GPM Bismarck 1/200

[peter taft]

Oh my... a OMG moment ! This work is stunning, can't wait for more. You should be VERY proud of what you have achieved thus far, David.

[Sakrison]

Originally Posted by Don Boose

You really do absolutely superb work, David!
It must be the way you hold your wrist when you shake the box.
Don

Aaayup. It's all in the way you hold your wrist.

[Sakrison]

Tonight I secured the Bismarck's fore and aft superstructures to the hull. It's hard to describe how exciting it is to see her in one proud piece, with her guns in place. (Wow!)

I need to add a few deck fittings, finish the rigging, and install railings on the main deck, and then she'll be ready for the display case.

I'll post some photos soon. It's getting way too close to Oh-Dark-Thirty and I have to grade papers tomorrow. (Yippee...)

You know how you keep telling yourself it's time to quit and go to bed but there's always one more little thing you could do, and it will only take a few minutes, and two hours later, you're still finding "one more little thing"?

Silly me; of course you do.

Good night! Good morning? Good grief!
--David

[lancer525]

Wow... Just bloody wow.

I am so envious when a talented artist puts together a ship that looks this good. Sakrison, you're right up there with the best.

If you don't mind me asking, what's the LOA of that thing? I'm trying to get an idea how big other models are at 1/200 compared to the Montana-class I'm doing. My LOA is right at 59" long.

Just superb workmanship you're putting out. Inspiring and enviable.

[Sakrison]

Thank you for those kind words, Lancer.

From close up, I don't think my work is contest quality and I'm in awe of some of the work I see in photos from European paper model meets -- far more detail and much of it scratch-built. But I'm happy with the results I get and I'm certainly learning as I go along. There are things I did on the aft superstructure that look much better than the same assemblies on the forward superstructure. Oh, well; it is what it is.

As I've often said, you'd need a magnifier and an attitude to find most of my mistakes.

The Bismarck measures 125 cm, a hair short of 50" long, about 9" wide, and 14" tall on the stand. Fortunately, she weighs next to nothing.

--David

[Sakrison]

Rigging the Bismarck is turning out to be a bit of a challenge for two reasons: 1) the kit includes no instructions or guide for rigging, and 2) I haven't had much practice tying knots with tweezers.

The upside is that tying knots with tweezers does seem to put me in touch with my inner lobster. (Think about it; it'll come to ya.)

I have found several rigging diagrams from other sources. None are complete and some are contradictory. So I'm studying the diagrams and using LAR standards. ("Looks about right.") Any questions about the accuracy of my results should be addressed to GPM.

The attached photos were especially useful, since they're the only oblique views I found. (The model appears to be plastic and smaller scale.)

I also figured out, after much trial and error, a neat and easy (dare I say "clever"?) way to make those double and triple stranded antennas. I'll post my solution sometime soon.

For now, gotta get back to grading papers and annoying my students.
Cheers,
--David

[Don Boose]

FIne work on the rigging. It really is a spectacularly beautiful model.

Don

[Sakrison]

Originally Posted by Don Boose

FIne work on the rigging. It really is a spectacularly beautiful model.
Don

Thanks but the photos I posted aren't my model. I found them with a Google image search--no idea where they came from.

[Sakrison]

I worried for weeks about how to create those 2- and 3-strand antennae in 1/200 scale. And then one night, about 2 a.m., I sat up in bed and said, "I've got it!"

My wife was just as excited as I was. I could tell by the way she pulled her pillow over her head while speculating about my ancestry.
I do love her.

Well, I didn't quite have it. It took some trial and error but finally, here's what I worked out. I'm probably not the first person to use this method but I haven't seen anything like it posted here. I will post photos of the results later this week.

As my father used to say:
"Sometimes Norwegian bullheadedness and a willingness to suspend disbelief can look like real intelligence when it works out."

Oofdah,
--David

[Don Boose]

Outstanding tutorial! Definitely something to add to my Paper Modeler's Vade Mecum.

Don