ArnoldAmbrose

Balsa, a marvelous material for making simple yet enjoyable models. I've scratch built aircraft and ships out of the stuff. Nowhere near the detail of styrene models but I liked building them all the same. Regards, Jeff.

G'day All, the Airfix HMS Warspite in 1/600 was the first model ship I did since recommencing the hobby, aprox 25 years ago now. I did her OOB and at the time I didn't know that modeling of warships would remain with me to this day. Also at the time my knowledge of the hobby and ships was quite average. HMS Warspite was badly damaged in the Med in 1941 and sailed to the west coast of the USA for repairs. While this was done her AA outfit was improved and radar added to her. By the time she took part in the D-Day landings 20mm Oerlikons had replaced her quad .50cal m/g, with extras added, and radar had been fitted to her as well. I don't think there were major alterations to her structure though. So while the Airfix instructions supply a camo scheme that she wore at Normandy the model itself depicts her at the beginning of WW2 as far as I know. But I don't think it would be difficult to modify the kit for a more accurate June 1944 appearance. HTH. Regards, Jeff.

G'day, rule number 1 in my book. 🙂 I build just for me. Yeah, selfish, I know. 🙂 Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Sailorman, that's a beautiful ship. Regards, Jeff.

And mediocre amateur modelers. I'm one of those and use it for a couple of other modeling forums. I don't seem to need it here though. at least, not yet. Regards, Jeff.

Thanks Ratch, yeah I understood that to be the reason. In my case I wouldn't be changing the text (except for grammar and spelling), just replacing very large photos with smaller photos that don't take up so much memory. But I acknowledge the mods aren't mind readers and hence one rule for all is the go. I hope I don't exceed my capacity limit. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Heather, as you know I'm a very new member here, but I've noticed what you've just said - old posts missing their photos. I've found these posts a bit pointless now so I'd be happy to see them re-done. It's a pity that we can't go back and simply edit the original posts. I'd like to do the same to a couple of my posts too. I didn't realize that some of the photos I've posted take up about 6-7Mb of memory. I'd like to replace them with other photos but I can't. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday guys, I really envy you that have a number of shows during the year that you can get to. Here in West Oz there's only one that I know of, WASMEx in August. I look forward to it greatly. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday All, I've got four more whiffed Airfix ships but as each of them appear in other threads here I'll only show one photo of each in this post. Firstly, Alistair Maclean's HMS Ulysses, (jm1) which was the fore-runner to the Bellona class of light cruisers. More photos appear in the 'HMS Ajax conversions' thread. Secondly, a sixteen gun version of the HMS Belfast kit (jm4). This model already has it's own thread, with more photos. Thirdly, HMS Benbow of the Iron Duke class, retained and refitted for convoy escort in early WW2. She had her Q-turret and the 6-inch casemate guns removed, extra fuel tanks fitted into the vacated Q-turret magazine and twin 4-inch guns added. (HMS Benbow 1940 jm8) And finally, my most recent whiff to date, HMS Culloden, a lengthened Iron Duke class with an extra turret. (HMS Culloden WW1 jm3) These last two appear in the thread 'HMS Iron Duke and conversions'. Thank you for your interest. And I repeat my comment in the first post - if anyone else has done whiffed Airfix ships and would like to post them here, please feel free to do so. Regards to all, Jeff.

Gidday All, in 1947 the RN planned light cruisers (design Z variant D), known as the Minotaur class. These would have been large flush-decked ships of about 15,000 tons and armed with ten automatic 6-inch DP (dual purpose) guns in five twin turrets, sixteen automatic 3-inch (DP) guns in eight twin turrets and sixteen 21-inch torpedo tubes in four quad mounts. No aircraft, light guns or depth charges were to be carried. The disposition of the main guns and torpedo tubes was much like the Japanese Mogami class of a decade earlier. Ultimately though, the project was cancelled. I've decided to build one anyway. But to build one as planned I would need three Airfix HMS Tiger kits and I only had two, one minus the hull (used to build HMS Jamaica). So I decided to build her as she might have appeared after a major refit, just before the Falklands war in 1982. During this refit B turret was raised one deck, C turret replaced with Seawolf and Exocets (later replaced with Harpoons), two 3-inch turrets replaced with Vulcan Phalanx CIWS and their directors replaced with Corvus chaff launchers. The torpedo tubes were removed and four single 40mm Bofors, four 20mm Oerlikons and two triple STWS anti-submarine torpedo tubes added, along with two RHIBs and cranes to launch/retrieve them. This model was done for a Group Build on another Airfix forum and a requirement was to use as much Airfix kit parts as possible. I took this as a challenge, and quite enjoyed it. I used two Airfix Suffolk hulls to make the longer flush-decked hull required, filled in the quarterdeck cutaway and gave her a transom stern. The first photo (HMS Minotaur 1982 jm13) shows a picture of the original design (I hope I haven't breached copyright) and my model showing her with the alterations I had to make due to having insufficient turrets available. The second photo (HMS Minotaur 1982 jm1) shows the forward half of the ship. The Exocet canisters were from another kit but I made the blast deflectors and the sextuple Seawolf launcher in front of it. The superstructure is from a Tiger kit but narrowed to allow forward tracking arcs for the directors. The third photo (HMS Minotaur 1987 jm6) shows the ship depicted five years later, with the Exocets replaced with Harpoon launchers. The platforms for the Exocets and Harpoons are removable and interchangeable. You can see the Harpoons, both sets of Seawolf launchers, one of the two Phalanx gatling guns, a Corvus chaff launcher, one of the RHIBs and the Bofors and Oerlikons amidships with the STWS tubes below them, all of which I scratch built. I also scratch built the shelterdeck but nearly everything else was from Airfix kits, although some were modified. Anyway, that's it. Thank you for your interest. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday All, another Airfix model ship that lends itself to whiffing is the HMS Nelson model. This particular ship and her sister-ship HMS Rodney were unusual in having all three turrets forward of the superstructure. A number of modelers have rearranged the upperworks to have the more traditional two forward one aft turret disposition (2A1) and I am one of them. I named my ship HMS Cochrane after a British Admiral, Thomas Cochrane. This man I believe was the inspiration for Patrick O'Brien's sea captain Jack Aubrey in the 'Master and Commander' series of books. I dated my model early/mid WW2, with enhanced light AA outfit but not too extensive radar additions. I didn't alter the hull but I did rearrange the deck, obviously. I also improved the main turrets and made my own screws. Ship's screws are one area I think Airfix kits are a little disappointing, particularly the earlier kits. I think this kit could be the basis for a number of whiffs. I've done one to date and have another couple in mind. I've included a photo of the two for comparison. HMS Cochrane jm1, jm2, jm10, Cochrane and Nelson 1

Gidday John, I'd heard of the Peter Strasser but not the Hermann Goering. I don't think he was a champion of the Kriegsmarine anyway. And besides, any carrier modelled on him would have trouble squeezing through the Kiel Canal. 😁 Seydlitz, renamed Weser I believe, although AFAIK she was never completed as such. Funny you should bring her up. Originally she (and sister-ship Lutzow) were to be large light cruisers with twelve 15-cm guns but the design reverted to 8-inch before construction began. I've done a whiff of her too and was to post her next but I might as well add her here. The model is mainly OOB except that I scratch built all the guns, the searchlights and the boats that I think Airfix simply forgot. I've depicted her in a camo scheme based on the mid-war Hipper but have included single 40mm Bofor guns that the Prinz carried late war. DKM Seydlitz jm1, jm4, jm7 Actually, I make my own, a bit rough though. I haven't done German aircraft yet but as trials for future carriers I've done a Grumman Martlet, Supermarine Seafire, Vought Corsair, Nakajima Ki43 Oscar, Grumman F7F Tigercat and a Mitsubishi Ki46 Dinah, all in 1/600 scale. Yeah, I know, not all of them operated off carriers. 🙂 1/600 aircraft 2 Regards, Jeff.

Gidday All, here's another couple. The first is a battlecruiser I named HMS Reliant (yes, I know, Douglas Reeman used the same name in his novel 🙂). I was going to name her HMS Retribution but to me that sounded more like a battleship's name. She's basically an Airfix HMS Repulse kit with Warspite's bridge structure, Belfasts 4-inch AA guns and other assorted additions. The colour scheme was modeled on, but not a copy of that of HMS Renown. HMS Reliant 1943 jm31, jm30, jm34 The next is a whiff of the Airfix Manxman kit, that I've named HMS Antiope. The story goes that her forward boiler room was destroyed when she was bombed in the Mediterranean. When under repair in the USA it was decided to convert her to a convoy AA escort. So her destroyed boiler room was converted to fuel tanks and magazines, her AA outfit was enhanced and the crew pilfered requisitioned as many Carley floats as they could lay their thieving hands on (to jettison for crews of sunken ships in convoy). Naturally with only two boilers now her speed was considerably reduced. Being repaired/converted in the US she received twin 40mm Bofors instead of 2lb pompoms. HMS Antiope 1943 jm17, jm7, jm10 Thank you for your interest.

Thank you very much guys. I've done a few in darker colours and I tend to agree - lighter colours show detail better I think. And dazzle camo schemes can stretch out a build time but they add a bit of variety in the display cabinet. You'll never know until you give it a go. And none of us have knowledge at the beginning, it's something that we build up over time. I've got one more in the stash, possibly for a future Lion class battleship. I grabbed her when I had the chance. Yes, possibly, but the extra length/beam ratio assists in higher speed plus the midships section was lengthened slightly too. The USS Iowa class were very fast for battleships due to there length. Admittedly they had more power available too. This particular whiff was my first, and I wasn't quite into the plausibility factor back then. 🙂 Actually yes. I've seen models of carriers using a Hood hull by Richard Wellings. I've got two actual carriers in mind, HMS Eagle off a lengthened Warspite hull and HMS Glorious off a Repulse hull. Repulse's dimensions are a little large but I might invoke 'modeler's licence' on that one. I'm also considering a couple of whiff carriers. Late this year I'm thinking of putting a flight deck on a Suffolk hull, USS Independence style. The hull dimensions and very little sheer would work well I think. And so as not to exclude the German Navy, I have a Bismarck hull and spare Prinz Eugen kit for potential carriers. But they're not in the build queue at present. Anyway, enough of me rattling on. I've got some more whiffs but I think I need to sort photos first. Thank you for your interest. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday All, I've done most of the Airfix ships available to me, some of them several times as conversions to other ships, such as HMS Ajax to HMAS Perth, HMS Hotspur to HMS Hardy etc. I also enjoy converting them into whiffs (What-ifs), ships that didn't exist. The beauty of these are that they don't need as much research into them because they're never wrong. My personal taste in them is plausibility. Although they didn't exist they could have, so I don't mount 8-inch guns on a destroyer, or German turrets on a British hull etc. But that's just me. As I've been unable to work out how to place photos in amongst text (they always appear at the bottom of a post) I'll only include a couple per post. If anyone else does whiffed Airfix ships please feel free to add them here. The first I did was about 20 years ago, waaay before I'd even heard of the term or heard of modeling forums. I did an Airfix HMS KGV battleship then had the idea of doing a bigger vessel with four quad 14-inch turrets. Naturally I needed two kits so I used both hulls to make a longer ship. Although I aimed for plausibility my son thought that sixteen 14-inch guns was "A bit over the top!" 😁 As a matter of fact though, this ship would still have been out-gunned by the USS Montana class had they been built. The first three photos are of this ship that I named HMS Monarch. HMS Monarch 1942 jm7, jm11, jm12 The next is a much smaller affair using the Airfix HMS Hotspur kit. I intended her to be HMS Hardy but I discovered alterations that I had to make after it was too late to do them. So I cut my losses and started again with another kit. But the first used my only spare 4.7-inch gun so the extra gun amidships and X gun got replaced with scratch built quad 2lb pompoms, plus I added some 20mm Oerlikons and extra Carley floats, and named her HMS Igraine. I didn't realize at the time that the 'I' class of destroyers introduced the wedge-shaped bridge front that became iconic with mid/late war RN destroyers. The next two photos are of this what-if destroyer. HMS Igraine jm9, jm15 Thank you for your interest.

Gidday, and thanks. I looked at the guidelines earlier today and that's what I understood the situation to be. The majority of my models are Airfix. I restarted the hobby about 25 years ago, and where I left off, with Airfix ship kits. I've stayed with them for a number of reasons, one of them being the scale - 1/600. Any non-Airfix ships I build are likely to be almost total scratch builds of ships Airfix don't do, and it's to compliment/match those of Airfix. So I'm unlikely to be promoting other brands because I rarely do them. 🙂 Regards, Jeff.

Gidday Tim, that's what they were made for. 🙂 Like you I also tend to stay with one scale for the same reason, comparison. I like the 1/600 scale also because it's what I started with, 1/700 is a bit too small and fiddly for me, although I've built some. I've got a few more in the stash, mainly to use them as 3D 'plans' for scratch builds. I intend to stay mainly with the 1/600 scale. If I include two 1/570 ships (to me they're compatible with Airfix ships) then HMS Sheffield is number 50. Any particular Fletcher? I scratch built one (USS Mullany) last year in 1/600. She was my second scratch built ship, the first being a generic long-foc'sle Flower class corvette. Not being Airfix kits I don't know if I can post them on the forum, but I think they compliment the Airfix range, and again I can compare the Fletcher class with RN destroyers. Lusty and USS Hornet would be a good comparison too. Thanks again for your feedback. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday All, and thank you for your kind comments. Not in 1/600, my preferred scale, although I'd be interested in scratch building an Iowa class one day. As the Montanas were never built they'd be whiffs. I have in mind doing a 12-gun Nelson whiff one day, but that's probably one or two years off. I did a 2A1 whiff version of Nelson recently, that I named HMS Cochrane. The twelve-gun version would require a longer hull obviously, plus a few more alterations. Do you do whiff ships yourself? Regards, Jeff HMS Cochrane jm1

Gidday All, here she is, the Shiny Sheff done! I scratch built the masts but they're fairly simple affairs. The fore tripod and topmast were constructed separately but the main tripod and topmast was a single assembly. I decided the void space between the funnels needed filling so I fitted the Walrus aircraft too. The plane is a kit item(s) but I replaced the launching trolley with one I scratch built, slightly narrower. I have no idea what the colour scheme of the Walrus was in late 1941 but she looked incomplete without some kind of disruptive pattern. Another modification I did was to the anchors. Most of the large cruisers initially had three anchors forward but the third, the sheet anchor, was often removed to save weight and the hawse pipe plated over. The Belfast kit is molded in this state but I'm depicting Sheffield in an earlier configuration, with three anchors. Getting another anchor fitted was no problem but it needed a matching hawse pipe and cable (but no cable winch). So I found an unused kit foc'sle I had (I've bought a number of these kits as a source of spare parts) and carefully sliced off the molded starboard hawse and cable, and glued it to this model. Anyway, here she is, HMS Sheffield, the Shiny Sheff in late 1941.

You could always place it on the flight deck of your 1/200 USS Enterprise or Nimitz. 😁 But seriously, I do understand staying with an obsession subject of extreme interest. And size is one of the reasons I've stayed with the 1/600 scale, despite the limited subjects available. The maximum length of WW2 subjects I'd have to consider would be 18 inches, maybe a touch longer if I whiffed a USS Montana battleship. Regards, Jeff.

Gidday All, the 4-inch gun shields were OK, just needed sink holes in the sides filled and a bit of flash removed at the rear. I tizzied them up a little. The supplied guns however were in an ocean of flash, pretty much unusable, as you can see in the first photo below (SHEFF610). Nearly all of the kits I have are like that now. I made my own guns by tapering 0.5mm styrene rod and glued them together in pairs before adding them to the mountings. The white square is a height spacer (each mounting received one) to raise the paired guns to the correct level (the kit guns have this molded on, underneath) and the white rectangles are twin breech blocks. I removed the molded breeches for ease in cleaning off flash to the kit gun shields. The heavy tubes added to the 4-inch mountings are temporary, to give me something to hold while working on them. The second photo (SHEFF620) shows the complete light gun outfit of the time I'm modeling her, late 1941 - 1942. I scratch build my own quad 2lb pompoms and single 20mm Oerlikons. They're not as good as bought AM weapons I've seen but I prefer to make my own. That saves me some money too, which as a retiree I have to think about. Since the photo was taken I added cartridge collection bags to the back of the Oerlikons. The third photo (SHEFF660) shows the screws. One issue I have with Airfix screws (besides the flash) is that you rarely get a handed set of screws, kits come with left- or right-turning screws only. The HMS KGV and Repulse kits are exceptions to this but check the part numbering before fitting them. So I make my own screws usually now. I didn't know the correct diameter so I followed the supplied kit screws (6mm which equates to twelve feet) but my blades are wider, a little more authentic in that respect. Notice the angle of the blades of the fitted screws - they're opposite each other on opposite sides of the ship. All the screws should be 'outward-turning'. I've confirmed this from photos. The screws, like my other scratched items, are made from styrene strips and rods. I've designed and built simple jigs to make them. So that's it for now. Thank you for your interest. Stay safe and regards to all, Jeff.

Gidday All, the next job was the funnels. I had to raise the forward funnel but lower the other. I did the forward funnel first, using both sets by cutting one to give a long base and the other to give a long top. Staggering the cuts helped continuity, which helped keeping it straight when I rejoined the top and bottom. The first photo below (SHEFF480) shows the top and bottom segments before rejoining. It also shows the sides of the superstructure below the open bridge are packed, making it a solid structure without that walkway I mentioned earlier. The left-overs from the forward funnel were about 1mm short to do the aft funnel but instead of raiding spares I inserted a spacer when I rejoined the top and bottom. You can see the white spacer in the shorter aft funnel in the second photo (SHEFF500). The styrene rods glued into the funnels from below are to position the funnels when I glue them to the model. You can see the holes for the rods drilled into the model in the background. In the second photo you can also see the shelters for the 4-inch gun crews. These are open on their inboard face, not solid as the kit parts are, so I cut away the inboard faces of them. And the pompom mounting positions atop the hangars are being made also. And finally for tonight, the third photo (SHEFF540) shows the forward superstructure is attached, the funnels dry fitted and the 4-inch gun positions commenced. So that's it for tonight. Thank you for your interest. Stay safe, and regards to all, Jeff.

Me too. My shoddy workmanship is now much more visible, my mistakes will be much easier spotted. 🙂 This new system is similar in some ways to another site I post on, although there are differences. Overall I think I prefer this new system over the old, although I wasn't a member here for long before the change. Regards, Jeff.

Yeah, that looks like the case, although I haven't timed it. When I submitted my most recent post the edit function was available, but now it's gone. I usually proof-read my posts before submitting them for spelling and grammar but mistakes still sometimes get by me. No big deal, you can all think of me as an illiterate oaf! 😁 Regards, Jeff.

Gidday and thanks Sailorman. Your wish is my command, as they say. 🙂 The next stage was the bridge structure, and for this I was able to use some of the kit parts, although a lot of scratch building was needed here too. As can be seen in the first photo (SHEFF240) the first level, which was B-turret deck was entirely scratch built. Most of the next level up was too, although I used a kit part here. The grey part to the left is an unmodified part from another kit, to illustrate what I did to the kit part. You can see that I removed some molded-on features, plugged some holes, narrowed it a bit and chopped off about 2mm from the rounded front. I still had to add the sides to this level. These two levels when combined form the hangars. This photo also shows the V-groove and plain styrene used for the foc'sle deck. The second photo (SHEFF380) shows more of the bridge superstructure. The hangar roof level has the next level added to it, plus some tubs for 20mm Oerlikons and pompom directors. And moving up (towards you in the photo) is a level with two sections that had a walk-way between them. This is incorrect for Sheffield but I didn't realize it at this point. Later I bridged the gap by adding 'sides' to this level. And at the very top is the compass platform/open bridge. This bit was also modified but after the photo was taken. Both of the top two levels had the rounded face removed. As you can see, I like to paint as I go. And I paint as I did 50 years ago, enamels troweled on with the hairy stick. I don't have an air brush. The third photo (SHEFF400) shows the bridge levels fitted together, the top level modified a bit and the rounded bridge face removed. That thin vertical strip down the front is to form the 'slightly' curved bridge face that the batch-1 ships had. The unpainted hangar rooves will later have quad 2lb pompom positions glued there later, hence the lack of paint. The fourth photo (SHEFF410) shows the slightly curved bridge face done. As usual, close-up photos show my rough workmanship. And the final photo for this post (SHEFF450) shows the hangar doors and bulkheads being done. I used Evergreen V-groove for the roller doors too. Some of those internal styrene bits are to make the hangar sides conform and match each other, they didn't all glue perpendicular to each other. I think this will do for now. Thank you for your interest. Regards to all, Jeff.