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Revell Bismarck 1/350 - Pontos


IJNfan

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Two posts, in one day, that is not standard practice. But here goes nothing. While closing the Mikuma build I have already been doing some small works on the next buil. After much deliberation I have decided to make the bismarck first. This has a simple reason, after that I wan't to solely focus on the IJN. The long term many decades ahead goal is to build one ship of every class of destroyers, cruisers, carriers and battleships in the Imperial navy. So bismarck first, so It can keep Hood company. If I come to it I may also build the Eugen to get a Denmark straight trio in my display cabinet (I don't care for POW). 

A few important things first,

The kit: Revell Bismarck 1/350
The extras: Pontos Set Bismarck 1941
The paintscheme

Here stuff gets a little interesting. I want the scheme to be accurate in the sense of what colors went were etc. She is supposed to be shown in early rheinubung colors as in the picture

spacer.png

This gives some dynamism to the ship without making it too, I do not know how to put it in english but I might wanna say lively or too imposing, I rather have a subtle  painscheme. For that purpose I may employ a little bit of artistic creativity and Remove the blackwhite sidestrips as if the crew was working to paint them over. This would also make the paintjob a lot easier compared to the official setup. 

I have debated using colorcoats and asked around for some issues that would arise, but in the end I have decided to stick with my current set of tamiya colors. 

The codes I will use are as follows

Hull red: XF 9 Hull red(4 parts) + XF 7 Red (2 parts)  + XF 10 Brown(1 part)
Bootstrap: XF 69 NATO BLACK (not certain but probably as this is not 100% but a tad less
Turret Roofs and fake bow / aft: XF 24 or XF 63
Freeboard: XF 66
Superstructure: XF 19

Anyway I have already done some works, Glued the hull, removed a few pieces, found some parts to be damaged (tip of the bow was broken off) so I have been busy sanding and applying putty, yay, kit had been dormant in stash for over a year so no refund for the damage sadly. 

Ship is huge and the pontos set is even worse. But I really like to see this ship come together, German ships are very nice in looks so lets not screw this one up. It needs a lot more sanding so I have ordered more sandpaper and also the missing paints (24, 69). My glue is gone cause i mix the putty with glue to make it thin so I need to wait a week until it all arrives. 

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7TFcMTnh.jpg

S6B8kach.jpg

qPM8Z1Dh.jpg

 

 

 

Edited by IJNfan
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Following this, it's in my stash too. Ship is huge and the packaging is so much larger! I can't recommend the colourcoats range enough, sprays or brushes beautifully and is extremely well researched (so should be the most accurate available), but I see you've already ordered in. I spent a small fortune on another manufacturer's range prior to ordering from Jamie, so I feel your pain, but it was still worth it for me. To each their own though.

 

They did indeed paint over the hull stripes after the Denmark Straits battle. I believe there is a detailed discussion of it on this build, page 2 shows the camouflage pattern I think you may be after. The wreck videos/photos show the hull stripes are now (so may have been prior to sinking) slightly visible underneath the overpainted grey.

 

I haven't bought pe for this yet and haven't seen the pontos set, but if you're feeling 'spendy', Veteran Models do a whole bunch of resin/pe upgrades that are mighty fine, such as (but not limited to) ammo lockers and navigation/bridge equipment. I've already got that set for an Academy version so will be buying them twice...

 

And not to try to max your credit card, but the anatomy of a ship book is worth its weight in gold (although for me that is also because the Academy kit lacks in detail and will require some scratching).

 

David

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I shall follow as well, again she's in the stash but with Eduard and Lion roar photo etch sets, I pull her out once a year on the anniversary of her sinking to do alittle then she goes back in the cupboard to wait her turn, 

 

Re the kit as you say iys a big one for sure, the box was just a little ridiculous by memory,

 

Look forward to seeing your progress, 

 

Sboat 

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3 hours ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

Following this, it's in my stash too. Ship is huge and the packaging is so much larger! I can't recommend the colourcoats range enough, sprays or brushes beautifully and is extremely well researched (so should be the most accurate available), but I see you've already ordered in. I spent a small fortune on another manufacturer's range prior to ordering from Jamie, so I feel your pain, but it was still worth it for me. To each their own though.

 

They did indeed paint over the hull stripes after the Denmark Straits battle. I believe there is a detailed discussion of it on this build, page 2 shows the camouflage pattern I think you may be after. The wreck videos/photos show the hull stripes are now (so may have been prior to sinking) slightly visible underneath the overpainted grey.

 

I haven't bought pe for this yet and haven't seen the pontos set, but if you're feeling 'spendy', Veteran Models do a whole bunch of resin/pe upgrades that are mighty fine, such as (but not limited to) ammo lockers and navigation/bridge equipment. I've already got that set for an Academy version so will be buying them twice...

 

And not to try to max your credit card, but the anatomy of a ship book is worth its weight in gold (although for me that is also because the Academy kit lacks in detail and will require some scratching).

 

David

Here is a link to the pontos set, its a one box covers your whole fricking model in brass sized pe set. Their resin is usually made by veterans. http://pontosmodel.com/html/35022f1.html
 

the paint scheme you mentioned is without the darker bow and stern portion. For reasons of accuracy I will probably include the stripes. As for the colorcoats, shifting brands wouldn’t be an issue if they were acrylics like tamiya because all my weathering is enamel that I can put and wipe directly onto tamiya acrylics without any damage to the paint. Which also means less clearcoats. (One to be precise.)

 

My paint process is as follows:

 

So the paintjob includes 6 steps. You can prime or not that is personal, I do not do that but otherwise that is step 0.


Step 1.
The basecoat, this must be an acrylic paint, preferably gunze, mr color/mr hobby or tamiya. 


Step 2 postshading


Use highly diluted pain to apply lighter areas, darker areas, slight brown effects. Generally make the pain extremely thin, hard to say how thin but a 8 or 9 parts thinner 1 part paint solution is probably close to what i do.


Step 3 use enamel washes (i use tamiya panel liners for this, to apply extra filters, this can be dark or brown based on what you apply it on. I tend to use greys and blacks mostly. 


Step 4 After all this work you put in a clear coat, again this must be an acrylic paint. Tamiya clear or mr hobby clear would be

the best options. It cannot be an enamel.


Step 5 apply very small dots of enamel rust effects (I use AK) and then use (AK) white spirit  to make streaks with a flat and soft brush.


step 6.
giving the ship a good powder makeup

 

As you can see its very specific build around the paints being acrylic and the weathering enamel, going color-coats means throwing 2 years worth of learning and skill training into the dustbin. I ll take the lower color accuracy for what it is. 
 

i may look into bridge equipment but I also don’t really know whether I feel it would be worthwhile seeing what is all in the pontos box.

 

something I haven’t decided on is whether I will turn the turrets sideways in elevation or whether to center then. For reasons of historical accuracy I will include a swastika flag front and aft. 
 

scratching isn’t a thing nor is the historical accuracy. It must be believable not 1-1, as long as its believable and reasonable then its fine. Maybe for my next build which will be an 1/350 aircraft carrier (not sure which one) of IJN or RN origin.

 

lastly don’t expect too much, i’ve been working towards this build for 2 years, building up skills and just experience ao I am somewhat nervous myself about how this will turn out. 

 

 

 


 

 

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On 22/01/2022 at 06:02, IJNfan said:

Two posts, in one day, that is not standard practice. But here goes nothing. While closing the Mikuma build I have already been doing some small works on the next buil. After much deliberation I have decided to make the bismarck first. This has a simple reason, after that I wan't to solely focus on the IJN. The long term many decades ahead goal is to build one ship of every class of destroyers, cruisers, carriers and battleships in the Imperial navy. So bismarck first, so It can keep Hood company. If I come to it I may also build the Eugen to get a Denmark straight trio in my display cabinet (I don't care for POW). 

A few important things first,

The kit: Revell Bismarck 1/350
The extras: Pontos Set Bismarck 1941
The paintscheme

Here stuff gets a little interesting. I want the scheme to be accurate in the sense of what colors went were etc. She is supposed to be shown in early rheinubung colors as in the picture

spacer.png

This gives some dynamism to the ship without making it too, I do not know how to put it in english but I might wanna say lively or too imposing, I rather have a subtle  painscheme. For that purpose I may employ a little bit of artistic creativity and Remove the blackwhite sidestrips as if the crew was working to paint them over. This would also make the paintjob a lot easier compared to the official setup. 

I have debated using colorcoats and asked around for some issues that would arise, but in the end I have decided to stick with my current set of tamiya colors. 

The codes I will use are as follows

Hull red: XF 9 Hull red(4 parts) + XF 7 Red (2 parts)  + XF 10 Brown(1 part)
Bootstrap: XF 69 NATO BLACK (not certain but probably as this is not 100% but a tad less
Turret Roofs and fake bow / aft: XF 24 or XF 63
Freeboard: XF 66
Superstructure: XF 19

Anyway I have already done some works, Glued the hull, removed a few pieces, found some parts to be damaged (tip of the bow was broken off) so I have been busy sanding and applying putty, yay, kit had been dormant in stash for over a year so no refund for the damage sadly. 

Ship is huge and the pontos set is even worse. But I really like to see this ship come together, German ships are very nice in looks so lets not screw this one up. It needs a lot more sanding so I have ordered more sandpaper and also the missing paints (24, 69). My glue is gone cause i mix the putty with glue to make it thin so I need to wait a week until it all arrives. 

spacer.png

7TFcMTnh.jpg

S6B8kach.jpg

qPM8Z1Dh.jpg

 

 

 

I will join. I have built the Bismarck at the same point in time, but with the Tamiya kit. Added railings, and some home made improvisations, but no other upgrades:

https://www.marcellorosa.com/bismarck

 

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That pontos kit looks pretty...well it does look pretty, but also pretty darn comprehensive. I've added it to my wishlist for my Revell build too - thank you.

 

I was much earlier in my Vallejo journey so had not invested in a set painting routine (and definitely not something that well thought out). If it ain't broke (and gives you such good results as on your Mikuma)...

 

If you ever find an Academy 1/350 Bismarck kit (I got it for £5 in a charity shop), you'd see why I'm having to scratchbuild a few pieces! Some of the AA is just square blocks of plastic.

 

9 hours ago, IJNfan said:

For reasons of accuracy I will probably include the stripes

Depends on the date you want to represent as these were painted over by 21.05.41 in Grimstadfjord. That said, contrary to what I type on here, I'm not a stickler for accuracy and will be employing some creative interpretations in my own builds (red or yellow turret tops for each one).

 

David

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9 hours ago, IJNfan said:

Maybe for my next build which will be an 1/350 aircraft carrier (not sure which one) of IJN or RN origin.

If you go for an RN carrier in 1/350, you have a choice of precisely one: Ark Royal.  Merit’s kit fits really well and could make a perfectly respectable model OOB with trivial changes (e.g. leave out spurious radar aerials), though possibly not if you’re looking for accuracy…. see my seemingly endless build for details!

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21 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

If you go for an RN carrier in 1/350, you have a choice of precisely one: Ark Royal.  Merit’s kit fits really well and could make a perfectly respectable model OOB with trivial changes (e.g. leave out spurious radar aerials), though possibly not if you’re looking for accuracy…. see my seemingly endless build for details!

Sadge, ark is small, I will wait for an implacable model to come at some point. Shokaku, Taiho, Akagi, Junyo or Hiryu would also make a nice cv build I guess. If i can get my hands on a very fire taiho including all the goodies then y’all can guess what the next build will be😏

 

36 minutes ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

That pontos kit looks pretty...well it does look pretty, but also pretty darn comprehensive. I've added it to my wishlist for my Revell build too - thank you.

 

I was much earlier in my Vallejo journey so had not invested in a set painting routine (and definitely not something that well thought out). If it ain't broke (and gives you such good results as on your Mikuma)...

 

If you ever find an Academy 1/350 Bismarck kit (I got it for £5 in a charity shop), you'd see why I'm having to scratchbuild a few pieces! Some of the AA is just square blocks of plastic.

 

Depends on the date you want to represent as these were painted over by 21.05.41 in Grimstadfjord. That said, contrary to what I type on here, I'm not a stickler for accuracy and will be employing some creative interpretations in my own builds (red or yellow turret tops for each one).

 

David

 

the Idea was to have her represented in the state she started rheinubung with, not on the date she met Hood. This also means less weathering.

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7 hours ago, Marcello Rosa said:

I will join. I have built the Bismarck at the same point in time, but with the Tamiya kit. Added railings, and some home made improvisations, but no other upgrades:

https://www.marcellorosa.com/bismarck

 

If I may ask, what did you do to the wooden deck? I am thinking of doing some brown wash on it to make it a little darker but your deck looks a little weathered but not too much.

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1 hour ago, IJNfan said:

Sadge, ark is small, I will wait for an implacable model to come at some point. Shokaku, Taiho, Akagi, Junyo or Hiryu would also make a nice cv build I guess. If i can get my hands on a very fire taiho including all the goodies then y’all can guess what the next build will be😏

 

 

the Idea was to have her represented in the state she started rheinubung with, not on the date she met Hood. This also means less weathering.

I'm half way,...... well a quarter way through building the DX version of Taiho and can very much recommend the kit, even the normal version would look great out of the box, Graf Zeppelin would be another option, the great thing about her is she's a blank canvas as detail us a bit light in places, Taiho by comparison is outstandingly well detailed, although I must say £80-90 for a wooden deck (upgrade set b) is a little ridiculous 

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1 hour ago, S-boat 55 said:

I'm half way,...... well a quarter way through building the DX version of Taiho and can very much recommend the kit, even the normal version would look great out of the box, Graf Zeppelin would be another option, the great thing about her is she's a blank canvas as detail us a bit light in places, Taiho by comparison is outstandingly well detailed, although I must say £80-90 for a wooden deck (upgrade set b) is a little ridiculous 

Graf Z is a ship I probably will never build as it has neither the looks, the operations history or any hold on my imagination whatshowever (purely imho).

 

Taiho would come at 210+70+50 is roughly 330, expensive but for a years worth of modeling pleasure thats about 25 a month ;) . Maybe my parents ll donate a few months worth of cash on it when I celebrate my 22nd birthday or finish my studies this year 🤔

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1 hour ago, IJNfan said:

If I may ask, what did you do to the wooden deck? I am thinking of doing some brown wash on it to make it a little darker but your deck looks a little weathered but not too much.

My apologies, I forgot about this and had to go back to my own page to check; which reminded me that I used an aftermarket deck:

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/artwoxmodel-aw10007-dkm-german-bismarck-wooden-deck--953692

I just slightly weathered it with Tamiya weathering master rust, with the gentlest application possible using the little sponges that come with this product.

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My build process is unpredictable in that I will work lots of hours during one week and then nearly nothing the next one. I will post  updates when I feel enough progress has been made, accompanied with proper pictures. But there will probably not be any consistency in when they pop up. 

There is 3 things I work on right now

The hull - Putty is dry but I need sandpaper which is in transit. After sanding I will paint it and put it away in my cabinet.

The superstructure deck I - I have assembled the deck and removed the relevant plastic pieces, coming time focus will be on mounting the metal plates to the sides and adding the relevant PE details. 

for this picture I put the two decks in their relevant places

 

hTT3vgr.jpg

The putty on the Hangar door is curing for 24 hours, then sanding will follow

FmPVk0l.jpg



Superstructure Hangar + deck - I have assembled the plastic parts including the hangar door. I will model the door closed as I have no experience scratchbuilding stuff like that and this model is not for experimentation. All PE sideplates are added. For one plate I have also added the relevant details. The putty will be sanded away and is currently curing for at least 24 hours

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jwp42Kx.jpg

 

 

 

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Yo,

 

Back with an update. I work on this multiple hours a week but time is scarce so I do not update the log every time I work on this boat otherwise the log would become a little too timeconsuming. Now that this forum has been christened with a new look its becoming time for me to give my bismarck some colors. The good news is that I am pretty close to finalizing work on the hull, but still some things to be done. 

So I have done the following things for the past 7 days.
 

First I finally got my sanding paper and sponges. So I was able to sand the area around the propellor shafts. Unhappy with the results I put on another thick layer of putty and sanded it again. Its not perfect but on the whole the surface has been brought the equal height and the seems between the parts cannot be felt when going over them so I take that as it being good enough. Its a little splotchy but its the first time I do use putty in this fashion. I got some lacquer thinner to wipe excess putty away when applying instead of sanding it away after drying. This makes the process a lot easier. Additionally i have put the porthole rings on the portholes. Turns out I drilled the upper row of the ones on the bow incorrectly leading to the rings not fitting. I will have to use a little putty there. I also started some light sanding work on deck details that need to be removed on the topsides of certain boxes/parts so that I can mount the PE. 

PIC A before sanding

Gp70SU9.jpg
PIC B after sanding
rKEt9Pv.jpg


I replaced the molded steps on one side of the hull with PE steps. Other side will follow. It is the first time I have done this and I don't like the quality of my work. Not straight, inconsistent spacing etc. However, Still and improvement.

 

 

BF3Ag6X.jpg

 

FVh9MjL.jpg

of the first deck I finished applying all the PE plating.

 

FKTtYQd.jpg

FKTtYQd.jpg

u6hPywD.jpg

cLPoBZ0.jpg 

For the Hangar I finished adding the small details (including even a firehose).

ghONI28.jpg

ghONI28.jpg



Next:

Adding PE to the hull. I am think whether I want to add the hoists and stuff for paravanes and other equipement on the hull, of which the proper english names alude me, right now or later. 
 

Edited by IJNfan
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Good work so far, will be keeping an interested eye on this. My Tamiya Bismarck is on my radar at the moment for a next ship build. Your etch work looks to be progressing nicely, the pontos kit looks intense.

Edited by MRMRL
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So, 


what I forgot to add for what is next is the first efforts in painting. I expect that towards the end of next week I can start doing the Hull Red etc. I need to Mix it, which is the first thing, and then I need to do the top colors. However I may go for a different scheme,

bism02.gif


Which would be this one but then with the Nazi Flags added on bow and stern. 

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Good effort so far mate, you're moving quite quickly. As for your PE ladders, when I'm trying to do anything in a straight, I run a bit of masking tape then line up the PE with that, the slow drying super glue gives me time to line it up, maybe this will help in the future for you.

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On 2/3/2022 at 6:37 PM, Boydie said:

Good effort so far mate, you're moving quite quickly. As for your PE ladders, when I'm trying to do anything in a straight, I run a bit of masking tape then line up the PE with that, the slow drying super glue gives me time to line it up, maybe this will help in the future for you.

Till now ive been going leisurely. But I want this thing finished by April 9th to have it participate in a contest. 
That means time to strap in, clear the agenda, hit the turbo and go go go. Not playing on rushing but definitely gonna be investing a lot of time in this the coming two months. So expect, fast progress. I hope I get it done properly and in time. I won't work faster per hour but ll double or triple the weekly hours invested. Thanks for the PE tip. Other side went much better already without them (didn't see the msg until too late). I wonder if the CA won't get stuck on the tape and cause issues though. 

In any case I can tease that I have done some hull painting already. Pictures will be here next week cause I didn't have time yet to shoot them. Beyond that, If I find a good model over the weekend I may pause this in favor of something 1/700 so I can do that for said contest.

Edited by IJNfan
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So, my camera refused to work.

 

while I figure that out my phone will take some provisional pictures.

 

on the Pontos set one piece was not engraved, had to use a strip of polystyrene and make a replacement.

 

OYzSjUC.jpg

6a4aypP.jpg
6lAF2rx.jpg

k0CaZPo.jpg

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3 hours ago, S-boat 55 said:

Interesting that pontos' approach to adding detail to the superstructure is to essentially cap it, 

Not with all sets as I am aware. Nagato will showcase that in the future. But it certainly looks amazing

Edited by IJNfan
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Pogress 07/02

 

Still on phone pictures. Done the main part one side of the first superstructuredeck. I need to mount another deck so that I can do some railings too and save myself the trouble of painting twice.

 

i have added putty on the bow cause installing a PE piece caused a part to break off. Grrrr about that, but so be it. Fixed it once so can do it again.

 

mounted the PE around the high barbettes. Mounted piece of of PE on the bow (2 small plates), will have to check whether the opening for the anchorchain is wide enough.

 

have cleared the deck of everything that needs to be cleared. Once the putty is done I can put the hull in a coat of xf-66, do the boottopping, fake bow and sidestripes.

 

did a testfit for the superstructure deck. It needs some sanding.

 

xI6KYN3.jpg
4MzNxTt.jpg

8ChwNQz.jpg
 

the detailing is nuts

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