1/600 HMS Jamaica

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Jamie, thanks for that. I've painted most of the hull now and tried to follow your pattern as much as I could. I laid the hull alongside your diagrams and penciled in the lines between colours free-hand. Once other structures are on I might have to 'move' some of the demarcation lines a little to conform a bit more accurately. The transom diagram will be very useful (and timely). I haven't painted mine yet as I didn't know which colour to use, blue or grey. Obviously both.

     I've been working on decks, and hopefully will have enough progress to post very soon.    Regards, Jeff.

[robgizlu]

Jeff - that paint scheme is really looking good!

Rob

[Chewbacca]

Great work here Arnold.  I've always liked the Colony Class and have got a spare TIGER hull to turn into HMS TRINIDAD at some point.  I shall follow this with interest.

 

Never really understood why manufacturers can produce kits of ships that never existed (thinking particularly of KM Graf Zeppelin of which there are at least 8 different kits I think from various manufacturers) yet to the best of my knowledge, only L'Arsenal produce a Colony Class and that's in 1/700 which I find just that wee bit too small.

[Dave Swindell]

8 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Never really understood why manufacturers can produce kits of ships that never existed (thinking particularly of KM Graf Zeppelin

Graf Zeppelin definitley existed (and was sunk twice), she was just never completed or entered service.

[bbudde]

3 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

Graf Zeppelin definitley existed (and was sunk twice), she was just never completed or entered service.

https://de.scribd.com/doc/120023193/Marine-Arsenal-001-Flugzeugtrager-Graf-Zeppelin

Cheers

Edited September 25, 2020 by bbudde

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday All, thank you for your comments and responses. Chewy I'll be very interested in your HMS Trinidad when you build her. I've read an article about her sinking during a return trip from Russia. During the trip out she managed to torpedo herself. An incident occurred as a result of this that Alistair MacLean used in his 'HMS Ulysses' - the flooding of the TS. Only four of the twenty-one men in there made it out. Tragic.

    I've found on the net some photos of the L'Arsenal kit you mentioned which I'll be using to help me understand the plans I'm using for the superstructure, which is my next major area to tackle. And like you I prefer the 1/600 scale. I've done a few 1/700s recently, and although I enjoyed them I found the small size a bit taxing.

     I would like a 1/600 scale kit of the five turret HMS Dido class to be produced. It could be used for a host of conversions. Five turrets obviously, some four turret Didos (some lost 'C' turret, one lost 'X' turret) with extra pompoms or Bofors in their stead, and with a bit more work a Bellona (Royalist/Black Prince) class, and Toothless Terrors (HMS Scylla and Charybdis). That lot would keep us going for a couple of weeks years decades. And Graf Zeppelin, I read a while back that she was almost completed but never put to sea. She was used simply as a floating store before being sunk. (I'm relying on my vague and questionable memory here). So box art showing her in action is a little misleading. 🙄

 

     Anyway, on to the next update of HMS Jamaica. I've fitted the maindeck/quarterdeck to the hull. I've read that the quarterdeck was the only planked deck of the ship. Until seeing Jamie's latest I took an educated guess and went for a dark non-slip type of colour for the remaining decks. I paint I've used is Hu27, if the Humbrol tin lid can be believed.

     In the foreground are some of the next levels of deck. The foc'sle deck continues aft to become the catapult deck (and later boat deck) and continues on to become the aft shelter deck. The rear half of that deck is shown inverted (upside down) to show the bulkheads underneath it. I made a small error, requiring the foremost of these to be 'padded' out a bit. Once installed, who's going to know? Besides me? 🤫  I'll add some more internal bulkheads before gluing the assembly to the hull. Before this deck is fitted I'll add the torpedo tubes. They sit on the main deck, under the aft shelter deck. 'A' and 'Y' turret barbettes have been fitted too. You can see the keyway in them that will allow the turrets to be removable.

     That's it for now. The next major area to be worked on will be the bridge superstructure. This will keep the grey matter ticking over, and give me a head-ache or six. So regards to all, and stay safe, Jeff.

 

[Bandsaw Steve]

Looking good! 👍

[Chewbacca]

12 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

Graf Zeppelin definitley existed (and was sunk twice), she was just never completed or entered service.

I concede poor phrasing on my part.  

[ArnoldAmbrose]

11 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

I concede poor phrasing on my part.

Gidday Chewy, while she existed in the flesh (alright, steel 😁) she certainly never existed in an operational capacity as depicted by box art. 🙂 So I think your point is still very valid. Again, thank you for your interest. Regards, Jeff.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday All, two updates on HMS Jamaica in two days! Am I flying sailing along or what! 🙂 Admittedly I don't have much progress to show, I've been trying out techniques for siting deck houses.

     I've added more internal bulkheads/ribs to the aft shelterdeck plus added the torpedo tubes. These came from a 'Belfast' kit. I thought about making my own and saving these but thought that I've got to use these sometime, why not now to save time. Plus I have a height limitation on this build and mine tend to be a bit taller.

     These extra internal ribs serve two purposes. They help the assembly to be glued to the deck below (these are inverted here) and they help prevent the deck being pushed down when I apply pressure to attach the next deck above it. These three levels pretty much comprise the aft superstructure. My next task with them is to add any further door hatches (I've added some already), drill any more scuttles plus add any lockers etc that sit against the external bulkheads. After that I can paint them then they're ready for fitting to the build.

     Some of you may know by now that I paint with enamels applied by the hairy stick. When I have a bulkhead of one colour sitting on a deck of another colour I like to paint them before gluing them together. This gives a nice sharp demarcation between the two colours. To prevent unpainted deck showing at the join I let the deck paint run under the bulkhead a little. This of course will prevent the glue from working on the external bulkheads - hence the internal ones. They do most of the work holding levels of superstructure together.

     Well, that's it for now. I've got to tackle the forward bridge superstructure but I couldn't face it today. Maybe tomorrow, or the next day. 🙂 So, thank you for your comments and interest. Stay safe and regards to all, Jeff.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday All, HMS Jamaica now has her foc'sle deck fitted.

     She also has had her nose job and the anchors fitted. For the nose job (to fill a poor fit between hull halves at the extreme bow) I decided to use 5-minute Araldyte epoxy glue, rather than the Tamiya modeler's putty I used first time. A couple of blobs of glue, and when it dried a quick file, and the result I think is a pointy nose that any plastic/cosmetic surgeon would be proud of. After the nose job I glued in the anchors (I had already pre-drilled the hawse holes for the anchor shank/shafts) then painted the bow and while I was at it painted the transom too.

     While on the subject of painting you'll notice the ground tackle and breakwater painted light grey. Jamie's latest diagram shows them dark grey and photos seem to confirm this. But I'd already painted and de-masked them and I didn't want to do them again. Also, while not historically accurate I like them on a model to be painted a different colour to the deck, to high-light them. Jamie, I beg your forgiveness.

     I've fitted the torpedo tubes, and have also been painting the aft superstructure. More on that when it has progressed a little further.

So that's it for tonight. Thank you for your interest. Stay safe and regards to all. Jeff.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday All, well it's the end of another weekend here so I thought another progress report on HMS Jamaica is due. Below is a photo showing the entire construction to date. The shelter decks and everything above them are only dry fitted at present. What is not visible in the photo is that I've opened out the inboard sides of the 4-inch gun crew shelters, and fitted the pillars under the aft shelter deck supporting the 4-inch guns.

     As you can see I've made a start on the forward superstructure. The deck level there is higher than the others, and combined with the deck below it comprises the two hangars. It doesn't look a very complex item but it has to match the deck below it exactly in width. Plus the rounded front of it has to match that of the next level up, hence the tube construction to make it smooth. On occasion there were either radar lanterns or sponsons to the front which would hide any blemishes but not, it seems, during the time frame I wish the model to portray. Time will tell how successful I'll be.

     I've glued strips at the back of the turrets to imitate hatches of sorts. And that monstrosity on top of the left hand turret is the director originally mounted on X-turret. Many of the class had the director about the middle of the turret but I think HMS Jamaica had hers towards the rear of the turret as shown here.

     Well, that's it to date. Time for my beauty sleep, which we all know by now doesn't seem to work. ☹️ So stay safe in these times, and regards to all, Jeff.

[steve5]

it's coming together well mate , really like the paint job .

[Chewbacca]

Good progress Jeff.  Especially nice touch to use the tubes to get the right curve around the forward superstructure.  I shall store that idea for future use.

[robgizlu]

Looking very fine indeed.

Rob

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday All, thank you for the responses, comments and likes. I do appreciate them. Well, on to HMS Jamaica's next update. I've mainly been working on the forward superstructure, which has been a bit of a challenge. Mainly trying to work out the layout of the upper superstructure. I have rather basic plans and very little close-up photos available to me, and those photos are usually taken from a distance and from a low angle. I'm relying heavily on photos of other models to work out what to make.

     Anyway, here's what I'm going with (rightly or wrongly). Below is a photo of the forward deck levels I've made to date. You've seen the aft decks earlier.

     From top to bottom they are the fwd shelter-deck (or 'B' turret deck), signal deck with the aircraft hangars underneath, signal deck deck-houses, lower bridge deck-houses (the three sided bit wraps around the tube to make the lower bridge), and the upper bridge and compass platform. This last (heavily butchered) comes from a Belfast kit. The rectangular pieces of styrene 1mm thick you see at various locations are guides for the decks above them to fit.

     And here's my total progress to date. I couldn't help myself, ego took over and I had to show what it looks like.

     Those bits of plastic clamped around the drills are the funnels being made. The forward funnel is quite a bit taller than the after funnel. This is the second model that I've scratch-built the funnels, the first being my model of HMS Ulysses.

     Anyway, this is as far as I've gone, so I'll leave it here for now. Time for tea/supper/dinner/whatever, and it's my turn tonight to do it (pizzas). So stay safe, and regards to all, Jeff.

[mick]

great work

[beefy66]

Really taking shape there now Jeff  👍

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[stevehnz]

Coming on nicely Jeff. Enjoying this build.

Steve.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday All, It's been nearly three weeks now since my last post, time for another update on HMS Jamaica, just to show that construction is still happening, albeit slowly. I've done a bit more on the forward superstructure, and what you see here from the foc'sle deck upwards is now one assembly. It's dry fitted here and the whole assembly can still lift off.

     I've also made the funnels, dry fitted here. I made funnel grills (of sorts) but being black they're not all that visible here. They're also rather flat. They're made from stretched sprue, a little under 0.2mm diameter, and built up piece by piece directly onto the funnel top.

     The aircraft hangars now have roller doors fitted. These were simply rectangles of Evergreen V-groove, the same that I've used to portray the deck planking on the quarter-deck. Then border edging of 0.25mm thick Evergreen strip added. They're obviously not painted as yet. Quad 2lb pompom AA guns will sit on top of the hangars, at the rear where the larger sponsons are. I've drilled small holes to denote their position. The unpainted bit of deck just in front of the fwd funnel is where a structure (which I think are the fwd boiler room air intakes) will sit. These I'm currently making. The larger hole, just fwd of that smaller sponson is where a HA (high angle) director will go.

     As you can see, the paintwork isn't completed yet, and I'll still have to 'busy' the area up a bit with lockers, some 20mm Oerlikons, booms and other assorted clutter. I've also got the upper bridge/compass platform to work on.

     So that's it for now. Thank you for your interest. Stay safe, and regards to all, Jeff.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday All, I've done some more work on the forward superstructure of HMS Jamaica. This pretty much completes the construction of it, but I still have to 'busy' it up with the addition of quite a few items. Sorry about the photo, I think it's a little blurred.

     As you can see, I've added the upper bridge. This came from an Airfix "HMS Belfast" kit, and was modified considerably. In the foreground is another, unaltered. I've also built and added (dry fitted at present) what I think are the fwd boiler-room air intakes. That is them, the large light grey assembly immediately behind the upper bridge.

    Anyway, that's it for now. So regards to all and stay safe, Jeff.

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Nice work Jeff. This is shaping up rather nicely

 

[robgizlu]

Coming together nicely Jeff

Rob

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday All, it's been about two and a half weeks since the last post of HMS Jamaica. I hit the wall a bit about  a fortnight ago, and progress has been rather slow since. I've mainly been working on the gunnery directors, of which the ship carried four - one main director and three AA directors, otherwise known as the HACS (High Angle Control Systems).

     The main director comes from an Airfix HMS Belfast kit. That's it about the centre of the photo, still attached to a bit of sprue and with a bit of white putty filling a sink hole. I still need to add radar to it. It will eventually sit on the large tower in the centre of the upper bridge.

     The AA directors posed me a bit of a problem. I had two left over from an Airfix HMS KGV kit (right of the photo) but I needed three. I could have raided yet another Belfast kit but decided to have a go at making my own. That's them just in front of the superstructure, along with two of the three supporting pillars. The third pillar is dry-fitted to the superstructure in the photo. The pillar supporting the aft HACS is shorter but thicker than those on the fwd superstructure. Most of it will be cut off, about 1mm below the base ring. It's long at present to give me something to hold when I paint it.

     In front of the HACS are the dipole sets for the type 285 AA radar sets, to be mounted on the HACS directors. The dipoles (grey bits) are from thin stretched sprue. They may be too thin and are rather delicate. They are also a bit long I think, but that's easily fixed.

     Also in the photo (front right) are two searchlight positions and some sort of elevated position, all to go on the aft superstructure. And as you can see I've added eighteen Carley floats (nine each side) to the sides of the hangars. These also came from a Belfast kit. For modelers like myself that work in 1/600 scale the Airfix HMS Belfast kit is a good source of spares, although in this part of the world they're not as cheap and available as they used to be.

     Well, that's it for now. Progress on this build is going to be slow for a while, as I'm about to start another ship build for a GB on another forum, but I'll try to keep a little progress going on this.

So, good night all and stay safe. Regards, Jeff.

[Terry1954]

Looking good Jeff.

 

Terry