Trumpeter Dreadnought 1907 questions

[Ingo Degenhardt]

Hi,

my upcoming built will be the 1907 Dreadnought by Trumpeter.

I have the two Eduard sets (railings and general detail), Artworx wooden deck and the Kagero 3D book (which I like very much) for it.

As I am rather unfamiliar with ships here are a few questions:

The wooden deck looks very nice but I have never used one before and would appreciate any tips or hints about it's use. For example - will the glue hold it down to the plastik deck permanently or should I support it with some superglue?

May be I should have bought the Pontos detail set but it's too late now (too expensive now that I have all the above items).

So I am wondering how to do the stowed torpedo netting and looking at the detail 3D drawings in the book I found out the rigging is much more complex than I thought.

For example there are these 'spreaders' (I do not know the correct maritime term), that are star-shaped and keep eight (!) aerials or what they are apart - there are no PE parts for those and I have no idea how to make these tiny things.

For the rigging I intend to use EZ Line and do as much of the rigging as possible. Is EZ the right choice? Should I try to do as much rigging as possible or might that turn out to look a bit overcrowded in this scale?

In general, any experience, ideas and so on regarding the above or the kit itself is very welcome.

Ingo

[Ray S]

Hello Ingo, you can get spreaders from White Ensign for the aerials in photoetch (WEM PE7102) which would fit the bill. I got a set myself the other week as I have a Zvezda Dreadnought in a part built state. These spreaders are very fine and suitable for 1/350 and 1/700 (but I must admit they look daunting for the latter!).

As for the rigging, I have used EZ-Line and a thread called Uni-Caenis (available from Glasgow Angling Centre I think), which is a fly fishing tying monofilament line. I have heard that mixing different thicknesses of threads is a good thing, but have not got that far yet. EZ-Line stick to CA like a limpet so is incredibly quick to fit if you can see where you are putting it! I put a small spot of CA where it is supposed to fit, then dab the EZ-Line into a drop of accelerator then place the line on the CA and bingo it is stuck!

The wood deck should stick with no extra glue, just make sure the deck is really free from any debris. That is not from experience, but having read other good folks reports. I have the Pontos set for one Dreadnought which includes a wooden deck, so I will find out soon too!

My plan is to build two Dreadnoughts, I have two Zvezda kits, one is being kitted out with the WEM set and modified into 1915 fit (I got it before the Trumpeter version came out), as my Grandfather was a stoker in her in 1915, and I want to present her to my Mum. The other will be in her earlier fit with the Pontos set. Oh yes, I also have the Combrig 1/700 kit too so I suppose I will be building three, I am a bit of a sucker for the Dreadnought!

Good luck and have fun!!

All the best, Ray

[Shar2]

Can't really add much to what Ray has already told you, other than make sure the wood deck is aligned correctly before pressing down as they do not come off easily. For the stored anti-torpedo netting I've heard of people using a suitable looking shoe lace.

[Ingo Degenhardt]

Thanks to both of you - I am by no means sure if I can handle the rigging in that detail but will give PE7102 a try in any case.

Shoelace is a great idea!

I have the two different thickness EZ lines here and will have a look were it might make sense to use the one or the other. There should be some standing and running rigging (is it called that way? At least in german it is)

So good luck to both of us, Ray

[Jockster]

Standing rigging and running rigging is correct, Ingo. Many people use EZ line quite happily on both 1/700 and 1/350 ships.

I myself, like RayS, use uni-caenis fly tying thread available from 'The Glasgow Angling Centre' and thin nylon 'invisible' sewing thread coloured with a black permanent marker pen.

I have used both on my Varyag Protected Cruiser in ready for inspection, it's a few pages back but you can see both thicknesses. The thinnest being uni-caenis!

For wooden decks I scrape any raised planking lines off the plastic deck to make it smoother and create a better contact area for the adhesive backing, but as Shar2 has said, be very careful to line it correctly before sticking it down as it will be near impossible to correct a mistake later.

Practice a few times before removing the backing sheet.

Good luck, enjoy and please let us see your build!

Regards

Jockster

[Ingo Degenhardt]

By the way - I am looking for some flags bigger than the ones in the kit. I saw a photograph of Dreadnought with a really large White Ensign on the stern.

Can anyone recommend anything?

The same with US flags - as I might do an Arleigh Burke and/or OHP-Frigate and they seem to fly extremely large flags these days..

[Lashenden]

Hi all,

I'm also about to start the Trumperer Dreadnought, (after a long, long time away from plastic modelling!)

However, I've heard some negative things about the PE included with the kit, so should I avoid the trumpeter PE entirely, and if so what's the best alternative? I want to build an 'unweathered' 1907 version of the ship. I'm tempted by the pontos set, which has everything including brass masts and yards, which must make rigging much easier, but this is designed for Zveda (I know there may be a Trumpeter version on the way, but I don't think it has been released to date), Would I need anything else if I bought this set, and how does the quality compare to Edouard and WEM?

Does anyone have a view?

I also have some questions about the best build sequence that allows me to attach the superstructure to the deck and fill the inevitable gaps before painting, but first things first...

[Shar2]

Both the Eduard and WEM sets have been reviewed here on BM, if you want to check them out. I personally prefer the WEM set, and add an Artwork deck.