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HMS Westminster 1/350 Trumpeter with White Ensign photo etch


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The absence of the stbd anchor is interesting as it looks like the anchor fleets have had a coat of paint. There is no chipping at all where an anchor would be, only a rust streak from water running down the hawsepipe. In my opinion it looks like it was removed during a maintenance period and not replaced. 

 

Great job on all that PE! Keep up the good work. 

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9 hours ago, Matthew Spence said:

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

I use Humbrol 127 as my topsides grey, I find it a close match having had opportunity to test it against the real thing.

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Few more details: signal lamps and crests. Like Paul I also found the PE Signal lamps too 2D so I cannibalised them along with the kit lamps into a hybrid.

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This crest on the front of the bridge I'm fairly sure is a bit too overscale so I might redo it. On the other hand I'm not sure I would want it any smaller since I still have to paint the thing.

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Edited by Matthew Spence
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8 hours ago, Paul E said:

I use Humbrol 127 as my topsides grey

Does "topsides" mean deck surfaces? I'm after the other one, for the "walls"*...

For the deck surfaces I have Vallejo Dark Sea Grey, but tbh I'm much less worried about that since there seems to be massive differences between ships, and even patchiness on the same ship.

*I wanna say bulkhead but I'm pretty sure that's an interior wall, not sure what exterior walls are called.

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Nice move from 2D to 3D signal lamps.

2 hours ago, Matthew Spence said:

This crest on the front of the bridge I'm fairly sure is a bit too overscale so I might redo it. On the other hand I'm not sure I would want it any smaller since I still have to paint the thing.

Instead of painting, could you not produce a decal? 

 

Stuart

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56 minutes ago, Courageous said:

Instead of painting, could you not produce a decal? 

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

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Topsides = vertical surfaces = walls. 😁 The actual term for the external walls are screens but I wouldn't worry about that.

 

Not wishing to upset you but HMS Westminster didn't carry the Portculis badge on the funnel until around 2002ish before then she was part of the 4th Frigate squadron and carried a large number 4 below the Crown. Also as she was a Swan Hunter built ship the Crown is gold all over and doesn't have red in it. 

 

I happen to think the badge in front of the bridge is about the right size. They are actually quite large and certainly bigger than the badges that you see hung up in pubs and such like.

 

Edited by Paul E
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6 hours ago, Paul E said:

Topsides = vertical surfaces = walls. 😁 The actual term for the external walls are screens but I wouldn't worry about that.

 

Not wishing to upset you but HMS Westminster didn't carry the Portculis badge on the funnel until around 2002ish before then she was part of the 4th Frigate squadron and carried a large number 4 below the Crown. Also as she was a Swan Hunter built ship the Crown is gold all over and doesn't have red in it. 

 

I happen to think the badge in front of the bridge is about the right size. They are actually quite large and certainly bigger than the badges that you see hung up in pubs and such like.

 

Good spot, thank you. I'm very tempted to leave the Portcullis badge like that as artistic licence just because it would be nice to have the crest on there. But I've made so much effort for accuracy thus far it would be a shame not to follow through. My other idea is to get a laser etched crest for the plinth and paint it, but I'm not sure how hard that will be to source.

Currently waiting on paints so no progress to post. Pretty much everything is built now, everything left is either general assembly or waiting on general assembly. Most of this is rigging and the quarter deck.

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

And where did you source your display case from?

Edited by Matthew Spence
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15 hours ago, Matthew Spence said:

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

And where did you source your display case from?

I would say that the Hawk Graphics decals are more accurate. There is a standard for pennant number dimensions but I don't know wat the size should be.

 

As for the display cases I use, I get the covers manufactured by PlasticOnline: www.plasticonline.co.uk and the bases are from wood that was off cut from a hardwood deck. 

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Thanks Paul

Aplogies for the lack of progress updates. I've been obsessively and unnecessarily adding detail to the hanger which next to no one is ever going to notice or appreciate. Hopefully you guys will enjoy it though. I haven't worried about historical accuracy any where near as much as the rest of the build, but the OOB detail was lacking so I found a photo of one end of a Type 23 hanger at some point in history and extrapolated roughly from that. I used the spare helicopter deck netting I had to create some storage cages with plasticard crates in behind them. Some plastic rods and wire to add the fire control system. Couple of spinal boards and vents from plasticard at the end with some spare railings from the PE. Put a couple of winch crane contraptions made from plasticard on the roof. And since I had some spare torpedos from my lynx kit so I though it would be cool to throw them on the wall.

 

It's a bit messy to say the least and part of me wishes I'd painted it before assembling the hanger structure. But for one I didn't realise I was going to be adding all that detail when I glued it and for two I find painting parts before assembly pretty soul destroying and this is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby, so what the hell. By the time it's on the deck the limited light is going to obscure most of the mess anyway.

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4 hours ago, Matthew Spence said:

To be fair you can barely make them out now never mind once the deck goes on. 

 

Out of interest how do they get from the magazine to the hanger/flight deck?

I never served in a 23, but they’ll be much the same as my beloved 22s.  There is a deep magazine (low down in the ship, well below the water line) where most of the weapons are stored, and a hoist (lift) takes them up to the ready use magazine which is immediately forward of the hangar.  The stuff required to attach it to the aircraft (suspension bands, parachute etc. - collectively known as Flight In Air Material: FIAM) is fixed in the ready use mag before the weapon is loaded onto the aircraft.  The ship’s torpedo tubes (STWS 2 in a T22) also fire Stingrays, which is why they aren’t all stowed with FIAM on all the time.

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