ArnoldAmbrose

Gidday again Borja, you've just answered the question I asked in your introduction thread - 1/350 scale. Looking forward to it. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Zubimusu Welcome aboard, and I look forward to seeing your USS Indianapolis (I'm into ships also). What scale had you planned? And don't worry about your English. I'm Australian so you probably speak it better than me! Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Richard, I can see it. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Shane, welcome aboard from another West Oz, a native this time. Not exactly stranded here but probably no-one else would want me. What's the carrier? And definitely got the pants on, too dangerous without them - sleeping cat on my lap, claws, you get the picture! Regards, Jeff.

Gidday, My naval time was fourteen years in the reserves, sailing mainly up and down the West Australian coast for either two or four of weeks in patrol boats (although I sailed twice across the bight, once in a carrier and once on HMAS Perth, both in 1981). I quite liked it a bit rough at the end of a trip. By then I had my sea legs and didn't suffer sea sickness (not like at the beginning of a trip ). I guess "rough" is a relative term, depending on the size and sea-worthiness of the ship, and in our case we knew it was for a finite period of time, not never ending as it was for the convoy escorts during the war. Plus, nobody was trying to kill us. I have nothing but admiration for those sailors. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Steve, I love the stone work. It looks rough enough to be authentic I think. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Modelholic, I recall the phrase but I'm afraid I don't really know. It could mean 'square' when viewed from abeam or it could mean when viewed from above, a transom as you've mentioned, such as the cruiser HMS Tiger. AFAIK until the 'Colony' class all RN cruisers had a rounded, almost pointy stern so I didn't modify the hull in that respect. I have found a few statements in the book about the ship that I query, such as radar, directors and 20mm Oerlikons so I'll be taking an educated guess when I get the them, what I call 'modeler's licence'. I'll mention them when I get to those stages in the build. With this model I've decided to follow plans I have of HMS Black Prince for the structure of the ship, and follow Alistair MacLean's diagram and narrative for the light weapons outfit as much as I can. HTH. Thank you for your comments and interest. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Peter, no guard-rails? No machine guns? No bridge crew coffee mugs? OK, forget the coffee mugs. She certainly is pocket sized. How you managed something so small, I balk at 1/700 scale. Well done. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Terry, I'm not sure this would be difficult with this hull. By my calculations the hull would need to be lengthened 18mm (36 feet - 555 to 591 feet oa). If you were to cut cleanly across the hull, separate the two halves the required distance, bridge the gap with strong girders (heavy sprue) on the inside then plating and filler on the outside. Screw both halves to a block of wood while doing so for rigidity. Admittedly I haven't done this exact method yet myself but am planning to, with this conversion in mind (Tiger to Sheffield) and for a whiff I have in mind, lengthening an Airfix Nelson hull. But I have altered the length of five hulls now (two KGV and three Ajax, one of which is my current build) using a very similar method so I think this would work. Maybe give it some thought anyway. HTH. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Chewy, I didn't know WHY Birmingham's bow was different, just that it was. Many thanks. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Richard, very impressive craftmanship here. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday All, time for another update on HMS Ulysses, although progress has been slow. I'm mainly doing fiddly stuff now, bollards, vents, hawser reels etc. Some of my attempts at making these are not always successful, but even with failures there are lessons to be learnt. The model requires eight sets of bollards, which I have now made. Below is a photo showing the stages of their construction. As is often the case I find wood jigs quite useful. This one I made for HMS York, but for this build I've increased the number of holes. The base plate is of Evergreen 102 strip, (0.25 x 1.0 mm or 10 thou x 40 thou) while the bollards themselves are from Evergreen 218 rod (0.5 mm or 20 thou). The stages number from top to bottom. 1. Drill two holes 0.6mm diameter in the base plate strip. It is important to get them dead centre in the strip and the exact distance apart. I pin-gentleman's parts them first. The distance to the end of the strip is not important, it can be trimmed later. The eagle-eyed among you will notice that the strip I've used in stage 1 is the incorrect width. It is 1.5mm wide but I didn't notice until after I'd taken the photo. It'll do for this demo though. 2. Push and glue two lengths of 0.5mm rod into the holes, going about 1mm through the base plate into the holes in the wood. I use lengths of about an inch (20-25mm) to make them easier to handle. 3. To cut the bollards to the correct height I use a height gauge. In this case I have drill holes into a scrap piece of Evergreen strip 1mm thick, the height I require these bollards to be. Lower the height gauge over the two bollards and down onto the base plate, then cut the rods flush. One has already been cut here. Put the off-cut rods aside for the next job. You'll notice three holes in the height gauge. That is for different sizes of bollards. I'm using the smaller size here. 4. Trim the base plate to the required length, 3mm for this model. Then remove one of the pins underneath. I only use one pin to attach the bollards to the model because it is easier to position it than with two pins (getting the two holes drilled aligned and the correct distance apart etc). Also in this photo is a capstan being made from 1.6mm rod. Below is a photo of the focsle almost done. I've attached two of the sets of bollards, the cable winches and capstan, vents and some hawser reels. I still have to add the cables (chain) and touch up the paint job. As always, close-up photos show my rough workmanship, warts-and-all. I've decided to attach the funnels and the boiler-room air intakes (I think that's what they are) to the boat deck. I've had a go at making rudimentary funnel grills for this model. They're made from finely stretched sprue. Attaching the aft funnel may have been a bit premature. I forgot that I still have to make a searchlight platform to be mounted behind it, and the funnel's rake means it might get in the way a bit. Oh well, I'll manage. That's as far as I've gone, not much to show for two weeks modelling. The small parts I've been attempting/making can be time consuming and a bit rough. They are nowhere as good as PE parts I've seen but I prefer to make my own if I can. Thank you for your interest. Regards to all, Jeff.

Gidday Kevin, an interesting read, and a tragic end to a gallant little ship. You mentioned her commanding officer, Robert Sherwood and an episode of "World at War". I remember seeing that, although it was screened here in the late 70's I think. I don't believe that the service these ships and their crews provided and endured can ever be overstated, IMHO. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday 2Step and thanks, that worked. And I repeat, an impressive collection you have. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday 2Step, thanks for the quick response but this doesn't seem to work. In your previous post the addresses were underlined but not this one, would that make a difference? I don't really understand these things. Regards, Jeff.