SMS WESPE 1876 by wefalck – 1/160 scale - Armored Gunboat of the Imperial German Navy - as first commissioned

[druxey]

An excellent result, Eberhard!

 

BTW, 'floaters' are possible at any age but, as you mention, they get ignored by the mind after a while. Annoying, but harmless.

[Javelin]

So much effort in that ensign, but the result is fabulous. The structure really appears a fabric rather than simply paper or plastic.

[mbp521]

Definitely a lot of work went into the ensign, but the results are spectacular and well worth it.  
 

-Brian

[BANYAN]

What a great result Eberhard; thanks for stepping us through the process.  It looks very effective/realistic, especially at that scale.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[wefalck]

Thank you very much, gentlemen, for your kind comments!

 

Last weekend I did some field studies on Lake Geneva on flags moving in the wind:  ...

 

[druxey]

Was this on one of those lovely side-paddle steamers?

[wefalck]

Indeed the SAVOIE (1914): https://www.cgn.ch/en/savoie.html. We had an extended Sunday-lunch cruise.

 

Warming up the engine:

Getting ready to put to 'sea':

 

 

 

 

 

[Mirabell61]

Nice videos Eberhard,

thanks for sharing, good old Swiss machinery ....

 

Sorry for wrong and corrigated first name

 

Nils

Edited April 27 by Mirabell61

[wefalck]

Eberhard 😉

[druxey]

Thank you, Wefalk! It brought back memories when, as a five-year old child, I was fascinated by the moving eccentrics and connecting rods in the open engine room. The smell of hot oil.... This was on a Vierwaldstättersee steamer. I think a model of one of those would be a very interesting subject..

[Keith Black]

 Thank you posting the engine startup video, Eberhard.  

 

 Large engines are fascinating, building/machining large engines is even more so. Building the lathe pictured would have been a monumental undertaking. I wonder how long it took to chuck that crankshaft? 

 

[Ras Ambrioso]

Wefalk, my next model is going to be the SMS Temes (aka Bodrog) from WW I in 1/64 scale.  I will use your system to develop the naval ensign of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Thanks for your craftsmanship. It is definitely an art.

[KeithAug]

On 4/18/2024 at 9:07 PM, wefalck said:

Apparently, they can spontaneously disappear or the brain sort of ignores them after a while – keep fingers crossed. For the moment they are quite bothering, when working on really small things

Fascinating work on the ensign Eberhard. I have had floaters for years. It is true the brain filters them out but they are persistent little blighters and are apt to reappear whenever they are mentioned. You do get used to them though. I hope they improve soon.

[wefalck]

The Crew

 

The WESPE-Class had a complement of around 80 crew, of which 3 where officers. This seems to be quite a number for a ship of only 46 m length. Unfortunately, there is no information on the different duties and the distribution of ratings. There are some crew photographs from the 1900 to 1910 era, but they manly show officers and petty-officers and in addition, they come from the short periods during which the boats were commissioned for exercises in groups and may show crew from a whole flotilla.

 

Gun drill on the WESPE-class around 1900

 

The intention was to show some gun-drill on the boat, as in the historical photograph above. There are about ten ratings visible and a couple more or so may be hidden behind the gun. There would be probably also a petty-officer in charge. On the bridge there would be two men at the helm and a couple of officers. In total, I estimated that about 15 figures would be needed to present a reasonable picture of activity.

Below the gun there would some ten men or more manning the cranks with which the gun is trained. In the boiler-room, some further ten crew would be working hard on stoking the fires, trimming coal etc. The same number of crew, would be on the off-watch. The machine would be tended by perhaps three to four engineers and petty officers. I am sure there are other duties, such as maintenance, signalling, plus a certain number on off-watches, but there is no information available on how these ships were ‘run’.

Officers of SMS HERTHA 1874-1877. Source: https://senckenbergarchiv.de/kolonialesbildarchiv/.

 

Uniforms

The 1870s were a time of transition as far as the naval uniforms are concerned. In the early years of the Empire much of the features of the uniforms of the Prussian navy were retained. To a certain degree the uniforms also followed the general fashion in terms of the height of the waste-line, the width of trousers and blouses, the shape of the caps etc. By the early 1880s the uniforms of all ranks were quite consolidated and were changed only in details until the early years of WW1. There is abundant information on these later years and on officers’ and petty-officers’ uniforms, but information on ratings in the early years is quite scarce in the primary and secondary literature. In particular, information on working kits is not very detailed. Normally, a certain ‘kit’ would be ordered for certain duties, but photographs show a certain variety of items worn and how they were worn, for instance some men would have the sleeves rolled up, while others would not.

Helmsmen on SMS HERTHA 1874-1877. Source: https://senckenbergarchiv.de/kolonialesbildarchiv/.

 

Photography was still rather new then and it was difficult to take ‘action’-pictures with the cumbersome equipment of the day. When a sailor had his likeness taken in a professional photographic studio, then it was in his Sunday-best parade-uniform and not in workaday fatigues. The same applies actually to all ranks. There are fortunately a couple of photo-albums from training-cruises in the mid-1870s (e.g. of the cruise of SMS HERTHA to the Far East in 1874-1877) which on purpose show the real-life of the crew, as much as was possible with the equipment of the day, thinking of heavy tripods and large-format cameras with wet glass-plates. These photographs are an important source of information on how the uniforms really looked like and how they were worn for different duties, although virtually all situations were ‘posed’.

Gun drill on SMS HERTHA 1874-1877. Source: https://senckenbergarchiv.de/kolonialesbildarchiv/.

 

Apart from photographs, there are a number of printed works can be considered as primary sources, as they were published at the time, and just two or three secondary publications, which mostly reproduce the plates from earlier publications:

 

ANONYM (1872): Uniformierungs-Liste der Königlich Preußischen Armee und der Kaiserlich Deutschen Marine. Zweite bis zu Gegenwart fortgeführte Auflage.-  114 p., Berlin (E.S. Mittler & Sohn).

 

ANONYM (1887): Die Uniformen der Deutschen Marine in detaillierten Beschreibungen und Farbendarstellungen (Reprint 2007, Melchior Verlag, Wolfenbüttel).- 61 p., 18 Taf., Leipzig (Verlag von Moritz Ruhl).

 

BURGER, L. (1864): Uniformierung der preußischen Marine, Originalzeichnungen.- Über Land und Meer, Bd. 12, Jg. 6, Nr. 31: 487 u. 489.

 

HENCKEL, C. (1901): Atlas des Deutschen Reichsheeres und der Kaiserlichen Marine einschließlich kaiserlicher Schutztruppen in Afrika in ihrer Uniformierung und Einteilung.- 32 pl., Dresden (Militär-Kunst-Verlag MARS).

 

Lintz, G., Raecke, K.-H. (1978): Die königlich preußische Marine.- Z. für Heereskunde, 275: 20-21.

 

Marineamt [Ed.] (1984?): Die Geschichte der Matrosenuniform.- 79 p., Wilhelmshaven (Marineunterstützungskommando).

 

NOESKE, R.,  STEFANSKI, C.P. (2011): Die deutschen Marinen 1818–1918. Organisation, Uniformierung, Bewaffung und Ausrüstung.- 2 vols.: 1336 p., 304 pl., Wien (Verlag Militaria).

 

RUHL, M. [Ed.] (1887): Uniformen der deutschen Marine in detaillirten Beschreibungen und Farbendarstellungen, nebst Mittheilungen über Organisation, Stärke etc., sowie einer Liste sämtlicher Kriegsfahrzeuge und den genauen Abbildungen aller Standarten und Flaggen.- 98 p., 26 pl., Wolfenbüttel (Reprint 2007 by Melchior Historischer Verlag).

 

RUHL, M. (18936😞 Die Deutsche Marine und die Deutschen Schutztruppen für Ostafrika in ihrer neuesten Uniformierung.- 78 p., 20 pl., (Faksimile Fines Mundi).

 

RUHL, M. (1892): Uniformen der deutschen Marine.- Starnberg  (reprint 1989).

 

SCHLAWE, K. (1900): Die deutsche Marine in ihrer gegenwärtigen Uniformierung.- 98 p., (M. Ruhl).

 

WALDORF-ASTORIA [Hrsg.] (193?): Uniformen der Marine und Schutztruppen.- 14 p., 8 pl., München (Waldorf-Astoria Zigarettenfabrik).

 

ZIENERT, J. (1970): Unsere Marine-Uniform – Ihre geschichtliche Entstehung seit den ersten Anfängen und ihre zeitgemäße Weiterentwicklung von 1816 bis 1970.- 451 p., Hamburg (Helmut Gerhard Schulz Verlag).

Gun drill on SMS HERTHA 1874-1877 – note the high heels of the shoes at this time. Source: https://senckenbergarchiv.de/kolonialesbildarchiv/.

 

Preparing the Figures

Starting point is a set of unpainted figures by Preiser in 1/160 (N-scale). Compared to HO-scale the selection is much smaller and the sets of unpainted figures are not so easy to find. Individual figures were selected on the basis of their poses, but very few had vaguely useful dresses. Some of the railway officials formed a suitable a basis for the officers and petty-officers.

Fortunately, the figures are small, some 10 to 11 mm in height, so only a rather summary representation of their attire needs to/can be achieved.

All figures required quite a bit of carving and sculpting with ‘Green Stuff’. The single-breasted jackets of the railway staff had to be converted into the double-breasted, longer frock-coats of the time. The peak-caps of 1960s officials (many of the figures were originally modelled by Preiser in the early 1960s) looked quite different from those worn by naval officers in the 1870s – German (naval) peak-caps underwent a significant change in appearance between the 1870s and the early post-WWII years. 

Naval ratings required more substantial carving: jackets had to be cut away and blouses tucked into high-waist trousers had to be carved. Safety helmets were cut away and the characteristic sailor’s cap sculpted with ‘Green Stuff’. Shovels etc. were cut away and hands drilled for more appropriate implements. The sailors also got their traditional large collar.

The crew-member at various stages of modelling

 

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a ‘before’ picture, but the one above shows the 15 figures at various stages of the carving and sculpting exercise. Amputations and reassembly à la Dr. Frankenstein are difficult at this small scale and were not attempted with few minor exceptions.

 

Again, a text-heavy post, but it serves myself as a memo of my deliberations and what I did.

 

To be continued ....

[Mirabell61]

good job on the figures Eberhard,

 

I suppose that you did`nt find suitable ones in Scale "N"  1:160 

 

Nils

[Mirabell61]

Eberhard,

 

I found some 1:160 "shapeways" figurines, they are more expensive than Preiser though ... perhaps some surgery necessary

Hope the link works

 

https://www.shapeways.com/marketplace/miniatures/figurines?q=&sort=popularity&facet[pdcId][]=141&facet[pdcId][]=342&facet[price][min]=1&facet[price][max]=2500&facet[price][from]=1&facet[price][to]=2500

 

Nils

[wefalck]

Thanks, Nils. I did see those before, but apart from the hefty price they also did not offer a suitable variety of poses.

 

I have not (yet) worked with these resins coming out of 3D-printers, but understand that they are rather brittle, so difficult to carve etc.

Edited May 18 by wefalck

[mcb]

Nice work, 

I have a couple of sets of those unpainted Preiser N scale figures, but I only use them occasionally.  I never yet tried surgery on them.

Thanks for posting those historical photos, they are interesting and informative.

mcb

[KeithAug]

I enjoyed the history lesson Eberhard. As for the figures I need to find my magnifier!

[Ras Ambrioso]

Great job on the figures. BTW, I love your research. 

[wefalck]

Already another month passed, but not idle, albeit interrupted by several travels ...

 

*******************

 

Painting the figures

 

In order to better see how the sculpting turned out and any imperfections, the figures were given a spray-coat of matt white paint (Vallejo Model Air). This also served as a primer that made hand-painting easier. I like the consistency of Vallejo Model Air paints also for application by brush, but several coats may be needed for certain colours.

The crew figures with a white base-coat

 

Unfortunately, only at a relatively late painting stage some molding flash was noticed that could not be removed anymore. Also, it turned out, that some faces were actually not molded very well, which made it difficult to paint them.

 

Painting such small figures requires a bit of a strategy. However, regardless of scale, I usually begin with the face and any other exposed skin. The reason is that, apart from white, most other clothing colours tend to be darker and have a better coverage and perhaps more importantly, clothing covers the skin, so in order to get precise edges between the clothing and the skin, it is more natural to paint towards the skin, rather than trying to approach the clothing with the skin colour.

 

At this scale no attempt is made to paint eyes and such details, but rather to paint the shadows under the eyebrows and in other parts of the face. I find the way of how Canaletto treats the staffage in his paintings a useful reference. It is fascinating, how he can bring the ‘people’ to life with just a few brushstrokes and blobs of paint.

Almost completed paint job on the crew figures

 

It may be counterintuitive, but it is sometimes better to begin with painting details and then work with the main colour towards them. Or to use an iterative procedure: painting say the main colour of the clothing, then adding detail, followed by touching up with the main colour, where the brush had gone astray. Narrow lines, such as embroidery, are difficult to achieve, but too wide lines can be reduced in width by painting the main colour against them.

 

The painting proceeded in several iterations and I have not taken pictures of the various steps. 

The crew ready to go on board

 

The Vallejo Model Air paints have a slight satin sheen, which is good for many applications, but in order represent cloth better, the figure were given at the end a light spray coat with matt varnish.

 

To be continued ....

[Keith Black]

Amazing that you were able to paint in that much detail at that scale, Eberhard.  I was spending three plus hours per figure trying to paint in detail and in the end I was very displeased with my efforts. My hat is off to you for succeeding. 

[KeithAug]

Eberhard - Very nicely done. Are all the bases port bottle corks? If so how much port did you have to drink to create the crew?

[druxey]

They look terrific, Eberhard. Interesting collection of corks as well....

[Ras Ambrioso]

Outstanding.

[BANYAN]

A well dressed (painted) crew you have there Eberhard.  You must still have very steady hands to achieve this level (quality) of work.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[wefalck]

Thank you very much gentlemen. I don't do this kind of painting very often these days, so I missing a bit the routine (the last time I painted figures is already ten years ago. Thank god, the hands are still as steady as they used to be (which is not as much as I would wish).

 

I found working acrylics with a brush always a bit of awkward because they either dry too fast or run too much. Perhaps I don't have the necessary practice. Perhaps I should go back to using oils for the faces etc., as I used to for 1/35 scale figures many decades ago. I gave it a try on some 1/87 figures for the botter-model, but was not so successful either. However, oils stay workable a long time, which is a plus and minus. With acrylics you can go back to the same area after a few minutes.

 

It's always amazing to see what the real figure modellers can do with their brushes ...

 

And yes, we may go through several bottles of Port per year, so there is always a supply of fresh corks.

Edited June 23 by wefalck

[vaddoc]

An absolutely amazing read Eberhard, just finished going through the log. True work of a master, thank you for sharing this journey. Wonderful!

[Mirabell61]

wunderbar Eberhard,

I like that crew of marine soldiers

 

Nils

[FriedClams]

Fantastic work painting those figures, Eberhard.  I noticed that even the officers’ buttons were painted!  Really nice.  Time to open another bottle of port.

 

Gary