Hi I am building the 1/350 Tamiya Bismark, I had already finished the painting for the Hull, the gray, the black at the bow and the stern, and the white, but what concerns me is the white/black stripes amid ship, I know it was there to confusing Submarine as to the direction of the ship travels, and I saw from the instruction that after May 1941, these stripes were painted over.

Since this kit was done in 1978 by Tamiya, I am not sure how accurate it is historically, so if I don't want to do the white/black stripes, is this okay? say if I am modelling the Bismarck short while before she sunk.

It's my first ship model, so any help will be greatly appreciated, not just the camo, but also where I can get the railing, etc, etc. Thanks!

Hi,

Sorry for such a late response! I was just browsing from a forum that I abandoned for months!

I think an overall gray color is fine. I have a book "Exploring the Bismark" By Robert Ballard. There is a photograph of the Bismark taken from the Prinz Eugen in the Norwegian fjords which was the same place she was spotted by a British pilot in May21, 1941. In that picture, she was wearing the stripped color. But photographs of her in action show that she was not wearing the strips.

So overall, from these pictures I am cofussed. But to play safe and easy, don't do the stripes. As for a detail set with railings etc. Try Gold Metal Models Here is the site:

http://www.goldmm.com


Hope this helps!

Hugh

Dave, I think you'd be correct to paint her without the stripes, but then it could just as well be the Tirpitz at some stage ? The stripes are really what makes the Biscmark so different from all other ships. If painting those is your problem, I suggest you try painting stripes on a piece of plastic first. If you use masking tape and leave ample time to dry, the stripes should work well.
Good luck !

Dave According to Battleships of the 20th Century by Janes just prior to sailing from the fjord near Bergen the upper superstructure was painted back from the camo. There is a picture of them, the Bismarck and Prince Eugen, just prior to sailing. The Bismarck does not have the upper camo. Hope this helps. Butch Cassidy. Tanks46.

I seem to remember that the documetry about the Bismark on the history channel included the fact that she was repainted the basic grey color before leaving the fijord. There were even movies of the crew dangling over the side in bos'ns chairs painting the hull. I painted mine without the camo to reflect her (or him as the captain insisted it be called) paint scheme during its first and last sortie.

I don't know if you are interested but the Cameron show about the Bismarck is on tonight on the Discovery channel. Link below.

Discovery channel Bismarck

Hi Guys, thank you all for your advise. once I finished the Nashorn, I will get back to the Bismarck and try to finish it this time. Thanks!

that kit is correcct in the stripes i think ss, and the railing.......do u eman the riggin like the antenna power line things that go near the top, if so, they recommend melting the plastic frame the kit comes on, and stretching it out so it becomes thin, but hard, this works, cheers

Both the Prinz Eugen and the Bismark had their Baltic stripes painted over before they put to sea after refuelling in Norway. Some pictures show where heavy wave action wore away some of this new paint, partially exposing the lower part of the forward stripes. At most, this might be hinted at if modelling the ships in early May 1941---remember, the Bismark was only at sea for little more than a week before he was sunk.
Very light-weight fishing line can be used to make a ship's rigging from in larger scales. It is easier to handle than trying to stretch sprue into uniform thickness ropes and cables, and can be glued into place and tensioned with careful application of heat.

Saw the show. What I got out of it was the conclusion that the Bismark was in fact scuttled. Conclusive photos taken inside the torpedo blister showed that even though the torpedos did penetrate the blister they did not penetrate the inner hull. Further photos showed that even though there were several thousand 14" and 15" rounds fire at the bismark only four rounds penetrated in or near the water line. The only really crippling damaged was from the torpedo the torpedo plane launched into the stern. Blew a big hole into the steering room and jammed the rudder into the center propeller. Not enough damage to sink it though.

Thanks guys for all your answers, as for the railings, I had purchased Eduard's PE set for this, and it's really easy to work with.

Thank you all for your help.

Just started my own 1/350 Bismarck and have found these sites helpful for reference.

http://www.kbismarck.com/perfili.html
http://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/bismarck_menu.html