Courageous Posted May 6 Posted May 6 Hi All, here is my place marker for this GB. It's HMS Bristol, a Type 82 Destroyer using the MT Miniatures 1/700 kit. HMS Bristol was the only ship in this class, the rest of the program was cancelled due to defence cuts. She spent her early years as a trials ship for testing new weapons and computers and served as the Royal Navy flag ship during the Falklands. Anyway, the compulsories: The box. The resin lump. The metal bits. Decals and PE. The instructions Some would say that this should be a quick build but being 1/700, metal parts, PE and detailed painting will slow this down. Don't expect anything too soon as I need to finish a build for another GB first. Stuart 16
modelling minion Posted May 6 Posted May 6 Welcome aboard the GB Stuart and with a great choice too, HMS Bristol was a great ship and it was a shame she was the only one from her class to survive the 1966 Defence White Paper. Thats a big old lump of resin to work with and you have some decent metal details for her, I'm looking forward to seeing her come together especially as I used to work on marine Olympus engines that were fitted to her. 1
81-er Posted May 7 Posted May 7 Welcome, Stuart That's an impressive lump of resin for one casting, the instructions not so impressive though. James 1
Courageous Posted May 7 Author Posted May 7 15 hours ago, modelling minion said: big old lump of resin It is indeed. I've recently had it confirmed by MT Miniatures that the this version of Bristol is for the Falklands period, so 1982 to her refit in 1984. I'm not sure as to the accuracy but I'm pretty sure that the 4.5" gun deck is incorrect, plus a few other things to look into. 2 hours ago, 81-er said: instructions not so impressive Fortunately, they won't be used that often as most of the parts have big holes to locate into, might have to to give the yards to mast some thought though. Stuart 1
81-er Posted May 7 Posted May 7 Crisp @Ex-FAAWAFU might be able to help with any inaccuracies as he was there on Fearless James 1
Courageous Posted May 14 Author Posted May 14 With one GB subject all but finished and the other in the pain shop, thought I'd do a few little jobs on Brisol. Period photos backed up by ex-crew state that the wooden deck moulded on the model should only run from the second breakwater to the aft funnels, so with that little nugget the gundeck area between the breakwaters needs to be filled and sanded as this was a metal deck. Also. I thought that the life raft platforms on both sides were overly thick, so they have been removed, areas repaired and new, thinner options will be fitted later. And while the filler was drying, I thought I'd quickly do a base. My way for waterline models is to use the model as a template and draw round the base onto some rough watercolour paper and cut out the hole . Fix the paper to a 6mm MDF base that has been cut to size, then paint and stuff. 15
modelling minion Posted May 14 Posted May 14 Thats very good work Stuart, having the correct layout backed up by ex crew helps to ensure an accurate model. 1
81-er Posted May 15 Posted May 15 That's a good start, Stuart. I bet it was a fiddly job sanding back the filler on the front end? James 1 1 1
Courageous Posted May 17 Author Posted May 17 On 5/14/2025 at 8:50 PM, modelling minion said: having the correct layout Easier said than done, even with ex-crew help. Trying to find enough photos in the timeframe is proving difficult but what I have found shows there is some work to do. On 5/15/2025 at 12:13 PM, 81-er said: I bet it was a fiddly job sanding back the filler on the front end? It was, using scalpels as scrapers and small squares of sandpaper on square sticks. The more I look, the more I find to do. Stuart 1
Courageous Posted June 10 Author Posted June 10 Hi guys, sorry for the lack of any update but have recently got back from an Aegean cruise, then the garden needed a good sort, followed by a lack of mojo. Anyways... With the mojo increasing and referring to the few period photos, a few things needed to be sorted with this resin lump and the kit, some of these are listed below: A On the platform of the second breakwater, two HF aerials need to be made, not in kit. B The second breakwater has had extensions added. C I believe that the Ikara AS system had a trainable sensor on a platform, not in kit. The platform had been added but the sensor will need to be made and fitted later. D The moulding came with SCOT domes fitted in the wrong place, so these have been hacked off and new ones will be made and fitted later. E The moulded boats davits were incorrect, the should be 'A' shaped. Old removed and scratch options(8) fitted. F No doors were moulded but I had some PE ones. A clear photo shows 3 fitted amidships within the 'A' davits, so 3 were fitted each side. G Period photo shows searchlight(?) platforms forward of the aft funnels, so these were scratched using plasticard. H Moulded steps were removed and will be replaced with PE options. Since taking the photo, other things have cropped up and I'm sure more will rear their heads later. The 4.5" gun barrel was short-shot and will be replaced a 3D option. I think that the bridge roof needs some attention. The main bedstead radar will be replaced with a 3D one. The ships boats are sided but unfortunately I had three for one side and one for t'other, so a bit of rework was needed to change the davits round. The seacat launcher with missiles was oversize and will be replaced with 3D one. Stuart 11
ArnoldAmbrose Posted June 10 Posted June 10 G'day Stuart, I somehow missed this, and found it today by accident. This era of warship is not my forte and don't know a lot about her so will not have any info for you, but I'll be following the build now. And I think she was a good-looking ship. Regards, Jeff. 1
modelling minion Posted June 10 Posted June 10 Thats very good work and great attention to detail Stuart, and thank you for sharing the work required to make her more accurate as it will be very useful for anyone else building the same model. 1
AntPhillips Posted June 11 Posted June 11 Great to see this one moving along, and I like the way your detailing the changes made as you go along. Oh to have a Bristol in 1/350 scale, such a great looking ship. 1
Dermo245 Posted June 11 Posted June 11 Nice work The 1/1 version departed Portsmouth this morning on her final voyage. 2
Courageous Posted June 16 Author Posted June 16 @ArnoldAmbrose @modelling minion @81-er @AntPhillips @Dermo245 Thanks for your comments guys, much appeciated. Not much of an update but progress is progress... When things were ready, the first colour to go down was Sand by AK which might seem odd for a relatively modern British warship but I believe HMS Bristol was the last RN Ship to sport wooden decks, so the main deck amidships and the small deck aft of the bridge got a Sand applied and when dry, masked. With the wooden decks masked, the steal decks were painted with RN Dark Deck Grey by Colourcoats. When the decks were dry, it was the time for more masking and ready Bristol for its next colour. This is a very fiddly, time consuming, strangely therapeutic job. Stuart 8
81-er Posted June 16 Posted June 16 I hate to think how many hours of masking has gone into that one, Stuart, but it'll be worth it James 1 1
modelling minion Posted June 16 Posted June 16 I have to agree with James, that really is a monumental amount of masking and I'm sure the result will be worth the effort. 1
Courageous Posted June 18 Author Posted June 18 @81-er @modelling minion although I have masked a couple of ships, this required the most effort as it's one big lump as opposed to separate structures but we got there in the end... RN Light Weatherwork Grey by Colourcoats applied lastly and masking removed. Invariably with so much masking, touch-ups were required and soon rectified. Stuart 9
modelling minion Posted Wednesday at 05:18 PM Posted Wednesday at 05:18 PM That looks really good, definitely worth the effort.
81-er Posted Thursday at 09:24 AM Posted Thursday at 09:24 AM That looks great, Stuart, lovely sharp demarcations between the colours James
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now