Ratch

Thanks Lee, I built this just over four years ago and don't recall any problems fitting the lower and upper decks - I certainly didn't comment about them in my notes. As for the decks, I did use 71 Satin Oak on this build, though on other ships I've also used 29 Matt Dark Earth, 110 Matt Natural Wood and Vallejo 13 70858 Ice Yellow.

It was a bit of a nightmare to build.

In 2007 it was proposed to issue the 1/72 TSR.2 (07004) with the Saunders Roe S.R. 53 (1407) as an RAF Museum Gift Set. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I have long been calling for soldiers/airmen at rest, brewing up, sitting around, in relaxed poses - much more diorama potential. And what about some Naval figures to crew the 1/72 boats in the Airfix range.

After Trafalgar http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/393880579.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/393880583.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/393880584.jpg

Thanks. It is totally OOB. I bought it from someone who has since passed on, who had assembled many of the sub-assemblies. I merely followed the instructions, checking what had been done and fixing what was needed.

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I worked in a factory and used Devilbiss spray guns, so was used to spraying (albeit on a larger scale) before I got my first airbrush. I got a Wolf Air compressor from Screwfix for £70 and a cheap airbrush for £25 - OK but not much control. I moved on to a Badger 200 and while this was better I still wasn't happy with it. I then went dual action, gravity feed with an Iwata HPC+ (£175) and its very good. Unfortunately I dropped it and broke the needle. While waiting to get it fixed I bought a cheap Chinese clone brush for £18, this works just as well as the Iwata (which cost £35 to fix). I also bought an Iwata Revolution (£75) but this isn't as good as the other two. If you can, try an airbrush out before buying. Little Cars attend lots of model shows and demonstrate airbrushes. If you can, see there first.

Painted up as HMS Rodney

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Illustrious is an impressive 209m long, with a beam of 36m and a displacement of 22,000 tonnes. She has 1400 compartments and 15 lifts, and is powered by 4 Gas Turbines Olympus engines (a marinised version of Concorde`s), giving her a top speed in excess of 30 knots. She has a full complement of over 1000 people, and can opate with a range of both rotary and fixed wing aircraft from the Harrier GR9 to troop- carrying Chinooks. This collection comes with extra unique information supplied exclusively by the Royal Navy. (This Gift set will include paints, brushes and glue). This is Airfix’s first venture into 1/350 scale ship models. This was the biggest three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle I’ve ever attempted. I was given the task of building this ship before the instruction sheet was available, and although I’ve built a good many Airfix ships over the years, tackling this was rather daunting. I shall do my best to relate the process I devised to construct her, although my limited knowledge of maritime terminology might be severely exposed. Initially I looked on the Internet for suitable references. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/16311893/377601637.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/16311893/377601636.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/16311893/377601621.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/16311893/377601635.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/16311893/377601633.jpg Construction began with the cementing of the base (A5, C4 & C5), as this would be useful to stand the ship on as the build progressed. In turn, the starboard hull (A15), port hull (A1) and stern plate (A14) were glued to the keel (C3). I like to use Humbrol Precision Poly in the main and also use Liquid Poly to seal any gaps. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601631.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601630.jpg To me this doesn't look right and I would smmothe it by sanding or filling to get a smooth contour :idea: The lower deck (B1) was then cemented into the hull and painted. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601628.jpg I added the aprons to the port side and then the stern and starboard aft sections. The next task involved working out the seaward compartments. These are individually designed and cannot be fitted incorrectly, although I was confused by their contents. I decided to position the rigid inflatable boats on the moulded chocks within these compartments. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601629.jpg I constructed as many sub-assemblies as possible in a process of elimination to discover the small parts required to complete the seaward compartments. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601626.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601624.jpg The flight deck was painted in the lighter shade of grey and masking tape was used to define the stripe running the length of the deck. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601622.jpg I used a ruling pen to mark the white lines on the flight deck. The main superstructure goes together well with a little cleaning up, mostly sanding smooth the excess plastic after the part has been clipped from the sprue gate. Assembly was interspersed with painting and research. The inclusion of lift levers makes it possible to position the lifts in any of five positions; fully up, flush with the deck to fully lowered with three other positions in between. All this preliminary painting was done by brush; four coats in the case of the hull. The boot topping was taped before painting. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601641.jpg As previously stated, I’d started before assembly instructions or colour call-outs were available. These reached me some way into the build and wherever possible I repainted to conform to the Airfix instructions; it was only inaccessible areas that could not be rectified. Some of my choices matched the instructions; others were used as a primer or undercoat. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601640.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377601639.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377602978.jpg Studying the instruction sheet revealed that whilst I’d progressed in a different order, I had identified the components correctly in their location. I used various clamps to prevent misalignment between the flight deck and the hull. There then followed a series of airbrushing sessions, re-laying down the base colours. I would advise that the stabilisers (95D – 98D) are not fitted until after the boot topping has been completed. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377602983.jpg With the hull essentially complete, my attention turned to the superstructure. I had airbrushed the basic colour when spraying the hull and continued fitting the various aerials and radar equipment before brush painting these additions, and then the black and white parts. The instructions call for the ships boats to be suspended from the davits; I chose Aeroclub Rigging Thread for the cables on these and for the crane cable. In the absence of decals, I crudely marked out the flight deck using ‘Inscribe’ coloured pencils. The various aircraft and ancillary vehicles were cemented to the deck. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377602982.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/22392713/377602988.jpg To conclude and summarise; the kit has been a pleasure to build. The tooling is crisp and the components are well designed. The instructions are clear and well thought out, the experienced shipbuilders will each have their own preferred build method, but the sequence illustrated will not be far from the mark. The first Airfix 1/350 ship is one they can be proud of and will prove an irresistible temptation for many. http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/377602987.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/377602986.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/377602984.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/377602981.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/377602980.jpg http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1312/4776356/10047679/377602979.jpg