Where would I find a high quality set of plans for Tirpitz? I have heard of several sources, (Goff for one) but have always been told to check the plans for accuracy. That bothers me. I have also heard about BC and that it is putting out a Bismarck hull. Well the Tirpitz has a different bow and in scale it would be a inch longer than Bismarck. So I am looking for where to find an accurate set of plans for Tirpitz? The other big battlewagon I intend to build is the USS Illinois. For her, I would use USS Missouri plans and just change the number on the side of the ship. Before some of the folks go off the handle about switching sides, I am with a BIG guns group. We play by a different set of rules.
Hey Knight, I think you can check with Taubman Plans, They are now owned by Loyanna Dockyards. (I think) I use my Anatomy of the warship Bismarck for my build. We have a very nice copier at work that scales things. Another thing to tryo would be to go to Amazon.de. German amazon and look at their selection of Vom Originals books. They are very good and may help you out. I've ordered from them several times without any problems. I do get the phone call from the credit card company asking if I am buying something from Germany.
You might also want to pick up the anatomy of the ship series for the bismarck. While it won't have the bow changes, it will have all the little details and most of the superstructure will be right you might also check with bob pottle and see if he can give you ralph's email... he made a great T hull, and may have a line on good plans.
Sorry about not adding the link. (thanks Dread) I'm on works time.That should help you Sean. Depending on the ship you are interested in you need to look in several places. The plans they affer are in different scales and by different suppliers.
The bow is not different. If your referring to the Bismarck's BOW at launch time IT was launched with a straight stem wheras Tirpitz was launched with the ATLANTIC bow attached. Bismarck was later fitted during outfitting with the Atlantic Bow. Both ships were actually the same length however the measurements taken at a prior to launch lends to a lot of confusion on this. It is generally regarded Tirpitz is longer. However ships lengths can vary based on how the ship was measured and at what time of construction. Some ships are measured from the tip of the Ensign staff increasing the overall length even though the hull length is the same and it is recorded as the overall length of the hull. Some countries did this to increase the size of the ships on paper than what actually was. I think Tirpitz was a little more than 3 meters longer which was a little more than 15ft longer so an inch longer hull would be about right. Hardly noticiable on the water though. You can still use Bismarck plans to line up the superstructure as they were not repositioned any differently as far as placement on the deck. I got plans I took from "BISMARCK CLASS" from BLOMM&VOSS blew them up to the length of Tirpitz which in that book says it was 832ftloa and Bismarck was 823. I got 2 other sets of Bismarck plans, one a little more out of scale with some sections of the superstructre ie Funnel and the hull shape. The other a very accurate version of Bismarck which matches up to Ralph's HulL beautifully. Gregg's Superstructure he made for Bismarck/Tirpitz fits nicely too. Don't sweat it though. I got a swampy Bismarck and though not the most accurate hull shape particularly the bow..nobody notices and the hull as far exceeded my expectations for a good model.The hull is nearly 19 years old. I am currently resanding the deck. Curt
"archer183 you might also check with bob pottle and see if he can give you ralph's email... he made a great T hull, and may have a line on good plans." Can anyone help me get in contact with Bob Pottle or Ralph? I need to have at least the hull started for when I go back to Illinois and see a German tool and die man. I am working on him to build my cannons.
I have a basic line drawing of the ribs/hull, but when I enlarge the drawing to scale, the lines come out to be too thick to use!
Knight, Give me your address and I can make you a copy of the ribs and send them to you. Just remind me of what I am sending you.
Just in case my emails have not been getting through: The rib drawings arrived safe and sound. Thank SOOOOOOOOOOOOO much! Will post photos of Bismarck and Tirpitz as they progress.
