Phil Reeder

Completely argee,I`ll be buying one(or two).Looking forward to seeing the resin!! Cheers Phil

IMO ,I prefer Eduard PE,I found it much more robust and easier to use than other brands .I haven`t seen Eduards Hood set ,but their Prinz Eugen set was very good . Here`s a link to Hannants : http://www.hannants.co.uk/product/ED53020 Cheers Phil

Heres some photos of the finished Valiant .what a great kit ! The only bugbear I`ve discovered is the length of the hull is about 1/2" shorter than the Academy Warspite(without the stern walk),don`t know ,yet which kit has the correct dimensions.I will be checking that one out .In the meantime heres the pics. Special thanks to Roger Torgeson for the great photo he sent to me. Cheerio Phil

Many thanks for the replies. Cheers Phil

Just by way of a change ,I`ve decided to build the Airfix kit of the Seafire 17,and the instructions suggest Humbrol No 90 biege . Being a bit out of touch with aviation things I thought that the interior green should be a bit darker than this.Am I correct in thinking this? Thanks for any help Phil PS don`t tell anyone I`m building an aeroplane ,I`ll never live it down!!

Thats crossed my mind too, Foxy.I think the follow on class were the Bellerephon (?)class,they looked very similar the Dreadnought,with the same dimenions . Cheers ,Phil

The basic model has been finished ,and time to start the rigging.I chose to do the signal lines first using the rope coloured EZ Line ,but it didn`t work out as I hoped,so I reverted to my Stretch-sprue method.However EZ came into its own when I did the standing rigging . The six wires between the masts were easy to do,the trick is not to put too much tension on the line as it will make lines previously attached go slack ,and it had a habit of springing back like a bit of knicker elastic and going into loops .The stays on the masts were even easier to do,just cut off a suitable length,and anchor it at the point you require,then thread the line over the mast ,and anchor it on the opposite side,and cut off the excess,dead easy ,and works much better the sprue .Just a couple more to do,then the deck railing ,Flags ,and fellas. See you on RFI. So long Phil

Trumpeter has announced the release of another D`nought kit ,Why oh Why didn`t they do a WW1 Battlecruiser!! http://www.cybermodeler.com/news/trumpeter.shtml Cheers Phil

Good Job ,Foxy! You`ve caught the look of this important vessel. Cheers Phil

Thats some model! By my reckoning it should be about 5feet long no wonder he has space for only half a dozen. Amazing job. Cheers Phil

One kit I would like to see Airfix re-tool completely is the 48th Buccaneer.I built the orginal kit when it first came out and it was a S*d to do .A Bucc up to their Lynx standard would be great. Phil

Yes Devo,this kit lends itself to many conversion possiblities. I`m thinking about four just for the RN,plus a few more for the RCN/RAN.I believe that one RAN ship was painted up in USN Ms 12 camouflage ,I think it might have been the HMAS Arunta,but I could be wrong. Cheers Phil

I made my own radar aerials for the four AA directors.The PE aerials included in the kit are totally useless ,they are that flimsy they go out of shape when removing them from the fret.So I replaced them with some made from stretched sprue and thin plastic rod.not perfect ,but a darn sight better the PE.The 15" turrets are almost done B and X turrets had tubs for twim 20mm,as per the QE,but on the Valiant A and Y turrets had platforms for 2 x single 20mms ,I`m in the process of making these at the moment. Just the masts to do not forgetting that Valiant had a pole main mast (aft) unlike QE which had a tripod mast.When these are done I will attempt to rig them with the E-Z line ,I will post the result later. Cheers Phil

I`ve already done one ,here: http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=75089 Cheers Phil

Just what the Doctor ordered ! http://ipmsphilippines.com/test-shots/trum...350-hms-eskimo/ Cheers Phil !

Richard,in a word ,Perfect! I have so far encountered no fit problems what so ever. Cheers Phil

Yup, foxy is absolutely right ,those brown "tubes" are wooden booms ,which were highly polished wood .The ones on the hull sides swung out when the ship was anchored to provide mooring for the ships boats. The 4.5" turrets have been completed, the tops of these turrets were painted the same blue as the panel on the hull ,(Thinks- Wonder if Trumpy are planning to produce a 350th Illustrious carrier,they had the same turrets? Just a thought).Next up are the big guns . Cheers Phil

Hi Tim, Rodneys colour scheme during the Bismarck action was overall AP507B med/blue grey,with a natural wood main deck ,steel decks I would do AP507A Dark Grey. Cheers Phil

Its called E-Z line,check out the Little-cars website Cheers Phil

Whoever it is ,I wish them all the luck in world! Cheers Phil

The Futures Orange??? Phil

Because I haven`t any PE cranes ,I decided to use the kit ones.I`m glad I did ,they are not too bad,and a lot easier to put together! For the cables I tried something new E-Z line,this is used by US railroad modellers for telegraph lines,it is elasticated ,and stretches to 700%.Whats more it just loves thin CA,and is an almost instant bond.You cannot use PVA glues with it doesn`t like it!I got mine from Little-Cars and I`ve got rope coloured and black Cheers Phil

Thats brilliant news ,Dave.I hope it isn`t "stillborn" as per the Cruiseline fiasco. Thanks Phil

Hi Roger, No its not PE ,its Vallejo Brass paint,looks quite effective.You know me ,I try to avoid PE if at all possible!! Cheers Phil

I`ve used the kit Pom-Poms ,and very good they are too!The only addition I`ve made is to add splinter screens from 10 thou plastikard.I believe these were fitted later on in the war. Cheers Phil