NotDaMama

Thanks! I lost the shield for one, so had to ditch a shield for its twin so they would match up. Didn't think I wanted the pain of trying to scratch one! They came out OK, but since Micro Master have brought out 1/600 resin 20mm, next time I do an old Airfix ship I'm putting in an order with them. I was very surprised at the total lack of deck detail on this kit, it's almost barren, which is a surprise as their Belfast and KGV kits have quite a bit going on in the deck furniture department. Scratch building the bollards was a serious consideration, but I was rapidly running out of time having had to design and build all the gun tubs, 20mm batteries, the shields around the 4in guns etc, and a ton of time was lost on the masts. You were right not to trust them, they are too thin and bend too easily, so I replaced them with stretched sprue I cut from a Dragon Panzer IV kit I didn't trust that the Airfix sprue would be suitable.

I shall assume this has likely already been asked, but I've not found an answer yet. When Tirpitz was hiding up north being under utilised, do we know what colour her decks were and whether/when the colour changed? I have one of the Ship Craft books colour plates telling me she went from a dark grey deck to plain wood in the space of about a month, just in time to be sunk, but there doesn't seem to be an explanation of why or even if this is accurate. I'm working on getting the parts together for the Tamiya 1/350 Tirpitz (I believe the model shows her as she would have been in late 1943 to her loss in 1944) and there seems to be far less interest in her than her sister! Look forward to any info you guys can provide.

@Colin W thanks very much, glad you enjoyed it. It was a very enjoyable build, despite the level of work required. One I'm quite proud of, and even went so far as to clear some tanks out of the cabinet to make space for it!

As a quick final note, my father sent me photos of the first attempt I made at Nelson about 25 years ago after I showed him the finished kit. The difference is stark! Never again will I attempt a ship without getting the PE for it first, it's well worth the pain 😁

@ArnoldAmbrose @rob85 thanks very much guys. My last two GB's, I missed one by a week and the next by a day, so I'm rather pleased this one came in nearly 8 hours early I must admit it turned out far better than I ever hoped, and none of my fears about it came to pass despite the carpet monster getting a couple of snacks. The extra week did help as it allowed me time to tinker with bits of the kit and the wash, so I'm very grateful for that! This has been a ton of fun.

I've done my part, Nelson is up.

HMS Nelson 1945 Airfix 1/600 Build:

A lot of work has been done in the last few days and no updates presented because I am being a secretive sod and keeping the overview for the gallery! However, as there is a load of detail I can't fit into the gallery, I present for your perusal the work done. The main AAA fit has been completed. The 4in have been washed, gently, to enhance the cutout. I didn't pad them out in the end as the amount of work needed to make them truly accurate was a build in itself. Lots of complex rebuilding, moulding and sculpting and there just was no time for it. Painted lines do look the part though I feel. The Yagi antennae were not as difficult as I thought they would be, but they were not simple. Fortunately they came out ok after some verbal abuse and a visit from the back end of a pair of pliers. I make no excuses for my unorthodox methods and instead entirely blame Airfix. The admiral's barges were fun, actually. I masked off the hull and painted a thin black boot top, then picked out a suitable blue for the hull. Once applied, I realised the boot top was now totally invisible... oh well, I know it's there. Windows and colours were based on photos of Nelson at the end of the war and photos of the same kind of barge in 1956. Unfortunately, once again Airfix have spawned some hybrid abomination and foisted it upon us poor, unsuspecting modellers. The whalers were once motor pinnace's, but they fit being whalers much better once they were sanded flat. The four boats do look the part on the shelter deck. All rafts and hatches were given a wash as were all the ladders, though no wash was applied to any other features. This was down to the size of the ship and the fact that, had I wanted to wash the whole thing, I would have needed to apply a matte coat after, something that could only be done whilst the ship was in pieces. As Airfix demanded a lot of filler before painting, and had a very odd assembly method, this ruled out completing many sub assemblies and then building the ship. For the wash I mixed Windsor & Newton oils, black and titanium white, to give a light grey to contrast the G45 and then further black to contrast the G10. After some touch ups, and the installation of the anchor chain, she was all done!

A quick photo of the work so far. Everything bar the 4in and X turret is now stuck down.

@Ray S @rob85 thanks guys! Progress continues where time and lack of other pressing tasks permits, so much so we now have 20mm guns on the deck above the 4in mounts and along the sides of the boat deck. HACS directors have their antennae and I've got the first of the 2pdr mounts on the superstructure tubs as well as one on B turret. Once this is all done I'll go over the ship and touch up the paintwork again and maybe, if I figure out what won't kill the paint, I'll apply a wash to the hatches and ladders.

I have been mad busy on this project in the last week and it is finally showing! Almost all the painting is done, touch ups are needed in places though, and we are on to the 20mm nightmare before the antenna mania that will ensue. The positive is I have a week til Doomsday (also known as Enzo locking the gallery 30s before I get there again) and I should manage to complete it! On to the pretty pictures! Hull painting done, rudder, screws and shafts installed, portholes painted. A better view if the portholes and the 20mm battery on X turret. Whilst they are a right nightmare to assemble and fit, the 20mm are bringing more life to the ship overall. The guns atop the conning tower do look out of scale, but I suspect that's got a lot to do with the mess Airfix made when they designed the kit. I have been messing with the boats in a bid to match the images I've seen of Nelson in 1945 and came to the conclusion the only viable solution was to modify the kit boats. Thus, I have cut off and sanded flat the cabins on top of the admirals barges and then stuck the motor launches on top! This does fit the general appearance of Nelson at the time and the size of the boats does now take up the right amount of space on the shelter deck. Radar mast heads are all done too and I should be able to start final assembly on Sunday, 20mm madness permitting.

Rob, stop scaring me!! Now I feel compelled to spend the rest of the night glued to my desk (hopefully not literally, but it has happened in the past...)

@Ray S thanks very much! Still seems like there is so much left to do, but I'm sure it isn't really that much. Couple of views of the ship temporarily assembled. The desk also serves as a work desk since the whole WFH thing came about, so test fits are great for keeping it all together. Slightly different angles to show as much as possible, even moved the lamp about for you all!

And now, ladies and gentlemen, behold! A half decent paint job! Boot top next, after a quick coat of G45 and a brief sanding.

@Ray S thanks very much! I was getting a bit fluffed by the amount left to do when the mrs pointed out just how far a lump of dodgy plastic has come in this build! If a woman who's idea of warships is "they're all grey and ugly" can tell its moving, then it must be! Now it's down the slip way, the final push begins to get it out of the basin and sailing in the gallery. Had a bash at putting the B20 panel on tonight, it went well until I got ahead of myself and tried a 2nd coat... after half an hour in my defence, it worked fine on the other two colours!! This time, however, revenge of the paint. It's not bad, and it did thin a little when assaulted with a finger, so tomorrows thin coat should be fine. Tamiya tape for masking, and patience, will see this ready for its boot top by Wednesday. Once done, I'll install the props, shafts and brackets, all of which are sitting nicely trimmed in the box. Another fine example of Airfix quality, the brackets took an hour a piece to be the right shape and another hour to get the finer detail done. Who needs a lunch break anyway? The 2pdr mounts are all nice and grey and will get their railings tomorrow, maybe at lunch if I'm feeling bold, maybe earlier if work annoys me 😆 I am determined that I will make the deadline, even if I have to make another deal with the devil to do so! (How do you think I got the skill to get it this far?? )

Enzo, if someone can convince my boss and my infant that Battleship construction is a far more vital use of my time, I will gladly assist in breaking the site! 😆

After many days of silence, and no productivity whilst attacking 10hr working days (I envy those who have such little work to do during the lockdown!) I have finally made sufficient progress to be in with a chance of finishing on time! All the pom poms are assembled, bar their railings, ready for painting. When done the railings will go on as they're already painted. I've been trying two methods for the 40mm, painting on fret and painting when assembled. Neither seems to be better. I did need to sand down the painted brass, however, but it has a smooth finish now. The gunnery radar is now properly attached, having been fitted too far back previously. I've also completed one of the two 286 search radars, the one for the main mast. The foremast will need to be scratch build from stretched sprue, not had the time to get to it yet though. I've added the railings and a couple of ladders to the platform at the base of the mast and it's now ready for more black paint and then the installation of the soon to be complete pom poms!! I had thought about fitting the Yagi antennae now, but decided to wait until the platform is glued down and the 20mm go on. I did plan to put ladders down from the platform to the shelter deck, but after staring at photos until I went blind I couldn't see anything remotely step/ladder/plank with batons on looking and so skipped it. The final phase of the weeks work has been on the ladder complex at the back of the mansion. I've not got a good view of it, and everyone seems to have their own drawing/modelling interpretation, so I'm doing the same. Ladders and railings in up to the last platform and that will be finished once I decide how best to get around the foremast protrusion. Its looking accurate enough for now though, so I'm happy with it, even if I did forget to paint it all a nice "non-slip" colour. Oh well...

This is where I got up to today. Two pom pom mounts mostly complete and the boxes cut out. Not much, but that lot was 3 hours work seems these guns are a little more complicated than they seem! I've also managed to shoot one of the front rails into the ether, so will try and replicate it with spare railing parts and see how we get on. Looking more like a Battleship now! I've added two 20mm to the top of X turret and assembled all 4 mounts for the 40mm, just need to assemble and install the guns.

@Worms thanks very much! Progress ticks along, mostly involving large amounts of tiny brass, but also some painting. I have, however, reached the part I dreaded due to limited information: the painting of Nelson's ships boats! Whilst there seems to be plenty of info on the colours of the boats during the early war and the period from launch up to then, I've been unable to find anything referencing the colours they would have worn with Scheme A during 1945. So, they lurk under the ship, hidden from my mind until later whilst I focus instead on assembling those fiddly little pom poms.

Work has proceeded apace with the rear AA batteries. Each tub consists of many little pieces of cut plastic strip, numbered 1-5 (with a part number 6 for the 2pdr tub) as they're identical sizes both sides. They were then installed one piece at a time, fitted together and the edges filed to give the impression of a single homogeneous shield. I think the end result is rather convincing: Rails and ladders have been added also, same places on both sides of the ship between the 4in shelter deck tubs and rails have been added between the 2pdr tubs on the old torpedo director platforms. I couldn't find suitable photos of the area to work from so used artistic licence to place the ladder up to the guns! @ArnoldAmbrose I had thought of using the strips that I used for the shields but they seemed a little thick and raised the gun up a little too high. The PE seemed to have about the right look to it and as the shelter deck tubs don't need the turntables for the 4in, and the main mast 2pdr mounts have raising "lumps" in them I put the other parts to good use. Very pleased they look the part though, thanks Jeff.

I noticed the 2pdr wasn't sitting quite right on B turret and after a bit of digging and some research I realised why. The platform should be sitting on its turntable, but no part is provided in the PE or the kit to replicate this! This means the gun platform sits flat against the surface and looks glued on, much like the 40mm did when tested. This has now been fixed by using the PE bases for 4 of the 4in guns as turntables, lifting the 2pdr mount ever so slightly and providing a more realistic clearance. Admittedly in this scale its likely to be a bit too much, but visually it's a lot better. Admittedly you may need to zoom the above to see the gap but at least I know I can see it 😁

Thanks Rob! This is my first floaty thing in many, many years, and I decided on day one the comfort zone was to be a dot in the mirror. I have no regrets! This has pushed my skills hard, and I'm loving it. So much so I've been looking into 1/700 WW1 and WW2 ships (Trumpy, Flyhawk, the occasional Italeri aircraft carrier)

@ArnoldAmbrose in the end I have gone with only putting brass where I can be sure it belongs and will live with that. I've gone mental looking for other info and it seems nobody was interested in taking 47,000 photos of Nelson in '45. Totally unacceptable behaviour if you as me, entirely inconsiderate! @AdrianMF thanks very much! I had been eyeing up the 2pdr parts and it suddenly struck me how to make it all work. Whilst the boxes are a little undersized I think that simply helps to enhance the visual effect of there being 4 box trays. I plan to mess about with the next one a bit as I think I can do far better than that prototype! And now for the update! As I'm sure none of you are fans of watching paint dry I haven't posted for a while. Much has been painted, some trials done as to what I can paint, what needs adding etc and I'm at this stage: Much work has been done to get here. Beginning with the attachment of the brass hatches and their painting, and the assembly of the star platform. That drove me a bit mad as, for the first time in nearly 6 years, the Carpet Monster struck. Til now I have always managed to snatch back that which it tried to eat, but this time it devoured one of the arms of the star platform, forcing me to fabricate a replacement out of plasticard: The plastic is thin enough that, now it's painted, it's totally unnoticeable. The deck hatches went on well: I based the watertight hatches on the builders model, though found I was short a few that I needed. I'll work without them though. The HACS platform has been assembled, the shield completed and it's all attached. I've added the PE to the funnel though still have two small ladders to go. Other ladders will be added to the main mast at the same time. I've also done some of the smaller ladders around the AA platforms and up towards the tower. The 20mm guns are all painted and just waiting for the opportunity to be added! I've also begun modifying the 4in guns to be more accurate and will build them up with card and putty where needed. That's where we are now! I've also borrowed a technique from @Worms and started painting the railings and the 2pdr and 40mm guns before assembly. Amazing how much easier it makes it!

@ArnoldAmbrose thanks very much! I plan to put the rest of the floats and the deck hatches on today, then hopefully be in a position to get the deck painting done before moving onto the masts and radars. Not sure on the deck edge railing yet though, from what I've read they were collapsed when the main battery was fired so may leave them off. For those in the know, did British battleships actually have "skylights" on them at all? The PE fret has little and large brass plates that are marked as skylights and I am suspicious of them and where they would go. Seems to me a large glass topped hole in the ship is inviting trouble...