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HMS Edinburgh in 1/600 (Airfix HMS Belfast from 1973).


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During an extended family zoom quiz my modelling became topic of conversation and an aunt said said that she had an Airfix HMS Belfast that she would never do anything with.

The back story was that her dad had served on HMS Edinburgh up to her sinking and he had picked up an Airfix kit Edinburgh's sister ship (HMS Belfast) which he had intended to make as Edinburgh.

 

A few days after the conversation this turned up!

50047453178_5a3ee8b0db_k.jpg20200604_151043_Film2 by OutcastJoel, on Flickr

 

It turned out to be the first boxing of the 1973 complete with 55p sticker from W.H. Smith!

 

I am quite excited that this kit has been kicking around for 47 years waiting to be built and because of the history I will not be doing any major surgery to correct the hull differences between the kit which represents the rebuilt HMS Belfast. I will however be using the white ensign models to pretty it up a bit and will try to make sure details (AA weaponry etc) are OK.

 

 

I am planning to do it as it was on QP 11 when she was sunk. There are some nice photos about on the internet some of which can be found at the links below and I hope to draw up some sketches of what I think the scheme is over the next few days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Edinburgh_(16)#/media/File:HMS_Edinburgh_stern_torpedo_damage_1942_IWM_MH_23866.jpg

https://images.app.goo.gl/yM91DnZpfWbqmNga9

 

 

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Gidday Joel (or do you prefer the full name?), I'd build the model but I think I'd keep the box as a keepsake, considering it's age. I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with this. Regards, Jeff.

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Thank you all for the comments!

@ArnoldAmbrose Joel is fine 😁 the "outcast" bit is associated with a retired greyhound I had as a kid. 

 

@Brian Derbyshire I do have some gold paint... 

 

@bismarck builder my logic is that although there are diferences, certainly the in the armour belt and I think the repaired hull changed shape slightly? Visually the difference is small and making the corrections well is some way beyond my abilities. 

If I am ever to do the job properly, it will be using the Atlantic models 1/700 scale kit. (Which I will buy if it ever get re-released!)

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Building an Edinburgh from the Airfix fit isn't straightforward - there are many detail differences beyond just the bulges, I can list them if you like. That said, building an accurate Belfast from it isn't the the simplest job either! One fix that is easy to do for both ships is add some plastic card to make the turrets higher, they are way too flat and will look a lot better.

 

Here's mine, built about ten years ago and still not finished, I haven't fitted the mast-top radars. But since I broke off the ensign staff turning it round, maybe now is the time?

 

IMG_7317

 

 

IMG_7319

 

 

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On 27/06/2020 at 14:49, OutcastJoel said:

@TallBlondJohn that would be great if you would be happy to list a load of the differences.

Thank you!

 

In no particular order... this is for HMS Edinburgh after her last refit in 1942:
 

  1. Hull - no bulges or strengthening strakes. Different porthole pattern.
  2. Edinburgh's signal platform aft of the bridge was a different shape than Belfast's (part 159).
  3. Catapult was removed in last refit just before her sinking. Extra boats and floats were put on the deck, I couldn't find any clear views so just made it look busy.
  4. No extra plating on outside of 4"gun crew shelters. Carleys on top of the shelters, not on the sides. The 4" positions had railings with canvas dodgers, whilst Belfast had splinter shielding.
  5. Ships boats and storage was different, no workshop (part 231) underneath (just supports). The WEM photoetch includes the correct parts as options.
  6. No boats beside the aft funnel (parts 217,218), just some carleys, so no derricks on the rear of the aft superstructure (the protrusions on part 286 and parts 184 and 185) or the supporting structures moulded to the main deck.
  7. There was a small boat (dinghy) on the ventilator casing in front of the forward funnel.
  8. No carley float racks on the sides of the superstructures - large and small floats are distributed around the ship.
  9. AA fit - 1x20mm on B turret, two on B turret deck, 2 on forward lower bridge deck, 2 on stern (no blast screen)
  10. On the rear superstructure Edinburgh has the aft pom-pom directors and director tower reversed compared to Belfast, where they were switched to make more room. So the searchlights go on the rear corners.
  11. Edinburgh had a small deck house the width of the top aft superstructure (between the searchlights)
  12. Edinburgh had 279 search radar at each mast-head. No photographic evidence for 284 or 285 being fitted, which is odd for the time period (so omit parts 171 and 174).
  13. Edinburgh's mainmast had the signal yard placed on the starfish, unlike most British cruisers, so part 245 has to be adjusted
  14. A second breakwater was added to Belfast aft of B turret. No photo evidence for this on Edinburgh, but Airfix omit it anyway.
  15. Edinburgh never got stairs or ladders down from rear 4” position to stern deck (parts 219,220). Sinking photos show this.
  16. The deck furniture had many small differences in location.
  17. Edinburgh’s small aerial trunks on each side of the superstructure were always different from Belfast’s (each runs down aft corner of superstructure, then forward under the paravane storage shelf). Its a small detail, but identifies some pictures labelled HMS Edinburgh to be an early Belfast.
     

Note all turret decks had planking on both ships, and the distinctive 4" shell supply system is missing completely, but it can be built out of plastic strip.

 

I have a very detailed 11 page PDF of notes I can send if you really want to go mad.

 

Cheers
 

John

 

P.S. just remembered - Edinburgh's forecastle break was plated in back to the catapult during a refit. So sadly you loose that nice bracing.

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I have to thank @TallBlondJohn for providing a shedload of information via email, having seen the level of effort that various people have put into gathering information which is now at my fingertips it seems rather rude not to use it.

 

For posterity, this is what I am starting with; standard first boxing of HMS Belfast and the WEM etch kit. 

50065076812_ed5d3ffbfe_k.jpg20200701_101339_Film2 by OutcastJoel, on Flickr

 

The Airfix bits are nice and clean but need quite a bit of surgery. The initial problem is that the hull on Belfast has bulged sections, roughly aligned with the armour belt. This will will need to be made flush with the main hull line and then the armour reattached roughly as shown in the shot below: 

50064813751_14eae36e03_b.jpgAnnotated Hull by OutcastJoel, on Flickr

 

I think grinding back with a Dremel will be easier than simply cutting it off because of the huge portion of the hull covered by the bulge. Either way this is the most serious surgery of a kit I have attempted since I was a kid when I butchered a Gloster Javelin kit to turn it into the one at Coventry Air Museum.

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Hi Joel if your going to use a Dremal to grind a lot of plastic remember to do it in small bits and alter the removal from side to side to allow the plastic to cool down it can get warm and melt when using high speeds when cutting or grinding

(from experience is how I know :facepalm:)

 

beefy

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1 hour ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Joel, I'd like to convert one of these kits into HMS Sheffield one day, so I'm interested how your hull surgery will go. Regards, Jeff.

4 hours ago, beefy66 said:

Hi Joel if your going to use a Dremal to grind a lot of plastic remember to do it in small bits and alter the removal from side to side to allow the plastic to cool down it can get warm and melt when using high speeds when cutting or grinding

(from experience is how I know :facepalm:)

 

beefy

Thank you for the advice @beefy66, I am a bit worried about accidentally producing HMS blob... 

 

Do you think it would be easier to join the two hull pieces and then grind or do it individually then join? I am also considering having a bowl of water on hand for dunking if required. 

 

That will be good to see Jeff @ArnoldAmbrose, I plan to make this overly photo heavy and step by step so hopefully it will be of some use when you do yours!

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hi

good luck with this its going to be a shed load of work

thats a lot of grinding i would glue the hull together then add cross braces to the hull for strength  i would be temtped to add the deck at this time unless your going to use an after market deck then i would not bother have fun

gary r

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Oh yes I didn't mention that when I cut off the bulges my hull fell apart. In the end I had to araldite a table knife in to give it backbone.

 

If I was doing it again, I'd use plasticard to build a rigid internal framework, add the decks (otherwise the sides will sag outwards), sand off the bulges and then glue in strips and sheet to rebuild the sides. Careful with the filler - there will be a lot of it and things may melt a bit due to solvents or heat from epoxy reactions. Yes that happened.

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Looking forward to this.  The Town class are without doubt my favourite class of cruisers.  I've done BELFAST twice, both out of the box, once back in the 70s and secondly in 2005 when it was my first foray back into modelling for 20+ years.  More recently I did GLASGOW during the Norwegian campaign when she rescued the Norwegian Royal Family and £10M of Norwegian gold.

 

 

Would definitely agree the comments about putting the hull together with some internal bracing before you start to remove the bugles.  Personally I'd take a Dremel to them and cut them out then replace with plastic sheet rather than grinding.  You'll still run the risk of melting the plastic though if the cutting disc is too fast (not that I've ever done that when waterlining a model of course)

 

Good luck!

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3 hours ago, OutcastJoel said:

Do you think it would be easier to join the two hull pieces and then grind or do it individually then join? I am also considering having a bowl of water on hand for dunking if required.

Joel you could do as others have said and add bracing but i would not fit the deck just incase of an accident and you need to add some repair to the inside of the hull and then add filler.

When doing my Fletcher build that is how I approached it and fitted the deck later

 

Good luck will be watching with interest to see how you get on

 

beefy

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I will ping up an update photo tomorrow, but I have joined the two halfs and made a start at straightening out the bent bow. The plan is to brace it as discussed probably with the deck off but I am not fully decided at this point. 

This has the makings of being a rather long build and just to speed me up, I am planning to start another classic Airfix kit in the humongous form of the 1/24 Hurricane next week! 

 

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hello

from memory the bulge is hollow so stick a thick bit of plastic on the inside of the hull then add the internal bracing. 

this will hell keep it ridged and when cut will hive you something to fill against after you have cut out the bulge

have fun

gary r  

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I have been trying to avoid plastic this week to make sure I am raring to go on the 1/24th Hurricane build I am planning to start on Friday.

I have however managed to fill those bulges with a mixture of sprue goo and plastic sheet and braced the whole shebang with sprue cut into T shapes.

50087416918_4e66bef738_k.jpg20200707_211415_Film2 by OutcastJoel, on Flickr

 

I still haven't managed to feel brave enough to get the Dremel out, but will at some point.

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On 01/07/2020 at 20:34, beefy66 said:

Joel you could do as others have said and add bracing but i would not fit the deck just incase of an accident and you need to add some repair to the inside of the hull and then add filler.

Personally, I always add the deck before I start to cut the hull but then I always waterline my models so need that extra bracing and have access from underneath at least until I attach the plasticard base.

 

Looking good so far.

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When I did this, I didn't put in the deck. After sanding the bulges, the midship sides splayed out and the whole hull sagged downwards badly. I glued a table knife to create a new keel and fix the sagging, then added the deck to get the sides back in place, but it took a lot of work to get everything right.

 

The problem is after the bulges are gone, there isn't a lot left of the midships sides at all and what is there has no rigidity. Joel's bracing will help but many of the attachment points are in places where I fear the sides are going to disappear, even with the goo and sheeting. I too tried to address this by slapping in loads of card and filler before sanding, which is when the melting issues cropped up...

 

If I was doing it aqain, I'd thicken the sides first with something that will will be strong and sand well, but wont melt anything. Car body filler? I'd then face that internally with plastic card and brace it so its a solid structure - doesn't have to be perfect as we can fill from the outside, but enough to give a base to work with. Brace across and along the hull - you cant have too much support in there!

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I finally got around to taking the dremel to it and it held up remarkably well.

50161243556_336ec25c97_k.jpg20200727_124551_Film2 by OutcastJoel, on Flickr

 

The other side is still rougher than the proverbial but it will get there.

I will then have the fun of the armour belt to sort.

 

I am planning to mount this one on a plinth, is the usual thing to just epoxy some nuts in the hull to screw onto at a later date?

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