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  1. I started this project in september 2021. A little help to my friend Alain Nova73 on his project of diorama with a quick drawing of the hull only which will be in waterline mode. Alain will continue with the superstructure design on Fusion360. The information is thin as for the original plan of the hull couples, I found a small triptych of the ship in low resolution and some errors, but it helped me to make the different couples, it is far from being perfect especially the back arch which requires a lot of information and... time. For waterline, it will pass. A bit of history: USS Nokomis (YT-142/YTB-142/YTM-142) was a Woban class harbor tug built in Bremerton, Wash, and assigned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1940. The Nokomis was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941. She was the first ship on the scene of the USS Arizona, and was recalled by the officers on deck because of the impending explosion of the battery below deck. She then went off and helped to beach the USS Nevada, along with the Hoga (YT-146), and the YT-153. The grounding of the Nevada prevented the blockage of the entrance to Pearl Harbor. Then the USS Nokomis fought the fires and dried out the battleship USS California for three days. This effort made the California salvageable, to be recommissioned later in the war. The Nokomis was also the last ship to move the surviving YC-699 barge before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. The Nokomis accompanying the CV-8 Hornet back to Pearl Harbor after its raid on Tokyo After the war, the Nokomis continued to serve the Pearl Harbor ships until it was decommissioned in May 1973 and sold for scrap to Crowley in San Francisco. She was renamed Sea Serpent and served for many years in San Francisco Bay as a tug and fireboat. In 1989, after the Loma Prieta earthquake in the San Francisco Bay area, the Nokomis and the Hoga (which had served the city of Oakland as a fireboat) again fought fires alongside each other. According to the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society, the Nokomis was purchased in April 1975 by Crowley Maritime Corporation, and its name was changed to Sea Serpent. She operated in San Francisco Bay as a commercial tug to assist ships in docking. Crowley Maritime ceased operations in the San Francisco area in the early 1990s and the Nokomis was renamed Panamanian and abandoned, like many other tugs, to decay and rust. She was rediscovered in mid-2002 at the Hunters Point mudflats in San Francisco by tugboat captain Melissa Parker[8]. 8] It was purchased at an auction for $50 for the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society (HTERS) and was originally moored at Pier 80 in San Francisco. The 501 non-profit organization was dedicated to historical research, hands-on engineering education programs for disadvantaged Bay Area youth, and cooperative programs between historic ship organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. HTERS acquired an operational sister tug, the USS Wenonah, with the intention of using the Wenonah as a floating class to engage HTERS to help raise funds to restore the Nokomis. After falling behind on dock rental fees, the two tugs were moved to Treasure Island, but dock rental and insurance fees continued to accumulate, eventually costing the Historic Tugboat Education and Restoration Society both vessels. Sinking of the Wenonah ( Sister Ship ) While moored at Treasure Island, the Wenonah sank in August 2009 and spilled oil into San Francisco Bay. The Coast Guard asked Global Diving to salvage the vessel to prevent further leaks, and Global Diving approached the American Bridge/Fluor Joint Venture to use the Left Coast Lifter crane to salvage the vessel. The Wenonah was turned over to the Coast Guard for disposal, and Bay Ship & Yacht in Alameda took over the lease of Pier 1 at Treasure Island, which included taking possession of the Wenonah and Nokomis. Both vessels were scrapped in 2010 in Alameda. The Wenonah was a sister ship to the Hoga. It would have been a great resource of parts to restore her. The Nokomis was the oldest surviving naval vessel from the Pearl Harbor attack. The barge YC-699 in SF Bay and the tug YT-153 on the East Coast, along with the Hoga, are now the last surviving naval vessels from Pearl Harbor. http://www.runcornmodelboats.co.uk/USS_Hoga.html https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B32-8ZWvIt6USm9hV05adGNzNXM/view?resourcekey=0-2oWytSsFRNuIzFGqjQ2rbA I still have a lot of work to do. I have drawn the waterline in relation to the photos, you can see that this tug was ballasted at the back in relation to the horizontal plane of the plan. You will have to keep some in waterline to cut the hull.
  2. USS New Jersey, Platinum Edition 1:350 Revell The USS New Jersey, a 45,000-ton Iowa class battleship, was built at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Pennsylvania. Commissioned in May 1943, she spent the rest of that year in the western Atlantic and Caribbean area. New Jersey went to the Pacific in early 1944 and conducted her first combat operations in support of the Marshalls invasion. She was Fifth Fleet flagship during the mid-February raid on the Japanese base at Truk, where she used her guns to sink one enemy ship and join in sinking another. Through the rest of 1944, she took part in raids on Japanese-held islands, the Marianas invasion and Battle of Philippine Sea, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and operations against the Philippines. From August 1944, she was flagship of Admiral William F. Halsey's Third Fleet. The New Jersey continued her Pacific combat operations into 1945, supporting the invasions of Iwo Jima and the Ryukyus. Following overhaul, she again became Fifth Fleet flagship during the final days of World War II and remained in the Far East until early 1946. She then went to the Atlantic in 1947 and made one midshipmen's training cruise to Europe before decommissioning in June 1948. The Korean War brought the New Jersey back into commission in November 1950. Two Korean combat tours in 1951 and 1953 were punctuated by a European cruise in the Summer of 1952. After returning home from the western Pacific in late 1953, New Jersey operated in the Atlantic. She deployed to Mediterranean and European waters twice in 1955-56 and was placed out of commission in August 1957. During the Vietnam war USS New Jersey was the only battleship recalled to duty. She recommissioned in April 1968 and arrived off Southeast Asia in September. From then until April 1969, she conducted frequent bombardments along the South Vietnamese coast. But, whilst preparing for a second Vietnam tour, she was ordered inactivated and decommissioned in December 1969. The early 1980s defence build-up produced a fourth active period for the New Jersey, beginning with her recommissioning after an extensive refit, which saw the mounting of cruise missile boxes, harpoon launchers and Vulcan Phalanx CIWS in December 1982. She again fired her big guns in combat during the Lebanon crisis of 1983-84 and deployed to the western Pacific in 1986 and 1989-90, with the latter cruise extending to the Persian Gulf area. Decommissioned again in February 1991, USS New Jersey was towed from the Pacific to the Atlantic in 1999. She is since become a museum at Camden, New Jersey. The Model Originally released by Revell in 2000 and re-released in 2002 this kit appears older than it really is with quite a lot of flash and extraneous moulding stubs. The original kit looks like it was meant to have been motorised at some point as all the mountings are still extant. When released it wasnt exactly the best produced model of the New Jersey, that accolade went to the Tamiya kit, but it was pretty accurate. In this Platinum release Revell have included lots of goodies to try and bring the kit up to date including wooden decks, etched metal parts plus turned brass barrels and masts. Once cleaned up and the areas which fall short of todays standards removed, the additional parts really bring the model up to a good standard with lots of fine details and accurate shapes. The completed kit on shop at Scale Model World in Telford showed how good it could look. With the appropriate care, patience and time the model could meet almost museum standards. The major hurdle in building the kit is the way the instructions are presented. The original kit instructions have not been altered in any way. Instead the assembly and fitting of the etched and turned parts are provided on three A3 double sided sheets, so a lot of toing and froing will be required to ensure the correct assemblies and parts are fitted to their respective positions, which could get quite frustrating. It might be an idea to go through all the instructions first and mark on the main booklet where the additional parts need to go, so that none are missed or you find that something needs to be removed and youve got to the point where it will be awkward to do so. The standard build starts with the some areas on the single piece hull being removed. Dont forget to add the strengthening beams that were a feature of this commission, along the hull sides before painting. This is followed by the assembly of the three main gun turrets which consist of the mounting, upper turret, the three barrels, rangefinder housings and hatches. With the addition of the etched parts and brass barrels these turrets are transformed. The three barrels are now meant to be fitted to the main deck with locking piece fitted from the underside so that they turn. This is a toy like feature which I feel is unnecessary and will cause problems later in the build, so leave them off until the painting and wooden deck are fitted. What you can do is fit the main deck to the hull and once the propellers, their shafts and the rudders are fitted I would paint the hull and deck furniture, fit the wooden deck, and then put the assembly to one side whilst the rest of the parts are constructed. Attention is now focused on the main single piece superstructure section onto which the superstructure sides are attached. Now there is quite a bit of flash on these parts so a good clean up is called for before fitting. Dont forget to check with the etch instruction sheets as quite a few splinter shields and the like need to be removed, to be replaced by the etched brass parts. This goes for the whole superstructure, bridge and foremast, including the aerials, radars, funnels and main gun directors. In fact there is an awful lot of work to be done when building all these assemblies, but it will be worth it. The whole of the top of the foremast is in fact replaced with brass, the highlight being the super complex SPS-49 and AN/SPS 10 radar arrays. The kit funnels come with solid tops, so these need to be drilled out and carefully cut away and filed before the new caps can be fitted. The instructions have very clear diagrams showing how to do this. With the main fore and aft superstructure assembled and spruced up its on to the other weapon systems where again extensive use of the PE improves the look of the Harpoon and Cruise missile systems. The only downside is that the Vulcan Phalanx systems do not get any treatment and really could do with replacing with more accurate aftermarket parts. With this build you might as well go the whole hog and make the best model you can. The five inch gun turrets are improved with the addition of the turned barrels, etched ladders and doors. There is so much additional detail included in this kit that its difficult to explain it all, suffice to say that everything from the ships boats crutches, ensign and jack staffs are replaced. I particularly like the treatment the Refuelling At Sea boom gets, with replacement fixtures and the addition of the fuel hoses dangling down. The boats davits are also given an overhaul with the addition of the downhauls, access ladders and blocks. Even the Seahawk helicopters are given the etch treatment, with new undercarriage, rotors, both folded and spread, swash plates and pitch controls. Once the wooden decks are laid there are numerous deck hatches, windlasses and other fittings to add. Finally a full set of railings for the whole ship are included, including the flightdeck netting and blackned chain for the anchors. Decals The single decal sheet contains the ships name plaques, identification numbers, awards, and the whole of the faintail flightdeck with the correct markings. The helicopters also get national markings and Navy titling. There are several decals for certain sensors, but I think these would better painted. They seem pretty well printed, with good density and with minimal carrier film, but the larger items will probably need some softener or setting solution to settle them down nicely. There is also a paper sheet with code/signal flags should you wish to add them. Conclusion From a pretty ropey looking kit, certainly on initial inspection I think Revell have really turned this one around with the addition of the etched parts, turned brass and the wooden deck. It has the potential to build into an outstanding model given the appropriate care and attention. Yes it will take some work, and definitely one for a seasoned modeller not a beginner. Very highly recommended Revell model kits are available from all good toy and model retailers. For further information visit or
  3. Hello Please check out my newest project. It's Akagi in 1:350 scale from Hasegawa plus tones of PE. Cheers
  4. It's been a bit of a struggle deciding which of the numerous carriers I have in the stash to build for this GB, but the 1:350 Hasegawa IJN Junyo has been extracted. On opening the box, I found all the Hasegawa add on packs that I'd forgotten about. Will probably need the full time of the GB to build, but in for a penny and all that. Will take pics later.
  5. My first foray into ships and 1:350 scale, and I really enjoyed it!. The airfix kit with photo etch from White Ensign produce a nice model!
  6. Hello everyone! I am a new member and loved the healthy forum here so I simply had to join! i am going to build a model warship for the first time and wanted to document it as it will help me keep track and I spire to keep going but most importantly a reference for others to inspire. I laugh and joke with my best buddy about how funny it was when we were 14 to smash out a model in a weekend. the results were simply terrible but we definitely had our fun whilst at it! over time one matures and takes a deeper intrest into the history of the models that peaked our modeling tastebuds. one also appreciates the time and effort put into models and is extremely rewarding when it is backed up with so thi g as rich as the history too. When I was young(er) I enjoyed being a part of the Marine Cadet Detachment of the Sea Cadet corps TS Wizard (training ship) in Wood Green. It was my first introduction to the Royal Navy and inevitably inspired a deeper into rest into the history of it and more broadly the navies it dealt with. with this I have decided to build a model of HMS Wizard as it would require some proper research and holds a little place in my heart as it was the catalist for my love of naval history and engineering. Please follow this thread to witnes my maiden voyage into maritime modeling. commentry, experiences, pro tips and contructive criticism is advocated here to better the experience
  7. I've finally taken the plunge, and bought my first resin ship kit. I have too many models already in other genres (many of which I am clearing out as this place has widened my horizons beyond just car models) and my marine stash is growing slowly with a 1:144 Das Boot, a pair of 1:50 sailing yachts, two 1:18 sailing dinghies, a 1:72 Sunseeker gin palace, and about six unbuilt 1:700 liners & warships, and two unbuilt 1:350 warships. However, the only ships I have actually completed so far are three of Meng's 1:700 pre-coloured snap fit ones... It will also probably be the last 1:350 ship that I buy due to the cost and display space required, however, HMS Apollo is a ship that I have wanted a model of for a very long time, and so is one that I am going to take my time over not only to build it properly (I am new to using PE & am yet to try rigging anything...) but also as accurately as possible. I did consider converting the ancient Airfix 1:600 Leander, but everything I could find out about that kit just didn't inspire me. And why Apollo? My late grandfather joined the navy aged 13 and retired in around 1984/5. He served on Apollo in the late '70s, and of all the ships that he was on, she was the one that we remember him talking about the most. I can't remember all the other ships, but I know he was in Coastal Forces early on, then later on HMS Ulster (or Ulchin as she was nicknamed by that point, having been cut & shut with HMS Urchin's stern following a prior mishap with a dockyard wall when the bridge telegraph jammed full astern), HMS Ark Royal IV, then HMS Apollo and lastly HMS Diomede. It is essentially being built in memory of him. I am starting with the Atlantic Models 1:350 HMS Cleopatra F28 kit (thank you @bootneck!), which as best I can tell is the nearest start point, as it has the foredeck gun unlike the other two Leander kits from the same source, and also includes the correct witch's hat mast and all the necessary marking decals. However, if anyone can advise on any info which would guide me as to what equipment Apollo should have in her late '70s fit-out, compared to the instructions for Cleopatra that would be amazing! I have quite a few photos that I have found online of Apollo, which show some of the obvious differences, such as no transom cut-out, and of course her mast, but much of the other weaponry and equipment means little to me. One of the main queries that I have not been able to find answers to relates to her aft deck. Was there still the drop down (well deck?) immediately forward of the transom which on Cleopatra (along with the cutaway transom) was for the variable depth sonar, or was it fully flush? Whilst I won't be starting the build for a while (I want to practice on a few expendable plastic kits first!) any tips or tricks for this kit would also be very appreciated! Many thanks!
  8. Hello. Gallery of my latest finished model of Soya.
  9. Howdi all, I've been looking at an MK1 set including deck for a kit in my stash and thought I would fire this past your good selves. So a quick question to see what the general consensus is on who's after market sets are best to look for. I know there will always be a case of which are the most accurate for a given year etc but on a general level who offers the best quality, ease of working with, cost, value etc. Thanks
  10. On a bit of a roll with submarines. Here is my attempt at the Bronco Models 1:350 kit of the USS Seawolf SSN-21. Very simple to build, but made a bit challenging with a very hard black plastic. The decal placement diagram was also pretty much useless. Terrible stand as well, which I will need to do something about. That being said, ended up ok as a relaxing build. Brush painted with Tamiya and Italeri acrylics and photographed in the very non-maritime environment of my backyard. Thanks for looking.
  11. Picked this up as a way of getting back to the bench after a long dry period in 2020. Brush painted with Tamiya Acrylics, finished with a brush painted coat of floor polish. Base is an old piece of scrap wood (I think it was from an old chopping board that split) with a couple of coatings of decking oil. Build thread (limited that it is) can be found here. thanks for looking.
  12. An exercice of style with this oceanic vignette made in a GB initiate in my modelling club of witch i'm a recent member. I was very curious of making such a stuff. the trumpeter kit is stunning and i had just replaced the masts. It was a pleasure to paint and weathering it. There is some scratch work on the Glen. Most of all, i'm very proud of the albatross 😁 And the final result : See you ! Fabrice https://www.facebook.com/Fabrice-Simon-104518141316306
  13. HMS Agamemnon 1:350 Hobbyboss History HMS Agamemnon was the pride of the British Royal Navy and the last of her pre-dreadnought battleships produced. Because she was of a "bridge" design between the ironclad vessels of old and dreadnought ships to come, her design and her fate were already established before she was ever launched. Coming along just after the turn of the century, she survived long enough to see action in World War 1 (1914-1918) but very little beyond that. HMS Agamemnon was of a dying breed of ship, though a capable design she was, perhaps appearing two decades too late. Her profile was dominated by a center superstructure, twin masts and twin funnels. Her battery of four 12" main guns were housed in two armoured turrets - one fore and one aft, two guns to a turret. This was augmented by 10 x 9.2" guns positioned in turrets around the superstructure. Her other armament consisted of 24 x 12-pounder cannons and an additional 2 x 3-pounder types centered around a quick-fire action. To compliment this armament, 5 x torpedo tubes of 460mm were provided with 23 torpedoes to spare. Crew complement totalled over 800 personnel and power was derived from her vertical triple expansion 4-cylinder engines powered by no less than 15 x boilers. This turned twin screws at 16,750 horsepower and offered speeds close to 19 knots. Once launched, the vessel undertook some basic operations before being called up to active service in the First World War as part of the Channel Fleet in February of 1915, serving alongside HMS Lord Nelson - her sister ship. Her main guns were brought to bear on inland Ottoman targets in the same month and provided cover fire for amphibious operations soon after including the infamous Gallipoli landings in April. During this time, HMS Agamemnon survived several direct howitzer ships but none were critical to underlying systems and her crew losses were manageable. The Agamemnon survived the war and had Ottoman representatives present on her decks to sign the Armistice. Beyond that, the class had reached its pinnacle and HMS Agamemnon was relegated to the role of a target ship in the middle 1920's. Surviving that affair, she was broken down and sold for scrapping in 1927. The Model We’ve yet to see many British ships in this scale from WWI, but it’s great that we are at last seeing some pre-dreadnoughts being released, and long my it continue as there are some great subjects that I’m sure we’d all like to see on our work benches at some point in the future. This kit of HMS Agamemnon comes in a relatively small box, as these weren’t the largest of ships compared with later battleships. It’s just a shame that they got the spelling of the ships name wrong though, both on the box and the instruction sheet. Fortunately though, they got it right on the nameplate in the kit. Inside there are nine sprues, one separate part and the deck all produced in light grey styrene, four sheets of etched brass, a length of chain and a small decal sheet. Since they got the hull right on the HMS Lord Nelson kit, it’s only natural that they got it right with her sister ship, at least, according to R A Burt and his excellent books on British battleships and also the constructors model which used to be on display at the Science museum. The rest of the parts are very nicely moulded with plenty of detail, although there will be some who will want to add even more. There are no signs of flash or other imperfections, but there are quite a few moulding pips, which means a little extra cleaning up of parts. Construction begins with the two piece hull being joined together and strengthened with the three bulkheads and two end beams. The single piece deck is then attached, making a pretty solid and strong hull. On the underside, the tow propeller shafts, A frames and propellers are fitted, as is the single rudder. With the hull upright, the three piece, fully PE, Admirals walkway is fitted to the stern, followed by the PE rails fore of A turret barbette and aft of X turret barbette. The myriad of windlasses, cleats, bollard and ventilators are then glued into their respective positions, as are the Jack and Ensign staffs and their supports. Amidships there are seven deck houses to be fitted along with four cable reels and three winches. The superstructure is made up from a single piece item to which twelve supports are glued to the underside before being glued into position over the previously fitted deck houses. Remember to add the pair of foreward mounted 12 pounders that fire from ports at the forward end of the superstructure, as you won’t get them in once the deck is glued down. The superstructure longitudinal bulkheads are then attached, as are PE four inclined ladders, four side mounted windlasses, two boat booms and the anchor chains. To the upper deck, four, three piece winches, sixteen 12 pounder guns and five deck houses are fitted. This deck is then covered by a two piece 03 deck, with the aft section supported by six vertical columns. The main bridge deck is then attached foreward and small mezzanine decks aft with two inclined ladders leading to the 12 pounder deck. Each of the two funnels are made up from two halves, a base and funnel cap. To these, PE funnel cap grilles are added, along with PE hand and foot rails, and two auxiliary vents. The three piece armoured bridge, two deck houses and the two piece ships wheel are attached to the bridge deck. The two funnel assemblies are then glued into place along with two vertical columns aft. The boat deck is fitted out with eighteen PE boat cradles and a rescue float. There are fifteen boats in total, most of which come with separate hulls and decks, and some also have separate rudders. The three steam pinnaces and eight rowing boats are glued to their respective cradles, and then two other rowing boats are crutched within a larger boat. The main mast is made up from lower mast section, a two tier observation top with PE support brackets, upper mast section and yardarm. The lower section is then fitted with three PE blocks, and the three piece goose neck for the boat crane boom, which is also fitted with PR blocks and a PE hook. This is then fitted aft of the boat deck and supported by two angled support arms, finished off with two PE vertical ladders. The foremast is of similar construction, just with a slightly small boat handling boom, three yardarms and a searchlight in the lower of the two tier observation top, it is then glued just aft of the armoured bridge deck house. The PE bridge house surrounding the ships wheel is then folded to shape and glued into place, with another deck above it supported by two PE braces. Two binnacles are attached to this deck and inclined ladder. Six 12 pounder guns and eight searchlights are fitted around the boat deck and the PE bridge wings attached wither side of the bridge deck. The bridge deck and aft boat deck railings are then attached, as are the two long ladders to the foremast observation platforms, and two pairs of davits to the aft end of the superstructure. Four more two part ships boats are assembled and fitted to the two pairs for davits either side of the quarterdeck. The anchors, fourteen anti-torpedo net booms are then attached to the hull, along with the two PE rear mounted accommodation ladders and the PE folded netting that is fitted to each side to the ship. Each of the two main gun turrets and six secondary turrets are made in the same way with the barrels fitted with separate trunnions and trunnion mounts glued to the base with the turret slid over the barrels and glued into positions. Some of the turrets are fitted with 12 pounders and some with 3” gun on their roofs and all have PE vertical access ladders attached. Once assembled, they are fitted into their respective barbettes. Finally the main PE railing is attached to the main deck, completing the build. Well, I say completed, but if you want to do a proper job you will probably spend more time with the complex rigging than you had done for the whole build. Good luck with that. Decals The single decal sheet contains just a pair of White Ensigns and Admirals flags. They seem pretty well printed, with good opacity and in register. Conclusion With the releases of her sister ship, it was only natural that they release the Agamemnon, or “Egg and Bacon” as it was known in the service. It certainly is a lovely looking kit and not too taxing to build and paint. The rigging will, however, be a challenge, to say the least if you want to go the whole hog, but will look good with a representative amount should you blanche at the idea. Review sample courtesy of
  14. Hi all, my return to this corner of the forum has been a fairly overdue thing, in fact this will be only my second maritime build. Yet another impulse buy - aren't they all - from a model shop in Chichester a few weeks ago (seems like forever ago since the lock-down ), I wanted to attempt another sea-scape diorama but not have to spend ages actually putting the vessel together. This seemed to fit the bill perfectly: From a quick search of this area, I see that there are several recent builds of this kit already - I will be perusing those in due course ahead of actually doing anything for myself. What I hope to achieve is a sea-scape whereby the U-Boat breaks the surface having been attacked from the air. Apparently this actually happened to U-570, which was attacked, and indeed captured on August 27th 1941, whilst on her maiden patrol south of Iceland. She was pressed into RN service as HMS Graph, and used for trials to assess performance etc, followed by a brief period of active service. Anyway, I digress slightly - the parts count, being only 35 (including a base which I definitely won't be using, among others), more or less renders shots of the instructions pointless, however for the hell of it here's how the sprues look: There, I've planted a stake in the ground so to speak, hopefully I will make a start soon.
  15. Hi all, herewith, at last, my RFI for the Revell 1:350 Type VIIC/41 in its seascape 'crash surface' setting - or rather my interpretation of it. The WIP thread is here for those interested. In some (not all!) of my past RFIs I have endeavoured to come up with some kind of interesting back-story about the real thing on which my model was based. My initial interest in building this kit was based on my reading of the exploits of U-570 (later HMS Graph), which was attacked and ultimately captured by the Royal Navy after an ill-judged decision by her skipper to surface more-or-less right under the nose of a patrolling Lockheed Hudson. That story is related elsewhere in this forum I believe, and in any case U-570 was apparently found to be a Type VIIC, not a Type VIIC/41 as depicted by the kit. However, during the build I happened across the rather sorry tale of another Type VIIC, U-1206; with your indulgence I would share it with you, told in my own words. I'll put in the post immediately after this one, just in case people aren't into too much background info - I will be honest and say the only thing that links my model to this back-story is the probable sense of urgency regarding surfacing! OK first off, here's the photos - I hope you enjoy them: Comments and criticisms, as ever, all welcome. ** Edited to correct incorrect reference to U-505 - should have been U-530, thanks to whitestar12chris ** Edited to correct incorrect reference to U-530 - should have been U-570, apologies to whitestar12chris and thanks to Alan P - I'm going back to bed now!
  16. HMS Roberts Trumpeter 1/350 History HMS Roberts was the first of a two ship class of 15” Monitors. Her keel was laid on April 30th 1940 at John Browns shipyard on the Clyde, and was launched on the 1st of February 1941. HMS Roberts was commissioned, six months late, (due mainly to have repairs made good on damage caused during an air raid), on 6th October 1941, she left Clydebank three days later for the Gareloch where she was dry docked in a floating dock brought up specifically for the job, as no other dock was able to accommodate the Roberts extreme beam. Once trials and final adjustments had been completed, it wasn’t until 13th November that she sailed for work up and to prepare for the long voyage out to the Mediterranean via the Cape of Good Hope. She did not arrive at Suez until the 26th February 1942. She remained at Suez, acting as AA guardship, and was anchored about three miles south of the canal entrance. Her radars and AA directors, added to her design during construction, proving particularly useful, although no action was actually seen during this time. In July 1942 she moved down the Red Sea for a few weeks , before she was ordered to sail for an unspecified operation. This operation turned out to be Operation Torch, the landings in North Africa. Throughout the landings she was anchored seven miles off the coast, but didn’t fire a shot as the French fort Sidi Ferruch did not resist the allied troops. The day after the landings she acted as radar guardship, warning of the approach of any German aircraft from the direction of Tunisia. Her AA guns were used against sustained air attacks, particularly from Ju-88s. She continued in this role until the 11th, when she was hit by two 500kg bombs, one hitting the port side sloping armour on the bulge and the other just aft of the funnel. She was immobilised for two days, before repairs were completed to allow her to sail, all the time still under constant air attack. During the operation she had fired off some 30,000 rounds of AA ammunition in less than a week. With the worst of the bomb damage repaired she went back to her duties and AA guardship until finally relieved, sailing for Gibraltar and home, arriving in Liverpool on the 6th January. The rest of 1943 saw the Roberts providing both AA and 15” cover for operations around the Mediterranean including the landings at Salerno, where she bombarded enemy positions from the 9th to the 19th of September on which she sailed back to Malta to replenish her ammunition as she had fired almost her entire complement of 15” shells during the actions off the beaches. April 1944 HMS Roberts found herself back in home waters to work up for Operation Neptune and to carry out practice bombardments on the Kintyre range in company with the other ships of the bombardment fleet. Owing to her slow speed, she had to sail several days in advance of the rest of Force D, arriving at Spithead on the 28th May to await orders for the invasion fleet to sail to France. On the 5th June she sailed as part of convoy S.6, joining up with the other bombardment ships and minesweepers coming from the Clyde. The Roberts anchored in her firing position eleven miles west of LeHavre at 05.20 on the 6th of June 1944, three minutes later she opened fire from about 20,000 yards range on the Houlgate battery, which had four ex-French 155mm guns, ten miles east of Sword beach. A heavy fire was kept up on the enemy batteries until H hour. Roberts fired some twenty seven rounds during this period, but had difficulty in spotting the fall of shot due to enemy smokescreens and the failure of some armoured piercing rounds to explode in the marshy ground. Periodic fire was required throughout the day to silence any batteries that showed signs of interfering with the build up of troops, vehicles and stores on the beachhead. Most batteries though concentrated their fire on the bombardment ships rather than the flimsy landing craft. During the afternoon of D-Day Roberts made a particularly successful shoot on Houlgate, after sixteen rounds, the spotting fighter reported several direct hits and two large explosions. At 21.30 she had just started to fire on a troop concentration inland from Sword beach, when a crash was heard and a large chunk of metal was seen to fly up in front of the bridge. On ceasing fire it was found that the right 15in had burst its jacket. The jacket had split into several pieces without the whole gun bursting, so further damage was prevented by strapping it with wire rope. It wasn’t until after further action off the Seine and on targets around Caen, using only the one good barrel that she finally was sent back to Portsmouth on the 14th June with only 37 of her compliment of 235 15in rounds left and to replace her guns as the remaining barrel was also out of life. One of the replacement guns was No102, which is now to be found outside the Imperial War Museum, London. By the 21st of June Roberts was back on station on the Eastern flank of the beachhead. Up until the final day of the bombardment operation on the 18th July she continued to give covering fire throughout her operational area. To increase the range out to 30,000 yards the monitor was flooded on one side to give a three degree list to give the guns greater elevation. Roberts returned to Portsmouth on the 23rd July for the next ten weeks, to change her guns, again, give leave and repair the wear and tear of six weeks almost continuous bombardment in which she had fired 692 rounds of 15in, of which only about sixty being armoured piercing. Having completed her duties off the French coast, Roberts took part in the commando landings at Flushing and bombarded the gun emplacements around Zeebrugge. This turned out to be the last action HMS Roberts would take part in, as although she was primed at four hours notice to bombard forts on Heligoland, the operations were called off as the German defence of the Reich collapsed, and the ship’s crew celebrated VE day in Portsmouth. Allocated to the Far East Fleet, she sailed to the Mersey for a quick refit before setting sail on the 27th July 1945 bound for the Indian Ocean where she was ordered arrive before the 1st September to acclimatise before operations against Singapore. Fortunately, the dropping of the two atomic bombs precluded they use, yet she and her sister Abercrombie continued to sail Eastwards until the formal Japanese surrender. The order for the two ships to return and reduce to reserve came on the 11th September, by which time the Roberts had reached Kilindini. The Roberts finally arrived at Plymouth on the 22nd November. Whilst her sister didn’t survive long after the war, being reduced to an accommodation ship and turret drill ship in 1946 before being laid up in Fareham Creek in 1953 and scrapped in 1954/55, HMS Roberts survived quite a bit longer. After arriving in Devonport, she stayed there until 1965, being used as a turret drill ship, accommodation ship and even the headquarters of a sailing club. On the 3rd of August 1965 she arrived at the Wards berth in Inverkeithing to be scrapped. This was the end of the Big Gun Monitors in the Royal Navy after nearly 50 years of service. The Model It was a very pleasant surprise to hear of Trumpeter releasing this 1:350 kit as it would be the first time it has been done in this scale as an injection moulding. The only other option has been the fantastic, but rather expensive resin offering from White Ensign Models. Due to one thing and another we didn’t receive the kit for review until very recently, so I was eager to get the box open and see what it was like. The box lid has a nice painting of the Roberts on the gun line of one of its operations. On opening the box the modeller is confronted with seven sprues of light grey styrene, with separate hull halves and main deck. There are also three frets of etched brass, a small stand and an even smaller decal sheet. The mouldings are really nicely done with some fine detail evident throughout the sprues. There are no signs of defects and not that many moulding pips, being only seen on some of the smaller parts. Unfortunately there is quite a big fly in the ointment as, once again, Trumpeter seem to have mucked up the hull, particularly the foreward end of the bulge, which runs to far foreward on each side, to almost underneath the anchors. The whole hull doesn’t appear deep enough either, although the general shape isn’t too bad. The foreward bulge really needs to sanded away, but due to the way it’s indented this would leave a whole that will require sheeting over with plasticard and filler, probably something only the most fastidious modeller would try. Moving on to the build, construction starts with the two hull halves being joined together. Now, there are several large spurs on both hull joints and gunwhales where they have been cut away from the sprues, which have to be carefully removed before joining. Even though the hull is pretty stiff already due to the shape, Trumpeter have provided three bulkheads and two joining pins to give extra strength and also for giving the main deck somewhere to be affixed to. That said, the next step is to fix the main deck to the hull, before being turned over to have the bilge keels attached, followed by the two propeller shafts, a frames, propellers and rudders fitted into their respective positions. With the hull complete, it’s on with a raft of sub-assemblies, including windlasses, air vents, lookout binoculars, and two Type 282 directors. The weapons assemblies are then built up, the octuple and quad pom pom mounts, (the instructions appear to be wrong, in that it tells you to build two octuple mounts and one quad, whereas it should be the other way round), single 40mm mounts, (which weren’t fitted to the Roberts until 1945), include both styrene and etched parts, whereas the four twin 4” turrets and twin 20mm mounts, (only fitted to the Roberts in 1945), are purely styrene in construction. The next batch of sub-assemblies include the Type 284 directors, fitted with etched Yagi aerials, and three different styles of liferafts, stacked in twos and fours. The main 15” turret is made up of the main turret, turret base and a choice of either moveable barrels, without blast bags, or fixed, with blast bags. Putting the sub-assemblies aside, and with the hull the right way up, the breakwater and storage locker are fitted to the foredeck, along with two 40mm gun tubs. Either side of the main barbette the two quad pom pom splinter shields are fitted, whilst further back on each side the splinter shields for the 4” turrets are attached. The many and various ready use lockers, complete with etched doors are fitted in their appropriate positions, followed by the liferaft stacks. The four paravanes, windlasses, fore and aft anchors, plus their anchor chains and more ready use lockers are fitted. The build then moves onto the aft superstructure with the structures of 01 deck being glued onto the bottom structure. The etched vertical ladders are fitted, along with yet more ready use lockers, followed by the Type 284 mounts, octuple pom pom, three 40mm mounts, the emergency steering position and the twin 20mm mounts. The railings around the 02 deck structures are also attached, thoughtfully provided in the kit. Moving foreward the single piece bridge structure, (like a smaller Queen Annes Mansions seen on the likes of HMS Warspite), which is fitted out with the rear upper bridge surround, rear bridge detail plate, ready use lockers, vertical and inclined ladders, chart and wireless offices, lookout binoculars, aldis lamps, main rangefinder and bridge screen. The structure between the bridge and turret barbette is fitted out with two twin 20mm mounts, their ready use lockers and another stack of liferafts. The funnel is moulded in two halves, which, once joined together is topped out with a two piece etched funnel cap and fitted out with a number of steam pipes on the forward face. These assemblies are then attached to the main deck and at last it’s beginning to look like a warship. Before the assembly of the two masts the midships 40mm mounts are fitted in their elevated tubs, whilst either side of the turret barbette, in similar elevated mounts the two Type 282 directors are fitted. More railings around the upper decks can be fitted now, or the modeller may wish to wait till the end of the main build. The mainmast is assembled from a single pole foreward and double pole moulding aft, connected by two Y shaped struts. To the front pole a long vertical etched ladder is affixed. The top of the mast is fitted out with an oblong star platform on which the mast for the aft Type 281aerial is attached, followed by the yardarm, vertical ladder and etched radar aerial which will need some careful folding to keep everything square. The supporting rear poles of the tripod for the foremast are slid into position to the rear of the bridge structure. The fore pole fitted on top of the bridge, with the large starfish platform, (made entirely of etched parts), fixed to the top of the three poles. The spotting top is fitted onto the starfish platform along with the mast and Type 281 aerial as per the mainmast assembly. With the masts fitted into place, the 4”, 15” turrets can be fitted, as are the forward quad pom pom mounts and foredeck mounted 40mm units. Sundry items, such as the foredeck derricks, Jack Staff and Ensign Staff, ships boats, boat booms, accommodation ladders and quarterdeck derricks are attached. Finally the boat davits, acoustic hammer, (actually removed in 1945), hammer derrick and ships railings are fitted, thus completing the build. Decals The small decal sheet provides just two types of White Ensign, one wavy and one straight. Conclusion I really am quite disappointed with this kit. It had so much promise on opening the box, but Trumpeter has once again snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. The hull, especially the extended bulge seems to have been made by the same team that made, and mucked up the same area, that designed their HMS Warspite. That flaw and the fact that the hull appears to be too shallow overall, but mostly under the waterline makes the whole ship look wrong in its proportions. The twin 20mm mounts and single 40mm Bofors, according to my references, were only fitted to the Roberts in 1945, yet the acoustic hammer was removed, (although the derrick was retained), in the refit before sailing to the Far East. If you want to build HMS Roberts as per her time at Salerno or on D-Day, at the very least you will also need to find some single 20mm mounts to replace the 40mm, another Type 282 director and pair of searchlights, which is a shame really, as the boxart shows her during her bombardment of France during D-Day. Recommended with the above caveats. Review sample courtesy of UK Distributors for
  17. This is my build of Trumpeters type 45 kit 1:350 scale. Having built the Airfix kit, which in my opinion is a bit of a dog due to how they designed the parts to fit together, or not, I was looking forward to building the more complex Trumpeter offering. As Trumpeter kits go I have seen them do better, there is more sink then usual and some issues so far with positive fit too but on the whole ok. the kit comes with a fair amount of etch much of it for surface detail such as grills and doors. I will be adding to that with the Atlantic Models etch and a gras barrel for the main gun. There is quite a bit of research material about on the net including a walk around video of HMS Duncan. there was a resent documentary on the ship and that inspired this build. HMS Duncan is the last of the Type 45s built and on leaving the hanger you will se painted on the internal door 'HMS Duncan Last and Best' So on with the build which starts with fitting the deck, which is a nice snug fit. The bulge at the bow is two parts that don't fit particularly well some filler needed on the joint and the joint with the hull. The other lower hull fittings were aded with the exception of the screws with will be added after hull painting. Just for comparison this is the difference in size net to my Type 42 destroyer The upper hull then receives some etch, all kit supplied for the hull. there is a very prominent raised line around the hull, I can find no evidence of this on any of the ships in this class so have sanded it away. My first modification is the bollards on the rear deck. They have been cast at the incorrect angle and should actually lean inward. I carefully removed them with a chisel blade and fabricated a new base for them. At this point I would normally stop and prime, fill, prime again and paint before further construction. Thats not possible with this build as the superstructure is a continuation of the hull sides. From dry fitting I can see the join is less than positive so I need to fix the superstructure in place and fill the gap first. in tern this means building as much as I can prior to first prime that will be painted the base grey without obstructing painting any deck areas, more about that in the next post Jase
  18. Hello, here is the German destroyer Z14, I used several kits for: resin superstructure from Iron Shipwrights 1934a destroyer, Zvezdas Z17 hull, armament from trumpeter kits, White Ensign PE sets. It took 5 years to build it! Thank You for looking Cheers Andreas
  19. This is my build of the Hobby Boss SMS Seydlitz. For Some reason this kit has largely been ignored by the aftermarket manufacturers. There is now an imminent release of a full detail upgrade set from Infini, but this was not available at the time I started this build. A a result this is almost a straight box build with Infini mast replacements and the gorgeous Scaledecks laminate decks. An unusual looking ship, and that was the attraction along with the prominent red rear funnel. This is a selection of pictures of the build so far... [ Jase
  20. Steam Gun Boat HMS Grey Goose Atlantic Models 1/350 HMS GREY GOOSE was built in 1942 and was one of a series of seven Denny type steam gunboats, planned as miniature destroyers, their steel hulls with steam turbines were intended to give superior type of all weather motor torpedo and gunboats, however their vulnerability to small calibre gunfire (all those steam pipes!) and their poor acceleration proved embarrassing, the intended programme for more vessels was cut back, only the seven GREY boats were built of a planned 60 boats, they did however prove very useful as high speed stripped down blockade runners going to Sweden to bring back loads of ball-bearings. At one time commanded by Sir Peter Scot (painter & naturalist) GREY GOOSE achieved her greatest fame when after the war she was converted by Vospers to an experimental gas-turbine powered vessel. S HM SGB-9 was built by J Samuel White & Co at Cowes, Isle of Wight. She was laid down on 23rd January 1941 and was launched on 14th February 1942. She was commissioned on 4th July that year. On completion, she was 145 ft 8 in long, 20 ft wide across the beam and displaced 220 tons at full load. She is still extant and moored at Hoo Marina in Kent, having been tastefully converted to a house boat. The Model Originally announced several years ago by White Ensign Models it never saw the light of day as the company ceased trading. Fortunately Peter Hall of Atlantic Models kept the project alive and now has finally been released. The kit arrives in a small cardboard box filled with polystyrene peanuts, and comes complete with, and rather unusually for a narrow seas model, a two piece hull, a small resin block and a small etched brass fret. The main hull, which is just under 5 inches, (120mm) long, and is a superbly moulded item, There is a bit of flash on the lower hull section and some resin nibs on the mating surface. But these won’t be a problem as I’m sure most builds will be as a waterline, so the lower hull can be put to one side. The rest of the hull and "superstructure" is beautifully moulded, with no sign of pinholes or other defects. Another small bag contains the rest of the resin items, namely the funnel, 6pdr mountings, torpedo tubes, dinghy, 20mm Oerlikon mountings, 3” mounting, 20mm gun platform, life rafts and cowl vents. The rest of the parts come on a smallish etched brass fret. Construction begins the choice of whether to build the model full hull or waterline. If full hull the the lower hull section should be glued to the upper hull and the seam filled and sanded as required. The lower hull comes with the propeller shafts, A frames and rudders moulded integrally, all you need to do is add the pair of PE propellers. The 3” gun mounting is assembled by fitting the PE gun shield and support arms to the resin mounting, this is followed by the 20mm Oerlikon and depending on the option the modeller chooses, two of these need to be assembled from 3 parts of PE and a resin pintle. Whilst we’re on sub-assemblies, the two PE 0.5” turret platforms are folded to shape, as is the Holman projector and fore mast assembly which is made up from the brass rod lower mast, PE upper mast section and PE radar aerials. The two platforms are then glue in position, followed by the resin funnel, metal cowl vents, two torpedo tubes, PE ships wheel in the bridge, and the main mast spreader fitted at the stern. The modeller can then fit either the Holman projector on 20mm Oerlikon to the bandstand glued to the amidships superstructure. The 3” assembly is also glued into place, as are the ships railings, dinghy, dinghy davit, and life rafts. Behind the breakwater, one of the 6pdr mountings is fitted, while the bow chaser 6pdr can be replaced with the second Oerlikon depending on what mod state the modeller wishes to build. The two PE twin 0.5” Vickers machine guns are then folded to shape and fitted to their respective turrets either side of the bridge, followed by the foremast assembly which is fitted aft of the bridge, which is fitted with a windscreen. As is usual, the colour call outs are for Colourcoats paints, available from Sovereign Hobbies. Conclusion Well, it’s been an awfully long time coming, but the wait is certainly worth it, as this is a cracking little kit, and while the construction isn’t actually difficult, the rolling and bending of some of the PE parts could be a little awkward for those not used to working with etched brass. As with the other narrow seas models, this will make for a very nice vignette or as part of a bigger diorama, but will be just as home in full hull in a display cabinet. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of
  21. Fairmile D MGB 660 Atlantic Models 1/350 The Fairmile D has to be one of the most popular boat used in the narrow seas, certainly by this reviewer. Following on from the earlier Fairmile boats the D was designed purely as a gun boat to take on the German S boats, although it never matched the speed of the S boats the armament was such that if intercepted they could easily overwhelm the German vessels. When fitted with even heavier weapons and torpedo tubes, these boats were able to take on much larger craft with considerable success. Around 229 D’s were built between 1942 and 1945. The Model The kit arrives in a small cardboard box filled with polystyrene peanuts, and comes complete with single piece hull, a small resin block and a small etched brass fret. The main hull, which is around 2 inches, (50mm) long, and is a beautifully moulded item, although the review example has one very small remnant of a moulding stub on the stern, but this is well below the waterline so when using in a diorama it may well be ignored, unless the modeller is really picky, even then they will easily be removed with a sharp scalpel or a few swipes of a sanding stick. The rest of the hull and "superstructure" is very clean and nicely done. Another small bag contains the rest of the resin items, namely the dinghy, life rafts, 6pdr mounting, twin 20mm mounting and 2pdr mounting. The rest of the parts come on a smallish etched brass fret. As can be seen in the photo there is quite a bit of thin resin around each of these parts that will need to be carefully removed with a sanding stick or scalpel. Construction begins with the assembly of the twin Oerlikon mounting with the fitting of the two guns to the resin mounting along with the separate sighting and laying frame. Two single Oerlikons, each consisting of the barrel with sights attached and which have to be folded to shape, the two sides of the breech section and the gun shield. These are then attached to the moulded pintles on either side of the bridge The 6pdr mounting resin part is fitted with the sight and armoured top box before being glued into position. With the weaponry fitted to their respective positions, the bridge is fitted with the windscreen, the anchor is mounted on the foredeck and the mast glued into position and fitted with the small yardarm and upper mast section with gaff attached. The ships wheel is fitted as is the hatch aft of the bridge, along with its associated railings. The rest of the ships railings can then be fitted in their respective positions, and that is pretty much it, unless you are going to mount the model in a display case, in which case the four propeller shafts, propellers and two rudders can be fitted. Since there are a number of Fairmile D versions being re-released the etch sheet does have quite a lot of spare parts which can be used to modify this kit into the boat of your choice according to the references you are using. Conclusion This is another great re-release, and Peter Hall should be thanked for bringing this wonderful little kit back on the market. As usual the resin moulding is superb with absolutely no sign of defects such as pin holes etc, only the tiny bit of moulding stub needs to be cleaned up. It is also another great kit for those new to resin and etch which lends itself to a whole raft of different scenarios for a diorama or vignette. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of
  22. HMS Exeter 1:350 Etch Set With the release of the Trumpeter 1:350 HMS Exeter is was only a matter of time before White Ensign Models brought out an etched set. As per usual the set has been designed by Peter Hall of Atlantic Models and sold on the Toms Modelworks website, as well as a large, well known emporium in Lowestoft. If you’ve used WEM’s sets before then you pretty much know what you’re going to get. A great selection of brass parts to really enhance your model of this famous ship. Some kit parts will need to have their detail removed before the brass can be added others are completely replaced by brass and there are parts that Trumpeter missed out, but have been included on this sheet. This very comprehensive set comes on a single large fret which is 290 x 195mm with about 113 different parts squeezed onto it. As well as a full ships set of railings, including specially shaped parts for the fo’c’sle there are a host of watertight doors, some of which can be posed open should the modeller desire, deck hatches, vertical ladders, inclined ladders and support braces for all the smaller platforms that get missed in the kit. The main gun turrets are provided with new rear access doors, while the 4” secondary mounts are provided with new railings, hand wheels and sights. The 0.5” quad machine gun mountings are completely replaced with brass parts with each mounting consisting of four parts, two of which will need some careful folding. The paravanes are also heavily modified with most of the plastic detail removed leaving just the body. The fins, fin support, tail and wire cutter are then added. One of the most interesting features of HMS Exeter at this period of her career was the twin fixed catapults. The kit pieces are completely discarded and replaced with much more detailed items complete with the two extending sections for each catapult. Please note that only one catapult could be extended at a time as they would clash if both extended. This set also included new aircraft launch cradles one for each aircraft in the kit. There is also an aircraft access platform which was mobile to access either catapult. The aircraft crane is also extensively modified, or if the modeller wants completely replaced. You can either add some detail to the crane base cab, and just replace the jib or you can replace the cab as well. Both of which will require some careful folding, but the finished crane will look so much more realistic. Each funnel is provided with a new internal walkway and funnel cap, while the fore funnel is also provided with two new sirens and their respective platforms. The various Carley flots need to have the internal gratings removed as these are replaced with brass parts giving them a much more accurate look. The floats are also provided with paddles. Some of the kit parts are themselves made of brass, but I find the Trumpeter brass to be too thick, thus, items such as the depth charge rails are replaced with the thinner brass in this set. If you want to load up the rails you will need to make the depth charges from 1.5mm styrene rod cut to 2mm lengths. Items such as the boat support frame and boat cradles are also provided on the sheet completely replacing the kit plastic parts, with the exception of the davits. The boats themselves are given new gunwales, thwarts, and rudders for the open boats, and new interior cabins for the motor boats, which is also provided with a seat for the coxswain, boats wheel, windscreen and hand rails and light mast for the cabin roof. Moving onto the aircraft, there are parts for each type, with the Supermarine Walrus receiving replacement struts for the mainplanes, horizontal tailplanes, engine mounted struts and floats. The Walrus also gets a new engine mount, propeller, scarff rings, wheels, landing gear legs and two Lewis machine guns. If you wish to pose the Walrus with wings folded, there is also an option for that in the shape of the wing hinge fold and inner rib faces. The Fairey IIIF has fewer parts to replace, but these include the interplane struts, Lewis gun, float struts, and propeller. For the rest of the ship there are new baffles and gratings for the bridge, a completely new WT office and aerial house, much finer signal platform supports that you could possible produce in plastic, anchors, and new boiler room vent boxes in two different styles. The two masts are provided with new yardarms, complete with footropes, while the foremast is also given a new DT aerial and platform, new lower platform and two TBS antenna. The rest of the sheet includes wardroom window hatches, washdeck locker hatches, 4” ammunition locker doors, leadsman platforms, flag lockers, bridge semaphores and aldis lamps. Conclusion It’s great that the fine name of White Ensign Models has been saved by Toms Modelworks and having great detail sets released under that name. The set itself is well up to the usual standard we have come to expect from Peter Hall and will help produce a wonderfully detailed model of this great ship. While it may not be as comprehensive as the detail sets from other manufacturers it’s still up there with the best, and if you are on a limited budget then this is the set to go for. Review sample kindly provided be Richard at
  23. 73ft Motor Torpedo Boat Atlantic Models 1/350 Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) 379 was the prototype of a new Royal Navy design for a 73-foot fast attack flush decked wooden MTB combining torpedo and heavier gun armament. Chief designer was Commander Peter du Cane, Managing Director of Vosper Ltd, Portsmouth, UK. Power was provided by three 1400 horsepower Packard petrol engines. Top speed was 39 knots at full power. Armament was four 18-inch torpedo tubes, one 20mm Oerlikon gun and two twin Lewis .303 machine guns. Sixteen of this Type 1 design were built as MTB 380-395 and five Type 2 boats were built as MTB 524-527 featuring a six-pounder gun. MTB 379 was ordered in 1942 and built in early 1943 with the other boats being built thereafter. These MTBs were widely used in naval operations in the English Channel and along the coast of occupied Europe until 1945. The Model The kit arrives in a small, ziplock poly bag, complete with single piece hull, a small resin block and a small etched brass fret. The main hull, which is around 1.5 inches, (37.5mm) long, and is a beautifully moulded item, although the review example had two very small defect on the starboard side lower hull, near the chine and a slight moulding stub on the bow and stern, but these are all below the waterline so when using in a diorama they may well be ignored, unless the modeller is really picky, even then they will easily be removed with a sharp scalpel or a few swipes of a sanding stick. The rest of the hull and "superstructure" is very clean and nicely done. Another small bag contains the rest of the resin items, these are the four 18” torpedo tubes and four ventilator cowls, although the review sample only came with three as one seems to have been knocked off the moulding block and it definitely wasn’t in the bag. These items have a small amount of soft resin flash and pour stubs which are readily cleaned up. Otherwise they are once again nicely moulded. The rest of the parts are contained on the single, smallish etched brass sheet. These include the mast assembly, which is folded together to make the complete mast, with the radar antenna already in place. Just the anemometer and yardarm to attach and it’s ready to glue into position. The forward mounted twin 20mm cannon mounting consists of the guns which need to be folded into position, the separate sight, pintle, which isn’t actually needed on this kit as the pedestal is pre-moulded on the hull and shield. The bandstand railings are then carefully rolled to shape and glued in place. The rest of the brass fittings include the boats wheel and windshield for the bridge, two liferings, three deck hatches, jackstaff, anchor and railings for the bow and stern. On the forward pair of tubes there is a rocket projector, each required to be folded to make the complete part. On the rear tubes there are a pair of twin Vickers machine guns, which like the Oerlikon also need to be folded to shape along with the pintle and each gun fitted with a drum magazine. If required the model can be fitted with the three propeller shaft skegs, propellers and rudders, but as these kit will most likely find themselves in a diorama or vignette then they can be left off. Conclusion It’s great to see this and other narrow seas boats being re-released by Atlantic Models, having been lost to the modelling world since White Ensign went down. This is a great little kit and would be a good starter piece for those not used to working with resin or etch. Look forward to seeing other boats in the range being re-released as well as number of new kits which are or the drawing board. The instructions show the paint scheme for MTB 379 using Colourcoats paints, but if you wish you can paint it for whatever boat you wish to depict as there are no decals to worry about. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of
  24. USN Radar of WWII Eduard 1:350 This single sheet set of relief etched brass continues Eduards policy of releasing useful sets to add detail to parts of a model that seems to be forgotten. This set, for US WWII Radars is really quite comprehensive. The radars included are:- CXAM Early made up from only two parts, but needs a piece of styrene rod for the base. YE Aircraft homing beacon, also made from two parts and requiring a styrene pole to be fixed on. Mk3 Main battery fire control radar, made from five parts and also requiring the styrene base. 2 x Mk4 Secondary battery fire control radar, made from eight parts. SC-1 Surface search radar array, made from nine parts and utilises the kit base. CXAM-1 Surface search radar made from twenty five parts and requires a styrene base. SC-2 Surface search radar array, very complex twenty two piece unit which uses the kit base and transmitter probe. 2 x Mk22 Height finding radar for detecting low flying aircraft, made of three parts and a piece of styrene rod to attach it to the Mk4 or a Mk12 director array. 2 x Mk12 Secondary fire control radar, a seven piece unit which requires some complex folding and shaping. Fitted to the top of a Mk37 director from 1944 onwards. Conclusion This is a very useful set as it covers the entire selection of radar arrays used throughout the war. All you have to do is carefully build each array and fit to your model. Of course you will need to do some research to determine what array was fitted when on your particular subject. Review sample courtesy of
  25. Type III Hunt Class Destroyer L’Arsenal 1:350 The Hunt class, of which eighty six hulls were completed, were modelled on an escort sloop HMS Bittern from 1938, she was 262-foot in length and of 1,190 tons with 3,300 shp on geared turbines for 18¾ knots. She had an armament of three twin Mark XIX mounts for the QF 4-inch gun Mark XVI. The guns were controlled by a Fuse Keeping Clock AA fire control computer when engaging aircraft. The Hunt class was to ship the same armament, plus a quadruple QF 2 pounder mount Mark VII on a hull of the same length but with 8 feet less beam and installed power raised to 19,000 shp to give 27 knots. The first twenty were ordered in March and April 1939. They were constructed to Admiralty standards, as were contemporary destroyers, unlike the frigates, which conformed much more to mercantile practice. The Hunts posed a major design challenge. They would be too short and narrow and of insufficient range for open ocean work, being restricted to the North Sea and Mediterranean Sea. This sacrifice was accepted to give any chance of meeting the requirements. The demanding specifications in an overworked Admiralty design department resulted in a major design miscalculation. When the detailed calculations were done the centre of gravity was lower than expected and the beam was increased. As the first ships were being completed it was found that the design was as much as 70 tons overweight, top heavy, leaving them dangerously deficient in stability. The first twenty ships were so far advanced in construction that it was necessary to remove the 'X' 4-inch gun mount and add 50 tons of permanent ballast. These ships became the Type I group, and had the multiple 2-pounder gun relocated from behind the funnel to the more useful 'X' position. The design deficiency of the Type I was rectified by splitting the hulls lengthwise and adding a 2½ foot section, increasing the beam to 31 ft 6 in and the margin of stability sufficiently for the designed armament to be shipped. These ships became the Type II group, and also had a revised design of bridge with the compass platform extending forwards to the wheelhouse face. Under the 1939 Emergency War Programme 36 more Hunts had been ordered; three of these were completed to the original Type I design. Depth charge stowage could also be increased from 40 in the Type I to 110 in the Type II. For the 1940 building tranche, torpedoes were deemed necessary. The next 27 ships were completed to a revised design, the Type III group, and were intended specifically for Mediterranean work. They sacrificed 'Y' gun for a pair of 21-inch torpedo tubes amidships, the searchlight being displaced to the aft shelter deck as a result. The Type III Hunts could be easily identified as they had a straight funnel with a sloping top and the foremast had no rake. Fourteen of them had their stabiliser fins removed (or not fitted in the first place) and the space used for extra fuel oil. The Model The model, which depicts one of the twenty seven Type III Hunts is packed into a brown cardboard box with a picture of the model on the front. Inside there is the single piece hull, nicely wrapped in bubble-wrap, along with several Ziploc bags containing the rest of the resin parts, and one containing the propellers which look like they’ve been 3D printed. There is also a bag of turned brass parts, produced by MASTER models, a fairly comprehensive sheet of etched brass and a nicely printed decal sheet. Most of the resin parts are still attached to their moulding block, although many in the review sample had come off the blocks and were loose in the bags, so be aware when you remove them. The moulding is very nicely done throughout, although the hull has a large seam that needs to be removed from the whole length of the keel. There also appear to be some areas where the resin has splashed that will need some careful cleaning up. Other than removing the small parts from the moulding blocks, some will also need to be cleaned up of flash, particularly the large items such as the torpedo tubes and main gun shields. The splinter shields on the main deck and superstructure sections is some of the thinnest resin I’ve encountered so care must be taken in not breaking them as the build progresses. Due to the way that the parts have been moulded, the hull can be cleaned up and painted before any other parts need to be glued to the deck, great for those of us that use an airbrush. The separate parts can then be painted and fitted in accordance to the instructions. The assembly begins with the fo’c’sle with the bitts, cleats, capstans, anchors the hawse pipe onto which the Jackstaff is attached and a ventilator. Aft of the breakwater the ready use lockers for A turret are fitted, along with a cable reel, and seven ventilators. The twin 4” gun turret is assembled from three resin parts, the mounting, breeches and gun shield and two turned brass barrels. The bridge structure is assembled next with fitting of two flag lockers, two signal lamps two PE watertight doors at main deck level, two PE life raft racks onto which the resin life rafts are then attached, a PE frame fitted to the front of the bridge, onto which a separate anemometer is attached. On either side of the flag deck, one on either side of the ship is a 20mm Oerlikon mount, each made up from one resin and two PE parts. Aft of the bridge is the main gun director, made from four resin and eight PE parts. The instructions show the director access ladder running from the flag deck to the director access hatch. This doesn’t look right as the director rotates and the ladder would prevent this, so check your references. The completed bridge can then be glued into position and the various bits of deck furniture fitted, these include cleats, ventilators, intakes, inclined ladders and tall deckhouse with PE door and the two PE wing support frames. Aft of the bridge, the foremast is assembled from six PE parts and one resin part; this is then glued into position. Between the main deck and fo’c’sle are two inclined ladders and on the bulkhead there are two more intakes. Just aft there are two more deckhouses, to which two cable reels are attached along with four large intakes, two of which have a support frame between them and four PE access hatches on the deck. There are two more cable reels just forward and outboard of the intake structures. The funnel is a single resin part to which three chimneys are attached along with a PE walkway facing aft. The assembly is then glued into place just aft of the mast supports. The intake structure mentioned earlier also acts as support for the PomPom deck, accessed by two vertical ladders from the main deck and fitted with a four barrelled PomPom made up from six resin parts. The two ships boats are then assembled, each with a separate PE rudder and supported by PE davits, the whaler is then fitted on the starboard side and the motor boat on the port adjacent to the PomPom deck structure. Aft of the PomPom is the twin torpedo tube launcher and the deck is fitted with more cleats, bitts, ventilators, a cable reel and a small crane. The central superstructure block is fitted with a cable reel each side, a vertical ladder and a resin searchlight. The assembly is then glued into place. The aft superstructure is fitted with the second 4” gun turret, several ventilators, four ready use lockers, a short mainmast with brass yardarm, watertight doors, cable reels, five depth-charge reloads on one side and three reloads on the other, plus two intakes per side. Once complete the assembly is glued into position. The quarter deck is then fitted out with more cleats, bitts, and ventilators, along with another cable reel, a capstan, three smoke generators per side, plus two depth charge rails, each made from a resin part and a folded PE frame before being attached to their positions on the stern. Just aft of the aft superstructure is a bandstand for a 20mm Oerlikon mount and either side of this there are two depth charge throwers with stands for three reloads each and their associated cranes. Since this kit has a full hull option only there are parts for the lower hull to fit, these include the two brass propeller shafts, resin A frame supports/bearing shafts and two beautifully rendered 3D printed propellers, along with the rudder aft, whilst forward there are the two stabiliser fins, one each side and the ASDIC dome forward. The decal sheet provides enough numbers and designation letters for any of the 27 Type III’s, but there are no nameplates or any other markings included so you will need to source these yourself should you really want to. Conclusion This is my first look at a full kit from L’Arsenal and I am quite impressed. Yes it’s a little rougher than those from another company that deals mainly with British subjects, and will take little more work to clean up and build, but at the end of the day it is a Hunt Class in 1:350 and we should applaud L’Arsenal for releasing it. I know it has been selling very well for them, as it took quite a while for a review sample to be made available. Highly recommend to the more experienced modeller. Review sampled courtesy of
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