Mattlow

Lovely work... Your stands remind me of the stands Airfix used to use in their ship kits... Matt

A real beauty... As for the sea, you may have upstaged your mentor... One of the best seascapes I have seen.. Inspiration for mine. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll take a look at the postage rates. If they sort tax then it makes more sense (avoids the paying of admin fees over here). I have my eyes on the railings/cranes PE from Eduard. I'm not convinced by wooden decks... Some of them look pretty good, others seem to have 1:1 grain showing that looks a bit weird when it is expressed over a whole 1/350 deck. Also I don't like the idea that the new deck sits on the existing. Surely that raises deck level by a scale 6" to a foot? I see items that should sit on top of the deck sitting below the level of the deck... looks a bit weird.. If I were to use one I'd consider backing the wooden deck with plasticard to allow it to be set into the hull at the right height and then build deck features on top of the wooden deck... if that makes sense.. Also there's this 'N gauge' siding plastic sheet material that has near enough scale 'planks'. Though at £9 for an A4ish sheet it might be more expensive than real wood.. Lots to investigate... Cheers Matt

Thanks Rich I am slowly Googling my way around the net, snapping up images. This one will be a slow burn while I make progress with HMS Westminster and generally get distracted by other things... Matt

Thanks Rob I have been thinking about the oil canning... it's very distinctive on the hull particularly. I hope the windows work out.. I have a bit of structure in the bridge and may put some consoles and crew in there..? I'm also going to have a go at a sea base... Everything is firsts for me on this... Matt

So what else have I done... I wanted to open up the bridge windows. Plenty of photos showed the 'see through' effect and I thought I'd have a go. I have basically sawn down to open each window, so I need to reinstate the upper frame and the wiper system.. I also carved some detail into the navigation lights. Also opened up the doors either side of the bridge. IMG_0047 by Matt Low, on Flickr Had to remove the mounts and wave guides for the old guidance radar for the Sea Wolf missile - front and back. IMG_0035 by Matt Low, on Flickr IMG_0034 by Matt Low, on Flickr Finally for now, I have drawn up the SeaCeptor 'mushroom farm' in Fusion360 and will hopefully have a crack at printing it soon.. I know Peter at Atlantic Models does an upgrade set, but I wanted to try my hand at some 3D modelling at this scale to see how it turns out... Fusion 360 SeaCeptor by Matt Low, on Flickr Cheers Matt

So, I haven't done a ship since I was a young teenager, long time ago... But I saw this kit (HMS Monmouth boxing) in the for sale section and it piqued my interest (thanks to Mozzy 19 aka Sean). I have bought the Atlantic Models photo etch for her and a couple of other bits. Then I started researching. I decided that I liked the look of the Type 23 with the SeaCeptor missile system, Artisan radar and later sonar fit. After perusing lots of images I settled on HMS Winchester (Ironically Trumpy do Winchester... but I had Monmouth). Making slow progress (and getting diverted by a general heightened interest in ships). Nothing much is glued together yet, but most parts fit very well. Filled in, ready for a new 'hole' to be opened slightly further forward. You can also see the 'transom flap' that I noticed and couldn't not add. IMG_0050 by Matt Low, on Flickr View of transom with the aforementioned flap (poos photo) and a couple of filled openings and modified port opening for the enhanced sonar kit. Needs another opening top centre-ish for part of the sonar. IMG_0049 by Matt Low, on Flickr I've opened up the doors for the torpedo launcher system.. couldn't resist.. IMG_0048 by Matt Low, on Flickr More in a mo'.

I had looked at creating a geodome for a project. I didn't get very far, but I did find the videos on this link helpful for the principles.. Your dome looks more complicated (more constituent triangles), but this may give you the concept to work from.

I've gone through the three or so threads covering this build and it's impressive the way you both kept at it and kept adding enhancements to bring a greater degree of realism. You've achieved a fine result and having just taken delivery of one of these kits, your build never really hints at how basic and rough some of the parts are now (it is still a good kit, but a lot of ejector pin marks, warpage and sink marks). Looking at the parts in 'real life' just adds to the impressive final result. Finally, this kit isn't 1/146. I'd read the online chat around the scale and can say that this rendition is significantly smaller than Airfix's 1/180 Victory. 1/220 seems to be an agreed scale for this. The 'dinky' size of this Victory also makes the level you've attained impressive... So, thanks for taking us along with your journey to a great Victory..! Matt

I think that looks pretty decent.. Maybe mist some copper over it all to blend it all together a little. Looks a lot better than 'not so clever'.. Matt

If you hadn't said it was a real ship, I'd have thought it a 'steampunk' fantasy... Strangely good looking ship. Nice work so far. Matt

Glad this is back in progress. Just re-read the whole thing, nice mix of old school and high tech approaches. Hope there'll be some new images to look at soon. Matt

Thanks Ships doc. You're right, I should just bite the bullet and have a go... I'll see what I can come up with. Cheers Matt

Well, I think most of the items on the POW's deck are vents, round and predominantly square, boxy ones. I see Micromaster make a lovely couple of sets at a reasonable price I suppose... but I suspect postage and tax would make the price at least double that of the items. So, if anyone has any drawings of these or just some dimensions. They appear to be the same shapes as each other, just different sizes. Microsmaster call them 2, 3, 4, 5 foot vents... but I'm not sure what that measurement relates - overall height? Cheers Matt

Thanks Steve I shall begin trying to work out what it is that I'm looking at. I am slowly learning a completely new vocabulary. Matt

Very helpful Rob I shall follow some of your leads. Cheers Matt

Thanks Jeff I have only just now remembered that I have a couple of Anatomy of the Ship volumes (someone passed them to me ages ago). I think it's Hood and Warspite... I shall have a dig and see what's in them.. Matt

I am going to take a dip into the world of ship models. I have a Tamiya Prince of Wales (1/350) and noted that lots of the 'lumps' on the deck bear very little resemblance to the actual objects on the ship (some of the IWM photos make this very clear). I'm reluctant to start spending lots on aftermarket and thought I may be able to draw some of this up in Fusion and print it myself. BUT, where do I find decent drawings of all these various bits and bobs? I have ordered a second hand copy of the Shipcraft book on KGV class, no idea what it's like... What sort of sources do you folk use for your ships... I'm well out of my comfort zone.. Cheers Matt

S=side R=rear

Surgical work....

Nice work. I think I recall Cadbury's Chocolate Oranges came within a reasonably well vac moulded 'hinged sphere'. Maybe you could investigate (if you have them in the US?). Matt

Very, very nice work... Have to keep reminding myself that you work in 1/72... Makes them all the more impressive. Matt

Very nice. I'm not sure I've ever seen them all done together... From the underneath they look like an aerobatic team... Thanks for sharing.

Gorgeous work. Your miniatures are more akin to the jeweller's or clockmaker's art... Always a joy to behold... Matt

Nice work... Those FM details sets don't exactly fall together so I think you've achieved an excellent result... Very tidy finish. Matt