1/200 Trumpeter HMS Hood + Pontos Detail Set

[Grizly]

There has been some discussion regarding Pontos instructions. I may be stating the obvious and, if so, please ignore my post. Anyway, if you download the instructions from the Pontos website you can enlarge portions of interest by 400% without losing clarity. I find that this greatly facilitates my understanding of the pictorial instructions. My biggest headache is not so much the instructions, it's integrating the Pontos instructions with those by Trumpeter along with the Hood Association's comments into a logical sequence.

[Grizly]

I found the following quarter deck arrangement plan showing the ever elusive pillars. I would normally post the image but Photobucket now wants a 'bucket' of money so shall give my reference link instead.

See http://buildhmshood.blogspot.ca/2012/06 ... ments.html

If anyone has further info related to quarter deck detail, I'm sure it would undoubtedly be warmly received by all interested builders if posted here.

[europapete]

Nice!, thank you Grizly, that is very helpful. well done finding it. regards, Pete in RI.

[Channell]

Thanks Griz, I needed that info!

Thanks everyone for the kick in the pants ( I think ) I did pull out a couple of my older unfinished projects and tinker with them over the past couple weeks but when it comes down to it, Hood is the one I want to build most! I've been thinking back to what made the Nelson build go well for me for so long and I think a big part of it was organization and planning, with realistic expectations and outcomes.

With that in mind, I "threw away" my old vision for this kit and am pondering a new, more attainable plan for what I want my version of Hood to look like in the end.

I spent some time pondering the ceiling of the shelter deck; I first seriously intended to cut it all out and replace it with something complicated but after playing around a bit with .010 X .020 styrene strips I'm thinking that I'll just putty/sand the ceiling smooth and lay the extra thin strips down to represent the boat deck support girders. Yeah they won't be as deep as they should to be truly realistic but the area is hard to see unless you are looking at it from below and I think just adding a hint of the support structure (perhaps with some extra shading for effect) will be enough.

Anyway, I\it's been a couple of months but plastic was again cut on my Hood this weekend.

Trumpeter 1/200 kits always seem to have this problem:



Portholes are not oval shaped so I got to work fixing them:



One of the things that made me loose faith in this project was my earlier work on the hull portholes; I drilled them too big and they did not come out particularly well. While the same size portholes looked good on the Nelson, they looked overly large on the Hood and made the whole ship seem smaller. Also, since I ground them out from behind, just filling and redrilling them smaller wasn't really a viable fix so I'm resorting to "porthole madness" to fix them all.

What I'm doing is punching out a perfectly round hole in .010 sheet styrene, cutting it out in a little square and inletting it into the correct position on the hull (after grinding open the old porthole area). Here's the first quarter slathered in putty:



and after sanding down the first coat:



One positive is that I can more easily and accurately place the portholes on the hull; as the kit comes from trumpeter some are mislocated on the bow and the line of portholes on the stern follows the deck line when the very aft portholes should be positioned a bit lower and straighter on the hull (at least that's how I'm interpreting it from historic pics). Also, this work makes for very thin and even porthole rims that can allow for clear styrene "glass" to be inserted from behind should the mood strike me.

I'm getting some d�j� vu; it's the same thing I did to ALL the portholes on the Bismarck a few years back. Somehow it seems appropriate.

[Goodwood]

Glad you're getting back on the horse, Jason! Knew you'd get there in the end, with a bit of (ahem) friendly encouragement!

[EJFoeth]

Perhaps the best way to make the portholes round is to use a reamer? If the port hole is then larger then you need it to be, fill with styrene stock, sand that to size and then redrill the hole. That's how I do all my portholes and looks a bit easier can carving up the hull

[Channell]

Yeah, I know this isn't necessarily the easy way to do it but since I made the inside of the hull look like this:



...it would make filling and redrilling the portholes problematic at best. I would have avoided this altogether if I had only chosen to redrill the portholes the right diameter before grinding them out (and that's what I'll do on the other portholes), but at least this way the hull isn't a loss as doing this has gotten me really nice portholes in the past and I'm fairly efficient at doing them at this point.

[Martocticvs]

Interesting technique for the portholes! Looks like it has worked out exceptionally well

[steinerman]

Nice work Jason. But ya know what I'm thinking? That if you look up the definition of the word "Anal" in the dictionary, you will see your picture!!

[BBlover]

Good one Larry!!!!

Lloyd

[rtheriaque]

Nice work Jason. But ya know what I'm thinking? That if you look up the definition of the word "Anal" in the dictionary, you will see your picture!!

Given the general state of the internet, you'll forgive me if I don't Google image search that one.

[Channell]

I prefer "dedicated" or "detail oriented" over "anal" myself, but If I'm gonna be remembered...

But it brings up a good question, one that I'm wrestling with: How far should one go with this one? You could work the rest of your life on any of these big 1/200 warships and still not get everything exactly as it was in real life but hell... this is the #*!%ing HOOD we're talking about and it's a subject that absolutely deserves extra attention.

Not to mention that I have just about the craziest detail set ever made to go with it as well as the most intensive part-by-part accuracy critique of a kit that I have ever run across in my life, representing what would have taken me dozens of hours and hundreds of dollars in plans/reading materials to figure out on my own (http://www.hmshood.com/hoodtoday/models ... ter200.htm). How can I NOT go overboard with this build?

But on the flip side, nothing sucks the enjoyment out of a build than rivet counting and this is a BIG model. I dunno... I've still gotta find my point of balance on this build.

Meanwhile, I've finished replacing portholes:









If anyone wonders why I slather putty on my models like a flock of drunk low-flying seagulls, it's because I'm using Squadron putty, which "melts" into the plastic and starts drying in like 2 seconds. Luckily it's easy to sand and gives me decent final results.

I used the Hood Assoication's info to place the portholes generally where they should be instead of replicating what the kit had, though I didn't measure so they might not be 100% perfect. The next task is to get the final sanding/putty stuff out of the way, then redo the hull plating with tape and primer.

Until next time!

[Mgunns]

Hi Jason:

You must be keeping Squadron's inventory on modeling putty low with all the puttying you are doing. Have you ever tried automotive putty? I used it on both of my 1/200 models and it works quite well, a large tube of the red stuff will last quite awhile with the same results; the stuff I use is "Everglaze" glazing and spot putty. This is coming along and nice to see you back at it I am sure once you get the hull done with portholes and plating the effort you are putting in will pay off dividends. Looking forward to the next update.

[Channell]

Hi Jason:

You must be keeping Squadron's inventory on modeling putty low with all the puttying you are doing. Have you ever tried automotive putty? I used it on both of my 1/200 models and it works quite well, a large tube of the red stuff will last quite awhile with the same results; the stuff I use is "Everglaze" glazing and spot putty. This is coming along and nice to see you back at it I am sure once you get the hull done with portholes and plating the effort you are putting in will pay off dividends. Looking forward to the next update.

Believe it or not, I've only been through 1 1/4 tube of the stuff so far, so at something like 3 bucks a tube it isn't so bad, other than the huge sanding mess I make.

I like to use auto body putty if I need to add mass and/or get lazy and use it to fill large (relatively speaking) areas but otherwise I prefer to avoid it because of the smell and the different hardness it gives over Trumpy's fairly soft plastic. Auto body putty also doesn't actually bind with plastic so it may cause problems down the road (though I haven't had any problems with it yet).

Otherwise, Squadron is really just my personal preference and I always seem to go though a lot of the stuff on all my builds. But yeah, this mod will help maintain detail continuity across the ship, especially considering how many sections of superstructure (including portholes ) will be replaced with the Pontos PE.


While waiting between coats of putty to dry I've checked into another fairly large kit error and I've resolved to try to fix it...

Hood's conning tower is molded the wrong shape; it's oval when it should be egg shaped in cross section.





It looks like it should be fairly straightforward to modify, though the base of the conning tower would not match up with the wooden deck, but I think I can patch the deck and the area in question will also be under large vent cowlings in the end...

[tegunn]

Jason, what plans are you using?

[Channell]

Jason, what plans are you using?

I didn't buy a set of plans for this project but I am using a few books ( Clydebank Battlecruisers by Ian Johnson, British Battleships 1919-1945 by RA Burt and The Battlecruiser HMS Hood by Bruce Taylor) . There is also a lot of info available on this site and the net in general. For the conning tower shape EJ posted this in the Pontos set thread which is especially helpful: download/file.php?id=94297&mode=view

... and I'm using the HMS Hood Association's review of the kit to help identify and correct accuracy issues. http://www.hmshood.com/hoodtoday/models ... ter200.htm

[Timhan]

Tedious but worth it. Have just completed many hours work making the splinter shields with all the
supports (veins). Also spent hours making the various skylights, ammo boxes, lockers and vents. With a coat of paint,
they look terrific and when installed, they will make a statement. For those thinking of cheating and
using the kit parts, you will be disappointed.

[Willie]

Hi there Jason and all,

Your portholes adventure is the most amazing and complicated solution thing I have ever seen --on anything-- but congrats for the results, because it has really come out !!!!
I solve this problem closing the porthole with styrene rod and sandpaper, or with a piece of plastic behind it and putty, way easier, IMO. I would sweat blood with the mere thought of touching the hull.

For the conning tower I would use blocks of styrene, but after your portholes I simply wonder what surprising solution you have got in store...

Keep the piocs coming, and nice going,

Willie.

[hondaman117]

Looking good as usual Jason!

Hood keeps looking at me from her box in the corner, I need to dig up some money to get the Pontos set so I'm ready to start her in the near future. Until then, I'll be watching your build closely!

[fooesboy]

Hi Jason,

Just found this build thread, I'm so glad to see someone leading the way!
The first step of dealing with the hull plating is probably the part the concerns me the most so I am eagerly waiting to see how yours turns out!

Cheers,
Chris