Phil Reeder

So would I,but....me auld brain-box is now working overtime ,after finding these: https://www.whiteensignmodels.com/p/Jecobin...town+1998/3850/ I think it would be a good subject for a Scratch effort,haven`t done one in a while .....Maybe? Cheers,Phil

Thanks for posting these ,to me the Type 22 batch III were the best looking ships built for the RN recently .What a pity there isn`t a 350th kit of one available. Regards Phil

I`ve made good progess since the last update.Two-thirds of the single 20mms have been attached,I`m using Tamiya ones from their KGV kit ,to me they are the best representations of 20mms in plastic there are,very user freindly! The boats have been placed in their new locations,all these were included in the kit. Cheers Phil

Hi Foxy , I used the acrylic water from the Railway scenic effects for ponds ,rivers etc ,it takes a long time to dry,but it works well for static water. Cheers Phil

I`ve done a bit of back-traking on the upper bridge area.After studying the photograph numerous times,I evenually twigged what the difference between the QE and Valiant was.So to get my head round it ,I copied the Profile Morskie plans for that area ,and drew where the differences lay,I`ve attached a copy of it ,and I hope you can understand it. The main part of the bridge is done,and I`m going to start adding the 20mms that inhabited that part. Cheers Phil

Excellent build so far,how people work in 700th inspires my admiration ,my old fingers and eyesight stops me building in that scale. Cheers Phil

The focus has shifted to the Bridge structure.As far as I can see the the basic shape is identical to that of the QE.The only differences I`ve spotted so far is that the Valiant had some oblong "things" beneath the square viewing ports half way up the structure .I just added some oblongs of square plastic rod to simulate these.The other minor difference is the front area,just below the compass platform this only has two portholes,and no other details there,with no raised detail for the ships badge.Away here`s some pics. Cheers Phil The area concerned enlarged on my PC,and photographed,turned out better than I thought!

TWO WEEKS! Thats a marvellous job after only a fortnight of Model-making ,very well done ,keep it up! Cheers Phil

The two large motor launches have been made and put in their place .These are great models in their own right ,Trumpy seem to be improving their ships boats all the time. Cheers Phil

The funnel has been painted and fixed to the deck,I`ve added several pieces of PE railings and ladders from left-overs .Valiant had two Pom-Pom directors on top of the hanger,alongside the cranes.After looking at the photo,I think the front of the director tubs were flat ,so as not to foul the cranes ,anyway I use some tubs with flat fronts leftover from the Repulse builds Cheers Phil

The aft deckhouse is assumimg the cluttered look of the orginial,most of the major bits have been done ,The 20mm tub on the gun director stands proud of the director ,so i filled in the hole and stood the tub on 4 small pieces of plastic square to raise it slightly .No less than 7 x20mm are mounted on the roof of the deckhouse ,I might be able to squeeze all of them in!! I made the funnel ,it benefits from some extra detailing ,and Valiant didn`t have the two carley floats on either side of the funnel,so the location holes have been filled in.The PE for the funnel grill is just about the flimsest I`ve ever come across ,it curled up like a bit of lettuce at the slightest excuse,so I discarded it ,and replaced it with some bits of stretched sprue.I`ve added a circular exaust inside the funnel to show slightly above the funnel opening. I`m not looking forward to making the Gunnery Radar aerials with the kit PE,I may end up making them myself as per my Renown. Cheers for now Phil

Just tested it tonight,not impressed,not as good as Tamiya tape and it does have "Creep" under ,disappointing . Thanks for the replies Phil

As the title says "Wots it like?" Just bought from B&Q,and haven`t used it yet. Thanks ,Phil

OOPs nearly nearly forgot this,the part alongside the aft deckhouse had no boats in 1944 instead this area had 4 X 20mm on each side,and the deck edge screens were of a different shape.I removed the screens and boat cradles and fill in the gaps with wood filler.When dry I gently sanded them until smooth with deck.Luckily Vallejo Iraqi Sand is an almost perfect match for the colour of Artwox decks , so I repainted this and it worked out well. The 2 tubs on the aft deckhouse are for small rangefinders on the QE,but Valiant had slightly larger tubs for 20mms.I removed and replace them with some left over tubs from the Trumpy Repulse builds. So long ,Phil

I`ve been concentrating on the Bridge and hanger areas,as far as I can see there is no difference between the QE and Valiant in this region.The fit has presented no probs . Cheers Phil

Heres a photo to point out the incorrect area on part C6.taken after QE had been refitted in the US: I`ve replaced the orginal with something that is a little clearer Cheers Phil

The Trumpeter has made their usual deliberate mistake.It seems that the flag deck (part no C6)should have an extension on its aft end ,if you want to build the kit as she appeared in 1943 you will need amend the part .This extension was added during QE`s refit in the US.Luckily the Valiant and the QE from 1941 didn`t have this, so the kit part is correct for these. I received the Artwox "stock" wooden deck to fill in the catapult area,just one problem the wood colour was too light to match the rest of the deck.No panic ,all I did was to put some Flory mud wash on it and it darken the wood effect to almost match the rest of the deck. The main superstructures have been put together and painted. I`ve attached a excellent photo of the Valiant sent to me by Roger T ,and it is proving invaluable ,my guess is that it was taken in late 1943, is not much different from the 1944 version I`m doing. Many thanks Roger! Cheerio Phil

I`ve made the seascape ,I`m not completely satisfied with it ,so it needs a bit of tweaking.Some of the main superstructure has been put together,as with most of Trumpy kits these days there were no fit problems ,all parts went together really well. Judging from the photos it looked as if the Valiant was a bit weathered,so I used MiG light rust powdwer and Flory mud wash,I hope I haven`t overdone this. If you would like to know more about the QE class go here: http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewt...f=47&t=4719 Cheers Phil

Superb "Grand Old Lady",and good work on the Hunt Destroyer. Cheers Phil

The decks fitted to the hull perfectly,Trumpy seem to be improving all the time.Artwox and Trumpy have made a mistake with the wooden areas around the 4.5" turrets,they were not clad in wood,instead they were plain steel ,so I removed these areas from the Artwox deck,and painted the deck AP507A .According my references the Admiralty Standard scheme consisted of G45 light grey with a strong hint of brown,and Blue B30 Green/Blue.Judging from shades from the colour stills it seems to me that the Lt Grey has no hint of brown in it,it looks like a pure blue grey,so I used a mix of Vallejo No 990(1 pt) to 1pt matt white,to represent AP507C light grey.As for the blue panel I plummed for Vallejo No 943 blue grey which almost matches the blue from the still. The hull has been painted ,and most of the Artwox deck has been fitted.The area where the catapult was will be clad in wood ,when I receive the Artwox "stock" sheet. Next the seascape Cheers Phil

That is one nice build of an old kit ,looks great! Cheers Phil

Hi Remy, You`ve made a good start on these good looking vessels,I agree with you I like the Type IV,and I believe there is a Profile Morksie on the one of the two.Really like your Warspite as well! Cheers Phil

Hi Prowler, The length of the QE class was 639 feet,which works out to be 21"(approx) in 350th.To my mind this was the best class of BB built for the RN,and I hope to do all 5 of the class from different eras,including WW1. Cheers Phil

I considered building the USS Boxer,the problem is that no one makes Korean War markings for aircraft in 350th,I`ve tried everywhere without luck. Right on with the build ,I removed the lower hull using my trusty Dremel,I only do small areas at a time ,so as not to melt the plastic ,and wearing eye protection all while I`m doing it.I removed the catapult with my Dremel ,fitted with a sanding head ,its a bit rough ,but I cleaned it up with descenting grades of sand paper and W-n-D.The remaining hull has very strong bulkheads in it ,first I thought of cutting these down,but instead I fitted them in at an angle which worked well.The photo shows the hull put together without any cement ,which was applied later. Hers some pics, so long Phil

After a brief flirtation with a Lynx, I`m now back to my usual builds.This is a slight conversion of the Trumpeter Queen Elizabeth kit. I decided to do the Valiant `cos she had a war record nearly on a par with the Warspite,which cut short by a freak accident in June 1944 when afloating drydock she was in collapsed causing the ship great damage,effectivly put her out of action for the rest of the war. I have choosen to do the model as she appeared in 1944,just before the accident .The aircraft arrangements need to be removed,and as the kit is full hull ,with no waterline option,I need to remove the lower hull as well. Anyway to start here are some colour photos of the real thing,which are stills from a film taken from the USS Saratoga,purloined from the modelwarships site More tomorrow Cheers Phil