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HMS Wren (D88) V & W Class Destroyer (Aircraft Guy Builds a Ship) +++ Finished +++


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Out of my comfort zone to say the least...  

 

I'm building the Showcase model and as you may ascertain from the date on this initial enquiry it's taken me a while to start it...

 

As mentioned in the thread linked above, I'm building this one as the Royal Navy's HMS Wren, sunk by German dive bombers off Harwich on 27th July 1940.  My grandfather was her Chief Stoker and fortunately survived.  Over thirty of her crew did not.

 

I have gathered the recommended additions from Shapeways; the bridge, range finder and the also the turned gun barrels.  I don't intend to make any of the other changes indicated in the thread above as the scale is too small for me and I doubt I would be able to do them justice.  I expect to make mistakes as I go, particularly as the order of things seems quite different for ships; please don't be shy if you see me headed down a blind alley or towards a modelling precipice.  I will be grateful for the advice.  

 

It seems safe to start with the hull as I don't want to be handling it once it has some decking and structure on it.  

 

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Painting is one of my favourite elements of our hobby: getting to paint on day one seems like a huge advantage in ship modelling!

 

Cheers.

 

 

 

Edited by mark.au
Typos, as usual
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Good luck with the build Mark, be interesting to watch you do a floaty thing rather than a a flying thing 😉

My Grandad was a Stoker on HMS Achates too. Unfortunately he didn't survive.  

Will pop in and see how you're getting on with this project, great to have the connection. 

Chris 

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14 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

My Grandad was a Stoker on HMS Achates too. Unfortunately he didn't survive.  

Will pop in and see how you're getting on with this project, great to have the connection. 

Chris 

 Thanks Chris.  Sorry about your Grandad, my maternal Grandfather was killed when his Lancaster was shot down over Germany in 1943.

 

I continued work on the hull/decking tonight.  Still within my comfort zone, but the time is fast approaching when I'll need to start working with the teeny tiny parts...   Here's the current state of play.  I have made some masks and will paint the D88 but will need to use the decals for the remaining one or two markings.

 

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I'll try and brighten up the images for next time too.

 

Cheers.

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  • mark.au changed the title to HMS Wren (D88) V & W Class Destroyer (Aircraft Guy Builds a Ship)
23 hours ago, hendie said:

nice start Mark. 

 


Thanks Allan.  That was before I got into the tiny bits…

 

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Thanks to Showcase providing enough spares so that those I pinged off into the darkest corners of the workbench didn’t need to be found.  
 

Some questions from today;

 

I think that top quality tools like tweezers are essential in handling these small pieces?

 

How does one clean up a part that’s smaller than a millimeter long and even thinner?  I can’t hold it to clean up the cut where it was removed from the sprue.

 

As you can see, I’m going to need some fine brush work to paint the parts added today; is there a different order of things that I could/should have followed?

 

The PE is very thin and flexible; I’m dreading the railings.  Is there a trick and/or tool I should know when it comes time to add them (some weeks off at this pace)?

 

She’s quite a handsome shape though, if I don’t mess it up I think it’s going to look quite nice when done.

 

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This is a very different challenge to a 1/48 scale aircraft.  I’m enjoying it.


Cheers.

 

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Gidday Mark, I can't advise on PE as I don't do it, but I agree that you need good quality tweezers. I use two mainly, one that comes to a very fine point. Actually, that set is an old pair I filed and tweeked myself - I figured I had nothing to lose by fiddling with it. HTH. Regards, Jeff.

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Hi looking good so far, I'm just getting into ship building myself so not really an expert but for what it's worth, for placing smaller parts I've found a PE placing pencil really useful it's basically a white wax pencil; for trimming smaller parts: if it's PE cut as close as possible to the fret with a hard surface underneath and a new sharp blade (I use a square of aluminium the size of a coaster cut on) and a magnifier! If they're plastic you can use extra thin cement to melt away tags and flash, but sure you know that already, for bending railings you need a straight edge, I use a razor blade for the straight edge and lift the railing with my scalpel ,tamiya PE pliers are good too, railings are fragile though and won't bend back and forth too many times so take smaller steps you don't go to far with them, as I say I'm new to it anyway but hope that helps, your build looks great btw, ps pva glue is v good for PE...

 

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love the work done so far ... I went for etch smoke stack Funnel Covers and aftermarket depth charges in brass ( plus throwers and racks )

 

nice start, the Shapeways Bridge extra parts are well worth it ( as seen here ) 

 

K1KeMJah.jpg

Edited by 73north
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On 6/13/2022 at 9:38 PM, AliGauld said:

Nicely done so far but I really don't envy you all those tiny, tiny fiddly bits.


It’s making that Wessex PE seem positively structural by comparison!  
 

On 6/13/2022 at 10:56 PM, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Mark, I can't advise on PE as I don't do it, but I agree that you need good quality tweezers. I use two mainly, one that comes to a very fine point. Actually, that set is an old pair I filed and tweeked myself - I figured I had nothing to lose by fiddling with it. HTH. Regards, Jeff.


Thanks, yes, I think I need to up my tweezer game somewhat as I’m not getting the precise feel I think these little bits need.

 

On 6/14/2022 at 7:45 PM, RGL said:

I’ve done 2 Vendetta’s now, as built and as it was finally fitted out, very nice little kit. 

 

So far the kit seems to be very good quality, great fit and clean moulding is making for reasonably straightforward assembly.

 

On 6/14/2022 at 8:07 PM, Rich75 said:

Hi looking good so far, I'm just getting into ship building myself so not really an expert but for what it's worth, for placing smaller parts I've found a PE placing pencil really useful it's basically a white wax pencil; for trimming smaller parts: if it's PE cut as close as possible to the fret with a hard surface underneath and a new sharp blade (I use a square of aluminium the size of a coaster cut on) and a magnifier! If they're plastic you can use extra thin cement to melt away tags and flash, but sure you know that already, for bending railings you need a straight edge, I use a razor blade for the straight edge and lift the railing with my scalpel ,tamiya PE pliers are good too, railings are fragile though and won't bend back and forth too many times so take smaller steps you don't go to far with them, as I say I'm new to it anyway but hope that helps, your build looks great btw, ps pva glue is v good for PE...

 


Thanks!  Some great tips there; I wasn’t aware of the PE placing pencil, nor did it even occur to me to cut the PE on a hard surface…. Melting the burrs with liquid glue is also a great tip, that never occurred to me but makes perfect sense, as does the PVA for PE, another simple tip I hadn’t thought of.  I feel like a right newb now! 😄 

 

13 hours ago, 73north said:

love the work done so far ... I went for etch smoke stack Funnel Covers and aftermarket depth charges in brass ( plus throwers and racks )

 

nice start, the Shapeways Bridge extra parts are well worth it ( as seen here ) 

 

K1KeMJah.jpg


I shall be very happy if my Wren comes out even reasonably close to yours.  One thing jumps out immediately, your decks aren’t red - I went by the instructions but are they incorrect?  It would certainly simplify painting if the entire deck and superstructure etc., we’re all the same colour?

 

12 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Great job so far Mark, I certainly don't envy you all that teeny tiny etch and resin bits. I am sure you will do well though.

Chris


Thanks Chris, the Wessex was good practice but this is next level.  It’s a little addicting to be honest.

 

12 hours ago, Bertie Psmith said:

"Aircraft Guy Builds a Ship."

 

Come on in, the water's lovely!


Jumping in head first!

 

No progress to report as I’ve been in Sydney for work this week but I’m looking forward to jumping back in tomorrow.  Th ask for all of the comments, much appreciated.

 

Cheers.

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On 6/13/2022 at 1:56 PM, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday Mark, I can't advise on PE as I don't do it, but I agree that you need good quality tweezers. I use two mainly, one that comes to a very fine point. Actually, that set is an old pair I filed and tweeked myself - I figured I had nothing to lose by fiddling with it. HTH. Regards, Jeff.

They are indispensible but you're obviously more adept in using them than I am.  I find the problem with needle-pointed tweezers is that the two points easily go past each other, usually suddenly and sending a minuscule part (invariably one of a pair) off into low earth orbit.  So I like the sound of that PE placing pencil.

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Gidday, actually they're not needle points, they're flat still but very small faces. I probably wasn't very clear, sorry. And anyone who does PE has more skill than me I think. 🙂 Regards, Jeff.

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On 6/16/2022 at 10:04 AM, mark.au said:


I 

 


I shall be very happy if my Wren comes out even reasonably close to yours.  One thing jumps out immediately, your decks aren’t red - I went by the instructions but are they incorrect?  It would certainly simplify painting if the entire deck and superstructure etc., we’re all the same colour?

 


T

 

to answer your question , the Ship was portrayed in 1940 , your kit has the painting guide for 1917 Royal Australian Navy / or 1917 Royal ( British Navy ) - so if yours is  portrayed to be in 1939-45 , the upper decks would be Home Fleet Gray .

 

always remember - what you have here is a 1917 Ship - so its needs work if you want it 1939 era

 

This is my Guide to updating the kit - posted on Scale Model Warships as a review - which might be handy 

 

it goes into this kit in detail .http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=220920

 

to say again - if I am in time for your build 

 

 1 ) - The Model does NOT have etch railings provided for the 2 ' bandstands ' for the two 4 inch gun positions ( B and X guns ) -
so you need to remember to fit that , as the kit instructions do not mention this -

( 3 ) you will need to source 1/350 Depth Charge Throwers as there are none in the kit provided - I had them designed and made by a designer on Shapeways .
I sourced Rainbow ( 1/350 Rb3545 ) IJN Depth Charges for use with these .
I had mine made with no Depth Charge loaded ( an empty thrower )- with 2 sets .
and used Brass aftermarket IJN Depth Charges
that were fitted on top of these and also fitted inside the White Ensign photo-etch depth charge racks at the stern .
This was well worth the effort and you get 40 Metal Brass Depth Charges so you have plenty spare for other projects !

you don't get any depth charges provided separate with the kit - and the 4 depth charges with the kit
are correctly ( for 1917-18 ) moulded onto the deck - but they are needed to be removed - if you want an inter-war or WW2 Ship .

( 4 ) As stated earlier if you want 1/350 depth charge racks , rather than the kit paravanes at the stern - you need to source some -
( the WEM G & H set provides them ) and you will need to remove the 4 x 1917 era depth charges at the stern in the little deck racks - as kit plastic - as mentioned earlier .
 

 

 

Edited by 73north
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13 hours ago, 73north said:

 

to answer your question , the Ship was portrayed in 1940 , your kit has the painting guide for 1917 Royal Australian Navy / or 1917 Royal ( British Navy ) - so if yours is  portrayed to be in 1939-45 , the upper decks would be Home Fleet Gray .

 

always remember - what you have here is a 1917 Ship - so its needs work if you want it 1939 era

 

This is my Guide to updating the kit - posted on Scale Model Warships as a review - which might be handy 

 

it goes into this kit in detail .http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=84&t=220920

 

to say again - if I am in time for your build 

 

 1 ) - The Model does NOT have etch railings provided for the 2 ' bandstands ' for the two 4 inch gun positions ( B and X guns ) -
so you need to remember to fit that , as the kit instructions do not mention this -

( 3 ) you will need to source 1/350 Depth Charge Throwers as there are none in the kit provided - I had them designed and made by a designer on Shapeways .
I sourced Rainbow ( 1/350 Rb3545 ) IJN Depth Charges for use with these .
I had mine made with no Depth Charge loaded ( an empty thrower )- with 2 sets .
and used Brass aftermarket IJN Depth Charges
that were fitted on top of these and also fitted inside the White Ensign photo-etch depth charge racks at the stern .
This was well worth the effort and you get 40 Metal Brass Depth Charges so you have plenty spare for other projects !

you don't get any depth charges provided separate with the kit - and the 4 depth charges with the kit
are correctly ( for 1917-18 ) moulded onto the deck - but they are needed to be removed - if you want an inter-war or WW2 Ship .

( 4 ) As stated earlier if you want 1/350 depth charge racks , rather than the kit paravanes at the stern - you need to source some -
( the WEM G & H set provides them ) and you will need to remove the 4 x 1917 era depth charges at the stern in the little deck racks - as kit plastic - as mentioned earlier .
 

 

 


Thanks for the detailed answer, much appreciated.

 

Insofar as the corrections for the depth charges and the parravanes at the stern, I’m not going to change them as the kit representation is close enough for me in this instance (and photos show that in 1936 she didn’t have them, though of course they could have been converted after then).
 

What’s interesting to me is the colours though.  Agree on the Home Fleet Grey and that it would be 507a, a dark grey matt finish.  But whether that was applied to the decks is debatable, especially on a home fleet destroyer (from what I’ve read, at least - my primary reading was at https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/pages/full-view-of-all-schemes).  It seems to me, absent proof otherwise that the decks could have been the original  corticene which was in use even into the 30s and might well have still been on the Wren’s decks in 1940 (she'd been on active service nonstop since war was declared and for some time prior)  

 

Even though it will make painting much easier to go with grey overall, I’m going to stick with what I have for aesthetic reasons, if no other.

 

Hopefully I’ll have some progress to show by the end of the weekend.

 

Cheers.

 

Edited to add...

 

13 hours ago, 73north said:

 1 ) - The Model does NOT have etch railings provided for the 2 ' bandstands ' for the two 4 inch gun positions ( B and X guns ) -
so you need to remember to fit that , as the kit instructions do not mention this -


Oh, and yes, this is a big miss.  I’m going to have to find some railings I guess.

 

 

 

Edited by mark.au
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ztta3nch.jpg

 

Here is a better photo - like I say , build the Model they way you want , I probably went over the top in my additions , and spent £ 70 getting a scan of the HMS Walpole Ship Plans from NMM , Greenwich .

 

http://www.alternateuniversewarships.com/Royal Commonwealth Navy/DD 1917 Vanoc-VW/DD_1917_Vanoc-VW.htm

 

This link might be of interest - anyway 

 

good luck !

 

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4 hours ago, 73north said:

ztta3nch.jpg

 

Here is a better photo - like I say , build the Model they way you want , I probably went over the top in my additions , and spent £ 70 getting a scan of the HMS Walpole Ship Plans from NMM , Greenwich .

 

http://www.alternateuniversewarships.com/Royal Commonwealth Navy/DD 1917 Vanoc-VW/DD_1917_Vanoc-VW.htm

 

This link might be of interest - anyway 

 

good luck !

 

 

Over the top or not, it's. lovely model.  That link is very interesting, thank you for that.

 

I'm starting to realise that these little Destroyers (ships in general??) are just as complex in their variations and history as that bl**dy Wessex I just finished!

 

I made some progress over the weekend and will post some pics soon.

 

Cheers.

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Some progress to show, though not much in results terms, there's a few hours in this.

 

I completed the detail painting on those parts installed on the deck.  I'm not sure if the PE railing just before the front deck (foredeck?) looks better or worse than before painting.  It's messy, anyway.

 

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I turned my focus to some of the structures, notably the torpedo launchers and rearmost gun.

 

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It's very tricky even taking photos of these parts they're so small.  I used the kit parts for the torpedo launchers and some Masters turned brass gun barrels.

 

I then began attaching some of these bits and pieces to the deck, this is how it looks tonight.

 

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I'm finding the small PE detail work very difficult, and I've made an absolute dogs dinner of the searchlight stand (I'll unveil that sorry mess in the next update).  I'm working through a combination of [lack of] patience - nothing new - and inexperience so I remain hopeful that it will get easier (at least the competence part...).  

 

This isn't say I'm not enjoying this build, far from it actually.  In fact, I hinted strongly to my wife that for my birthday, which is tomorrow, I'd quite like another ship model.  She went to the store today and forbade me to watch her bring in the package.  I shall report tomorrow.

 

Cheers.

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Nice work Matk  that PE on the Torpedo tubes looks awesome but very fiddly.   Great work  .

Hope you have a very Happy Birthday fella, I wonder your wife has managed to track down a Matchbox 72nd scale Flower class Corvette!!! The box will be mahoosive, that will be why she wouldn't let you see!!!:whistle:

Would love one of those myself.

Chris

 

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Keep up the good work it's coming along great! I've found you can spend hours on a ship and have little to show for it, then it all comes together, have a happy birthday hope it's a big box🤞🏻

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3 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Nice work Matk  that PE on the Torpedo tubes looks awesome but very fiddly.   Great work  .

Hope you have a very Happy Birthday fella, I wonder your wife has managed to track down a Matchbox 72nd scale Flower class Corvette!!! The box will be mahoosive, that will be why she wouldn't let you see!!!:whistle:

Would love one of those myself.

Chris

 


Thanks Chris.  It is a big box, but not a Matchbox…

 

2 hours ago, AliGauld said:

Nicely done with all that tiny tiny photoetch.

You're a braver man than me.

I hope you have a cracking Birthday.

 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

 

Thanks Alistair, wait till you see what I did with the searchlight structure 😄 …...  

 

1 hour ago, Rich75 said:

Keep up the good work it's coming along great! I've found you can spend hours on a ship and have little to show for it, then it all comes together, have a happy birthday hope it's a big box🤞🏻

 

Thank you.  I think it was @Bertie Psmith that mentioned elsewhere that one can get in a flow and time is no longer a conscious factor in modelling.  
 

Thanks for the birthday wishes, gents.  
 

My wife remembers almost everything I’ve ever said in our 35 years together.  For example, she still  remembers me saying in 1989 that I thought her sister was quite attractive.  She also remembers that weeks ago I said that one day I’d like to build a detailed large scale HMS Hood, when I became sufficiently competent at ship modelling to do it justice.  Turns out she thinks I’m already competent enough.  It’s a very big box!  Happy birthday to me :)

 

Cheers.

 

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12 hours ago, mark.au said:


Thanks Chris.  It is a big box, but not a Matchbox…

 

 

Thanks Alistair, wait till you see what I did with the searchlight structure 😄 …...  

 

 

Thank you.  I think it was @Bertie Psmith that mentioned elsewhere that one can get in a flow and time is no longer a conscious factor in modelling.  
 

Thanks for the birthday wishes, gents.  
 

My wife remembers almost everything I’ve ever said in our 35 years together.  For example, she still  remembers me saying in 1989 that I thought her sister was quite attractive.  She also remembers that weeks ago I said that one day I’d like to build a detailed large scale HMS Hood, when I became sufficiently competent at ship modelling to do it justice.  Turns out she thinks I’m already competent enough.  It’s a very big box!  Happy birthday to me :)

 

Cheers.

 

Happy Birthday fella, I hope you enjoy and enjoy HMS Hood.  SWMBO remembers everything too.  It's usually brought up in a barny!!!:whistle:

Chris

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