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Hi, I'm getting towards the end of building this kit. Ships aren't my usual subject, as I've only ever attempted a 1:600 model of HMS Hood before, but this was a Birthday prezzie from my Daughter and Son in Law, so I'd like to make a reasonable job of it. At this scale I realise it's only going to ever be an approximation to the real McCoy, but what Hood taught me is that ships change a lot in there service career through re-fits and I've rather belatedly noted some discrepancies with this kit's configuration, which I'm going to have to live with now. Such as the incorrect number of side vents on the funnels (Is funnel even a correct term for a gas turbine powered ship?) However, I am also a bit confused by some of the pictures of the real thing and 3 view drawings of the ship on-line that purport to show it's configuration during the Falkland Islands war in 1982. I'm hoping that experts on here, which I know will include ex service men that served on-board the ship, will be able to set me straight. So,...... There are some shots on-line of the ship heading south in heavy seas that appear to show that the funnel and mast tops were not painted black, but were the same grey colour as the hull. Photos of the ship coming into Portsmouth on its return from the campaign show the funnel tops were completely black by then and there appears to be black soot over the rear of the foremast top and the front of the main mast top. Would I be right in thinking therefore that the black funnel tops and mast tops at this time were entirely due to soot deposition? My working assumption is that the funnel tops and mast tops were only painted black after the ship returned from the south Atlantic, maybe because the top brass didn't like the ship's looking so sooty up top?😀 In the same heading south photo, there appear to be two large cylindrical objects on the starboard bow. They look like they could be oil or fuel tanks to me, but they aren't represented by any kit parts. Does anyone know what they are, their approximate size, location and colour? Finally, what were the correct colour schemes for the ship's small boats during the south Atlantic campaign? Many thanks in advance for any help you can give. These shots below show where I am at so far, with a few more detail parts to add and a bit of tidy up needed. I painted the funnel tops before I noticed they weren't always black. I removed the massively overscale embossed deck lines from the kit part early on and I'm waiting on some 0.5mm wide white line decals to arrive in the post so I can complete the deck markings. I already have Nick Greenall's - HARRIER Special Interest Group – IPMS(UK) fact sheet on Invincible's deck markings, which I used for my SHAR build and the Revell mark up for these is actually quite similar, although it's missing a few lines. Even 0.5mm thin is probably too wide at this scale, but creating anything thinner than this is beyond my ability. The deck is glossed up awaiting the decals, but I'll matt clear coat it once its marked up.

They're unglamourous but certainly Salty Seadogs- let's acknowledge the role of container shipping in the modern world. I was going for one build at a time, but the call of the sea is too much and I'm hoping to bash the builds out like liberty ships coming off the slipway. So, I'm adding in one of these More photos and ship's history to follow.

As with many modellers, I took a short break (15 years) between starting the hobby and returning, during a recent move, I fell over what was left of my stash , so after a few months watching new techniques on youtube, I started the AFV 1:700 scale knox class . still has a few areas Id like to improve on but as the first model back Im pretty happy, enjoy

Here is another model I picked up from the Southwest Ship Show in Portishead. This one is the MT Miniatures model of a Type 14 Frigate. I got the model because my father served on HMS Hardy when he did National Service with the Royal Navy in the late 1950s. I must admit that I am in two minds about documenting this build as I did not pay too much attention to the level of detail in the mouldings for this kit. I bought the kit because the subject matter was more important. However I feel I need to be clear at the outset this is a kit conversion and not a criticism or commentary on the MT Miniatures kit. Fundamentally MT Miniatures produce 1:700 kits in subjects that are not available from other manufacturers. The kits may be basic when compared to others but considering their relative cost they are in my view great for modellers wanting to try mixed media kits for the first time. For those with more experience and prepared to scratch build the kits offer a template for conversion. Accepting that this is going to be a major conversion, I bought some extra PE detail to go with the kit: I also dug out my big box of plastic card and shapes as I knew I was going to be making some use of it. Unfortunately I do not have any drawings for HMS Hardy or any of the Type 14s and my source of reference material is limited to photographs gleaned from the internet, which although useful is far from ideal. But I feel confident that I will be able to produce a reasonable representation of HMS Hardy.