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HMS Somerset F82


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OC is part of the 'joys' of the branch.

That makes sense seeming as Bathy dips and sound profiles are bread and butter to the business of Sonar. There was once a time when OC ended up being given to the Met branch, but I assume that they no longer exist in the brave new world.

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Thanks for the comments and support guys, they are much appreciated.

Ceremonial, a little bit of history and why I have delayed putting the crowns on the funnel.

All the Type 23 frigates have a Crown on their funnel because the ships are named after Dukes and the crown is a Dukes Coronet. There are subtleties between the Coronets worn by the different ships in the class. Most obvious of course is that HMS MONMOUTH wears a Black Coronet and Black Flag, this is because the Duke of Monmouth is also known as the Black Duke on account of rebelling against King James II in 1685 which resulted in a rather severe haircut. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Scott,_1st_Duke_of_Monmouth).

The Coronets for the other ships in the class are gold but there is a slight difference between the ships built on the Tyne and those built on the Clyde. The Swan Hunter ship Coronets are gold all over:

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where the Yarrows Scotstoun ships have red in the lower rim of the crown.

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The last 3 ships in class including HMS KENT are exceptions having been built by BAE Systems and have a far more colourful coronet than their older sisters.

However from 1998 to 1999 HMS SOMERSET did not wear a Dukes Coronet, she wore the Coronet of a Baron and flew the standard of the Earl of Dundonald. This was on account that the Skipper was Commander The Honourable Michael Cochrane RN who is a direct descendent of Admiral Thomas Cochrane a.k.a The Sea Wolf. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Cochrane,_10th_Earl_of_Dundonald).

The chippy made two new coronets out of plywood and these were fastened to the funnel in place of the originals. I regret to say that I do not have any detail photographs but I do have the following pictures (which I have gratuitously added) taken in the eastern Med early in 1998 which clearly show the Dundonald standard and it is possible to just make out the coronet.

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The sketch shows what the coronet looked like:

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Making the Coronet is going require some thought. I have determined that I will probably have to make my own photo etch versions which will be a challenge as the last time I photo etched anything was during my Artificer Apprentice training 30 years ago!

So in the mean time I have temporarily fitted the Crowns provided on the White Ensign PE fret whilst I gather the bits to enable me to make my own PE.

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The trials and tribulations of homemade PE is likely follow over the long term so here are a few pictures of the near completed HMS Somerset to get along with in the meantime: :waiting:

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Enjoy and thank you for watching. :thanks:

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Excellent. I was at Dartmouth with Mike Cochrane. He is as posh as a very posh person on as especially posh day in Poshtown, but basically a nice guy. I had no idea he is descended from the Cochrane.

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That makes sense seeming as Bathy dips and sound profiles are bread and butter to the business of Sonar. There was once a time when OC ended up being given to the Met branch, but I assume that they no longer exist in the brave new world.

We were MET (makes endless tea) then METOC (makes either tea or coffee) and now HM(M). I've worn all three branch badges. Still hanging onto my remaining METOC ones until the bitter end though.

Edited by Darby
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This is a great history lesson as well as a fantastic build.

I have Monmouth and Kent kits in the stash making sure I take plenty of notes from your build :book::thumbsup:

Beefy

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We were MET (makes endless tea) then METOC (makes either tea or coffee) and now HM(M). I've worn all three branch badges. Still hanging onto my remaining METOC ones until the bitter end though.

OK, I'll bite (& I'm officially an old git). What does HM stand for (assuming the M in brackets stands for Met!)?

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Absolutely brilliant Paul, I have often wondered about the black crown for Monmouth so thanks for that. It has been a joy building Kent while following your build and all the info you and your fellow type 23ers have been providing.

As for your coronet, how about filing the points of the WEM crown down and using tiny discs of styrene in their place and painting the whole lot gold afterwards? Bits of unused railing can be glued to the back of the filed down crown as a base to glue the discs to. These four strips of railing would also act as a spacer to make the coronet stand away from the funnel side.

I can picture what I mean, hope that you can too from the above ramblings.

She looks really nice mate!

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Thank you for the comments they are always appreciated. :thanks:

I have been thinking about how to manufacture the Coronets and considering the idea offered up by Jockster and a variation involving plastic card. Whilst both offer a quick solution I feel I will not achieve a result that would do justice to the rest of the model.

I have therefore decided that making my own PE would be the best option. I have found a number of resources on how to Photo-Etch on the internet and have bookmarked a couple of examples. :book: I think the best one I have across is this one: http://www.nigellawton009.com/Etching_for_Beginners_Version_5.htm

Anyway I have downloaded a free CAD drawing package for my computer and drawn up the template:

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Next I need to start buying the items for doing the business itself.

Until the next episode. :popcorn:

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Ooh, chair well & truly drawn up; I too am not far from dipping my toe into the world of home-baked PE, so I shall be rampantly plagiarising / learning from / imitating you. [Delete as applicable]

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Hi Paul,

Looking really good, must get onto my type 23 - just got a Tomcat in the way at the moment.

I went through the whole self etching game for my Hermes, best resource and materials by a long way are these guys;

http://www.pcbfx.com/main_site/pages/start_here/overview.html

Maplin are useful for the etchant liquid and I got the green foil and printing paper from. Www.coolcomponents.co.uk

Biggest tip I found was don't run the iron too hot, but apply more pressure - don't use a laminator, didn't work at all!

Happy to answer any questions, in the end I was able to get reasonable quality lattice work.

A

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No pressure then eh!

Thanks for the support though :thanks:

and for the tip. I have been scouring e-bay for bits so it may take me a while to sum up the courage to do this.

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If you can send me the drawings, I'll put them onto my next etch order, there is always a bit of space and they look fairly small.

Mike

That would be fantastic Mike. They aren't very big at all, the crowns themselves are only about 6mm across.

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Paul

Send me the files to [email protected] and I'll sort it out for you. I'm still working on some stuff and turn around from the manufacturer is usually about three weeks. It might be a little while then before I get them to you but I think it will be easier than you making them yourself.

Cheers

Mike

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  • 3 months later...

I know it has been quite a pause and that some of you will be disappointed by the fact I have not tried my own photo-etching but I had an offer I could not refuse and the results arrived today:

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So thank you Mike McCabe of Starling Models I am in your debt and I truly appreciate you doing this for me.

As for those desperate for me to have a go at DIY Photo-Etching, I have realised that I am going to have to do some for my build of HMS Brereton:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235001978-ton-class-mine-hunter-hms-brereton-1350-atlantic-models-kit/

So next step is painting and fitting and my model of HMS Somerset is done. :thanks:

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