The Ship Model Forum

Let me present to you my take on Samek�s 1:700 HMS York. I remember when I bought this kit about twenty years ago I was impressed by the fine rendition of the engraved deck planks. Today the kit does not seem all that impressive, but is a good starting point for making an attractive model. In the meantime Trumpeter had issued an injection moulded kit of this subject, but I wanted to go on with this build. This log is not going to be as detailed as my previous accounts, as my method of construction does not change much and I have written a few before. I am already well into the build, so some of the information will be in retrospect.
I do prefer the sharp details of a resin kit over those of an injection moulded one. The Samek kit, however does require some scratchbuilding to match the finesse of the Flyhawk Ajax kit which it will positioned next to in my planned diorama depicting Souda Bay at the beginning of 1941. A Flower class corvette (Triumph Model) will accompany the two cruisers.
This is my usual photograph of the kit and my journal of the building plan on my desk. Some of the reference material: Is usual I started with the hull. I added a styrene plate to the bottom to heighten up the hull allowing it to be recessed into the seascape later. The characteristic knuckle at the bow was missing, so I sanded it in. The hawse holes were altered in shape, the portholes drilled deeper, the ground tackle detailed. More soon!

The midship section is covered by the forecastle deck, so I had to complete this part along with painting before adding the deck piece out of styrene instead of the resin deck provided for a thinner appearance. This did not turn out a wise decision because the deck developed a warping later.

The aft superstructure had a wrong shape so I cut it in two by milling away some resin, then fitting a covering piece of deck over it. Numerous items of deck equipment were prepared
like the one in the next picture but most of them were temporarily attached to pieces of cardboard for ease of painting.
The resin components were primed with AK Fine Resin Primer from a rattle can. PE rigols and degaussing cable made of Tamiya masking tape can be seen.
The ship's name was spelt out at the stern by small PE letters Better this way:

Wow - off to a great start. Will be watching with interest!

Hi!

Nice details as always As I can see, the exploration of the details was still quite thorough, the notebook became quite dense

Martin thank you so much.
You never fail to encourage me and the others and that is very kind of you!
Szabi, you have a sharp eye!
This building plan actually amounts to two pages of small letter-text and drawings.

The bridge was detailed tier after tier with photoetch reinforcing straps affixed to the corticene deck cover. Bracing is taken from WEM County class upgrade set. The pictures show a lot of miniscule details added to the bridge. The after bridge was modified along similar lines.

The funnels had their openings drilled deeper, steam pipes (Albion Alloys), and clinker screen (0,1 mm copper Wire) added. Note that at this stage nothing is glued to place yet, all parts are held by metal sticks drilled in to facilitate correct placement when painted.
This deliberately allows for some slack, hence the out of true position of the aft funnel (which has just one positioning stick).
The catapult and crane are from the kit�s PE with added details, primed with AK Fine Metal Primer.

A beautiful subject !

I will follow it with great attention

Thank you, Yuth!

Ship�s boats and rafts are beautiful 3D prints from Micro Master, just as almost all of the armament. One boat is modified from a Combrig rowing boat. Masts were constructed from brass tube from Albion Alloys, yards came from Master Model sets. In some of the pictures the ship and all the additional parts can be seen together, ready for painting.

While in the previous part of this report was written in retrospect, further updates are in line with construction, hence the considerable delay in posting. The painting process started with the wooden deck which was covered with WEM Teak, somewhat lightened. I had to overcome the problem posed by the shelter deck and the quarterdeck portion around the 4� AA guns not having the groove pattern of other deck parts. Initially I had tried to scribe these two areas, but I would have to remove all cast on details to be able to do so, consequently apart from some faint lines, no grooves were present there. Eventually I drew some lines freehand with my 0.02 Warm Grey Marker. These lines, while not really regular or straight, gave a surprisingly credible result. I tried pick out individual planks by spraying them some variation of the original colour but to my horror the masking tape lifted the paint along with the primer at my first attempt, so I had to resort to fine brush painting. Applying AK Dark Wash for Wood Deck finished the painting of the wood deck. Next lightened WEM Corticene was sprayed over some decks, slightly lightened WEM AP 507A over other ones. In the picture above you can see Humbrol Maskol covering wooden deck portions next to steel deck areas. All AP 507A painted surfaces: With boot topping (Revell 9 Anthracite) sprayed on without masking:

After some minor colour modulation of these decks I applied a coat of lightened WEM AP507C over the vertical surfaces.
Here it can be seen with the boot topping masked:
To faithfully reproduce the characteristic camouflage pattern I laminated a copy of the 1/700 Profile Morskie elevation plan.
Then a strip of masking tape was applied over it, the outlines of the camouflage panels (corrected according to period photographs) drawn in, the tape transferred to a hard surface, the individual panels cut out and attached to the model.
The camouflage of the superstructure was hand painted for masking of the complex structures would have been very hard. WEM AP 507B was sprayed over it generating the desired pattern.

With the basic colours added I moved on to the paint effects. First I reduced contrast and provided some variation of shade using the method described by Marijn van Gils: adding drops of blue, red, brown, tan and green over a surface wetted with white spirit then blending them. After letting dry for one or two days and applying a protective layer of acrylic satin varnish light and dark grey washes were applied using AK products. These effects are most pronounced around the ship�s bow. Next a pin wash imitating shadows was added to every nook and cranny using AK�s �Shadows for grey ships� oil paint. This was followed by highlighting all edges with lighter variations of the base colour. This was really time-consuming regarding the endless count of small details. After adding a hint of rust the paintwork was sealed by a thin layer of matt varnish. The weathering may seem overdone but regarding the wartime conditions it can also be regarded credible.

Uhh, this weathering looks very good. The painting really highlights the details of the ship.

Lovely paint work!

A serious illness hindered my work, but finally I was able to complete this build. After I had finished the painting process final assembly could commence. Railing was attached to the forecastle and quarterdeck plus the tiers of the superstructure. This step was not without unexpected difficulties. I used AK�s blackening agent in order to gain a metal-like, dark grey finish to the longitudinal of the collapsible railing without making them thicker. The photoetch of WEM ultrafine railing was immersed in the fluid apparently for too long as it lost its elasticity and became �hairy�, thus somewhat thicker. Stubbornly, I decided to plough with a railing which went amiss. The stanchions were painted 507C, and I attached lengths of the railing with PVA glue. Stanchions at the 507B panels were painted accordingly in situ. As usual, PVA glue was used to simulate canvas-covered railing in the bridge and after superstructure. It was a nightmare to deal with this railing, necessitating constant adjustment after the slightest touch and prone to breakage. After this ordeal all went well.

Worthy of mention is the rigging supporting the masts which, fabricated out of stretched sprue, turned out remarkably well being thin and intricate enough, and the ship�s boats, most notably the cutters carried outboard, complete with jumping net (stretched sprue construction) and elaborate rigging plus gripes (lead foil) (these could have been made somewhat narrower to tell the truth).

I was really afraid of the masts, being pole masts with their rigging having a supporting role just like in the original ship and retaining the rake of them at the same time. Forward planning of the order of attaching the rigging and careful selection of rigging material (caenis, lycra and stretched sprue), each to the task they are suitable for let me complete the rigging with remarkable success. I only made concessions with regard to the antennae which were supposed to meet at one point (there twelve of them!) and from there one strand would lead to the aerial trunk. Well, there are two strands � this does not seem to be a major flaw to me.

After flags (decals applies to aluminium foil, slightly weathered) were attached to the rigging the crew was prepared. I used 3D printed sailors from a number of manufacturers (Five Star, Triumph, ION and Black Cat Models) � a first for me, and I was completely satisfied with them. No more flat PE figures thickened with gel type superglue! 95 of them were glued to various positions on the ship�s decks thus completing the construction. I find this build thoroughly successful and look forward to the next member of the planned diorama � HMS Ajax.