HMS Ilex 1942 by IBG 1/700 scale

[Faraway]

OK. A while ago I posted to try and find some info about HMS Hermione, a Dido class light cruiser, on which my wife's uncle was a member of the crew. The ship was torpedoed and sunk in the Med and unfortunately he lost his life. I had lots of help from fellow BMers and have built up a fair bit of info on HMS Hermione. I bought the Flyhawk kit of HMS Naiad in 1/700, which I will try to convert to HMS Hermione, in theory i just need to add 5 20mm Oerlikons. So, as a practice build, I bought this kit HMS Ilex by IBG in 1/700. Well, it's small (yeah I know, 1/700 is) but I reckon (just) do-able.

So I've made a start. 

Please find below, box art, sprues and PE.

The first hurdle is bending the PE parts to make 20mm Oerlikons, that's them below. Bit fuzzy but you see the problem.....they are VERY VERY small.

Anyway, I tried two, but they just fell apart and to be honest my folding jig is far too big, as are my forceps, fingers etc etc.

But luckily, in anticipation of the Hermione build, I had ordered from New Zealand, these https://micromaster.co.nz/products/1-700-royal-navy-20mm-oerlikon-mki-guns-0º-elevation-x24 

I have to say, the detail is OUTSTANDING. And they took just 10 days from ordering to arriving.

So, I will use them in this build, as I have more then I need (5) for Hermione.

 

Here are two of them. On their deck, behind a bit of PE.

 

Follows the 'main' armament plus a bit of PE.

Wish me luck, it's going to be a challenge, but a strangely satisfying one. And please, any experienced 1/700 scale modellers out there, your tips and tricks will be most welcome.

Jon

Oh, and one last word, or maybe more. BUILDING TWO SHIPS IN 1/700 WILL BE ENOUGH FOR THIS MODELLER. 

 

Edited April 28, 2021 by Faraway
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[GrzeM]

Good luck with your build! I'm just doing IBG Glowworm, very similar kit sharing the main sprue with the Ilex.

These Micromaster Oerlikons are stunning!

[Adm Lord De Univers]

I just restarted modelling after a 20 year hiatus, 1/700 religiously (due to space demands) and found some kind of optivisor/magnifier an absolute must. However, you'll need to invest in a few more 1/700 scale ships to get real bang for your buck from those.

 

David

[Our Ned]

Good luck with your build.  Some suggestions to correct a few inaccuracies:

• Omit the depth charge stowage rqacks (Parts F20, PE 30, PE31 - never fitted to Ilex) and replace with winches for Two-Speed Destroyer Sweep.
• Replace over-thick stump mainmast (Part F8) with thnner equivalent of the same height and width.
• Amend searchlight platform screen (Part PE 11) - there should be a gap on the centreline with a short length of railing - with the mainmast central in the gap.
• Amend torpedo tube mounting (Part F9 - by the time she left Charleston in September 1942 (IWM Photograph FL 14044), her original quintuple mounting had been changed to a quadruple one.  This happened to several "I" class ships to save weight.  Norman Friedman in British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War (Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing, 2009) wrote "... removal of the centre tubes in the I class, their pentad revolving (PR) mounts being redesignated pentad quadruple revolving (PQR) mounts." He refers to a CAFO dated 15 February 1940.
• May be worth replacing the motor boat (Part F17) - on departure from Charleston, she appears to have been carrying a boat with corved stern (ie no transom) - possibly a USN motor whaleboat?
• Add detail to the vacant bridge (pelorus, lookout sights etc).
• Replace bracket for MF/DF (Part F4) with photo-etch.
• Add ladder similar to Part PE15 to after face of port bridge (Part F23 - sloping down to port) and opening in after screen of Part F23 to access it - note the gap for this is very narrow!
• Add splinter shields (similar to Parts PE12 or PE20) at the deckedge abreast "A" and "X" 4.7" gun mountings.
• Add white draught marks to either side of the stem and the hull abreast "X" gun deck.

Minor point on your build so far - the starboard-side railings on "X" gundeck (Part PE7) should follow the deck edge and protruding platform at the forward end - otherwise the 1/700 scale gun crew won't be able to get to the ladder (Part PE17)!

Edited April 29, 2021 by Our Ned

[Faraway]

@Our Ned many thanks for your comprehensive list of corrections. However, I’m really only building this as a practice build, for when I tackle the Flyhawk Dido class cruiser. So I’m going to ‘build out of box’ this time.

Jon

[Faraway]

7 hours ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

I just restarted modelling after a 20 year hiatus, 1/700 religiously (due to space demands) and found some kind of optivisor/magnifier an absolute must. However, you'll need to invest in a few more 1/700 scale ships to get real bang for your buck from those.

 

David

I use a magnifying light ALWAYS even for bigger scales. 
Jon

[Faraway]

8 hours ago, GrzeM said:

These Micromaster Oerlikons are stunning!

They are indeed, I didn’t actually buy them for this build, but as the PE in this kit is far too small for me, I’ll use them. I think I need 6 for this build, but only 5 for the Hermione/Naiad conversion, and I do have 24 of the little devils. Mind you, I wouldn’t be surprised if I get one or two ‘ping’ off my tweezers, never to be seen again.

Jon

[Faraway]

Day two of this build, I've put deck on hull and painted same. Also, painted the two gun decks. I don't doubt the colours are not that accurate, but they are what I have and I'm not going to buy paint especially for this build. If needs must I will when I look to start HMS Naiad.

Now, I have to say I AM IN AWE , of you modellers out there who build this scale with such skill and produce such amazing results, this is hard work, but I shall persevere and finish. And at some point, I WILL build Flyhawk HMS Naiad, but probably not too soon after this build. I'm not skilled enough for this tiny detail, so in future I'll stick to slightly bigger ships.

So, I'm off the wine cellar for alcoholic sustenance and fortification, ready for the next session of this build. See you all soon.

Jon

 

[robgizlu]

Looking good Jon 

Love those MM Oerlikons

It is a small scale - I tried one but feel more comfortable with 1/350.

They are nice little models

Keep it coming

rob

[Faraway]

1 hour ago, robgizlu said:

It is a small scale - I tried one but feel more comfortable with 1/350

Rob.

I’m completely with you in this. How they produce such fine detail, I do not know, but like you 1/350 is just abut right. I did a hull to hull comparison of this destroyer to the Dido cruiser and was surprised how small this ship is. So building the cruiser should be easier.  And regards the Oerlikons, aren’t they amazing ? I think I’ll be looking at more of their products for other scales.
Jon

Edited April 29, 2021 by Faraway

[Faraway]

I've been trying for the last hour, to bend a piece of PE and am having no luck at all. So, as this is build is becoming a chore and not a pleasure, I am going to stop and go on to the next build I had planned.

I will return to this at some point in the future, as I hate having a part completed kit and it was starting to look quite good.

But I know when I'm beat, so I'll retire for a while, sit in a dark room with a cold glass of wine and regroup.

If you're interested I'm going back to a better (for me, at least) scale 1/350 Trumpeter Italian Heavy Cruiser ZARA.

Jon

[smyfe]

Hi Jon, if it's the guard for the search light platform I feel your pain. I finally managed mine on Harvester after several failed attempts by using fine tweezers and checking against the platform after each bend adjusting as necessary. Good luck with the Zara, wish I had room for 1/350 ships.

Mick

[Faraway]

11 minutes ago, smyfe said:

Hi Jon, if it's the guard for the search light platform I feel your pain. I finally managed mine on Harvester after several failed attempts by using fine tweezers and checking against the platform after each bend adjusting as necessary. Good luck with the Zara, wish I had room for 1/350 ships.

Mick

Mick.

It is the shield around the Oerlikons, just below the bridge. It just doesn’t want to behave. So to preserve my sanity, I know when to walk away for a while.

Room ? What room 😂 ? But at least ships take up less shelf space than aircraft, and I really could do with more shelf space. I’ll post some piccys of the Zara build when I get going, just trying to figure out paint colours.

Jon

[beefy66]

2 hours ago, Faraway said:

But I know when I'm beat, so I'll retire for a while, sit in a dark room with a cold glass of wine and regroup.

It is normally a cold beer with me round about every Friday night you should see the top shelf think I need another one to go above that.  

 

Always best to leave for a while if you start to get frustrated with a build but Zara sounds good will look forward to that one.

 

Stay Safe and enjoy the wine

 

beefy

[ArnoldAmbrose]

19 hours ago, Faraway said:

So to preserve my sanity, I know when to walk away for a while.

Gidday Jon, that's probably wise. The model should be a pleasure, not a chore. I've heard that it a wise General who knows when to retreat, and a retreat is not a surrender. I'll look forward to seeing you pick this up again in the future. And I've already tuned into your build of Zara. Regards, Jeff.

[Adm Lord De Univers]

Good choice Jon, after many years of lack of patience and claiming 'battle damage' to any dodgy builds, I now put to one side and build a sub or 1/1200 test model (I've only just gotten back into the hobby so more uncompleted than completes at this stage and doing practice runs) before beginning something else.

 

On the other hand it does seem like Ilex received quite a bit of damage during her career...an unsubstantiated rumour I just made up does appear to indicate the oerlikon shield below the bridge was badly affected by dive bombing in '41, I imagine in exactly the fashion it currently sits on your shelf.

 

David

[Faraway]

4 hours ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

Good choice Jon, after many years of lack of patience and claiming 'battle damage' to any dodgy builds, I now put to one side and build a sub or 1/1200 test model (I've only just gotten back into the hobby so more uncompleted than completes at this stage and doing practice runs) before beginning something else.

 

On the other hand it does seem like Ilex received quite a bit of damage during her career...an unsubstantiated rumour I just made up does appear to indicate the oerlikon shield below the bridge was badly affected by dive bombing in '41, I imagine in exactly the fashion it currently sits on your shelf.

 

David

David. You’ve made me realise, that all the builds in this forum, are all beautifully assembled and lots made to look weathered with rust etc. But I am not aware of a single one with ‘battle damage’. I’m sure someone has don’t such, but it must be fairly rare. Maybe you’ve sown the seeds for a different approach ?

Jon

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday, I've seen a model of HMS Hood and of HMAS Sydney, both in pieces on the ocean floor. I don't think they could be more damaged than that. But admittedly neither model was on Britmodeller. But it seems like an interesting idea. Regards, Jeff.

[Adm Lord De Univers]

I was going to take a drill and soldering iron to a bismarck I was gifted (£5, 1/350 old academy, charity shop bliss), unfortunately spent a fortune on parts for it and no longer have the heart. Still, when I eventually find the time, 1 year old daughter willing, I have a ready made excuse for bent railings. That said I do want the flyhawk derfflinger...

 

David

Ps. I'm also quite happy to hack at non-German ships, they just make more interesting subjects in this case/seem to be able to take more punishment...although ww1 hms spitfire would be a good subject.

[Kevin Aris]

very nice indeed but 1/200 i small enough for me, and i am not in a hurry to do another one of those 

 

looking forward to following your progress

 

i 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

15 hours ago, Adm Lord De Univers said:

Ps. I'm also quite happy to hack at non-German ships, they just make more interesting subjects in this case/seem to be able to take more punishment...although ww1 hms spitfire would be a good subject.

Gidday, I'm afraid I don't know about HMS Spitfire but the German light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden and the battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz copped a real hammering at Jutland. Regards, Jeff.

[Faraway]

23 minutes ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday, I'm afraid I don't know about HMS Spitfire but the German light cruiser SMS Wiesbaden and the battlecruiser SMS Seydlitz copped a real hammering at Jutland. Regards, Jeff.

I have the following book, that belonged to my late father, it was published in 1942.

And one of the pictures in it, good reference for making a damaged ship, maybe.

The description reads.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday again, and thanks. I've seen photos of HMS Onslow (Barents Sea) and US Ships Hazelwood, England and Hugh W Hadley (Okinawa). Incoming enemy hardware can create quite a mess. Regards, Jeff.

[Aayin1941]

Looking forward to seeing more on this build, plz do regroup & try again. I got a soft spot for anything RN but only one 1/700 model so far as my fleet is 1/600. Yet either way the challenge for details at scale is formidable, one reason why I often go for less detail, just to insure I can finish. I have a set standard, find my limit, & build within it. Very tempting to make an order myself from micromaster, can’t believe the detail available on some smaller parts! I could never get close to scratch building or AFAIK, even in a OOB. Plus ATM they have a sale on 👀 @ my scale 👍

[GrzeM]

On 4/30/2021 at 6:21 PM, smyfe said:

Hi Jon, if it's the guard for the search light platform I feel your pain.

I did it today - with two tricks. One was breaking it into two parts - square one (front) and rounded one (rear - around the searchlight). The second was de-hardening the brass with a fire from little gas-lighter. It works. Metal becames way softer and then bends nicely. Just experiment a bit with the unnecessary brass sprue parts, as it is easy to melt metal with excessive use of fire.

Belive me, it can be done. Photo as a proof.