1940 with an emphasis on doing a clean and extremely detailed build.  There were quite a few minor improvements/ completion of elements of the ship and paint scheme changes made to the Bismarck between the fall/winter of 1940 and Operation Rheinübung the following spring and I'll point them out as a go along. I'm expecting a long-term project of a year or so... we'll see how it goes. 
 
 

Loving the attention to detail   and your persistance at getting it right.
 
OC.

Are those louvers on the vents separate pieces? Look great!

Look great, but that has to be a painful process to work through. So many of the things that look really great are like that. In the end, it's worth the effort.

All in a day's work ... isn't it fun? It's hobby, so people say it should be ... we modellers must be gluttons for pain ... physically and metally. Fortunately I'm a mental case, so I like the PE ...
 
You removed the phone booths ... how will those poor boys call mamy, when things get scawwy? I'm impressed with your destructive perseverance of your own work, I hope, at the rate you are going, you won't be taking her apart instead of building her up ... you could make a sunken diorama - you mentioned earlier - yourself if your destructive mood goes to far ... She does look very sleek ... Won't the wooden deck be a pain when you have to paint fixed parts???

Looking fine! 

...and Hans over at Blohm and Voss said to Admiral Raeder: "Ya, ve heard you like boats, so ve got lots of boats for your boat, das good ya? 
 
Keep up the good work... don't give up the... um, ships! 

Yeah, they are. Here's what they look like on the fret. 
 
You bend the little triangles out, stick the frame on the grille and glue the louvers on one by one. 
 
Easy in concept but a real test of my patience to get them glued straight and not mucked up, and they fall apart if you look at 'em wrong using PVA. With CA glue it's a nightmare to do it cleanly and not clog up the grille with glue runoff. 
 
Did I mention this is fun?! 

Meanwhile, as the crew take a ride around the spinny mainmast winch...  
 
Great work OC! That deck really looks the part! 
 
 

All right, got another update for y'all.
 

 
I'm trying to do Bissy as she looked in the late fall/early winter of 1940, so I've been chasing down things from the kit that were added (and removed)  during Bismarck's only refit in January 1941 such as the second level of the vent spray shields on the forward superstructure. Unfortunately, I had not done my homework very well... turns out the two little "phone booths" by the docking bridges that I worked so hard on were added in 1/41 too.  Damnit! Oh well, nothing to do but fix it. 
 
Oh the carnage! 
 

 
Patching the newly made holes:
 

 

 
...and I'm back in the Teutonic rivet-counter's good graces. 😁
 
Next I went to work on the deck area behind Turret "Bruno" laying the deck and installing the AA gun "fences" so that I could take out the seams and better integrate them into the superstructure instead of doing the sensible thing and just slapping them on top last:
 

 

 

 
I pre-painted this area to make make masking a little easier for myself, later I can touch up. 
 
Finally made a start on the copious amounts of PE that need to go on the superstructure:
 

 
Those louver vents are little monsters to get together! 
 

Yeah, they are. Here's what they look like on the fret. 
 
You bend the little triangles out, stick the frame on the grille and glue the louvers on one by one. 
 
Easy in concept but a real test of my patience to get them glued straight and not mucked up, and they fall apart if you look at 'em wrong using PVA. With CA glue it's a nightmare to do it cleanly and not clog up the grille with glue runoff. 
 
Did I mention this is fun?! 

All right, got another update for y'all.
 

 
I'm trying to do Bissy as she looked in the late fall/early winter of 1940, so I've been chasing down things from the kit that were added (and removed)  during Bismarck's only refit in January 1941 such as the second level of the vent spray shields on the forward superstructure. Unfortunately, I had not done my homework very well... turns out the two little "phone booths" by the docking bridges that I worked so hard on were added in 1/41 too.  Damnit! Oh well, nothing to do but fix it. 
 
Oh the carnage! 
 

 
Patching the newly made holes:
 

 

 
...and I'm back in the Teutonic rivet-counter's good graces. 😁
 
Next I went to work on the deck area behind Turret "Bruno" laying the deck and installing the AA gun "fences" so that I could take out the seams and better integrate them into the superstructure instead of doing the sensible thing and just slapping them on top last:
 

 

 

 
I pre-painted this area to make make masking a little easier for myself, later I can touch up. 
 
Finally made a start on the copious amounts of PE that need to go on the superstructure:
 

 
Those louver vents are little monsters to get together! 
 

Yeah, they are. Here's what they look like on the fret. 
 
You bend the little triangles out, stick the frame on the grille and glue the louvers on one by one. 
 
Easy in concept but a real test of my patience to get them glued straight and not mucked up, and they fall apart if you look at 'em wrong using PVA. With CA glue it's a nightmare to do it cleanly and not clog up the grille with glue runoff. 
 
Did I mention this is fun?! 

All right, got another update for y'all.
 

 
I'm trying to do Bissy as she looked in the late fall/early winter of 1940, so I've been chasing down things from the kit that were added (and removed)  during Bismarck's only refit in January 1941 such as the second level of the vent spray shields on the forward superstructure. Unfortunately, I had not done my homework very well... turns out the two little "phone booths" by the docking bridges that I worked so hard on were added in 1/41 too.  Damnit! Oh well, nothing to do but fix it. 
 
Oh the carnage! 
 

 
Patching the newly made holes:
 

 

 
...and I'm back in the Teutonic rivet-counter's good graces. 😁
 
Next I went to work on the deck area behind Turret "Bruno" laying the deck and installing the AA gun "fences" so that I could take out the seams and better integrate them into the superstructure instead of doing the sensible thing and just slapping them on top last:
 

 

 

 
I pre-painted this area to make make masking a little easier for myself, later I can touch up. 
 
Finally made a start on the copious amounts of PE that need to go on the superstructure:
 

 
Those louver vents are little monsters to get together! 
 

Yeah, they are. Here's what they look like on the fret. 
 
You bend the little triangles out, stick the frame on the grille and glue the louvers on one by one. 
 
Easy in concept but a real test of my patience to get them glued straight and not mucked up, and they fall apart if you look at 'em wrong using PVA. With CA glue it's a nightmare to do it cleanly and not clog up the grille with glue runoff. 
 
Did I mention this is fun?! 

All right, got another update for y'all.
 

 
I'm trying to do Bissy as she looked in the late fall/early winter of 1940, so I've been chasing down things from the kit that were added (and removed)  during Bismarck's only refit in January 1941 such as the second level of the vent spray shields on the forward superstructure. Unfortunately, I had not done my homework very well... turns out the two little "phone booths" by the docking bridges that I worked so hard on were added in 1/41 too.  Damnit! Oh well, nothing to do but fix it. 
 
Oh the carnage! 
 

 
Patching the newly made holes:
 

 

 
...and I'm back in the Teutonic rivet-counter's good graces. 😁
 
Next I went to work on the deck area behind Turret "Bruno" laying the deck and installing the AA gun "fences" so that I could take out the seams and better integrate them into the superstructure instead of doing the sensible thing and just slapping them on top last:
 

 

 

 
I pre-painted this area to make make masking a little easier for myself, later I can touch up. 
 
Finally made a start on the copious amounts of PE that need to go on the superstructure:
 

 
Those louver vents are little monsters to get together! 
 

Meanwhile, as the crew take a ride around the spinny mainmast winch...  
 
Great work OC! That deck really looks the part! 
 
 

...and Hans over at Blohm and Voss said to Admiral Raeder: "Ya, ve heard you like boats, so ve got lots of boats for your boat, das good ya? 
 
Keep up the good work... don't give up the... um, ships! 

...and Hans over at Blohm and Voss said to Admiral Raeder: "Ya, ve heard you like boats, so ve got lots of boats for your boat, das good ya? 
 
Keep up the good work... don't give up the... um, ships! 

Yeah, they are. Here's what they look like on the fret. 
 
You bend the little triangles out, stick the frame on the grille and glue the louvers on one by one. 
 
Easy in concept but a real test of my patience to get them glued straight and not mucked up, and they fall apart if you look at 'em wrong using PVA. With CA glue it's a nightmare to do it cleanly and not clog up the grille with glue runoff. 
 
Did I mention this is fun?! 

All right, got another update for y'all.
 

 
I'm trying to do Bissy as she looked in the late fall/early winter of 1940, so I've been chasing down things from the kit that were added (and removed)  during Bismarck's only refit in January 1941 such as the second level of the vent spray shields on the forward superstructure. Unfortunately, I had not done my homework very well... turns out the two little "phone booths" by the docking bridges that I worked so hard on were added in 1/41 too.  Damnit! Oh well, nothing to do but fix it. 
 
Oh the carnage! 
 

 
Patching the newly made holes:
 

 

 
...and I'm back in the Teutonic rivet-counter's good graces. 😁
 
Next I went to work on the deck area behind Turret "Bruno" laying the deck and installing the AA gun "fences" so that I could take out the seams and better integrate them into the superstructure instead of doing the sensible thing and just slapping them on top last:
 

 

 

 
I pre-painted this area to make make masking a little easier for myself, later I can touch up. 
 
Finally made a start on the copious amounts of PE that need to go on the superstructure:
 

 
Those louver vents are little monsters to get together! 
 

Yeah, they are. Here's what they look like on the fret. 
 
You bend the little triangles out, stick the frame on the grille and glue the louvers on one by one. 
 
Easy in concept but a real test of my patience to get them glued straight and not mucked up, and they fall apart if you look at 'em wrong using PVA. With CA glue it's a nightmare to do it cleanly and not clog up the grille with glue runoff. 
 
Did I mention this is fun?! 

All right, got another update for y'all.
 

 
I'm trying to do Bissy as she looked in the late fall/early winter of 1940, so I've been chasing down things from the kit that were added (and removed)  during Bismarck's only refit in January 1941 such as the second level of the vent spray shields on the forward superstructure. Unfortunately, I had not done my homework very well... turns out the two little "phone booths" by the docking bridges that I worked so hard on were added in 1/41 too.  Damnit! Oh well, nothing to do but fix it. 
 
Oh the carnage! 
 

 
Patching the newly made holes:
 

 

 
...and I'm back in the Teutonic rivet-counter's good graces. 😁
 
Next I went to work on the deck area behind Turret "Bruno" laying the deck and installing the AA gun "fences" so that I could take out the seams and better integrate them into the superstructure instead of doing the sensible thing and just slapping them on top last:
 

 

 

 
I pre-painted this area to make make masking a little easier for myself, later I can touch up. 
 
Finally made a start on the copious amounts of PE that need to go on the superstructure:
 

 
Those louver vents are little monsters to get together! 
 

Looking fine! 

Yeah, they are. Here's what they look like on the fret. 
 
You bend the little triangles out, stick the frame on the grille and glue the louvers on one by one. 
 
Easy in concept but a real test of my patience to get them glued straight and not mucked up, and they fall apart if you look at 'em wrong using PVA. With CA glue it's a nightmare to do it cleanly and not clog up the grille with glue runoff. 
 
Did I mention this is fun?!