WEM H.M.S. Barham 25.11.1941.

[zs180]

Thank you Martin!

[zs180]

Some progress has been made.
The funnel has been glued to the deck along with its ladders and searchlights.

Next, construction of the bridgework began. Here the conning tower platform and signal platform are attached. I love the complex look of the superstructure of this ship.

[1:6000]

George, this is amazing! I like the shadows a lot.
And there is not much that looks as cool and bizarre as trunked funnels...

[Joe Simon]

This is beautiful!

[LE BOSCO]

Just sublim George we forget the scale !!!!!
bravo
cheers
Nicolas

[kurusu]

Beautiful.

[leanderf69@gmail.com]

There are no words that can express the crispness of this model: it is just awesome. Mesmerising. Well done. Keep the good work going. Noel Paris from Mellieha, Malta

[marijn van gils]

Great progress George!
She's rapidly becoming beautiful now!

[zs180]

Gentlemen,
thank you very much for your kind words! I really do appreciate your support.
I try to go on with the construction of the bridge levels soon.

[zs180]

Some progress has been made and here is the report:
The bridge has been built up, tier upon tier. A brass rod, glued into pre-drilled holes all the way through the entire bridge structure was used to help proper alignment, upon which brass tubes representing mast sections of the upper bridge levels were slid.

[zs180]

This was tried and tested for symmetry and levelness before the individual bridge components were painted. Even so I managed to somehow get the spotting top slanting slightly, which is a major flaw of the build, one that is practically impossible to fix, unless the whole tripod is demolished. I really feel upset about this. I will try to correct it to some degree when the rigging is going to be attached. This glitch aside the bridge has turned out quite spectacular being about 60% scratchbuilt.

Next all the boats have been added. Tie down strips of grey painted lead foil were glued to one side of the chocks,

then the boats glued to the chocks, the strips pulled over them, cut to fit and glued to the other sides of the chocks.
All of the Carley rafts have been attached as well.

I will leave the completion of the very fragile mainmast assembly for a later phase of construction.
As the next step I will concentrate on the main and secondary battery.

[MartinJQuinn]

Brilliant work. If I didn't know it was 700th scale, I would have thought it was 350th or larger. The details you've packed into this are amazing. Your idea for the tie downs for the boats is genius. I'm sure you'll be able to figure a way to deal with the spotting top issue.

[zs180]

Thank you Martin, for all your positive comments and this time especially for your support.
The encouragement from you affirmed my dedication to try to improve the positioning of the spotting top. I took it off the tripod assembly - not an easy task regarding that a tube has been glued with gel type superglue over a rod. Consequently, considerable force was necessary to remove it and many a small detail broke off, some of them even got lost, most notably the distinctive PE DF antenna loop at the end of the spotting top. After crawling on the floor with my cellphone�s light on for an hour I gave up the search and accepted that I will have to scratchbuild a replacement. This has not been done yet, but I did manage to reposition the spotting top horizontally.
The main turrets have been added along with most of their fittings. The 6� battery has been fitted as well, bar the two foremost barrels, the painting of which needs to be corrected.
I could not resist to glue the mainmast assembly to its place, despite plans to do it at a later phase � the visual balance of the ship is perfect with it. Now I need to take extreme care not to damage it during subsequent construction.

What is still missing? Quite a lot: the whole of AA armament, all rigging, including that of the booms and cranes, and the crew. First I will make minor corrections, add some small missing parts then the crew will be prepared to man the open AA batteries and the bridge.

[Dan K]

This is a very impressive, crisp build.

[MartinJQuinn]

I'm so glad you were able to rectify the spotting top issue! She's a beauty.

[Joe Simon]

I really thought this was 1/350! Outstanding work I must say!

[Martocticvs]

I think adjusting the top will probably prove worth the pain it has caused in the short term. It's one of those things that would have bugged you for ever afterwards if you'd left it! She looks fantastic, and certainly hard to believe she's only 1/700!

[Daniele]

Awesome job

Daniele

[Frank Spahr]

You are indeed taking things to a whole new level with your skills and (sometimes painful, see the spotting top correction) dedication. Wow, Gy�rgy, that is something really special!

Looking forward to the next phase
Frank

[JIM BAUMANN]

Bravo GP !

the crooked spotting top would have bothered you for ever....

Model looks fine, heavy - and ' shippy!

The more amusing part of the build now lies ahead-
-where every step looks like REAL progress

cheers
JB