Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

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dunmunro
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by dunmunro »

wadinga wrote: Fri Sep 10, 2021 4:47 pm Hi Paul,

Yes indeed a superb collection with some very nice modifications to get unusual vessels eg Suffolk with the cut down stern.

I might suggest Kentrat's U-74 needs to be included, since he got some periscope glimpses of the British ships shortly after the final battle through mountainous seas and picked up some Bismarck survivors, Georg Herzog, Otto Höntzsch and Herbert Manthey.

It makes an interesting contrast in design to see USS New York included, and I can (kind of) understand why you have added her. Bercuson and Herwig in their book desperately try to magnify the miniscule US involvement in the Bismarck Chase for their own unfathomable reasons, but by their own admission NY's maximum eastward location was 100 miles west of Bismarck's most westward track and then only four days after she had actually passed by. USCGC Modoc would be a much worthy candidate for inclusion, but that would be a serious scratch building project! However, as she is no "oil-painting" in terms of good looks, and dwarfed by most of the others, you might want to keep her at the back in the photographs :lol:

I fondly remember the Eaglewall 1/1200 scale plastic kits of 50 plus years ago on sale in the UK with Bismarck Chase, Narvik, Altmark incident and Battle of the Atlantic sets which is where my pocket money went back in the day. I still possess some survivors.

All the best

wadinga
Yes, nice collection. Back 50+ years ago I wargamed with 1/600 scale models and then 1/1200 Eaglewall and Alnavco models along with 1/2400 scale Alnavco models. I still have some unbuilt Eaglewall kits.
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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for the kind comments!

Your U-boat suggestions are indeed an excellent idea. I'm ashamed I didn't think of that before! I already have three 1/700 u-boats, 2 VIIB's and 1 VIIC but I did them as U-47 (to go with my Royal Oak), U-81 (for Ark Royal) and U-99 (Kreschmer). Two of them I got as bonuses in the Aoshima Dorsetshire kit. I'll now need another VIIB for U-74 and a VIIC for U-557. Hobby Boss has VIIB's, while Hasegawa has a VIIC, but waterline and I prefer my u-boats full hull. We'll see....

Re: New York - you are correct Wadinga - Bercusson & Herwig are to be blamed! LOL! I realized that they were trying very hard to find a way to increase US "involvement" hence my quotation marks in my comment on the New York model. It was the reason I chose to build New York rather than Texas. I recall that I've looked into USCG cutter kits to see if anything resembling Modoc was out there. No such luck.

I still have several of my old Airfix 1/600's, some dating back to the 1970's. I think I may have posted a few pictures of some of them in the old Hood forum way back when. Never heard of Alnavco or Eaglewall models!
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José M. Rico
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by José M. Rico »

Since we don't want to leave anyone out, let's also add the weather observation ship, Sachsenwald, the Spanish heavy cruiser Canarias, and even the Spichern, from which the Prinz Eugen refuelled from . :D

Edit: and a Sunderland flying boat over the Denmark Strait battlefield as the Hood blew up.
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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

I have the Sunderland! I had meant to include it and realized just after I posted the pictures. I'm going to do a DS group photo and include it - actually include 2, as there were 2 of them involved.

However.....if anyone can find kits of those other ships Jose' and would like to donate them (LOL! :dance: ) please do!!

Prospects for other "peripherally involved" ships".

Ramillies: hoping for a plastic R-class kit someday. The resin Royal Oak (Orange Hobby) is not compatible enough without significant work which I don't have the info to do.

Edinburgh: I regret that I never took the plunge to get a WEM Edinburgh kit when it was available. The Trumpeter Belfast, IF it ever comes out might not be compatible because of significant hull differences.

London has been promised by Flyhawk, but the rate at which they do new kits, it could be years before that materializes. There is a resin kit, but $$$.

I can do Hans Lody from the Trumpeter Hermann Schoemann kit, and a Z-23 from a Narvik class.

More of Tovey's destroyers can be done as well - Intrepid & Inglefield from IBG's I-class kits, Punjabi from a Trumpeter Tribal and Nestor from a JKN class from Aoshima or Flyhawk (the latter being the gold standard of quality).

But this won't be for any time soon! It's taken me the past 18 years or so to get to where I am!!
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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

Hello all!

As we are in the 81st Anniversary week of the Bismarck action, I thought it fitting to update my model photo series with the new models I've added over the past several months, and more.

To follow will be photos that will include the following:

1) New "Norway leg" photo to include all three escorting destroyers - To BS & PG with Friedrich Eckoldt I have added Hans Lody (from Trumpeter Z-7 kit) and Z-23 (from Revell Narvik class kit upgraded with Trumpeter parts).

2) New Hood & PoW photos - the new Flyhawk Hood (an amazing model indeed, even at my basic level!) and a revamped Tamiya PoW.

3) New DS photos to include the 2 Sunderland aircraft, with the Flyhawk Hood and upgraded PoW

4) Comparison photos of the Flyhawk and Trumpeter Hood models.

5) A new photo of my Hood under fire diorama (Tamiya Hood). The diorama is not new - several years old.

6) New Photos of Tovey's Force - with 3 added destroyers - Punjabi, Nestor and Windsor.

7) The U-boats - U74 and U556

8) My Bismarck wreck diorama (using the Aoshima kit) This is NOT new - several years old.
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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

1) Escort to Norway - Bismarck and Prinz Eugen models are of course, not in their Baltic stripe camo as the ships would have been at this stage.

Destroyers - from front to back: Hans Lody (Z-10), Z-23 and Friedrich Eckoldt (Z-16).

The Lody and Eckoldt and built from the Trumpeter Hermann Schoemann (Z-7) kit, while Z-23 was build using the old Matchbox/Revell Narvik Class kit which had a few issues to deal with - replacement of all 5.9-inch mounts, torpedo tubes, boats and small fittings with Trumpeter parts (fwd twin 5.9 mount replaced with a single mount), filing down the edges of the forward end of the bridge platform so they appear rounded rather than sharp right angles), replacement of the foremast.

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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

The Flyhawk Hood

Painted in Sovereign Colourcoats 507A Home Fleet Grey 13%. Wood decks : Sovereign Colourcoats Teak with a Model Masters Wood wash to give a better wooden effect. According to the latest info, Hoods steel decks on the shelter and bridge decks that were formerly though to be either painted dark grey or semtex, were actually covered in corticene, with the outer margins where the forward UP and 4-inch mounts being semtex. I've painted my model to reflect this.
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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

Flyhawk & Trumpeter Hood Comparison

Having done my customary waterline model for Flyhawk, I added the lower hull to the Trumpeter version (had kept it all these years). Note that Hood's lower hull was not antifouling red, but anti-fouling grey - another recent discovery.


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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

Hood and PoW
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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

The Denmark Strait - all those present: Bismarck & Prinz Eugen vs. Hood & Prince of Wales, Norfolk (foregound), Suffolk (background) plus 2 Sunderland Flying Boats one of which observed the action and the second was fired on by Prinz Eugen in the aftermath then wnt on to confuse Suffolk's radar operators that one of the German ships was closing on her, causing her to fire three salvos which fell well short of the Germans at about 6:20 AM.

Those salvos were erroneously reported in PG's War Diary as having been fired by PoW ("KGV" in the diary) and later wrongly ascribed to Norfolk in other written descriptions.
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

"Hood in action" Diorama - depicted as just having been straddled by Bismarck's 3rd salvo having taken a hit to her spotting top (the small splash behind her being the dud shell that went through). She is already on fire on the aft port side of her boat deck from the hit from Prinz Eugen's second salvo and is starting her turn to port to open her A arcs.

This is the old Tamiya Hood.
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paulcadogan
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

Tovey's force - expanded.

New additions:
1) HMS Punjabi (Trumpeter Tribal class kit) - I have placed her right ahead of King George V as the two are linked in tragedy. In May 1942, on the way to escort an Arctic convoy in foggy conditions, the two collided with Punjabi being sliced in two by KGV. She sank with the loss of 49 of her crew. The US battleship Washington, steaming astern of KGV actually passed between Punjabi's sinking halves.

2) HMAS Nestor (Aoshima J-class kit)

3) HMS Windsor (Tamiya Vampire kit) painted in Western Approaches camo.

Leading: (Front to back) Windsor, Punjabi, Nestor, Lance, Legion, Aurora
Following: Galatea, King George V, Victorious, Repulse, Hermione

Missing: Light cruiser Kenya, destroyers Active, Intrepid, Inglefield, HMCS Saguenay & Assiniboine.
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

The u-boats:

1) U-74 (Hobby Boss Type VIIB) which was to attempt to retrieve Bismarck's War Diary, then after the sinking rescued 3 survivors.

2) U-556 (Hobby Boss Type VIIC) which had Force H in its sights, but had no torpedoes left.
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

The Wreck of the Bismarck Diorama.

Made using an old Aoshima Tirpitz model. I made it using the illustrations in Robert Ballard's book. Because it was waterline, I couldn't properly show the sections of lower hull that might actually be visible on the wreck - so a bot of artistic license I guess. See if you can spot the buried upturned 15-inch turret I also put in.
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Re: Bismarck Action ships in 1/700

Post by paulcadogan »

Oh and I almost forgot!

Another outlier - no involvement in the chase by was at sea escorting Convoy OG62. Significance? OG62 is mentioned in the movie "Sink The Bismarck" when Capt. Sheppard snaps at Ms. Davis: "What convoy is that?" "OG62 sir" was the reply.

OG62, consisting of 34 merchant ships departed Liverpool on May 15 and arrived at Gibraltar on May 29. ( A very slow convoy!) One of the escorts was Flower class corvette HMS Aster.

HMS Aster (Ostrich Hobby Flower class resin kit). I selected Aster as compatible with the fit of the kit, and with available photos of her paint scheme which appeared to be 507C.
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