Trumpeter 1/350 German Pocket Battleship Admiral Graf Spee

[dierk]

Most impressive detailage Bill!
Mind that mast - it looks very snappie-offie.

[wbill76]

Leon and Bob, thanks for the comments!

Todd, it's something that has spilled over from the business world into education but without the huge $ signs attached to it. High stakes testing and standards means an entire industry has sprung up to help with this in terms of crunching numbers. This particular one that my district uses is called Lead4ward. The name alone tells you a lot, it has a number already baked in!

Dierk, no kidding. It's one of the reasons I waited so long to add it. Even Trumpeter knows that, they packaged it in the box with its own protective pad sheet wrapped around the sprue!

[bbrowniii]

Very nice work Bill! Sorry you have to analysize data rather than throw more parts at this thing, but I guess I can be patient and wait a little longer for the next update...



Awww, hell, who am I kidding, no I can't... I think you look a little unwell, Bill? Bit of a cold maybe?

[wbill76]

Jul 24, 2017 13:00:18 GMT -5 bbrowniii said:

Very nice work Bill! Sorry you have to analysize data rather than throw more parts at this thing, but I guess I can be patient and wait a little longer for the next update...



Awww, hell, who am I kidding, no I can't... I think you look a little unwell, Bill? Bit of a cold maybe?

I suppose that my vacation came to an unofficial end today after sitting through the session and seeing the latest test data. It didn't help that the district instructional specialist dropped off a big stack of performance standard data with the cheery comment of 'I know you've already started planning for the upcoming year!' There's something of one kind or another going on each week between now and when students officially report on Aug 28th but I should still be able to get some more work in on the Graf Spee on the weekends in the meantime. Such is life in the world of education!

[panzerjager2]

Pj2

[wbill76]

Thanks PJ!

[afvfan]

You're citing some of the main reasons I left the teaching game as quickly as I did, Bill. All that extraneous BS got old real quick.

[mustang1989]

That decking looks fantastic as does all the details. I continue to be blown away at the work I see on ship builds like this. You da man Bill.

[wbill76]

Bob, there's a lot that is asked of teachers today that wasn't always that way for sure! The focus on data is something that is double-edged, in the right hands it can be used to make things better. In the wrong hands, it can be a weapon for punishment. No different than in the business world!

Joe, thanks for the comments! Ship builds are something that I've really come to enjoy working on but they are time-sinks for sure.

[wbill76]

One step closer to getting the remaining details done on the superstructure. This time attention turned to the funnel and the searchlight deck that runs around the top. The railing for this deck is a single flat piece of PE which required some very careful shaping with tweezers in several places and a mandrel for the aft curved areas in particular. After the railing was installed with CA, I added the four AA guns and four searchlights to populate the deck. The funnel top was hand painted with MM enamel Flat Black lightened with about 10% Light Gray and then installed on the upper portion of the funnel.



The upper portion was added to the main funnel, clearing the way for the addition of the mast structure that attaches to the funnel top. The Eduard PE set provides a lot of extra detail for this area that the kit parts were missing. Since many of those PE parts overlap to each other, I used Gator Grip Thin Blend to get them all together and allow some flexible work time to ensure they all played nice with each other.



Another round of hand painting with the Flat Black mix and the funnel top and mast now have a unified look.



That clears out all of the major superstructure module elements. Next up I'll deal with the secondary module to get it up to speed as well.

[Leon]

Cruisin right along Bill! Looking ship shape.

[wbill76]

Thanks Leon! Checklist is definitely getting smaller.

[joelsmith]

Bill, this might be a silly question, but, with the antenna mounted to the stack, wouldn't the stack gasses cause corrosion and interference to the primitive electronics of the time?

[wbill76]

Jul 26, 2017 21:09:30 GMT -5 joelsmith said:

Bill, this might be a silly question, but, with the antenna mounted to the stack, wouldn't the stack gasses cause corrosion and interference to the primitive electronics of the time?

That's an interesting question indeed. Graf Spee didn't burn normal bunker fuel, it's engines were diesels that needed a more refined fuel that it processed onboard using desalination to do it. It was the damage to the desalination plant that led to Graf Spee seeking refuge at Montivideo. The ship didn't have enough fuel in the tanks to make it back to Germany. Perhaps the stack gasses didn't present the usual issue as a result? The radar antenna is mounted forward of the stack, so that frame antenna on the mast is likely only for radio communication I suspect.

[panzerjager2]

I'll say it again, because i am really amazed...... The details on something that small are awesome 
PJ2

[wbill76]

Thanks PJ! Like the other genres, ship kits have really advanced in their quality. Same is true for the AM sets available, although sometimes you have to wonder just what they are thinking when they design them!

[panzerjager2]

Bill, I have to tell you that between you and my buddy Dierk, you guys have inspired me. I have wanted to build a ship/boat for a while. My last one was in the 90's.... I am toying with taking Italeri's 1/35th and up scaling it with a jeep and or troops on board...




But I've only worked up the courage after seeing your Graf Spee and Dierks fast boat.....

THANKS for the inspiration 
PJ2
(of course please keep in mind I get to curse you and Dierk everytime the boat build gives me any grief..LOL

[reserve]

Flawless work as always brother

Regards,
Mark

[wbill76]

PJ, I'm happy to let Dierk take all the blame when you run into any problems! Should be a fun choice of subject based on what you have planned for it.

Mark, thanks my friend!

[M1Carbine]

Bill - awesome progress buddy. Looks fantastic.

Bob

[wbill76]

Thanks Bob!

[wbill76]

Progress on the Graf Spee reached an important milestone today as the secondary superstructure module received the rest of its details. I bent and shaped the PE railings first, then painted and installed the small AA guns, various lockers, and hose reels in place. The PE railings were painted to match the camo scheme where needed and the large twin-AA gun mount installed in position. It never ceases to amaze me how difficult it becomes to handle these things once the railings are in place, but it's a necessary evil to allow for the inevitable touch-ups needed to create a unified look between the decks and railings.



After conducting a test to see if I could still safely install the main superstructure module in place with the fighting top direction finder and radar antenna installed, I went ahead and added that to the main superstructure module. Both modules now have all of their details with the exception of the ship's boats and cranes on the main module and the floatplane catapult on the secondary module. Those will all get added later once the modules are permanently attached to the ship.



I also did a quick dry-fit test with the hull to see how things are shaping up. It's also a handy way I've found to 'store' the modules and all the gun turrets and keep them out of harm's way. Everything is currently dry-fit only since the next step will be applying some Future to seal up the turrets and superstructure to allow for a pin-wash treatment to bring out the details.



Once the pin-wash is on, I'll add the rigging on the main superstructure module to ensure maximum flexibility for handling during the pin-wash phase.

[Leon]

Great progress Bill! She looks awesome with everything dry fit.

[afvfan]

Looks great, Bill. Geez, that would have been a beast to behold had the Germans gone against the treaty and dropped twin 15s in those turrets instead of the triple 11s.

[wbill76]

Thanks Leon!

Bob, you're right about that! As it is, Graf Spee still violated the treaty in terms of her overall tonnage but that was kept a secret until after Hitler negated it. The saying for all the Deutschland-class trio was they could outgun/range any cruisers and outrun any battleships...which is why Graf Spee's captain has come in for so much grief historically-speaking since he chose to close with the Royal Navy heavy cruisers instead of staying outside their 8-inch range while still being inside the 11-inch range of his own guns. Armchair Admirals never quit!

[dierk]

Looking good Bill! Almost, but not quite, good enough for me to want to get my feet wet doing one of the soviet ships

[wbill76]

Thanks Dierk! It's amazing the range of subjects that are available now, you won't be able to resist forever!

[mustang1989]

Jul 26, 2017 20:19:23 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Thanks Leon! Checklist is definitely getting smaller.

Progress is looking nothing short of spectacular Bill! I dunno if it's this way for you or not but it seems like when I'm at the end of a build close enough to need a list is when I find myself just sitting there for a few minutes wondering which part to tackle next.   lolol

[wbill76]

Thanks Joe! I know what you mean, it's when the end approaches that you have to make careful choices to avoid getting boxed in by the last steps!

[joelsmith]

We will probably see this ship in the January issue of FSM! ;<)