HMS smaller vessel kit year of configuration

[hj1985]

Hi I would like to purchase some smaller vessels (destroyer, frigate, corvette, etc) for my diorama of capital ships (HMS Colossus, King Geroge V, etc) in late war British Pacific Fleet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Pacific_Fleet

I have been searching for the right ship in the market and laid my eyes on these.
 

https://starling-models.co.uk/products/hms-amethyst-1949?variant=31880295645241

https://starling-models.co.uk/collections/atlantic-models/products/hms-venus

1. However it is a HMS Amethyst 1949 version, does anyone know what differences are between its 1945 and 1949 configuration?

 

2. Is the HMS Venus kit in its late war configuration?

Also can anyone recommend any other full kit in the market for smaller vessels (destroyer, frigate, corvette, etc) in 1945 serving the British Pacific Fleet?

Edited August 12, 2021 by hj1985

[Adm Lord De Univers]

Morning,

 

A very good question and one I've struggled with too. I'd recommend going through the list of ships on that wiki page and searching for them on scalemates. There are links to reviews there too. Some are converted liners so you may want to search for them under previous names.

 

I've provided some search results in a v brief list below. I've got similar plans for a future force h diorama and the problem is how you'll realistically get a number of ships in a suitable space, in reality they'll be quite spread out. I've gone for a harbour scene but even then I'll have to lay aside practical concerns of mooring a number of ships together. Again, they would be more spread out than my space allows, so I've gone for mooring larger ships and having the smaller ones mobile. I believe crowding together a number of ships may be seen to be poor modelling form too, as it detracts from individual models (I'm new here so please ignore), but I have limited space available so I'll have to do that.

 

Black swan class sloop

Abdiel class minelayer - ariadne

Barfleur

The tarantula would be interesting to get a hold of but I couldn't find one.

 

David

 

 

[Francis Macnaughton]

I assume you are working in 1/700th but if you look at the Atlantic models 1/350th Vigilant details, you should get a fair idea of what the older WEM 1/700th Venus is based on.

Vigilant is configured as late war BPF with the taller lattice mast.  The instructions will show you more and are at the website:

 

https://atlanticmodels.net/onewebmedia/Vigilant350(2).pdf

 

Compare the PE there with the WEM 1/700th sheet for the War Emergency class at:

 

https://www.whiteensignmodels.com/p/WEM+1700+RN+Late+War+Emergency+Destroyers+PE+7112/16021/#.YRTmKvKSmUk

 

The Emergency classes from the S class onwards were all very similar in configuration and for instance Saumarez can be also be made from the Venus (or Vigilant) kit(s) by using the shorter lattice mast included in the photo etch

Edited August 12, 2021 by Francis Macnaughton
cover the right scale

[EwenS]

8 hours ago, hj1985 said:

Hi I would like to purchase some smaller vessels (destroyer, frigate, corvette, etc) for my diorama of capital ships (HMS Colossus, King Geroge V, etc) in late war British Pacific Fleet.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Pacific_Fleet

I have been searching for the right ship in the market and laid my eyes on these.
 

https://starling-models.co.uk/products/hms-amethyst-1949?variant=31880295645241

https://starling-models.co.uk/collections/atlantic-models/products/hms-venus

1. However it is a HMS Amethyst 1949 version, does anyone know what differences are between its 1945 and 1949 configuration?

 

2. Is the HMS Venus kit in its late war configuration?

Also can anyone recommend any other full kit in the market for smaller vessels (destroyer, frigate, corvette, etc) in 1945 serving the British Pacific Fleet?

 

Amethyst

She was refitted before going to the Far East in 1945 where she remained until after her moment of fame in 1949. The only change in this period seems to have been the removal of two twin 20mm Mk.V power mountings on her quarterdeck.

Some photos here might help.

http://www.navyphotos.co.uk/WW11 Convoy Escort Frigate Sloops etc/webpages/amethyst fgt.htm

 

Venus

Firstly Venus herself was never part of the BPF. She was part of the East Indies Fleet between Feb and Dec 1945 after which it was a quick visit home and then to the Med.

 

As for the model, the photo in the link shows her as completed in 1943. She was refitted before going east and had the mast replaced by a tall lattice mast with Type 293 radar aerial. In a short refit in Simonstown South Africa in July/Aug 1945 she had the twin 20mm replaced by single hand worked 40mm Bofors Mk.III. Links to her here:-

https://www.worldnavalships.com/directory/shipinfo.php?ShipID=1006

 

The model could be used as the basis of a model of a T or U class destroyer in the BPF in 1945/46. All however had lattice masts by that time, some short, some tall. From mid 1945 the light AA armament was being changed as some twin 20mm were replaced with single 40mm either Boffin or Mk.III. The searchlight was also sometimes replaced with a Mk.III. The fit however varied from ship to ship. You will find period photos here.

http://www.navyphotos.co.uk/Destroyers WW1 to present/webpages/index12.htm

 

As an example here is Tuscan as she would have been from July 1945. Only thing that changed between then and this paying off photo taken on her return to the U.K. in June 1946 was the camouflage. Her light AA armament was a twin 40mm Hazemeyer mounting between the torpedo tubes plus 4xsingle 40mm Boffin in place of the twin 20mm in the bridge wings and abaft the funnel, plus a Mk.III in place of the searchlight.

http://www.navyphotos.co.uk/Destroyers WW1 to present/images/tuscan dww21b.jpg

 

Just to illustrate the differences and seeing as Saumarez was mentioned, by the end of the war she had a short lattice mast, no twin 20mm in the bridge wings and 4 single 40mm Bofors Mk.III immediately behind the funnel replacing the searchlight and the twin 20mm that had previously been there, plus of course the twin 40mm Hazemeyer between the torpedo tubes.

 

Colossus herself didn’t arrive in Australia until late July / early Aug 1945 but went to Shanghai and Formosa immediately after the cessation of hostilities to support the repatriation of PoWs.

 

As for the Battle class, while Barfleur was the only vessel of the class to see combat with the BPF in WW2, Armada, Trafalgar and Camperdown were working up in the Med in Aug 1945 and joined the BPF shortly after the end of hostilities, being joined by Hogue before the end of the year and Lagos and Finisterre early in 1946. The armament of the first 3 matches that of Barfleur, but the later 3 ships lost the 4” gun aft of the funnel and the single 20mm and gained more single 40mm Mk.III. Again check the photos.

 

In terms of minelayers, Apollo, Ariadne and Manxman all arrived in Australia independently in late July / early Aug 1945.

 

This site and its subsidiary pages give a listings of the RN ships and operations in the Far East in 1945.

http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk

http://www.royalnavyresearcharchive.org.uk/BPF-EIF/index.htm#.YRTsh8rTWhA

 

 

 

[hj1985]

Thank you everyone. I really appreciate your help on this matter.