slowhand wrote:
Hi Frank
yes I was just going to mention the X turret platforms. It does seem strange to put them in the PE but leave them out of the basic kit.
Just another few thoughts.
The "narrow platform " on the starboard side of the spotting top doesn't seem to be there either in plastic on PE...ah well can`t get everything right!
They do seem however to have put in a semblance of deck camber on the fore and aft wooden decks ,you can just make it out if you sight along them. That must be quite difficult in 1:700. Don`t think the 1:350 Trumpy kit had that.
Also I see they've picked up the different sizes of the large square openings on the quarter deck rear screens , left and right.Good job there.
Hope you get your kit soon Frank. Mine is still in the box although I do look at it now and then and wonder how the hell I`m going to make it all work!
Cheers
slowhand
Spotting Top Platform- Thanks for pointing that out. I’m not sure why FH didn’t include it in the model as I thought I saw it in the drawings. Its another thing I’d have expected to be in the photoetch.
To be honest though, that platform has always struck me as odd and to this day, I’m still not so sure about it. I first noticed it @18-19 years ago whilst comparing footage from the 2001 wreck expedition with pre-sinking photos of the ship. I remember asking John Roberts about it: I told him that the platform struck me as something temporary, but he seemed to think it might of been more permanent in nature (based on the fact that if appeared to have proper railing rather than ropes, it had a fairly beefy underside support and they had made an access point through the roof overhang. Perhaps the platform was necessitated by the recent addition of the gunnery radar.). It’s something I’ve always looked out for whenever “new” 1941 photos are found. To date, I’ve seen it in one or two other photos, but these are from the same exact time period/docking. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find any starboard side photos of the ship at sea/on patrol/not in drydock after this period (i.e., in April or May 1941). There are obviously a few photos that we’ve all seen, but she’s always annoyingly pictured from her PORT side! This, along with photos of her final aerial spreader, is one of my “holy grail” items.
Rear Battery Openings- I’m not sure what to call these openings actually…so I refer to their original intended usage, LOL. FH’s initial drawings were already correct when I saw them (this was something we definitely looked for). We only had to suggest a few minor details, but some (portholes and support beams I believe) were not possible to incorporate into the moulding. FH were possibly going to address those with photo etch (not sure if they did or not) or otherwise leave up to modellers to incorporate or not.
Deliberate Detail Omission- I should mention that there is one notable feature that is almost certainly missing from the kit. I’m referring to
oil fender storage on the boat deck. This is something that most modellers would probably overlook, but I’m sure folks here will notice. This “heap” (for lack of a better word) was located on the starboard side, just behind the row of large boats and roughly in line with the angular engine room vent and the starboard UP.
There aren’t many detailed photos of this heap; they’re mostly long distance glimpses taken at oblique angles. I’ve seen maybe two or three close-up deck level photos, but these were from different points in her career and the appearance varied somewhat (perhaps they changed fender styles later in her career or took care to arrange it differently). The 1941 photos are only partial views and you can’t see great detail. Because of this, FH were hesitant about incorporating it. So, it will be left to the modeller to decide if they want to scratch build it (which shouldn’t be too difficult with scrap plastic, wire and a bit of artistic license). Here’s my attempt at a ver6 rough description: The overall appearance was rectangular and about 4-6 ft tall. It seems to have been composed of some folded fenders stacked atop each other with other items (perhaps wood and tarps) lashed around/over it. There wer obviousk6 also ropes around and coiled on top. I’ll see if I can get permission from the photo donors (because they are from restricted collections) to post a few photos that we do have…I will post them in the review/suggested improvements article we ultimately write for the Hood website (which is on hold until I get my kits).
Bridge Detail Update-We came across some “new” Air Defense Platform photos after FH released the kit. Many of you have probably have already seen them as they were posted on the Association’s Facebook page a while back. If you haven’t, basically they show some officers standing either in or just in front of the upper/rear A.D. platform. For the very few folks who do not know what this structure was was, it was the little open platform at the top of the bridge between the tripod legs (as high as you can go without actually going up the tripod foremast). The shots are likely from 1940 as the upper AD platform has already been extended (they appear to have brought it a bit further forward) but they haven’t removed the small rangefinder just yet. The photos are interesting, but unfortunately do not answer some of our key questions (such as how did the men get up there…it’s deck was about 4 ft higher than the main forward AD platform above the Compass Platform). One thing it DOES show, however, is a section of deck between the two platforms. It appears to be horizontally slatted. As for composition and colour, I have no idea… I also don’t know if this was used IN the AD platforms (I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if the slats were also used therein…I do expect that there were grates in some areas). I suppose we can look at what was done on other, contemporary ships… Ideas anyone?