HMS Ark Royal (Airfix 1/600)

[CDW]

Bit out of my zone here but gonna have a bash at this as a break from the MASH diorama (waiting for bits/kits etc)

First off ... flash is present, but not too bad which is a nice suprise for me with airfix kits i've done.

Got the "Hull" together and have roughly painted some little life boat thingies on the sprue so far (pics to come when finished).

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Don't know whether or not to have a go at the water effect dirama (as per Rons' and Ians' masterpieces)

Any (and i mean ANY) boat building tips/hints etc more than welcome.

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[spanner570]

Colin, I'm 3/4 of the way through making this same kit....I don't know if you have reaches this bit, but the deck both fore and aft are a bad fit - at least on mine, and needed a fair amount of filla to get a nice sweep to the 'round downs' (front and back bits to you and me!)

Ron

 

[mobear]

love the yellow and green stripes(is this the norm for camo colours on british warships)lol,by the sounds of it this is going to be fun mate,good luck to you both

mobear

 

[papa 695]

A nice start Colin it's out of the box and the hulls together :laughing: will watch this but you must have a go at the water affect King George V was my first attempt so if i can do it i'm pritty sure you can

 

[spanner570]

Colin, as you will know from the instructions, Ark Royal was torpedoed and sunk in the Med. There are a couple of pictures of her listing when she was abandoned, complete with swordfish aircraft strewn on her deck on Google Images.....

How about that for a diorama? Flat calm sea. The ship listing heavily. Ian is spot on, I reckon you would do it proud......

Cheers,

Ron

 

[CDW]

Ole ... thats what i used to use to insulate earth ... tell how long it was ago eh

Ian ... i've managed sticking two big bits together without incident so i'm on a roll. I checked your King Goerge V pictures when i started this and it does seem a bit beyond me to be honest.

Ron .. same kit on the go then, spooky that .. not got to them roundy down bits yet, will be picking your brains along the way no doubt. will have a look at the torpedoed pictures and see if it's summot i could do. ta for that!

I've got a few bits together, and as per usual i just can't do this OOB thing ... looked at the box art and the little windows down the side have got railings behind them .. so it was out with the thinest wire i've got and make some..

got it in position by notching edges of plastic with scalpel ... glued it and when nearly dry just pulled it taught ... dont look too bad in situ in my opinion.

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[spanner570]

Picking my brains?! Me thinks it's the other way round after seeing this stage, very nice......Too late for me to try this 'cos I've stuck those bits to the hull with no railings. Doubt I could've done it anyroad!

Ron

 

[CDW]

Picking my brains?!

YUP!!!

Right then, this listing scenario posible diorama that you mention .... i've read a bit about the torpedoing and the sinking but couldn't find references to any life boats etc being deployed, just said that another ship came to take off the crew.

I'd expect the life aids to be deployed and be bobbing around the ship ... there'd be a few aircraft plopped in the sea too i would presume.

Any ideas mate?

anyone else who knows .. feel free to chirp up .. i'll have another browse tomorrow.

 

[Ian M]

Funny I have been thinking of buying one of these to keep me insane while I await one in 1/350..... Wishful thinking...

I will be looking in on this.

By the way WEM do a nice little PE set for this kit..... Sorry I'll shut up

Ian M

 

[spanner570]

After she was torpedoed, she didn't sink and destroyers went alongside and took off the crew, and the Navy tried to tow her into Gibraltar. Unfortunately after a time she became unstable and she had to be abandoned. She sank a short time after.....

The abandoning was all very calm and not hurried because it was thought the ship would stay afloat and could be saved. I don't suppose the crew even got their feet wet!

There was only one fatality amongst the crew.

So there would be no debris, if you look at the pictures of her you can just make out what look like 'ropes' or falls used to lower the lifeboats, this could indicate that the ships boats were used to disembark the crew after the attack.

But really I would suggest all you need is Ark sat there, suitably damaged, with the big list on.

The Swordfish can be seen hanging on for dear life, but I reckon they would slip over the side very soon, I suspect some have already done just that and would sink almost straight away.....and the rest are trapped down below.

Ron

 

[CDW]

Ian .. I've not yet used a PE set, slightly hesitant to do so as i may not do it justice ... the time will no doubt come though.

Ron ... thats basically the idea i got, the pictures i've got show those ropes but they looked just like hanging debris when looking at them for the first time.

The limited pictures available don't show any life aids abandoned near the ship which i woud have presumed there would have been.

Gonna have to think on this one... would be nice as a dio but limited display space is a creeping concern .. still got to find room for the 16x28ins MASH jobbie.

 

[CDW]

well i decided on the diorama .... cant resisit em actually

Started with ripping a hole in the hull, accounts say that the torpedo exploded when inside so thats the look i've gone for, the size is approximate and i've taken a little artistic licence so it looks better in the dio when listing. long nose pliers to rip the hull out in sections and a ciggy lighter to round the edges off a little

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The problem i had immediately was that there's nothing inside so i scratched a few decks with ruined floors from some card and balsa

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warped a little of the upper lifeboat platform to suit

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looks not too bad when all together, will be better when painted up and weathered. just got to damage the lower lifeboat dock and hang a few of the railings out the windows.

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started the detailing elsewhere.

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[CDW]

Gave the inner levels a bit of a revamp as i wasn't happy with them

Quick spray with primer and a gunmetal dry brush, made a couple of doors out of card painted darker grey

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got all the bits installed inside and have battered the side a bit more for effect, cut the railings and left them hanging, Gave it a final spray with car primer and messed up the paintwork around the hole to give a rippled/creased look, gave it a first going over with gunmetal dry brush as a base for the weathering/distressing that it will get when all together.

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[spanner570]

That's excellent torpedo strike damage Colin, a brave undertaking and you've cracked it.......Pity it's on the wrong side!

Ron

 

[CDW]

.......Pity it's on the wrong side!

Tush m'lord, you're in good foolin' today ....... or at least i hope you are or i'm having a paddy an it's goin' in the bin

Starboard = right... dunnit ????

 

[Fenlander]

When they were searching for the AR wreck, it turned out to be some way away from the 'official' sinking point. They actually found one of the deck Swordfish aircraft first and that is what guided them the last bit onto the wreck itself which was found to be sat pretty much upright. The guy that was accredited with the torpedo that hit the Bismarck's rudder was on the search vessel and was given the honour (or gave the honour depending on your point of view) of guiding the mini sub, flying it in effect, remotely onto the Ark Royal's deck. Although he had left the Ark before it was sunk, it must have been a great moment to 'fly' something back onto it's flight deck for the last time.

There were plans to raise it but I think these have been scuppered.

 

[spanner570]

Tush m'lord, you're in good foolin' today ....... or at least i hope you are or i'm having a paddy an it's goin' in the bin Starboard = right... dunnit ????

Ha, you saw through that then? I'm glad it was you that replied to my post first......'Course you're right......Bet you had a twitch first though eh?

Looking good..

Ron

 

[CDW]

Phew ...... ya got me good an proper there me old mucker.

Bet you had a twitch first though eh?

Twitch ??!!?? me backside went from normal to dustbin lid size then back a few times.

@ Graham ... interesting stuff mate .... i would have assumed the undersea currents to have played a part in the final resting location to be honest.

When we go "wreck fishing" off Inchkeith island up here there's sometimes a little discrepency in the GPS location from the previous year for the wrecks (think there's four of them, the Salvestria being one)

 

[papa 695]

Just caught up on this Colin some nice work with the wire/gaurd rails, and very nice work with the torpedo damage should look stunning in the Diorama

 

[CDW]

Got the base coats of colour on it, all the bits like cranes etc added ... starting distessing and weathering now.

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The anchors looked just like a bit of flashy plastic, just slightly less detailed than the rest of the small parts in the kit

Decided to make my own .... this is the first attempt, which will, in fact, do for me.... two more to go... oh joy.

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1/600th aircraft send you crazy ... stuck some props on for a bit more detail and about strained my optic nerves getting the roundels to look roundish and (at least) fairly real(ish) looking.

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