1/600 WW2 cruiser with 12 x 8" guns.

[Richard Welling]

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.

[Ratch]

A pity, because for fairly mediocre modellers like me, 1/700 is too small and 1/350, too expensive and not enough room.

 

 

Agree with you there, and 1/350 is too big.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

Gidday Richard, I've been trying to join for a few days now to comment on your model here. I've seen a bit of your models before and have quite enjoyed them. Like Ratch above I prefer the old Airfix 1/600 scale, started modeling full-on about 25 years ago and started where I'd left off as a kid - with Airfix 1/600 scale ships.

Anyway, to your ships. I've noticed that your models when photographed on a white sheet come out rather dark. The same happens to me with my camera. I think it over-compensates from the reflected light from a bright background, and as a result I find it hard to make out a lot of the detail of your work.

When it happened to me I switched to a more neutral background such as MDF board (light brown in colour) and I get a much better result. Would you consider taking a couple more photos like that so your work is more visible to us, because I'd really like to see the detail of what you've done. Many thanks.

In the past you've come up with some interesting ideas. One I liked was the twelve-gun HMS Hood, like the IJN Hyuga/Ise class. I just happen to be doing the same with the Airfix HMS Iron Duke kit right now and I'll do a thread when I learn how to post photos here. Ratch has given me some tips - thanks Ratch (and I don't know how to change my user name - but no big deal).

Anyway, enough of me rattling on - it's been nice meeting you, so-to-speak.

Regards, Jeff.

[Ratch]

Good to see you here Jeff.