The Ship Model Forum

Yes, another one!

First off, it's big! - not big as in 'ooh - that's impressive', big as in, 'Jeez, what have I done!', big as in 'where the *%^* am I going to put it!'

Bit of background, I remember making the Airfix 1/600 HMS Hood when I was 12 or 13, it cost 7/6 (37.5p) from the local post office. I remember my mum was pleased because her uncle Ted was on the Hood. He was Master at Arms, and the story I recall was that he was taken off the ship to go to hospital in Scapa due to appendicitis, just before the Bismarck chase. Sadly my mum died a few years ago so I can no longer find any further information. I do remember meeting him when I was very young, he was a giant of a man and he had lost the tip of a finger and would only say that he lost it doing something he shouldn't have done!

I will be shamelessly borrowing some of the excellent methods and tips I have picked up from some of the other similar builds on here, so if there is some duplication, I apologise in advance!

Did I say it's big -





Appropriately, I made a start on the 24th May. The hull requires some fettling, removing the moulded degaussing cables was the first thing on the agenda, I had done some pre-planning and has purchased a 'detail removing chisel', from a well known american tool vendor. I used it for about 5 minutes and had removed maybe half an inch of the moulding and quickly realised that it was going to take many, many hours to do it this way. A quick rethink and i reverted to a size 3 scalpel and no 18 blade, scraping at the detail with the blade just off the vertical to the plastic. 40 minutes or so later and the job was done. I was initially slightly nervous of doing it this way, but it was actually quick and clean.



I have made quite a bit of progress since starting and will update fairly regularly, allowing for 1/1 real life of course!

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

The next step was to rectify the hawse-pipes, Trumpeter in their wisdom have moulded them incorrectly, they should be circular as evidenced in many of the photos and images of the real ship available from the net and books readily available.

First off, the Hawse-pipe holes in the deck need scraping off and the template for the new holes separating from the fret. The first part of the Pontos set used!



Once scraped off the template is attached using the bitts and a panel on the deck as a reference -



the edges drilled fairly closely as it makes it easier to remove the waste -



and eventually all three can be removed and cleaned up



More soon

Cheers Jabb.

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

I followed the excellent method of preparing the actual hawse pipes themselves from Greenglade, some really excellent ideas on his build, hope it won't be too long before any updates from him and all the others!

I fabricated some boxes from plastic card and filled with Halfords Cataloy putty

Front -



and rear -



The external pipe mouldings were scraped off in the usual manner with the number 18 blade and I sourced some 12mm acrylic tubing off ebay after determining the size from John Roberts AOTS reference -



and sliced off some thin sections at the angle shown above to match the hull -



These were thinned down by rubbing them on a sanding stick until they looked right. They were then attached to the hull with CA -





I temporarily attached the fore-deck, and the Pontos resin deck pipes to determine the location of the holes and drilled these out -



And a bit of filling and filing and scraping with a 15T blade, a small scalpel blade because due to the size of the aperture, it is extremely difficult to avoid damage to the edges without that blade!

Couple of close-ups -





Hope that makes sense, any questions, just fire away

More soon!

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

There is no such thing as a shortage of Hood builds

Thanks EJ, onward and upward as they say.

I am planning to mount the completed model and gave a lot of thought to how to do this. I found some lamp finials all the way from America, why does no-one in the UK sell these? The downside of them is that they are an imperial thread, and consequently, difficult to match in the UK, but again, the interweb provided an answer.

I had recently fitted wood floors in the house and had some off-cuts of oak which I used to house the 11mm 1/4 inch sockets with the appropriate nuts captured inside them. These were then epoxied into position. The advantage of this method is that the finials can be removed and adjusted once the model is fitted to its eventual base

The components -



And glued into position, front -



centre -



and rear -



Any questions on this or anything else, just ask!

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Further enhancements to the hull, and I forgot to take some photos of this, but, this is basically the same process that Jamie of Sovereign Hobbies has done on his. The propellor shaft fairings were moulded incorrectly and require a bit of TLC. Plastic card was glued into the inside of the fairings to allow them to be streamlined from the outside, I also put some sprue in the channels where the metal parts go to stop them falling into the hull, because once glued and sealed, if one of the shafts should fall inside there would be no possibility of retrieval!



I also looked at the shape of the shaft supports, Trumpeter mould them as sharp edged rectangles, which are not very streamlined as I'm sure they would have been, photographic evidence was not forthcoming so I used modellers licence to make these look a bit better!



The rear strut is as moulded and the nearer strut smoothed.

The finished shaft tackle -



You may also have noticed that the rudder is at an odd angle, I decided to drill out the rudder support and fit it to the hull with some brass rod, this will make it stronger than the simple kit attachment point, I always seem to knock rudders off from my builds, this should strengthen a weak point!







I am quite satisfied as to progress made so far. A start will be made on the degaussing cables next

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

To continue.

I fitted the Pontos degaussing cables and found these incredibly easy to do! I started to fit them at the point where the hull rises from the after deck, that makes a great reference point to work from! Again I was a bit lax in taking pictures to show progress so I have lumped them altogether -











The Pontos etch is superb, the only issue is with completing the cables around the ends, especially the bow. Its is now done and primed as you can see.

Paint next.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Hi Jab.
Have only just finished my 1/200 after about 2 years and 2 months work. If down the track you need a "how did you do that" suggestion,
feel free to ask. I would suggest, though, that you do not be a slave to the Pontos set, brilliant though it is. As you get deeper into your
build, you may find that some of the kit parts are just as good to use. You may also feel the need to do some scratch building.
Anyway, enjoy your build and feel free to ask about the many mistakes i made (there were many!!).
Tim.

Hi Tim

Thank you will bear that in mind, have been doing the underside of the shelter deck so plenty of scratching going on!

Oh and - pictures - we need pictures!

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Yes Tim, definitely need some pictures of the finished article.

Anyway, paint! I have a Harder and Steenbeck Ultra and I managed to source a 0.6mm needle kit (for about half the initial cost of the airbrush itself!), and, a cleaning kit. The cleaning kit comprised of a series of long brushes on twisted wire. What an investment, although I am quite particular about cleaning the airbrush after each use, using the correct equipment has made a huge difference!

Before putting any paint on the model, I brushed it all over with rubbing alcohol to ensure a grease free surface and I use Stynylrez as a primer, it gives great coverage and is so easy to apply.

The model is so big, it reminded me of painting car panels!

Once that had dried I used Tamiya Nato Black and Buff to do some pre-shading, pictures -













I left that for a couple of days and then mixed the colour for the lower hull, I mixed Tamiya Flat Red and Red Brown at a 3:1 ratio and thinned accordingly. I then masked the upper hull from the top of the boot capping and, now using a 0.4 needle, did this -







I am pleased with the effect, it is just what I was looking for, it is quite subtle and will provide an ideal base for weathering down the line.

I left this for a couple of days to dry and cure before going on to the next stage.

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Next stage was the boot topping, this will be quite weathered so, after masking off the lower line, I had calculated the width to be 9.9mm, so effectively 10!, I sprayed the area with hairspray. I then sprayed the topping with Tamiya German Grey, concentrating on the lower section fading off to the top, left this to dry and then masked this with a white 'Blu-Tak' sausage to create a random wavy line before applying the Nato black upper layer

Pictures -



the 'sausage' -



and the effect once removed -





This will form the basis of a chipped and weathered boot topping at a later stage.

Any questions or comments, just fire away.

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Here's a couple more pics of the boot top -





Following the advice on the HMS Hood Association site, I purchase these -



I thinned this down by about 60% thinners/40% paint to give a very weak mix, I have so far done a couple of coats, and I am now quite happy with the finish -













Although on saying that and looking at the close-ups, I may give it a light rub-down with some wet & dry and then another flash over, what do you think?

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Hi Jabb. Will try and post some pics, but at the moment i have a c..p camera and an antique "I" phone. Add to this, i am
of an age that computers are a mystery to me. When my stepson returns from the USA and if some kind person lends
me a half decent camera, will try and provide some photos. Have been trying for some years to work out how to post photos,
but failed at every attempt. I have several models i would like to post, but alas no luck. Am i the only ancient human to have this problem?.
Tim.

Impressive work! i'll keep my eyes on this one





Jose

Fortunately, thats my area of expertise, and I'm taking these with an iPhone, we do have a decent camera somewhere, but can I find it!

Thanks Jose!

Hull is now sidelined awaiting completion of the shelter-deck.

I followed the Pontos instructions and performed surgery on the upper surface, removing the majority of the details already there -





Having looked at plans, photos, books, web-sites and other build-logs, I have decided to populate the underside of the deck with Plastuct 'H' and 'I' beams as per Greenglades' build.

I located the positions of the pillars which will be fitted under the deck and drilled the holes accordingly -





I glued the 'H' strips to cover these positions and will then re-drill the holes -



The 'I' beams that lead to the edge of the deck are chamfered off as they would have ended against an edge on the real thing -



To place the 'I' beams towards the centre, the position of the various parts needs to be established, I did this by placing the cut-out wooden deck upside down into the deck -



and pencilling around it -



The beams could then be cut to length -



That's it for now, as usual any questions or comments - shoot!

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

FYI, rubbing alcohol damages polystyrene pretty quickly. Brushing it on will likely only make the surface a bit more brittle, but prolonged exposure is going to ruin your day.

Thanks for that, probably me using the wrong term, it is actually Isopropyl alcohol!

Cheers Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Hiya Jabb!

Just a note to let you know I'm following your build with interest and I really like what I see so far! You're doing a super job and this is going to be one beautiful ship when you're finished. Just a note - be careful with the Pontos instructions.They're not always 100% accurate - plus, they're damn hard to follow in places!!

Good luck and have fun!

Steiner

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Larry Steiner


Completed: 1:200 USS Missouri (Monster Mo)
Next project: Definitely NOT another big ship!!

Hi Larry, and thank you, I know exactly what you mean about the Pontos instructions, this is the fourth kit of theirs' that I have used. What I will say is that they are definitely getting better! The thing I like is that you can download them off their site and zoom in up to 600% or so without losing too much quality. They usually make sense at that level!

The underside of the shelter deck. I have added the 'H' girder longitudinals over the holes for the pillars, and now to complete the job with the lateral 'I' beams. I searched for a plan and or photos of this area but could not find anything specific so the fitted pattern is best guess mixed with a modicum of modellers licence!







When viewing the photo's, I noticed that the joint between the beams has a gap as they are not cut to fit together, I have now rectified this with a dot of PVA which did the job, once under the paint this will not be visible.

This job is all but finished, just waiting for a couple of 'I' beams to finish the job off -





The lower cabins fitted in once a bit of fettling was carried out, the ends of a couple of the beams needed nibbling off to get a good fit!

Any questions or comments, fire away. I have started the PE fittings and will review those next.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.

Photo-etch! It is quite apparent from comments and opinions on here that you either love it or hate it! However, it is becoming more and more common and has replaced plastic parts completely in some kits, obviously this one. There are NO plastic parts for the starfish and most of the structure is PE, so handling it has become almost a necessity.

First off, please let me assure you that I am no genius and make no claims to be a PE guru, but I would like to pass on some tips and tricks that I have tried and tested (and shamelessly 'borrowed' tips from other modellers)!

I have now used PE on 4 or 5 models and frankly, I now love working with it after a few(!) initial teething problems, like using the wrong type of CA, priming the etch before folding and gluing, using the wrong tools, folding the part the wrong way and when correcting it, it falls apart, or folding in the wrong order and when it comes to the final fold it is impossible to complete it correctly.

When I first started I used a 'Flip R Photo-etch folding tool', which is fine for the medium sized items but when it comes to folds close to the edge of an item, the part just pops out of alignment and it is almost impossible to complete this successfully.

If you are serious about your modelling, be it ships, planes, AFV's etc, a large number now include PE or it is available as after-market detailing kits, get yourself a PROPER folding tool, like this -



(I will state that I have no connection to the manufacturer or retailers of the above tool, other than as a very satisfied user)

I was a bit sceptical about using something like this, it looks cumbersome and difficult to use. Believe me it isn't!

The ammunition lockers under the shelter deck are on small stands, and the edges of these are about 2mm wide and require a fold down the middle to allow the legs to be vertical. I did one just by using my tweezers and the result was not very pretty, I used the folding tool and you can see a REAL difference between the two, one looks bent and twisted, the other is nice and precise, with 90 degree edges where required -



Even with my eyesight there is a HUGE difference between the two.

One of the items which is common to a lot of models are boxes, ammo lockers, tool store cabinets etc. When you look at the piece before folding, what I look for is 'which bit goes where'. In the following picture, a deck stores locker, for deck maintenance tools, has been cut from the fret, cleaned-up, and is now ready to fold. The way I would fold this is the 'inner face' first, ie., the side which fits 'inside' rather than the 'outside' section.



Looking at that part, I noticed that the fold on the long edge fits 'inside' the ends, as the fold line on the long side is internal to the dimension of the end part. So I would fold the long edges first to just over 90 degrees and then fold the ends up to the sides. The sides can then be adjusted back to 90 to line-up with the end and a small dot of medium CA applied to the corners internally. Thin CA can then be sparingly applied to the internal edges to complete and secure the joint. If done carefully, there is no glue applied 'outside the box' as it were.

I use acupuncture needles to apply the CA, and that tip can be traced back to Jamie from Sovereign Hobbies, thanks for that Jamie! I use tablet holders to put my CA in, one used for medium, and one for thin. The medium is used to make the initial bond and then the capillary action of the thin used to complete the joint -



The boxes were completed on a production line basis, first, cut them off the fret, then file the remaining tabs off, I hold the part close to the edge with the tabs on, using some ceramic tweezers that are available from 'vaping' shops (I believe they use them for adjusting the coil) with the ends squared off and use a homemade sanding stick just lightly rubbed across the edge, using NO pressure at all, just the miniscule weight of the stick. The first folds are then made to make the tube, this again glued on the internal joint, and then the ends folded up to complete.







The boxes were attached to the stands by carefully dipping one corner of the stand into the medium CA and placing this onto the upturned box, you should have a short amount of time to adjust this if not correct, but if the CA hardens with the two components incorrectly aligned, simply slide a scalpel blade or similar between them and pop them apart. If they are lined up, complete the joint with the thin CA. I made 16 boxes on stands, 5 skylights and 4 deck tool boxes in around about 90 minutes. I had one end of one of the boxes pop apart but re-glued that when I saw it, I also did not have to clean off any external glue marks at all.

Here's the result -



As already stated, I love PE, but please do not for one minute think that I am lecturing you on how to approach photo-etch, I am just passing on a few tips that I have used and developed which, for me anyway, have made this facet of our great hobby easier and neater to complete and frankly, a joy to undertake, rather than an endurance test.

If you have any questions or comments or you do things slightly different to me, let me (and others) know your tips.

Cheers, Jabb

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HMS Hood, the big one!

I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure.