Scratch-built 1/350 HMS Prince of Wales (R09) - Build Notes

[davecov]

No probs.

It was time to continue work on the Aft Islands of both builds. The major work would be the walkway that goes under the bridge windows and around each side. The walkway under construction:
Pic 142:


The starboard side is almost complete and vents have been glued in place just above the walkway. I have also glued fourteen roofs of the lighting hoods around the island:
Pic 143:


View showing both sides of the two Aft islands:
Pic 144:


Time to work on the ends of the starboard sponsons. The sponson bulkheads have been cut out:
Pic 145:


Sponson bulkheads were glued in place. The Hangar opening assemblies were also fitted with scrap plastic card filling any gaps:
Pic 146:


The lifts were cut out and ready for some detailing on their undersides. I won't be replicating every beam but will add just enough to look the part:
Pic 147:


Detailing underway:
Pic 148:


After hours of work, I have finished the detailing of the underside of the lifts and they will be fitted later in the build after painting:
Pic 149:


The cleaning up of the hangar door areas is progressing well. Here is the forward hangar opening:
Pic 150:


And here is the aft hangar opening:
Pic 151:


Another mammoth sanding session on the bow. The profile is getting there but I still need to remove a fair bit from just under the vertical bulkheads. That can't be done until the forward sponsons on each side are plated in - and they can't be done until the walkways are fitted:
Pic 152:


Prior to installing the walkways, it was time to get the filler out to clean up the edges and joins of the Flight Deck:
Pic 153:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

Then it was time to get working on the walkways. Here the stern walkway has been fitted:
Pic 154:


View from above:
Pic 155:


This is the walkway located forward of the forward lift, adjacent to the Forward Island:
Pic 156:


The walkway between the two lifts is made up of three parts:
Pic 157:


The walkway abaft the aft lift. Note the slots which provide stair access to the openings and doors within the sponsons:
Pic 158:


Here I have started to box in the underside of the slots. Since taking this photo I have blocked the ends with plastic card:
Pic 159:


Here I am adding the structures where the life raft chutes deploy. There will be three to port and two to starboard:
Pic 160:


It was now time to do one of the more complicated parts of the build, namely the forward end of the port side sponson and the other sponsons/platforms that merge with it. Here I have started construction of the 30mm gun platform that will be located forward of the port walkway. Note that even this not symmetrical:
Pic 161:


The gun platform has been glued in position but the underside is not finished. I have also started on the Vulcan Phalanx platform. As with a lot of this build, I can't build each part in isolation and just stick them on:
Pic 162:


I have extended the port sponson and started to "plate in" the underside of the gun platform:
Pic 163:


The gun platform has now been merged with the sponson and I then worked on the underside of the Phalanx platform:
Pic 164:


Another view. Note that the underside of the Phalanx platform slopes down slightly from back to front:
Pic 165:


Filler time!
Pic 166:


And after the filler has gone....:
Pic 167:


The starboard side. Since taking these photos I have blocked off the sides of these structures:
Pic 168:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

Time to start on the bulbous bow. As you can see from it’s profile sections, it is quite a complex affair:
Pic 169:


I cut out 2mm thick plastic card to the rough shape of the sections. As the sections were not thick enough, I had to add extra plastic card to each:
Pic 170:


The sections were glued together and you can see the sandwich of thicker and thinner pieces of plastic card:
Pic 171:


I marked out the section on the bow that needs to be removed to accommodate the bulbous bow:
Pic 172:


The bow after sawing:
Pic 173:


The bulbous bow and the two platforms that wrap around the stern:
Pic 174:


The two platforms were installed as was an extra platform on the transom. The transom platform alone was constructed from 18 pieces of plastic card! Filler was applied around the deck edge:
Pic 175:


After sanding smooth the filler, I started work on the sponson extensions each side of the lifts. The extensions are not all identical in size and shape:
Pic 176:


Aft extensions done:
Pic 177:


Forward extensions done:
Pic 178:


Aft lift glued in place and filler applied topside. I have started adding a little detail to the sponson bulkheads:
Pic 179:


It was now time to work on the walkway forward of the starboard sponson. I glued plastic card along the edge of the hull at flight deck level:
Pic 180:


The walkway at this area is a complicated shape and has now been glued in place. I need to plate in the underside and merge it in with the sponson. Originally, I was going to have both lifts in the raised position but now I am going to have the forward lift in the lowered position. Currently, it is dry-fitted:
Pic 181:


The bulbous bow has been sanded to the approximate shape and drilled to take a long piece of 6mm plastic rod. The rod fits into a hole drilled into the bow. It will need a lot of fairing in with plastic card and filler:
Pic 182:


Gas turbine air Intakes scratched:
Pic 183:


Three in position outboard of the Aft Island location:
Pic 184:


Discs of plastic card were punched out to make the gas turbine exhausts that sit on top of the funnels. The smaller, upper discs are not concentric but off centre:
Pic 185:


There are hundreds of small intakes, vents etc all over these ships and here I am adding a few to the islands:
Pic 186:


Other side of Forward Island
Pic 187:


The Aft Island which has also had a couple of triangular structures added:
Pic 188:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

I also added "lights" to the underside of their hoods on the sides of the Aft Island:
Pic 189:


The Forward Island still needs the external platforms to be added:
Pic 190:


View from the bow. I am quite pleased with the shape of the bow and my decision to leave off the bulbous bow until very late in the build means it is much better than the bow of my HMS Queen Elizabeth build. I still need to build the walkways in this area and cut out the anchor recesses:
Pic 191:


Last bit to do on the hull for the time being was to start work on the fairing in of the bulbous bow. I had to cut away a little of the sides of the hull and applied some filler:
Pic 192:


View from astern. I still need to add another platform on the port side of the transom on which sits the AN/SPN-41 Instrument Carrier Landing System (ICLS). I also need to add a landing stage:
Pic 193:


Some fiddly bits now as I started to construct the 12 aircraft servicing points located in the catwalks. I cut up some squares of plastic card first. They were then sandwiched together, with 4x3 and 8x2 blocks. Final shaping will be done after fitting to the catwalks:
Pic 194:


Lengths of square plastic rod was used to represent the fuel hose cabinets and glued into the catwalks. The rectangular block next to the "FP" is one of the many Fire Points located in the catwalks:
Pic 195:


A couple more aircraft servicing points outboard of the Aft Island. These two had additional stowage next to the fuel hose cabinets. Now that I have fitted the aircraft servicing points I am not totally happy with their size as overall they are about 25% too short. If I have time, I might alter them:
Pic 196:


I turned to the Forward Islands and started to construct the platforms and bridges:
Pic 197:


Platforms were added aft of the funnel and a small one added just forward of the funnel. When I built the QE I missed this small platform out! Hopefully, I am making a better job of things this time round:
Pic 198:


When I built the QE I used the S1850M Radar from the Airfix HMS Daring kit but I noticed yesterday that it has the wrong number of panels (five instead of four). I guess I could have filled the panel lines and rescribed them but I preferred to scratch-build one from plastic card:
Pic 199:


I also scratched the rest of the radar as well and it was fitted to the foremast:
Pic 200:


I have been busy adding platforms to the port side of the Forward Bridge:
Pic 201:


I have been busy with the Aft Island as well, adding movement boards and started on the traffic lights:
Pic 202:


DISASTER! Today (2nd October) I hit my head on a low beam in my cottage and I suffered severe concussion, double vision and I couldn’t even walk safely outdoors. Suddenly, my ability to model had been severely curtailed and my work for the next two weeks would have to be done with one eye closed! I contacted Darrell Burge at Airfix to tell them that what had happened and that our original agreed deadline of 21st October 2019 would not now be met. I did assure Darrell though that I would get the model finished in time for SMW 2019, Telford.

More progress on the Forward Island where I have fitted the various platforms/walkways to the starboard side. Radar platforms have been added to the foremast and the starboard bridge wing glued in place:
Pic 203:


The two extensions to the foremast were fitted:
Pic 204:


The walkway around the bridge has been fitted. I made this in one piece but when it came to final fitting, I cut it to make fitting much easier. On top of the bridge I have fitted an Electro Optical System (EOS) pod. This is actually a part from an Airfix Type 45 kit, one of the few non-scratch-built items in this build:
Pic 205:


Here I have started to add narrow strips of plastic card to the edges of the various platforms:
Pic 206:


View of both islands. The Aft Island has two Thales AS6000 HF Antenna which also came from the Airfix HMS Daring kit. I did scratch-build two of these but as I had a brief from Airfix to use Airfix parts wherever possible, I have kept them for my own build.
Pic 207:


The Forward Island has now been completed as much as possible before painting:
Pic 208:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[SimonT]

Cracking build Dave

As a scratch builder I know that a good set of plans is essential for a good build - were these provided to you by the Navy? The bits I can see look very detailed

Were the planes and helicopters scratched as well or are they commercial kits?

 

[davecov]

Simon, the Royal Navy asked the shipbuilders at Rosyth (Babcock International) to liaise with me and they were very keen to assist. They gave me side and plan views of the hull along with cross sections and detailed views of the islands initially. As the build progressed I asked for, and was given, plans for the ski jump, bulbous bow, props, bilge keels, rudders, stabilisers, anchors and even the location of every door. One thing I was never given though were full details of the form of the hull beneath the waterline I presume for security reasons.

The F-35B Lightning IIs, CH47 Chinooks, AH-64D Apache Longbows all came from Shapeways. The MV22 Ospreys are from Trumpeter and 4 x Merlins came from Airfix 1/350 HMS Illustrious and HMS Daring kits.

Dave

 

[JR]

Talk about dedication to your art Dave, this is amazing to follow and see the step by step photos. Do you keep a tally of your hrs !

 

[SimonT]

Excellent - thought they looked like proper assembly drawings

Thanks

 

[davecov]

Talk about dedication to your art Dave, this is amazing to follow and see the step by step photos. Do you keep a tally of your hrs !

John, I never seemed to have enough time to keep track of the hours spent on the build!

Dave

 

[davecov]

It is now time to get down to some serious painting – at last! Here is the Forward Island after a coat of primer:
Pic 209:


Here is the Aft Island:
Pic 210:


Both together along with the ski jumps of both builds:
Pic 211:


Time to start painting the top coat of light grey. Originally, I was going to play safe and use Humbrol H127 Satin US Ghost Grey applied with my seven-year old Harder & Steenbeck airbrush - the same setup as when I built HMS Queen Elizabeth. However, I ended up using a newer Harder & Steenbeck airbrush and an Aztech AZ7778 and for paint I used Colourcoats NARN52 (M01) - RN Light Weatherwork Grey (BS 381C 676). Here I have just given the Forward Island it's first coat:
Pic 212:


The coverage of the paint is very good but I will still apply a second coat:
Pic 213:


The Aft Island after the first coat. You might just be able to make out some filler on the Flyco where I hadn't noticed a hole in the join of the plastic:
Pic 214:


Leaving the painting for the moment, I turned to the stern where I started building the last two sponsons for a Phalanx CIWS and the SPN-41 ICLS Azimuth Transmitter (the box on the right hand side):
Pic 215:


These two together were one of the most complicated parts of this build - and there have been many. The main problem was that the original shipbuilder's drawings that I have does not show the SPN-41 ICLS and platform, only the Phalanx CIWS platform. I had to work out their combined construction using photographs:
Pic 216:


Another complicated area was the platform for the Phalanx CIWS at the head of the starboard sponson. Here is the void that needs filling. I have just made the bulkheads which are of differing angles and depths:
Pic 217:


Here I have "plated in" most of the bulkheads and applied filler:
Pic 218:


The "plating in" of the forward starboard platform for the Phalanx CIWS has finally been completed and most of the filling and sanding has been done:
Pic 219:


Another piece of geometric madness in this build (and there are many) is the small walkway that wraps around the hull just in front of the port Phalanx CIWS platform. It is a "Z" shape and this part of it is made up of eight pieces:
Pic 220:


The next part has been added. Note the cut-out on the outboard corner. This was not in the original design for QE but has been added since she entered service. An M134 Minigun or a GPMG is mounted here (not sure which but it seems to be the former). The outside of the walkway here has additional plating:
Pic 221:


View from the rear:
Pic 222:


Glued in position. The small platforms beneath the doors have also been fitted. I will fit the supports for those after the platform has been painted:
Pic 223:


The location of the anchor recesses was marked on the hull and I have started to cut them out. They have to be a lot deeper, wider and taller. Note that the forward walkways either side of the bow are not fitted yet. This is because the bow section is the only area where I can hold the build safely and the walkways would only get damaged if fitted now:
Pic 224:


Talking of the forward walkways, here they are. The longer one is the starboard walkway whilst the smaller one is for the port side. Note the pair of whip aerials on the starboard walkway. HMS Queen Elizabeth had one aerial there (the aft one) when she first went to sea although she does have the rotating mechanism for two. I decided to fit two complete aerials even though they are slightly overscale:
Pic 225:


The rest of the walkways are almost complete. On the port walkway of the real-life HMS Queen Elizabeth, the five life-raft stations have been given metal shelters. There are also two shelters like this on the starboard side. I can only think that they are there to prevent damage to the life-rafts by F-35B exhausts as they come over the deck. Of course there could be another reason but I can’t think of one. I have made the bulkheads for the shelters but still have to make some roofs:
Pic 226:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

I have completed most of the fiddly work now. The hull needs a lot more sanding though and last night I worked on the fixings for the base. It gave me the opportunity for a photo-op to show the build up to now. The ski jump, islands and forward walkways have not been glued in place yet:
Pic 227:


It is only when it is on the kitchen worktop that you get a good idea of the size of this thing:
Pic 228:


The Forward Lift area still needs some detailing but that can't be done until after painting:
Pic 229:


Although my previous post shown an almost fully-assembled ship, I have deconstructed it again to allow final sanding and filling of the hull:
Pic 230:


The landing stage at the stern was added and the underside has been sanded to the profile of the hull and is ready for filling:
Pic 231:


I spent a lot of time filling and sanding small blemishes and whilst doing so I noticed that the keel extended back a little too far. I had to hack 5mm from the end and it was then filled and sanded. One thing I did miss and fail to correct was the fact that the trailing edge of the keel should taper inwards to a point:
Pic 232:


The bow is looking better but there are a few niggly "kinks" in the hull that need levelling:
Pic 233:


Filler around the stern:
Pic 234:


Leaving the stern to dry, I made some locating pins for the islands. This was necessary so that the model could be transported with the islands removed and relocated easily. Since taking this photo, I have chamfered the top of the plastic rod. I may glue .5mm magnets to the Flight Deck and islands for extra security:
Pic 235:


The Ski Jump has been glued in place:
Pic 236:


The aft section of the Ski Jump is a very shallow slope and was made up from thin plastic card which was filled and is ready for the final sanding:
Pic 237:


Last step was to carry a final check of the hull, fill any remaining blemishes and sand ready for priming.The final step was to glue the forward walkways in place and get the airbrush out. The starboard side of the bow section after spraying with primer/filler. The coverage is pretty good:
Pic 238:


Starboard side midships section. The aft lift and the dock for the starboard RIB proved to be bit of a pain to get covered properly:
Pic 239:


The aft section:
Pic 240:


Stern section. A fair bit of attention with the filler will be required where the transom meets the hull:
Pic 241:


Port side midships section. Once again, the boat docks were difficult to cover with the airbrush so I may use a hairy stick for the first of the light grey coats:
Pic 242:


Starboard side bow. A little filler is required around the bulbous bow but apart from that it looks pretty good:
Pic 243:


Time to prime the Flight Deck and it took a lot of spraying:
Pic 244:


The aft section of the Flight Deck. The walkways were another area that was difficult to cover:
Pic 245:


BTW, by now the side effects of my severe concussion had eased and I was able to model using both eyes again. I could also walk without problems and was able to drive. Things were almost back to normal again but I still had a tight deadline to meet!

That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

Starting to look like a ship now...
Pic 246:


Turning to the underside, I fitted the bilge keels. Not an easy task as the hull shape isn't perfect:
Pic 247:


Having filled the bilge keel joins, I lightly sanded the whole ship ready for more filler:
Pic 248:


Flight Deck sanded and filled - again...:
Pic 249:


Priming, filling, sanding repeatedly is a necessary evil and sometimes you think you are making things worse. Here is the centre section after light sanding:
Pic 250:


The bow showing some small digs which still need filling. The sanding of the Port forward walkway is finally finished and it is ready for painting:
Pic 251:


The aft end of the ship where there wasn't too much filling needed:
Pic 252:


I gave the whole ship another coat of primer/filler and the finish is looking rather smooth. However, there are still minor blemishes that need sorting (such as you can see here to the left of the anchor recess) before I do the top coats:
Pic 253:


Rest of the underside:
Pic 254:


Aft section of the Flight Deck. A light sanding and it should be ready for top coats:
Pic 255:


View from the other angle:
Pic 256:


A rather smooth looking ship:
Pic 257:


After yet another bit of filling and sanding, I finally got the anchors fitted. I also drilled some hawseholes forward:
Pic 258:


And drilled some aft:
Pic 259:


The decks and platforms of the islands were sprayed with Colourcoats NARN54 (RN Dark Deck Gray):
Pic 260:


A lot of time was spent masking off the island decks so that I could paint the top coat of light grey:
Pic 261:


Both islands were sprayed with Colourcoats NARN52 (RN Light Weatherwork Grey):
Pic 262:


The hull got a first coat of Colourcoats NARN52 (RN Light Weatherwork Grey):
Pic 263:


As did the walkways and platforms:
Pic 264:


View of the aft section:
Pic 265:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

The Phalanx CIWS and 30mm Guns also got a spraying. These came from Airfix HMS Daring kits:
Pic 266:


Two ribs had Plastruct rod glued to them so that they can be attached inside their bays within the sponsons. Also in the picture are the four stabilisers which having been sanded to shape and will be fitted at the end of the build:
Pic 267:


Pics 268 & 269 Removed

Lift chains were made from aluminium mesh strips have been cut and will be fitted after painting. Also in the foreground is the centre platform for the transom. It is from this platform that ladders go down to the landing stage on the waterline:
Pic 270:


The Mainmast components. I still have a bit of sanding to do as well as adding a bit more detail:
Pic 271:


All the little boxes and platforms seem to affect the airflow of the airbrush and I have been finding it difficult to paint this large build without getting areas of dry paint. This has necessitated a lot of work getting rid of the paint "grit". Here is the bow after treatment:
Pic 272:


Forward starboard sponson:
Pic 273:


Middle starboard sponson:
Pic 274:


Aft starboard sponson. My next few painting sessions will be split up so that I don't try and paint the whole hull in one go:
Pic 275:


I have painted the islands, removed some "grit" and resprayed them. There is some touching up to do but they look okay. Here is the Forward Island:
Pic 276:


The Aft Island needs a bit more tidying up than the Forward Island:
Pic 277:


And so it goes on and on:
Pic 278:


No painting today. However, I spent quite sometime designing and printing off some decals. Apologies for any optical illusions that the yellow/black stripes may cause you! I have printed off two sets of island decals and I will be trying a new fixative for the first time. If it works okay then I will spray the rest. If not, then I will use Microscale Liquid Decal Film:
Pic 279:


BTW, the test decals that had been covered with fixative spray failed miserably but the ones covered with Liquid Decal Film passed the test.

The transom of the ship showing the addition of the final three platforms to which ladders will be fixed later:
Pic 280:


That's all for now

Dave

 

[davecov]

Very early in the build, I painted the hangar doors, inner bulkheads and deckhead with H127 Satin US Ghost Grey and the deck with H27 Matt Sea Grey. However, I have since decided to use Colourcoats paints instead and I have had to repaint them:
Pic 281:


I made the mistake of masking off the hull in readiness for the red but it was too early and the tape started to remove the light grey. Rather than cause more damage, I removed the tape, made good the damage and have left the light grey to cure properly:
Pic 282:


Apart from my fuddled brain, I use this high-tech piece of equipment to keep tabs on this build - a notepad. Two items (Bridge window wipers and PTBs) were only ever going to be fitted if time permitted but to be honest, by the time this list was made, I had already decided to leave them out. Lift chains have been cut out and need painting and I now have six out of ten domes to make:
Pic 283:


Mainmast, domes and Cobham Type loop antennae after painting and ready for fitting:
Pic 284:


Life-rafts painted and ready for fitting:
Pic 285:


Phalanx CIWS and 30mm guns painted and ready for fitting:
Pic 286:


Ribs painted and ready for fitting inside boat bays:
Pic 287:


Aircraft handling vehicles and crane painted and ready for fitting:
Pic 288:


The Shapeways Chinooks I bought for this build didn't have rotors. I have adapted some 5-blade Sea King rotors although they are a bit on the narrow side. Still, they will have to do:
Pic 289:


Lots of lovely painting today. First of all, I masked off the upper hull, rubbed down the lower hull (again) and resprayed the primer/filler:
Pic 290:


First coat of the hull red (in this case Colourcoats RN19 - Royal Navy WW2 Antifouling Red). I had thought of using other paints but felt happiest using this:
Pic 291:


Rudders and stabilisers were not forgotten:
Pic 292:


The first coat of red was left to dry, lightly sanded to remove a couple of minor runs and then the second coat went on:
Pic 293:


Masking tape was removed and I am delighted with the result. The black boot topping will be done next:
Pic 294:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

Boot topping time! The boot topping was given two coats of Colourcoats Matt Black and the masking tape removed. The stern has a few places where the red has been lifted by the masking tape. Note that I still have to paint another coat of the light grey which I decided to leave applying until the boot topping had been done:
Pic 295:


The starboard side turned out pretty well with virtually no bleeding. The red at the bow needs raising to meet the boot topping though and there are a couple of places on the red where the paint has been lifted by masking tape but nothing major:
Pic 296:


On the port side there is a problem. I knew it was going to happen because when I took off the masking tape after painting the red, I realised I had sprayed the red too low. Easy to fix though:
Pic 297:


At the bow, you can see where the boot topping doesn't quite meet up but that will be put right when more light grey goes on. The yellow masking tape is staying on to protect the paintwork on the bulbous bow as it has proved to be a handy resting point during the build:
Pic 298:


Although I still have to do tidy up the boot topping, it really makes a difference now it is on. After putting the boot topping right I will spray another coat of light grey and paint the Flight Deck:
Pic 299:


Back to the islands now. The inboard side of the Forward Island after the decks had been given a second coat of dark grey, the funnel uptakes were painted H56 Aluminium and the name boards painted H9 Gloss Tan. The radar has also been painted black. Some of the light grey will need touching up:
Pic 300:


The outboard side of the Aft Island having been given similar treatment to the Forward Island:
Pic 301:


This is a picture that was actually taken before the last one and shows both islands from their other sides. I still have a bit of painting to do and cleaning up will be necessary before decals can be applied:
Pic 302:


Another view of them in their rightful position:
Pic 303:


Here the Flight Deck has been painted on the starboard side and I am working my way along the port side. Since taking the photo I have sanded down the Flight Deck ready for another coat later today:
Pic 304:


The islands were cleaned up enough to allow me to put some decals on. A couple of the windows on the Aft Island have peeled back a bit but were put right later:
Pic 305:


The other side still needs bridge windows but the "Ich Dien" ship's badge transfers have been applied:
Pic 306:


I applied another coat of Liquid Decal Film to the remaining decals to prevent damage to those. I have printed off another set bridge of windows to replace the damaged decals and they will be applied this evening.

When I had built QE I used decals for the Flight Deck markings but they take so long to apply that I decided to paint the markings for this build:
Pic 307:


I sprayed the first coat of white but I then hand-painted the second coat. The removal of the masking tape took half an hour and reveals a little bleeding here and there. I still have to paint the line that runs from the top of the ski jump to the stern:
Pic 308:


A bit more progress as I painted the white "P" on the Flight Deck and the dark line running the length of the Flight Deck. The masking has finally been removed from the walkways and I have a bit of bleeding to deal with there:
Pic 309:


I had to put two more coats of Light Grey on the hull so it was masking time - again! This time I used the Tamiya stuff that come with a length of polythene (550mm deep) attached. It is expensive (£8 for a roll) but has proved to be perfect for masking this ship. I applied a length of standard masking tape along the boot topping and lay the "poly" masking tape just under the edge of the standard tape. I then cut the polythene BEFORE unfolding it using a scalpel and NOT scissors. The Flight Deck was also masked off:
Pic 310:


The lower masking tapes were removed. One drawback I found with the "poly" masking tape is that it is not really suitable for re-use as it is because it is very low-tack and doesn't really stick a second time. However, you could use traditional tape to attach it:
Pic 311:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

I decided that the red of the hull was looking rather shabby as it had suffered quite a bit since it was painted. Some of it had lifted from masking tape use so I decided to repaint the whole thing again. Here the hull has been masked off with the "poly" masking tape - only took a minute instead of at least ten. The hull was filled and sanded and a coat of filler/primer applied:
Pic 312:


The first of three coats of anti-fouling red was sprayed on and left to dry:
Pic 313:


Away from the big stuff, I have made two life-raft shelters for the starboard side and they have been primed ready for a light grey top coat. I am also making some domes and some ladders from plastic card. I need twenty of those.

That's better! You can just make out the life-rafts that have been glued inside their shelters along the walkway:
Pic 314:


The scratch-built prop shafts and 'A' bracket components have been assembled. Props from a Tamiya 1/350 USS Enterprise have been reshaped to the profile of the QE class props and painted:
Pic 315:


I painted the shafts with Alclad Chrome but they are too bright and will be overpainted later. Note that the larger aft 'A' bracket legs are slanted forward on the QE class:
Pic 316:


The 'A' brackets have been painted with anti-fouling red. They are longer than necessary so that they can be trimmed back to fit snugly on the hull:
Pic 317:


The prop shafts have been laid onto the hull to give you an idea of how they will look. I need to drill holes in the hull for the shafts to go into. Once they and the rudders are fitted I will tidy up the red paintwork and respray the black boot topping:
Pic 318:


The photo of HMS Queen Elizabeth I had been working from to mark out the warning yellow striping on the Flight Deck showed the Forward Lift without a "box" at the aft end. However, I was looking at another photo of QE today online and it shows a "box" was added eventually. I added one too:
Pic 319:


Another view from above:
Pic 320:


Since taking those pictures, I have spent a lot of time touching up areas of overspray and bleeding in the walkways. I have also done some work on the Flight Deck but hopefully, I can rectify it's many issues by Friday. As for the remaining construction, I have to make 6 domes, that's all. Everything else (such as guns, aircraft, props, stabilisers, mast, radars et al) is finished (except for some decalling) and I have a big box of bits waiting to be glued on once I have finished faffing around with the painting.

I corrected a problem with the Aft Lift warning lines. I had painted some of them in the wrong place:
Pic 321:


I thought I would do a comparison with the waterline version which I have had to stop in order to get the full-hull build completed in time for Telford:
Pic 322:


I ended up respraying the Flight Deck and now need to tidy up the edges. I have also fitted the 3 Phalanx CIWS and 4 30mm guns:
Pic 323:


I have also fitted 20 ladders with a few left to do. The islands light grey paintwork was tidied up and decalling is now finished:
Pic 324:


The diagonal warning lines were applied. I don't like them much and if I have time I will remove them, sand down the paintwork and apply new decals. We will see...:
Pic 325:


That's all for now.

Dave

 

[davecov]

The decalling of the aircraft was completed yesterday:
Pic 326:


The sharp end of the ship. A bit of touching up of the Flight Deck grey is required but it is looking okay:
Pic 327:


The aft end:
Pic 328:


A view from the other side:
Pic 329:


The rudders were fitted and I now need to make good the damage around them and the 'A' brackets. Unfortunately, I have almost run out of red paint but luckily I have an order of fresh paint on the way:
Pic 330:


I wasn't happy with the striped decalling on the Flight Deck so I removed it all. Here I have masked off the yellow area so that I can sand it back before repainting it and applying new decals:
Pic 331:


Here I am decalling the Lift warning lines and I have fitted a pair of HF Loop antennae aft of the AS6000s. HMS Queen Elizabeth was built with a pair of Cobham Type HF Loop antenna aft of the AS6000s and when I built my QE model they were taken from the Airfix HMS Illustrious. HMS Prince of Wales has been fitted with a different type of annenae (Comrod NVIS HF230L-N) and HMS Queen Elizabeth will be getting her Cobham Type antennae replaced by HF230L-N during her first refit. Despite this, I used the Cobham Type from HMS Illustrious again as the difference is minimal and only noticeable to nerds:
Pic 332:


Nearly completed:
Pic 333:


The Forward Lift and it’s chains need to be fitted.
Pic 334:


Everything has been glued on now, including aircraft and the ship has been mounted on it’s proper base:
Pic 335:


Pic 336:


Pic 337:


Pic 338:


Pic 339:


Pic 340:


Pic 341:


Pic 342:


The handover of the model to Darrell Burge (Head of Brand for Airfix at Hornby Hobbies):
Pic 343:


As I said at the start of this build thread, this model was commissioned by Airfix for display at SMW 2019 (where the last six pictures were taken) and it's final home will be the Hornby Hobbies Visitor Centre in Margate.

If you have managed to read through this whole thread or even followed me through the build on the ATF, I thank you all for your staying power.

Hope you enjoyed the journey that began with a single step (or a single sheet of plastic card).

Dave

 

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
Amazing to see this in such detail. A real labour of love. Have you any idea how many hours went into this?
Jim

 

[davecov]

I've no idea Jim but it was thousands of hours. It is difficult to calculate because for a lot of the build I was making two carriers at the same time.

Dave

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Stunning, Dave, simply stunning!