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Topic review - Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941
Author Message
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Great work Bill, 'Hood does look great in the water doesn't she?...:) built for speed with a powerful bite, if only she had had the planned increase to her deck armour?....she was still well protected though with her sloped armour giving her better protection than the QE class battleships. Your model is going to look very purposeful being a water-line model, well done for taking that first cut..I very much look forward to future updates...

Pete
Post Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 2:15 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Hi All,

First, let me thank everyone who has been busily working away on their Hoods while I have had to take a little bit of a break... this time of year is pretty hectic at work... last week I was in Amsterdam, next week, slightly less exotic Bristol and the following week, Denmark... so between trips, I have finally picked up the courage to waterline my 200 scale Hood.

The first point was marking where I was going to make the cut... and this is a BIG hull... and a mistake would have been disastrous. The first thing I did was decide to make the waterline a couple of mm below the top of the boot topping and then leave my 2mm sheet as a base, giving a total of 4mm below the actual late war waterline.

I had to check it was right... and level... so I marked the hull with Tamiya masking tape using the lower armour plate as a guide and then carefully went round the hull ensuring everything was straight and level. I then bought some 10mm wide Dymo tape (the stuff you use in those old Demo label makers) and used that to put down a line so that I had a clear contrast between the hull and my 'waterline' so I could keep checking over the ensuing couple of weeks until I was completely happy I hadn't made any major mistakes (you only get one chance to get this right!). I used the Demo tape because it is very heavy, plastic tape and doesn't bend easily... so although it would conform to the very complex hull shapes, the top edge would remain straight.

Here...

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I probably checked this two or three times a day for the next two or three weeks before I felt comfortable enough to make a cut. Then came the day I was going to make the actual cut. I genuinely went to bed early so I would be fresh and fully awake... yep, thats how much I stressed about it! :big_grin:

The first thing I did was run my Bare Metal Foil scribing tool all along the tape edge. My initial idea was to run the scribing tool round a few times making a clean, accurate scribed line that a Stanley knife (box cutter in the US) with several totally fresh blades would be able to follow accurately and with a few passes could separate the upper and lower halves relatively easily and with next to no clean up.

I have done this several times with 700 scale and 350 scale models and I have always been very pleased with how patient I am and how neat the cuts are.

I hadn't reckoned on 200 scale Trumpeter plastic!!!!

The first thing is the plastic is VERY soft, so a scribed line seems easy enough, but you actually get a groove with some walls either side, rather than a flat surface with just a groove cut away. The net result is any blade following the groove can 'jump' the scribed line and then follow the outer edge of the 'walls'.

Not good. Not good at all.

So... after my best laid plans seemed to have come apart at almost the first stage (I eventually got the scribed lines done.. and they are both clean and accurate, so I'm quite pleased) I realised that separating the upper and lower hull was going to be an issue... The Trumpeter plastic is around 3 to 4mm thick at the point in the hull I needed to make the cut. The idea of multiple knife strokes along an accurately scribed line wasn't really an option. So I got my 'big' Dremel and a cutting disc and decided that was the only option.

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IMG_2556.jpg
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Even then it took well over an hour to separate them... and because I was using something so crude, and because the plastic was so thick and so soft it was prone to melting, even at the slowest speed, I had to cut three or four mm below my marked line... so I still have a lot of clean up to do before I can fix the hull to the 2 mm baseplate.

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IMG_2559.jpg
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Although its probably going to take me most of the rest off the weekend to get this finished to my satisfaction, I have absolutely no regrets. Immediately the hull took on a much more 'Hood like" feel to it... it looks sleek and fast, even just as an empty hull...

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IMG_2561 2.jpg
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Obviously there is a LOT of work to bring the hull sides up to the scribed waterline... but as far as I am concerned, its better to be a few mm out this way that to have cut too close to the final waterline and given myself no room for manoeuvre.

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IMG_2563 2.jpg
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The one thing I can say from todays experience... I have absolutely no regrets. The hull is now much more Hood like and I can see clearly precisely what I need to do to the hull plating to get everything right... The rear armour belts in particular annoy me... Trumpeter seemed to make a complete mess of them... and some of the other armour belts are far too prominent... and one of them is actually nowhere prominent enough (if you can believe it).

With the hull in this form, with a heavy, one piece, 2mm waterline plate and the decks in place, hopefully by the end of the weekend, it will be considerably lighter, very strong and rigid and will be relatively easy to manipulate it enough to sand most of the armour away and replace the armour plates with plastic card and/or CA infused tape/paper.

Which is the next stage in my hull work.

Oh... and Greenglade... I am very, very impressed with your Hood. I have been following your build closely and I am really impressed with your approach and attention to detail in terms of modelling practice and solutions... and I cant believe how fast you are!


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Post Posted: Sat Feb 17, 2018 1:31 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Thank you guys...

I have started on the 4" HA's and decided after building one that they could do with some additional detailing, even with the Pontos update. They are pretty good, but a bit of support structure for the shield and opening up the front observation ports is a very worthwhile step... I'll post a couple of pictures when I have made a little more progress.

For anyone following, when you come to bending the PE for the front of the HA guns, make sure you bend it the right way round...! I folded my first one the wrong way and then snapped it when I bent it back... which I just knew I would... I also lost one of the viewing port surrounds to the carpet monster when cleaning it up. Pontos ought to offer individual sheets from the Hood set for those of us who continuously lose or break things. At the rate I am going, they could probably make a small fortune!

I received my large sheets of 2mm plastic sheeting... Five of them at 200mm x 1500mm so I can do a waterline plate for Hood in one piece.

Which means I have four spare... well two or three, 'cause I normally mess at least one up. Anyone else contemplating a waterline 200 Hood and need a sheet for a waterline plate? Just PM me. I am in the UK. I will keep one for the next couple of 350 kits I will do...

(I have a Warspite 350 with Pontos on my 'to do shelf', which I may get round to in a few years...).

Now I have just got to summon the courage to cut the bottom of the HMS Hood hull off... So I have the model on my desk, and am determined to continue staring at it until the moment takes me... Everything is just placed on the hull at the moment... but it gives you a sense of just how big this kit is.

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That's normal can of coke and a 27" iMac...

Actually, this may give you a better sense... I got all my Hood kits on the desk to show you just how much difference there is in reality.

Here, working from the front, and then backwards, is the Trumpeter at 700 scale, the WEM at 350 scale and the Trumpeter at 200 scale... (I can't get over how small the WEM 350 looks in comparison to the 200 scale, I would never have thought there was so much difference - which is probably why I ended up buying the 200 Hood without actually seeing it first!

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And one more...

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Post Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:36 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Those turrets look great Bill!
Post Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 7:18 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
I do like your build thread Bill, I shall be following your great progress sir...

Pete
Post Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:12 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Well, with a little bit of tidying up after the first primer I think I have managed to fix all the things I wasnt totally happy with.

First, the X Turret rangefinder and windshield was tidied up a little. Its not perfect, but I will swap rangefinders over to somewhere less obvious... (Or I could just do another one, there are two spares!)

Anyway, this is how it has ended up. More pleased with the fact I managed to find a spare hinge and got rid of the glue spot...

Attachment:
Prime 2 .jpg
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One thing I hadn't noticed until I saw the photos from last night was the edges of all the Hood turrets were not finished properly. Its part of the kit modelling and seems to be part of the mastering of the turret. The top of the turret seems to have ben mastered by gluing a thin sheet on top (with the rivet detail) and then not blended in properly. The advantage (or disadvantage) of digital photography viewed on a large screen means all these things become noticeable.

Here is a 'before'...

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IMG_2425.jpg
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And here is an 'after'...

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IMG_2430.jpg
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The final refinement was changing the way I made the awning hook on the front of the A and Y Turrets. Originally I used some spares from a 700 scale PE set (an anchor cut in half and a fairlead) I used the same fret, used the anchor again, but this time used another part for the front bracket. I really ought to put something between the two uprights, but I couldn't get them placed properly (the whole assembly is about half the size of a match head, so maybe I am obsessing too much! :big_grin: )

Anyway, this is what it should look like...

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Chesneau002.jpg
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And this is what my two ended up looking like...

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IMG_2431.jpg
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Anyway, thats it for a while. I'm now waiting on a formula for the Home Fleet Grey. I'll pre-shade everything and then start on the finishing of the turrets. :thumbs_up_1:

Those outrigger 'things' are a bit too long... but thats easy to fix! :cool_2:
Post Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:03 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
JIM BAUMANN wrote:
Ha! :wave_1:

I am so pleased to see that you are obsessing healthily! :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:
JB :wave_1:


Healthily?! :big_grin:

And thanks... I'm enjoying it a lot... Both the kit and the Pontos set are everything we could only have dreamt of only a few years ago. I doubt there has ever been a better time to model ships...

And thanks 'builder'... you are most welcome. The whole point in posting this stuff so others can use it when the time comes - I shall do the same... I am already following everyone elses research and Hood online builds to pick ideas and solutions up for myself. And of course the Hood Association pages and EJ's 'On the Slipway' both of which are indispensable.

Anyway... It never feels like I have started until I have started to airbrush something, so I primed the turret assemblies this afternoon.

I use more or less the same methodology as Koppalakki when it comes to priming... I suspect he was an aircraft modeller or an armour modeller at some point. His pre-shading and choice of materials is something I am familiar with in my aircraft modelling a few years ago. I have been following his build on DDG-95 ( viewtopic.php?f=59&t=166129&start=140 ) And it is really worth following... an inspiration to not cut corners and do the job properly. The 'tutorial' painting stages are a really nice touch, too... and just what this forum should be about.

My first primer coat is curing now - and I can see I have a small number of things to attend to, but, by being careful during the building stages you can reduce the work here to a minimum.

My primer of choice is Mr Surfacer 1000 and Mr Color Levelling Thinners, diluted 70/30 and airbrushed at around 15-18 psi. I airbrush at a distance so the paint hits wet and then fades to matt within seconds. If you are too far away the paint dries before it hits the surface and you get a powdery finish and if you spray too close, you get paint runs if you overcook it. Its easy enough and you will find you adjust pretty quickly with the mix you have. I use an Iwata Neo for priming, fitted with a large cup. I use a standard Iwata Revolution for actual painting.

Attachment:
Prime Turrets 1.jpg
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And then after first priming...

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Prime Turrets 3 2.jpg
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There are a few very small areas to touch up... some dust and so on, sometimes the result of sanding which was not then polished out... but that'll just take a few seconds and they cant be seen with the naked eye anyway... (paranoia when it comes to surface finishing is the downside of digital photography!).

Attachment:
Prime Turrets 4.jpg
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Most are pretty good - I was worried about the blending in of the blast bags to the turret face. I use Deluxe 'Perfect Putty' which is really easy to use and you can clean away excess with a wet brush - the perfect filler as far as I am concerned. These blast bags were blended in with just putty and then wiped clean, no sanding at all... Although there is a touch of excess (at around 1.00 o' clock), the fact that I am going to pre-shade this area means it will be hidden easily enough.

What is interesting is the 'folds' in the resin blast bags. I hadn't realised before... I had fitted each blast bag and barrel into each opening and, by trial and error, determined which combination worked in each turret in order to get the guns parallel (and the same length!). It turns out that they are handed, there is a left and a right. If you look at the folds in these two pictures you can see clearly the difference in the sculpting of the masters... there would have been two. Had I known that at the beginning, it would have saved a lot of fiddling around. When you guys get to this stage, take a look at the pictures above and below, hopefully it will help you match the blast bags to the correct side of the turret. It also shows that there is minimal filling between the resin blast bags and the openings... what could appear to be filler is in fact the sculpting itself. Basically, it gives you an idea of just how good this Pontos Upgrade set actually is.

Attachment:
Prime Turrets 5.jpg
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The blast bags will be pre-shaded (with Tamiya Black) for shadows within the folds and I will also matt coat them as well, so the demarcation should be clear enough (they are the same colour as the rest of the ship, Home Fleet Grey, not plain canvas at this stage of Hoods life) and should show some contrast in texture/reflectance to show they are two different materials, as there is no actual colour difference when finished...

The rest of the details will be pre-shaded as well... under ladders, around fittings and so on, to show show variation. This will be as subtle as I can make it as Hood was re-painted just before that last mission, so there will be a minimum of weathering/fading (see photos of Hood during the visit by KGV in previous photos). Most of the upper works were in pretty good order, so slight lightening washes (and mainly on the hull sides at that).

The only disappointment at this stage was the rangefinder on X Turret. I had forgotten to polish the finish after sanding my scratchbuilt windshield and the front surface looks pretty poor... The others are fine, so its obviously an oversight... it happens. I can sort it out easily enough though. Unfortunately, I have lost a hinge for the end of the rangefinder. No chance of finding that... and I have no spares. And of course this will be a rangefinder that will get seen quite a lot as its right next to my modified X Turret platform I had put so much work into trying to get right. Sods law... (An afterthought, I can swap rangefinders for the moment... and hope to sort it out later on).

(Or maybe I can buy a partial PE section from Pontos to get myself some spares, unless anyone has some left over? Or decided not to use them? There should be spares... but I lost a few on the way...).

Anyway... it needs fixing...

Attachment:
Prime Turret 6.jpg
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 2:18 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Ha! :wave_1:

I am so pleased to see that you are obsessing healthily! :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:

Your work is looking very good mate--
just keep up the impetus

Best wishes

JB :wave_1:
Post Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 1:26 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Thank you for sharing your researche on these turrets.
I'm going to use it for my Hachette HMS Hood with the Pontosmodel set.
I am one of the silent followers.
Post Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2017 7:23 am
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Managed to finish the turrets... I had to add the awning attachments and had several goes at getting the shapes right and in the end used CA infused paper for the side awnings on Y turret, some 0.3mm wire for the central awning attachment, same for the two corner protrusions on A and Y turrets and some 700 scale PE for the centre awning attachments on A and Y turrets.

Attachment:
File comment: Y Turret with Awning attachments
IMG_2409.jpg
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Attachment:
File comment: Finished Turrets
IMG_2414.jpg
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I'm pretty happy with them, they are accurate up to the latest information we have, and they look in scale and are reasonably clean. Mr Surfacer 1200 tomorrow with some levelling thinners and see if there are any glue marks to tidy up. Once I'm happy, some pre-shading in Tamiya Black and they can be put away (until I have some of the correct Home Fleet Grey...).

Not sure what to do next... something with less research required... maybe I'll just assemble all the rest of the armament... I could do with just building something for a week or two :thumbs_up_1:
Post Posted: Thu Dec 28, 2017 4:09 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
The front section of the platform was pretty easy, so I built it as per the Pontos kit, but added the outer frames and discs to give that three dimensionality to the top of the platform.

Attachment:
X Turret 11.jpg
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I used the extended white plastic 0.5 x 0.8 rod as seen in the picture above to align the two halves of the platform (in the Pontos set, these are joined by a small section of brass which is removed when the platform is positioned... a neat solution to keep alignment correct, but sadly not useable when modified).

Attachment:
X Turret 12.jpg
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Low angled view of platform supports...

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X Turret 13.jpg
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Rear three quarter view of completed X Turret

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X Turret 14.jpg
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A side view of the completed, and I think reasonably accurate, (1941) X Turret platform...

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X Turret 15.jpg
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And just to prove I have managed to do more than just one turret... (I know I am ridiculously slow...) here are the others. I just need to do the awning fittings on A Turret and Y Turret and then I can prime them all and see of there are any areas that need more attention...

Attachment:
All Turrets 1.jpg
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Post Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 5:13 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Hi All,

Well, had a bit of a day of it today.

I'm still on the turrets of course, but having found a photo that seemed to suggest that the rear section of the platform on X Turret had been removed, I started to think there was actually light at the end of the tunnel... all I needed was some confirmation before proceeding. One or two other members concurred with my thoughts, but this morning EJ posted a link to a video and, at one point in the obviously unedited footage, the cameraman was running alongside Hood to get a shot of Churchill and I decided to look at the film frame by frame... most of it was blurred pavement and shoes (which I happen to like... but thats another story), towards the end of that segment, the cameraman stops and I found a reasonable clear photo of pretty much the perfect position to see what the platform looked like in 1941. That was my confirmation.

Here are the shots... starting with earlier shots of the full platform... and similar to the Pontos update for this area... although they correctly removed the middle sections. Unfortunately, they need to remove the section at the rear, too. The sequence below is in order... so no need to label them.

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X Turret 1.png
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X Turret 2.jpg
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X Turret 3.jpg
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Attachment:
File comment: This was the new picture, a still taken from a film (See Calling All Hood in the other forum for a link to the video).
X Turret 4.png
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Now, although this seems a bit self indulgent posting all these step by step pictures on such a small change, it actually took me a couple of weeks getting some sense of a plan together and all day to actually build the thing. So for all those Hood builders out there, if you are so inclined, this is how I did it.

I am sure there are better ways, but I couldn't think of any of them, so I did it the long way... I used some parts from the Pontos kit, some plastic card for the new support panels (the Pontos ones are the wrong size and shape and there is a subtle curve on the outer edge of the last panel, which I thought looked quite distinctive and I wanted to capture that...), some 0.020 x 0.030" (thats 0.5 x 0.8mm in real money) rod for the other frames on the platform itself, and finally, some paper infused with CA ( for the end braces on the support plates).

I thought the Pontos platforms looked far too flat in this scale, so I added some rod to the top out frame of each section and then cut some tiny discs for the cross reinforcement in 0.5mm sheet in order to get some three dimensionality into it. I then sanded it flat afterwards, with a slight slope at each end like the real thing (It looks more dramatically 3D in the photos because of the lighting. In real life its quite subtle).

I started with the rear support plate...

Attachment:
X Turret 5.jpg
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The rest of the supports were from the Pontos set, modified slightly to fit. I then added the frames to the top, in situ (a good way to test if the platform was secure!)

Attachment:
X Turret 6.jpg
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Framing continuing...

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X Turret 7.jpg
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Framing complete, with rangefinder removed for clarity...

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X Turret 8.jpg
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Rear of turret... you can see the slight concave outer edge of the rear support panel...

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X Turret 9.jpg
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An underside view, mainly for those following me when they come to do this... hopefully this is helpful...the end 'caps' of the support plates are made with paper infused with CA.

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X Turret 10.jpg
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(Continued in next post... thats my image limit reached on this post...).
Post Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 4:46 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
hiya, Merry Christmas Bill and everyone! on the hawse holes, I made a plasticard template of the same thickness of the Pontos wood deck using the Pontos metal hawse template as a guide. So, now I can dry fit the plastic deck, the template, and the resin hawse holes. On the hull side, I have installed plastic tubes to better represent the holes, and now I can accurately fit a tube between the two. But...........I noticed the wood deck stands rather proud of the hull edge. So, what is the general consensus of everyone, do we take off the thickness of the wood deck from the ledge in the hull, so that the wood deck ends up flush? or just ignore it and press on. I think I need more Bailey's in my coffee. Regards Pete.
Post Posted: Sun Dec 24, 2017 2:23 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Bill Livingston wrote:
It looks like the rearmost square section of the platform has been removed, as have the two support plates on the rear corner of the turret. Or it could be that the last section is in fact the 'middle' section of the three, the one right under the rangefinder.


I believe you are correct: it does seem that when the platform was partially dismantled that both a part of inner section as well as the last section were removed. The picture showing the bandstand (which was a very late find!) shows that most of the additional rear supports are gone. This would solve everyones platform problems :big_grin: Doesn't mean that the turret could not rotate with the entire structure in place because it could.

Good find :thumbs_up_1:
Post Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2017 6:00 am
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
As someone building a super detailed 1/700 Hood I look very much forward to your build and how you tackle accuracy issues. Hood is a phenomenally good looking warship - it and HMS Tiger being best looking capital ships out there in fact. So doing it in proper scale, a meter+ long boat should be great fun!
Post Posted: Sat Dec 23, 2017 4:34 am
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Thank you Europete... damn this is a big kit - with almost too much scope for re-modelling and upgrading.

The past week or so has been spent adding details to the turrets and poring over photos trying to make sense of the various fittings.

I started redoing the X-Turret platform and spend most of the last two days building two versions... the Pontos version, which simply doesnt fit (although it looks great!) and a ‘test’ scratch built one, which also looked good, but although it would just about fit, the test showed it wasn’t right. I got the rear deck on the bench and added the after section (with the admirals day cabin etc) to check the rotation of the turret. It was close, but no cigar, even with my scratch built version (the Pontos version wasnt even close...).

Over the past few days this has been bugging me because it simply makes no sense at all. Either the barbettes are slightly too far back (forward, actually, but you know what I mean), or there is something else very wrong here in terms of the other sizes/spaces. I have photos of the X-turret with at least one full square section projecting beyond the rangefinder, with what appears to be two angled plates, one following the cross piece in the platform and butting up against the rest of the turret, angled quite aggressively and running very close to the final support bracket with a further support running across the top of that section onto the turret roof at an angle.

The first picture is a good, clear photo of the platform... and it looks very much like the solution Pontos arrived at, although to get the first end panel plate to end up on the turret rear, as designed, the platform has to sit too far back (the Pontos instructions seem to suggest it should sit on the turret side... which gives you a little less rearward projection, but I dont think thats right at all as far as support bracket layout - not according to the photo anyway).

Attachment:
File comment: This is a clear picture, and I suspect this is the basis of the Pontos solution... the shapes aren't quite right and the attachment points differ, but everything else is close.
X Turret platform 1.jpg
X Turret platform 1.jpg [ 227.72 KiB | Viewed 2046 times ]


Then looking through some more photos this evening (and finally giving up on both the scratch built platform and the Pontos one (and there were several attempts at the scratch built one!) I found this photo, which I hadn't looked at before while researching the X-Turret platform...

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X Turret platform 2.jpg
X Turret platform 2.jpg [ 106.99 KiB | Viewed 2046 times ]


This looks pretty interesting. It looks like the rearmost square section of the platform has been removed, as have the two support plates on the rear corner of the turret. Or it could be that the last section is in fact the 'middle' section of the three, the one right under the rangefinder.

What is interesting to me in this photo is there is the possibility that the rear platform section folded back onto the turret roof. There is a multilayered section to the left, on the turret roof that’s appears to be in exactly the right place for this final section to be hinged back 180 degrees. It is far from clear, but there is also what appears to be a line of rivets on the edge of the turret rear, but there is also something that could possibly be a shadow of the hinge allowing the rear section to fold back.

If this is true, then I could use the Pontos platform, cut off the last section and fold the whole assembly back onto the turret roof and remove the supporting plates. This would allow the turret to rotate fully with absolutely no fouling... but is it true? I have no idea.

What is clear though, I think, is there is no additional square section extending beyond the rear of the rangefinder. Also, the support which is really clear, is the inner one, which we know is attached to the turret side (one hole in the plate, not two as in the corner section, and its in completely the wrong place for the angled rear support, so it absolutely isnt that).

If all you looking into Hood concur, I think this is what I am going to do (there are limits to the number of platforms I can make without going totally mad!). I would be interested to hear if EJ or Frank Allen have a better copy of this photo which shows this section more clearly. (Its also good to see yet another photo with the flat section of the splinter shield for the rear XIX 4" HA).

But then there is this photo...

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X-turret platform 3.jpg
X-turret platform 3.jpg [ 392.39 KiB | Viewed 2046 times ]


Which doesnt look like either of the previous 2 because of the shadows and the way the supports appear to be a different shape... They are not, as far as I can tell... they are more likely to show that same section, with various bits foreshortened and with the angles looking very different due to the camera position. I think this photo shows the same layout as photo 1...

Which leaves me with photo 2... which I am hoping is what the platform looked like in 1941... with that last section folded back.

Anyone like to comment? EJ? Frank? Got a higher res. version of that photo?

Anyway... to finish off, I thought I would show you the results of my scratch built platform... I thought the Pontos version was too 'flat' on the top part, the visible bit, so I would have remade it anyway.

It looks ok... but I broke it up, so I wouldn't fall into the temptation of using it... I didnt think it was good enough and although shortening the sections and making them square (using the width of the Pontos platform as a starting point) reduced the length considerably, it was still too close on rotation and once the shelter deck was on and the splinter shields in place, would have fouled (it doesnt look like it would in the photo I have added - but trust me, once everything else was tacked in place, it did!)

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File comment: This shows the platform top itself (well, I had to use my new Chopper for something!) compared to the Pontos platform top
IMG_2357.jpg
IMG_2357.jpg [ 297.14 KiB | Viewed 2046 times ]


Attachment:
File comment: This shows the rotation arc... it looks like it would clear easily... but it doesnt...!
IMG_2363.jpg
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X Turret 4.png
X Turret 4.png [ 283.82 KiB | Viewed 2046 times ]


And finally, my scratch built version of the same thing... which I have now removed from the turret and taken apart...

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IMG_2359.jpg
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And here it is with the turret mounted on the barbette... it is so wrong on so many areas I had to take it apart... the shape of that rear support for example is completely wrong. However, this was really just to see what the platform itself looked like and whether I could get away with it. The rear support shapes could easily be changed had I thought it was a good enough starting point.

But this kit is going to take ages... I want to reduce the number of poor decisions about the build I will come to regret... there will always be some, but I'm just starting, so I had better keep some discipline! :big_grin:

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IMG_2365.jpg
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Anyway... if anyone would like to comment on the second picture and their thoughts on a folded (or removed) rear platform section, I would be delighted to hear what you have to say.
Post Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2017 10:38 pm
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
Looking good Bill, thank you for sharing your build and keep 'em coming. I am still on the basic hull improvements atm. hope to make some bench time over Christmas. Those turrets are much better for your mods, and will incorporate them into mine also. Regards Pete.
Post Posted: Fri Dec 22, 2017 7:44 am
  Post subject:  Re: Trumpeter 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Update Set 1941  Reply with quote
That looks like an evening well spent; with a good sharp result. :thumbs_up_1:

wack some paint on and homogenise the area,
it will remove the 'plastic' grey and look instantly more pleasing!

cheers

JB
Post Posted: Wed Dec 13, 2017 2:42 am
  Post subject:  Re: 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Updates  Reply with quote
Ive been pretty busy lately and haven't had time to work on Hood all that much... but put in a full evening today :thumbs_up_1:

Believe it or not, this is a whole evenings worth. Maybe I'm just slow and out of practice...

At this rate I think this is going to be a while :big_grin:

Here is a step by step of the UP Platform on B Turret...

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I have managed to almost finish the main turrets... probably another two evenings and then priming. Then a long wait until all the other sub assemblies are done.

Attachment:
IMG_2337.jpg
IMG_2337.jpg [ 177.95 KiB | Viewed 2320 times ]


This is going to be a while...!
Post Posted: Tue Dec 12, 2017 9:13 pm
  Post subject:  Re: 1:200 HMS Hood with Pontos Updates  Reply with quote
Looking good.
Post Posted: Fri Nov 10, 2017 9:03 pm

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