Bismarck by Dan Vadas - FINISHED - GPM - 1:200 - CARD and PE

[CDW]

Wow. 

How much would you estimate the finished card model weighs? I wonder if it feels feather light. If so, it must be a real surprise when you first pick it up.

 

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks John, Pat and CDW .

6 hours ago, CDW said:

How much would you estimate the finished card model weighs? I wonder if it feels feather light. If so, it must be a real surprise when you first pick it up.

It only weighs 1 to 1.5 kilograms. The wooden base (not yet fitted) weighs more than the model.

 

  Danny

[cog]

Quite the battleship Dan. She looks real good. 1.5 Kg for a paper model, that brass must weigh her down a lot ...

[Mirabell61]

Wow !

great looking Danny ...

 

Nils

[popeye the sailor]

superbly done Danny.........well done on fitting her out!    hard to believe this is a paper model!

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for the replies guys .

 

The four anchors are fitted. I used 15 link-per-inch chain for the main ones, and 40 lpi for the auxilliary chain on the foremost one. The rather poor quality printing really stands out in the different red colours, and that panel didn't line up properly either . More touch-up will be needed :

 

I've also made the fore and aft flagpoles from 1.0mm and 0.6mm brass wire :

 

Now i'm onto the railing for the main deck. This should take me a couple of days - there's over 2.5 metres of it .

 

  Danny

[popeye the sailor]

all I can say is WOW!   nicely done   

[BANYAN]

Looking very good Danny, pity about the red print mismatch, but the model overall is very consistent.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[cog]

When I see how you tackled all the other "misfits" and improvements you made I can't see how this little piece of red deck will give you a problem. Lovely work on the anchors and flag poles. A mere 2.5 m railing, how long would it have been in reality ... something like 3 km? stroll in the park for you

[Dan Vadas]

1 hour ago, cog said:

A mere 2.5 m railing, how long would it have been in reality ... something like 3 km?

No, 500 metres . But that's only the main deck, there's about the same amount or a bit more on all the other decks in total. I used 6 metres of railing, multiplied by 200 equals 1.2km on the real ship. The stanchions are 8.3mm apart, so I've had to drill about 500 holes for them.

 

  Danny

[cog]

only 500m! I read the scale as 1200 Besides that, I always mess up those scale calculations ... that's why I shouldn't scratch build, I would make a Titanic triple it's real size!!!

[popeye the sailor]

if I recall correctly Danny,  I believe some folks experienced problems with the plastic kits as well,  having the decals not lining up well.  this particular ship is fairly common to this problem.....how it occurs in the different mediums.

[Dan Vadas]

I've fitted the one boat that sits on the davits. I used 0.2mm wire to simulate the lowering cable, and some 0.4mm wire for the support bracket that holds it to the middle of the davit :

 

All the railings are finally completed, apart from a bit of touch-up paint for the port side ones :

 

Because I was two lengths of railing short I've had to use a some that was left over from Amatsukaze. Unfortunately it's only a 2-bar rail, but I managed to have enough 3-bar to get to the aft cleats so I did a bit of a "fudge". Unless you look carefully it's not really noticeable, and it'll do me :

 

There's actually still quite a bit to do to finish this model, things I'd forgotten about. I'd left off fitting the portholes and steps to the hull in case they were damaged any time I had to move the model (which was a lot ). I've made a start to the steps - there are about 70 of them to fit. I'm using 0.2mm nickel-silver wire for them :

 

Yes, I've noticed the bit of grey touch-up paint needed near the bottom . It's not the only bit either.

 

  Danny

[Jim Lad]

Looking good, Danny!  As Pam would say, a man on a galloping horse would never notice the railing fudge! 

 

John

[cog]

3 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

Looking good, Danny!  As Pam would say, a man on a galloping horse would never notice the railing fudge! 

 

John

No a man on his horse wouldn't, his horse would be all over

 

Interesting solution, mixing Japanese and German racking. Looks like it is the way it should though

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you John and Carl.

 

All the portholes and steps are fitted. The closest set of steps are about to be painted :

 

There's another Boom near the bow :

 

The main entry ladders are made from PE. I scratchbuilt the platforms :

 

It's now time to fit the screws and rudders which I made 5 months ago :

 

The final things to fit are the two flags, as I usually do. It signals the end of the build . I de-laminated the paper to make it look a bit more realistic, and glued the pieces back-to-back :

 

I only need to glue the model to the base, which I made a while ago. It's just been given it's final coat of lacquer (I'd forgotten to do that earlier ). The final pictures will be posted a bit later today.

 

  Danny

[popeye the sailor]

very nice progress Danny.......your finished!  looking forward to the 'finished' pictures  

[mtaylor]

Sweet work, Danny.  I in awe of this build.

[CDW]

59 minutes ago, mtaylor said:

Sweet work, Danny.  I in awe of this build.

Me too!

 (Am I now part of the me too movement?) 

[Jim Lad]

Great work, Danny.  I'm looking forward to seeing her on her base.

 

John

[Fernando E]

Hi Danny....what an epic build. Have been watching this one from the outset and am continually amazed at what you have achieved using card. Congratulations and I've got front row seats when you start on the Hood!

 

Cheers............Fernando 

[maaaslo]

See, i told you, you would be done soon...

job well done.

 

Edited March 13, 2018 by maaaslo

[cog]

Another quicky, Dan. Very beautiful build, and I loved the instructive setup of the log. Enjoyed it from start to finish, it almost looks as if it is easy!

 

Cheers

[amateur]

A card model that can be photographed in macro setting, and still noerrors and mishaps to be seen. That is outstanding quality.

 

we don't do medals here, but as far as I'm concerned it is definitely a gold one

 

Jan

[BANYAN]

Beautiful job Danny, very nicely presented and plenty of details.  Are you going to add a 'topping lift' to the accommodation ladder?

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks very much guys .

 

7 hours ago, BANYAN said:

Are you going to add a 'topping lift' to the accommodation ladder?

No, I've had enough of this model .

 

Well, this is it - Bismarck is FINISHED . Here are all the final pics - enjoy :

 

Thanks to all those who followed this build, and especially those who commented. Now onto HMS Hood .

 

  Danny

[popeye the sailor]

congratz Danny!   she looks fantastic.........so much detail and depth      even some of the end repairs you made on the outer hull {the minor handling damage}...  ...... the stern looks like it has weathering!  did you do anything to the bow deck emblem?   couldn't tell if it was still shifted!   she's an amazing model Danny....if you do this good a job,  not liking the kit,   I can't wait till you tear into the Hood!   congratz again.........very well done!   

[CDW]

Are you now more dedicated to card models in the future? This one is a resounding success. Outstanding!

[gjdale]

Congratulations Danny on yet another fine (and instructive) build. 

[bdgiantman2]

Dan, your model of the Bismarck is beautifully done, sir! She really was a beast of a ship for her time, I was amazed how technologically advanced Bismarck and other ships were. A very fascinating project.

 

Brian