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

[amateur]

9 hours ago, cog said:

No cahnce ripping off part of the top layer with the dubble sided tape?

That's where his Testors fillerand paintbox come in handy  After I had some ripp off, Danny said that usind Testors dullcota spray makes the cardboad surface quite resistant to that problem. No idea whether that also holds for these laser-parts

 

Jan

[Dan Vadas]

20 hours ago, cog said:

No cahnce ripping off part of the top layer with the dubble sided tape?

No, although I'm very careful when removing the part from the tape. The 0.22mm thick laser-cut card seems to be very strong and I haven't had any problems with it delaminating.

 

  Danny

[Dan Vadas]

The funnel is finally finished, and I've also finished the two aft searchlights. These are fitted, along with the two 20mm guns I made earlier :

 

I also decided to add real louvres to the flat printed ones. They have a real sense of depth now . I made them from strips of 1mm wide card :

 

  Danny

[semorebutts]

Beautiful!!

[Captain Slog]

Well done, looks very nice indeed.

 

Cheers

Slog

[Jim Lad]

Your louvres really add to it, Danny!

 

John

[mtaylor]

It's still hard to believe this is card, Danny.  Just stunning work.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks guys .

 

There are two Radomes (EDIT - see note below) on the forward 2nd deck. The parts in the kit are pretty ordinary, but the laser-cut ones are pretty good. The laser cutting itself is excellent, and all the parts fitted well despite (as usual) some vague instructions. Just an exploded line drawing and another showing the finished article. There is no indication of which parts should wrap around a former or butt to it. Here are most of the parts for one radome, there are also 6 laser-cut circular formers for each which aren't shown in the pic :

 

I built both of these at the same time on my MDF block. Most of the outer panels were slight cones, which I rolled with a tapered roller on a piece of high-density foam. The pics below show the sequence of construction :

 

EDIT - I've discovered (thanks to Lou and Jan) that these are not Radomes, as radar wasn't invented at the time of Bismarck. They are in fact Fire Control Stations.

 

Both of them finished, ready for paint.

 

I had to use the lower part from the kit as it didn't come with the laser cut. The fit between them is OK. I'm leaving them off until I've installed the Railings to the 2nd deck :

 

And I've now fitted those railings. These are turning out very well IMO. I'll touch up the chipped paint near the end of construction, as I'll most likely bend a few railings later on :

 

Drilling the five stanchion holes under the boat rack was a lot of fun :

 

  Danny

[lmagna]

Hello Dan

I have been lurking in the background avidly following your build. Very enjoyable and informative.

 

I do have a question about your "raydomes" though. Does the manufacturer list them as radar domes? I always thought of them as optical gun directors, possibly for the secondary armament due to their being located so low to the waterline and on each side of the superstructure.

Just a question as no matter what they are they look great.

 

Lou 

Edited December 5, 2017 by lmagna

[amateur]

I always understood that shipmountd radar did not exist when the Bismarck was around.

 

Jan

[Dan Vadas]

1 hour ago, lmagna said:

I do have a question about your "raydomes" though. Does the manufacturer list them as radar domes?

Lou, the manufacturer doesn't list them as anything. This was just my assumption, which apparently is wrong according to Jan. Thanks for the clarification guys, I'll edit my post .

 

  Danny

[lmagna]

Dan 

 

Sorry, I didn't mean it as a clarification, only as a question. I have never really done any research on the Bismark other than reading the history like I am sure all of us have.

 

Jan

Although it is possible that the Bismarck did not have true gun control radar, it is clear in at least most of the pictures I have seen of the better models that he/she did have some kind of radar. There are bed spring style radars located on both the forward main gun control and the aft main control units and because of their location their aim would follow the direction of the gun control units. That would suggest that there was at least an attempt at using the radar for gun control. Just like ship mounted radar in the US and some other countries it may have been primitive and unreliable, but it does seem to have been installed by 1941 unless the models are wrong. (How could that be?) I will try and look a little closer into it but I am sure that you or someone here has dates and levels of German radar development at hand and will have a better answer long before I can do it.

 

Lou  

Edited December 5, 2017 by lmagna

[lmagna]

Here is some of the stuff I have found in an admittedly short search. It appears that that Dan was right about the domed gun directors also being radomes as indicated in the last paragraph.

Lou

 

The fire of the main and secondary batteries was directed from the command posts, which were located forward, astern, and above the foretop platform. Each of these three posts mounted a rotating dome with an optical rangefinder and a FuMO 23 radar instrument. The command posts were connected by armored communication shafts to the computation rooms under the Armour deck forward (section XV) and aft (section VII). The FuMO 23 antennae had a rectangular shape and measured approximately 2 m. high and 4 m. wide. They had a frequency of 368 MHz, and operated on an 81.5 cm wavelength with a power-output of 9 kW at 500 kHz. The maximum effective range of this device was about 25,000 m. However, the German FuMOs were not equipped with the PPI (Plan Position Indicator) display system that is so familiar in today’s radars, but a simple A-scope display instead. Therefore, they could hardly detect more than one target at the same time, and bearings were not very accurate either. The lack of PPI was one of the reasons German capital ships were so redundant and equipped with three sensors.

The foretop command post, under the command of the First Artillery Officer (I.A.O.), was above the foremast, at about 31 meters above sea level. It was equipped with a 10.5 meter base range finder (Basisgerät BG), and had a visual field of 360º. The forward command post was attached to the forward conning tower, and had a 7-meter base rangefinder, however, due to the superstructure, its visual field was smaller. The after command post had a 10.5-meter base rangefinder of similar characteristics as the one in the foretop.

Each of the four main battery turrets ("Anton", "Bruno", "Cäsar" and "Dora") was equipped with a 10.5-meter base rangefinder too, and in case all three command posts were put out of action in battle, the turrets could then proceed individually to local fire.¹However, the chances of scoring a hit with each battery firing on its own were less than under a centralized command. The central turrets of the secondary battery had also their own 6.5-meter base rangefinder.

The anti-aircraft fire was directed by four command posts, each equipped with a 4-meter rangefinder. Two of these command posts, covered by spherical cupolas (Wackeltopf), were on either side of the foremast, and the other two uncovered posts amidships aft.

Edited December 5, 2017 by lmagna

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for that research Lou, it looks like I was only half wrong . It won't be the last time .

 

  Danny

[Canute]

For all of us, this is a site with German radar gear: http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNGER_Radar.php

 

This is part of the NavWeaps website, so prowl around, It covers from WW1 to the present, so steel naval ship builder will have a lot to peruse.

[lmagna]

Danny

 

It looks like you were all RIGHT!

 

It appears that the Bismarck used the gun control optical range finder units to also house the gun control range finder radars. According to the info supplied by Ken, in the case of the main gun units at the top of the superstructure the addition added so much weight that the units had to be redesigned so the bearings could handle the load!

 

Lou 

Edited December 6, 2017 by lmagna

[Dan Vadas]

And thanks again Ken and Lou. All good info .

 

I've made two more upper deck sections. Both were pretty straight-forward, and I've done all the detailing on them before fitting to the deck below :

 

There are two 37mm guns on the rectangular deck, so it's back into the PE. I also have laser-cut sheets for these, but they aren't anywhere near as detailed so I won't be using them. This is the sheet for 5 guns :

 

The instructions, as I mentioned numerous times before, are not particularly informative :

 

And I've made a start on the bases for the guns :

 

  Danny

[ccoyle]

Ow. My brain hurts when looking at all that PE.

[maaaslo]

43 minutes ago, ccoyle said:

Ow. My brain hurts when looking at all that PE.

You don't need to feel bad about it. He chose the punishment himself  

[cog]

What I like about this scale, Dan, is the infinite number of additional pieces you get for e.g. a 37mm gun. You must be a glutton for punishment By the way, lovely work on those deck sections.

[Dan Vadas]

Thank you Chris, Pav and Carl .

 

I've redone one of the 37mm gun Pedestals, as I wasn't happy with the way it turned out. This time I used a piece of card with a 4mm hole punched into it to hold the pieces more stably :

 

The central columns consist of 4 pieces - a main piece which is narrower at the top, two plates for top and bottom, and a U shaped piece that sits proud of the front end (not shown in the lower pic yet). The main column is etched on the back side to make bending easier, a good idea :

 

There are two "bulges" on either side of the column, consisting of 4 pieces each. First thing is a narrow strip for the base, this is also etched on the back. It's wider at the bottom than the top :

 

I glued the base strips to the column first. To ensure that I get small parts positioned properly I use one or more tiny spots of PVA, sit the piece roughly into position using tweezers or a moist toothpick for very small parts, position it properly with the toothpick or a scalpel, and after the PVA has set enough I wick some CA glue around it.

 

The other 3 pieces needed rolling into shape. The top piece is narrower than the bottom, which also has a different shape top and bottom. The two pieces below are only 2mm wide at the widest point. These pieces were fitted next :

 

I fitted the central piece next :

 

And the bottom piece last. The tiny gaps virtually disappear as they get filled with glue. I later gave the unit a good filing with a diamond-coated needle file :

 

Next I glued the column to the base. The rest of the build gets a bit fiddly, starting with a support for the central seat. I stood the MDF block on it's end for these steps so the piece didn't have to defy gravity until the PVA set. In the 3rd pic below the seat and backrest have also been fitted :

 

This is the backrest, it's rather small :

 

 

Final things for now are the Hand-wheels and the first pieces of the outer seat supports :

 

  Danny

[cog]

Very well done Dan. Turned out very good (even at 1/200 )

[Jim Lad]

Just crazy stuff!

 

John

[BANYAN]

Ouch, my eyes hurt even though I am not doing them - nice work Dan

 

cheers

 

Pat

[mtaylor]

"The rest of the build gets a bit fiddly," you say?  It all looks pretty fiddly to me.  My eyes and brain hurt just thinking about it.  But you're doing a fantastic job on this, Danny.

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks for the comments Carl, John, Pat and Mark.

 

The 37mm guns continue. A tiny (1mm long) brackets on each side of the outer seat brackets :

 

There is a Shock Absorber beneath each of the outer seats, made from 0.5mm wire :

 

What I guess is a bracket that holds the elevation controls. There are 3 pieces to this, a central support and an arm that requires several bends at each end :

 

I'm not sure what this piece is, maybe a gunsight?

 

Getting near the end now, there are only the actual guns left to do. Folding the breech boxes was fairly straight-forward :

 

The gun support brackets. I lined up the pivot holes with a piece of 0.2mm wire and CA'd them together :

 

Two of the gun barrels. The one with the big "bulb" on the end is how they come. The other has been cut to length. Machining of these is excellent :

 

I lined up the guns with the holes in the bracket with the same piece of wire, glued them in and trimmed the wire flush :

 

Last few things were rather difficult to fit due to their very small size. Two flat "ears" at the back end of the breech and a recoil exhaust tube on top of the breech :

 

The guns ready for paint. Only 6 more of these to go (as I need them). I now have to make two more 20mm guns, then I'll paint all four :

 

  Danny

[CDW]

outstanding

[BANYAN]

Nice work Danny; you are achieving very good results from microscopic parts.

 

The items you don't know but think maybe sights ...  perhaps foot pedals.  I know the Bofors guns had pedals for controlling 'traverse'

 

cheers

 

Pat

[Dan Vadas]

Thanks CDW and Pat .

 

2 hours ago, BANYAN said:

The items you don't know but think maybe sights ...  perhaps foot pedals.

I doubt it Pat, they're at eye level from the seat .

 

  Danny

[cog]

10 hours ago, BANYAN said:

I know the Bofors guns had pedals for controlling 'traverse'

Ah, but Pat these are German guns !!!!!

 

Quote

I doubt it Pat, they're at eye level from the seat .

I would have expected something more like a crosshair ... but these are German ...

Edited December 11, 2017 by cog