1/350 Mirage Hobby HMS Anchusa

[robgizlu]

These 1/350 Flower Class corvettes seem to be very popular with White Ensign Models doing a photo-etch upgrade set.  However they seem to have a reputation for being a struggle to build.

This is my first 1/350 model with HMS Kent waiting in the wings for some pedestals before attacking that.

I love the Mountbatten pink scheme  portrayed here

 

 

The colur profile bids you use B20 as the contrast colour, though the text I feel rather more correctly, suggests MS2, more fitting with an early war scheme around 1940/41.

 

 

Despite extensive searching I can find no original wartime pics of Anchusa in the mast afore the bridge configuration.

 

The kit immediately benefits from the various porthole/scuttles being drilled out

 

 

As do the Depth charge "doors" at the stern

 

 

The depth charges have very raised mount bases on this kit that need immediate removing...

 

 

2 portholes need adding on the rear superstructure

 

 

Further inital clean up involves drilling windows in the stack mount section and removign some veery clunky plastic steps

 

 

And you've guessed it - more drilling to drill out skylights

 

 

The wheel house has moulded in windows that most finished models  on the web seem to have kept - I think drilling these out will be well worth it

 

 

The hull/deck marriage needs a lot of filing to get a good fit - 

 

 

The forward deck insn't secured yet

 

 

The plan is to mount this on a "Flodberg" type water base - My styrofoam sits waiting.  BTW - do you cut or saw Styrofoam?

More soon - more perhaps than was originally planned as a trip to the white stuff next week has been cancelled today due to Covid 19  

 

And BTW 2 - I took delivery of some 3D printed itmes from "micromaster.co.nz" mainly for HMS Kent but some Carley rafts, dinghies and the 4" gun for Anchusa.  

I've been sniffy about some of Shapeways offerings to date....... 

OMG  These items belong to a different generation - as others have said the level of detail is just astonishing 

 

 

 

More soon - Thanks for looking

Rob

[longshanks]

I'm ready for another Masterclass 

 

Sorry to hear about your cancelled trip but I think you should self isolate in case.

Then you could crack on with this build .........

 

The Micromaster printing certainly seems to be taking printing to another level

 

 those 20mm Oerlikons look tempting

 

Kev

[beefy66]

This looks promising and the 3D stuff does look very tempting not as grainy as the last ones I had 

Don,t think you will have much chance of catching the covid thing you’re work bench looks far to clean where are all the paint and glue spills 

 

beefy 

[Courageous]

A great start Rob.

 

Stuart

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Looking forward to this one - and another vote for Micromaster; I’m using some of his boats in my Ark 3 build, and they are stunning

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Hi Rob, given that B20 would not be invented for at least another 3 years I agree with your conclusion that it's a dubious call-out on the profile drawing.

 

I look forward to your build. The 3D printed goodies look great

[Chris Hewitt]

Excellent start ,that good went and bought the kit also,have to agree Micro master are superb and also Black Cat Models,they have set new levels with their 3D printing. 

[JohnWS]

Nice model kit, Rob.  Those 3D printed items look terrific.

 

I'll be following along.

 

John

[calistan]

Looking good. Out of curiosity, what’s the purpose of blacking the drilled portholes?

[robgizlu]

22 hours ago, longshanks said:

I'm ready for another Masterclass 

 

Sorry to hear about your cancelled trip but I think you should self isolate in case.

Then you could crack on with this build .........

 

The Micromaster printing certainly seems to be taking printing to another level

 

 those 20mm Oerlikons look tempting

 

Kev

Thanks Kev - I'll be ordering again soon - my eyes, my eyes, just look into my eyes...........

 

21 hours ago, beefy66 said:

Don,t think you will have much chance of catching the covid thing you’re work bench looks far to clean where are all the paint and glue spills 

 

beefy 

Yeah right - just remember what I do for a living 

 

12 hours ago, Courageous said:

A great start Rob.

 

Stuart

Thanks Stuart (a ltitle bit like my evenings out) - a fast start that will peeter out to the usual glacial pace 

 

12 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Looking forward to this one - and another vote for Micromaster; I’m using some of his boats in my Ark 3 build, and they are stunning

Crisp - I saw your offerings and after that there was no going back 

 

10 hours ago, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

Hi Rob, given that B20 would not be invented for at least another 3 years I agree with your conclusion that it's a dubious call-out on the profile drawing.

 

I look forward to your build. The 3D printed goodies look great

Thanks Jamie - your de facto tutorials have not gone unheeded!!!  Keep up the good work.

 

3 hours ago, Chris Hewitt said:

Excellent start ,that good went and bought the kit also,have to agree Micro master are superb and also Black Cat Models,they have set new levels with their 3D printing. 

Thanks Chris - I'm new to 1/700 and 1/350 but I've got my eye on some Black Cat offerings.  This is not a snap-together kit - you may not thank me after you begin it 

 

2 hours ago, JohnWS said:

Nice model kit, Rob.  Those 3D printed items look terrific.

 

I'll be following along.

 

John

Thanks John - I'm really looking forwards to using them on HMS Kent - this is a bit of a "starter"

 

2 hours ago, calistan said:

Looking good. Out of curiosity, what’s the purpose of blacking the drilled portholes?

Thanks Calistan, it adds depth - when it's had a spray of the hull colour and then finally some "Krystal Klear" it gives depth (or maybe it's a complete waste of time at this scale, I always do it in 1/72 )

 

As I said to Stuart - all the pace and action in Matthews builds all occur up front..........

 

The kit is crying out for detail so some bulwark supports are added using the Shipcraft Lambert &  Brown Flower class book plans to check placement

 

 

 

I used some filler so when I waited for that to dry I spent several hours filing out the Wheelhouse windows and finally "squaring " and fitting the bridge house itself.  Fit was not brilliant but i do think the effort paid off

 

 

 

The trick if there is one with drilling the windows is to drill a single large hole which you square with a No 11 Swann & Morton blade and a square file BUT then every so often - use some Tamiya extra thin poly cement to "sit" the loose edges - wait for it to dry and then go back to do some more.

 

The Superstructure is beginning to look like a Flower Corvette 

 

 

Despite the fit not being fantastic and some of the bits being very "clunky" you might be forgiven at this stage in thinking this was the Revell 1/144 offering

 

However placing the bridge piece on shatters the illusion 

 

 

Hugely overscale edges!  Thankfully White ensign supply an alternative though that's a lot of whittling down the way...

 

 

Most pieces need considerable filing to thin down - you can see Raft supports here pre and post filing.  

 

 

Here's the Micromaster 4" gun to raise morale and keep me going 

 

 

 

So with the hull halves together I sought to get a waterline profile - I presume this is how it's most easily done- the calipers as you can see ar high tech for &1.99 from Ebay

 

 

And the profile is then traced on Card which is itself cut out

 

 

I'm aiming to copy Chris Flodberg's method of doing water and Huge Kudos to him for his generosity in so freely sharing his techniques 

He has several You Tube videos and several different posts on "Model Warships" - this for me was the most inspirational...

 

http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=157503&p=637868#p637868

 

He divides his treatments of water into 3 stages which seems entirely logical:

1)  Initial Sculpt

2) Surface Treatment

3) Paint finish and final gloss

 

So having bought a variety of polystyrene sheets from 4D Model shop it's an off.

 

This is the medium density 25mm thick sheet which I was pleased to find cuts easily with a Stanley knife....

 

  

 

 

The options for a surface sculpt were 

a) file

b) Dremel 

c) use heat such as a lighter

 

I chose "c" and in about 10mins I got to this...

 

 

You hold the lighter on a low flame about 10cm below the sheet and wait patiently - the reaction is controllable, so that you get long wavelength undulations but also a random riddle surface.

 

 

For a first go I was pretty pleased - I am indebted to Chris Flodberg 

 

 

Chris talks about laying down paper towel over the surface but I'm happy enough with how it it is so I'll go with Liquitex Gloss medium then paint and start applying cotton wall and finally mulitple layers of Liquitex high gloss Varnish.

 

Oooh - I'm beginning to feel like a proper Ship Modeller  

Thanks for looking in Fellas

Rob

 

 

[longshanks]

2 hours ago, robgizlu said:

Oooh - I'm beginning to feel like a proper Ship Modeller

 and so you are Sir  

 

I've seen afew of these Mirage Corvette kits  built and they normally look like they have been left overnight in Tamiya Extra Thin.....

 

I'm getting a sense that were going on a journey to new heights with this build

 

Kev

[beefy66]

Cracking job so far but the 4” barrel looks like it has a bit of a brewers or is it just my old eyes 👀 

great tip with the heat forming of the wave swells will have to give that a go next time around 👍

 

beefy 

[Dads203]

How I missed this Rob  

 

That's one rough base kit indeed but I think you'll buff it out fella,  love the 3D printed offerings, they really are superb.

 

 

Dan  

[robgizlu]

Thanks Kev - You are too kind 

 

On 3/10/2020 at 10:54 PM, beefy66 said:

Cracking job so far but the 4” barrel looks like it has a bit of a brewers or is it just my old eyes 👀 

great tip with the heat forming of the wave swells will have to give that a go next time around 👍

 

beefy 

Your eyes are fine Beefy - A boy can't have everything and on this occasion a straight barrel is clearly one of them 

 

14 hours ago, Dads203 said:

How I missed this Rob  

 

That's one rough base kit indeed but I think you'll buff it out fella,  love the 3D printed offerings, they really are superb.

 

 

Dan  

Thanks Dan - the kit is a bit of mixed bag - basic shape and construction is sound around the hull but some of the parts are a little monstrous.

Without the White Enisgn models etch it would be a non starter

Rob

[OutcastJoel]

On 09/03/2020 at 21:39, robgizlu said:

And BTW 2 - I took delivery of some 3D printed itmes from "micromaster.co.nz" mainly for HMS Kent but some Carley rafts, dinghies and the 4" gun for Anchusa.  

I've been sniffy about some of Shapeways offerings to date....... 

OMG  These items belong to a different generation - as others have said the level of detail.

I either wish you hadn't shared this or want to thank you for it! I now have a wish list a mile long of stunning detail parts! I am out at the minute and I cannot wait to get home and check in my flower book exactly which bits I need. 

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

I can vouch for Micromaster stuff too - I used torpedo tubes and 4.7"QFs on my HMS Imperial build and they were probably transformational aspects. Trouble is that it kinda sets a precident with unfortunate cost implications for those of us with a long list of subject aspirations.

[robgizlu]

On 3/12/2020 at 8:18 PM, Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies said:

I can vouch for Micromaster stuff too - I used torpedo tubes and 4.7"QFs on my HMS Imperial build and they were probably transformational aspects. Trouble is that it kinda sets a precident with unfortunate cost implications for those of us with a long list of subject aspirations.

 - yes - I'm finding that!

 

As we all agreed - the Bridge surround were monstrous so- it's whittle time

 

 

 

With a view to fitting the alltogether nicer White Ensigns surrounds.

 

And now to "The ascent of vent"........

 

 

I've found drills are better than Dremel file heads.  Get it as smooth as you can then "paint" a very thin layer of Tamiya Extra thin cement once again to "sit" it

 

 

The White Ensign set provides Etched covers for the main vents, though I've never seen these represented in wartime pics.

 

The supports are thinned or else replaced with Pastrct strip.  It's a small ship but it's sucking in time.  Every single part needs thinning or some sort of work

 

 

 

 

I ordered some depth charge caps from White Ensign which arrived from the States within 5 days - very impressive timing and content

 

 

Rob

[beefy66]

So I take it you are using the drill bit by hand and not your Black & Decker hammer drill 🔫 just asking because some one will probably try it 

 

Details are really starting to look good 👍

 

beefy 

[longshanks]

54 minutes ago, robgizlu said:

monstrous so- it's whittle time

 I bet you do your nails with an axe  

 

As my learned friend above said!

 

Looking like it's been deep fried ..................................  nice and crisp!

 

Kev

[Modelholic]

Rob,

I'd be a little concerned about the location of the depth charge throwers. Or maybe it's the carley float platform that's wrong.

Tom

[robgizlu]

18 hours ago, beefy66 said:

So I take it you are using the drill bit by hand and not your Black & Decker hammer drill 🔫 just asking because some one will probably try it 

 

Details are really starting to look good 👍

 

beefy 

By Hand 

Thanks Beefy

18 hours ago, longshanks said:

 I bet you do your nails with an axe  

 

As my learned friend above said!

 

Looking like it's been deep fried ..................................  nice and crisp!

 

Kev

Too too kind Dear dear Boy !

18 hours ago, Modelholic said:

Rob,

I'd be a little concerned about the location of the depth charge throwers. Or maybe it's the carley float platform that's wrong.

Tom

Tom - you nailed it.  I even stopped and went back to Lambert plans.  That's exactly how it apparently was.  They obviously had a lot of faith in the "thrower".

At this stage - these cross supports were not being used for hanging Carley floats (none of the early pics I've ever seen show them).  Early boats only ever seem to have carried two - later designs up to 4 or more as the crew complement increased.

It certainly looks odd 

Rob

[robgizlu]

The overhang on the Funnel (Stack) is too pronounced and needs filing back.

The opening is drilled and then filed

 

 

I've drilled 0.2mm holes around to take "Bob's Buckles" - my preferred way of securing rigging wires.

 

And it came time to attempt the gun platform railings - a task that I've dreaded.  2 separate sorts of railings are supplied (Well done White Ensign!!!) - the simplest form of which is supplied Etched WITH the platform.

I looked around for something with a 17mm diam as a "former"......then had a moment of clarity - a socket set!!! 

 

 

It's by no means perfect..

 

 

The enclosed upper bridge was folded with a folding tool - and then I supeglued plastic strips down each corner to remove the tiny gap

 

 

The aft gun platform was attached - one of the legs broke and ran off so I had to replace with plastic strip

 

 

I can never resist dry-fitting parts for in-progress shots.  I've mounted the 0.5in Quad which in truth, Anchusa is unlikely to have had, but it's just soooooo nice - artistic licence may yet come into play.

The aft depth charge racks are attached 

 

 

And just a quick note for anyone who actually uses this as a build guide.  I removed ALL of the raised relief on the bridge decking - leaving as as in the earlier shot leaves the bridge hut sitting too high.....the miidle bit in the shot below gets filed flat

 

 

 

 

Starting to look like a Flower Class corvette now

 

 

Thanks for looking 

Rob

[beefy66]

Upper bridge cabin and side walls are making a big difference and the gun platform just brings things up to the next level 👍

 

stay safe 

beefy 

[Dads203]

This is shaping up very well Rob, some very nice detailing going bud 

[longshanks]

Very Corvetty .....

 

The PE is certainly improving the basic kit. I like the way the rails on the 4" gun platform are wave battered. No mean feet in this scale  

 

Setting the Gold Standard as usual

 

Kev