Bucket List Project: Fletcher Pratt 1:600(ish) game of The Battle of the River Plate [Model Collection] HMS Achilles

This is a long standing project of mine, ignorant to the disrespectful advice on how silly and large a scale it is to play it in. True to Airfix 1970's childhood fashion, three plastic cruiser kits versus a pocket battleship kit .. recreating "The Battle of the River Plate" (see below, the final ship model for the collection, an Airfix HMS Ajax which has to be converted to its Leander class sister HMS Achilles .. which I believe is to do with the positioning of the AA battery? I will find out as I thinks there is an online copy of an Airfix magazine I need to read .. as I am not the first wanting to do this):   

The rules I intend to (first) use are Fletcher Pratt .. then we will see where that takes me. With this purchase I now have:

• HMS Ajax (Airfix 1:600) 
• HMS Exeter (Waterline 1:700 or an Old Russian 1:500 kits)
• HMS Achilles (Airfix 1:600 conversion)
• KM Admiral Graf Spee (Airfix 1:600 or Waterline 1:700 KM Deutschland)

Lets see how long it tales me to make and paint them. 

Update: 

From Bankinista, many thanks: Airfix Magazine Nov 1965 has an article on converting the Ajax kit to the Achilles at the time of the River Plate:
https://www.davecov.org/modelling/refer ... rsions.pdf

Painting Tray Update: Planes and Ships

1/72 scale Airfix Fw-190 is finally finished (I say finally but I [we] know that there really should be swastikas on the tail, but thanks to European law they are now illegal to sell even on historical models (!), so I would have to "free hand them" which I frankly bottled doing), so it should now be hung up like the Star Wars TIE Fighter (see below):

A slightly bigger (1/48) Airfix Spitfire Vb, now repaired with "odds and sods" from the spare box. The 20mm cannon, rear landing wheel, aerial and "watch your six" mirror, Requires a bit of touch up painting (see below):

A hive of ship building activity (Seventeenth Century style) as the paper, balsa and cocktail fleet takes shape. WIP includes 4 French, 2 Dutch and 2 British "man-o-war" (see below):

Note: The ship building has had to been put on hold to be resumed at a later date. The dockside crowds are chanting "We want forty!" But the wife is pointing to some DIY painting jobs to be done first!

USN WWII Battle-wagons: USS South Dakota and USS Washington

Continuing on a nautical theme, but this time some 2400 years later after the age of the "Salamis trireme", I pulled out some old Navwar 1/3000 ships models from the attic. I had been working on (one of my many stalled projects, ahem) the Guadalcanal Campaign and long ago had made an initial start on the USN order of battle starting with the battleships (see below, USS South Dakota [top], USS Washington [bottom]):

Being impressed with the effects of the "gloss" followed by "mate" varnish, particularly for a certain satin, subtle shiny sea effect, I upgraded my previous paint jobs. The USS South Dakota and the bigger USS Washington fought a particularly interesting battleship v battleship night action at Guadalcanal in 1942 against the IJN Kirishima (and some heavy cruisers). A replay of this action is on the cards using the "Tokyo Express" board game.

Looks like my house will have a permanent "varnish" smell this year as I work around my existing painted ships improving the sea bases and tackling the "naval lead mountain".

The Cutty Sark .. Er, well why not?

The next 'fun' project is another ship. Nothing less than the "Cutty Sark" from the ubiquitous Airfix 'small ship' Starter Kits (see below, primed grey):

The subtle twist to this one is that this is not a "school project" but a reaction to the last set of school projects, in that my youngest son was too young for a Tudor Ship. Seeing as he was so distressed I promised to get him one, to which brought a smile to his little face.

He then stipulated he wanted to paint it all gold .. which will be er, interesting!
 

Tudor Battleship Production Line

A "Spot the difference competition", or rather a challenge as there are no prizes to award. The topic is my overflowing Painting Table (see below, photograph I circa 1980):

And again. What's the difference? (see below, photograph II circa 2014):

The answer is .. none, other than the sepia setting (hit by accident by me on the camera). The Mary Rose and HMS Victory kits are selected from the maritime Airfix "Starter Kits" range and could have been made in either era.

The reason for this annexation of the dining table was a looming Tudor School Project deadline. If you look carefully there should be three Mary Roses WIP (well one is still technically in the box) as well confusingly a HMS Victory chucked in for good measure (that one was a project of mine that I had lingering around in a cupboard for a while).

Looking forward to Xmas already: "Dear Santa I am a big kid and want to pretend I am eleven again and play 'make a model' on Xmas day!"

HMS Implacable gets a "It's Rigging"

I had 'almost' finished drilling holes in the ship. One last one to do remained. Two thirds the way up the 'middle sail' a hole needed to be gently drilled to fix a rope to the top of the 'aft sail'. Instead of a quick clean turn I seemed to have to resort to more force than usual. As I was wondering why this should be so I felt a peculiar and unpleasant sensation in my forefinger :(

Warning: Small metal modelling drills can be more dangerous than you think! OK not quite a trip to A&E (aka a UK hospital) but a stinging reminder to keep drill points sharp so you can keep more control over the drilling process (see below the result of complacency):

Medic! Looks like I'll live!

But please note the small (nay tiny) diameter of the puncture wound, but I drilled it quite deep all because of the "gunked-up" super-glue on the end of the drill tip. Please don't try this at home (see below):

After a medicinal "cup of tea" I got back to the business of rigging, a slow and tedious affair which I am still trying to perfect (see below):

Steady as she goes, no need to rush this bit (see below):

Otherwise you will curse yourself as you see your beloved model tumble before your eyes and bounce off the carpet. Maybe it was down to the numb finger, or maybe I should have just taken a break, but I was almost finished before tragedy struck :(

Sigh, I twisted and straightened it but the bow-spit still looks a bit bent (see below):

I soldiered (or should that be sailor-ed) on and finally finished her to join the squadron of Royal Navy 74's ready to serve the crown (see below):  

Next (after a small healing interlude): Some opposition from the French Navy

HMS Implacable gets a "Lick of Paint"

My third Navwar 1/1200 Royal Navy "ship of the line" circa third rate (74), HMS Implacable, comes across the Painting Tray. The sails and deck and wooden walls get the standard three colour (shade, base and highlight) treatment and 'most' of the holes are already pre-drilled for the rigging stage (see below, sails to the foreground):

HMS Implacable is another example of a captured French warship (aka the ex-French Duguay-Trouin) that provided useful service to the Royal Navy. 

To distinguish her from the other captured Frenchman, aka HMS Canopus (previously the Le Franklin) I painted the top of her deck cabins red. Hence she can now be identified at a distance as the "red" ship so the base does not have to be picked up and annoyingly moved (never to be put back into quite the same place) from the wargames table (see below, hull now to the foreground):

While still in the painting phase I did a small trial run with the masts as a precursor to the fiddly rigging stage to see that all was well (see below):

Can you spot the difference?

I do tend to stare a lot at the 1/1200 Napoleonic Ships after I've finished the initial "painting stage" and before the treacherous "rigging stage". I think it is just a case of building up confidence before going on (see below):

Answer: The difference between the two shots being the consumption of a cup of tea by me. ;)

In Formation:

My squadron of Royal Navy 74's or 74'ish as HMS Canopus is technically an 80 gunner. I am also viewing basing sizes for the "card stock" sea I have to mount them on. There has been enough tumbling ships to date to fill my lifetime, so a more secure means of handling my Napoleonic ships is sought (see below, going left to right  HMS Thunderer, HMS Canopus and the "red" HMS Implacable):

Next: The Damned Rigging (Again)

I can see the sea!

From actions furious fought on The Brown Sea to sailing peacefully along in formation in The Blue Sea (see below):

A majestic display of Royal Navy might a 74 (HMS Thunderer), 80 (HMS Canopus) and another 74 (HMS Implacable).

The sailing formation is especially posed for the camera ;)

The commissioning of HMS Canopus (80 Guns)

I have been putting this off for a while now but I faced my fears as in "Napoleonic Ship Rigging". HMS Canopus is put through her rigging paces, firstly with her bow-spit (see below):

Then her fore and mizzen masts, see the innocuous spidery threads appearing (see below):

Tip: It was so much easier having pre-drilled (some but sadly not all) 'thread holes' on the ship before I started attaching the masts and sails (see below):  

Tricky business but thankfully I have a cup of char to hand as HMS Thunderer and HMS Canopus share a berth together (see below):

The aft mast and sail is stuck firmly into its place (see below). Sadly I had forgotten to drill the wholes associated with rearmost mast ropes so there was a 'tense moment' as I had to add another couple of holes.With all three masts in place she is coming together rather nicely (see below):

Half of the RN squadron is now constructed, with another (74) and (100 aka HMS Victory) still to do. Both completed ships (HMS Canopus [left] and HMS Thunderer) really need a 'flag' and I need to figure how to put on some "ratlines" running up from the base of each mast to add a touch of class to the model (see below):  

A little closer look at HMS Canopus. The central rigging does add a bit of much needed internal strength to hold the masts together (see below):

Apologies for any incorrect or misuse of nautical terminology. That is two down and just another "six" (Napoleonic battleships) to go, but I am short of "frigates" so I may have to invest in another Navwar "Fleet Pack" nearer my birthday

Note: As this is way off in the autumn it gives me a fighting chance to complete the "six that are on the stocks" first.

;)

Revell kits to watch out for in 2013

Two "naval" spots from Revell:

Spot one:
1/700 RN WWII "HMS Kelly"

For WWII destroyer actions a re-release of an old Matchbox kit methinks, HMS Kelly (a WWII RN J-K Class Destroyer), waterline to boot (see below):

I just hope Revell release the other Matchbox waterline ships of yore too:

• USS San Diego
• USS Indianapolis
• USS Fletcher
• HMS Exeter (very tasty, I do have a 1/500 scale kit of this "but" in 1/700 is far better)
• HMS Duke of York
• HMS Ariadne
• KM Graf Spee
• KM Narvik Class "Z" Destroyer
• KM Bismarck.

Spot two: 
1/1200 WWII "IJNS Shinano"

I have already got this one but it is nice to see it releases from the back catalog (see below):

Model on and good hunting!

Note: Still trying to spot that J-K class destroyer in the model shops!

Naval WWII "Heavy Metal"

Ahoy there sailor!

Over the Xmas holidays I managed a couple of 'late nights to myself' with a 'brandy and lemonade' (yes I was raiding the drinks cabinet in the small hours) putting together my last two 1/1200 unmade kits from the Airfix "Sink the Bismarck" party pack box set, the mighty KM Bismarck herself and one of her taunting shadowers, HMS Suffolk (see below):  

I have to say, it was not a chore, but something I have been meaning to do for a long, long time. My naval wargaming comes in fits and starts, but the 1/1200 scale KM Bismarck kit is a "quick assembly" pleasure to put together (see below). Note: I already have one done from the Revell 1/1200 waterline series, as well as possessing a 1/1200 metal kit, but I think the Airfix one is far superior (or am I just getting nostalgic?), a side effect perhaps of already having the 1/600 scale model kit available to shrink down (and thus 'reduce' any modelling errors). 

HMS Suffolk was another delight (see below), again Airfix make her in 1/600 too so the same short odf "error reduction" is probably at play here again. 

As per my original "Sink the Bismarck" post way back, I was extremely lucky to be gifted two of these RN County class cruisers in my "Sink the Bismarck" set by some kind Airfix "packing elf" (I just hope no one was one short somewhere else in the world). I briefly toyed withe idea of converting the second 'County' cruiser into the historic "scouting cruiser" partner (HMS Norfolk) but when I discovered it was slightly more fiddly than "raising up and filling in" the lowered stern (HMS Suffolk has a stern that drops down just a tad for an eighth of the ships length) I "passed" and will  happily call her HMS Berwick (an identical Suffolk sister that did sterling convoy work) or generically refer to her as "an eight inch RN cruiser".
  

Just Putting Plasic Things Together (WWII IJN 1/700 Submarines): Part V

These Tamiya 1/700 kits are lovely, though expensive and I have to be "in a naval zone" to have a go at them. The IJN submarines here are double the scale (reduced) of the Revell U-Boats (see previous posts) but in reality were twice the tonnage, so length wise they are not too far off. Unlike U-Boats the Japanese Submarine Cruisers were designed to be the "eyes of the battle fleet". 

Japanese Cruiser Submarine: I-16 with Kaiten midget submarine (see below). It took part in the Pearl Harbour operation (see below):

Japanese Cruiser Submarines I-58, he deck bubble at the front housed a float plane, again ideal for the "eyes of the fleet" role envisaged for it (see below). This is the submarine that sank the USS Indianapolis in 1945 but after it had delivered the second atomic bomb.

I chose the simple underwater assembly, there were more hoists, railings and spars to add (as well as a float pane) for the surface cruising mode.

A Mine Laying U-Boat Whatever Next (Type VII D)

How about this for a dastardly and cunning idea, the Germans developed the Type VII D mine laying U-Boat. Longer than the Type VII C with a mid-section inserted carrying five static moored mine laying silos. This was a bit like modern ballistic SSBN's, except that they dropped out of the bottom of the hull and were permanently flooded being outside the pressure hull (see picture below): 

Another birthday present, stuck together and glued, I seem to be slipping into a "put it together" mode drifting away from painting and finishing things off.

North Atlantic rendezvous, a Type VII D, meets up with a Type VII C (see below):   

A game idea, a game idea, a kingdom for a decent game idea?

PS: There is no shortage of water where I live currently live as we've had above a months worth of "typical rainfall" for the season in just over twenty four hours (see above, there is usually a good two foot extra space beneath that footbridge).

Birthday Present - Das Boot in 1/350 Type VIIC U-Boat

It can be nice to be surprised. In short I am a happy man drifting through my forties (another birthday down) still making plastic models that I never asked for but when opened are a nice piece of history (see below):

This is the 1/350 scale Revell Type VIIC German U-Boat and it is a lovely detailed kit. Destined methinks to be painted as U-81 which sunk the Ark Royal (boo hiss) in the Mediterranean in 1941.

Once fully completed I will have to find a wargaming use for it ;)

Worse and Best of eBay Experiences

The 'low': Buyer Beware - I got what was sold as per the photograph, but I misread the sellers description:

I had this item on a "watch list" thinking it was a Games Workshop Empire Cannon suitable for my Renaissance armies. I logged on to see the seconds ticking down on the auction and nobody had bid .. gulp .. 99p and it was a retail value  of a tenner. A split second decision was needed and I saw no other bids so I went for it. Only then did I realise for my 99p (+£2.50P&P) instead of a "full" sprue of an Empire Cannon, it was just the 'extra' bits left over. Arrgh! Too good to be true and it  was. It's OK for a bit of colour to a diorama for a quid but not for £3.49 (although it did come in a lovely big package!). An eBay low.

However there was also an eBay 'high' (see below):

"Finally" I get two 1:1200 Tribal destroyers and boy are these authentic Airfix oldies (should be good quality plastic in there). This means I have the kit required (but not all painted) for the Vian versus the Bismarck night attack. In total this cost me £5.20 including P&P, at £2.60 a destroyer I am happy enough at that as it officially closes my 1:1200 collection. (Although I may have to give some thought to scratch building HMS Rodney, HMS Renown, HMS Sheffield, HMS Ramilies and HMS Victorious .. sorry did I really say I had finished?)

;)

The Prinz Eugen sails forth with a basecode of Atlantic grey

The "Sink the Bismarck" kits are still 'calling' to me (but they are on my 'list' of things to do so they are technically a distraction not a deviation from my 'clanky tanks' project): 

The Prince Eugen catches my eye for a quick once-over with the brush (see above), in many ways a miniature 8" version of the battleship Bismarck. So much so that even the chief gunnery officer and Admiral Holland mistook the Prince Eugen for the Bismarck in the opening phases of the Battle of the Denmark Strait and mistakenly opened up on the Prince Eugen first (much to the angst of the crew of the Prince Eugen):

The hull and super structure gets a coat of Games Workshop Adeptus BattleGrey (again just to use it up) and the decking Anita's Acrylic Dark Earth.The superstructure according to the Airfix painting guide is rather interesting in being a lighter shade of grey than the hull. Hmm, that goes against my usual WW2 warship painting scheme so I'll have to plan what to do during the forthcoming 'mid-tone highlighting' phase:  

She looks rather menacing if your are on the bridge of a County class British cruiser guarding the misty approaches to the Denmark Straits in 1940. The German force s for the Battle of the Denmark Strait are approaching completion what so the RN?

7TP's another thirty minutes painting on ...

Prototype camouflage pattern done on the "command tank", time for the other two "gun tanks" to catch up (see below):

Meanwhile while technically not a deviation (see "Just a Minute" Radio 4 game show rules) it is a distraction (but in my defence it is at least on the list):

The Airfix 1/1200 KM Prince Eugen from the "Sink the Bismarck" set. Will my concentration hold or will I be a kitten chasing a butterfly? Tune in next time to find out ... 

Honour the "Mighty Hood"

While the family slumbered from the roast turkey and the Boxing Day telly was remorselessly playing my paint brush feverishly worked away touching up the Airfix 1/1200 "Sink the Bismarck Set" HMS Hood. She was still the pride of the British fleet in 1941 when she met her demise (see below Luftwaffe reconnaissance shot):

The "old centurion" herself, the keeper of the seas for the Royal Navy, HMS Hood (see above and below): 

Still a graceful old lady, of over twenty three years old by the time she met her nemesis in the form of the KM Bismarck in the Battle of the Denmark Strait. Her rear turrets show below were atomised in that dreadful magazine explosion, which vaporised her stern works and sealed her fate.

Her 15" front turrets showed her teeth, but she scored no hits in the short battle with the KM Bismarck and PM Prince Eugen (see below).

Captain Leach of the battleship HMS Prince of Wales (PoW) watched with morbid fascination as the Hood was straddled by a well bunched salvo from the Bismarck (her fifth/sixth at the Hood which in battleship gunnery terms is extraordinary good shooting). Ominously he couldn't account for 'all' the splashes from the that last broadside which mean that 'something' had dug into HMS Hood. Leach had been keeping an eye on his C-in-C's ship as an earlier salvo from the 8" cruiser KM Prince Eugen had started a intense but "superficial" (above decks) fire amidships. The damage control parties had just managed to smoother this when the fateful salvo from the Bismarck landed. 

The Hood was seen to vent an inverted conical cone of intense heat and fire like that of a blowtorch aft of her funnels near her mast (engine vents being located there). This was the sign of an intense hidden conflagration deep inside her. Experienced sailors then knowingly watched the "Mighty Hood" with a deep sense of foreboding expecting the worst which materialise less than a minute later with a cataclysmic explosion which vaporised her stern and after turrets.   

Farewell to the great old lady,she left only three survivors, taking one thousand four hundred and fifteen souls with her.


Wikipedia, Warship.Org and HMS Hood Association sources: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Hood_%2851%29
http://www.warship.org/no21987.htm
http://www.warship.org/new_page_1.htm
http://www.warship.org/loss_of_hms_hood__part_3.htm
http://www.warship.org/new_page_2.htm

In particular HMS Hood Association:
http://www.hmshood.com/history/denmarkstrait/resource.htm

Note: This is a very impressive and high quality web-site as you would expect from the ship's association. Well done and many thanks to them for putting it together to remember the 'Mighty Hood'.