The Ship Model Forum

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FFG, I didn't see any email (I checked my spam folder, etc). I will send you a PM - thanks for your help!

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Unfortunately it looks like DavidP's posts have dissapeared. I'm curious about the plans that this comment is referring to?

I am wondering about the timing of when the protective shutters for the 6" guns were removed. Do we know if it was at the same time as when the aft pair of guns were relocated to the forward superstructure? R.A. Burt says they were removed following trials, which to me implies this was done before the aft guns were moved (he says the guns were moved 1915~1916). However I cannot find any photographs of the ships with the shutters removed AND the aft guns in their original positions. But early war photos seem hard to come by. There are a number of photos of the ships that are labelled 'as commissioned' which still show the shutters in place.

Basically, for the Flyhawk kit, which has the original 6" gun placement, I am wondering if it is appropriate to show the ship without shutters. I think they are rather ugly and look like a hassle to mount I actually would prefer to show the ship with the 6" guns relocated forward (the original placement looks so silly!), but that is more surgery than I am willing to do.

DavidP,

Thanks for posting the images in your post of 8:58pm 11 April. They prove that the draughtsman did not erroneously; or otherwise, insert the standing and running rigging on the davits of the smaller boom boats as I surmised he might have done. What works of art too!

81542

The boom boats were carried on the boat deck, which is colloquial term for the area at the after end of fo'c'sle deck level, between and abreast the funnels. Thank you for posting the "as fitted" plans, which show her as fitted, with annotations showing alterations to 1921 and to 1923, and show the five boats to which I was referring.

The Flyhawk 1/700 kit is labelled as 1914; the Airfix 1/600 version has features of a mixture of dates, eg 6" guns aft (removed in 1915-16 and remounted at foc's'le deck level amidships - the kit depicts them in BOTH locations!). Photos show at least some of the class with boats abeam the boat deck into the 1930s.

Thank you DavidP; however, the davits for these five boats were at the deckedge of the boat deck or after superstructure, and they overhung the upper deck, not the ship's side. They were normally stowed with the boats away from the deck (because, for the ones at the edge of the boat deck, the boom boats filled all available space inboard), and I don't think the davits would have rotated. Thus directly below the davithead was the upper deck, not the water.

See, for example, the depiction of the ancient Airfix 1/600 scale model at http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... uke-04.jpg - the only boats which overhung the water would have been the pair of cutters abreast the bridge, not the four at the edges of the boat deck (between the funnels).

DavidP,

Not the boats that tjstoneman is writing about.

tjstoneman,

I would tend to agree with you: the instructions appear to be in error. Why? I offer these possible reasons:

1. The kit manufacturer has seen photographs of the sea-boats, fitted either in this class or elsewhere, with the items that you described and because its designer saw the boom boats mentioned, hanging from davits in the IRON DUKEs, assumed that they should also have what you described and included them in the kit.

2. However, there is the possibility that the draughtsman of the plans from which the kit was designed included them in error and the kit manufacturer didn't check the facts!

All that said, fitting the boats mentioned to complete a kit may depend on time period the model that it is to be displayed. The boats shown are likely to be "as fitted" and only carried in peace time. They may have been sent inshore (landed) in war. Certainly they would have been at risk from blast/action damage if not.

81542

As completed, the class carried four pulling boats (whalers and gigs) hung on davits along the edges of the boat deck. Since, in this position, they could not be lowered straight into the water (they were directly above the upper deck, and not over the ship's side), they were presumably lowered and hoisted by the main derrick or the sided derricks abeam the after funnel. Similarly, there is a gig slung from davits on the after superstructure, directly above the barrels of "Q" turret.

However, the instructions for the Deluxe version of the Flyhawk 1/700 kit of Iron Duke indicate that these boats were slung from falls, with lifelines hanging vertically from the wire jackstay between the davit-heads, and with ladders to board the boat from the edge of the boat deck or superstructure. As the lifelines (ropes hanging vertically from the jackstay and coiled inside the boat when at the davits, intended for crewmen to hold onto as the boat is lowered into the sea), and perhaps the ladders, would not be needed if the boat was not lowered into the sea from the davits, are the instructions in error?

I'm wondering if anyone here has built Modelik's 1/200 Scale Card model of HMS Iron Duke? If so, would you recommend this kit?

Dear Boys & Girls, were there ever any old conversion articles in magazines such as Airfix Magazine exploring conversions of the old Airfix 1/600 scale HMS Iron Duke kit? I'm thinking particularly of conversions to the previous Orion class and King George V class battleships.

Terry (Caravellarella)

I don't have enough of a collection of Iron Duke to say either way. I do wish people would take more care in their wording though. Dark Slate Grey in British parlance was and still is a recognised specific colour and I've yet to see any evidence for it being used on British warships.

It's the olive greenish colour used in British aviation as seen on this Martlet:

Anyone know if there is photographic evidence of the attached image? It mentions there is no evidence of another schema, sort of implying there is for the below.

in Perking's book on identificatiion of british warships vol 1 mast was added in 1929
ciao peppe

Thanks. I knew I had seen that picture somewhere, but kept looking through Burt's books trying to find it!

Maritimequest has a photo of her which the caption says was taken at Malta in September 1919, and she has no aft mast, so if accurate it means she didn't have it in 1918. Hope that helps.



https://www.maritimequest.com/warship_d ... n_duke.htm

When did the Iron Duke get the mast on the aft superstructure (circled, below)?

The Combrig kit alleges to be 1918, but Burt (British Battleships of WW!) says the aft mast wasn't added until 1920-21. I can't find any good photos of Iron Duke in 1918, only her sisters. Marlborough seems to have a smaller mast on the aft superstructure in 1918 (no searchlight platform) and Emperor of India has no mast. Trying to find out which is correct for Iron Duke before going too much further.

I guess you can put me down as a fan as I have recently completed a model at 1/96 scale (78"). I was fortunate to get a gold at the Model Engineer Exhibition at Brooklands in 2016.

For full details may I suggest you visit the model boat mayhem website forum - Warships R&D. There is a full build log together with simulating gunfire plans and schematics. I should be able to get something in the region of 500 shots without reloading!

Hope this may be of interest

Cheers

Geoff