While I await response from NMM concerning what as-fitted plans may be available to shed some light on my superstructure issues, I have been working on some more of the smaller details.
Dorsetshire carried two eight-barrel pom-pom mounts on raised platforms which extended from either side of the forward end of the aft superstructure. The pom-poms are complex little assemblies, as are most multiple gun anti-aircraft mounts of this period. I started construction with the base of the mount which consists of a circular platform divided into various segments, which are then place at several different levels on a supporting frame. The side brackets for the gun mount itself were cut from sheet plastic, to which disks were added to each side to represent the elevating mechanism.
These were then assembled and the spent cartridge chutes were added at the bottom.
The gun assembly itself was constructed using various plastic blocks, tubes and rods.
Initial stages of ammunition box construction.
An assembled ammunition box. The raised detail is somewhat �impressionist�, being much more elaborate on the prototype, but beyond my abilities and patience until I learn to photoetch. The ammunition is a piece of photoetch stolen from an aircraft detail set.
Preliminary assembly produces the beginnnings of a (hopefully) recognizable rendition of a pom-pom mount.
Still to be added are many details such as railings, motors, sighting mechanisms and other assorted "bits and boxes".
Steve,
I love scratchbuilding too, rather than using PE�s, and I love your work. Keep it that way, and keep us informed.
I have to say that I have downloaded your pom-pom pictures, to have a clue of how to make my own in 1/300 for my Arethusa.
Thanks a lot and best regards,
Willie.
Amen dico tibi, hodie mecum eris in paradiso (Lk 23,43).
Thanks very much for the kind words. I don't envy you trying to build pom-poms in 1/300, as it is difficult enough in 1/192. The build is at a bit of a standstill at the moment as I wait (and wait and wait) for response from NMM on as-fitted plans, but I will continue to update as I make progress.
After a seemingly interminable wait, the as-fitted plans of Dorsetshire have finally arrived from NMM. They are wondrous things to look at and, in addition to being pieces of history, are real works of art. Prior to receiving these the only Admiralty drawings I had seen were illustrations in books such as John Roberts� British Warships of the Second World War which really, because of the much reduced size, do not come close to doing them justice. The quality of the draftsmanship is quite high and major items are often �rendered � to give an indication of texture and shading. Revisions to the ship made over the years are drawn right onto the original plan, with items moved or removed being hatched out with short parallel lines, and new items being drawn directly over the old. Modifications made during different years are apparently drawn in different colors, so I would imagine the originals are quite beautiful. The Dorsetshire originals seem to be in pretty good shape and the quality and readability of the reproductions sent by NMM are excellent.
In addition to the upper deck, superstructure and rig plans, I also obtained the main deck, profile and section sheets, mostly because I was curious about the interior layout of the ship. The interior plans are quite detailed and show the layout of furniture and equipment as well as more mundane items, such as ventilation ducting and ceiling fans. I have not had a chance to really study them yet, but I can foresee many pleasant hours �exploring� the ship.
The main reason for getting the plans was to correct some errors in the model that were spotted and brought to my attention by wr. As I have explained previously, I am building the ship as she was after her last major refit in 1937, but I was using a two-sheet plan set drawn by Norman Ough of the ship as originally built in 1930. Using what photos I had of the ship after 1937 I modified my set of plans by drawing the modifications, as best as I could determine them from the photos, over the original in much the same way the Admiralty drafters did.
The most egregious error was my misplacement of the aft 4" gun mount platforms too far aft. On going back to the photos I immediately saw the problem and redrew that area on my plans. On comparing my revised drawing with the as-fitted plans it turns out that I was able to draw it very closely to the actual layout from the photos, but now I will be able to rebuild the area more accurately. Another area wr questioned was the fore-to-aft width of the 4" gun and pom-pom platforms, but according to the as-fitted plans I had correctly derived these from the photos at 23 feet for the 4" platforms and 22 feet for the pom-poms.
A third area of concern was raised by wr in a somewhat cryptic statement that Ough�s plans are �inaccurate in subtle ways.� I had assumed Ough drawings would be basically accurate, and that I could rely on them with confidence to locate items of the ship�s structure that were common in both 1930 and 1937, such as the main gun turrets and major superstructure blocks. I again turned to the photos and Ough�s plans, trying to discern what the �subtle errors� might be. Things looked pretty good forward, but aft I wasn�t so sure. On comparing the as-fitted upperdeck plan with Ough�s I found that, measuring from the bow, the locations of the fore turrets and superstructure were the same, but as one moves aft small inconsistencies begin to appear. The aft superstructure on Ough�s plan appears to be drawn about 2 feet too short and located 2 feet too far forward and this has the effect of placing X and Y turrets 4 feet too far forward - about one-quarter of an inch on the model. Its not a huge discrepancy, but it is noticeable and I will correct it.
Although I initially resisted wr�s advice that I needed these as-fitted plans, I can see now that he was absolutely correct. Beyond clearing up the dimensional issues and other questions, they contain a host of detail and information that will allow me to build a more accurate and complete model. I am starting the necessary deck and superstructure corrections immediately and hope to be getting back to more regular updates on the project soon.
All the info is at my office. I can give you an exact timeline tomorrow, but the whole process, from my initial email to them to receiving the plans, was over two months.
As a comparative new member I have only just come across your build and I am very impressed particulary with you building all those little "fiddly weapons bits".
It was also very interesting to read about your plan tribulations. To have embarked on the process then consider midway through revisions to your hardwork must be frustrating to say the least.
I appreciate your effort on keeping us updated on the build and look forward to more updates now you have "real plans".
Thank you AR, actually I'm working at the HMS Barham 1941, using Raven/Roberts drawing ( in british battleships of WWII ) and profile Morskie drawings, I think the sequence of production was : "as fitted plans -> Raven/Roberts drawings -> Profile Morskie drawings.
I'm using Raven/Roberts plans to check the Morskie, that have some mistakes, this time I have enought info to complete the Barham with very limited " guessing ".
In a next future I would like to come back to the Exeter, this time in her final fitting, with the as fitted plans and a larger scale model, but I must wait some month, a bit of time must pass before to build another copy of the same ship also if in a different fitting.
Dino
PS: Sorry Steve for my reply off topic but I was in the need to answer AR
Here is the approximate timeline for my order from NMM:
Jan 8- Sent initial email.
Jan 16 - Sent second email.
Jan 24 - Received email requesting my mailing address. Replied immediately.
Feb 14 - Received letter dated Jan 31, along with printed order form listing Dorsetshire drawings and use agreement. Sent my order in the next day.
Mar 16 - Received the plans.
To be fair, they did tell me in the letter accompanying the order from that they were in the process of installing new printing equipment and that the order would probably be delayed.
Jim - Don't worry, too much time and too many tears invested to back out now!
Mike - Going back and having to redo things is always frustrating, but at this stage at least its not too serious. The misplaced 4 inch platforms were such a blatant error that to have finished the model in that state would have been far worse.
I may have forgotten to mention; it will be worth your while to get some good person to go to the IWM and take a COMPLETE set of detailed photos of Ough's 1" = 16' scale model of Dorsetshire as she appeared AFTER the 1937 refit in drydock.
THis model will inspire you. It did me when I first saw it at the age of 14.
The model MAY be showing it's age a little but not to worry about using it for reference.
quote="Steve Sobieralski"]Laurence-
Here is the approximate timeline for my order from NMM:
Jan 8- Sent initial email.
Jan 16 - Sent second email.
Jan 24 - Received email requesting my mailing address. Replied immediately.
Feb 14 - Received letter dated Jan 31, along with printed order form listing Dorsetshire drawings and use agreement. Sent my order in the next day.
Mar 16 - Received the plans.
To be fair, they did tell me in the letter accompanying the order from that they were in the process of installing new printing equipment and that the order would probably be delayed.
Jim - Don't worry, too much time and too many tears invested to back out now!
Mike - Going back and having to redo things is always frustrating, but at this stage at least its not too serious. The misplaced 4 inch platforms were such a blatant error that to have finished the model in that state would have been far worse.
Early in the build I was contacted off-line by a very generous person who shared about 15 large color photos of Ough's model with me. After I saw them I asked him to consider posting them on one of the warship sites, but he was reluctant to do so for some reason. (Perhaps if he is still monitoring this thread he may yet reconsider.) The photos have been very useful to me, and together with the as-fitted drawings should clear up most of the remaining questions I had about the ship.
The model is inspiring and every ship modeler should see it. I had seen some black and white photos of it (there is a small photo of it from PC Coker's book in the first post of this thread), but the color was a real surprise because of all the red/orange paint, depicting the areas undergoing refit still painted in primer.
I�ve been doing something no modeler likes which is redo work that has already been done. Sometimes you have to do it though, and fortunately most of the changes I needed to make were fairly minor and easily accomplished. I've also been spending some time studying the Admiralty as-fitted drawings I recently optained from NMM. In fact, there have been several occasions when I've intended to work on the model and I've ended up just looking at the drawings instead. It's been very interesting to me to see what the internal layout of the ship was, and as the build continues (hopefully at a somewhat faster pace) I'll share some of what I have learned.
The major changes required to bring the work I had already done on the model in line with the as-fitted drawings were moving Y barbette and the rear superstucture block slightly aft, and moving the rear 4 inch platforms and foundations forward.
This photo above shows the wood deck being removed in preparation for moving Y barbette aft. The deck came up fairly easily using a chisel blade xacto knife. Once the decking was removed the barbette and rear superstructure were moved aft and the decking replaced. When the new deck was sanded down the transistion between the new and old could not be seen.
The modifications to the aft 4 inch gun platforms are shown completed above with the platforms moved foreward to their proper positions. This also entailed moving the enclosed areas beneath the platfoems and required further deck removal and replacement. The smaller platforms are for accomodation ladders to the upper deck. The central portion of the superstructure was mostly occupied by the trunking from the boiler rooms below to the three funnels. The small space at the aft end was the blacksmith shop which contained forges, anvils and workbenches.
The photos above show the aft superstructure with some modifications shown at the pom-pom platforms. The angular cut-out at the starboard platform accomodated the crane during aircraft operations. I also added the small triangular pieces at the aft ends of the platforms which were shown on the as-fitted plans. Edging has also been added to the platforms as were the support pillars. The forward part of the aft superstructure housed the bakery and wardroom galley. The area surrounding X barbette contained the officer's heads and exercise space. The curved wall space under the catapult turntable was the torpedo parting space and was used to assemble and perform maintenance on the torpedos. The torpedos were moved using overhead rails and it appears that four reloads could be carried. The doors should actually be roll-up shutters so that is another change that will have to be made.
