S-boat 55

You raise a good point, they ate pretty deep, I could just paint them I guess, hmmmm decisions decisions

Well the nice man from Amazon kept his word and when i got back from the office there was a large box waiting for me. Couldn't wait so had to dive on in while I had dinner to see what the kit was like. I think id be right in saying its good, if not exceptional, a little detail light in places but that just an opportunity to add things in/try new things. The Hull is smooth with no plating - which is pretty close to the real thing, in photos from her launch there's very limited sign of hull seems etc, im going to try adding in something very subtle with paint layers to give it a little texture. Some what alarmingly I've counted 650-700 scuttles to drill out - this could take me a while! As I found reading reviews, there is no planking detail to speak of, from looking at a photo of the wreck there was definitely planked areas, so wood hunter may be making some money off me and i'll have to learn how to tone the deck down a bit. Impressively though the flight deck is one piece so no joins to manage - although i guess that's not much of an issue if you cover it anyway. Seeing the funnel in person it doesn't look as off as i thought, i do still think its a bit much though, im tempted to shape it a bit, Fair few injection marks in the hanger deck, I'll have to work out which will be visible with some/all of the lifts down, and work out what to add detail wise to make it look right, Oddly the extra planes i purchased are in clear plastic, the kit ones are grey... A couple more sprue shots, Quite looking forward to doing the PE (dare i say it) for the catapults that replaces these, Kit photo etch, there's more on the back of a couple of these as well which i why i wasnt convinced by the need for all of eduards sets, The sprue attachments for the hull are mighty thick it must be said broke a blade trying to free a hull half, went back to my wire cutters, A couple of 'fun' shots, turns out a german destroyers, which weren't small, fit in the hangar, this is z-43 hitching a ride, The hull has a handy overlap and pins to hold it together and very much in line which will e good when they are joined, for now though it was good enough to see that Dreadnough fitted in the hull, And from one Graf to another, Graf Spee fits as well, This is where all my 'hobby' stuff is currently confined, i hope its more a creche than a graveyard as i start completing things, luckily GZ just fits, literally just with about 5mm to spare either end! Last photo I promise - well for now, Thanks for stopping n, Sam Edit: Just having a look through, its notably that the kit boasts 840 parts, the planes themselves account for 250+ of that, I might start by doing some of those and maybe work on them in a couple or batches to spread out the repetition,

Looks realy really good, well done, she's a great looking ship as well, the art work doesn't really do her justice,

Well the extra planes and detail set have beaten the kit here, the very nice man from the amazon has assured me that the kit is on its way though, The planes are standard trumpeter affair - clear plastic, I'll confess I'd not realised how much bigger a Stuka is than the ME 109's. I'm not sure how many to have on deck as of yet but that's a discussion for another day. The two eduard sets are also here, pretty quick delivery from Modelhobbies.co.uk, a little disappointed that one corner of the frets is bent but its not what could be called major, Prt 1 - Deck Part 3 Antenna's and superstructure, I've also two sets for Graf Spee in the stash so I might look for any parts that are doubled up like (doors, ladders, steps etc) that I can use on Graf Zeppelin, I invested in a book about GZ a while back, never finished reading it, its more of an overview of the ships history written by an diver who is an enthusiast of the vessel, interesting if not essential, Thanks for stopping by, Sam

Really very very nice, how people do seascapes as yours boggles my mind, very impressive

Question all, wood decks, thoughts? From reviews I've read the kit doesn't have much in the way of planking detail on the main deck, if that's the case the options really are; -ignore it and paint it as if covered in a finish similar to british carriers, -scribe in planking...very not keen on this idea -use a wood deck like artwox etc My only concern re the last point is I tried one on my dreadnought and it kept lifting no matter what I did, plus in isolation it looked great but I always wondered if it stood out too much a I needed to do something to get it to almost stand put less, as in the was too great a contrast by comparison to painted areas. I prefer to build without any real weathering, are there ways of making them blend in more as with others builds they seem to? And if it lifts what do you do? Thanks Sam Oh and if I do go wood deck route, any experience with wood hunters decks, pontos and artwox?

Thanks Gary, you've confirmed my suspicions re that carrier, odd the axis had the opportunity to use carriers just never got them over the line, Hoping to have Dunkerque finished in a week or two, its the final fiddly bits that I'm finding g better to do a bit then come away from and then back to so I don't rush it

So here is (potentially) the start of part one of a dual/joint/two at a time build. Jury is still out in my head if to try two at a time having only completed two builds in 1/350 in the past 3 years especially as I still have a lot to learn and want them to turn out well. Also whether to do a joint thread or separate ones? As a kid I built 1/600 battleships, if it didn’t have big guns I wasn’t interested. A few years back I dabbled in 1/400 and built battleships, (you may see a pattern), now that I’m rather hooked on the hobby again I’ve started by building you’ve guessed it – battleships, specifically Zvezda’s Dreadnought and Hobbyboss’s Dunkerque (95% complete). As I looked at my stash of 12 and counting with a couple of those started I realised bar a modern Russian destroyer I needed to change it up. I settled on Aircraft Carriers, specifically 3, the bank said I could have 2 - fair enough I said. I wanted something unusual looking and Graf Zeppelin is certainly that. I’d actually discounted her as the aftermarket options aren’t great, Mk.1 do a set three times the cost of the kit which I personally think is too much. Eduard do a set in 4 prts, 2 prts of which are now discontinued. I contacted them about this and another set for Roma they have done similar with and they very bluntly said they wouldn’t bring it back into production even if demand went up which seems odd but that’s up to them. So I have coming on monday trumpeters kit of Graf Zeppelin in 1/350 with half of the eduard sets available, I did track down all four parts but when I compared the kit parts with those offered by eduard I found multiple areas when eduard merely replaced what was already included in the kit with little or no marked difference. I’ve also an extra set of six ME 109’s and Stukas. I plan to do my best with it, maybe scratch build a few bits, it won’t be jaw dropping in terms of PE but I think there is enough to lift the base model up a level or two. Part of the thing with Graf Zeppelin is of course she was never finished (about 95%) and in the process of not being finished she was changed several times. A brief history can be found on many a website, likely including this one on other builds but essentially, she had an Atlantic bow added post launch, was put on hold a couple times, had bulges added as well as changes to her super structure, AA armament, Aircraft complement and make up etc. You get the idea, the brilliant thing is it means you can’t really go wrong and where the line is drawn is any ones guess. As you’ll see from the following photos, Insert obligatory pictures (all from scale mates and Wikipedia) I plan to make minor changes to the super structure and funnel cap as I think trumpeter got it very very very wrong. I’ve no idea on paint schemes she’d likely have adopted, the Germans didn’t seem to do much up to early 42 which is potentially when she could have entered service had she not be placed on hold repeatedly. There is this picture on Scalemates that are supposedly GZ but to me I'm not convinced, the step/angle in the bow is gone, the tip of the bow is different as is the rake, as are the missing casemates (which is possible) but the bulge comes a lot further forward and the superstructure is stepped out to one side which would be massive work to undertake during the brief times she was actually worked on post 1940, I wondered if these are perhaps pictures of Weser but I don't think she got that far in construction? Now as for the second ship I may concurrently build – I’ll say nothing partially not to jinx it, Im told it'll be here in short order but time will tell. I'll be initially working to complete to a point of airbushing as the bank balance has taken a hit and so I can’t invest in an Airbrush right now. So any areas hairy stickable I’ll look to do and other areas be left ready for airbrushing later in the build. I'm not sure how easy to do as sub assemblies carriers are - but I'll guess I will fid out. Dunkerque has taken 10 months and isn’t huge but is nearly there so I doubt this will be a quick build initially but if you’d like to follow on and have made it through my inane ramblings I’d be glad of any input and suggestions as to: - paint schemes - paint sequencing given my Airbrish plan/delay - and modifications that may make her stand out. Photo's of the kit and PE to follow when they arrive, Thanks for bearing with me Sam

This is a good point, certainly friends who had a falling out, but I've something coming in the post soon that I expect will pull my attention straight away,

Would be very interested in that likewise to keep her in doors happy. I've been looking at a cabinet from a well known Swedish furniture store which I reckon I could fit 9-12 ships (of 1/350 scale) in size depending but something more flexible would likely be better,

That catapult is just a little fancy really, love it ,

Thibk this one is shaping up to be your best so far,

Quite the collection you have there, they all look superb, I really must get one finished. How did you find building north carolina? I've toyed with the idea a couple of times but never hit the buy button

Any ideas when this is hitting the UK shores? I've one of pre order but it's gone from expected end of Aug to end of Dec this year...surely it can't be delayed by that much?

Must have be a test of patience but the result proves its was worth it when you stepped up to the plate

Ah hadnt realised they had a fancy camo for it, that sounds tricky to do but if its the same as the cover the blue turret tops make it more visually unusual, its a real pity these ships were on the wrong side, thanks for the info i'll look for a copy, Sam

Hi all me again, Quick question re dragons 1/350 scharnhorst, they appear to do a 1940, 1941 and 1943 fit, I'm curious as to if anyone knows which would be the best version to look for to adapt for the 1942 channel dash? I was wondering is it's a case of maybe just leaving bits off the 1943 fit which might be easiest? Thanks in advance Sam

I see what you mean in those photos, it's certainly fleshy tone as you say, thanks for the info,

Really keen to see the outcome on this one as I'm coveting a carrier at the moment, Forgove my ignorance but why is it your starting with a flesh tone for the anti fouling base?

That'd be the treaty shops from Italy German and France, just the UK and USA to add then in someway, That's a great idea, itd make a good diaplay, thanks Jeff

Thanks for the compliment Jeff, Re scharnhorst now you've said it that sounds a good idea, as you know I'm tickling a bit with Littorio and Scharnhorst would be another treaty ship thinking on it,

I like the outcome of your build very much, think its a fine example of a great looking ship. Looking through some of the wip photo's as well i must say although the tetra pom-poms are a great improvement, the kit parts themselves don't look shabby at all. It seems she's like a candidate the building straight OOB could still produce something very nice and taken to the next level by details sets,

Oh and some one please tell me to see sense and not pick up her sister Strasbourg, I love the idea of having a pair sitting with each other but I know I'll get bored mid way doing essentially the same thing again,

So her planes were a 'silver' brushed metal effect, that'll certainly make it stand out when its all together, I slapped on some humbrol 11 and let it dry, then tried to tone it down with a dark grey wash, figured that'd be fine as its a satiny finish any way so no need to gloss coat it first...yeah not so much, so after a second coat of silver this is where the plane is at, When all the panel lines are highlighted and the windows done i think she'll come good, definitely going to stand out though, Aside that its just been railings, This one along the deck is made of five sections, pretty chuffed with the result Not so happy with the cranes though, the photo etch just wouldn't fix so I had to overlap it much more that it should be, doesn't look great and there are still a couple bits to go on them but wanted them in place before I did added them, Not sure how many more updates really for this one, getting pretty close to finished finally, Sam

That is kind of my thoughts, there are so many British, German, French and Italian subject not even touched as of yet, not to mention the Japanese possibilities, e.g the Carriers on offer by the likes of hasegawa and fujimi are extortionately expensive, were trumpeter to release their own versions in 1/350 for a more sensible price I expect they would sell like hot cakes and then what of their 1/350 Rodney and Nelson long since promised but yet to appear......... I suppose to be fair there is a finite number of ships/classes at the end of the day to chose from but still,