by Aidan Sweeney
1/350 DKM Bismarck (Tamiya)
This was my first large scale build and my first R/C conversion (hence the oversize rudder). I built the model about 18 years ago as a cheap and quick way to get into R/C models. It is built straight out of the box with no filler, filing or corrections, just cut it from the spru, then paint it and glue it. The paint was standard Grey, Red and Teak (totally wrong colours) and the flags are 'For Display Purposes Only'. I have sailed this model almost every week since building it and apart from a couple of small bits getting knocked off, it has never missed a beat. It runs on 3 x 3 volt motors, each with independant control via micro-switches on the rudder servo, and is powered by 4 AA batteries. I used the kit's plastic props which work fine. The control switches are located beneath the removable Bridge section, and the deck and entire superstructure are removed as one piece. The model is self righting and exceptionally stable for a relatively small R/C model. Total cost including the model, R/C equipment, electrics and paint was about 100 pounds Sterling (mind you, that was a long time ago).
