Helicopter cruiser HMS Tiger (C20) - Matchbox 1/700

[Marcello Rosa]

In the next step I attached the last major parts that remained: the forward superstructure (including the navigation bridge), the Fly Ops bridge (over the hangar) and the Seacat magazine (the box-like structure just ahead the hangar).

 

With these out of the way, I could start fitting weapons and smaller parts. I prefer to do these from bottom to top, and starting at the bow and moving towards the stern. So, in this picture we have the anchor chains, the 6" and 3" mounts, and a beginning of the railing (around the 3" guns).

 

Even though the deck green looks quite different from the images posted a few days ago, the horizontal surfaces have not been repainted. Reminding me that colour in photos is a tricky thing to judge. Today's image was with natural light, and the green better matches my perception of what the model actually looks like.

 

 

Other than that, the only other progress has been in building and priming the stacks.

 

 

I have been postponing what I think will be the major challenge, the Seacat quad launchers. Just looking at the PE and instructions, and thinking of assembling the 8 tiny missiles, is giving me a headache.  

[Dmitriy1967]

On 09/01/2022 at 17:44, Marcello Rosa said:

For some reason I don't quite understand I have been fascinated since my teenager years by helicopter cruisers.

 

Hello

If you are interested in helicopter cruisers, then perhaps photos of the anti-submarine helicopter cruiser Moscow will be useful to you. I posted them today in this forum.

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235104788-russian-naval-museum-in-st-petersburg/page/2/

 

Dmitriy

 

 

[Marcello Rosa]

39 minutes ago, Dmitriy1967 said:

 

Hello

If you are interested in helicopter cruisers, then perhaps photos of the anti-submarine helicopter cruiser Moscow will be useful to you. I posted them today in this forum.

 

https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235104788-russian-naval-museum-in-st-petersburg/page/2/

 

Dmitriy

 

 

It is definitely in my list of ships "to do". I have already purchased the Haruna, and found a source for the Vittorio Veneto (the latter in resin, which will be a serious challenge when I get to it). maybe I will try the Moskva or Leningrad first, when I find a plastic kit at a good price. I tend to search these at bargain prices. This kit of the Tiger for example was cheap because it did not have the original box (came to me in a shoe box, and without instructions...). I am also waiting for a re-issue of the Jeanne d'Arc...

[Courageous]

The green looks good, stacks look good and the helo looks fabulous.

 

Stuart

[Marcello Rosa]

And now, finally tacking the quadruple Seacat mounts. Here, neither the kit nor the photoetch set were to my satisfaction, so I came up with my own solution. This is the look I am trying to emulate:

 

In summary, each launcher has 4 small platforms, each holding a rather small, stubby blue missile (which I think represent an inert round - someone correct me if this is wrong) with a red nose. The yellowish protrusion in the centre holds the transmitter that keeps the missile on target. There are some "rails" (?) on the sides.

 

The kit's launchers did not represent the missiles at all (or else they were supposed to be "evoked" by some slight roundish blobs). They definitely lacked a representation of the "rails". The photoetch set, on the other hand, had much better base platform and rails, but used a flat piece of metal to represent the central part of the launcher, which looked weird (top version in the image below). I decided to take the best of each, by taking trimming the kit part and attaching it to the photoetch base and rails (bottom version):

 

 

Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of the original kit's part before trimming it, to show how bad it was.

 

After some paint, the Seacat launchers looked like this, which is still not accurate but acceptable to me given how small these will be in the end.

 

 

Next was the task of assembling each missile, which required glueing two representations of the fins (arrows, below) to a central part (circle).

 

 

 

After the assembly of each missile I corrected the shape of their tops with tiny drops of white glue, leading to this (sorry for the quality, it is really difficult to get a good photo). I know, they end up not being cylindrical in cross-section, but this is beyond what my eyes can see.

 

 

The drops of glue subsequently became the 'red noses". Will need to wait for better light to try to fit the missiles in their places...

[Our Ned]

The blue missiles with red noses were indeed drill rounds (inert).  Each launcher was normally allocated two of these for loading practice - which is why one rarely sees a full launcher with four of them loaded.  Live rounds were white - but usually covered in a frangible flexible "shroud" to protect from the elements until fired, or about to be fired.

[Marcello Rosa]

1 hour ago, Our Ned said:

The blue missiles with red noses were indeed drill rounds (inert).  Each launcher was normally allocated two of these for loading practice - which is why one rarely sees a full launcher with four of them loaded.  Live rounds were white - but usually covered in a frangible flexible "shroud" to protect from the elements until fired, or about to be fired.

Thanks for this information. Sadly I think I made the wrong decision then, and had all 8 painted in the blue scheme. The image below was my reference, but now I understand that this may have been a rare event. Image credit: https://www.clash-of-steel.co.uk/gallery/entry/176.

 

 

[Chris Hewitt]

Great build ,wish this model got retooled ,its an old kit ,first released in 1979 and reboxed by Revell in 2012 ,needs updating now .First is the hanger which I didn't realise ,too low and too much space between the rear funnel and the hanger were the seacat launchers go, I built my Tiger as a what-if ,that she had been recommissioned after the Falkland's War 1982 and then some years later, back dated her built  before the BOX was fitted .This was helped by shapeways 3D parts and the photo etching from Peter Hall. If what to go mad there is the superb 3D parts from Micromaster ,I have bought many parts and just excellent ,never been had to pay import tax either !  

Link for rear superstructure 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/5NUH6FZ78/hms-lion-aft-super-structure-1-700-scale?optionId=43682687&li=shops

Link for replacements turrets and other bits 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/RTAQWQX3Z/hms-lion-detail-kit-1-700-scale-for-matchbox-rev?optionId=41854406&li=shops

Photo etching 

https://www.atlanticmodels.net/photo-etched details/1-700 scale.html

Link for 6in turret from micromaster

 https://micromaster.co.nz/collections/royal-navy-weapons/products/1-700-royal-navy-6-50-15-2cm-qf-mk-n5

 

[Our Ned]

The photo of a Seacat launcher with four drill missiles loaded is of a Batch 2 Leander class frigate (Exocet conversion), which had three launchers, and therefore six drill missiles allocated - for ceremonial purposes, it wasn't unusual for four of them to be loaded onto one launcher (made the launcher look more impressive?).

[Marcello Rosa]

16 minutes ago, Chris Hewitt said:

Great build ,wish this model got retooled ,its an old kit ,first released in 1979 and reboxed by Revell in 2012 ,needs updating now .First is the hanger which I didn't realise ,too low and too much space between the rear funnel and the hanger were the seacat launchers go, I built my Tiger as a what-if ,that she had been recommissioned after the Falkland's War 1982 and then some years later, back dated her built  before the BOX was fitted .This was helped by shapeways 3D parts and the photo etching from Peter Hall. If what to go mad there is the superb 3D parts from Micromaster ,I have bought many parts and just excellent ,never been had to pay import tax either !  

Link for rear superstructure 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/5NUH6FZ78/hms-lion-aft-super-structure-1-700-scale?optionId=43682687&li=shops

Link for replacements turrets and other bits 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/RTAQWQX3Z/hms-lion-detail-kit-1-700-scale-for-matchbox-rev?optionId=41854406&li=shops

Photo etching 

https://www.atlanticmodels.net/photo-etched details/1-700 scale.html

Link for 6in turret from micromaster

 https://micromaster.co.nz/collections/royal-navy-weapons/products/1-700-royal-navy-6-50-15-2cm-qf-mk-n5

 

 

Thanks for the links. I have a Hasegawa HMS Vanguard in the stash, and this company's products may come handy.

[Marcello Rosa]

11 hours ago, Our Ned said:

The blue missiles with red noses were indeed drill rounds (inert).  Each launcher was normally allocated two of these for loading practice - which is why one rarely sees a full launcher with four of them loaded.  Live rounds were white - but usually covered in a frangible flexible "shroud" to protect from the elements until fired, or about to be fired.

Do you know what was the function of the "rails" on the sides of each missile? It does not look like they are actually helping support the missiles, and they don't seem to get out of the way during a missile launch?

[davecov]

@Marcello Rosa The rails and base of the launcher hinge down through ninety degrees and the rails help to support the missile when loading. Rails remain upright during launch of missile. See this clip - about a minute in:

 

Dave

[Marcello Rosa]

57 minutes ago, davecov said:

@Marcello Rosa The rails and base of the launcher hinge down through ninety degrees and the rails help to support the missile when loading. Rails remain upright during launch of missile. See this clip - about a minute in:

 

Dave

Thank you, great video.

[Marcello Rosa]

Making progress...

This first picture shows the bridge completed, including the director platforms and the bridge front DF antenna (photoetch substituting plastic).

 

Later in the day, an image that shows what the Seacat launchers ended up looking like in place. Also had time to install other small assemblies, including the crane, some ladders, and Corvus launchers. There will be a lot of touch-ups to do with a fine paintbrush.

 

 

Why do the horizontal surfaces look almost olive green, in my pictures taken in the afternoon?

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Marcello, you're doing a terrific job of this. Those Seacat launchers are works of art IMHO, and the PE railings certainly add to the appearance of the model. The green decks look green to me in the first photo but admittedly are more grey in the second photo. I've found that colours can be tricky in photos.

     As an aside, the decision to convert two of these ships to helicopter carriers was probably based on sound tactical reasons, but I think the conversion did nothing for the ship's good looks and balanced appearance. Personal opinion of course. 🙂 That doesn't alter the fact that you've got a very good model here. 👍 Regards, Jeff.

[Marcello Rosa]

49 minutes ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

     As an aside, the decision to convert two of these ships to helicopter carriers was probably based on sound tactical reasons, but I think the conversion did nothing for the ship's good looks and balanced appearance. Personal opinion of course. 🙂 

 

Yes, I also don't think the converted Tiger and Blake wold win any beauty contests. But their rough appearance adds to character.

Now, some helicopter carriers manage to be really beautiful ships, like the Jeanne d'Arc (also, only my personal opinion)

[Our Ned]

Hopefully not too late, but the crane jib seems to be the wrong way round - the pointed end should be furthest from the cab.

[Marcello Rosa]

23 minutes ago, Our Ned said:

Hopefully not too late, but the crane jib seems to be the wrong way round - the pointed end should be furthest from the cab.

I will do my best to correct (provided that the CA yields...)

[Jeepboy]

As a little kid I remember dad (RN) taking me to HMS Tamar in Hong Kong to see a WWII cruiser.  I can't remember if it was Blake or Tiger but I do remember being amazed at the size of it compared to the more usual minehunters and frigates, and I couldn't come to terms with the helicopter hanger on the back.  It all seemed "wrong" and not the cruiser I was expecting.

[Marcello Rosa]

Hi all

 

The last few days were consumed in a "concentrated effort" to get this kit completed. Meaning all railing, rigging, decals and a little bit of weathering have all been done. This marks the end of the "work in progress" thread. I still hope to add a sea base, at which point I will post to the "ready for inspection" forum.

As usual, feel free to write to me if you have any questions about building this kit (address in my signature panel).

 

On 22/01/2022 at 02:38, Our Ned said:

Hopefully not too late, but the crane jib seems to be the wrong way round - the pointed end should be furthest from the cab.

Managed to save this one, see photos above!

[beefy66]

Well that was quick, clean and well detailed build very nice job Marcello.  👍

 

Stay Safe

beefy

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Marcello, I got to agree with Beefy above. That mast structure looks very good, and quite intricate. Regards, Jeff.

[Courageous]

Amazing quick build with no loss of detail. Good work.

 

Stuart

[ERK]

Very nicely done  - all that detail  so brings  that  kit to life.

 

Erk.

[Dmitriy1967]

Very realistic! For such a scale, a wonderful study of details and a selection of colors!