Richard Welling

Casting about on a rainy day for something to do, I came across a part 1/600 German WW2 Prinz Eugen German cruiser kit. I have always found aircraft carrying cruisers to be some fun, so this is the result. The Swedish cruiser Gotland and the Japanese Mogami are the best examples of the type. This one, 680 x 74 feet, about 15,000 tons. Speed 31 knots. 6 x 8 " guns, 8 x 4" DP guns, 54 x 2pounder/40mm AA guns, 36 x 20mm AA guns, 6 x 21" tt. 3 catapults. Hanger 220 x 52 feet. Air group. 24 aircraft can be transported. Usual operating air group, 12 Swordfish or 9 x Walrus seaplanes. Not many 1/600 warships available now. A pity, because I grew up with this scale and like it a lot. So, we make up our own..

Most of the major naval powers in the 1920s and 1930s violated clauses of the Washington Treaty. The US did it with the Lexington/Saratoga (36,000 tons+ on 33,000 ton limit.) The British did it by excluding liquid layer protection from the tonnage of their Nelson/Rodney battleships, the Germans with the Hipper Class (Prinz Eugen almost 4000 tons over the 10000 ton limit, for example) also Italian Zara class and IJN Takao and Mogami cruiser classes, all way over the limits. The British stuck close to the treaty rules regarding cruisers, if they had not, maybe they would have produced this. Belfast hull, extended by 65 feet, bulged (72 foot beam) and with a deepened hull and draught. 12 x 8" guns, 8 x 4" DP guns, 36 x 2pounder or 40mm, 44 x 20mm, 6 x 21" tt. Length 680 feet, beam 72 feet, draught 23 feet, 120,000 shp, 8 boilers, 4 shafts, 32 knots light load, 30 knots full load. About 15,000 tons at light load. Armour, 5" belt, 3.5" deck. Such is the dearth of 1/600 warships, one has to make up their own. A pity, because for fairly mediocre modellers like me, 1/700 is too small and 1/350, too expensive and not enough room.

/media/tinymce_upload/10080f562f4adfd1cf12eeee62ff99ea.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/f9525b83f4ad36bb0b9856acbcb7a8e3.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/85478eee8881494542d31bec6f196ca6.jpgIn the past, I had taken a 1/600 HMS Ajax hull and shortened it to 510 feet and made a Dido class AA cruiser. Was not pleased with the result, although I still have the hull and some of the parts in a box somewhere. I always liked the Arethusa/Dido class, a very elegant and attractive design with the twin raked funnels and masts and the relatively streamlined superstructure. So, here is another what if ship, a WW2 Modified Leander class AA cruiser. By keeping the 555 foot length and 55 foot beam of the Leander, (45 feet longer and 5 feet wider than the Dido class) it is possible to add a sixth 5.25 DP twin mount and additional AA. 12 x 5.25 DP, 24 x 40mm (4 x 4, 4 x 2) 6 x 20mm (2 x 2, 2x1) 8 x 21" tt. The 1/600 HMS Ajax is another very adaptable Airfix kit, although it is harder to find these days. There are about a dozen of various configurations in my collection. I have built it as a Modified Leander (HMAS Sydney/Perth/Hobart) several times.

Thanks John for your kind words. HMS Belfast is a good kit to work with except for some plastic sprues here and there and some parts that have to be slightly reshaped to fit better, such as the shelter deck sides. A small sharp modelling knife and tweezers are essential for this kit. Overall, 1/600 HMS Belfast is a very nicely detailed model with an impressive number of parts and a remarkably cheap and available kit. Would not be too hard to reshape it into the HMS Sheffield (of force H fame) that might be my next project, would be good to have a diorama with HMS Ark Royal, Renown and Sheffield and attendant destroyers steaming along... I got some 4.5s of the right shape for Renown secondary armament, so a conversion of the Repulse to the Renown configuration is now definitely on the cards.. Always found the Airfix model of HMS Repulse to be a bit basic and the hanger somewhat bulky and out of proportion to the rest, however, it is a great model to adapt to other uses.. The things we have to do to amuse ourselves, I would love Airfix to produce a 1/600 HMS Renown, but in the meantime, I can build my own.. Won't be able to resist adding to it some quad 40mm bofors guns & directors though..

/media/tinymce_upload/584a71a85539b5dea40bec16bd1a6d52.jpg The 1/600 HMS Belfast is one of the best kits Airfix produced. 250 parts; about the only realistic depiction of 20mm guns, Carley floats and British WW2 radar and fire control systems. And it is cheap to buy; one can often pick up this kit for very little, it is the postage that costs the money. Whilst the Belfast was a powerful ship, it is a somewhat ugly design, with the big gap between the bridge and fore funnel and the piled up quarterdeck. Here is the kit reworked three ways, with 15 x 6' guns, with 10 x 8" guns similar to Mogami class cruisers and the third ship lengthened by 60 feet for approx 680 feet (two Belfast hulls joined together) and given 18 x 6" guns including three in quadruple turrets and additional machinery for 35 knots. The Belfast was originally to have quadruple turrets but these proved too complex. By removing the aircraft and bulky hanger, shifting the funnels, lowering the bridge structure and reworking the quarterdeck, one can produce a more graceful design. I have used a different type bridge and different funnels on my 3 funnelled Belfast, but most of the rest of the parts are from HMS Belfast kits, including the fire control, radar & HACS directors. The Belfast is a nice kit to work with, apart from having to remove some plastic spurs, especially from the mast and stays. /media/tinymce_upload/2e741259f1a205f33150ee61398edae0.jpg /media/tinymce_upload/9b6112c51ae63119e8a1fbb0047a2de4.jpg

Thanks John. It is very nice of you to say so, however, my modelling skills are rather mediocre, compared to say, ships that Patrick Camilleri has done. They are amazing, especially that 1/600 example of HMS Roberts, that is a real beauty. Anyway, despite my rather average modelling skills, I enjoy the 1/600 ships, like Patrick, for their adaptability. Whilst I am not great at scratch building parts, Airfix 1/600 parts are so adaptable. I especially like making "never were" ships and hybrids, just to see how much we can adapt the design within the available dimensions.. One reason I always bought Airfix ships were that they were available and cheap. The Asian made 1/700 ships were always very expensive. Now it is the other way around. 1/700 is everywhere, 1/600 is hard to get. A pity.

/media/tinymce_upload/494250c22b6e6c5bc4b6bff2f0982916.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/c7e2555f639cb1f85639b36fab9351a3.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/646a0489ece51172219f05e91eba3ef4.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/ff48ee4393d939182ef441ca2969b724.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/7fe887b599cc96bee500d1bc2f7fba00.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/3f1f57a4c381ca19a8ae5e265884f85c.jpg/media/tinymce_upload/96309fc9bbd6ddda02b6ca63ec1434ea.jpgHMS Hood was due for reconstruction in the late 1930s, but the time could not be found. If she had been reconstructed, it would have probably been along the lines of HMS Renown, or possibly, she would have carried 12 to 16 x 5.25s as a secondary armament. This reconstruction is a bit ahead of its time, but what-ifs are part of the fun, a pastime given to me and respected by me by those brave men who fought and died for my freedom. For all its horror, World War II was a just war, for all its faults, democracy is a fleeting institution, measured against 50,000 years of human "progress". Anyway, I have rebuilt the Hood a number of times, including a few fairly conventional reconstructions, but here is a very unique one: 1/600 HMS Hood, armoured angled flight deck battleship-carrier. 6 x 14" guns. 16 x 4.5 DP. 46 x 40mm AA 32 x 20mm AA. 40 aircraft. Flight deck 608 x 96 feet. 2 catapults, one fixed, one rotating. 2 lifts, 9 arrester wires. 8 searchlights. 2 main fire control and five secondary AA directors. Radar fitted. Length 860 feet. Max beam, including 8 degree angled deck, 122 feet. 2 Lifs, 3 Hanger areas, 3 machine shop/repair areas, lower half hanger built onto the quarterdeck. Total of 40 aircraft, 18 fighters, 10 fighter bombers, 12 torpedo bombers, with other part of lower hanger used for aircrew accomodation. Hull Armoured against 11" shellfire ie 9" belt), hangers, including armoured flight deck, armoured against 8" shellfire, ie 6" hagners, about 4.5" to 5" armoured flight deck. Flight deck angled and hull bulged to port to help offset the weight of the starboard control positions/funnel etc. Spent many hours tinkering and improving it over the years. Going to add some deck railing to it soon, but doing the rigging is a bit hard, as all the main pieces move and lift out... One of the starboard twin 4.5's needs a fix up too. A what if hybrid ship, one of a kind, too bad force Z didn't have something like it... You can do a lot with 1/600 ships and an imagination, I wish they would make more...

Yes, come on Airfix, make some more ships in 1/350 and 1/600 scale. 1/600 is such a nice scale to work with, I find 1/700 very annoying. I believe there is demand for 1/600 full-hulled ships, the fact is, most of them issued have been sold. There are plenty of modellers in the former British Commonwealth (eg Australia) who would build 1/600 ships if they were available and, for example, WW2 Australian ships are mostly variants of British WW2 designs. Wht not produce some 1/600 aircraft, RN and RAN flags, decals, etc? Surely they wouldn't cost much to make? What about some smaller WW2 ships in 1/600 like destroyers, MTBs, landing craft, etc? Pitt Road as an excellent range of such craft, but they are all in 1/700.