With over 1,700 parts here is a sight we don’t see everyday. The famed Kriegsmarine battleship and the lead ship in his class from Trumpeter Models in a colossal 1/200 scale is kindly presented here as a work in progress project by MkReview.com reader Terry Cornell. Terry has been very kind to share this build with all of us interested in the legendary Battleship. I suggest those interested in this project to sign up to our comments sections below via Disqus. Terry will be adding his work in progress updates thru the comments section so if you have any questions about this kit feel free to ask him. As a bonus, Terry included a few pictures of his 1/200 USS Mississippi.
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UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 2nd, 2014
UPDATE FOR OCTOBER 19, 2014
UPDATE FOR NOVEMBER 2nd, 2014
UPDATE FOR December 8, 2014
Hi George,
UPDATE FOR December 20, 2014
UPDATE FOR January 13, 2015
UPDATE FOR February 4, 2015
I am sending two photos of the funnel. I’m only showing one side because I screwed up the railing a little on the other side. Also, I used a photo etched gangway from the front superstructure to the funnel and it turned out to be a bit long so instead of butting up against it, the gangway is actually sitting on top of the platform. Live and learn, I guess. I put hooks on the small cranes too. Next comes the boat houses and boats.
UPDATE FOR February 22, 2015
I have spent the last week in bed with a bad back. The boathouses would have been done a long time ago if it weren’t for that. Anyway, they are done now. I only have one picture of them. I took two but the one was out of focus. I will start in on the aft superstructure tomorrow. Now that I am back on my feet, I hope things will go faster.
UPDATE FOR March 5, 2015
Hi George,
UPDATE FOR March 22nd, 2015
UPDATE FOR March 27, 2015
I see the wooden deck on the Bismark, is that included in the kit? or is that an additional purchase item?
Howdy Stephen, thanks for visiting us.
I haven’t heard from Terry -the author of this entry- for a long time. If memory serves me well, the Bismarck kit does not include the wooden deck.
George? I am sorry I haven’t written for a while but I thought you were upset with me for not being able to finish that ME-262. I now have the new 1/200 Hood but it will be a little while before I start it. I am waiting for Artwox to make a wooden deck for it. They told me it should be any time now.
Hola Terry!! It is so nice to hear from you again my friend. Noooo, why would I be upset. I still have that Me 262. I want to cast molds from some engine parts so I can display them off the model and not having to use them on the kit itself. It sound’s strange I know but I don’t want to put too much time in areas that won’t be seen and those engines are kits in their own right. My goodness, a 1/200 Hood? That will be quite a sight. Happy to hear from you again. You know mi casa es tu casa and please send my regards to your wife.
Hi George, I did make an ME-262 and did it up as “White 3” which was Franz Stigler’s aircraft that he shared with Adolf Galland at the end of WW2. I don’t know if you ever read the book “A Higher Call” but it is an excellent story. When I start the Hood, I can do pictures for you. I got a new camera and can upload pictures real easy. The wife says “Hi!” Take care and I will write more later.
Hello again Terry,
I will write down the tittle of that book for my next trip to the Half Price Books store. I would love to see the pictures of the hood my friend. Thanks for giving my regards to your wife.
Goerge, I just wanted to say the swastikas went on the Kriegsmarine flag with no problems at all. I put an Admiral’s flag on the forward superstructure mast also. I don’t know where it really would have been flown. All that is left to do is the weather deck railings and it is finished. That should only take a day or two. I will send pictures when I am done.
Whoa! a day or 2 to call it done Terry. I had to scroll down to see when we started this plus the date of the entry. September 18, 2015. Those 6 months must feel like an eternity to you.
If I might suggest, for the finished ”glamour” pictures you’ll need a couple of yards of a solid color fabric. That way the model won’t have to compete with any fabric patterns on the background. I wish I was there to help you document this masterpiece.
In the words of Indiana Jones
-It belongs in a museum.
https://youtu.be/-abUtRbUS_U
Did the Wooden deck come with the Bismark kit, or was that an additional item purchased?
Stephen, the wooden decking does not come with the model. The one that I used came from Artwox Models and is very easy to put on. I think there is even a YouTube video showing you how to do it.
Terry, Thanks for the info. I have the Bismark on order, and will be looking for the detail -up kit, either from Eduard, or Trumpy if they have one, plus either a pontos deck, or as you mentioned the Artworx Deck. thanks again for the quick reply. Did your kit also come with a separate main gun turret with the full multi-deck inner workings and a clear turret shell?
The latest picture of the super structure is up Terry. I can’t wait to see it finished 🙂
It is getting close to finishing. I have the main guns and cranes and some railings and that is it. I ordered the name plate from Medals of America. They do a name plate for a flag case that works just right. I am already getting my next project lined up. I am going back to my first love (airplanes) and doing a 1/32 scale ME-262.
Does that Me-262 happens to be a Trumpy?
🙂
Yes it is. It came in the mail today along with my third project which will be a Revell 1/32 HE-219. Is there something I should know about the ME-262?
Hola Terry. I asked about the Me 262 because I got it dirt cheap from my local hobby shop. It does look like a winner to me 😉
They marked down the Trumpeter 1/24 A6M2N Zero ‘Rufe’ down to $40 and months went by with no takers. That one I know for a fact that is plagued with inconsistencies.
If you have extra time and would like to share that build here, be my guest.
I would be happy to share it but you have to wait till I get done with the Bismarck. I shouldn’t be too long. I have a quick question for you. Can you put a decal on a decal? I ask because I have noticed that model makers seem to shy away from the Nazi Swastika on things. The Kriegsmarine flag on this model of the Bismarck has an open hole where the Swastika should be. The model of the He-219 doesn’t include them in the decals for the plane or on the box picture. The Me-262 includes them but not on the box picture or on the instruction booklet. I know it is a representation of an evil government but it is a part of history and should not be omitted. To me, it would be like omitting the Japanese meatball on the Zero fighter. Japan was just as cruel to the Chinese back then.
No problem waiting for your Bismarck project to be done Terry. As for your questions, yes, you can place a decal on top of the other one. I can’t remember which specific kit but I do recall decaling the British roundel by separate colors about a year ago.
Check your decal sheet, if you see some odd shapped decals, chances are those are the Swastikas. The just slice them up to stay away from the design. Many kit manufacturers shy away so by the time the kit reaches Germany, it won’t be a swastika as a whole. That’s why they also omit them on the box art. I agree, they do represent an evil ideology but it is part of our history. I have a sheet of swastikas from Aeromaster in different sizes. If you need just drop me a line and I’ll be happy to send you some.
Thanks for the info, George. I already bought a sheet of various scale swastikas for the He-219. I will use some for the Bismarck’s flag.
Not a bad idea to stock some of those swatikas my friend.
I just finished cleaning and organizing my workbench after the Cylon Raider project. I took out of storage my Monogram He-111H-22. Most of the cockpit was done and I didn’t even remember. I even forgot the kit came with a V-1 and I recently bought one from Tamiya to build it in flight. I wish I could do more WIP’s on the site but it takes time I don’t usually have and models keep arriving to the stash.
Talk to you soon Terry.
You just came to my mind Terry. Here is a recent example of a decal on top of a decal. This one is from the 1/24 Porsche 911 GT2 Taisan Starcard from Tamiya. The decal instructions calls for the ”WAKOS” decal to go on top of a white rectangle on the red stripe.
Cheers!
I joined an Airacobra GB last year on Facebook and haven’t got passed the cockpit. So many models, so little time 🙁
The boat houses are coming along and I just have a few boats to go and I will get some pictures of them too.
Thanks for sharing the latest updates Terry. The last 2 installments of this build are awesome. My apologies for being a bit hard to get. I’ve been very busy with the back end of the site.
No problem George. Next comes the aft superstructure. After that is the main and secondary turrets and the railing around the weather deck and it will be done.
Great review Jorge. Terry this build is great. I look forward to seeing it completed. All the best.
Thanks Jose’. I am fully retired now and this is my hobby. I really enjoy doing it.
Nice to read you around here José.
I just sent in a couple of pictures as I just finished the front superstructure. I know I am not the best in the world but I think it looks pretty good.
Thanks so much for the latest update and the 1st for 2015 😉
Let me tell you something Terry, from my side this build looks absolutely great. The pictures your sending in way over the normal viewing distance of this model when finished and I see a very clean build on a very complicated subject. Especially all that photo etch that you have to fiddle with.
Let me ask you something: Do you plan on placing this in a display case? I ask you because dust will take over it. I tell you because I’m strongly considering building a custom plexiglass case for my 1/72 USS Cobia Submarine. Ace Hardware has the 1/8 plexiglass very affordable and the can cut it at no extra charge. Years ago when I was full-time collecting Star Wars replicas, I built myself a case for a life size Yoda for less than $50.
Thanks for sharing Terry, and for reading my long comment 🙂
Thanks George. You are all right. I don’t care what your boss says about you!! LOL Seriously, I hadn’t thought about a case yet but it is a good Idea. I know that no matter how hard you try, dust gets into everything.
One of the things I do is drill out the portholes and where there is supposed to be windows such as the Admiral’s Bridge, I paint them black with a sharpie fine point black pen. It looks really nice that way.
Thanks for the new update Terry. I also want to thank you for the kind email and recommendations you sent me about my health condition.
If you’re using a sharpie for the portholes or windows, be careful when applying the final sealing coat. By experience, if you use enamel or lacquer based clear the sharpie’s ink tend to smear very easy. I would seal those areas with a water base clear like Model Master Acryl.
Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones.
Thanks for the tip George. What I am doing is filling out the front superstructure with all the extra stuff like railings and photo-etched parts. It is a fun project but takes a long time because of the extra parts that are sooooo tiny. For example, there are control wheels that go on the 37mm guns that can’t be more than a 16th of an inch in diameter.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your loved ones too.
I will be starting the superstructure next week so more pictures will be coming in.
Nice Terry, can’t wait to see them.
Terry, thanks so much for the latest update. This beast is looking awesome. Can’t wait to see it finished. Happy Holidays amigo.
Dude, that wood deck looks freakin’ awsome. Scale deck from some manufacturer, yeah?
Yes, for the Bismarck the deck came from Artwoxmodel and it is super easy to put on. It comes cut for the deck and you just peel it off the backing and stick it on the deck in the place it belongs. It has its own glue. The only real problem is getting the holes to line up on the bigger pieces. I won’t do any ships without them now. It looks so much more realistic than just painting the deck wood color.
I just sent in a picture of a 37mm FLAK gun mount. I used the plastic gun barrels because the metal ones sat crooked in the receiver. Also I used Eduard photo-etched parts on it. I have three more to do now and then I will start on the superstructure.
Thanks for the latest update Terry. This beast is coming along very nice. When you say that the metal gun barrels sat crooked on the receivers, do you mean it as in a fit or quality issue? Would love to know Curious.
George, I think it is because the pin at the back of the barrel that gets put in the receiver is so short that it doesn’t stay straight. It has a lot of slop to it and you have to hold it straight while the glue is drying. I guess my eyeballs are not calibrated very well any more!!!!
George,I just put a picture in my profile so you can see who you are working with. have a good week.
Thanks Terry, nice to see the guy on the other side of the cable 🙂
I just sent in three more pictures of the Bismarck. I have finished the stern for now and am going on to the catapult and that area. After that, I start on the superstructure.
Got ’em Terry. This build is coming out very nice. Question: Are you planning to add some weathering to this ship? I’m curious.
George, I am thinking this way. The Bismarck was commissioned on 24 Aug 1940 and sunk on 27 May 1941. I don’t really think that is enough time for it to weather very much so I can’t see me doing that for this ship.
Makes a lot of sense Terry. She didn’t spend too much time on the surface.
I am about half way done with the stern of the ship. That will be done next week. Then I will start building the superstructure. There are a lot of really tiny photo-etched parts that take a good deal of time to get them right.
Thanks so much for the update Terry. I’m following the development of this build. Can’t wait to see this beast finished. Have a wonderful weekend.
It is coming along and I will have some more pictures soon. I am putting the anchors on and doing the front of the main deck. I always leave the front mast and the rear mast off until almost the very end. I discovered in moving around the ship and putting other things on that I tend to snag the masts and break them.
I have noticed in the related articles one about the TRUMPETER 1/200 Bismarck upgrade kit. I am using that also. It gives you metal anchors and gun barrels and the plastic parts to use them. Along with the Eduard photo etching for the ship it will be really nice.