Matthew Spence

It seems the Type 31 is being designed as good enough for things that we currently need frigates for, small regional conflicts, shipping proection, anti terrorism etc. The Type 26 is good enough for hypothetical large scale future conflicts. Do you shell out for a limited number of 26s in preparation for such a conflict and limit your self in the now? Or do you get a larger number of 31s for now but leave your self vulnerable to actors with submarines? Hedging bets and having a mixture seems smart to me. Especially since even in a larger conflict having more hulls, (albeit some with limited capability) offers more flexibility. The other smart move with the 31 is that the last spec that I saw called for the ability to be adapted into a more capable ship (specifically active sonar array, and ship launched anti ship missiles and torpedos). Which means we don't pay for those capabilities now on the off chance that we need them later. But we can upgrade the ships if and when tensions with Russia (or others) get to a point where it is deemed necessary.

Thanks PF If you haven't already seen it be sure to check out Paul's Somerset build. Which has been a huge inspiration and reference source for this build.

Those anchor chains look great, can't wait to see them on deck. I'm very tempted to give the method a go for my Westminster.

Couple of pics the Seawolf block. First completed sub assembly

To be fair you can barely make them out now never mind once the deck goes on. Out of interest how do they get from the magazine to the hanger/flight deck?

Thanks Paul Aplogies for the lack of progress updates. I've been obsessively and unnecessarily adding detail to the hanger which next to no one is ever going to notice or appreciate. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it though. I haven't worried about historical accuracy any where near as much as the rest of the build, but the OOB detail was lacking so I found a photo of one end of a Type 23 hanger at some point in history and extrapolated roughly from that. I used the spare helicopter deck netting I had to create some storage cages with plasticard crates in behind them. Some plastic rods and wire to add the fire control system. Couple of spinal boards and vents from plasticard at the end with some spare railings from the PE. Put a couple of winch crane contraptions made from plasticard on the roof. And since I had some spare torpedos from my lynx kit so I though it would be cool to throw them on the wall. It's a bit messy to say the least and part of me wishes I'd painted it before assembling the hanger structure. But for one I didn't realise I was going to be adding all that detail when I glued it and for two I find painting parts before assembly pretty soul destroying and this is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby, so what the hell. By the time it's on the deck the limited light is going to obscure most of the mess anyway.

@Paul E I know you used some Hawk Graphic decals on your build (which I have also purchased). I noticed the ship numbers on the Hawk sheet are a bit smaller than the decals in the box, any ideas on which is a more accurate scale? And where did you source your display case from?

Some paint going on, this time anti fouling paint. Even was brave enough to add some shadow. The transition looks awful in this photo, it is much better and less orange in real life. Even so I think I will work to smooth out some more and push the highlight on the sonar bulge.

Well masking a straight line on a curved hull is definitely one of the more challenging Aspects of model ship building I didn't see coming.

Good spot, thank you. I'm very tempted to leave the Portcullis badge like that as artistic licence just because it would be nice to have the crest on there. But I've made so much effort for accuracy thus far it would be a shame not to follow through. My other idea is to get a laser etched crest for the plinth and paint it, but I'm not sure how hard that will be to source. Currently waiting on paints so no progress to post. Pretty much everything is built now, everything left is either general assembly or waiting on general assembly. Most of this is rigging and the quarter deck.

Possibly, printing my own decals isn't something I've done before. My printer is not the best though, I'm not sure I couldn't do a better job painting it to be honest. The kit did come with one, but it is neither great quality nor accurate.

Does "topsides" mean deck surfaces? I'm after the other one, for the "walls"*... For the deck surfaces I have Vallejo Dark Sea Grey, but tbh I'm much less worried about that since there seems to be massive differences between ships, and even patchiness on the same ship. *I wanna say bulkhead but I'm pretty sure that's an interior wall, not sure what exterior walls are called.

Few more details: signal lamps and crests. Like Paul I also found the PE Signal lamps too 2D so I cannibalised them along with the kit lamps into a hybrid. This crest on the front of the bridge I'm fairly sure is a bit too overscale so I might redo it. On the other hand I'm not sure I would want it any smaller since I still have to paint the thing.

@Paul Ewhat grey did you use on your Somerset? I’ve put down a Vallejo wolf grey and it looks just a touch too blue.

Finally getting some paint on, (excuse the mess there is also wall painting going on)

Thanks chewy I was beginning to doubt she ever had the dlf1 sponsons fitted and went straight to dlf2. This is literally the only image I’ve seen of this fit. Quick question for those that might know. How come she is underway with only a single anchor?

Some more detail on the gun turret and look out posts this morning.

A little update: Got most of the PE done on the hanger structure and funnel structure, still some railings and the hanger door to do but will wait for final assembly to do those: Redid the nose on the lynx: Could help but do a quick dry fit:

Just a small update with some work on the 911 trackers, with some custom improvements taken from Paul's build. I added in some struts that weren't in the PE kit, the collapsed maintenance tent and davit. I will add ladders to the rear once they are fixed to the deck.

I thought about it, but after checking the pics its about half the size it needed to be, I'm sure no one would have really noticed, but it would have bugged me so I fashioned a new one from plasticard. I also added a couple of extra details I noticed in the pic (no idea what they are for. I also managed to finish the foremast. There are a couple of sensors on the PE that I want to replace with 3D sculpted parts but I'm waiting on some plastic rods for those.

Here is the part @Paul E, I snapped a quick pic while waiting for he kettle to boil. I'm fairly sure it is supposed to be the 2031Z fairlead, but not only it is the wrong shape it is in the wrong place.

I knew this one, just had a moment 🤦‍♂️ I Think they might have Paul, but it is not totally accurate: If I recall (it was one of the first bits I fitted and the hull has been in the box since) it is more of a full circle. And the instructions tell you to fit it and the 2087, which if it is that part is obviously a mistake. I don't have a photo to hand as she's packed away in the cupboard as I write this but will snap one next time I have her out. Another detail I'm unsure about: the platform on the fore of the foremast (some kind of optical system?). Pre DFL1 refit photos show it with railings, post DFL2 refit photos show it without railings, since I'm modelling her between these points in time... any one know when or why the railings were removed? The most obvious explanation is it simply got in the way of the cameras in that little sphere, if that is the case one has to ask who's bright idea was it to fit railings in the first place?

Thanks Terry they are some great pictures, but sadly these are all from either some time after (those with DFL2 launchers on the sponsons under the bridge), or before (those without any sponsons under the bridge at all). However there is a good picture of the stern that demonstrates another question that I've been pondering: And whether I need to construct this semi circle looking contraption just above the "F237" on the bow

Another day another question, does this T shaped thing on top of the hanger want removing? I notice it is missing from Paul's Somerset build: Some more progress pics, slow but steady: Most of the plastic on the hanger structure is done, just PE to do. The main mast is "done", but I'm not totally happy with the antenna/arial/??? at the top so have a feeling it'll get redone at some point.

Some more details on the bridge structure, I think this is basically finished now. I'm glad I had to redo the photo etch, I did a much better job the second time around. Not to mention the first time I had all the railings upside down, as I intuitively put the group of railings at the top. But I guess it makes sense to have them at the bottom to make squatting through them easier for access and will still catch you up if you are swept away on deck. Paul I notice you left out small the radar dome on the main (aft) mast. Was this intentional to match the time period?