Mike's models: KM BISMARCK in a bottle

BISMARCK IN A BOTTLE

After building the Titanic 1/250 scale partwork, my daughter gave me an old 5 litre whisky bottle that she found in her garage, so I built a Titanic in a bottle (Bottleship 2017/3).

After building the Battleship Bismarck 1/200 scale partwork, I searched high and low for another 5 litre whiskey bottle to build a 1/800 scale bottle model so the two would complement each other, but to no avail.

Undaunted, I searched for a suitably sized vessel that was about the same length as the main body of the 5 litre whiskey bottle (about 320mm), and eventually found this vase in a craft shop.

I had already found a 1/800 scale plastic model of the Bismarck on line, which was about the same length as my Titanic bottle model.

As luck would have it, the hull was divided into two halves, upper and lower. The lower half was the below waterline moulding (red), and the upper half was the above waterline moulding (grey), which also comprised of the main deck. The finished model height would fit in the vase if I abandoned the lower half of the hull, making it a waterline model.

I thus made a wood blank, around which the upper hull section would be fitted, the base of the blank being the sea level. (This will be achieved as described later).

The neck of the vase was 22mm ID and the width of the deck was 43mm so the main deck and upper deck superstructure would fit through the neck if I cut them into two pieces down the centre line and fitted brass tubing as locating pins.

Now, because space in the vase was limited, and to ensure that the sea level was at its lowest level, I decided that the sea would be made from fibreglass resin, poured into the vase.

I made two large holes in the wooden blank, through which the resin would be poured.

The two halves of the blank were now inserted and glued together with 5 minute epoxy at the edges of the inner holes. When set, the blank was located in its exact position, resting on the glass, and the bow and stern positions marked with masking tape on the outside of the glass.

I have 24hr epoxy which is thixotropic (it doesn’t slump), and I inserted two large blobs in the centre holes of the blank, between the wood and the glass. Into these I placed two cut pieces of thin dowel in order to fix the wooden blank to the glass.

Whilst leaving it to set, I got a length of 20mm PVC conduit and cut it in half down its length. Using a heat gun, I made a channel in the end and then setting up my bench vice to the width of this channel, I inserted the conduit in one end of the vice and using the heat gun on it slowly pushed the conduit through the vice jaws so that the channel was formed right along its length.

The vase and conduit channel were supported on cardboard boxes so that the wooden blank was level and the conduit as high as the neck allowed.

I mixed a few drops of blue Humbrol paint into the resin, added the hardener and then poured the resin into the holes of the wooden blank, using the conduit as a channel. This ensured that only enough resin was used to bring the waterline up to the base of the blank and no further.

(I realised later that I should have coloured the 24hr epoxy blue as well so that it would not be seen underneath).

When everything was cured, I started on the model itself.

The two halves of the upper hull were now inserted and after the connecting pins were fitted, they were glued together. When dry, the upper hull was glued to the wooden blank. The front gun turret was now fitted and glued.

The two halves of the superstructure were assembled with as many parts as possible that would allow them to go through the neck of the vase. They were then inserted and glued together. When set, it was located in place on the deck. The second gun turret was now glued in place.