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Building Dragons 1/350 DKM Scharnhorst
warreni
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Posted: Monday, January 02, 2017 - 04:50 AM UTC
Hello again.

Happy New Year blah blah and all that. I don't have to place my face back on the millstone until next Monday and seeing as I can't go any further with the good ole Alabama I thought I would build the most over-engineered plastic model kit.. ever, Dragon's 1/350 DKM Scharnhorst.

Would you believe that to construct one of the 20mm AA guns takes many plastic and PE pieces? I hear you say "Surely you jest" but no, and on top of those plastic bits there is PE almost too small to handle once you have it off the frets.

But being the brave (stupid?) person I am I have been at it since New Years Eve and with the help of my trusty 3D Kagero book to show me how various sub-assemblies should look I have been assembling many sub-assemblies...

Oh before I go any further just let me say I don't think that camo scheme Dragon would have you do on the ship may not have very much basis in fact so I am going for the plain grey look with a couple of those very dangerous swastickers on the fore and aft decks for a little colour.

That reminds me I really should order the grey paint. But here we go with some photos of all those sub-assemblies. First up a couple of the secondary armament turrets with AA gun growths on their roofs..



It would have been bad enough manning (personing?) the guns in the turrets without the 3 noisy guns on the roof as well!
Then we have the 203mm turrets and the other four secondary turrets..



Then we get down to the smaller items.. quad 20mm mounts on the left (there are a total of 5 of these) and some smaller guns on the right (well I think they are guns)..



Then high angle 37mm mounts (with over 10 parts each!) and 10 20mm single mounts..



Then the turrets on the bottom right must be thirdary turrets as they only have one gun each..



The blast bags are all made of that wonderous material DS that Dragon uses on their sent-from-heaven tank tracks. I hat link by link tracks..

And finally some of the ships boats..



So I have spent about 3 days on it and have only got this far. Be very thorough reading the instructions as they are very dense in information and it is easy to stuff things up.

So that's it for now.. I am off to order some grey paint and some flights to Brisbane for my Wife and I for our cruise..



Cheers
Warren
TRM5150
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Posted: Monday, January 02, 2017 - 06:41 AM UTC
Digging right in at the outset of the New Year!! Great progress Warren...especially with all the tiny stuff! Enjoy the trip and break from the bench!
d6mst0
#453
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Posted: Monday, January 02, 2017 - 07:25 AM UTC
I just finished the 1943 version what version are you building, 1941 or 1943?
I found the PE for the 20mm so thin it was impossible for me to use it. I ended up using 20mm PE from Gold Medal Model to finish those guns.
It is a great looking model when finished. I painted mind in her 1943 colors when she sailed to her destruction.
Logan
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Posted: Monday, January 02, 2017 - 07:43 AM UTC
HI

Probably my favourite ship of WWII and I would love to build one. BUT, as you have already indicated, it is way too finicky a build for this old guy with a twitchy hand and changing eyesight.

I will certainly be following this.

T
warreni
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Posted: Monday, January 02, 2017 - 12:02 PM UTC

Quoted Text

Digging right in at the outset of the New Year!! Great progress Warren...especially with all the tiny stuff! Enjoy the trip and break from the bench!


Thanks Todd.
warreni
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Posted: Monday, January 02, 2017 - 12:03 PM UTC

Quoted Text

I just finished the 1943 version what version are you building, 1941 or 1943?
I found the PE for the 20mm so thin it was impossible for me to use it. I ended up using 20mm PE from Gold Medal Model to finish those guns.
It is a great looking model when finished. I painted mind in her 1943 colors when she sailed to her destruction.


1943 hence all the extra AA guns.

I have two detail sets for her but am not going to use them, just whatever came with the kit.. oh and some Dragon Scharnhorst railings. The WEM and Lion Roar sets can go on Ebay one day soon.
warreni
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Posted: Monday, January 02, 2017 - 12:05 PM UTC

Quoted Text

HI

Probably my favourite ship of WWII and I would love to build one. BUT, as you have already indicated, it is way too finicky a build for this old guy with a twitchy hand and changing eyesight.

I will certainly be following this.

T


Welcome aboard Tom.

That almost descibes me as well.. well no twitchy digits yet but I use an optivisor everytime I sit down at the bench.
d6mst0
#453
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Posted: Tuesday, January 03, 2017 - 05:45 AM UTC

Quoted Text

I have two detail sets for her but am not going to use them, just whatever came with the kit.. oh and some Dragon Scharnhorst railings.


I also have the 1941 version and purchased the Dragon Scharnhorst railings. I used a set of KM railings for the 1943 kit so I will be interested in your opinion on how those Dragon railings work.

I also purchase the deck masking for the 1941 kit. I am hoping it speeds up covering the deck after painting. It took me 6 hours to mask the 1943 kit.

Looking forward to seeing your build progress.
warreni
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Posted: Tuesday, January 03, 2017 - 06:21 AM UTC

Quoted Text


Quoted Text

I have two detail sets for her but am not going to use them, just whatever came with the kit.. oh and some Dragon Scharnhorst railings.


I also have the 1941 version and purchased the Dragon Scharnhorst railings. I used a set of KM railings for the 1943 kit so I will be interested in your opinion on how those Dragon railings work.

I also purchase the deck masking for the 1941 kit. I am hoping it speeds up covering the deck after painting. It took me 6 hours to mask the 1943 kit.

Looking forward to seeing your build progress.


I cheat and use wooden decks Mark.
warshipbuild
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Posted: Wednesday, January 04, 2017 - 10:47 PM UTC
Good luck with it Warren, I have a '43' version in the stash. I bought the supplementary WEM set for it too.

I only bought it because it was going cheap but reckon it might just tip me over the edge if I ever get round to building it.

The instructions are absolutely full of errors - there used to be a build thread with a guide to the errors on a section-by-section basis over on mws but since I'm banned from there I cannot link to it for you.

I apparently committed the cardinal sin of criticizing the kit for it's complexity and price back when it was announced.
Seems some of the mws staffers and their mates had a hand in designing the kit, and they didn't like it being called out at the time.

I reckon that poor sales of this particular kit partly contributed to the lack of further 1/350 ship kit releases from Dragon to this day, and I just wonder how many of these 'wonder kits' ended up as very expensive doorstops because of the offputting nature of their complexity.

Anyhow, good luck with her - you'll need every ounce of it!

Happy New Year.
RedDuster
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Posted: Thursday, January 05, 2017 - 01:15 AM UTC
Hi Warren,

You are busy at the moment, built the Scharnhorst, it is a great kit, but the instructions are not the best in the world, by some distance.

The sub assemblies are coming on very nicely. It is nice not to have to look for extras for the light AA.

Cheers

Si
warreni
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Posted: Thursday, January 05, 2017 - 01:41 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Good luck with it Warren, I have a '43' version in the stash. I bought the supplementary WEM set for it too.

I only bought it because it was going cheap but reckon it might just tip me over the edge if I ever get round to building it.

The instructions are absolutely full of errors - there used to be a build thread with a guide to the errors on a section-by-section basis over on mws but since I'm banned from there I cannot link to it for you.

I apparently committed the cardinal sin of criticizing the kit for it's complexity and price back when it was announced.
Seems some of the mws staffers and their mates had a hand in designing the kit, and they didn't like it being called out at the time.

I reckon that poor sales of this particular kit partly contributed to the lack of further 1/350 ship kit releases from Dragon to this day, and I just wonder how many of these 'wonder kits' ended up as very expensive doorstops because of the offputting nature of their complexity.

Anyhow, good luck with her - you'll need every ounce of it!

Happy New Year.


Hi Ian.

That is one of the bullsh%t things with mws. There is way too much talking up kits they have helped design. Especially TD. I got banned from there for putting some photos up here of a detail set that Mr Dike reckons were his personal property, even though I got them direct from Mr Pontos himself.

Definitely one of the most over-engineered kits ever.. but they have released various 1/350 kits since then (US and DKM destroyers)

Cheers
Warren
warreni
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Posted: Thursday, January 05, 2017 - 01:43 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hi Warren,

You are busy at the moment, built the Scharnhorst, it is a great kit, but the instructions are not the best in the world, by some distance.

The sub assemblies are coming on very nicely. It is nice not to have to look for extras for the light AA.

Cheers

Si


Hi Simon.

Except for the railings this is one kit you can build without much after-market stuff. I have the Dragon railing set and an Artwox wooden deck though..

Cheers
Warren
RedDuster
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Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2017 - 11:09 PM UTC
Hi Warren,

Almost what I did with mine, except I used the WEM upgrade, not the Dragon etch for the railings.

Nice to find a kit like that.

Cheers

Si
JJ1973
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Posted: Saturday, January 07, 2017 - 11:15 PM UTC
Hi Warren,

great start on a great kit!! Scharnhorst in my opinion is amongst the most handsome ships of WW2...

I am definitely in for your build and am looking forward very much to her grow under your hands!!

A happy new year and all the best for 2017 to you and yours!!

Cheers,
Jan
warreni
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Posted: Tuesday, January 17, 2017 - 11:40 AM UTC
Thanks Simon and Jan.

Updates thin on the ground but I have been plunging ahead with this kit in lieu of the Alabama.

Todd, could you get in contact with Flyhawk please as I have sent two emails with no replies at all.

OK. Big update (well compared to my others lately). First up much work on sub-assemblies which I put together as much as possible and then paint. Then I apply the wooden decks..













Then I started with the funnel and all its interior goodness..







And then finally a piccie of all the bits painted that were made earlier..



And that's it for now. Hopefully with Todd's help I can get the instruction sheets I need from Flyhawk, Not good customer service I am afraid.

Cheers
Warren
RussellE
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Posted: Wednesday, January 18, 2017 - 02:12 AM UTC
HNY year and all that Jazz, Warren!

good to see you're not messing about and are cracking on with another kit! The Inman fleet is ever expanding!

Over engineered hey? Well, those high angle guns you mentioned (5.9" c/28's?) having 10 parts, well, in the Trumpy version you only have to mangle 3 parts together to make theirs! So, yer, I hear what you're saying: Over engineered is spot on!

Probably why this kit never found its way into my stash. Give me a nice easy build any day and instead I'll happily live vicariously through yours
RedDuster
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Posted: Thursday, January 19, 2017 - 12:33 AM UTC
Great stuff Warren,

The bridge and funnel are looking top notch.

Cheers

Si
warreni
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Posted: Thursday, January 19, 2017 - 12:56 AM UTC

Quoted Text

HNY year and all that Jazz, Warren!

good to see you're not messing about and are cracking on with another kit! The Inman fleet is ever expanding!

Over engineered hey? Well, those high angle guns you mentioned (5.9" c/28's?) having 10 parts, well, in the Trumpy version you only have to mangle 3 parts together to make theirs! So, yer, I hear what you're saying: Over engineered is spot on!

Probably why this kit never found its way into my stash. Give me a nice easy build any day and instead I'll happily live vicariously through yours


I wouldn't advise you to build this one then Russell.

The high-angle guns on the Revell Bismarck are much simpler and look just as good, especially after a little PE goodness is added.

Cheers
Warren
warreni
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Posted: Thursday, January 19, 2017 - 12:57 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Great stuff Warren,

The bridge and funnel are looking top notch.

Cheers

Si


Thanks Si.
warreni
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Posted: Sunday, January 22, 2017 - 11:48 AM UTC


It just keeps getting worse and worse .. now I find the instructions for the Dragon railing set are missing. Bit hard to guess where the railings go. Does anyone have the instructions or know where I can get them?

One quick photo..



Just when I get up to the part that needs some railings to be fitted.. sigh..
RussellE
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Posted: Sunday, January 22, 2017 - 03:45 PM UTC
Sorry to hear about the instructions Warren.

Hope it doesn't hold you up too much!
RedDuster
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Posted: Monday, January 23, 2017 - 01:18 AM UTC
Hi Warren,

what Russ said,

The funnel is looking good on the 4.1" gun deck.

good luck the hunt.

Cheers..

Si
warshipbuild
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Posted: Monday, January 23, 2017 - 05:47 AM UTC
Warren,

Have you had a look on the DragonUSA site. I'm sure there were some instructions posted there when cyberhobby did the railings set.

EDIT:
Have a look here - you may be able to capture some pictures.

http://www.dragonusaonline.com/item_detail.aspx?ItemCode=CHC3880
d6mst0
#453
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Posted: Monday, January 23, 2017 - 07:50 AM UTC
Warren,

I have the same railing kit and it does not have any instructions like you would get with a PE kit. The back of the package is where anything close to instructions you will find.

Good luck and let us know how the railings work out. They seem pretty thin and fragile.

Marcus
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