Airfix HMS Belfast in 1/600th Scale.Finished.

[Alex Gordon]

G'day Chums,

I'd like to join in with this one if I may.

 

I was going to scratchbuild a Sea Fury fuselage but a rummage through the stash failed to unearth the box that all the bits and plan were in and I have absolutely no idea where it has gone.This one came to the surface however and since I've never finished a ship in the 45 years or so that I've been playing this game this seemed to be a suitable substitute.

 

This bagful came my way a lot of years ago as part of an incomplete box set rescued from the bin on Boston Green on auction day by my old chum Moggy Bob.I have no map for this one so I had a bit of a trawl of t'interweb and found images of in a build thread on ATF by @davecov.Being as he knows what he's doing and getting it right can't be improved upon I'm intending to shamelessly plagiarise his offering as far as I can.

 

 

In the bag are the hull and the main decks,

 

funnels,smaller decks,cranes,turrets,little boats,

 

one and a half Westland Walrus and lots of bits that I don't have a clue what they're called but I'm sure I'll find out sooner or later.

 

I started by putting the hull halves together.This took a bit of pushing and shoving but it got there.

 

Having poured in the glue I plonked the main decks into place temporarily to make sure that the hull would be the right shape.This involved me having to work out which bit was which for the pointy and blunt ends.

 

There are lots of ejector pin marks in various places which will need to be sorted out,I started with the little boats.

 

Just look at all these Carley Floats.These can't all go on this thing can they?They're tiny too.I had a bit of a dig around for gen on these,https://ontheslipway.com/carley-floats/ gave me an understanding.

 

The funnel halves didn't take a lot of working out.

 

Anyway I'm off into the rabbit warren that is finding out about this thing,see you soon Chums.

Edited September 10, 2023 by Alex Gordon

[davecov]

Good luck with this build, Alex.

 

Hopefully, you won't make all of the mistakes that I did during my build! 😳

 

Dave

[AdrianMF]

Super choice Alex. Ships are definitely scary!

 

I'm sure you can't go wrong following Dave's build, but just in case, the Scalemates page for HMS Belfast here has a link to the latest set of instructions.

 

Have fun a really uncomfortable time

 

Regards,

Adrian

[TimJ]

Ships are definitely out of my comfort zone. I do have an HMS Belfast in the stash, but that's only because it was included in the VE Day gift set.  

[ArnoldAmbrose]

6 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

Just look at all these Carley Floats.These can't all go on this thing can they?

Gidday Alex, I'm afraid they do. 🙂 In fact, I've bought a number of these kits in the past as a source of spares for kit bashing. Good luck with this. Regards, Jeff.

 

PS - AFAIK the Walrus was a Supermarine aircraft, not Westland.

[CliffB]

A great choice Alex .  IIRC one of Airfix's later (and best), 1/600 ship models.

[Mr T]

Sounds well out of your comfort zone, as it would mine. Not built a ship kit for about 55plus years. 

HMS Belfast is worth a visit if you are in London, although wshen I went when my daughter felt seasick!, notwithstanding it is attached to the riverbank and only goes up and down with the tide. 

Welcome to the Purgatory that is the Group Build. 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

2 hours ago, Mr T said:

although wshen I went when my daughter felt seasick!,

Gidday, I knew a guy who got seasick watching a yacht race,       on television,       in his lounge-room at home!        Some people just aren't cut out to be sailors. 🤢

 

I'd love to see HMS Belfast (and a few other museum ships) but alas I don't think I'll ever get over there. Oh well  .   .   .

Regards, Jeff.

[TonyW]

A good choice for a build and one that brings back a few memories for me.

 

Back in the late seventies/early eighties I was stationed at Lambeth Fire Station and spent quite a few shifts on the Fireboat attatched to the land station. If the Fireswift broke and the Firehawk, (the two Fireboats at the time), was not available, we would take a skiff out for a pull instead. If the tide was right, we would row to the Belfast and invite ourselves into their social center. It looked remarkably like a bar to me. After socialising for a while we would row back to the land station, for dinner or supper, hopefully with a cooperating tide. Happy days.

 

Tony.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

On 4/11/2023 at 1:38 AM, TonyW said:

Back in the late seventies/early eighties I was stationed at Lambeth Fire Station and spent quite a few shifts on the Fireboat attatched to the land station. If the Fireswift broke and the Firehawk, (the two Fireboats at the time), was not available, we would take a skiff out for a pull instead. If the tide was right, we would row to the Belfast and invite ourselves into their social center. It looked remarkably like a bar to me. After socialising for a while we would row back to the land station, for dinner or supper, hopefully with a cooperating tide. Happy days.

Gidday, it sounds like a lousy draft but I guess someone had to do it. You must have been very pleased when you were finally moved on elsewhere (no doubt kicking and screaming!) 😁

Regards, Jeff.

[Alex Gordon]

Hello again Chums,a little progress to show.

 

Dave,many thanks.I didn't see any mistakes on your build.

 

Adrian,cheers old chum.Thanks for the instructions link,it will help greatly.

 

Tim,I think that's where this one came from.

 

Jeff,cheers old fruit.Thanks also for the offer of assistance with the map.(Puts on best Captain Mainwaring voice) I was wondering how long it would be before someone spotted that.You are quite right of course,it is Supermarine Walrus,photo found  here https://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-06CL-Belfast.htm

 

 

not Westland Walrus,photo from Wikipedia.

 

 

I had a read of your Scratch Building Ship's Fittings thread earlier today and found it well worth the effort.Do you know if the Belfast had the opposition rotation screw set up by any chance? I haven't looked at that bit yet.

 

Cliff,Mr T,Tony,thanks for popping by chaps.Please feel free to keep the dits coming.

 

With a view to painting this thing somewhere along the line while still being able to glue it together I've had to start thinking about masking.There are half a dozen bases for the smaller turrets that come into contact with the deck below them which need their gluing spots kept clear of paint.

 

 

After a little headscratching I found that their diameter coincides with that of one of the tools on my ever trusty leather punch.Half a dozen (no,I didn't drop any) circles of tape were made

 

 

and positioned under each base using the tip of a scalpel blade and a bit of patience.

 

That's that bit masked off.

 

There are lots of bits of superstructure to put together so I started on that part of the job.There is a lot of warpage on the various components.

 

 

There are also lots of components and they all need to be de-part lined and cleaned of flash and the odd ejector pin.

 

I've realised that there is going to be plenty of dry fitting required

 

to make sure I know about all the little nooks and crannies where it will be difficult to reach in to paint.Like here for example,how on earth am I going to get into that lot with the deck colour,side camouflage and underside counter colours?

 

Anyway things have been strapped together and glued into bite size chunks.

 

Thanks all for looking in,more soon.

 

 

[ArnoldAmbrose]

5 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

Do you know if the Belfast had the opposition rotation screw set up by any chance?

Gidday Alex, definitely, I've found a photo of Belfast in drydock that clearly shows the ship's name, and the starboard screws. Another shows both sides. I've also found a few of other ships including Exeter, HMAS Australia (Kent class) and some destroyers and battlewagons. They all show outward-turning screws so I think it's a safe bet that they all did, 20th century onwards anyway. Unfortunately the kit only has right-turning screws, suitable for the starboard side of the ship. I don't know if the blades could be twisted the other way for the port side, I haven't tried that. HTH.

       Oh, and BTW, I didn't know that Westland also had a Walrus, I thought you'd simply got a name wrong, so I've learned something from you. Many thanks.

Regards, Jeff.

[Mr T]

The Westland Walrus was a re vamped DH9A fitted out for carrier use as a spotter and reconnaissance aircraft and powered by a Napier Lion. It did see service post WW1. 

By late 1943, the Supermarine Walrus was no longer carried by Belfast. On a 'goodwill' visit to Murmansk, the ship was presented with a Reindeer (named Olga) and bedded down in the hanger. Unfortunately during the the Battle of the North Cape  a few days later she became so distressed and dangerous that she was dispatched by the ships butcher. 

[AdrianMF]

On 16/04/2023 at 21:34, Alex Gordon said:

Thanks all for looking in,more soon.

Terrifying!

 

Kinda almost wish you'd found the Sea Fury with the missing half - much more relaxing

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Alex Gordon]

G'day again Chums,some more to show.

 

Jeff,many thanks old fruit.Would that be this photo by any chance?

 

 

Photo found here https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/the-cruiser-hms-belfast-stands-in-dry-dock-at-portsmouth-news-photo/830200768

 

Mr T,thanks old lad.It's odd snippets of gen that really do add to a build and bring it to life.

 

Adrian,cheers old chum.I could have a go at the Sea Fury fuselage using the other Hobbycraft kit that I recently acquired as a pattern but that might be cheating and I'd still have to sort out a wing to fit it to.It's a bit frustrating not finding the box with the goodies in,my stash isn't large,is all in one place and I always check before anything is hoofed out that something useful isn't in there.Everything happens for a reason,I know sweet nothing about floaty things but that is gradually changing with this build.

 

There has been the strapping together of more warped and bent bits.

 

 

As I move away from the larger easily identifiable components I'm finding that the bits to complete a subassembly are distributed throughout the frames and it's taking several goes to locate the bits required.This is not helped by most of this stuff being teeny tiny.

 

The crane jibs were fairly obvious though.

 

I've no idea what this is but it has been glued together.

 

There is going to be a bit of filling and fettling needed.

 

Yet more ejector pin lumps to be removed.

 

Here's where we are at the moment.

 

More soon Chums,thanks for looking in.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

11 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

Jeff,many thanks old fruit.Would that be this photo by any chance?

Gidday, very nearly. I didn't see that one, showing the name AND both sets of screws, but the two I did find were obviously taken at the same time but a bit closer. It sort of clinches the case, I think. 👍 And thank you for the link.

 

11 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

I've no idea what this is but it has been glued together.

It's a casing that one of the funnels sits on. Those rectangles on the side and end are air inlets to the boiler room below it. The boiler rooms have positive (increased) air pressure to feed the boilers and force smoke and flame up the funnels I think, instead of back into the boiler rooms.

       Some of these kits are showing their age, I have some with a lot of flash, plus the crane booms are warped and broken but your kit doesn't seem too bad by comparison.

Regards, Jeff.

[AdrianMF]

It's funny, but to another non-ship builder (me) all your Belfast parts look exactly the same as my Ark Royal parts. I'm certainly feeling completely at sea (sorry!) with all this shipbuilding malarkey and I haven't got a clue. I guess that's something to bear in mind the next time we all start huffing over someone asking whether Bristol radial engines have a grey crank case.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[AlxBNE]

Good progress so far Alex.

I don't envy you the filling and fettling work.

Funny how much harder it is to do when you don't know what the part you are working on is supposed to represent in real life. Ships are a complete mystery to me.

[Alex Gordon]

Hello again Chums,a little bit of offering up this time.

 

Jeff,thanks old lad.Having read your last I went hunting for yet more photos and found this

 

 

here https://www.model-monkey.com/product-page/1-350-hms-belfast-funnels which has a few more images.

 

Adrian,thanks old chum.Oddly enough I was thinking much the same thing as I was reading your Ark Royal thread.I haven't dared to look for any Pom Poms in this one yet but if I find any I now know what to do.I remember many years ago having cause to explain to a complete novice the difference between squadron code letters and serial numbers on a photo of a Lancaster and realising that knowledge we take for granted just doesn't exist for some folks.

 

AlxBNE,cheers old fruit.Yes,you and me both.

 

The various sub assemblies so far look like this.I'm going to have to modify my fillery methods to suit the tiny propotions of these bits.

 

 

I thought I'd dry fit the forward superstructure and see what fettling and pre-painting will be necessary.

 

After no small amount of fiddling and some profane rhetoric this was the result.

 

All those little nooks and crannies and there is a lattice mast to go on there too which has been molded solid but would look better if it wasn't.

 

Just after I took that piccie I breathed out a little too severely and the whole lot fell over.Again.

 

Thanks all for looking in,more soon.

[PattheCat]

That's a lot of fiddling, cleaning and dry fitting to do.

But she looks good!

 

Nice job.

[Ray S]

Please accept my apologies for finding this at a rather late stage! You are making some good progress on this classic kit. Belfast is one of the Airfix 1/600 range I have never bought (or been given) and you are whetting my appetite for it, despite the rather unusual shapes of some of the parts. All the best for the rest of the project,

 

Ray

[ArnoldAmbrose]

17 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

I thought I'd dry fit the forward superstructure and see what fettling and pre-painting will be necessary.

Gidday Alex, apologies if this has already been mentioned but I paint as I go, painting as much of a piece as possible before attaching to the model. You might find some parts hard to get to otherwise. But I'm old-fashioned and use the hairy stick. Good luck with it. Regards, Jeff.

[Alex Gordon]

G'day again Chums,there has been paint.

 

Pat,Ray,thanks chaps.

 

Jeff,thanks old fruit.You are quite right,prepainting is the way forward.

 

I'm finding it a bit difficult to decipher the Airfix paint guide,particularly which bits are supposed to be 64 and 65.

 

 

Thankfully Jamie Duff of this parish has created a splendid work of reference which can be found here https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0730/0927/files/HMS_Belfast.pdf?v=1609588664 and has been thoroughly useful.It also has me convinced that I really should invest heavily in Colourcoats paint.Added to this image,the origin of which I've forgotten,things will be a little less arbitrary.

 

 

Anyway,the big turrets have had a brushful between them,seriously I washed more out of the brush than went on the plastic.I've never been keen on wastage.

 

 

The pointy end deck has had a drop of 96,the light grey bits are Xtracolour Silbergrau because I'm less than convinced by the slightly brown hue of my tin of 64 and being as Jamies jottings call for white behind gunshields and the like I'm going to punt that would probably include the underside of decks so there's been some of that too.

 

 

There has been some fiddly teeny tiny masking because my brush skills and eyesight aren't what they were

 

followed by a full brushload of 71 toned down with a highly thinned dark brown.

 

More soom Chums,thanks for looking in.

Edited May 9, 2023 by Alex Gordon

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

On 5/9/2023 at 7:57 AM, Alex Gordon said:

Added to this image,the origin of which I've forgotten, things will be a little less arbitrary.

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, the origin is Conrad Waters' most excellent book "British Town Class Cruisers" published by Seaforth ISBN 978-1-5267-1885-3. The artwork is by George Richardson in New Zealand. Camouflage demarcation and colour placement was advised by @dickrd (Richard Dennis) and the colour coordinates used in the artwork were provided by me and we were all very pleased at how well the printed using the publisher's standard printing process. It also reflects poorly on some other authors who use the printing process as a ready-made excuse for bad colour portrayal in books and rather suggests it's a classic case of rubbish-in-rubbish-out.

 

Appendix I of Conrad's book contains high quality and, we believe, accurate camouflage profiles of each of the class throughout various time periods, and Conrad very kindly credited Richard, Sean Carroll, Lyndsey Johnson and Michael Brown (who passed away very suddenly quite recently) and myself which you'd think makes us all celebrities now but you don't get as many sponsorship deal offers or free dinners and drinks as one might think...

[AdrianMF]

Sterling progress on this one. The paint borders between the deck and the superstructure elements look brutally hard to get at. Perhaps a thin dark wash when you're done will help delineate it?

 

I'm very impressed with your crane mouldings compared to the Ark Royal ones.

 

It's hard to remember now that pre-Covid I used to see the real thing daily because it was moored right outside the office where I worked!

 

Regards,

Adrian