Chewbacca

Yup, totally see now why you went the Shapeways route

I suspect it's simply the lighting not doing it justice but the kit turret looks to have a more accurate shape than the Shapeways (notwithstanding the barrel thickness)

Whilst they will be broadly the same, no 2 ships in a class will ever be identical. building warships is not like turning our Spitfires or T34s on a production line. So the key thing with nay ship build is research. You also have to recognise that ships are refitted as they go through their lives so if you wish to represent her as she was when your Grandfather was on board, you need to ensure that your references are from that period. That is where we often suffer from information overload these days but not all of it correct (I've just done a quick Google search and pulled up over 200 images of HMS COSSACK and of the dozen of so of the ones I opened I spotted potential errors in their captions in at least 30-40%. I'm no expert on Tribal class destroyers but fortunately there is a wealth of knowledge on here.

I suspect that had a lot to do with it

For years I have sworn by 1/600 as the ideal scale for ship modelling although I strongly suspect that was largely driven by my formative modelling years in that scale in the 1970s. Large enough that you can get a reasonable amount of detail (especially these days with the amount of PE that is available) but small enough that they don't need half a room to display. I find 1/700 just that little bit too small. However, I have recently been converted to 1/350 through a scratch build project of HMS BULOLO. The larger size means that the level of detail you can get in brings a much greater realism. But at the end of the day it is personal choice. There is a much greater choice of maritime subjects in 1/700 than 1/350. The one thing I would say though is regardless of which scale you opt for (at least until you get up into the likes of the 1/72 Flower classes and U Boats), remember that ship models above all other genre of modelling really benefit for the finer detail that you can get with PE.

I haven't got any plans to hand but although the radar is the same (T965M with the AKE(1) aerial), the mast on the Cats looks slightly taller and slightly broader from these photos: Not sure if it is my eye sight, the moulding or my lack of knowledge but I always believed that the Cats and Cities used the same hull. But that photo above to me at least shows a distinctly longer fo'c'sle on the City class.

I'm impressed with this. I love taking the old clunky Airfix 1/600s from the 1960s and turning them into something half decent but to date Bismarck is the only one that has defeated me. The mouldings were just so bad I couldn't face it so I take my hat off to you Sir.

It depends when exactly in her life the model is depicting. I understand that they were painted on at build, then removed just beforecommissioning but restored in 2016 following a fundraising campaign in Wales: https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/welsh-dragon-returns-bows-cardiff-11351214

Oh the joys of scratch building without plans (despite the discovery of the US plans noted above) and really rather sketchy information. Way back in Post #6, you may recall that I'd found a couple of photos on the IWM website in which I thought there were ladders up from 01 to 02 deck towards the aft end. Well I was sat there last Monday on a day off from work (having worked all weekend to get some customer deliverables finished off to deliver to the MOD at 0830 Monday morning) looking at this photo https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205156280 when reality dawned that this Bofors was exactly where the aft ladders came through the deck. So they needed to be removed and the access filled. It's not 100% level but the filled holes are covered by the Bofors so it's good enough for Government work as they might say. You'll also recall that back in Post #40, I was pondering over the after armament. I knew that when she was converted from Armed Merchant Cruiser to Headquarters Ship that a pair of 2 pounders, later swapped for Bofors, were fitted just forward of the bridge screen and a second pair on 02 deck (as noted above). I had looked at this photo: many times and convinced myself that the gun on the poop deck was also a 40mm Bofors, but had always had slight doubt as why would you only fit a single Bofors on the centreline when there is more than enough space for a pair. Then the US plans got me thinking. They are dated 17 June 1942 which is the middle of the refit in which she was converted to a Headquarters ship and they do clearly show all of the Oerlikons and 2 pdrs but they still show that the aft most gun remained a 6 inch. And to be fair, in that photo above, that after mounting does look larger than a single Bofors. So armed with that as an assumption, I set about scratch building a BL 6 in Mk VII.I. Again, with no plans, a Wikipedia article and just one photo (linked from Wiki), I set about transforming some 10 thou plasticard, Master Tools 0.3 mm brass tube, a different diameter selection plastic rod, Albion Alloys 0.1 and 0.2 mm nickel rod and spare PE wheels etc into something that looks vaguely like a 6 in Mk VII. Also in #40 I highlighted doubts about the height of the frames for the Carley floats and the IWM photo confirmed it. The top photo above shows the original frame built as per the GMM Liberty Ship instructions on the right and the cut down version on the left. The photo below shows both cut down frames in place. They're still not quite right as there should just be two uprights on the inboard end rather than half a support frame complete with cross bracing but they're near enough. The top photo highlighted that the port side 20mm gunshield was way off line which I hadn't spotted previously so this gave an opportunity to correct that though I still haven't replaced the broken barrel. Just aft of there I had two semi-circular shelters but was unsure quite why they were there. The US plans indicated that they should have an Oerlikon on yet my shelters were not large enough to put an Oerlikon on so they both had to come off, the deck cleaned up and larger shelters built with a platform on top to hold an Oerlikon. Starboard side removed New platforms in place Finally Steve asked for an updated on the seascape. As noted back in #26, I skimmed the foam with Plaster of Paris and used a small craft trowel to build up the bow wave and Kelvin wake from the plaster. It was initially painted as noted in #26 but I wasn;t happy so took it back to basics with a black undercoat, several misted coats of Vallejo royal blue with increasing drops of firstly Vallejo gunship green then drops of Vallejo black. I used a light sky blue with a increasing drops of white spray around the inside of the hole for the hull and stern wake. once it was all dry I then brush painted the waves and tops of the wake with Tamiya gloss white. After leaving it for a week, I then went over the whole base with a very thin wash of extra dark sea grey with a couple of drops of black, especially over the waves to tone the down as they were far too prominent. Once that was all dry and the ship glued to the base using white glue, I started to fill the gap between the hull and the surrounding water with Liquidex. whilst using the same medium to give a little more height to the bow wave. I'm still not 100% happy as for some bizarre reason I have 2 wayward waves. On the port side, the wave just behind the first bowwave is far too far forward and out of the correct pattern whereas on the starboard side I have an additional half wave starting just below the bridge that is a bit pathetic looking and shouldn't really be there. Not sure at the moment how best to correct them but am open to suggestions (any that start with rip the model of the base and start the base again will be ignored!).

Had it in the back of my mind that this was months away. Still finishing my last GB entry (which officially finished 6 months ago but I was the one mad enough to choose a scratch built 1/350 ship!). Suspect I'll be a late starter on this.

Thanks Crisp. Expensive as you say but then precision engineering always is.

very impressive Steve. I cheated and bought the GMM PE drums which when folded are not at all bad. Must see if I can get one of those punches though - they look really useful. Never seen one in small enough sizes to be suitable for modelling

One of the reasons why I don't do biplanes in any scale ( even 1/48, 1/32) is that I hate doing the rigging. So why of why did I try to do it with stretched sprue on a 1/600 Walrus!

Fascinating stuff. These were great little ships. Such a shame that the RN pulled the plug on true fast patrol boats in the late 70s

Thanks, I'll do a search

Really nice. I love the effect you've achieved on the decks with the wash. Care to share the YouTube link?

These larger scales really do justice to ships like this. It makes you think you're almost there. Well done - you've done a great job.

That's superb and as you say, finished with perfect timing

Agree with everything said above. Stunning work and an absolutely first class sea scape

Thanks Steve and will do. It's all packed away for safety now as our cats have a habit of running amok and they will run into it if I leave it out but I'll give an update on the seascape next time its out (hopefully this week work permitting). This weekend just gone has mainly focussed on putting together the last two l'Arsenal Bofors, building the radio office that sits between the bridge superstructure and funnel and detailing the Flag bridge. I finally found some plans for her though 😀 A US website is offering the original 1942 General Arrangement plans following her 1942 refit. But at $235 I think not 😲, especially since she had at least two more design/layout changes between August 1942 and July 1945. Best rgds

It sounds daunting but once you get going it's really not that difficult. Just take your time and as Stuart says, make sure you have the reference material. If you can get some plans it does make it somewhat easier but it is possible to create your own just from photos and some basic dimensions.

I'm sure that you're right Arnold. I think the thing that would improve it no end is to use a proper camera rather than my phone but then the phone is in my pocket when I'm modelling and the camera usually upstairs. The phone supposedly has a better resolution that my Canon EOS anyway!

Thanks Crisp. I'd looked at one of those pencils a couple of years ago at a model show but thought I could manage with bluetac. Which until I started doing more and more smaller and smaller PE I could. I shall have to look out for one and give it a try.

I don't know how true this is but I was told by someone on the Airfix stand at one of the last Yeovilton Model Shows that Free Enterprise would never be re-issued as there was concern over reputational damage in case the name might be mistaken for the tragic Herald of Free Enterprise. Queen Elizabeth was re-issued about 5 years ago but I sense it didn't sell. I bought one in the Airfix Black Friday sale for IIRC £5. I'd love to get my hands on a Canberra but I'm not willing to pay the silly money being asked for on auction sites. Perhaps Airfix might consider re-issuing it with QEII and the FF/DD as an extended Falklands Islands set for the 40th anniversary in 3 years time?

That makes sense. I hadn't thought about ROK. I don't for one minute know why I typed KASHIMA or even where I got it from! They're not even the same class and I had a picture of ASAGIRI on my 2nd screen as I was posting that so thanks for correcting my blunder.