Paul E

That's a nice start, I am looking forward to see how this comes out.

That's a very nice model. I like very much

Wow, you are a quick worker. It would take me an absolute age to get that far. It looks really good though. You must be really pleased with how she is coming out.

Thank you for the kind comments, they are very much appreciated. This is my Dad's Christmas present so he hasn't seen it yet. But I am sure he will be pleased. My Mum on the hand will be relieved because it also has a Perspex dust cover.

Hi David, I am not aware of any plastic kits available but there is a 3D printed kit on Shapeways: https://www.shapeways.com/product/CSVECWYA8/barquentine-quot-endurance-quot?optionId=62004138&li=marketplace The story of Shackleton and the escape of the crew of Endurance from the ice is truly inspirational. I was lucky enough to be able to visit Shackleton's grave when I served in the Royal Navy and when you experience the Southern Ocean at first hand and see the mountains in South Georgia you realise the enormity of the feat that he and his crew performed.

Pictures of the completes model are now in the Ready for Inspection part of the forum. Thank you for looking. Paul

Here is my model at 1:700 scale of HMS Hardy, a Type 14 Anti-Submarine Frigate. I built this model for my father who served on HMS Hardy when he did National Service with the Royal Navy in the late 1950s. The model portrays HMS Hardy as she appeared at that time with 3 guns. The Bofors gun on the quarter deck was removed in the 1960s because of its exposed position and most pictures of the Type 14 frigates show the gun having been removed. The model is basically a rework of the MT miniatures 1:700 kit which is very basic to say the least. There is a build log showing the extent of the conversion I undertook here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235025645-1700-scale-type-14-frigate-hms-hardy/ Apart from the MT Miniatures kit I used: The Pitroad NATO weapons set for the Limbo Anti-Submarine Mortars. White Ensign 1:700 Photo Etch - General Post War Royal Navy fittings. White Ensign 1:700 Photo Etch – RN Doors and Hatches. White Ensign 1:700 Photo Etch – Ladders and Walkways. Starling Models 1:700 Photo Etch – RN WWII Boat Davits. Lion Roar 1:700 Photo Etch – USN WWII Fairleads Flyhawk 1:700 – Modern RN liferafts And Niko 1:700 – 40mm single mount Bofors Guns. This may seem an awful lot to buy to improve one model but the transformation from the original MT Miniatures kit speaks for itself. There are some things I think I could have done better but on the whole I think the model has turned out quite nicely and definitely an improvement on the original. Enjoy and thanks for looking.

Hi Andrew, Thank you for that, I will look into the PU600 tooling board as I don't want to spend too much just in case I don't get on with it. As for the plans I will look out for the Norman Friedman book. Did you know that Fleetscale have a set of plans at 1:128 scale for HMS Vangaurd to accompany their fibreglass hull. http://www.fleetscale.com/store/gb/hms-vanguard-ww2/367-1-128th-hms-vanguard-plans.html Thanks once again, I will be following closely. Paul.

I am normally a fan of more modern RN ships but HMS Vanguard has for a very long time been an exception. I am impressed with your hull being carved from a single block, and I think I want to have a go at the technique for a project I have on the backburner. Can you tell me where you got the Tooling board from and what density did you use? Secondly what was the source for your plans of Blake and Vanguard. An awesome start and I am very much looking forward to following this build.

I'm glad to be of help. I think this is going to be quite a transformation on the original kit. I am looking forward to seeing the end result.

That is a lovely model. I have always liked the look of these ships and your seascape really sets off the model. A case of etiquette though, Royal Navy ships do not fly the Union Jack at sea, unless the ship is dressed overall, which means that you need to add another White Ensign on the main mast.

Is that one of Bogey's 3d sets? They look nice. It will certainly make an improvement on the original kit.

I might be able to fix that. I think I still have the funnels from a model of Devonshire I scrapped years ago. I don't know why I kept them but I will delve through my scrap box tonight and I can save you a bit of pain. I have been wondering about building one of these so I shall be following your build closely. Good luck.

I built a Seaslug launcher at 1:192 scale many years ago on my first RC model of HMS Kent. I used Evergreen rod. Despite how it looks it is a surprisingly simple structure. I love the model by the way larger scale models are always a challenge when it comes to detail.

Not quite, but thank you. This week I have had a concerted effort at finishing Hardy. I manufactured and painted a number of the smaller and more noticeable fittings: which included vents, ammunition lockers and rope reels all fashioned out of plastic rod and shapes. I also made and painted the liferafts. These came from Flyhawk and although small and fiddly look quite good when fitted. I also had to make anchors. I tried to find etched AC14 pattern anchors without success so I had to make my own from plastic rod, another very fiddly job. The final fittings were the boats, these were recycled from my scrap box and “adjusted” to suit. All that was left was to sort out the sea scape and to fit the antenna and rigging. The rigging which is barely visible is single strand of silk and the wake is painted using structure gel laced with some white acrylic paint. And finally here is the near completed model of HMS Hardy (I still have to fit the anchors) having undergone quite a transformation from the original MT Miniatures kit: There are some things I think I could have done better but on the whole the model has turned out quite nicely and an improvement on the original. So in summary, apart from the MT Miniatures kit I used: The Pitroad NATO weapons set for the Limbo Anti-Submarine Mortars. White Ensign 1:700 Photo Etch - General Post War Royal Navy fittings. White Ensign 1:700 Photo Etch – RN Doors and Hatches. White Ensign 1:700 Photo Etch – Ladders and Walkways. Starling Models 1:700 Photo Etch – RN WWII Boat Davits. Lion Roar 1:700 Photo Etch – USN WWII Fairleads Flyhawk 1:700 – Modern RN liferafts And Niko 1:700 – 40mm single mount Bofors Guns. This may seem an awful lot to buy to improve one model but there are plenty of parts left over and I am certain I will be using these items again on other projects in the near future. I will post more pictures in the Ready for Inspection section in the near future. I hope you have enjoyed following this build and thank you for looking.

Thank you for the comments, they are very much appreciated. Work at adding the detail back to the model continues starting with the Bofors 40mm guns. As I am depicting HMS Hardy as she appeared in the late 1950s I need to fit 3 guns. The Bofors gun on the quarter deck was removed in the 1960s because of its exposed position and most pictures of the Type 14 frigates shown the gun having been removed. The Bofors guns are from Niko and have been enhanced with plastic card to look like the Mark 9 mounting: I have to say that making the guns was not as simple as I first thought and it was fortunate that there were 5 in the pack as I had one casualty destroyed by thick fingers and consumed by the carpet monster. The other work undertaken was the fitting of the bollards and fairleads. The fairleads were etched brass and are from Lion Roar: There is still plenty more for me to do, but at least the model is starting to come back together after the level of destruction I wrought upon it in the first place. I hope you like. Thanks for looking.

Thank you Rob, to be honest I did not know the extent of rework that needed to be undertaken at the outset. All I hope for is that the amount effort that I have put in is reflected in a reasonable model of HMS Hardy. So since my last posting I have started on the mast. I have retained the original kit photo-etch part but then enhanced it with scratch building White Ensign photo-etch yards and railings. The pole mast is scratch built using wire, with the antennae fashioned out of butchered PE parts; I have also attached the flying bridge superstructure to the hull. The signal projector is from an old Pit Road sprue NATO Weapons sprue which I still have. And finally a picture of how my model of HMS Hardy looks with the mast dry fitted. Next on the list of things to do are the ship’s boats. That’s it for now. Progress continues….

That's fine but much depends on the subject you wish to model. As with many things there are plenty of after market items for WW2 Naval surface ships but not so much for other eras. And scratch building normally implies a desire to model a subject not readily available in kit form which would limit after market items. I am currently experimenting with 3d modelling using Sketchup so that I can get 3d prints from Shapeways. I have discovered it is easier to model at the larger scales due to limitations in the printing material.

Ahh, now that is something different and I understand. It is also something I have noticed both good and bad but personally I would prefer to reserve comment on.

I am going to take issue with your comment as an ex-seafarer, a ship designer engineer as well as a model maker. You are correct that ships move in the sea, they pitch, roll and yaw just like an aircraft but these dynamic movements are determined by the ship manoeuvre and the sea environment as well as the ship physical characteristics. But the beauty of the sea is its unpredictability, I have been around Cape Horn when the sea was like glass and yet entered into the supposed calm of Plymouth Sound with the sea breaking over the fo’c’stle. Here’s a picture of HMS Somerset on which I was serving at the time in bad weather in the Mediterranean. As you can see from the photograph she is practically upright and hardly pitching. The reason for this is that the sea in the Med has a relatively short wavelength also it is a snap shot in time when the ship was running with the sea. On any other course or speed the ship’s attitude would have been different. And here’s another picture of HMS Phoebe on which I also served: and my model, it may not be a great model but it does reasonably depict a similar scene: My point is that there is no correct answer. I, like many others choose to model my ships on a calm sea and not manoeuvring in bad weather because it is simpler and easier to be accurate. In my view how a modeller chooses to display their model is a matter of personal choice and taste.

A quick update on progress so far, I have touched up some of the paintwork and I am now starting to add the fittings and PE railings. I have still got plenty to do but I think that this model is going to turn out nicely.

We've already done that one: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235024264-hms-glasgow-1st-t26/

What are the odds that the third will be named Cardiff. Then followed by........ London?

So the main activity has been painting of the deck and hull which instantly improves the model. The paintwork needs to be tidied up somewhat but it is a start in the right direction I have replaced the white metal Limbo Anti-Submarine Mortars with some from the same Pit Road 1:700 NATO weapons detail set which I used for my model of HMS Phoebe: I have also started work on the engine room vents and the aft mast structure. Having removed all the detail I now have to add it back on! The aft mast photo etch needed some enhancements, most notably cross bracing and an access ladder. The Ensign gaff was formed from some left over photo etch from another project. And finally a picture of how the model looks so far with parts dried fitted together: Progress continues although at a snail’s pace. Thank you for your patience.

Hi Francis, These Lasers (or as they are now being called directed energy weapons) are far more powerful than the range finders that we know. In fact they are so hungry for energy that they need extra generation capacity and energy storage banks to feed them, which means that there is a whole heap of big below deck equipment needed for this which is never mentioned in the glossies. Whilst there may be an advantage that the magazine never empties; I wonder like you how it would operate safely when in company with other ships or aircraft. And worse still if the Laser is reflected back off the sea surface whilst trying to bring down a sea skimming missile you are going to get a nasty dose of your own medicine.