Battle of the River Plate - HMS Ajax ##FINISHED##

[theplasticsurgeon]

Hadn't spotted this thread earlier  -  but nice one, looking good.

 

For years Michael Powell (writer, producer and director of the film) frequented my grandparents' garage in his home village of Avening.

Thus I filled his Land-Rover with petrol a few times during the school holidays in the 1970s.

He always tipped me handsomely,  thank-you Michael.  A very intelligent chap, dedicated to his profession.

 

 

 

 

[nimrod54]

Having recently completed the last of two builds for The Year I Was Born Group Build, it was back to working on this one in an attempt to get as much done as possible before the deadline next weekend. Previously I had made a start on assembling HMS Ajax's Seafox in line with the etch fret instructions. Yesterday I set about adding the etch struts and then fixed the upper wing and floats in position earlier this afternoon. Here it is after completing the assembly work, it needs a bit of cleaning up, then I can get it painted before I add the prop.

 

by John L, on Flickr

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

That is a very impressive little Sea fox. Cant wait to see it painted up. 

[nimrod54]

3 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

That is a very impressive little Sea fox. Cant wait to see it painted up. 

Cheers Dennis, I intend to paint it as per my Flying Boats and Floatplanes Seafox build, but I still need to figure out what I am going to do about 1/600 roundels. I have assembled the Aircraft Catapult and Launch Cradle tonight and that assembly is ready for some paint too. Hopefully I can sort out the etch crane tomorrow.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

30 minutes ago, nimrod54 said:

I still need to figure out what I am going to do about 1/600 roundels.

Would 1/700th be close enough ? 
 

http://www.steelnavy.net/FlyhawkRoyalNavyAircraftSetTwo.html

 

Looks like the set is good for both Sea fox and walrus types ? If not then maybe paint the base color & drop a dot of liquid mask. Paint the camouflage then go back and do the rest of the roundels. 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[nimrod54]

Thanks for posting the link Dennis. they would have been close enough but once I had sourced the parts they probably wouldn't arrive in time. But it is still useful to know that Fly produce them. I have looked at the size of the markings and it appears that they are 36 inches on the wings which at 1/600, scales out at 0.060" (approx. 1.5mm), so I am now thinking that I may be able knock up something suitable.

[nimrod54]

I have been working my way through the etch assemblies completing the catapult last night and the crane this morning.

 

by John L, on Flickr

[BIG X]

2 hours ago, nimrod54 said:

I have been working my way through the etch assemblies completing the catapult last night and the crane this morning.

 

by John L, on Flickr

It may be an over used term but WOW!!!  I'm following this - those are amazing!!!

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Nice progress John. You are sprucing it up nicely

[nimrod54]

On 11/01/2020 at 16:45, BIG X said:

It may be an over used term but WOW!!!  I'm following this - those are amazing!!!

 

15 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

Nice progress John. You are sprucing it up nicely

Thanks very much guys. I hollowed out the solid moulded whalers and cutter last night, then added the etch tops. and I still have oars and rudders to add to the whalers. I had to sand the plastic on those to match the tops, the cutter is a bit skinny at the stern so that also needs a bit of work to match the shape of the etch. The next job is to see if I can fold some etch 0.5in quadruple anti aircraft guns.

 

by John L, on Flickr

[BIG X]

16 minutes ago, nimrod54 said:

 

Thanks very much guys. I hollowed out the solid moulded whalers and cutter last night, then added the etch tops. and I still have oars and rudders to add to the whalers. I had to sand the plastic on whalers to match the tops, the cutter is a bit skinny at the stern so that needs a bit of work to match the shape of the etch. The next job is to see if I can fold some etch 0.5in quadruple anti aircraft guns.

 

by John L, on Flickr

OARS???  OMG!!! AWESOME...

[Cookenbacher]

What great details John, just got caught up with this and so glad I did.

[nimrod54]

2 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

What great details John, just got caught up with this and so glad I did.

Cheers Cookie, I am aiming to have it completed on time, but with Storm Brendan due to hit the UK tomorrow, which will mean little chance of getting outside to paint, and a hospital appointment on Tuesday afternoon things are looking tight.

[nimrod54]

Yesterday I spent some time painting up the crane and aircraft catapult, then I added a couple of pipes made from stretch sprue along with the searchlight platforms to the funnel. There's a bit more work to do to the platforms before I can start to paint the sub-assembly.

an 

by John L, on Flickr

[Hockeyboy76]

Really nice work good buddy. The etch is fantastic, those special glasses are working overtime 

[MarkSH]

Some really excellent miniature modelling going on here PE is my worst nightmare at 1/48 let alone at this scale. Great work.

[nimrod54]

21 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

Really nice work good buddy. The etch is fantastic, those special glasses are working overtime 

Cheers matey, I think I might have to start wearing two pairs soon.

 

18 hours ago, MarkSH said:

Some really excellent miniature modelling going on here PE is my worst nightmare at 1/48 let alone at this scale. Great work.

Thanks a lot Mark, some of the larger items aren't too bad, but trying to fix etch to a 1/600 bi-plane tested my patience and I don't think that I have got it right, the upper wing seems to be sitting a bit too high.

[nimrod54]

I am still plodding along with the small details and have completed the 6" main guns. I then looked at the masts and thought that they were a bit too flexible so I thought  would have a go at replacing them with something better. The foremast looked to be the more complicated one, so using the kit part as a template I used some tubing and scraps of plastic to make this. I have left off the two side pieces for the moment, because I think that these are meant to represent rigging lines for supporting the mast. 

 

by John L, on Flickr

 

A lot of the parts are ready for priming then painting before I fit them to the main structure and here is a shot of some of the assemblies popped in their respective positions.

 

by John L, on Flickr

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Really looking good

[Cookenbacher]

That is looking great John.

[BIG X]

Great work John - I'm seriously enjoying this build.

 

Keep it up mate - Steve

[Hockeyboy76]

Hope you manage to finish this. 

[nimrod54]

On 17/01/2020 at 19:22, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Really looking good

 

On 17/01/2020 at 19:45, Cookenbacher said:

That is looking great John.

 

11 hours ago, BIG X said:

Great work John - I'm seriously enjoying this build.

 

Keep it up mate - Steve

 

49 minutes ago, Hockeyboy76 said:

Hope you manage to finish this. 

 

Cheers guys. I managed to get the other mast sorted today, I then gave those and the remaining plastic parts a coat of primer, but I had to leave it at that for the day because my neck started aching. I hope to get the final coats of paint on tomorrow, once that has dried I can start to fix some of those in position. That will leave the last of the etch details like rails, ladders etc to sort. It may not quite be there but it shouldn't be too far off.

[nimrod54]

I managed to get most of the parts finish painted this morning and then set about adding some of the main structures along with a few of the smaller items like the torpedo tubes. I have more bits to paint and I want to start fixing ladders and steps in place before I add the final items that are likely to give me access issues. My plan for decals for the Seafox, is to punch out a couple of circles from spare decals, one blue and one white then add a dot of red to the centre. This is how things stand at the moment.

 

by John L, on Flickr

 

The 3D printed bridge with its associated parts and below that one of the 21" torpedo tubes, 

 

by John L, on Flickr

 

by John L, on Flickr

 

And one of the Fairey Seafox temporarily in place. I still have to paint the propeller and add a few decals to finish it off.

 

by John L, on Flickr

 

There is still a fair bit to do, but my aim is to have it finished over the next week.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Thats good to know this is on its final stretch. Good idea with the decals for the roundels.