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1/100 SCRATCH BUILT BISMARCK MODEL

(by Markus van Beek, Germany)

This impressive radio controlled model was built by Markus van Beek, and it is undoubtedly one of the best in the world. Markus began to work on this model in 1976, at the age of 16, using only a single drawing and a photo book. It took him 15 years to complete the model before it was finished in 1991. During that long building period he acquired all original drawings and a huge collection of over 500 photographs. After finishing with the Bismarck, Markus built the destroyer Z-38 from 1992 to May 2000, and now he is working on the Prinz Eugen, although we will have to wait about 12 years to see it complete. As you can see it is not an easy job, and it can take as much as a life time to built a model of this characteristics especially if you are working by your own.

This 1/100 Bismarck model is in exact scale. It is 2,510 mm in length, 360 mm in width, and has a maximum weight in water of 51 kilograms. The upper deck is 0.5 mm cherry wood and has more than 9,000 planks, each 1.2 mm in width. The thickness of the main armour plates is in scale, too, and, therefore, the front armour of the main battery turrets is 3.6 mm thick. The propulsion plant consists of three Audi electric motors for heating a car, that, together with six 12V batteries, allow the ship to sail for a whole day. The radio controlled functions include:

The main turrets.

The three range finder domes (DE-TE-Geräte).

Running lights.

The two search-lights over the hangar.

The signal lamps on the Admiral's bridge make original light signs.

CD player to play "Greetings to Kiel".

There are also some other manual functions such as pulling out the telescoping catapult, the movement the cranes, etc.