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Post by david on Feb 7, 2008 0:43:01 GMT 1
At Greg’s suggestion here is my contribution to the ever growing, and welcome, list of diaries. My progress of late has been glacial due to the numerous corrections I’ve had to make, attempting to create a deck camber and gutters (see Mods and Corrections). This is my first build, not to mention first contribution to an online forum, and it’s all been a grand education as well as a lot of fun thanks to the efforts of all those who take the time to share their triumphs and tribulations. First a little quotation from the bard: Following on from my posts under Gunnls/Gutters etc, the first 2 pictures show the brass strip being covered by 1mm lime. Both the brass and the lime strip are fixed in place using Araldite Superglue +, which sets within 2 minutes. The brass was first drilled and roughed up to remove the lacquered coating and provide a good grip for the Araldite. The 3 rows of lime strip on the right are flush with the first layer of 1.5mm strip below. In other words there is no step at the top of the belt armour on my build. That is provided when the second layer of 1mm bevelled strips are laid in place for the belt armour. I did a little sanding after fitting each new strip of lime so that I could more accurately see how the edges lay, one to another. This shows the completed forward starboard step prior to fitting the first layer of belt armour. Several views of the first belt armour layer followed by a close-up. The inset is intended to show a little more clearly the geometry of the various angles of the gunnls and citadel armour at the point where the deck profile changes. Starboard anchor pocket The bevel tool was made from bow template and other odd bits. To achieve a the bevel I secured the 1mm lime strip to an old steel rule using double-sided tape. This ensures that the wood stays in place during sanding. The sanding tool is simply dragged backwards and forwards until you hear the grit scraping the steel rule; it takes a little while to find a good rhythmical movement here but the results are fast and very accurate. To keep the line of the belt armour smooth I used a single strip which, as it was bevelled, was lifted and moved along the ruler.
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Post by afkmatrix on Feb 7, 2008 3:50:51 GMT 1
Very nice indeed David. I am particularly impressed with your anchor points. Did you just use sandpaper and deepen the recess or a file? Did you judge the depth to go just on pictures?
Oh and good tip for bevelling the wood strips.
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Post by Mark on Feb 7, 2008 6:13:47 GMT 1
Excellent David - That's a superb job of improving the armour belt and where it blends into the hull. I'm still messing about trying to get mine right.
I like the 45 degree sanding jig. I may make a similar tool which I can use with the planks in place, since mine are already in place......
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Post by gordon on Feb 7, 2008 8:59:37 GMT 1
David,
I thought I was doing a reasonable job until I saw this.. 10 out of 10 for inovation and quality. Can I be your Padawan Learner?
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Post by eric on Feb 7, 2008 9:59:56 GMT 1
Wow, if this is your first build, you are clearly a natural!
I look forward to seeing this diary grow. Fantastic.
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Post by markus on Feb 7, 2008 21:08:17 GMT 1
wow! most impressive...(as usual) markus
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Post by napoleon on Feb 7, 2008 21:13:29 GMT 1
Great job so far David and clever tip for home made bevel tool.
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Post by david on Feb 8, 2008 0:22:14 GMT 1
Thanks for the kind words everyone. Re your question afk about the anchor pockets, I used a small half-round file to enlarge the lower part of the cleavage, slowly. I also added some white Mantua wood putty to round and fill out the trailing edge of the pocket which can just be made out in the photo. Later, I shall be sanding it smooth with some fine grade paper. Yes, I spent some time studying as many photos of the anchors as I could find, including those of the French 1:100 build I mentioned elsewhere, before coming to the conclusion that the resin part supplied was rather too sketchy. There is no doubt in my mind that these pockets were much more deeply scalloped on the real Bismarck. David
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Post by david on Mar 9, 2008 22:54:08 GMT 1
Following Don’s example (and to be honest I wanted a break from the second planking – who doesn’t; chewing the carpet often seems the more attractive option), I thought I’d have a go at the deck planking, and like Don I’ve started with the one safe piece on the rear superstructure that is not affected by later additions. Also, plank length is not an issue here; more on that in a moment. I’ve been following the discussion on plank width on Don’s page, recently revived by Poulw’s observation that the space between the anchor cluses is bridged by 21 planks. (The cluses are the wide ¼ arcs that separate the anchor pockets from the deck planks). According to the Brower book, the distance between the cluses, measuring between the gunwales is 16.5mm, not as Amati renders it at nearly 26mm. The distance between the inside of the teak deck margins in the Brower book measures between 14.5-15mm, say 14.75, therefore the plank width on the model should be around 0.7mm, which translates up to 14cm, or 5 ½”, on the real ship. Looking at the various photographs of folks walking the Bismarck’s decks, Corporal Schickelgruber’s included, the width and length of the boots as they relate to the plank width, would appear to correspond to a width of around 14-15cm; 15cm would also seem to be a logical ‘nice round number’ for production purposes. Plank length is still a problem however. Originally, like Don I thought it must be about 30mm. The trouble with my calculations was that I based them on other models, a risky procedure. This might still be correct; however, looking at photos from the 1:100 card model sites, the planks appear to be twice that length! This model has inaccuracies when compared to photos of the real ship, so here again it’s difficult to know with certainty the true lengths of these planks. Getting back to the plank width, even if my calculations are correct, making planks 0.7mm wide is probably too challenging for a 1:200 model so like Don I’ve opted to make mine 1mm, slightly less actually for reasons the following reasons. I started by using 1mm sheet which I then smoothed with fine sandpaper on both sides to reduce the roughness of the grain which would otherwise impair the sharpness of the caulking line. Both sides were coated in Glattfix, sanded again, Glattfixed a second time and finally sanded almost to a shine. On one side of each sheet I lightly sprayed grey primer to simulate the caulking. The planks were then cut as shown using a scalpel; rather than cut through with a single stroke I used several light strokes to separate the plank. Before laying the planks I fixed the margins in place and then gradually filled up the space from on side to the other. Worrying away at the back of my mind was the question; what happens if the final space is only ½ a plank wide? Well, I got lucky in somewhat in the same way that you do when driving into town expecting rather than hoping you’ll get a parking space! The final shot shows the finished sanded deck. Its a bit pale and I might airbrush a thin coat of some warm colour over it before I Glattfix it. Finally, if anyone has ideas about how to establish the plank length, post it here please. David
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Post by swanrail on Mar 10, 2008 0:29:06 GMT 1
I did come up with the 0.7mm figure for the width very early on, and in fact my first deck was planked with 0.5mm to see how it looked, but it is too fiddly and too fine. I then looked at what was available and decided on the 1mm planking, as looks quite good, and easy to get ready cut. Regarding the length, my figure came from the Bower book, and works out as about 18ft in real money which sounds about right. I am not too fussy if it is dead accurate or not, because, as we already know, other parts of the model are wrong (as is the stern anchor pocket still) and many others are debatable depending on which plans and photos you get hold of!!! (I often wonder too if like the Titanic, pictures supposedly of the Bismarck are in fact of her sister ships, which I am certain had slight differences in their builds, Daryl found one photo showing 20 portholes on the starboard side stern whereas all the plans, models and photos I have seen show only 19!!!).
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Post by david on Apr 7, 2008 17:53:00 GMT 1
Hoping for associate membership of that elite group, The Extreme Plankers Fellowship, (No Nem it’s not rhyming slang!), here’s some snaps of work so far. The first picture shows the raw materials; notice that the sheet from which all the planks are cut, varies slightly in colour and density. I was lucky getting this batch because I wanted such a variation to give the deck a more realistic appearance. Next picture shows the first coat of primer. There’s a lot of overspray which was sanded back locally on the deck to better allow the planks to adhere. This is my first real sight of how the gunnels, belt and citadel armour look when painted. I used Halfords grey primer which I think is a bit too dark. The next 2 pictures show the early stages of the planking and the modifications done to the anchor pockets. As can be seen on the wreck pictures, the anchor guides acquired retaining loops over the chains. I wasn’t sure which version Hachette intended to do and because I wanted to start on the planking I’ve decided to make my own anchor guides to be sure that everything fitted OK. The anchor pockets shown have been given a layer of putty which will later be smoothed and coated thinly in resin for toughness. I made a start on making the anchor guides from wood; this wasn’t very clever because they then got in the way of sanding the deck! Next picture is of the nearly fully planked foredeck. The gutters are now very noticeable, if only for being slightly uneven one side to the other. The raised planking is too high at this stage. Further to the recent correspondence regarding plank widths etc, I noticed recently in the Steve Wiper book that the main deck planks were 100mm and those under anchor chain were 130mm; so we were all wrong about that one! He gives no indication of plank length but I’ve opted for 25mm, or 5M on the real ship. Margin planks present the modeller with some awkward decisions especially around the raised planks because here they are doubled. The other issue is whether or not to mitre the planks to fit into the margin planks. Given that the time needed for doing them as on the real ship seems to me like an occupation for either a saint or an inmate, if it is even possible at all, I cried chicken! So I’ve taken the easy path here and have attempted to do the margin planks in a personal and highly inaccurate way. After masking the now sanded deck I did a bit of touching-up with the spray can. The gutters now become very obvious as the gunnels throw a shadow into them; I expect this to be further accentuated when the gunnels are painted in a lighter grey. These last 4 pictures show the deck with a single coat of Glattfix (run also into the gutters). The next phase of work will be to finish the anchor pockets and then re-sand the entire hull again for a second coat of primer.
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Post by nm on Apr 7, 2008 18:08:40 GMT 1
You shouldn't be making me jealous like that! Fantastic work.
NM
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Post by russ on Apr 7, 2008 18:27:56 GMT 1
absolutly fantastic looking ship there
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Post by eric on Apr 7, 2008 23:05:47 GMT 1
Down on bended knees;
All together Guys and Gals...."We're not worthy, We're not worthy!"
Fantastic job David, just fantastic.
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Post by shane67 on Apr 8, 2008 0:00:12 GMT 1
the deck look's really great david ,re the lengh of the planking that isn't even shown on the BLOHM & VOSS shipyard model at 1:50 scale so i wouldn't worry to much mate it look's pretty close to me !!!makes mine look bland ,will have to take a trip to the model shop for wood i suppose an have a go!!!
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