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HMS Aurora 1945


Bugle07

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Morning All,

 

I didn't mean to start this kit, its been in the stash for a while now waiting for me to build up some skills, and nerves.

 

I was waiting for the canopy to dry before masking on a 1/48 Spitfire and had the glue and airbrush out, and I thought "let's have a look"

 

The next thing I know the hulls been glued together... How'd that happen? 

 

I blame SWMBO, saying I need to reduce the stash, as if that's going to happen!

 

I cannot say enough good thinks about Flyhawks kits. I've got the Aurora, Niad and Legion in the stash. They're superb examples of modern manufacturing. The go together easily, smart box layout to avoid breakage and can fit all budgets with the basic or the kits with extras.

 

So on with what I've done. This is the upgrade kit, with photo etch included, I'll be leaving that lot till a bit later. Aurora can be either full hull or waterline. If normally go with waterline but I thought I'd have a look at what she was like with her bottom attached.

 

5 pieces, a bit of glue and you have a full hull and decks!

 

Primed with Tamiya extra fine primer and then a blast of Lifecolour 507c all over. I masked off the boot topping, Vallejo model air black I think, then tried to get a good B20 substitute.

 

I have the Lifecolour B20 but it looks far to grey. So I mixed up some Model air PRU faded blue and EDSG. After this flurry of activity I got fully carried away and started applying the AK interactive enamel weathering range to her.

 

This is where I got to before I actually stopped and looked critically at her

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I really wasn't happy with the fake B20, and the Lifecolour grey kept flaking off every time I masked over it.

 

I quite like most of my weathering, but I think I went a bit too heavy.

 

So...

 

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Off it all came and start again.

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I used Vallejo model air sky grey  and Tamiya XF-18. Vallejo hull red and model air black for the boot top. Gloss coats addedd in between everything.

 

I think the sky is too light, but that can be corrected with weathering, and I think the xf-18 needs lightening up, again a bit of weathering should do this.

 

Weathering to come on the hull.

 

Whilst I was waiting for some of the layers to dry I made a start on the wooden decks, something I've never done before.

 

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Tamiya deck tan and wooden deck tan with a wash of AK interactive deck wash. I think I did about 5 coats of each colour, done in streaks, then gave it a wash with the AK. 

 

Think it needs lightening up, and a light spray to bring it all together. Very happy with it so far tho!

 

We, that's a lot of waffle from me with only a few pics, double painting, and only 5 of the 200+bits glued together! This could take a while!

 

Oh, and while I was taking a couple of these pics this morning, I couldn't help put some of the larger parts on, just to see...

 

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She enjoyed her little tour round the house, firing off broadsides as she went.

 

We're all 6 years old at heart aren't we?

 

That'll do me for now, up next, finishing off the deck, weathering the hull, working out if I'm going to put her in a seascape or on a pedestal(really should have done this earlier) and onto the really small fiddly bits, oh and pe.....

 

Thanks for looking in.

 

Geoff

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Gidday Geoff, 6 years old at heart, speak for yourself. I'm at least 7. And have been for 55 years. 

     The Arethusa class were beautiful ships I think, and did sterling work in the Mediterranean where their small size was an asset rather than a liability. I'm looking forward to seeing how your model turns out. Regards, Jeff.

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Bit of weathering tonight, AK Enamels from the 2 ship weathering sets. I only recently got these and I've found them to be really easy and effective. This is there first major outing.

 

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I've basically been putting splodges of the grime and salt streaks down, letting it dry, then used thinner to streak it down the hull.

 

Because they're enamel you could do this directly onto the acrylic paint, but after having to re do the paint job before, I put a gloss coat down to seal in what's already done. I did use an acrylic gloss just in case, I've heard about the reactions between enamel and some glosses, don't want to have to start a third time.

 

Hopefully more soon.

 

Geoff

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On 2/23/2019 at 8:18 AM, Bugle07 said:

She enjoyed her little tour round the house, firing off broadsides as she went.

  

We're all 6 years old at heart aren't we?

I trust that means those volleys were accompanied by the appropriate 'sound effects!'

Really excellent and inspiring work. Look forward to seeing her fully 'fitted out.'

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Thanks for that Thorfinn

26 minutes ago, thorfinn said:

trust that mans those volleys were accompanied by the appropriate 'sound effects!'

Ohhh yes, down to the bells before firing!

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On 2/23/2019 at 10:33 AM, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Geoff, 6 years old at heart, speak for yourself. I'm at least 7. And have been for 55 years. 

     The Arethusa class were beautiful ships I think, and did sterling work in the Mediterranean where their small size was an asset rather than a liability. I'm looking forward to seeing how your model turns out. Regards, Jeff.

My best friend's father served on the Arethusa during WWII. Lovely man, there were many amazing stories from him. 

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So many of those story's are now lost forever. One of my Grandad's spent most of the war on destroyers, but passed away before I came along.

 

The other Granddad was in the Marines, North  Africa and Italy, but refused point blank to tell anyone about his time beyond that, bless him.

 

Heartily recommend 'Forgotten Voices of the Royal Navy' and a hunt round the IWM sound bites section.

 

Geoff

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A bit of service history on HMS Aurora, copied for Wilki. 

 

Aurora served with the Home Fleet from completion as Rear Admiral (D). In September 1939 she was with the 2nd Cruiser Squadron, escorting convoys to Scandinavia and engaged in the hunt for the German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. From October 1940 she was commanded by Captain William Gladstone Agnew. After the Norwegian Campaign she participated in the operations hunting the German battleship Bismarck and, with the cruiser Kenya, intercepted one of the German supply ships, Belchen, on 3 June 1941. Between July and August 1941, as part of Force K with the Home Fleet, she was involved in operations to Spitzbergen and Bear Island (Operation Gauntlet). After one of these sorties, in company with the cruiser Nigeria, she intercepted a German troop convoy off Northern Norway, and the German Bremse was sunk. In the autumn she was transferred to the Mediterranean and arrived in Malta on 21 October 1941 to join a new Force K.[3] On 9 November 1941 leading Force K, consisting of HMS Penelope, HMS Lance and HMS Lively, she was involved in the destruction of the Beta Convoy. In the resulting battle the Italian destroyer Fulminewas sunk, as well as the German transports Duisburg and San Marco, the Italian transports Maria, Sagitta and Rina Corrado, and the Italian Conte di Misurata and Minatitlan. The Italian destroyers Grecale and Euro were damaged.[4] On 24 November Force K, made up of the British light cruisers Aurora and Penelope and the destroyers Lance and Lively, intercepted an Axis convoy about 100 nautical miles west of Crete. The Axis convoy was bound from the Aegean to Benghazi. The two German transports in the convoy, Maritza and Procidawere both sunk by HMS Penelope and HMS Lively despite the presence of the Italian torpedo boats Lupo and Cassiopea On 1 December 1941 Force K with HMS Penelopeand HMS Lively attacked the Mantovani Convoy. The Italian destroyer Alvise Da Mostoand the sole cargo ship Mantovani were sunk.[5] HMS Aurora also participated in the First Battle of Sirte on 17 December 1941. On 19 December while steaming off Tripoli she was heavily damaged in a mine field and was forced to retire to Malta.[6] After her return to the Mediterranean she joined Force H, and in November was part of the Centre Task Force for the Landings in North Africa, Operation Torch. Off Oran, she engaged the Vichy French destroyers Tramontane and Tornade on 8 November 1942, sinking the latter and damaging the former so badly that she had to be beached. The following day she badly damaged the destroyer Épervier and drove her ashore. By December she was operating as part of Force Q at Bône against the Axis evacuation and supply convoys between Trapani and Tunis. Then, as a unit of the 15th Cruiser Squadron, she participated in the invasion of Sicily and the Salerno landings (Operation Avalanche) before moving into the Aegean in October 1943. While escorting British destroyers reinforcing troops on the island of Leros on 30 October, she was attacked by German Junkers 87 and 88 aircraft off Castellorizo, sustaining a 500 kg bomb hit abaft the after funnel. The explosion and subsequent fire killed 47 crew. Aurora was forced to withdraw to Taranto for repairs which lasted until April 1944.[7] In August 1944 she was at the landings in the south of France, then returned to the Aegean, where she assisted in the liberation of Athens. One notable member of crew was the actor Kenneth More, who used his theatre skills in his role as 'action broadcaster' to describe to the crew below decks via the public address system what was happening when the ship was in action.

 

I wonder how you could depict Kenneth More in 1/700? Something to ponder on...

 

Geoff

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Bit more done this evening, not much to be honest.

 

Primed the main structures and the 6" guns. Was going to give them a blast of the light grey but ran out of time.

 

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The level of detail is something else in this scale, possibly overscaled but the effect is stunning.

 

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And once they were dry, as I was out of painting time, I put them (but not glued) onto the hull.

 

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I really will have to sort out my lighting, and yea gods do I hate close ups on pictures! Good few spots to tidy up. Think the staining around the ladders especially need toning down.

 

Overall I'm happy with the work so far, but this is the last of the big, easy stuff.

 

After this lot it's down to the micro bits, and then the PE... :christmas:

 

Thanks for looking in, till next time, appy modeling!

 

Geoff 

 

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Gidday, Bendinggrass, no doubt it would have been very interesting to talk to him.

 

Thanks Geoff for the transcript above, she had a very active career, and a very productive one from a warship's point of view. I built her sister, HMS Penelope a number of years ago. It was an Airfix HMS Ajax kit in 1/600 scale I modified to depict her in early 1944 when she was sunk, but it has nowhere near the detail of yours, neither does it have PE. Your model is coming on very well. I'm no photographer (although my son is) but your photos show the detail very well I think. Regards, Jeff.

 

 

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Thanks Jeff, photos are tough to do from a phone. Getting to focus on the detail, and trying to get the whole ship in is a challenge at this scale, glad I don't work in 1/200 tho.

 

6 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

I built her sister, HMS Penelope a number of years ago. It was an Airfix HMS Ajax kit in 1/600 scale I modified to depict her in early 1944 when she was sunk,

That sounds like a great project, do you still have her? Just so you know, Flyhawk do a HMS Penelope in 1/700.

 

37 minutes ago, Courageous said:

Looking rather nice now that I don't have to lay on my side to look at the pics :wink:.

Thanks Stuart! I prefer to work lying down, doesn't everyone?

 

38 minutes ago, Courageous said:

Never attempted weathering on anything nautical as of yet, feel like I should try it on my current ASRL build :hmmm:.

Go on, give it a go. Less is more, which is why I like oils and the AK Enamels, you can wash almost all of it away and just hit at a change of colour.

 

I think my weathering ideas come from me building aircraft, and wanting to make them look used. I remember taking a pencil to a Spitfire I made and painted with my Dad when I was 8 or so. I pretty much covered the airframe in squiggles and stain marks. 

 

My Dad asked me what happened to it, I think I said that it had been working?

 

Geoff

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Managed to get a coat of paint and a bit of detail work done on the main superstructure and 6" guns, not much to look at but she's getting there.

 

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Vallejo model air again and AK weathering Enamels.

 

Still got a few touches that need sorting out, then the decks and then possibly onto the smaller bits.

 

More soon, ish

 

Appy modelling all.

 

Geoff

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Again, only a little bit more done tonight.

 

Upper decks got a few coats.

 

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Again Tamiya deck tan and wooden deck applied by brush in multiple layers, then a drop of the AK wooden deck wash on.

 

Possibly more soon.

 

Geoff

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  • 1 month later...

Can I safely assume G45 Warm Light Grey is the correct colour for the hull or should I be using 507C/ G45 Light Grey? As I’m build one along with Legions sister Ship HMS Lance at the PTSD clinic at the St John of God Hospital in Nth Richmond on the Western outskirts of Sydney NSW as I had another run down the rabbit hole again.

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4 hours ago, Exkiwiforces said:

Can I safely assume G45 Warm Light Grey is the correct colour for the hull or should I be using 507C/ G45 Light Grey? As I’m build one along with Legions sister Ship HMS Lance at the PTSD clinic at the St John of God Hospital in Nth Richmond on the Western outskirts of Sydney NSW as I had another run down the rabbit hole again.

Hi,

 

You're still using our older paints as Creative are only now compiling an order for the new NARNxx range.

 

You should use the 507C shade for this. G45 was 507C. The Snyder & Short G45 sample which the WEM era RN14 was matched to was itself based on an original paint sample which had yellowed in the elapsed time. :)

 

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0730/0927/files/Royal_Navy_colours_of_World_War_Two_-_The_Pattern_507s_G10_and_G45_206c1b6d-3bb8-47d8-aa5c-2389c903b6f6.pdf?894755808771701005

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2 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Hi,

 

You're still using our older paints as Creative are only now compiling an order for the new NARNxx range.

 

You should use the 507C shade for this. G45 was 507C. The Snyder & Short G45 sample which the WEM era RN14 was matched to was itself based on an original paint sample which had yellowed in the elapsed time. :)

 

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0730/0927/files/Royal_Navy_colours_of_World_War_Two_-_The_Pattern_507s_G10_and_G45_206c1b6d-3bb8-47d8-aa5c-2389c903b6f6.pdf?894755808771701005

Cheers Jamie, as always you have great font of knowledge 😃. I’ll crack on with the my sole tin of 507C and order a few more of it as I only brought one tin with me instead of two as I might run out of it with the two L Class Destroyers..

 

I look forward to your new NARN range and I think just converted another person to use Sovereign Colourcoats at the clinic, as he is very impressed on the way the paint handles the heat and humidity here in Oz unlike some of the more established brands.

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Thanks for the link there Jamie, really great work.

 

I'm completely converted to the Sovereign Colourcoats, just need to convert SWMBO now...

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