Marjin wrote;
>>>
.......Slowly, she is starting to look busy.......<<<
Aye aye ...I think I am getting past the 'loathing' stage
( happens with every model of mine , when no tangible progress is visible despite hours of time expended )
but... new issues have manifested them selves and solutions needed to be found....
I added some divisions to the conning tower sighting slit ( not exactly accurate or to scale-- but buried underneath the flying bridge it will
give a better effect that merely a plain slit
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from "reading" old photos of Hood , her near sisterships, as well as other contemporary vessels I have 'deduced' the
boat rack walkway plan layout as installed below ( before I install the boat cradles )
These were made of brass strips , painted first and then glued on with varnish
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Rather trickier was making a start on the fwd bridge and wheelhouse.
The kit item alas .....
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does not really bear much resemblance to the real thing- (! )
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( though the deck outline shape corresponds to the scaled drawing-albeit a bit too fat fore and aft)
The real ship had the planking of the bridge run across athwartships, so I had to make new deck anyhow--as the kit item(...s) have no planking details
and suffer from solid bulwarks ( Hood rarely carried dodgers- so no excuse!!
)
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I had some PE windows left over from a (Chinese recast of Kombrig Magnificent ) HMS Mars kit I used when I built HMS Magnificent
link for anyone interested
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... /index.htmanyhow-
the proportions of the windows were significantly better than the above pictured Konbrig resin item.
but I wanted to represent the distinctive panelling below ( note for interest how in the BIG close-up the panelling is alternating diagonal )
==> not that I will try and emulate that anyway!
I cut down some more windows and reversed them onto the windows to gain the required height and ' look'
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The issues were rather greater on the aft flying bridge
The kit part matched the drawings ok..( the red lines denote the angles running parallel of the superstructure and the bridge
at this point I nearly gave up on the model ... as I think the drawings is accurate(ish) -==> but I fear the hull casting is not....
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Tediously -- the casting when compared to photos actually looks ok--I have not yet established where it actually( is/ might be) wrong
I ( allegedly
) " suspect " the Hood overhead view drawing with the kit is an 'adjusted' version of the Royal Sovereign Burt drawings
with which it is completely and totally identical apart from the turrets
I have been hitherto unable to locate that Hood overhead view drawing, despite having both the new and old versions of Burts book
anyhow I digress-
-the kit part was in any case unusable--as the aft bridge wing angles need to be parallel to the superstructure-,-whilst clearing vents etc
some frustrating hours spent establishing the correct outline and relative proportions to gain correctly positioned overhangs
not as easy as it seems..
( it was made more difficult by me having installed the conning tower and vents /... doh!
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I reached an acceptable compromise shape that looked about OK-- more of that soon
Having decided NOT to give up on the model... I wanted to do something seemingly more satisfyingly constructive--
so set about installing the forest of cowl ventilators on foredeck , midships and aft.
Not all of the possible vent positions would have been used all the time at sea...( or in port)
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so I made and installed many of the vent 'stub' positions as well
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These vents nearly eluded me-- not shown on any drawings -- but I got the clue from this image
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and then was able to see it here ( at last !)
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....... and having fun again at last...... I made the aft hawse-pipe surrounds
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and the very large prominent bow-crest-- made of thin brass-wire twirled around other small wires and flattened
whilst not EXACTLY the same - the outline and proportions are about right
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with some gold paint added and a bit of touching up it looked a bit crisper
( note also the low black coaming bulwark added of brass at the bow)
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Back to obsessive minutia....
this is the ONLY image(I have found so far ) where these steam pipes are clearly identifiable-usually obscured by ships boats
-and as far as I can ascertain the other sisterships did not have them (?!)
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they were fiddly to make and install
With the imminent building and installing of the flying bridges and their spindly supporting legs I think the model will start to look more interesting soon
JIM B