¹⁄350

DKM Admiral Graf Spee

1-350 you say ? Why on earth didn't you use 3-D figures, yes I know they are like gold dust to find but well worth searching for. Weathering honestly is not an easy thing to do, you've done a very good job, love this model, but please try and ovoid wrapping the rigging around the yards. A little secret if you don't mind me saying, for the short straight lengths that will probably be holding flags and pullies and stuff, fly-fishing line is best, you're having to wory about this snapping, use PVA which is a wood glue, cheap as the day is long, trust me. The long stretched out pieces between mast, structure and flag poll, this should be melted plastic. Please, please try on two nails knocked into a lump of wood. Select a piece of plastic retreved from your model, set it on fire, blow it out stab it into a firm surface and slowly and carefully pull either left or right, you should be able to control the thickness you require, attach one end only using PVA, allow to go off, tip the model (in our case the lump of wood) and with a needle a small blob of PVA attach the other end, you will see a slight belly. The word we're looking for is SLIGHT lol. Once both ends have gone off light a goss stick, wave the goss stick so the smoke and only the smoke travels towards the belly of fine stretched plastic, and watch because this is magic. The advantage of using this system with the larger sacle 1-350 is that you'll have more rigging, and finer rigging. The build, slap me if you want, but I simply love the Japinese and German style of ship building, they look that little bit (well big bit really) special which you can see in this model. Thank you for sharing, and I hope you don't mind my little pointer.

Nice build Colin, clean and very well finished. I know it is horses for courses, but I agree with Alec re the figures, personally I do not like etched figures in 1/350th, they always remind me of cardboard cutouts. tend to use Fujumi 1/350th figures for bulk & a few L'Arsenal ones chucked in for variety. On the rigging, I thought yours looked fine, I use copper wire for all mine, can't get on with stretched sprue at all, and the long runs, usually aerials, between the mast will have a slight sag on them anyway. One question, the four black single AA guns on the fo'c'sle deck level at the corners of the superstructure look very much to me like MkIII 40mm bofors, or are they? Curiousity, my research on this ship has only really been of her ill fated wartime cruise, so I know little of her pre war fit. many thanks Si

Hi Si Good to talk to you. You are right my friend , well spotted on the Bofors. The guns that came with the kit were bulky and poorly molded so I replaced these four with the Bofors that I had in my stash from L,arsenal. Hey, I,m not an absolute purist and I thought they looked good. As to the figures. I normally use L'arsenal 3d figures but had run out and had these eduard Kreigsmarine ones lying around so used them. I agree, they are a bit dissappointing. Thanks for your comments. Cheers Colin

hI alec Thanks for your feedback. I normally use a combination of fine line. ( this stuff is 14.0 caenis type line and is actually very fine. Yes, I should avoid wrapping around spars) and stretched sprue. ( Jim Baumann gave me some excellent pointers). I use gator glue which has many PVA type properties but I believe it to be superior. Ah yes, the figures. Yes I agree, the 2d Eduard figures are a little dissappointing and I normally use 3D L'arsenal figures but I have run out of stock. Rest assurred that My current build ( Hms Hood 1/350 backdated to 1940) will have only 3d figures. I have never seen fujima figures and here in New Zealand I can't get any of these things so have to buy everything over the net ( ussually from WEM ) Good talking to you my friend. Kind regards Colin

Hi Colin Agree with you re the L'Arsenal Bofors, I have used them a few times myself, both the singles and the twins, and they do look good. Si

Well, after reading the comments I have added the 3-d figures to my need list for my soon to start project.