Chewbacca

For a first ship diorama that's excellent. The sheen is spot on. So I hope you don't mind me making a couple of suggestions for your future dioramas. The first might be to soften the colour a little. In 32 years in the Navy, most of it spent in the North Atlantic, I've never seen the sea that blue. It tends to more greenish-grey tending to a darker blue the further south you go. And the wave crests are perhaps a little too close together. But as I said, for a first seascape that isreally good and something you can be proud of.

I can't be certain exactly when he joined as like your father, he didn't really speak about it and since he died when I was quite young, it was only much later on that I managed to piece together fragments of his wartime career. As far as I can tell, he was released by his reserved occupation in late 1943 and by the time he had completed basic and trade training, it was post Overlord as BULOLO was preparing to deploy east of Suez. Thanks. I did look at Shapeways but unfortunately the only ones they do in 1/350 are square IJN cowls or a single set of very odd shaped ones for USS Pennsylvania. I've managed to create something in TinkerCAD that has a passing resemblance - at least should suffice in the scale with a bit of cleaning up. Remember that the largest of these is 9mm tall and the smallest 5mm. Its now sitting with my son who has access to a very fine 3D printer at university to see what he can do with them. If they work, I've also drawn the anchor windlass and bollards in CAD and have started on the davits.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently but work has been really busy and then we had a week away. I did try to upload an update last weekend but spent 20 minutes typing it, pressed submit and Britmodeller crashed and dumped the lot! Fortunately I did manage to fit some of the modelling kit in the car so some progress has been made while we've been away. Built up the internal structure around the quarterdeck and the fixed bulwark around the deck edge. Having originally thought that at this point I would have to start painting before I could add the 1 deck extension above, I then thought it would be just as easy to build all of the components separately, paint them and then bring the sub-assemblies together. The only difficult join that was likely to need filler was the one at the forward end of that 1 deck extension and most of that would ultimately be covered. So with that in mind I also started to build the superstructure on the quartedeck, the quartedeck bulwarks and then the 1 deck superstructure. The forward superstructure area beneath the bridge has some very prominent what look like windows and having spent some time earlier this year on a cruise liner, that's exactly what I thought they were. You can seem here clearly in the model of BULOLO in the Waterside Museum in Glasgow: And so I thought I would cut away the white plasticard already there (see image in #15) and build those sides from clear acetate that I could mask the windows and actually see into what presumably was the saloon when she was in commercial service. But unfortunately the only acetate I had was 5 or (perhaps 10) thou and it was too weak to support anything above, so I reverted to plan B and decided to use decals meaning that I could reinforce the inside of the acetate. However, that was later to cause further issues - see below. The rest of the 1 deck superstructure went together quite well and soon I had cut 01 deck and was starting to build up the structure above that: This was about the position I was at when we went away last weekend. Since then I have completed the 01 deck superstructure including starting to add some PE. I bought the Gold Medal Models Liberty Ship PE set as that provides lots of merchant ship like generic fittings, such as wooden cabin doors and so as I progressed these have been added. I added the extensions to 01 deck that hold what look like crew shelters for the 20mm Oerlikon crews. Ideally they would have been integral with the deck for strength but the chances of cutting the plasticard out without damaging the extensions was negligible. Although there is a slight join, that will be easy to fill and although the starboard platform has a slight dip down, there are supports to be fitted which I am hoping will be strong enough to push it slightly up. I may have to use brass for this. And so as of Thursday this was about where I was at with all sub-assemblies dry-fitted: Now, you will recall the earlier comment about how using 80 thou reinforcement to the saloon was going to cause later problems. Yesterday morning, just before packing up to come home, I noticed a slight error caused by my laziness in not creating a full set of plans for what I was planning to make and working form a series of photographs instead, Let's play spot the difference, Contrast the picture of the commercial MV BULOLO above with this photograph of HMS BULOLO in wartime service: If you count the "windows", you'll note that the forward pair and the first of the triples is plated over and replaced with 2 scuttles. Now that's not the problem, but the aft triple set on the ship builder's model is gone completely along with all of the plating around them which in turn extends the waist for'ard. That leads me to suspect that they wouldn't have cut into the saloon area just to extend the upper deck and so those windows are more likely to be open cutouts. Notwithstanding the fact that even if I could cut them out, the thickness there is 90 thou so a scale 800mm thick. Now I suspect that the main communications office (the raison d'etre for this ship) is just below that area and did have a sheet of armour plate protecting it, but 800 mm is greater than any battleship armour I know. So it's going to remain as decals. But I've still got to cut back the after end of the area to reflect the removed plating around the after triple, I didn't have a razor saw with me so that would have to wait until I returned home. You can see on this photo where I have marked up the cut on the starboard side: The unfinished area of the ship's side just below 1 deck edge level will be covered with the armour plate to be added later. The other challenge that I face is that being a merchant ship design, BULOLO has a plethora of cowl ventilators - you can see some very prominent ones around the funnel in the picture above entering Grand Harbour. No-one that I can find makes resin cowl ventilator in 1/350 scale. If it were just a few I could aim to scratch build from balsa but the number is at least 10-12 in 3 different sizes. I spoke to a friend at our local modelling club just before I went away and based on that the plan is to teach myself CAD and then try to get them 3D printed. If it works I'll also use that technique for the anchor windlass.

Thanks Jamie, I knew that if anyone knew the answer you would.

Very valid point and one that I had overlooked in my fag packet calculations. At least your volume of BR67 confirms my hazy recollections on link length. I didn't think to look in Vol 2, I've got a copy of the later issue on my bookshelf.

Bizarrely, owing to the fact that the next major part is to fit the decking over the quarterdeck that supports the aft end of the main superstrcture, I am going to have to start painting as once that deck is in place there is no chance of ever being able to paint the quarterdeck area. Which leads me onto a challenge. What colour should it be? I've got no colour references of BULOLO in RN service and even of the few B&W that I do have, even fewer of those are correctly captioned or dated. For example some photos captioned as being at Normandy are clearly entering Grand Harbour in Valetta. Based on my knowledge of colour schemes used by the British Eastern Fleet in 1945, I think this one is correct for that period: http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1511883 But the question then is what are the two principal colours in use? I'm pretty certain that that camouflage pattern, which was used extensively on Eastern Fleet and BPF ships, is overall 507C with a B15 dark panel on the hull. However, although I've got several references on warship camouflage which specify that scheme for at least cruisers, carriers and destroyers, reading some of the reports on here (and other modelling sites) there is doubt raised about the accuracy of most of them. I've had a look at Jamie's excellent Colourcoats website and although it gives excellent advice on the make up of the various colours, I couldn't find anything specific for Eastern Fleet colours. So I'm open to advice if anyone thinks that 507C and B15 is wrong, but I'll be priming today hopefully and starting with 507C tomorrow (subject to getting back from Bovington Model Show in time)

Don't worry, I've already asked the question of him and will report back!

Very nice

Better late than never they say. Jerry finally emailed over the only photograph that he still has of his time in command of WESTMINSTER. This was taken in the autumn of 1998 so a little later than when your Dad was on board but it does at least prove that 1008 radar had not yet been fitted to the bridge roof and gives an indication of the layout of the various platforms though not a great angle for that Hope it helps

The ones that Stuart linked to (no pun intended) seem to look the part in the photographs . They don't have the central stud but I think they'd probably look okay. Problem is that despite the fact that I spent hours if not cumulatively days of my life stood on a wet, windy fo'c'sle entering or leaving harbour, I can't actually remember how big each link is. from my best recollection they're between 9 and 12 inches long (in an FF/DD) which equates to between 39 and 30 links to the inch in 1/350 The 40 to the inch would therefore appear to be about right but there are no photos of that size

I'd be very interested to hear what you think about that when it arrives. I need some anchor cable for BULOLO

I've just had a look at my copy with is the earlier 1964 edition (gave my 1975 edition away for some strange reason) and there are nice clear diagrams of a cruiser and destroyer fo'cs'le (though it doesn't state which class) but no frigate, not even Rothesay class. But if yours doesn't have the requisite information, I do have a very clear near vertical photograph of the fo'c'sle on the shipbuilder's model of DANAE that I fixed. I know its a photo of a model but being a shipbuilder's model it should be pretty accurate, albeit representing her as built.

I've had that happen but only to thin plasticard, not the thicker stuff on injected parts. Which filler were you using?

Wasn't that basically what I said, although Paul explained it far more eloquently than me! Good luck with the spurnwater. Last time I tried fitting that to a model was a 1/96 ex-shipbuilder's model of HMS DANAE which had been trashed when a couple of Sea Cadets leant on the case it qas sitting in and it collapsed. Quite a lot had been torn away but due to the scale I could use very thin strips of stained balsa wood

I'm not sure I'd quite take it that far! It's putting up a fair bit of a fight: Milliput not setting (I think it had gone past its best before date if Milliput can have a best before!), side plating breaking because it's too thin etc. But I'm not one to give in easily and so I have managed to get the main deck fitted tonight (which gives it a lot more rigidity) and a selection of GMM photo etch ordered that should hopefully come in handy when I get to that point. Daft thing is, all of the measurements around the stern match the drawings but the drop down to what I suppose could be deemed to be the quartedeck it looks too shallow - it looks more like I would expect in 1/600 not 1/350 so I expect some remedial will be needed in those areas to get the balance right.

Certainly neither of my Leanders (ANDROMEDA and PENELOPE) had a generator up fwd and even if the earlier Leanders did, that vent looks too small for either an intake or exhaust. You can see the exhaust on ROTHESAY here: Yet the image in #83 does seem to show that it's a fairly substantial structure. I'm baffled.

I've done a fair few GBs over on the ATF but never once managed to finish anything within the given time because they have a rigid 2 month deadline. Since joining BM, I've started three, finished two and the third is sort of on track to finish in December. I'm signed up to the F4 and Buccaneer STGBs planned for next year and I've just put my name forward for the KUTA GB to finish one of the kits I put down to start the Carriers GB back in April! They're sort of addictive. I really enjoyed this one because it gave me the opportunity to do something completely different to my normal modelling genre.

This might be a good one for me to join as when I joined BM earlier this year, I set aside a number of kits that were on the go so that I could join in with the Carriers GB and have ended up going from one GB to the next so haven't managed to get back to any of them. So my choices would be: 1/600 HMS LONDONDERRY alongside in Gibraltar, Oct 1983 (converted from the Airfix LEANDER) 1/600 HMS ALACRITY in a force 12 in the South Atlantic, February 1984 on passage from the Faklands to South Georgia (though little chance of finishing this in the timescale given that most modelling time between now and Christmas will be HMS BULOLO for the Pacific GB) 1/48 Fujima Westland Wasp, being built as Wilbur, HMS HECLA's cab during her Operation Corporate deployment in 1982. Noting the fact that the cockpit is so open and the kit so limited as to what I offers, I put in a completely scratch built interior but it stalled owing to the trepidation of trying to mask it off for spraying. Or going back a few years: 1/600 USS FORRESTAL that I think I last did anything to in about 1978/79 1/72 Flower class corvette (similar to the FORRESTAL though not even sure that I have all of the bits anymore after the box fell over in the loft about 15 years ago!

Quick check of the Royal Navy Research Archive and the Fleet Air Arm Officers' Association website reveals the following: RNAS Trincomalee: Originally known as RNAS China Bay and commissioned as HMS BAMBARA 01.01.1944 to comprise the air station and associated RN Aircraft Maintenance Yard Clappenburg Bay and Naval Accommodation Camp Nachchikunda. China Bay was later renamed RNAS Trincomolee. Took over transit and holding camp task from HMS MAYINA (in Colombo) on 18.03.1946. It was originally R.A.F.Station China Bay opened 01.08.1938 with RN lodger facility from August 1940. Station transferred to Admiralty 15.11.1944. It was situated on the west side of Trincomalee harbour, on the neck of the peninsula which separates the harbour from Tambalagam bay on the west. the town of Trincomalee, on the east side of the harbour, lies 3 miles NE. 808 is listed as one of the squadrons that operated from there whilst the Sqn battle honour shows both Burma and East Indies in 1945 So I think all that Eduard have done is make the same mistake that many people do with Royal Naval Air Stations by forgetting that "RNAS" is usually followed by its geographic location (RNAS Yeovilton, RNAS Culdrose etc,) but it's commissioned name as HMS will be mostly completely unrelated (Yeovilton = HMS HERON, Culdrose = HMS SEAHAWK for example). The "RNAS" comprises the flying aspects of the base (runways, air traffic, hangars, air engineering), the "HMS" includes all of the support activities, accomdation, pay, medical etc. Hope that helps

I think part of the problem in this is that we in the UK are absolutely awful at educating our youth about our past military successes and current capability. They all know about the Battle of Britain and most children can recognise a Spitfire because the media remind them regularly and taxpayers pay for the BBMF out of the defence budget so the sort of people who are likely to become model makers get the chance to see those aircraft flying. But there hasn't been a proper Navy Days since the mid 1980s and nothing at all since 2010. 50 years ago, COSSACK was a well known ship. People who had lived through WW2 would all have known about the story of "the Navy's here" with the Altmark, but I doubt if anyone under the age of 40 who is not a naval enthusiast could tell you today what she was. 10 years ago I was Head of Operations for Naval Recruiting and we commissioned a market survey to try to understand our target demographic's (16-24) knowledge of the Royal Navy. "Name a Royal Navy warship" was one of the questions. The most popular answer was HMS VICTORY (which I accept technically is correct) followed someway behind by HMS BELFAST. Over 40% left the answer blank and less than 20% IIRC named anything currently in service painted light grey. Even in the days when the RN used to operate search and rescue helicopters before it was privatised it would be reported in the media as "a helicopter from RAF Culdrose". we may be an island nation with a rich maritime heritage, but over the years it seems to have become politically incorrect to talk about our maritime successes in the past. Hence the wider public including many model makers have no knowledge whatsoever of the ships that we all speak of on here so enthusiastically. Ultimately, kit manufacturers raison d'etre is to make money for their shareholders. Whilst many of us on here would all love a 1/600 Colony class cruiser or a 1/350 WW1 Town class cruiser (speaking for myself there, other ships are available!) for example, the market for them worldwide would be pretty limited and so they will continue to focus on the kits that their marketing departments tell them they will sell. That means in the Japanese home markets we will find multiple kits of Yukikaze whilst we in UK can expect Airfix to turn out yet another boring Spitfire.

Now that will certainly be worth waiting for. I've made a couple of Battles in 1/600, one converted from a COSSACK hull (about 40-odd years ) and one from DARING about 10 years ago, neither of which were especially easy (though at least the second did look vaguely like a Battle class!). Cutting the hull down was relatively straightforward as the 5mm length difference could all be lost at the stern whilst I ignored the 1.2mm difference in beam. I've still got a spare DARING kit which was intended to make either into a late Battle with the 965 radar or potentially a Weapon but if Peter's bringing each out I think I will wait.

In the end by using 10 thou sheet styrene for the side plating, it actually went together reasonably well. Some sanding to do tomorrow around some of the joins and a little filler or milliput will be needed around the stern to blend the transom in but overall it was a lot less stress than I though it might be,

Hi Steve, I did draw up the hull lines myself but no special software at all I'm afraid - Microsoft PowerPoint! I used to have CorelDraw in the past which would have been easier but the version I have doesn't work on any OS later than XP. I have no fancy CAD software or the experience to use it. It was very much trial and error until I got something that looked right based on the few photographs I have. I'm now not convinced that its right - it looks too bulbous around the bow - but I won't really know until I start to get the plating on this weekend. With the benefit of hindsight, I might have been better either getting hold of CAD software and drawing the lines in that so that I could 3D print the hull, or craft it from a solid piece of wood. I'm not looking forward to plating the compound curves around the stern.

If mine ends up looking half as good as that I will be satisfied!

Probably right - maybe I'm just picky!