Quincy wrote:
With the upcoming Flyhawk HMS Penelope kit, how hard would it be to make her into the Galatea 1941 fit?
Hi Bob,
I've been looking at this - based on what I can find online. It will indeed take a bit of work and I remain uncertain of some things. The following is what I've found, based on photos and line drawings.
The line drawing available on the Blueprints website only shows her 1941 fit in profile. The plan view given does not match the profile and seems to be Penelope - which is unfortunate!
https://www.the-blueprints.com/blueprin ... 281941%29/According to the WW2 cruisers website: "Galatea lost her catapult in a refit between October 1940 and January 1941, when she received two quadruple 2 pdr and 8 single 20 mm, as well as radar 279."
https://www.world-war.co.uk/Arethusa/ar ... class.php3Now for the changes I have found so far:
1) Both masts must be converted to tripods.Type 279 radar aerials to be installed (these are in the kit sprue A, or from PE).
2) The aft superstructure (forward of y-turret) will have to be scratched. Penelope had a single HACS director (as did Aurora) just above y-turret. Galatea (and early war Arethusa) had a two level structure with a searchlight platform on top (see the line drawing). The base of the mainmast was apparently resting against the forward end of the structure. Photos of Galatea don't show this structure clearly, but there are some of Arethusa that can give an idea of how it looked.
3) The aft shelter deck has to be extended forward so that the forward 2 4-inch mounts are almost abreast the aft 1/2 of the second funnel (as in Aurora) and the gun crew shelters installed between the 4-inch mounts with the mainmast tripod supports going through the roofs (again as in Aurora). These shelters are, fortunately, provided in the kit on sprue R.
4) There is no searchlight platform aft of the second funnel.
5) Omit the catapult. Because the plan view line drawing is not correct, it is impossible to tell for sure if the cylindrical base of the catapult was removed and a structure built as for Aurora, but it seems to me that this was the case judging from the profile. If so, this part is also in the kit on sprue R. It also has the platforms for the two quad pom poms that were installed in her refit (these are in the kit too!).
6) A challenge is the precise locations of the eight 20 mm mounts. Seems to me, from the profile, that there is one atop each 4-inch gun crew shelter, another pair just forward of the second funnel, and a third pair on either side just forward of the first funnel. The 4th pair = ????
That's all I can figure at this point. Hope it helps. If anyone has any further or better info please share if you can. Thanks!
(Would be nice if Flyhawk would say if they plan a Galatea and, if they do, save all this trouble!)
Paul