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stevej60

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Posts posted by stevej60

    TITANIC/BRITANNIC.

    in Historic Vessels to 1914

    Posted

    Firstly, and sorry to be a party-pooper, but RMS Britannic was very different to Titanic, so any kit you start with will leave you with an uphill task. For example, she had a completely different style of promenade deck on A and B deck. Other big changes included a planked-over well deck aft, and massive lifeboat davits designed to hold enough boats to actually save everyone on board (which were thankfully never needed when she was mined because so few souls were onboard at the time). There were loads of more subtle external differences which I can bore you with if you want!

    All together, not an easy model conversion from any Titanic kit: There was a conversion set (for the minicraft 1/350 Titanic kit) produced by Ocean Liner Models. but I don't think this is available anymore. I have always entertained the idea of attempting this conversion in 1.700, but I have never got up enough pluck!

    Now the Good news: Revell has just released RMS Olympic in 1/700.Olympic acted as a troop transport in WWI and did receive a spectacular dazzle camouflage job. If you painted her in this scheme, I doubt anyone would ever comment on the multitude of subtle inaccuracies in the Revell kit. I haven't inspected the Revell Olympic kit closely, but I can see immediately that they have changed the hull mouldings to depict the open A-deck promenade, which on Olympic was never covered with the glass windows of Titanic and Britannic. However, a cursory glance of the moulds makes me worried that they haven't changed anything else from the Titanic kit. It looks like Olympic at first glance- but seems to depict her neither in 1911, nor after her 1913 refit.

    If you wanted to make the kit completely accurate for a WWI-era HMT (Her Majesties Transport) Olympic, you will need to add another row of lifeboats, some 6'' guns, not to mention correcting all the other inaccuracies of the base Revell kit in order to depict Olympic in her 1913 fit. See here http://magnificenttitanic.tumblr.com/post/25958761214/olympic-titanics-sister-ship-as-a-troop

    Overall, you would probably head for a divorce if you decided to take all the detail differences between Olympic and Titanic seriously, and I truly sympathise with those enthusiasts who are so far gone they feel compelled to publish 1000-word articles about the colour of the floor tiles used in the D-deck corridors... ...but if you want to spend a year or so not speaking to your friends, http://titanic-model.com/ will give you all the information you need to make an excellent model. Good luck! A Britannic model would be quite something to behold! regards, Will

    Thanks for the advise Will,you are right the new olympic kit is her 1911 finish.I have given up the titanic conversion and will build the kit as titanic,pity as Brittanic looks

    splendid in her hospital ship scheme.

    RMS BRITANNIC.

    in Maritime WWI to 1939

    Posted

    Hi Steve,

    I've placed an image below of, top to bottom, Britannic; Titanic and Olympic in their various guises. The models are the very small Revell 1:1200 scale series so there is not much room for all the detailed changes, however you should see the difference between the enclosed promenade deck windows of Britannic and Titanic as compared to the fully open deck on Olympic.

    Also, the lifeboat arrangements are different on all three ships, especially Britannic with her davits at the rear for additional lifeboats.

    If you wished to build the model as Olympic, with the dazzle camouflage, then you would also need to source 6 gun mountings that she carried at that time.

    HTH

    Mike

    britannic_titanic_olympic.JPG

    Thanks Mike,three great little examples as well, that dazzle scheme is tempting me to pick up the new olympic kit.

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