Hi guys
I'm new to this forum but not new to modelling, I have been a professional model-maker/engineer for 30 years so a bit of an old sea dog, 30 years ago i was very much into the R/C warship scene being a founding member of the 'Luton and District model boat club' and first 'Commodore'.
Anyway that's all in the past now, as i'm a new guy here I thought that i would show a model that I started a good few years ago which is far from finished. As the title states the model in question is Trumpeter's 'Hood' in 1/350 scale, it's still in very early stages which i'll run through.
It's cased, as I always buy a case before starting the model when talking 'ships' and once the hull is painted it's permanently mounted, one to keep it safe but also i find it easier to work on when it's solidly fixed. It's a waterline in harbour scene, the sea is still in it's basic state, the two patches are for small boats to add interest, the one closest to the ship will be for one of Hood's own motor boats, alas i've forgotten which, the other is for a small MTB boat passing alongside. At the time I bought everything available for making a detailed model, all PE sets, metal barrells for all guns, IIRC i bought different main turrets two, detailed Pom-Pom kits, figures and probably a lot more which I have forgotten. Painting is at an early stage too, deck has just had a base coat and first stained wash, there's another couple of stages for this before finished, funnel housing aren't fixed yet as there's a lot of rigging to do here first, bridge decks are also very bare at this stage with only a base coat on them, in fact none of the paint is in it's finished state yet.
I have a couple of pictures to show what stage the model is at..
Well that's the model, the big question in my mind is will i ever finish it? I have other much bigger projects that keep me busy but the real reason that i ask myself this question today is that i'm now the proud owner of the Trumpeter 1/200 'HOOD' kit which I didn't even know existed until xmas day when seeing a Trumpeter 1/200 Nelson on one of the Facebook pages, curiosity struck and I discovered the 'Hood', a few days later a courier delivered the box to my door that literally came up to my chin, I'm 5'7" so not tall but by no means a midget either.....of course I have since researched the kit and discovered the very impressive Pontos kit which will be added, I have also downloaded the latest from the Hood association website and will work from that to build a model just prior to her sinking, just after her new paint was applied about two weeks before she was sunk so the finished model will look fairly fresh, I will probably build it on slipway blocks just to add something to the model. As for when I start the model? well how long is a piece of string, as i said I'll need a case first and I also have those much bigger projects to finish although I suspect that i will start 'Hood' long before that.
Here's a picture of the 1/200 kit, it's big, very big and with the Pontos kit added should make a very impressive model and of more importance probably the most accurate model of Hood with the help of the 'Hood' association. BTW many moons ago (early 80's) i did scratch build a model of the ship in 1/150 scale using the 'Anatomy of the Ship' book by John Roberts, I still have this book which will be used again with this latest build.
Thanks for looking in guys..
Pete