Scharnhorst by CDW (Craig) - FINISHED - Dragon - 1:350 - PLASTIC

[CDW]

Decided to drag this model out of the closet at build it to try and break my model building blues. I became a bit distracted by other life events and modeling took a back seat. Am hoping this will rekindle a fire. 

For starters, here are a few pictures of what I am building. Will add a simple photo etch set and a wooden deck to give a little flavor.

 

 

I started by building the anti aircraft guns and secondary guns. The parts are so small and detailed, it's hard to believe plastic can be molded in that fashion. Plastic models have come a long, long way since I was a kid. For the youngsters among us, that was just after Noah built his ark. 

[CDW]

These photo etch frets are included with the kit.

 

 

Here are detail items being added to the kit contents.

* A Cyber Hobby photo etch set that includes railings

* Artvox wood deck

* Set of brass gun barrels from Poland

When I said some of this photo etch stuff is small, a photo of three different AA guns used on the model. The tiny photo etch parts that can be seen must be folded to represent ammo racks. In reality, these may prove too small for me to work with. Building each of these AA guns is a chore as the parts are so small.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2016 by daddyrabbit1954

[Captain Slog]

Hi Daddyrabbit,

 

Looking forward to watching your progress.

 

I love photo-etch, it brings so much to a  model.

 

Cheers

Slog

[WackoWolf]

I got my chair ready.

[Canute]

Pulling up a chair also. I have a certain fascination for this particular ship.

[CDW]

Question, guys....if I paint and decal this model in the historical paint scheme, it will have a swastika at the bow and stern deck areas. Is this a prohibited photograph on this forum? If so, I shall photograph the model before applying the decals and flag.

[ccoyle]

Is this a prohibited photograph on this forum?

 

 

Nope. Go right ahead.

[WackoWolf]

This came up some time back, and the answer is no. The Bismark has it on her also, and others have built it that way why not you. It is the way history has it.

In fact that came up back in the days of MSW1. I got pictures from the Ct. that shows the Bismark with it. It is a part of History. The model at the show was done by a friend of Chuck from his club, very nice person.

Edited July 19, 2016 by WackoWolf

[CDW]

Thanks for the quick reply to my question. I would rather ask the question and be safe rather than make a post that breaks the rules. 

[Old Collingwood]

Hi there - another plastic builder like myself and a few others here, Great Stuff 

 

 

OC

[CDW]

I'm a plastic builder from way, way back. But I enjoy just about every facet of scale model building no matter the medium. Plastic does often give a quicker satisfaction as the turn around time to build can be much smaller (for me) than say a wooden ship. My HMS Victory sitting in dry dock comes to mind.  

[GuntherMT]

I've always loved the lines of those two ships, look forward to seeing you get her together!

[Keith_W]

There have been some outstanding plastic model builds on MSW recently. I myself am too intimidated to try my hand at one. Good on you, you are a brave man! I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with her!

[Jörgen]

Agree with KenthW. It inspire me too start a build log over my revel Bismarck when I get home from summer holiday. Also have some nice extra photo etch wood deck and brass guns.

[Old Collingwood]

Agree with KenthW. It inspire me too start a build log over my revel Bismarck when I get home from summer holiday. Also have some nice extra photo etch wood deck and brass guns.

Yep do it please,  I for one would be very interested in following you , and I know the other good folk on here would do the same

 

OC

[CDW]

For those who might be following or just reading through this thread, I thought maybe some of you might be unfamiliar with photo etch (PE) and particularly the micro small stuff. Lots of times, PE must be folded to represent a 3D object. When folding is required on micro small PE, some special tools come in very handy, maybe absolutely necessary to get an accurate fold. I wanted to show you a couple of the tools I use and how I use them.

 

1st is a magnifying light combination. I am sure most of you have something like this but if not, you will need to acquire one if you are going to work with small PE parts. My daughter bought me this one quite a few years ago for my birthday (what a sweetheart).

 

 

The next essential tool is a photo etch bending device. It measures about 6" x 4", is made of a machined aluminum plate with a spring loaded steel machined plate that slides up and down by turning a set screw (the large black knob). This tool I acquired about 15, maybe 20 years ago. I am not certain it is production anymore as it was a cottage industry product when I bought it. In any event, this or a similar tool is a must.

 

 

Next I am going to show you how to use the tool. The PE is slid under the steel plate precisely where it is to be bent. It is then clamped down and using a single edge razor blade to slide under the part, then bent up to a 90 degree angle (or whatever angle is required). If a second bend is required as in the case of my example, it is unclamped then repositioned where the second bend is required and the folding process repeated.

 

 

 

 

 

The finished product looks like this. These are ammo box racks that are glued to the AA guns. A little plastic ammo box fits inside the ammo rack.

 

 

At the present time, I am still laboring to finish building the AA and secondary guns. Next post, I will take some photos of the built, unpainted guns. Man, these things are so small! It's very tedious work to say the least, but quite fun in a certain masochistic sort of way. 

[WackoWolf]

Thank you for taking the time to show this.

[Canute]

Nice primer on PE, DR1954

[mtaylor]

Those of you who do the PE thing on ships have my undying admiration.  I get a headache and eyestrain just looking at the pictures.   

[cog]

Know what you mean Mark. I still feel it ...

 

DaddyRabbit,

 

Thanks for showing. I'll cruise along, since I've got the Musashi kit from Tamiya waiting, with a PE detail upgrade set. 

[Keith_W]

Did you forget to show the boxes of psychiatric medications needed to keep you sane when bending small PE parts?

 

Thank you for removing some of the mystery. I have always wondered how it is possible to work with such small parts. Let alone glue them precisely on your model, and avoid knocking them off.

 

How is it possible to prime and paint them without obscuring detail?

[Canute]

Keith, an airbrush lays down the thinnest coat of paint. The brass, or sometimes stainless steel, needs to be as clean as possible. A white or light gray primer helps, too. Especially for translucent colors like yellows and reds.

[Old Collingwood]

Know what you mean Mark. I still feel it ...

 

DaddyRabbit,

 

Thanks for showing. I'll cruise along, since I've got the Musashi kit from Tamiya waiting, with a PE detail upgrade set. 

Now that will be nice to see - cant wait to see you start it

 

OC.

[CDW]

I've been working a little every day on the Scharnhorst, but it's slow sledding with all the little bitty details that go on the ship. I must say that this Dragon Scharnhorst is by far the most detailed and finely made parts I have ever seen on any plastic model. It is extraordinary what the company has done with this kit. I'll have some pictures of a lot of small parts up, soon. Not quite ready yet.

In the meantime, I have studied the net to learn what paint scheme was used on the ship in 1943, and to try and get some close up views of some of these small sub assemblies. The instructions are not really adequate. Through this study, I began to worry I might not find too much that would help. Then, came across a site that said to look on the bottom of the kit box, as there are color drawings of the paint scheme and CAD drawings of the sub assemblies that greatly help in properly assembling some of these features. 

If I had not read that, would have NEVER thought to look on the bottom of the box. But lo and behold, there it was!

 

 

[WackoWolf]

Would have never though of looking on the bottom of the box either. Great find

[RGL]

It's amazing what can be made up in plastic now considering the use of CAD, gone are the days of plastic blobs

[EJ_L]

Nice looking model. I'm going to have to pull up a seat and join in the fun. I've done a few plastic ships before I moved on to wood. Though I am in love with the wood ships, this may inspire me to go back and finish some of my remaining plastic ones.

 

My Constructo HMS Bounty had half of its instructions printed on the bottom of the box also. That was different but nice as they came with color pictures of each step. The annoying part was having to hold up the box every time I wanted to look at the instructions. I finally ended up cutting the box apart so I could pin the bottom to my plan board. Then it was fantastic!

[Old Collingwood]

Nice looking model. I'm going to have to pull up a seat and join in the fun. I've done a few plastic ships before I moved on to wood. Though I am in love with the wood ships, this may inspire me to go back and finish some of my remaining plastic ones.

 

My Constructo HMS Bounty had half of its instructions printed on the bottom of the box also. That was different but nice as they came with color pictures of each step. The annoying part was having to hold up the box every time I wanted to look at the instructions. I finally ended up cutting the box apart so I could pin the bottom to my plan board. Then it was fantastic!

I cant praise plastic enough - its just more small scale do-able  imagine trying to build a 350 scale wood Victory, just not very easy and the size of those planks for it,  but with plastic a lot of that worry has been taken away - replaced by etch metal parts

 

I cant wait to delve into 200 scale plastic when i win the lotto

 

 

OC

[CDW]

They say these small, detailed plastic parts are possible because of a new "slide mold" technology. Now, what exactly is different about slide molds from the former molds we knew as kids when we built Revell, Monogram, and Airfix kits, I don't know. But I do know the difference is night and day. Instead of plastic blobs that remotely resembled a particular object, these are detailed down to minute things, like facial expressions on sailor figures, precise recessed rivets, and so on. And in such a small scale. 

[CDW]

Right up front with this post, let me apologize for being such a lousy photographer. I tried to get some closeup shots of these small AA and secondary guns before I painted them, but just couldn't get the correct distance to focus properly. 

Maybe I should mention how I handle the painting of small parts like these as someone asked how I kept from obscuring small details. First, the parts are all airbrushed and not painted with a brush. Second, you want to use a good quality paint with fine pigment. I happen to use Vallejo paints but there are other equally good alternatives. Vallejo are readily available for me and they offer a large range of color choices.

I buy a handy product at WalMart (in the office or school supply section) I call "blue tack", but it is known by a trade name as seen in this picture. It only costs a couple of dollars and it lasts a long time.

 

What I do is cut a small little 1/4" square piece of this "blue tack" and place it on the end of a toothpick. The small part can then be set down on the blue tack and held in place for airbrushing. The part is easily removed when painting is finished. Here are some photos of just some of the guns and gun turrets. Many more besides these. It's quite a chore getting all the little pieces prepared to go onto the deck.