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Found 12 results

  1. Gidday All, my next model is going to be a scratch build (apologies Mr Airfix) of a German K-class cruiser, DKM Karlsruhe. As with most of my ship models it will be in 1/600 scale, of which there are no kits that I'm aware of. (That's a subtle hint Mr Airfix ). 🙂 Karlsruhe was the second of a class of three cruisers built immediately after the solitary Emden who was the first cruiser built by Germany after WW1, and their design was subject to very severe tonnage restrictions, 6000 tons. As a result they had longitudinal frames, their hull was welded instead of riveted, light-weight metals were used where possible, armour was light (although on a par with similar sized cruisers at the time), two screws only, limited endurance, and very little margin for improvement (board margin in RN parlance). This was to place considerable restrictions on their deployments during their lives. The ramifications of their light construction became evident in 1936 when Karlsruhe encountered a full-on typhoon in the Pacific Ocean, a storm from which she was very lucky to survive. Some of her longitudinal frames buckled and her hull split right across the boat deck. She needed emergency repairs in the Aleutians then the USA before she could sail home to Germany. None of the three had particularly illustrious careers although that wasn't the fault of their crews. Two of them (Konigsberg and Karlsruhe) were sunk on the same day, 10th April 1940 during the invasion of Norway. Karlsruhe was scuttled after being torpedoed by the submarine HMS Truant. Anyway, enough of the ship, on to the model. I've chosen this ship to model for a number of reasons. It's larger than my previous scratch builds (I'm working up in size) and yet looks reasonably simple in design. The off-set aft turrets are unique to this class of ship and I like a bit of variety in the display cabinet, and I was able to get some diagrams of her. Below is one of the diagrams that give me hull cross-sections. As it was accessible free off the internet I don't think I've breached copyright. Anyone could access it, plus my model is for my enjoyment, not for monetary gain. I've enlarged the diagram to 1/600 scale, the overall length of the model is 290mm, the beam 28mm. Another diagram was kindly forwarded to me by @iang which will assist me with superstructures and deck fittings. And further still, I've had some advice from @Richard502 regarding the ships deck coverings. Many thanks guys. This will be my third (and largest) scratch built ship to date, and the first with large revolving turrets. And this has resulted in a change of modus operandi (procedure) for me. I like to have turrets that can rotate so that if the barrels get knocked the turrets turn rather than the barrels break off. Also I like them removable so they can be left out until the build is almost complete. For the last few years I've fitted turrets to model ships by having a long turret trunk with a single key glued to the front of the trunk and a keyway in one side of the barbette, usually to the left. Turn the turret 90* to the left and the turret simply lifts out, in any other position it's locked in. That has worked well with kitted model ships up to now. But my method of scratch building, with a centre profile longitudinal bulkhead doesn't allow that, for turrets mounted on/near the centreline of the hull decks anyway. So I've had a rethink, and decided that the turrets need very short trunks with a double cross key, and as much of it inside the barbette as possible to maintain the integrity of the centreline profile bulkhead. I've decided that they should be my first task, as success or failure with them will have a considerable impact on this build. So, as is often said in TV cooking shows or handyman/DIY shows - "Here's a set I prepared earlier". I've been hanging out for months waiting to say that! 😁 One of the turrets and barbettes are inverted to show that most of the keyway and turret trunk will be inside the barbette. The trunk might protrude down into the deck a little but not by much. To get an idea of size the squares on the cutting mat are 10mm a side. I've made a tentative start on the hull but not worth a photo just yet. So I'll call it quits for tonight. Thank you for your interest. Stay safe, and regards, Jeff.
  2. Gidday All, 1/600 scale warships are my modeling interest, and since progressing from OOB builds I usually try to make various ships that actually existed. However, I sometimes make whiff ships also, and when I do I try to make them as plausible as possible. To date I think I've made seven (eleven as at Feb 2024), the first nigh on 20 years ago. This was waaay before I even knew of the term 'what-ifs', or modeling forums such as this. This first was a battleship I named HMS Monarch, and was made from two Airfix KGV kits. I decided to make a ship with four quadruple 14-inch turrets. Here is a photo of one such kit, built OOB, and shows what I started with. This meant that the bridge superstructure had to be moved aft a little, to accommodate the larger "B" turret. Also a complete extra turret was added aft, hence the hull needed to be lengthened somewhat. I also removed the aircraft launching and recovery arrangements, rearranged the boat stowage and added more light weapons. Here she is, the battleship whiffed from two KGV. Quite powerful in fact. The two hull halves were joined midships but the deck was joined just fwd of 'X' turret. I also added quite a few light AA guns, as you can see. I'll add more at a later date. Regards, Jeff.
  3. Gidday All, my modeling passion is mainly warships in 1/600 scale, most of my models to date being Airfix ship kits. Unfortunately 1/600 is not a common scale now but I find it suits me. And disappointingly it seems that many of the kits are no longer being produced. Those of you familiar with Airfix ship kits will know that their detail is often somewhat bland, even crude by many standards. However they were often quite cheap, in my part of the world anyway, and hence they suited my mediocre skill level and limited budget, so this is an observation, not a criticism. I bought quite a few Airfix ship kits a number of years ago when they were still available, and modify most of them now as I build them. And while I do so I'm replacing many of their small parts with those I scratch build, such as light guns, Carley floats, DC (depth charge) throwers, anchors, screws etc. The parts I make are still a bit crude and can never compare with PE items, bought AM items and now 3D printed parts, but I enjoy making them. Plus it saves me a bit of money, something I have to consider now that I'm retired. I've wondered if other modelers are in a similar situation to me and would be interested in how I make some of these items, so hence this thread. I intend to keep each item in a separate post, plus leave this initial post as a sort of index which I can update by editing. I also intend this thread to be informative, so if anyone has any other ideas please feel free to make suggestions. Anyway, here goes . . . In order of posting, below are the methods on how I make:- 20mm single Oerlikons Depth charge throwers Quad 2lb pompoms Octuple 2lb pompoms USN single 5-inch/38cal turrets
  4. I've always been rather slow; when I started learning to swim it was 25 yards to get a certificate, by the time I'd got that far the goal posts (mixed metaphor alert) had moved out to 25 metres, which was a huge leap for a wee lad. By way of reward, my dad brought me the Airfix Hostpur. So, it's nostalgia time to revisit that kit. Given how much they go for on a certain website I feel that a tenner made this a bargain. However to make it more exciting, Im adding in the Atlantic Models P/E set with more detail than I can shake a stick at, let alone see. Talking of seeing lets have some piccies The boxes Yes, I know the Atlantic models 'box isn't too exciting, but see what you get... The P/E renders a lot of the Airfix parts redundant. That though will have to be balance with just how much of it I can handle. for sure It'll be the most P/E I've ever used in one model. Onto the instructions... There are literally pages of Peter's instructions and notes for the P/E so any mistakes will be all my own work. In the chat, I've mentioned the prospect of a container ship, needless to say some sprue fondling has taken place, but it's a whole different scale of operation! Here's the Columbo Express hull and P/E alongside Hotspur's hull And that's at 1/700 as opposed to Hotspur's 1/600; somehow I think we're all know it's going to happen, but one P/E set at a time eh?
  5. Gidday All, in the Inspiration Gallery of this GB I mentioned a couple of contenders for this, one an 'R' class battleship and with some photos of battleships I've previously made. Well, sorry but I've decided to go to the other end of the scale of sea-going warships and do a Flower class corvette. I like to work in 1/600 scale and AFAIK there are no kits available so I'm going to have a go at scratch building her. While I've done a lot of scratching of ship's superstructures and fittings and such this will be the first hull I've done, discounting carved balsa hulls decades ago. So this will be something new for me. I won't be doing a specific vessel but a generic ship of the class with the longer foc'sle. I've been giving it a bit of thought as to how I'm going to do this, with a few ideas bouncing around inside my head. There's not much else in there to stop them bouncing, I guess. 😁 Anyway, I've made a start. I got some drawings, fiddled with them a bit, cut them out and traced them onto 0.4mm thick styrene sheet. That's rather thin but it was what the LHS had in stock, and it's possible to cut them out with scissors which makes concave curves easier. As you can see but I didn't notice, the profile (side) drawing is slightly longer than the plan drawings, which are a touch too short for the scale. Oh well, I'll work something out. I slotted the profile and main deck pieces to fit them together, and wedging them between two blocks of wood I started to glue bracing bits of styrene to them. And I've ended up with this:- Why so many? A number of reasons, the first being that I have a highly developed sense of overkill. Plus I had to pull the main deck down to follow the curve of the profile. And finally because I thought the thin styrene sheeting I've used would need some stiffening. But I've probably overdone it a little. Oh well . . . You can see that the main deck dropped below the pencil line at the bow but I don't think that will matter as it'll be hidden by the foc'sle deck. I think the next job will be to fit some ribs. The heavy bracing blocks I've used here might work against me in that they take up a lot of space. If this particular model turns out to be a pig's breakfast I'll cut my losses, absorb the lessons learned to date and have another go. I won't have lost much. So until then, thank you for your interest. Stay safe in these times and regards, Jeff.
  6. Gidday All, my modeling passion is mainly warships in 1/600 scale, most of my models to date being Airfix ship kits. Unfortunately 1/600 is not a common scale now but I find it suits me. And disappointingly it seems that many of the kits are no longer being produced. Those of you familiar with Airfix ship kits will know that their detail is often somewhat bland, even crude by many standards. However they were often quite cheap, in my part of the world anyway, and hence they suited my mediocre skill level and limited budget, so this is an observation, not a criticism. I bought quite a few Airfix ship kits a number of years ago when they were still available, and modify most of them now as I build them. And while I do so I'm replacing many of their small parts with those I scratch build, such as light guns, Carley floats, DC (depth charge) throwers, anchors, screws etc. The parts I make are still a bit crude and can never compare with PE items, bought AM items and now 3D printed parts, but I enjoy making them. Plus it saves me a bit of money, something I have to consider now that I'm retired. I've wondered if other modelers are in a similar situation to me and would be interested in how I make some of these items, so hence this thread. I intend to keep each item in a separate post, plus leave this initial post as a sort of index which I can update by editing. I also intend this thread to be informative, so if anyone has any other ideas please feel free to make suggestions. Anyway, here goes . . . In order of posting, below are the methods on how I make:- Carley Floats Screws and shafts Hawser reels Bollards and fairleads
  7. Gidday All, I've commenced my next model ship, the Australian Daring class destroyer HMAS Vampire II, sometimes known as 'the Bat'. The Darings were the largest and last of the all gun destroyers of the RN. They were almost considered de-facto light cruisers but were ultimately classified as destroyers. They were powerful ships armed with six 4.5-inch guns, six 40mm Bofor guns, ten 21-inch torpedo tubes and a triple A/S mortar. Australia commenced building four of these ships, all named after ships of the "Scrap-Iron Flotilla" but the last (HMAS Waterhen) was cancelled and was scrapped on the slipway. Of the three remaining ships HMAS Vampire was the last to be completed, commissioning on 23rd June 1959 and also the longest serving, decommissioning on 13th August 1986. The RAN ships differed slightly from their RN counterparts in that they only shipped five torpedo tubes, having more accommodation instead. She is now a museum ship moored in Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia. The kit depicts the class as built. As I said the Australian ships differed from their British counterparts a bit so I'll have to modify her some, particularly as I plan to model her after her mid-life refit. The kit is included with the HMS Tiger kit, with Tiger dominating the box art. So I'll just show the kit parts in the opening photo: This build is being done as a GB on the ATF (Airfix Tribute Forum) which started yesterday. I've done a very modest amount of construction as I've had a busy weekend. I've glued the two hull halves together and started reshaping the bow, which is incorrect as molded. To change the shape of the cutwater (extreme forward edge of the bow) I've inserted a thin 0.25mm piece of styrene, fashioned to the correct shape, between the two hull halves at the bow. When the bow alteration is done I'll post a photo showing the correct bow shape and the erroneous shape of the kit. I've also plugged the hole under the counter (stern) for the rudder post and I've started gluing strengthening pieces of styrene inside the hull, across the join. The kit comes with a single rudder but the ship had two. The RN Darings had a row of scuttles (portholes) under the quarterdeck and two rows of them under the foc'sle deck, and these are molded into the plastic. The Australian ships however had only a few, just under the foc'sle deck abreast the superstructure so most of those molded into the plastic have to be sanded and filled. You can see that I've started that, plus added the first bit of filler to the bow. I've also made replacement screws which are currently being painted. As you can see in the top photo the screws aren't bad by Airfix standards but the screw blades are the wrong shape as far as I can determine, and you only get screws of one configuration (left-turning in this case) as usual, not both. That's it for now. Stay safe, and regards to all, Jeff.
  8. Gidday All, here is a model of Alistair MacLean's HMS Ulysses, the cruiser that was the subject of his book of the same name. This book was written in 1955 and first read by me in 1970 I think. The ship was a fictitious vessel, the fore-runner of and very similar to the Bellona (Black Prince) class of light cruisers. The ship was armed with eight 5.25-inch dual purpose guns, twelve 2lb pompoms in three quad mounts and eighteen 20mm Oerlikon AA guns, plus depth charges and six 21-inch torpedo tubes. The model is in the scale of 1/600, as are most of my model ships. It uses an Airfix Ajax hull shell along with the shafts screws and rudder, main gun turrets and HACS (high angle control station) came from a KGV kit, main DCT (director control tower) torpedo-tubes rafts search-lights anchors boats and davits came from a Belfast kit and I scratch-built just about everything else, including all decks superstructures funnels masts depth-charges and light AA guns. The funnels have grills on top but they're not very noticeable in these photos. Here is a photo of the bridge structure. I built the wind deflectors around the fore-bridge and added the windscreens. On the port side of the fore-bridge is Admiral Tyndall's raised arm chair. It's a bit rough so I didn't zoom in any closer. The captain's shelter is inside the round base of the DCT, with the door on the stbd side I think, as shown here. The rectangular structure just forward of the DCT contains the ASDIC cabinet on the stbd side here, and on the port side it contains the chart house. Doors are on either side. Directly below the fore-bridge is a twin pedestal 20mm Oerlikon mounting. It features in the story. The black dot on the front of the gun position is the navigation light, obviously not used when 'darken ship' conditions apply. Below and aft of that gun position is a twin powered 20mm Oerlikon mounting, and forward of the bridge structure is one of the quadruple 2lb pompom mountings. It is a bit blurred because the camera was focused on the bridge structure. There is more detailed discussion and photos in my WIP thread regarding the choice of guns and fittings on the model. As you can see, my scratch-built parts are nowhere near the quality of PE parts but I prefer to make my own if I can. Thank you for your interest. Regards to all, Jeff.
  9. Gidday All, Here is a model of the heavy cruiser HMS York, a sister-ship of the Exeter. These two ships were an attempt by the RN to break away from the large and expensive 10,000 tonners (Treaty Cruisers) being built by various countries under the terms of the Washington Treaty. The British Treaty Cruisers were the County class. Originally seven ships were planned, but ultimately only these two were built. They sacrificed two 8-inch guns on a ship that was shorter, narrower and about 1500 tons lighter than their predecessors. Surprisingly their belt armour, where it was fitted, was thicker. HMS York was the first of the two, and besides her guns was intended to carry two catapults - a heavy catapult behind the funnels and a light-weight catapult mounted on 'B' turret. As a result the ship had a high forward superstructure to allow the bridge crew to see over any aircraft mounted on it. This light-weight catapult however was never built and fitted. Because of this the second ship, HMS Exeter, had a much lower bridge structure that became the prototype for that of the following Leander, Amphion (Perth) and Aresthusa classes of cruiser. Exeter's masts and funnels were vertical as opposed to York's which were raked. Despite their different silhouettes the two ships were built to the same design and hence still classify as sister-ships. In 1941 HMS York was at anchor in Suda Bay, Crete, when she was attacked by Italian motor boats packed with explosives. Two boats hit her, destroying both boiler rooms and one engine room. She was run aground to prevent her sinking. Several weeks later she was bombed by Stuka dive bombers and sustained enough damage that it was decided she was beyond effective repair. She was destroyed in-situ by explosives. The model is in the scale of 1/600, as are nearly all of my model ships. I began it last May, just after WASMEx 2018, and I completed her a couple of weeks ago. Very broadly speaking the model is a cross between a heavily modified kit and scratch-built. I used a stretched hull of an Airfix 'Ajax' kit, with the funnels and 8-inch guns and turrets of a 'Suffolk' kit, some other assorted parts from various kits and scratch-built everything else, including all decks, superstructures and masts. Although HMS Exeter is the more well-known of the two ships I chose to build York for a number of reasons. Firstly her camo scheme was rather striking whereas Exeter's was a rather bland single shade of grey, and I like to have a bit of variety in my display cabinet. Secondly, York's bridge superstructure was unique while Exeter's was very similar to other ships I have modeled. Again, variety. I also had the deck plans of her to work off. Not all that comprehensive but good enough for a model at this scale, I thought. I have no doubt that I have made some mistakes, sometimes the plans I had weren't all that clear on small fixtures, I had to refer to photos when I could get them. Also the camo scheme probably isn't completely accurate but I tried my best there, despite conflicting diagrams and photos from oblique angles. Also I am certain the shades of light and blue/grey paint aren't completely spot-on. I am not as dedicated as other modelers in that respect. I know what some of you perfectionists are thinking - "Who is this Philistine? Stone him for blasphemy, burn him for heresy!" I'll supply the rocks and matches. 😁 Anyway, enough of me rattling on, here she is, HMS York 1941. Close-up photos show my rough workmanship. Regards to all, Jeff.
  10. Gidday All, this is a model I did last December, finishing very early in January this year. It is a ficticious vessel, a whiffed model converted from an Airfix 'HMS Manxman' kit in 1/600 scale. These ships were very fast mine-layers that doubled up as blockade runners to Malta and Tobruk. This ship was bombed by Stuka dive bombers and suffered heavy damage to the forward boiler room. She survived and was converted to a convoy AA escort vessel with considerably increased AA capability. She also acted as a rescue ship for the crews of sunken ships, hence her generous supply of rafts, either requisitioned from the dockyard or pilfered by some of the more piratical members of the crew. I did quite a lot of alterations to the model. I added another twin 4-inch mounting and HA (high angle) director plus replaced the original director above the bridge, scratch built radar for the directors, enhanced the bridge and masts, removed number one funnel and replaced number two, scratch built twin Bofor 40mm and single Oerlikon 20mm guns and their gun-pits, depth-charge racks and other assorted changes and additions. Ladies and Gentlemen, HMS Antiope, 1943 As a whiff I was able to let my imagination run a bit, but I think she is still reasonably authentic. Plus I enjoyed building her. Regards, Jeff.
  11. Gidday All, here is a model I finished about twelve months ago. HMS Welshman was of the Abdiel class, a fast mine layer, a sister ship to HMS Manxman. Besides her intended roll she was used as a blockade runner during the siege of Malta in 1942. Her first run was in May of that year, and neither the Admiralty or Churchill thought she would make it. She was disguised as a Vichy French destroyer, extra light AA guns added, jammed chock full with supplies and extra ammunition and let loose. Her speed prevented some of the enemy's attempts at interception, and speed, skillful ship handling and AA fire power saved her when they did. She completed three round trips to Malta in three months, and about six or seven in total. She was finally sunk off Tobruk by a U-boat in early 1943. The model is part of an Airfix 'Manxman/Suffolk' kit 04214 in 1/600 scale. I did a lot of modifications to the kit to depict the ship as she was on her arrival at Malta on 10th May 1942. Firstly here is a model of HMS Manxman, to show what I started with. This model is almost OOB, other than to replace the prop shafts and 4-inch guns with rod, the quad .50s from another kit and the quad 2lb pompom with a scratchbuilt mounting. I also added breechblocks to the 4-inch guns. The kit guns were horrible. And here is HMS Welshman, as disguised as a Vichy French destroyer. To create the raised focsle effect (she was flush-decked) the crew attached painted canvas to the forward guardrails and painted the hull darker where appropriate. The funnels were painted to suggest raked funnels and the funnel caps were altered - no.1 funnel cap was deliberately shorter for some reason, plus extra stays added to the masts. I did the same alterations to the model's weapons as I did for Manxman except I scratchbuilt the quad .50s instead, plus five 20mm Oerlikons were added for extra AA firepower. These I scratchbuilt also. Other mods were moving the no.2 funnel slightly further forward, added the Carley floats and their stowage skids, replaced the HA director and added type 285 radar (scratchbuilt) to it, the bridge layout and windscreen and altered the breakwater around 'A' mounting. My camera is not kind to me when I take close-ups. It shows my rough workmanship. Airfix has omitted the mine discharging doors at the stern of this kit, but I believe they were hidden as part of the disguise, so no problem there. A false bow was also fitted, but discarded at sea when it disrupted the streaming of their own paravanes. All these modifications I got from photos and the account of an RN Officer of the crew at the time. As I understand it, HMS Welshman was the first ship to get through the blockade of Malta, and I did the model almost as a tribute to the crews of these vessels. No doubt I've made some errors but I've tried to be as accurate as I could. That's probably enough from me. Regards to all, Jeff.
  12. Gidday All, this my first model posted onto Britmodeler. I couldn't get the system to work but my son sorted it out for me. I'm a technological dinosaur. This is a model of the British cruiser HMS Penelope of the Arethusa class. These were small cruisers armed with six 6-inch guns, eight 4-inch AA guns and a variety of smaller weapons, plus two triple torpedo tubes. Penelope spent some of the early part of WWII in Norwegian waters, and later in the Mediterranean with a sister-ship HMS Aurora as part of force K preying on Rommel's supply convoys from Italy. In the later half of 1943 she supported the Anzio landings. On 18th February 1944 off Naples HMS Penelope was torpedoed and sunk by U-410. She was doing 26 knots when hit, and went down quickly with about two thirds of her crew. The model is in the scale of 1/600, as are nearly all of my model ships. It is a modified Airfix kit of HMS Ajax, and depicts the ship as she appeared just before being sunk, although no doubt there are some inaccuracies. I shortened the hull, deepened the main turrets, modified the decks and superstructures, scratch built the masts some structures and light guns and used a lot of parts from a Belfast kit, namely 6-inch guns (last two were stretched sprue), 4-inch guns and shields, funnels, AA directors and radar, 4-inch gun deck, rafts and paravanes. This model was done before I'd heard of modelers forums such as Britmodeler or Evergreen styrene strips sheets and rods etc. The masts and 20mm Oerlikons are made of stretched sprue and the armour belt is photocopy paper. As you can see this model is very crude compared to some of the exquisite works of art I see here on Britmodeler. To date PE and rigging is beyond me, my modeling skills are very average. But I am happy with what I do. I try to improve with each model but without going out of my depth. Airfix model ships are sometimes a bit inaccurate, and they certainly lack detail compared to some other brands of models but they suit my level of skill (or lack of it) and also my budget. I find that 1/600 is a comfortable scale to work on - not too small and neither too large, which would I think require more skill to get the best from them, plus more space required to display them. Enough of me rattling on. Here she is, for better or worse - HMS Penelope 1944. Regards to all, Jeff.
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