It's not really in the league of some of the other scratchbuilt masterpieces here - it's "only" 1/200 scale and is a waterline static model. However it is my first serious scratchbuilt ship model so I didn't really want to start at the deep end! In any case I don't really have storage/display space for models more than about 3ft/1m long; this was my main reason for picking 1/200, I originally intended 1/150 or 1/96 but simply don't have the space.
I built a 1/200 Tribal-class destroyer a couple of years ago, I didn't have much experience or knowledge of ship modelling at the time, not to mention a lack of reference books, so the model isn't particularly detailed or accurate. I'll post some photos of it another day!
The hull shape was constructed by measuring the Airfix kit at 1cm intervals, then multiplying the numbers by 3 and marking them on 1.5mm styrene card at 3cm intervals. I then cut between these marks and sanded the edges smooth to create the deck (made in two parts, the forecastle break makes this easy to do), then wrapped strips of 1mm styrene sheet (4 in total) around this to create the hull sides. A simple process but gives reasonable results for a waterline model. The distinctive stern profile was added afterwards, and the bow (where the ends of the strips meet) was covered over to create a smooth curve. The armour belt is 1mm and 0.75mm styrene card, with filler putty added at the edges and sanded smooth.
Note that this is very much a "low budget" build and if possible I'll be building it entirely from styrene stock, metal wire + mesh, and spares-box oddments from other kits. I won't buying any aftermarket metal armament, railings, fittings etc.
The one problem with this will be the lifeboats and motor launches - not sure how I'll do these. I may use resin or metal casting for the Carley floats/liferafts.
So far, I have completed the basic hull and deck, I've added the armour belt but have not yet got round to other details such as portholes. I've also added the planking to the fore and aft deck. This is represented by 1mm textured styrene card.
Anyway, here are the photos of what I've built so far:
Two views of the hull.
Comparison with the hull of the Airfix 1/600 model. It's surprising how much bigger the ship is when scaled up by a factor of 3!
Hull with deck planking added.
Next stage is to add the basic superstructure (sidewalls and decks); detail will be added to these "in situ".
