Gisbod

Ps Rob, Do you seal the deck in in any way after your weathering, or just leave it as is? Thanks, Guy

Thanks Chaps, Hi Beefy, you’re just teasing me with those! I want them! Guy

Beautiful ship Rob! Looks spot on and a very nice subject too… Guy

Thanks I do like the peculiarities of a ship build - you basically start with paint and weathering! All the big fun bits in the first flourish… Hull painted up and weathered, wood deck on. Guy ps I forgot to gloss coat the plastic deck before sticking on the wooden deck. A tip I picked up from the forum when I last built a ship. I hope this doesn’t cause issues in the future.. That said, the adhesive bites like mad and seems almost impossible to move once it’s made contact!

Thanks anyway Jeff, I’m just wondering if it ties it all together or looks better natural… IJNfan Please do I masked up the decks and sprayed the swastikas - quite pleased with the effect. I can’t see how a decal would work over wood… Guy ps I also painted up the Hull - I went with the Denmark Straits look in the end. I’ll post proper pictures once the deck’s in place.

Thanks all, much appreciated. The aircraft designers at Fairey obviously hadn’t heard the expression ‘if it looks right it probably is right’ Guy

Ah yes, a very brave action and the Polish part is largely overlooked I think. So I’ve actually made a start. As I mentioned before, I haven’t made one of these kits full Hull before and although the plastic parts are perfectly moulded, I did struggle a bit to get a perfect line along the join between the lower and upper hull. The plastic is very fine and inevitably there’s a little bending here and there. I’m talking nano measures, but I did have to do some sanding to eliminate micro ridges. All turned out fine though. Boring picture I know but this is how she stands wit

Very nice painting! When are you moving on to the hull Guy ps Just had to Google it - the model would be 3.65m!

Yep, I've never been one for letting accuracy get in the way of artistic licence! Quick question re wooden decks. Do you varnish / coat / leave them? I’m just wondering about the pros & cons? I don’t intend to weather them as such, just what method looks best? Thanks, Guy

Thanks Jeff & David, that’s very helpful! It would explain it if it was hastily painted over and may well have simply washed off at sea.. I do take the same approach as you David - I try to get it right, but I’m quite happy to go with what I think looks best to my eye if there’s not any concrete evidence. I’m liking the red turret tops already! If you’ve got any nice photos David I’d love to see them? I’ve got quite a few books on the chase, but not many photos. Guy

Thanks Thats the kind of feedback I like! Guy

Sorry, final question! Some schemes show the Hull stripes faintly showing through the new paint, would this have been realistic or perhaps just an artist’s impression? Are there any photos available showing Bismarck in any detail during or just before this mission? Guy

Ps I wonder why all colour scheme drawings I’ve found seem to have the swastikas painted out for this engagement then? Incidentally, the kit decal sheet has a set of swastikas, but the instructions depict a grey painted area where they would have been. The only marking option is for the final engagement. Guy

Ah thanks Jeff, It’s nice to be back! Funny, but as soon as I read that I remembered seeing the same photos. A quick google search came up with this… Guy

Hello all, Firstly, my apologies for disappearing off the ship scene for so long. I’m really an aircraft modeller that caught the ship bug some time ago but, although I was pleased with what I produced, I was always disappointed with my rigging at the end. I could never really get it to the same standard as the rest of the build. I’m also a perfectionist - that doesn’t mean I build perfectly - just I’m always disappointed at the end of a project! Anyway, it left me falling out of love with naval subjects and my FlyHawk Bismarck and Scharnhorst kits were left gathering dust in the s