Rob 1

That is a superbly finished Bismarck, very good indeed.

That looks incredibly good, really well finished overall. I can tell a massive amount of work has gone into it, and it really benefits from all the extra effort.

That sounds much more appealing to do her at one of the most distinctive periods of 20th century history, carrying F4s and A6s. Should be good, I'll be watching with interest.

Here's a quick photo, progress so far (with tripod mast added). New main yardarm to add next, as mentioned this needs completely scratch building, then p.e. radar sets to add, which should be more straight forward.

This will be an epic build. Presume you are using the JFK as the base kit and using various parts from a Kittyhawk kit. Are you going for her later years in service or doing any back-dating to an earlier year?

Thanks for your comments Gents. I generally use LifeColor acrylic paints, from their specific US Navy colour range, generally lightened down for a better distance effect. I also always prime first (Halfords spray cans), and always get a good surface finish over the primer, including for any brush touch up that is needed. I built the main tripod mast up yesterday, all went together well but there is so much missing that the kit doesn't provide which needs scratch making, including the little triangular platforms that sit between the legs at two levels, and the huge yardarm, as well as a smaller signal yardarm. The Toms Modelworks p.e. parts that sit between the tripod mast poles doesn't fit so that railing needs adding separately. All part of the fun

They certainly make an impressive looking finished model in this scale. There's one in the little Horsforth Museum, as there's a local connection to HMS Aubretia, which assisted in attacking a U-boat resulting in the capture of an intact Enigma machine.

You certainly get a great level of detail at this scale, am enjoying watching this progress.

That is looking very good, always nice to see the familiar sight of a well detailed Bismarck. I may have to get myself a 1:350 Bismarck one day as she is one of my lifelong favourites (looking at Bismark related photos is almost like remembering a familiar old friend now).

Thanks chaps. For painting, there are various techniques people use, often discussed on various forums. I tend to go for building up sub-assemblies as complete as possible but while still able to access everywhere, to reduce having to touch up any filling and joining etc to a bare minimum. I tend to paint all the horizontal deck surfaces first, which as you rightly say is to be '20-B Deck-Blue'. There are one or two techniques for painting the vertical surfaces (which will be 5-N Navy Blue) after doing the decks, I use a form of 'dynamic' masking combined with very low pressure on the airbrush and careful direction of spraying, then touch up any edges and details that need it by fine brush painting.

The Dragon kit for Z-26, the kit looks supreme so am looking forward to it, and am planning a biggish diorama with U-Boats and land accessories! Won't be starting until 2018 at the earliest though, due to an Essex class carrier filling the shipyard capacity for some considerable time to come.

This is very good and presents an interesting scene. The detail and finishing is to a very high standard, particularly in this scale.

Keep working on it, it's looking good so far. The next build on my list is a type '1936A' destroyer which I'm looking forward to starting.

Superb work, looks excellent.

Whatever colour it was, there would be years of grime built up, which I would think would add a ubiquitous weathered overtone seen on streets the world over.

Some nice looking little carrier projects going on here - I'll keep watching with interest

A couple more photos . . . First mistake noticed - slightly frustrating as I have to go back and correct it - the smoke pipe on the starboard side of the island and funnel was nicely copied from a good photo of Intrepid and seen on others of the class - only to find a drawing and photos of the pipe on Essex after completing this part, which was different, (sloped in the lower portion then vertical at the upper end, with a different top part). I'll be correcting this little error this evening.

This is really good, well composed and beautifully finished - well done, and thanks for posting the photos.

Starting to take shape now, looks like a nice classic little vessel, presume this makes a pleasant change from more military subjects.

I'm sure all the effort with the decking will certainly be worth the investment in time, and there is no substitution for total precision for this kind of work to look right - the build so far looks spot on.

I've been adding more detail - every time I think I'm making progress and finish a portion, I look at the various reference photos and find there is more to add, more railings, extra ladders etc etc - it seems endless! I suppose one has to reach a point where there's enough added detail - this is just the island so far, haven't got started on detailing the walkways and galleries on the hull and flight deck yet.

That is good, it adds a 'texture' to the surface which provides interest and with the subtle approach gives a realistic look. I also like the soft rust effect modelled to look like old worn paint, combined with more newly repainted portions adds a great appearance. It's also enhanced by realistic looking colour shades - there's certainly a few tips we could pick up here.

Nice subtley weathered hull, I like the effect.

That is looking really good, top rate detailing and finishing.

That's good progress, good to see more of the finished items coming together.