CliffB Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Hi all. It's time to open up the thread for my second contribution to the Group Build - the Revell re-pop of HMS Kelly. The kit also includes optional parts, decals and painting instructions for one of Kelly's sister ships, HMS Kipling. Not satisfied with this, I intend to build mine as HMS Kimberley. The main reason for this, is that most of my wife's family are called Kimberley (surname that is - not forenames ). Inspired by @psdavidson's HMS Ariadne build, I've also bought an Atlantic Models PE set. I've got the same HMS Ariadne set (there being none available for K class destroyers), but I'm optimistic that I should still be able to use quite a bit of it. Before I can start the build, I've got to work out precisely how HMS Kimberley was equipped, relative to Kelly and Kipling. I've found some photos of Kimberley wearing dazzle camouflage (which I'm planning to replicate), so I'll need to make sure that the fit-out corresponds with that particular time in her career. Cheers 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Great stuff Cliff but that PE is truly daunting, best of luck with the build. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted March 5, 2022 Share Posted March 5, 2022 Nice to see this wee ship being built Cliff and best of luck with the PE application. Now as family names go when I first met the future Mrs RL, I soon realised that her middle name, her sister, two cousins and probably all their pets had the same middle name of "Jane". When I found this out I assumed that somewhere in the family tree there must have been a "Jane" who was either famous or quite special to them. So when I asked the obvious question "Who is this Jane person" you can imagine my utter surprise when she said "no, no one, I think they just liked the name" !! What a weird lot I married into, should have read the tea leaves there and then! Cheers. and best of luck.. Dave 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted March 20, 2022 Author Share Posted March 20, 2022 Morning all. I've just got back from a week's holiday and managed to sneak Kelly/Kimberley into my suitcase. Prohibited from taking any modelling items that were 'smelly', I had to limit myself to cutting and sanding. I didn't get much spare time, but was able to start drilling out the portholes. I've successfully done this before on a 1/500 warship, but it proved to be much more difficult in 1/700. My spacing is not perfect (but to be honest, neither was Matchbox's), but should look OK when not being stared at . Cheers 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted March 20, 2022 Share Posted March 20, 2022 Great start Cliff and good luck with that tiny PE. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted March 20, 2022 Share Posted March 20, 2022 On 05/03/2022 at 07:31, Rabbit Leader said: Nice to see this wee ship being built Cliff and best of luck with the PE application. Now as family names go when I first met the future Mrs RL, I soon realised that her middle name, her sister, two cousins and probably all their pets had the same middle name of "Jane". When I found this out I assumed that somewhere in the family tree there must have been a "Jane" who was either famous or quite special to them. So when I asked the obvious question "Who is this Jane person" you can imagine my utter surprise when she said "no, no one, I think they just liked the name" !! What a weird lot I married into, should have read the tea leaves there and then! Cheers. and best of luck.. Dave It could have been worse Dave, there might be a family out there with "Tarzan" as a middle name, if indeed the universe is balanced Great stuff Cliff, apologies for the thread hijack Cheers Pat 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted March 21, 2022 Author Share Posted March 21, 2022 On 3/20/2022 at 9:07 AM, bigbadbadge said: Great start Cliff and good luck with that tiny PE. Chris Thanks Chris. It looks like I won't be using that much of Ariadne's PE set, mainly because the two ships (Ariadne and Kimberley), share absolutely no common armament apart from their depth charges. This did surprise me a little! Still, I'll be able to use the handrails and mast improvements which should provide the greatest visual impact . I've now finished drilling out all of the portholes and have started some assembly (although most of the superstructure bits are only dry fitted at the moment). There have been no nasty surprises, although I will need to use a little filler at the stern Initially I had trouble getting the parts to stick together - my usual Tamiya Extra Thin was proving to be totally ineffective. I'd also noticed that the plastic had an unusual matt feel to it. Eventually it dawned on me that the kit's previous owner had sprayed a thin coat of primer over all the parts and sprues! The colour of the primer is almost exactly the same as the grey of the plastic, so even when tidying the parts up I hadn't noticed . Cheers 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 You don't say why you were surprised, but the heart of the matter is that Kimberley and the other Fleet destroyers were primarily designed for surface action, and hence the preferred 4.7" guns in low-angle mounts. The minelayers would avoid surface action at all costs and their main threat was enemy aircraft, so they were fitted with the preferred 4" guns in high-angle mountings (actual dual role in other ships). To say more would require a considerable article, but various reasons for these decisions can be found in various histories of these ships, and British destroyer histories in general. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted March 21, 2022 Author Share Posted March 21, 2022 Thanks @Graham Boak, I really appreciate your input which has given me a little more insight into the relative roles of these two ships. The truth is, I'm way out of my comfort zone here! I'd hoped that there would've been more standardisation between similarly sized RN ships but, IIRC, not even the secondary AA armament was the same in this case. It will be interesting to see just how much of the Ariadne PE fret I am able to use . Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 Light AA varied considerably depending upon what they could get and what stage of the war it was. From a quick look, it seems that you do get a 4-barrel pom-pom (or two) which would carry across, I'm not sure what else. I don't see any single oerlikons. You could also have Lewis guns or single-barrel 2pdr (pom-poms), Kimberley probably had a 3" AA gun in place of the aft tubes, at some time, most destroyers did. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psdavidson Posted March 21, 2022 Share Posted March 21, 2022 2 hours ago, CliffB said: It will be interesting to see just how much of the Ariadne PE fret I am able to use I'm wondering the same, the difference being that I'm actually building Ariadne Looking good so far The rails and mast details should contribute to the overall appearance even if the guns don't make an appearance /P (typing around a cat) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 11, 2022 Author Share Posted April 11, 2022 Hi all A bit more progress to report, as I've assembled a few more bits like the main armament and the Carley floats. I've also added my first bits of PE - replacing the yardarms. Here are the 'before and after' photos! Cheers 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArnoldAmbrose Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 Gidday Cliff, those PE yards are a definite improvement. Regards, Jeff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 Looks great Cliff, I hope the funnel hasn't been snaffled by the carpet monster in the second photo Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted April 11, 2022 Author Share Posted April 11, 2022 10 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: Looks great Cliff, I hope the funnel hasn't been snaffled by the carpet monster in the second photo Cheers Pat LOL. and I'd tried sooo hard to get those two photographs to be identical 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 11, 2022 Share Posted April 11, 2022 Ooo a spot the difference competition!!! Replacement bits do really make a difference. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 It really is time that I got back on to this one (tick tock). Thinking about how I would fix the PE handrails, I decided that I would need some kind ledge to butt them against. So I've stretched some sprue and glued it around the outer edge of the deck. It's very fine, but should hopefully be sufficient to locate the PE. Cheers 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 10, 2022 Author Share Posted May 10, 2022 I've identified a couple of other areas where I can use the Ariadne PE. At the top you can see the PE depth charge rack (c/w charges made from plastic rod). Alongside it, is the original kit part. Also, there are thwarts for the ship's two open boats. I think this ends my opportunities for more construction at the moment, so it's time for some painting 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 13, 2022 Author Share Posted May 13, 2022 Starting to get some paint on. It's great if you like multiple shades of grey! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 3 hours ago, CliffB said: Starting to get some paint on. It's great if you like multiple shades of grey! Easy tiger 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 That is some fiddly PE. Great work. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 23, 2022 Author Share Posted May 23, 2022 A bit of a landmark today, as I finally got the masking tape off. Just a few more fiddly bits to add, plus of course the dreaded PE handrails! I might also give it a subtle, streaky wash to give some depth and to soften the 'newness' of the paint. Cheers 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted May 23, 2022 Share Posted May 23, 2022 Immaculate (as ever!) Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted May 28, 2022 Author Share Posted May 28, 2022 I'm calling this one finished for now In truth, I still need to add some pennant numbers (once I've sourced or made some), but that can wait! Thanks again to all of you who have supported this build and, of course, to Dave and Pat for handling the monumental task of hosting so well. It's been a fantastic Group Build - well done fellas! 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted May 31, 2022 Share Posted May 31, 2022 Wonderful job Cliff This GB has been really special in so many ways especially seeing so many maritime subjects being built and on display in the Gallery. Congratulations Cliff, and the base sets it off to a tee Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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