1:72 Scale German WW2 Heavy Battle Cruiser K.M.S. Scharnhorst 1943

Coming on nicely - can't wait to see more superstructure taking shape!

Ejja Pawl!

Don't worry,

You will be seeing a lot more in the days to come. During the Christmas Holidays, I am planning to construct the main structure of the bridge and finish the basic assembly of the main turrets.



By the way did you start the woks on the slipway.

...speaking of slipway, you're going to need one hell of a stand for that huge boat!

I am sure you have the necessary tools and material for this also .... as always.

prosit Paul...coming on nicely xbin....u r really gaing on her now...
in nannu pec

The stand for the ship is ready. That was the first thing I did. Not a complicated one, just plain and simple. The only thing to be added is the name plate of the ship. Will post some pictures this weekend.

Prosit Paul

you're picking momentum - keep it up - she'll be a real beauty when finished.



Alex

Prosit Paul, lovely work, keep it up you have a lot to do but the sheer size of it cries out for detail.

yesterday i spent the whole day working outon the barrels for of the main turrets and managed to finish off six in number. Three more to go, will have them ready by next friday.

Barrel being turned on the lathe - 1.

Barrel being turned on the lathe - 2.

Barrel being turned on the lathe - 3.

Barrel being turned on the lathe - 4.

The six barrels ready for priming.

Another view of the barrels.

Barrels mounted in Turret (A) Anton.

Another view of the barrels in turret (A).

Top view of the mountings.


This ia all for now, shall be able to finish the basic structure of the main turrets, and the bridge tower,during the Christmas holidays.

You are realy fired up Paul

Not bad at all for a day's work

Keep her rolling

Now that is what I call enthusiasm in modeling...Bravo paul that is such a beautifull work..welldone..

Thanks guys,

Your encouraging comments are really welcome. As a matter of fact I intend to keep posting updates at least once a week. This also helps other modellers to get a gerneral idea of how the model is being constructed, whilst maybe using the same ideas and methods for other type of models as well.
I have a commmitment, and I intend to keep it - that is the 2013 exhibition. So lets hope for the best.

Paul may I say one suggestion , I think that the gun barrels are to thick, correct me if I'm wrong....




I think you should open them more.......

Or are your going to plug them...

Marco,

The bore of the barrels are perfectly to scale. the calibre of the main guns was of 11" or 280mm. in scale 1:72 the bore would be of 3.88mm. the nearest drill size is of 4mm diameter.
the thickness of the barrel walls is 2.3mm which represents the thickness of the barrel which should be 165mm.
Sometimes photgraphs tend to show different scales, so one must be very careful of how to scale. I have scaled the guns after having viewed the drawings as shown in the David McGregor plans, German Naval Artillery, Volume 1, published by AJ-Press; Books related to the Scharnhorst issued by Gerard Koop, German Capital Ships as published by Schiffer History, and as much photos as I could download from various sites including the Bundes Militar Archiv (Germany).

Tomorrow I shall bring the barrels along with me.

The photos you have posted show the guns with the weatherproof cover, which was a standard practise on board all ships. One must bear in mind that the weatherproof cover, which fitted inside the barrel, also overlapped on the wall thickness of the gun barrel itself, in order to creats a water proof cover.

More over, the barrel in the second photo, was dismantled from a battely installed on the Atlantic Wall, somewhere in Norway or in denmark; and is now placed as shown outside the museum.

Remember also that the bun barrels were not manufatured in just one piece, but a whole assembly of sleeves. This was done in order to strengthen the barrel it self while being able to withstand the expansion of gasses which in fact propell the movement of the shell within the barrel.

Naval barrels were longer then normal field guns, so they had to be thicker as well.

Prosit Paul...keep it going buddy I wanna see it ready .....it will be certainly a massive credit to marine modelling...miss u guys...
In nannu

Thanks Nannu Pec,yes I am working hard enough to have the ship ready for launching for the 2013 exhibition. Of course next March I shall display the ship as under construction. At the moment I am working flat out to have the basic structure of the main turrets and the tower bridge ready.

Will post more photos on the 4th of January 2012.

I would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a good new year's eve full of happyness and a prosperous new year.

Good morning guys, as promised, I am posting some more photos.

The basic structure of the three main turrets, pending the range finders and the fittings.

Turret Anton and Turret Bruno, with the aluminium barrels in place.

Another view of the turrets and barrels.

The front view of the turrets.

Rear view of the turrets.

Top view of the turrets.

Another top view.

Turret "C" Ceaser.

Photo of the 150mm calibre secondary armament, on board the Scharnhorst.

3-D view of the secondary turret.
c
Scale plans of the turret - book published by AJ-Press Poland.

The four bases of the secondary turrets.

Another view of the bases.

Construction in progress.

View showing the internal stiffeners.

Rear view of the back plate.

Top view of three turrets.

View of the fourth turret with additional stiffeners.

Front view of the fourth turret.

Another front view.

Sise view of the fourth turret.

General view of the four turrets showing the progress made so far.

Wow Paul, you are really going at full speed! The material you have chosen helps I suppose but you sure produce quite a lot of modelling volume - you make me envious.

Keep up the good work and we will be proud to have the completed ship for next year's expo.

You're moving at a greater speed then the ship herself being chased by the Allied Hounds I suppose

Ok, I know I'm in for a full explanation re the ship's top speed vis a vis the Allied Hounds, so I'm tightening my seat belts & bracing myself for the impact

Hold on tight Ray, the construction is speeding up - more photos attached.

View of the Turret

View of the turret

View of the turret

View of the turret

View of the turret

View of all the four turrets with the stiffeners in place

Top view of the turrets

The beginning of the end - starting off with the top panels.

Master sample of the 150mm gun for the above turrets, turned on the lathe. material used for the sample is brass.

Master sample of the 105mm anti-aircraft gun, turned on the lathe. Material used for the sample is brass.

Master sample of the 37mm anti-aircraft gun, turned on the lathe. material used for the sample is brass.

Master sample of the 160cm diameter searchlight housing, turned on the lathe, and made from brass.

Another view of the searchlight housing.

Man you are faster then a laser cutter!

Keep them coming mate, this project finally is seeing the light and detail that it should need!

Ivan

Love the metal goods...turrets shape up well too. One question...why are you using card and not plastic?

Dottore

Using cardboard as a primary medium to construct models, may seem a bit strange; but remember one thing I have been using cardboard for these past thirty years, and once you master the system; the finish will be just as good as using plastic sheets. Another thing about cardboard is the the cheap price of the sheet, and the advantage of the availability of thickness which ranges from 1mm to 5mm. The ship's hull was constrcuted from 6 ply 1mm thick cardboard sheeting and on viewing the same model, you would think it was constructed from wood, and when considering the length which is of 3260mm (3.26mtrs); that is a good achievement. cardboard can be treated, sanded and finished just like any plastic constructed model. None the less, only the basic structure is constructed from cardboard. The small details shall be made from Evergreen plastics products, photo edged parts, copper and brass and any other material deemed necessary for the job.

One other important thing. The photos I have posted show the construction steps along the way. The finsihed product will be very different.

For the 2012 Expo in March, I shall be spending some time constructing with cardboard. This will be an opportunity to those interested.
There might be a chance this weekend to start on the bridge tower. That would be something to see when finished.

Lets get ready for the March 2012 expo.

I agree with Paul regarding the versatility of card.

I have developed a curriculum for my students taking Architectural Model Making and the primary building medium is 'mountboard' which is the stiff board used by frame makers commonly referred to as 'passpartout'. Paul uses a baser form of card which is the builder's board available at ironmongers also very much used by students for their working models. The advantage is availability and low price plus the fact that once you master the techniques for priming and finishing, no-one can tell the difference from any other medium.

I think this fact alone adds value to the model as it mixes so many different media and yet it all comes together so perfectly well - undoubtedly credit here rests with Paul who is definitely on the right track.

Ejja Pawl!