WEM H.M.S. Barham 25.11.1941.

[zs180]

Thank you very much, my friends!
If it was not for your encouragement I would not have attempted to correct the crooked spotting top and it would have been a huge mistake not to do it!
I am now approaching the end of this rather lengthy build - there is light at the end of the tunnel!

[zs180]

Before adding the AA armament I decided to deal with the crew � a departure from my previous practice, as populating the ships has always been the last step in the construction of my models. The reason for this change is that the ships is depicted in a state of combat readiness and therefore most of the crew is seen manning the open AA batteries and the bridge. It would have been nigh impossible to attach the figures to the 4� AA guns or pom-poms already fitted.
I used 101 PE figures from sets of GMM, Eduard, FlyHawk, Lion Roar and Five Star. I prefer to use photoetch figures with adjustable limbs � essential when you want to depict them seated or at an other specific posture. Ratings and officers have been glued to a piece of sprue, then their flat appearance was ameliorated by adding gel type superglue to their torso � one tiny drop to the front, two to the back, as learnt from Marijn van Gils, however without the addition of baking soda. A coat of primer followed by airbrushing dark blue all over them was the next step. Details like faces and hands, middle blue collars, white shirts and dark blue caps have been picked out by hand using a very fine brush. A layer of matte varnish completed the preparation of the crew.

[zs180]

Next, eight of them were attached to the 4� mountings, six to each pom-pom, three next to the Vickers 0,50 machine guns, and the weapons have been glued to their respective places. I added figures to several deck levels most notably ones to the binoculars at the compass platform. They are minuscule and very hard to notice but there they are, sitting at their instrument. In all it is somewhat surprising how the ship soaked up a hundred figures � you have to look twice to notice them. The empty expanses of the forecastle and the quarterdeck must be responsible for this, but I resisted the temptation to put figures there � they are not supposed to stroll around when the crew is at action stations.

All that remains to do is to affix the railing, quite elaborate on this ship, and to add some flags.

[JIM BAUMANN]

most excellent progress !!
sharp, intricate and interesting

pek wrote...
>>>> I am now approaching the end of this rather lengthy build - there is light at the end of the tunnel! <<<

oh how I envy you....

still--I am already planning my next model (there-is-life-after-Normandie ...... !!! )
-- and I think it will be either
the Portuguese sail training ship SAGRES.... ( with Maltese crosses on sails--wohoo! )

or... easier and .... ( hahahah! ) quicker.... HMS Hazard- 1/350 - Victorian TBD

what about you....? another Battleship ...? or something different?

Best wishes
JIM B

[MartinJQuinn]

Wow, wow, wow, wow. Those figures are great and they add another level of detail to the model. Incredible work.

[kurusu]

still--I am already planning my next model (there-is-life-after-Normandie ...... !!! )
-- and I think it will be either
the Portuguese sail training ship SAGRES.... ( with Maltese crosses on sails--wohoo! )

or... easier and .... ( hahahah! ) quicker.... HMS Hazard- 1/350 - Victorian TBD

what about you....? another Battleship ...? or something different?

Best wishes
JIM B

Jim, I would love to see you tackle our School Ship. But just a little note. They are not Maltese Crosses on the sails, But from the Order of Christ.

[Daniele]

Very Sharp job
Never cease to amaze me how many details you are able to add in this scale .

Daniele

[marijn van gils]

Fantastic work George! The figures look great, and I like how they are positioned with a clear purpose in mind.

[zs180]

Jim, Martin, Daniele, Marijn,
thank you very much! Sorry for the late reply, but I knew the end (of the build) was nigh and wanted to show something long with saying thank you.
Jim, my original plan was to show HMS Barham, Valiant and Griffin in the same diorama, just before the fatal torpedo attack, but then I realised that the ships will be unrealistically close together. I will omit the destroyer from the diorama, just showing the two battleships.
I do not think I will ever depict big ships just sailing together without any special interaction.

[zs180]

It took much more time and effort than anticipated to complete the rigging. I begun with the signal halyards, quite numerous in this ship. For this purpose I used Infini�s ultra fine white lycra which has a diameter of 0.048 mm. I thought this would be thin enough and the idea was that the elastic nature of lycra would make it easier for me to keep the 16 double stranded halyards tight. It was not very easy to affix the halyards � I glued one end to the yard, then fed the fine filament through a hemicircular part (PE anchor link cut in half and glued to the signal deck) and glued the other end next to the first one to the yard. As I found it nigh impossible to simply feed the tiny strings through the small openings and not damage the halyards already attached I glued the leading end to a piece of human hair which acted like a needle. I used the Infini lycra for the mainmast halyards and the antennae between the masts as well. After painting the halyards did not seem so very thin compared to what I can achieve from stretched sprue. All the rest of the rigging is stretched sprue. The source of it is sprue from Revell�s 1:144 Suchoj S-37 Berkut. It is an inexpensive kit which yields very usable plastic of the right colour � recommended to everyone not willing to sacrifice an Airfix Victory. According to the usage of two different materials there is a slight discrepancy between the diameter of the elements of the rigging but this something I can live with. Otherwise I like the look of the rigged ship a lot.
Next I prepared and attached the signal flags (Five Star) indicating �my speed is 17 knots�and I am altering my course to port� and a White Ensign (Hawk Graphics) folded around a piece of aluminium foil and brushed them with diluted light grey to subdue the harsh colours, then glued them to the appropriate ropes. As a final act some matt varnish was sprayed over parts of the model where glue spots were apparent. The ships has been secured to a base plate more suitable for display but its final home will be in her diorama. After a construction spanning over four years this battleship is finally finished!

Some higher-quality photographs will be taken by a friend of mine and I will upload them to the �Completed Models� and �What�s New� sections. Many thanks to everyone who followed this outrageously long build for the continuous support and encouragement!
After some rest I plan to begin construction of HMS Valiant (Trumpeter), the other ship of the planned diorama.

[Pieter]

Nice work. Hope you will enjoy the IMHO rather basic Valiant. I'm looking forward to seeing what someone with your skill level can do to that kit.

[pascalemod]

Beautiful work and one of my favourite builds of this ship!

[Mr. Church]

Lovely job. As I said earlier the high standard of detail is more akin to 1/350 than 1/700. She really looks fantastic. Well done.

[litvin70]

Very very cool!

[MartinJQuinn]

Outstanding work. The details are sublime. Love the rigging. Congrats on getting her across the finish line.

[kurusu]

Outstanding.

[Martocticvs]

Beautiful work!

[marijn van gils]

Simply fantastic George!

This level of detail takes an enormous amount of time, but I think it was well worth it! Looking forward to Valiant!

BTW, will you include torpedo trails in the diorama?

[Dan K]

It's a magnificent build, simple as that.

[zs180]

Gentlemen,
thank you so much for your words of praise! So good to read.
To tell the truth, I am somewhat relieved to see this protracted build finally completed.
Pieter, I have built resin models for quite some time and will have to adjust myself to reverting to the different techniques of plastic model construction.
I regard the Trumpeter Valiant a good starting point to achieving similar detail level to that of my Barham, but it will require a lot of work of course.
Marijn, I have thought of including torpedo tracks, bit I deemed it too obvious. I think I will put a cameraman on Valiant with his equipment as a subtler hint on what is going to happen. The downside of this is that you really have to look carefully to notice, and be in the know to understand what it is all about.