Bismarck Pack 2 – stage 9

[WonderWoman]

I have a new set of tools! No more flying tiny parts! General Lou has given me some good advice and I no longer cut sprues with a knife. I have a lovely pair of clippers, a couple of new magnetic screwdrivers, and a posh set of tweezers. Just looking forward to receiving my new magnifying glasses, but I'm not going to wait. So, here we go... Stage 09 parts ready...

 

The first steps in this stage took quite a while as I worked out how tightly the parts were meant to fit together. The first shaft sits loosely in the gearbox housing, but is secured when the cog is added.

Fixing cogs 9-05 and 9-02 was straightforward, but I had to really push hard to get the shafts to push through the gearbox housing for cogs 9-01. Then things started to get quite fiddly. It helps if you have your screws ready at this point.

The motor/shaft assembly (7-05/9-06) balances in position, as does the switch, while you fit the lower part of the gearbox housing on top. I had to balance everything in the correct place by resting the housing on two pairs of tweezers to keep it flat, checking the sprockets on the cogs engage and that the pin on the switch is to the left of the peg on the cog. The housing could then be carefully lowered into place without disturbing everything.

As I lowered the anchor chains through the upper deck they seemed to get caught, but if you tilt the deck slightly, they easily fall through. The gearbox housing fitted snugly on the underside of the deck.

Just a note of caution:

When repeatedly turning the deck over, it's very easy to break the deck details. Keep an eye on them and just turn the deck onto its side, and have glue ready for repairs!

I fitted the two capstans with a firm 'push & twist' , and wrapped the anchor chains around them. Initially, I had the chains going in opposite directions around the capstans, so note that they should both wrap around in the same direction as shown here. The chains then easily threaded through the anchor brackets on either side. It's easy if you tilt the deck at 45º and drop them through.

I finally fitted the anchors to the anchor chains. My top tip here is to prise apart the ring on the anchor, then dangle the chain over a modeling tool (such as a craft knife) which allows you to catch the last link in the chain with the open end of the anchor ring. Then when you've caught it, squeeze the ring closed again with tweezers or pliers.

Stage 09 complete

 

[Carours]

On the number 44 you have new ring for thé Anchorage.Much better so wait to attach

[WonderWoman]

Thanks - I've just seen that in Pack 4