Weathering Bismarck

[shipgeezer]

I am waiting for my first pack to be shipped, but has anyone thought about how to weather the model or if you should build it completely and then weather it?

[Bfam4t6]

I’m not building the Bismarck, but I’ll answer anyways.  I do both.  I weather as I go, thinking mostly about what will be hard to access later.  And then I weather again later, as more parts are applied, to get a more genuine final appearance.  
 

If I were to build the Bismarck, I imagine I would probably weather turrets and all the smaller junk on the deck while building.  Then, I would probably come back later to weather big common areas like the deck itself, or the hull, the thought being that different sections will blend together better if weathered together. 

[Collector_felix]

I have been weathering mine as I have built it it, I weather each deck section how I want, then I out it to the previous deck and then do another weather pass along the joint to bend the 2 sections together. Spot the open door in the 3rd picture!

 

It has a pretty good build sequence and your not left with tonnes of bits waiting to be assembled. This is mine upto 102. I still need to work on the rear portion from the funnel rearward when time allows

[S4Simon]

Nice to see another weathered Bismarck. 🙂 I’m enjoying getting mine a little roughed up too.

[lespatrick]

What is there to weather, commissioned August 1940 and sunk March 1941.  In between there was repainting to remove camouflage etc.  If there was ever a ship to leave pristine this surely is it?

[Collector_felix]

Totally get that, I just wanted to take the plastic sheen from it really. It did see service so would have had a bit of dirt and rust showing here and there. Getting battered by the waves. I'm not too fussed on accuracy really, after all, I've not bothered adding the symbols to the fore and aft deck nor continuing the black and white stripes on the superstructure  so it's all wrong anyway.

[S4Simon]

I’ve gone down the weathering rabbit hole. 🙂

[Markocaster]

On 3/14/2021 at 5:23 PM, S4Simon said:

I’ve gone down the weathering rabbit hole. 🙂

That looks fantastic, do you have any more photos ? Tips on your technique. Cheers 

[S4Simon]

I've added some more images on the Bismarck Photos thread.

First time weathering a ship. I don't follow any rules / guides for weathering.  Basically just using artist oil paint (black) - rubbing the hull. Then using Tamiya weathering kits for rust. Plus I added a black wash to the superstructure - to bring out the lines.

[Collector_felix]

A few update shots of my latest weathering and parts added to stage 106. Rear deck section weather and blended with previous deck, added extra weathering to the funnel to attempt take the top look a bit soot stained from the fuel oil.

[dashriptide]

wow those tiny germans werent very good at maintaining their deck.  they be court marshaled  for their lack luster work.  good thing they didnt make it back 😛  

AWESOME job on weathering though love feel of the gritty sea that bashed this  ship as it sailed.  love to see your engine room if your doing that too.  And are you planing on doing the hull like a stain where the water mightve tarnished it where the water met the air? ah never mind i saw the  earlier photos when i scrolled back through of the hull 

 

[Collector_felix]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate the kind comments. This is my 1st time weathering anything so I've been learning a lot. I'm not going for accuracy so much as more to make it look like an old sea battered vessel as you say.

 

I do plan to make the engine room look  a little oily and grubby, so I'll get round to that some time soon. I have also made a start with an initial weathering pass on the Hull but nothing too heavy - bit of dirt here and there, rust staining around the anchors and various portholes etc. Only above the waterline though. I have an idea to make the red section below the waterline look like it's got a few barnacles, algae staining etc and a bit of minor rust here and there but not sure how to achieve that look yet.

 

The Hull weathering above is another fellow builder and it looks awesome. I am also looking at something along similar lines to what he has. I just need a few more paints than what I have currently.

[davidnd]

I have flat cleared all parts and dry brushed with black pastel to bring all the details out.Crystal clear all porthole after painting the inners black.

You can add very light weathering as i fully agree,she was in pristine condition when sunk.I have also added the swashstikkas on the bow and stern.

This is my second Bismarck,having built the Hashette wooden hull version.

[S4Simon]

Weathering's one of the hardest things to accomplish / master.  I look at some ships on youtube and wonder how the hell they get their masterful results.  My ship is sort of a 'what if' kind of weathering.  I suppose a 1947 look (If it wasn't sunk and made it through the war unscathed).  Weathering is a personal choice.  Just enjoy the process 🙂

[Sam]

Hi guys could someone list the items I would need to get the same weathering results as above.

first ship build and never weathered a model so any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated:)

 

thanks 

[S4Simon]

My methods are fast, simple, and cheap.

Black oil paint - I use on the hull.  Dab a very small amount on a rag, and then just rub onto hull intermittently and then rub with a clean cloth (upwards downwards) vigorously so that there is only a hint of streaking.  I used this same method on the Millennium Falcon and R2D2 to great effect.

Drop of black enamel on the end of a coke-can and add thinners to create a black wash, which i then just painted onto all the superstructure.  Same method for the deck - a drop of brown enamel plus thinners does the job.  I've since discovered bottles of wash at the model shop which does the same thing for 20x the price, but it works.

I've also used the tamiya weathering kits for adding rust marks.

This is my first time weathering a ship, so learning as I go.  Other people will have their own methods which will work just as well.  It's all about how you want your ship to look.

You can get great results with just trying different methods.  Both my Falcon and R2 were weathered only using the rubbing oil paint method - no air brush work here. I just got ideas from other modellers and tried to copy their results through trial and error.

 

[davidnd]

I have been building ships for 20 plus years ,some  in magazines.Your weathering is excellent,your method gets really nice results.Well done.

[davidnd]

[davidnd]

The above Bismarck is the 1/200 scale Haschette with wooden hull,and a couple of others.Negato and schnellboot.

[S4Simon]

Nice...  really nice.  You appear to be a rigging master. 🙂

[Des]

I have started two 24th scale models in the past but not sure if they have gone out of production one was an apache helicopter and the second was a hind would like to complete both but cant recall who made them. Being ex royal navy we need some helicopters please

[S4Simon]

I'm an ex RAAFy.  Just built a 50 year old Tamiya 1/48th scale Lancaster and fitted it with a computer to run the lights, motors and synchronised sound.  A bit off topic.  I was actually looking at the parts build Lancaster at the time, but thought i could do better.  The current Bismarck is a wonderful build.