The Ship Model Forum

[quote="Cag"]Hi All,

Hi Nigel, try posting here, hope that helps

Best wishes
Cag.[/quote]

Thanks buddy.

I am trying to obtain an additional fret #5 from Pontos for my 1/200 Hood. I have emailed three times now and am getting no response.. can anyone please advise if they know of a more effective way to get hold of Pontos please?

Nige

Hi All,

Hi Nigel, try posting here, hope that helps

Best wishes
Cag.

I am relatively new to ship model making. I recently ordered the Pontos 1/200 HMS Hood 1941 Set on Amazon. Now I finished it. [url=https://www.marine-traffic24.com/vesselfinder/]:thumbs_up_1:[/url]
I want to change a few things on the ship. Thanks to this post, I now have a few ideas. Thanks for that.

Again, many thanx for your input. Another step forward.

[quote="Grizly"]Frank,
Your reply greatly appreciated. I'm modelling the Hood as she was in Scapa Flo prior to sailing to engage the Bismarck. Would I be correct having the stern staff installed with the White Ensign and no bow staff and would Holland's pennant be flown while in harbour? The following is a recent shot of my build - it's nearing the end but still a work in progress.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Cgpbr92.jpg[/img][/quote]

She's looking good!

To the best of my knowledge, there is no verified footage of Hood in port on 20/21 May 1941. We also do not have her log (just a reconstruction based on a midshipman's journal and observations from other vessels). So, I know of no way to definitively tell you exactly what she was flying whilst in port. I only know, directly from discussions with Ted Briggs himself, what she flew at sea and during the actual battle.

Of course, there are photos (and film) from that general timeframe (April to about a week before her loss). If this other footage is any indicator, then she may have flown her White Ensign and VADM flag from her mainmast. I haven't seen a Union Jack at the bow or White Ensign at the stern in any of this material. As for the jack and ensign staffs, its almost impossible for me to tell (using materials on hand) if they were fitted or stowed. Of course, this doesn't prove that she used this configuration just before departing. So, you have some leeway for artistic license.

In the end, she's your model and you are the admiral in command, so, build her however you wish. As long as YOU are satisfied, that's all that matters.

Frank,
Your reply greatly appreciated. I'm modelling the Hood as she was in Scapa Flo prior to sailing to engage the Bismarck. Would I be correct having the stern staff installed with the White Ensign and no bow staff and would Holland's pennant be flown while in harbour? The following is a recent shot of my build - it's nearing the end but still a work in progress.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Cgpbr92.jpg[/img]

[quote="FW_Allen"][quote="Grizly"]...The jack staff, when used, had two lights as I recall...[/quote][/quote]

Right after posting my previous reply, I remembered that this sort of thing should be in John Roberts' excellent "Anatomy of the Ship" book (which I recommend any Hood enthusiast to add to their library...even though some of it is a wee bit dated, its still one of the best sources for details).

Anyway, on page 99, figure F10 shows the jack staff. JR shows two lights- one atop the pole and a shielded one behind.

I also checked the official plans. Below is how the staff is depicted (just basics, no details). Even though it shows no rearward-facing light, I assure you it was there.

[attachment=0]jackstaff.jpg[/attachment]

[quote="Grizly"]...If the bow components are assembled according to the instruction, the light would be behind the staff which, to me, would deminish the purpose of the bow light...[/quote]

The jack staff, when used, had two lights as I recall: One would have been atop the staff (and visible all around) and the second was behind the staff and could only be seen from astern. I've looked for some closeup photos, but cannot seem to find any with what I have on-hand. The best I can find are some somewhat distant shots showing the staff deployed and removed. I've included a rough example below.

[attachment=0]bowflagpole1.jpg[/attachment]

In reality, you have a choice here. Hood did NOT always have her two lower staffs (jack= bow, ensign=stern) deployed. I've seen photos with one, both or neither deployed. It depended on where she was and what she was doing/what the circumstances were. At sea, on a mission, it would not be uncommon to have the staffs stowed away (we have photos to prove this...just in case anyone doubts (sigh)). So, you can use none, one or both.

The staffs are rather like the six large stairways/ladders from the deck to the superstructure (two forward alongside the bridge from the focsle to shelter deck and four aft from the quarterdeck to the focsle deck). These were not deployed at sea...but somehow models of Hood look naked without them. So, you have many choices.

Yet another Pontos question from this retired air force modeller who knows little about but has an affinity for nautical subjects....
Regarding the assembly of the bow and stern staffs (page 3 of the instructions and a scan attached below), I assume parts 39A, for the bow, and 37A, for the stern, are bow and stern lights. If the bow components are assembled according to the instruction, the light would be behind the staff which, to me, would deminish the purpose of the bow light. While the stern staff assembly seems awkward, it does have the light aft of the staff which would make it clearly visible by a trailing vessel. Just wondering if I'm finding mistakes where none exist. Gotta get my model right.
[img]https://i.imgur.com/pACKObn.jpg[/img]

In fact, shortly after the introduction of the device the admiralty significantly reduced the number of nightly overboard incidents by replacing the rum ration with Famous Grouse.

[quote="EJFoeth"]One globe has a recess containing a spirit ration and a whistle.[/quote]

Priorities. One can tell she was built in Scotland :big_grin:

[img]http://ontheslipway.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/cabinet_03.jpg[/img]

Cats; the reason to have a case is always cats...

Again thank you. Another step forward. My model is slowly approaching completion and today I�ll be picking up the plexiglass case which will hopefully protect it from dust and misguided fingers for years to come.

Night life buoy. Yellow-pine wooden cross and copper globes (both the globes and the cross typically not painted as far as I can tell). There's a pair of calcium lights that ignite on contact with water, kept upright using lead weights. One globe has a recess containing a spirit ration and a whistle.

Another question regarding a Trumpeter/Pontos feature. Just forward of the two boats suspended from the rear of the boat deck, there is an item stowed in a cage like structure which is attached to the edge and overhangs the deck. That item is in the shape of a cross with a sphere attached to the end of the four points of the cross. Any idea what that feature is and what colour it might have been (in wartime)?

I'm impressed. You obviously have an extensive reference library.

Hope this helps :thumbs_up_1:

[attachment=2]paravanes001.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=1]paravanes002.jpg[/attachment]
[attachment=0]paravanes003.jpg[/attachment]

For EJFoeth, your help greatly appreciated. Another step forward wrt the paravanes. I also (re)discovered the photo in the HMS Hood Association showing the Denton rafts below the boat deck. Any attempt to install them at my stage of my build is going to be extremely difficult so my Hood will continue to be somewhat of a compromise. I'll know they aren't there but most viewers won't be aware of their absence.

I made a small post here: [url]http://ontheslipway.com/?p=1607[/url]. Here you can see the stored paravane derrick as well. The port side derrick was frequently up & running. Also, if you want to show the paravane about to be deployed, you may want to consider adding additional cables (chains) over the bow? (I can scan the setup from the Manual of Seamanship if you wish)

For EJ Foeth. It would appear (from the Pontos instructions) that the arm of the forward paravane boom assembly was stored just aft of the forward breakwater and, given the absence of the other components, the rest stowed in the paravane locker. With that hypothesis in mind, I think I'll go with the one paravane boom installed on the port side (with the paravane outside of the locker) and one stowed on the starboard side aft of the breakwater (paravane stowed away in the closed locker).