Bismarck by Semorebutts - FINISHED - Trumpeter - 1/200 scale - PLASTIC - with MK1 detail set

[semorebutts]

I watched a documentary on the Bismarck on youtube yesterday.  Very interesting... yes the hood was firing on the wrong ship. They say it Only took the bismarck 8 minutes to sink the hood.  

 

But I still love the look of her fully striped. But I messed it up to bad. I originally thought I would embarrass myself putting a build log on this website being a rookie and all. But everybody has been so nice and  supportive. 

Edited March 15, 2018 by semorebutts

[mtaylor]

We all make "oops" and "oh crap" things.   You're doing great so keep it up.

[lmagna]

2 minutes ago, semorebutts said:

But everybody has been so nice and  supportive. 

Well deserved I'm sure. This build is quite an achievement by anyone's standards.

 

Holland made a number of mistakes besides firing on the wrong ship. In addition the British gunnery was not good to say the least for a number of reasons and this was compounded by the confusion in targets and equipment/gun failures on the Prince Of Wales. Most people feel he should have closed the distance to much closer range to avoid plunging fire on his much weaker decks. He also limited his number of effective guns to half by choosing the angle of approach that he did. Then of course there was the big one, the British continued to use Battle Cruisers as Battleships even after finding that this may not be a real good idea in WWI at the battle of Jutland.

 

Lutjens and Lindemann made none of these mistakes. Both ships had their full broadsides available And not only probably had better range finding equipment but had the advantage of being able to see the British better due to their relative positions. I believe both German ships concentrated solely on the Hood until she blew up and only then shifted fire to the Prince Of Wales.  

 

Lou 

[semorebutts]

You know your ship battles Lou! I learned Alot. Whats the difference between and battleship and a battle cruiser?

[cog]

Have a look

[semorebutts]

Oooooh. Cool 

[lmagna]

Carl pretty much covered it in his link. 

 

Early on during the navel arms race that followed the building of the Dreadnought, or the "All big gun ship" just after the turn of the century, Admiral Fisher of the British navy envisioned a vessel that carried the big guns of a battleship with the speed of a Cruiser, the idea being that a ship like that could out gun anything that it couldn't out run. His original intention appeared to be something like a later day USS Constitution in concept, never intended to fight in a line of battle along side of the more heavily armored big guys, or at least not at the front of the battle line like at Jutland. Admiral Jellicoe placed his faster but more fragile Battlecruisers at the front of the battle line and his almost as fast and more heavily gunned and armored new battleships at the rear of the formation. This exposed the more lightly armored Battlecruisers to take heavier damage than they should have while the more heavily armed battleships at the rear of the formation remained unengaged  for much of the battle. Of course the concept of Battlecruisers was not only copied by the other side but in the case of the Germans even improved on in some respects. For example the SMS Seydlitz took over 20 heavy caliber hits from British ships including one direct hit on a turret from a 13.5" British shell and was also hit by a torpedo. The ship had taken similar damage in a prior battle with the British fleet and survived. Most people say that the reason for the better survivability of the German ships was a better damage control design and much smaller compartmentalization of their ships allowed by the fact that their crews did not live on board when near shore facilities.

 

The only time that Battle cruisers were used in their intended role was in the battle of the Falkland Islands in 1914. The last Battle Cruisers to see actual ship-to-ship combat were the German Pocket Battleships of WWII, and the last Battlecruisers built were the Alaska, Guam, and Hawaii for the US navy in WWII.

The whole thing pretty much eventually evolved into the fast battleship of which the Bismark was one. The last fast Battleships were the HMS Vanguard and the Missouri class of WWII.

 

I need to quit high jacking your build with history stuff. Now get back to work!!!! 

 

Lou

Edited March 15, 2018 by lmagna

[semorebutts]

I  pretty much finished the main mast today. 

 There was only really two things to do. first was to put the crows nest on. 

then to just attach the two main pieces. 

and thats it. Now time for paint.  Why does the camera make the angles look off? Doesn't look that bad in person. 

[popeye the sailor]

looks fine to me......I would say you nailed it   

[Dan Vadas]

1 hour ago, semorebutts said:

Why does the camera make the angles look off? Doesn't look that bad in person. 

It's caused by Lens Distortion .

 

You've been making the mast the hard way. It's a lot easier to keep everything straight and plumb if you tape it down to a flat piece of timber and work horizontally instead of trying to do it vertically.

 

  Danny

[semorebutts]

but it wont lay flat with the crows nest and everything else sticking out.   but I tend to do most things the hard way.  even my day off today was done the hard way... smashed my face into a windshield at work and got sent to the hospital... calling in sick would have been the easy way

 

[cog]

Thought you're a glutton for punishment ... Nice stick though, even if it's made the hard way ...

[Dan Vadas]

2 hours ago, semorebutts said:

but it wont lay flat with the crows nest and everything else sticking out.   but I tend to do most things the hard way.  even my day off today was done the hard way... smashed my face into a windshield at work and got sent to the hospital... calling in sick would have been the easy way

 

Bugger, that doesn't sound good . Hope you can still work on the model - at least they may not call you in for a cuppla days .

 

The crow's nest isn't really a problem if you support the mast with a few pieces of wood under it so that it clears. I was really referring to the initial phase of construction BEFORE you fitted it. Ah well, maybe next time .

 

  Danny

[semorebutts]

Ooooh i see. 

[Dan Vadas]

Here's one example of what I meant. Fitting one of the Yards :

 

BTW - I know the top yard is on the wrong side of the mast. I fixed that after this pic was taken .

 

  Danny

[semorebutts]

oooh.  that looks awesome!

[lmagna]

7 hours ago, semorebutts said:

even my day off today was done the hard way

Some people will go to extremes to get a little extra shipyard time!

 

(Hope you feel better soon! Must have been a heck of a hit to get you sent to the hospital/home.)

I got all bruised and a bit cut up once and all I got was cleaned up by the doctor while another doctor was working on my prisoner! I still had to take him to the jail and do all the paperwork before the night was out! I eventually ended up with a black eye! 

 

Lou 

Edited March 17, 2018 by lmagna

[semorebutts]

Ya it sucked Lou. We were doing snow removal and i was in a little skidsteer. The bucket hit a manhole in the street. Its like hitting a solid concrete wall. It stopped but i kept going till my face smashed the windshield cracking it. And My glasses completely shattered. 

[lmagna]

I would add a like but that sounds like it REALLY hurt compounded by getting your glasses smeared all over your face. Were they safety glasses?

In addition I suppose your shipbuilding might be a bit delayed until you get new glasses and can wear them. (Usually whenever glasses are involved the bridge of the nose is as well.)

 

Get well soon

Lou

[semorebutts]

I can see upclose so the shipyard remains open. Yup the bridge of my nose is cut open from the glasses trying to fuse to my face. 

Edited March 17, 2018 by semorebutts

[mtaylor]

Ouch... that would definitely hurt.  I hope you heal fast and have no lasting damage.

 

[semorebutts]

Thank you 

[semorebutts]

A beautiful morning to airbrush...

simple only 2 pieces. 

only took about 35 minutes. 

up next, guns.

[semorebutts]

Next is the signal lamp.  

also I want to take care of all this stuff before I get to the guns. It's been building up for a year. 

[semorebutts]

I brought out the bismarck today to install  the foremast. 

then the main mast which is slightly off center. 

then I shaded the range finder. 

and installed it. 

[cog]

Can hardly see her against that "rocky backdrop" She does look stunning already. Great work on the shading ... very, very nice

[semorebutts]

ya i have to take some better photos.

[cog]

At least her camouflage works

[semorebutts]

The guns should be very fun! And not to hard. 

I had a little time today so I atleast got the plastics ready. 

[popeye the sailor]

all the additions look awesome........you did a great job!     hope your feeling better......that had to hurt