davecov

Totally agree! One of my Airfix HMS Belfast kits was given a "tune up" in 2007 - I don't think it had anything to do with a mid-life crisis...... but it was a lot of fun! Dave

Coming on nicely. Airfix gave me one of these to review five years ago and I really enjoyed building it. It was just a shame that the side armour is overscale but I stayed with it as my own attempts at scratchbuilt armour was a disaster! In addition to the basic kit, I used the Airfix PE (A65004) for it and also fixed a notable absence - crew figures which I adapted from the Airfix 1/48 British Forces Vehicle Crew Set (A03702). Dave

I see it is based very closely on my scratch-build and incorporates some of my deliberate errors! Dave

I just Googled "hms arethusa f38" and in the images section of the search results there are at least two colour pictures of Arethusa with boats of different colours. You might need to scroll for a while though. Dave

Ship's boats colour can change during a ship's lifetime. I recall HMS Antrim having sky-blue boats prior to a refit in 1978 and maroon afterwards. I have seen colour pictures of HMS Arethusa with the same two colours on her boats at various points in her Ikara career. Royal and Dark Blues were also popular colours. Dave

I have been retired for 17 years and although in theory I have had as much time as I want to model, the actual time spent modelling has been decreasing in recent years. In 2016 I built 33 models, 2017 I built 21, 2018 I built 4 and last year 5. I am hoping to reverse that trend as my little cottage is bursting at the seams with stashed and unfinished kits. An increase in production won't be easy so drastic steps are being taken. I will be selling half of my stash (about 100 kits for sale) and most of the models that have been on the shelf of doom for more than two years (another 40-plus kits) will be binned or broken up for spares. I will also be disposing of most of my built kits one way or another. Luckily there is already the promise of a new home for some of the built Airfix kits - the Hornby Visitor Centre. At the end of the day, I have so much time to spend on modelling but so little time to make use of it. Dave

Nice job, Steve. I have just bought this very kit and hope it turns out as nice as your build. Dave

I guess it is being done either for political correctness (mustn't have naughty war things showing), for asthetic reasons - it clutters up the Thames or for production reasons - it doesn't fit into the timeframe in which the film or programme is set. I remember the uproar when the 2012 London Festival poster was revealed showing the River Thames with HMS Belfast airbrushed out. The outrage was so great that the "errant" posters without HMS Belfast had to be withdrawn and replacements sent out. London Festival 2012 Poster Dave

Smashing job. Dave

On the reverse of their colour charts, Humbrol have conversion numbers for many paint companies including European, Games Workshop, Gunze Sangyo, Xtra Colour, Lifecolor, Vallejo, Revell, Tamiya, Testor, US Federal Standard, RLM and Federal Standard. They are only cross referenced to identical or similar colours to Humbrol colours though. Dave

They are on sale on the Airfix website for £8.99 so I would imagine WHSmiths would be selling them at the same price (or perhaps discounted) but not free. Dave

Thanks Chewbacca. Six years ago I would never have scratch-built something so big and if I hadn't been asked to make a 1/350 HMS Queen Elizabeth for the real ship itself, I doubt if I would have ever done so. Now I have the bug and a 1/350 HMS Ark Royal IV is in the planning stage. I did find them rather ugly when I first saw them but now I like them very much! Guess I have been brainwashed! Dave

Just need a QuickBuild HMS Queen Elizabeth to go with it! Dave

At a guess it's because it's the Eightieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain this year. Dave

I have been to Barra on holiday four times and always make a point of watching the Twin Otters landing on An Tràigh Mhòr beach. A Skyvan must have been even better to watch and a bigger splash! Dave