1:350 HMS Repulse 1941

[Andrew F]

Thanks Bill I'll give that a go.I've "futured" the area for the decal in anticipation. I should have done the whole hull with future and pin wash etc before I did the major assemblies but couldn't get hold of any in Australia. Had it sent from the states in the end and by then it was too late. I guess I will probably wimp out and go for the "museum" look. Still all good for learning. The next model will be HMS Exeter as sunk in 1:350 so I'll have to apply all the lessons learned on that. The techniques that you can pick up from the modellers on this site are fantastic as is the support from the members.

Hi angeleyes,

The lens is not the "kit lens". It's a EF-S 17-55 2.8 USM IS lens which is 2.8 across the zoom range and is image stabilised.http://www.canon.com.au/en-AU/For-You/C ... S-USM-Lens
I assume this had a fair bit to do with the ability to get the shots with a small aperture and no flash. I don't do much in the way of macro. The main use on land is for kids school functions etc and for underwater where I'll use a Tonika 10-17mm in a Aquatica housing.

This is the "A" turret on HMAS Perth off Java sunk in March 1942. It's a still taken with my video camera

And this the starboard rear Oerlikon on Repulse. to overcome the problems in the previous photo of water clarity, this is a composite photo taken again as stills with the video camera from about4 frames.

This gun was... I believe... manned by and Australian, Midshipman Robert Davies. " As Repulse rolled over and sank at 12.33 pm Davies' shipmates last saw him 'firing an Oerlikon gun at enemy aircraft when he and the gun mounting were slowly submerging"

Lest we forget.......



....... hopefully I'll be able to do better with the new camera arrangement

Sorry for wandering off topic......


Andrew

[Bill Livingston]

You are welcome Andrew...

... and its obvious you know your cameras (I have a Nikon D200 with an 18-70 ED non kit lens, but use my phone for most of my pictures now... lol!). Angleyes was just being helpful... and what he said was right. I just dont think he realised you were into photography too... and I wouldn't have know if it was a kit lens or not either... Canon numbers mean nothing to me )

Your underwater photography is excellent... I have an ex-girlfriend who specialises in underwater photography, she has won several awards and dived all over the world. I bought her her first camera and a lot of her scuba gear... then she ran off with a dive instructor... That'll teach me!!!

[angeleyes]

Ah yes! the 17-55 is on my acquisition list too.Sorry i read 18-55 for some reason which is the 'kit' lens when it comes to Canon DSLR's.
A very sharp lens although not the 'red line' series.Def worth having.

[Andrew F]

No offence taken......

I struggled with the choice of a new camera.... the full frame 5D mkII or the cropped sensor 7D. The 5D is probably a better choice for above water use but the consensus for U/W use seemed to be the 7D. The video capability of both is stunning, the only drawback being the low frame rate at full HD (25-30 fps vs 60 fps for prosumer video cameras).

And you are right in that the 17-55 is not an ideal choice for macro work at all, but at 18 mp I can do an electronic crop "zoom" for this sort of message board work.


Ah.... so many toys.... so little time!

Andrew

[angeleyes]

Well my next model up will be a 5d or more.There is no point in my view if you have a 12 and go to a 15 or 17 megapixel camera now.They are all so good that you have to print a board the size of those adverts next to the highway to see the differences when you start enlarging the shots.Is just a case of choosing a model when you enter the market and upgrading from then on .I enter last year with the Canon 450D and is doing all the things i want and i am capable of producing anyway.I will concentrate on purchasing some descent lenses to cover the range.I started from the middle with the Canon 24-70 which is just unbelievable .A 70-200 and a 17-55 will cover me just fine after that. Not necessarily for ship modeling though.You will find in time that one annoying thing specially with larger (1/350) models is the depth of field limitations you have when you trying to get a nice shot of the whole model instead of macro shots of small details , and half the model is blurred in the shot.
Anyway enough with photography for today.

[Andrew F]

Getting back on topic!

The other problem with home made decals is that you can't print white!

Does anyone have a solution for that one?


Andrew

[Bill Livingston]

Alps printer.... No other way I know.

You could ask if anyone has one and then see if they offer to print some for you... Either that or send them to a commercial printers... worth checking out anyway.

Another option is to find out if the markings you want are available with a commercial kit and then see if someone will part with them...

I am not sure if there are decal sheets out there. You could try a couple of the specialist deal sheet people who do ships... although that is so obvious I dont know why I mentioned it... you will have already done that... sorry!

[Andrew F]

Hi Bill,

I have the Begemot set which has mixed black and white and in roman numerals except the zero is at the waterline and they are neg and positive on either side of it. I've searched the net and not found any others that seem close and, as this is my first 1:350 ship, I don't have any spare from other kits. From the Repulse plans the numbers are done from the keel up starting at 10 feet and going to 31 feet above the keel all in Roman numerals..... so quite a specific set.

I didn't think of trying a commercial printer.

I tried to print in grey but it doesn't show up against the black of the boot strap. Yellow just looked stupid!

Specialist decal people? Are there such animals? Do you have a link?

Thanks

Andrew

[Repulse]

Hi Andrew
I have been building the Trumpy Repulse for 8 months now and have been following your progress with interest.
Not sure how you work so quickly, but you have done fine job.
Your enquiry with regard to depth marker/draught markings is one I have been trying to address myself. GMM have
a "generic" 350 scale ship decal sheet (I am led to believe?). Also, am not sure if you have had any involvment with
the Trumpy 'Hood' kit, but the decal sheet that comes with the kit also has the Roman numerals you require.
Maybe try Trumpeter. Will follow you progress with interest.
Regards, Tim.

[Andrew F]

Isn't that interesting.....

The decal sheet does indeed have the depth markings all in white. I wonder why they have left them off on Repulse?


rather annoying!

Thanks for the tip.......

Andrew

[Andrew F]

And then it gets more confusing..... what colour is correct.

Pre war photos of Hood show white numbers overall. However, other RN BBs have a mixture of colours.... some with black on the grey areas and white on the boot strap. Later wartime photos particularly of the KGV class show all black numbers with white edging such that they stand out on the boot strap!!

The Resin Shipyard may have a suitable set... I will explore that..... however in the interim in my impatience I've put the home made black ones back on with a future base....... Bugger!


No matt coat yet...... might wait in case I have to take it off!



Andrew

[Andrew F]

Sorry for the delay in getting back to all those who have been following this build!

The need to prepare a paper for presentation at a meeting O/S and organising and diving the HMS Hermes off Sri Lanka rather got in the way!


The black decals while correctly scaled and nice and fine were just wrong for colour. I acquired some correct ones from Hawk Graphics (Resin Shipyard) which have gone on a treat on a future base. I have applied future to both hull sides and then a soft wash. Not totally sure of how I feel about it but it's done now. I might not do the decks..... The effect in flash photography seem rather glossy but in real life the effect is more semi-gloss. I will have to decide if it needs a flat coat or not..... However, it does make the "plating" effect stand out!





Any thoughts on the wisdom of "futuring" the decks at this stage are most welcome!

Andrew

[GTDEATH13]

A superb build... If I may... Why not flat coating above the water line and leave the hull the way it is?

As for the deck, are you going to use a wash on it?

[JCRAY]

Outstanding effort ! you have set the bar very high. john

[glue mark]

Hi Everyone- What do you guys use to place holes in the plastic decks to accept the deck railing posts? I don't have a dremel and was wondering if a pick (and a tap from a hammer! or other tool could be used effectively. I'm getting ready to "rail" a 1/200 Trump Sovermenny with the kit's PE.

Thanks, Rusty

[Andrew F]

Hi Rusty,

I just mark them and then use a pin vice with a suitable sized micro drill. In Plastic at least.... it seems to work quite well but you do go through a few drill bits so buy in bulk.... However, most of the railings are "4 bar" with the bottom "bar" glued to the deck. I tack with CA glue, use thin masking tape to hold in place and then use Gator Glue to hold the rest. I was surprised how easy it was....

Andrew

[Andrew F]

Have you guys seen....

there is now a Lion Roar super detail set for the Trumpy Repulse. Seems that they have followed then Kagero book....... unfortunately!

Andrew

See the thread in Calling all Repulse fans.....