Ship Modelers Database
Image: CC BY-SA 3.0 Germany (Deutsches Bundesarchiv) · commons.wikimedia.org
Bismarck
Sunk (scuttled after battle damage, 27 May 1941); wreck located 1989 and resting on the seabed in the North Atlantic
Bismarck was the lead ship of the two-vessel Bismarck-class, the largest battleships built by Nazi Germany and among the largest ever built by a European power. She is one of the most famous warships in history due to her destruction of HMS Hood and the massive Royal Navy pursuit that ended her career after only one operational sortie.
Kits of this ship
+ Add a kit| Bismarck | Aeronaut | 1:200 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available | |
| Bismarck | Amati | 1:200 | Plank-on-Bulkhead | Available | |
No image | Bismarck | Academy | 1:350 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
| Bismarck Battleship (Static) | Academy | 1:350 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available | |
No image | Bismarck | Trumpeter | 1:700 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | Bismarck (New Tooling) | Revell | 1:700 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | Battleship Bismarck | Tamiya | 1:350 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | Bismarck | Heller | 1:400 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued |
| Battleship Bismarck | Revell | 1:350 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available | |
| Battleship Bismarck | Amati | 1:200 | Plank-on-Bulkhead | Available | |
No image | Bismarck & Tirpitz Twinset | Heller | 1:400 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | German Bismarck Battleship (Premium Edition) | Dragon (DML) | 1:700 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
| Sink The Bismarck! Gift Set | Airfix | 1:1200 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available | |
No image | Bismarck (Vintage Classics) | Airfix | 1:600 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | Bismarck | Airfix | 1:600 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | Sink The Bismarck 1941 | Dragon (DML) | 1:700 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | German DKM Bismarck Battleship | Academy | — | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | Battleship Bismarck (Premium Edition) | Revell | 1:350 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued |
No image | German BB Bismarck | Hasegawa | 1:450 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued |
No image | Bismarck Battleship (Motorized) | Academy | — | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | German Navy Battleship Bismarck | Pit-Road | 1:700 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued |
No image | Bismarck | Academy | — | Injection-Molded Plastic | Available |
No image | German Battleship Bismarck | Trumpeter | 1:200 | Injection-Molded Plastic | Discontinued |
Plans
No plan sets listed for this ship yet. Know of museum, archive or publisher drawings? Add them so the next builder can find them.
Links go to the publisher's or museum's own page. Ship Modelers Database lists plan sets; it doesn't host or display the drawings.
Build logs
+ Link a build log- 1:200 Amati Battleship Bismarck by Paul Stevens
Paul Stevens · Ships of Scale · Bismarck
Personal build thread describing this as the builder's 3rd ship build and a challenging Amati 1:200 Bismarck project.
- 1/200 Trumpeter Bismark by bcsoseven
bcsoseven · Ships of Scale
Build log for a second attempt at the Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck with photos of deck painting and weathering stages.
- 1/200 Trumpeter Bismark by Criplr702
Criplr702 · Ships of Scale
Near-complete Trumpeter 1/200 build log, the builder's first experience with airbrushing and photo-etch.
- Agora Bismarck
CLB · Ships of Scale
Build log for an Agora/Hachette-style Bismarck with electronics (rotating turrets, lights) showing progress photos, mixed with other posters' comments.
- Amati Bismarck 1:200 [COMPLETED BUILD]
Unknown (poster referred to as 'Jack' in thread) · Ships of Scale · Bismarck
OP's first build log post shows unboxing of manuals/plans and step-by-step construction of the Amati Bismarck, running many pages to completion.
- Amati bismark
Unknown · Ships of Scale · Bismarck
Poster reports being '7 months on with the Amati Bismarck' and shares progress photos, intending to keep updating as the build continues.
- Battleship "Bismarck" 1:200
pope · Ships of Scale
Build log (Amati-tagged) with progress photos of gun turrets, boats, hangars and funnel construction.
- Bismarck 1/200 Hachette rebuild
Uncle Davydd · Ships of Scale
Build log rescuing and rebuilding a partially-started Hachette 1/200 Bismarck with photos of hull and deck corrections.
- Bismarck battle ship 1/200 scale Hachette publication 140 issues build 2008 - 2015
Charles QC · Ships of Scale
Detailed multi-year Hachette partworks build log covering planking, deck, superstructure and photo-etch stages.
- Bismarck by Paul - Trumpeter - 1/200 - Plastic - German Battleship as she appeared at 1941 Battle of Denmark Strait
Paul · Model Ship World
Active build log of a large 4'2" Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck enhanced with KA Models upgrade set.
- DKM Battleship Bismarck as equipped in April 1941, scale 1:200
ConsNZ · Ships of Scale
Appears to be a largely finished-model showcase post for a Trumpeter 1/200 kit rather than a step-by-step progress log.
- DKM Battleship Bismarck by Trumpeter 1:200 with Pontos set
madtatt · Ships of Scale
Extensive two-and-a-half-year Trumpeter 1/200 build log with Pontos detail set, covering hull, superstructure, funnel and small craft construction.
- Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck
Beau · Ships of Scale
Short build log with initial progress photos that stalled ('boxed away for the time being').
- Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck Build [COMPLETED BUILD]
Jim Lauser · Ships of Scale
Completed Trumpeter 1/200 plastic build log with extensive photos of hull painting, photo-etch detailing and basing.
Resources
+ Submit a resourceHistory & specifications
- German battleship BismarckWikipedia Entry
- World War Photos: Battleship Bismarck gallery and specificationsWebsite
Photo gallery with detailed specifications and bibliography of reference books useful for scale modelers.
Museums & archives
- NHHC: Photo NH 69732, German battleship BismarckMuseum
US Naval History and Heritage Command photo taken from Prinz Eugen after the Battle of the Denmark Strait, showing battle damage.
Photos
- Wikimedia Commons: Bundesarchiv photo of Bismarck, 1940Photo
CC BY-SA 3.0 Germany licensed Bundesarchiv photograph of Bismarck in 1940, useful as an accurate reference image for hull and superstructure details.
History
Service history
Commissioned in August 1940, Bismarck's only combat operation was Rheinübung in May 1941, an attempted Atlantic commerce raid alongside the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen. At the Battle of the Denmark Strait she and Prinz Eugen sank HMS Hood and damaged HMS Prince of Wales, but Bismarck herself took damaging hits that forced her toward occupied France for repairs; a torpedo strike from Swordfish biplanes off Ark Royal jammed her rudder, and she was finally overwhelmed the next morning by British battleships and cruisers before being scuttled.
Notable facts
The wreck was discovered in June 1989 by Robert Ballard and has been surveyed multiple times since, including a detailed 2002 study. That survey found the armored deck largely intact and the sustained shelling and torpedo hits from the final battle to have been surprisingly ineffective at actually sinking the ship, lending support to the view that scuttling caused her loss. For modelers, her boxy superstructure, extensive secondary and flak battery arrangement, and camouflage schemes (both the "Baltic" stripes and operational grey) are key identifying features.