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

[davecov]

This build thread describes the construction of a 1/350 scale model of HMS Prince of Wales (R09) which was displayed by Airfix at SMW 2019, Telford where I am shown with Darrell Burge, Hornby Brand Manager:


Background to this build
In April 2014, the Royal Navy contacted Airfix to commission a model of HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) that was under construction in Rosyth Dockyard. Airfix asked me to scratch-build a 1/350 modelwhich was subsequently displayed at the naming ceremony of HMS Queen Elizabeth in Rosyth on 4th July 2019. Thereafter it’s permanent home was the Wardroom of HMS Queen Elizabeth:
Pic 001:


In April 2019, I was again commissioned by Airfix, this time to scratch-build a 1/350 model of HMS Prince of Wales, the second of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers. It would be shown at SMW 2019, Telford and thereafter it’s permanent home would be the Hornby Hobbies Visitor Centre in Margate.

I hope that you enjoy following this build which may seem a bit unconventional in some parts. There were some problems to overcome but the worst difficulty was having to cope with severe concussion that I suffered five weeks before Telford. It was touch and go as to whether I would complete it in time but I only managed it by leaving off photo-etch and some other small details.

To use an old Chinese proverb “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step”. This is the first of many sheets of plastic card used in the build:
Pic 002:


Although this build would be constructed mainly of plastic card, I would be using a Tamiya 1/350 USS Enterprise hull to give it some inner strength. The hull was shortened in length, all sponsons removed and keel removed and openings blanked off with plastic card. Plastic card was used to fill in the missing parts of the sides and clamped. Note that I have used the cut out section of hull to brace the new join of the midships and aft sections of hull:
Pic 003:


Forward section (bow excluded) glued in place:
Pic 004:


Putting aside the hull to dry, I cut out the Flight Deck. Being 80cm long, it would be a right handful in the confines of my modelling den:
Pic 005:


This situation was made worse by the fact that I was building two at once (a waterline version for myself)
Pic 006:


Once the hull had dried, I drilled four holes which were fitted with four 80mm M6 bolts epoxied in place. The model was then secured to a temporary chipboard base that would be used until the final day of the build (the Flight Deck hasn’t been glued in place yet):
Pic 007:


The most complicated part of this build is the construction of the Forward (Ship Control) and Aft (Flyco) Islands. Because of this, I decided to build the islands for both ships at the same time. Here are the Aft Islands:
Pic 008:


The plastic card is rather thin (0.20mm) and requires plenty of framing to prevent "dishing" of the panels:
Pic 009:


Pic 010:


Here the two islands have been placed on the Flight Decks of the two builds. You can see the full-hull version to the rear:
Pic 011:


Bit more work:
Pic 012:


I do like using lots of filler:
Pic 013:


Sanding of filler was completed and then I moved onto the assembly of the Flying Control Rooms:
Pic 014:


I did consider having acetate glazing but after some experimentation I decided that it would not be easy to do a good job:
Pic 015:


Another view showing the multiple facets of the Aft Island:
Pic 016:


View from ahead:
Pic 017:


That's all for now

Dave

[Neil Merryweather]

PHWOAR!!!
Scratchtastic or what!
I really enjoyed the TV documentary series' about her , and I am going to enjoy this just as much ,Dave, thanks for posting it

[davecov]

Hope you do enjoy it Neil.

Having applied filler to the Aft Islands again, I started construction of the Forward Islands (Ship Control):
Pic 018:


I just can’t leave the Aft Islands alone. The filler around the Flying Control Rooms (FCRs) has been sanded and I have been adding some of the many platforms:
Pic 019:


Filler applied and sanded again. You can see that I have also added window wiper boxes above where the FCR windows will go:
Pic 020:


I then cut some "T" section plastic strip to go around plastic card discs to represent the platform for the Type 997 Artisan 3D Radar. Hopefully, when painted the ends of the "T" will look like thin rods like on the original:
Pic 021:


They were then glued in place and I started on the platform on the starboard side of the Aft Island:
Pic 022:


Once the platform had been sanded I started on the overhang of the Bridge on the starboard side. As you can see, I have glued strips of plastic card to the bulkhead first and built the overhang around them:
Pic 023:


One of the islands once the overhang has been completed:
Pic 024:


Green blobs on the Aft Island denote the locations of watertight doors:
Pic 025:


WEM watertight doors have been glued in place on the Aft and Forward Islands. Note that the watertight doors do not sit flush with the bottom of the bulkheads but are raised slightly:
Pic 026:


Taking a break from the island activity, I turned to the stern. The transoms for both versions were fabricated and the various openings cut and drilled:
Pic 027:


Turning to the hull briefly, I screwed hardwood dowelling inside the hull to give it some rigidity, a necessity as the plastic card is more flexible than the original dark grey plastic. The silver fitting at the stern is only temporary and supports the stern ensuring that the top of the hull remains horizontal. It will be removed once the ship is bolted to a temporary base:
Pic 028:


The full-hull version will be permanently mounted on a base 800mm long and here I am drilling the locating holes for the 80mm M6 bolts. The base won’t be fitted until the very end of the build:
Pic 029:


I have started to apply mahogany stain. So far I have applied three coats but I will need another two coats. Once finished the base was stored safely until needed:
Pic 030:
[ATTACH]365898[/ATTACH]

Now the base has been fitted I turned my attention to the Flight Deck and here I have marked the outline of the hull:
Pic 031:


I glued pieces of plastic card to the underside of the Flight Deck which ensure that the hull will be correctly aligned:
Pic 032:


First piece of Flight Deck glued in place. Note the plastic card "tab" glued to the front of the Flight Deck that will support the midships section of Flight Deck:
Pic 033:


The midships piece of Flight Deck glued to the hull and clamped. I couldn't resist putting the Islands on:
Pic 034:


Bow section of the Flight Deck has been glued in place:
Pic 035:


That's all for now

Dave

[scottie3158]

Dave,
Stunning work.

[Jim R]

Hi Dave
Saw this at Telford. A huge project. So interesting to follow.
Jim

[adt70hk]

Hi Dave

Very, very impressive indeed. Wouldn't know where to start.

ATB

Andrew

[davecov]

Thanks lads.

Andrew, luckily this time round I had the experience of a previous build behind me so things were a lot easier to manage.

Leaving the hull to dry, I turned to the hull openings in the sponsons for the ship's boats. There are five openings, two smaller ones for Pacific 24 Mark 4 Ribs and three larger ones for Wave Transfer Personnel Transfer Boats. There is one Rib inside each sponson but the PTBs are all stowed inside the port sponson. When I built the QE I omitted these due to time constraints but this time round I am fitting the openings. Here I have cut out panels which will be used to make five boxes:
Pic 036:
[ATTACH]365774[/ATTACH]

Here I have assembled the boxes, bracing the corners with some angled Evergreen. They have been built higher than necessary to allow them to be trimmed down to the correct level. The largest bulkheads have not been glued in place yet as I need to detail the openings. In retrospect this was a huge waste of time and effort and there was an easier way. Live and learn….:
Pic 037:
[ATTACH]365775[/ATTACH]

Here I have marked the locations of the WTBs (Water Tight Bulkheads) as shown on my plans. These marks are solely to help with the correct positioning of the various components such as lifts, sponsons, openings for boats etc. Unfortunately, in subsequent days, I discovered an error on the plans which showed the WTBs in a slightly different position in profile view to that in the plan view. Consequently, there is a difference of about 6mm which meant I have had to re-jig things slightly.
Pic 038:
[ATTACH]365776[/ATTACH]

To ensure that the measurements are uniform across both builds, I have taken all measurements from the stern and worked forward and will "lose" the extra 6mm ahead of the sponsons. Here I have cut out and glued supports for the rear section of sponson. This sponson has a raised section at the aft end and has different size supports to the rest:
Pic 039:
[ATTACH]365777[/ATTACH]

Before I can glue the rest of the sponson supports, I had to mark the locations of the openings for the boats and lifts:
Pic 040:
[ATTACH]365778[/ATTACH]

Supports have been glued in place on the Port side, double-checking that they didn't interfere with the openings:
Pic 041:
[ATTACH]365779[/ATTACH]

View of the Starboard side:
Pic 042:
[ATTACH]365780[/ATTACH]

Plating in of the sponsons has started:
Pic 043:
[ATTACH]365781[/ATTACH]

View of the Starboard side:
Pic 044:
[ATTACH]365782[/ATTACH]

Right way up:
Pic 045:
[ATTACH]365783[/ATTACH]

Port side:
Pic 046:
[ATTACH]365784[/ATTACH]

Latest update on possible shortages of the world's supplies of plastic card....

I turned my attention to the hull where I needed to reduce the depth of the hull so that it would meet the transom. After removing the original hull section I glued some plastic card framing to support the new section:
Pic 047:
[ATTACH]365785[/ATTACH]

The hull is too narrow at the stern and will need to be built out to meet the sponson supports:
Pic 048:
[ATTACH]365786[/ATTACH]

I have cut out a bulkhead to the outline of the transom and glued that in place. The transom will be glued to this bulkhead later on:
Pic 049:
[ATTACH]365787[/ATTACH]

Here are the transoms for both versions undergoing more work:
Pic 050:
[ATTACH]365788[/ATTACH]

Checking the transom for fit. It was necessary to cut a slot into the bulkhead behind so that the lower "box" did not stop the transom sitting snugly:
Pic 051:
[ATTACH]365789[/ATTACH]

The transom was then glued in place and the hull covered in plastic card. Eventually it will be filled and sanded:
Pic 052:
[ATTACH]365790[/ATTACH]

That's all for now

Dave

[davecov]

Progress has been steady with a lot of time being spent on the sponsons:
Pic 053:


Although it looks like there are raised lifts, these sections will be cut out and new lifts cut from plastic card. This will allow me to add the underside detail to the lifts much more easily. It also allows the option of lowered lifts. Apertures for the hangar doors still need to be cut out:
Pic 054:


I have plated in the underside of the flight deck at the bow and am now working on the shape of the bow itself. The plastic card hasn't been glued yet:
Pic 055:


Leaving the bow section to dry, I turned my attention to the hangar openings and doors. The top edges of the outboard openings will need to be trimmed down by the thickness of the flight deck. This differs between the two builds as the flight decks are constructed from different thicknesses of plastic card:
Pic 056:


Plastic card has been glued to the rear of the outboard openings. The inner faces will be trimmed and detailed they are glued in place:
Pic 057:


Doors have been cut out and will be scribed and glued in place later:
Pic 058:


Plastic card has been removed for one of the lifts and the area to be cut out for the associated hangar opening but I won't be cutting the opening just yet. Eventually, the hangar opening sub-assemblies "should" slide into the holes and the edges of the gaps will be overlapped by the edges of the outer opening:
Pic 059:


Sections of the Enterprise bow have been glued to the underside of the flight deck. This has been done mainly for strength as the bow section will get a pounding when it gets shaped:
Pic 060:


Today I managed to get some sanding done on the hulls of both builds. Here is the aft section of the full-hull build. Once all sanded, filled and sanded again, I will make and fit the keel. Rudders, props, bilge keel and stabilisers will be made and fitted towards the end of the build:
Pic 061:


When I made the HMS Queen Elizabeth, I fitted the bulbous bow before I had shaped the stem and had problems getting it to the correct slim profile. As a result it ended up with a stem that was too rounded. This time I will be shaping the stem first and fitting the bulbous bow afterwards:
Pic 062:


I can't do too much each day due to the effect the vibration from the sanders has on my hands so the sanding will take many sessions. Here are both builds after the first sanding session. The progress on the full-hull build is more advanced than the waterline version with the latter having a lot of plastic still standing proud of the hull where the cutaway begins:
Pic 063:


I had another long sanding session today and apart from the bow of the full-hull version, it is almost ready for filling over a large proportion of the hull. Here is the aft section which will probably be filled first so that I can complete construction of the sponsons, insert the hangar openings and clean up the of the flight deck in readiness for the walkways:
Pic 064:


Last night I managed to get most of 05 Deck installed on the Forward islands of each build. The front bulkheads haven't been fitted yet as they are not straightforward (not that anything seems to be straightforward with these islands):
Pic 065:


I have done a little more sanding on the hulls but I am not happy with the waterline version. I have ringed a problem area where the cutaway is too angular on both sides. I will need to get the razor saw and cut a chunk out and construct a more rounded profile. I am much happier with the full-hull version though:
Pic 066:


That's all for now

Dave

[boatman]

HI Dave well my hat is well an truly doffed to you an I like the way you opened up the transom area by forcein the enterprice hull out to the width of the Q/E as I know how it curves in quite a bit as when I built my USS NIMITZ in 1/144 scale it was a bit of a struggle to get the hull to curve inwards so for you it must have been a struggle to get it to curve outwards without crackin the hull.So we have both built the oppistie on the models an yes I know what goes into these builds as my carrier took 7 yrs to build how long did it take you on this model from start to finish ?
chris ps lookin forward to more an pics im really enjoyin this thread crackin build but my heart goes out for poor ole enterprise an must admit Dave if it was me i could not bring myself to cut up the hull youre a more guttisie man than me

[davecov]

Hi Chris,

I didn't stretch out the Enterprise hull at all actually but because of that, I had to use a lot of plastic card to build the hull out to the correct width.

I started the build in April of this year when I got the call from Airfix and completed four weeks ago in November, making seven months in all. When I made the QE I made that in three months, less than half the time and twice the stress level!

As for cutting up the Enterprise, it wasn't my money that paid for it so it felt painless!

Dave

[boatman]

Hi Chris,

I started the build in April of this year when I got the call from Airfix and completed four weeks ago in November, making six months in all. When I made the QE I made that in three months, half the time and twice the stress level!

As for cutting up the Enterprise, it wasn't my money that paid for it so it felt painless!

Dave

HI again Dave that's funny you startin the builds in april as that's when I started my tiger build on april the 5th as I always write a start date on my plans as the time goes so quick when im building so it seems we both started togeather that's a twist of fate eh an as for enterprise I still could not have done it a these carriers are my fave ships an it would have broke my heart but at least you have turned it into a work of art Dave so she was not wasted oh bless her
chris

[flyjoe180]

Hi Dave. Fantastic work, interesting to see the build up of these.

[Ian M]

A very interesting read that. Look forward to the next bit!
Glad that you didn't have to cough up for the doner kits! (and the plastic card I am guessing).

[tr1ckey66]

Stunning work Dave and a very interesting insight as to how it was done.
Cheers
Paul

[davecov]

I had intended to wait a couple of weeks before my next posts but I won't have much time then so here you are.

As I have said previously, I have been building both at the same time as it is easier to manufacture some parts if done in unison, especially the islands. However, the waterline version will have some slippage as eventually I will be concentrating on the full-hull version. After a break away from the modelling bench for a few days, I got back to work yesterday. The whole session was spent working on the Forward islands and I am pulling my hair out as I construct the funnel and S1850M Radar tower:
Pic 067:
[ATTACH]365899[/ATTACH]

Another view. As you can see, just like the Aft Island there are angles everywhere:
Pic 068:
[ATTACH]365900[/ATTACH]

As with the rest of the island’s construction, the funnels are not straightforward. At the foot of the Radar Towers you can see where I have had to glue lots of small bits of plastic card. This is because I hadn't made the correct profile and have had to pack out the bulkheads:
Pic 069:
[ATTACH]365901[/ATTACH]

The extra plastic card bits have been trimmed back and the tops of both structures have been covered:
Pic 070:
[ATTACH]365902[/ATTACH]

I can't proceed with the various platforms without getting some filling and sanding done first. So, out with the filler:
Pic 071:
[ATTACH]365903[/ATTACH]

It was a long sanding session last night:
Pic 072:
[ATTACH]365904[/ATTACH]

Still a long way to go and the next step will be to add the various platforms and Bridge wings.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to work on the two islands due to a holiday in the Inner Hebrides and then the passing of my father. Although I haven't seen him for decades, it still came as bit of a shock and I wasn't able to concentrate on modelling for a few weeks. I did try to get some work done on the islands but to be honest I didn't have any mojo for them. I did get back to work on both builds eventually as I continued building up the hull forms and next Monday I hope to start the filling and sanding of the hulls in earnest.

To lighten the mood, I have decided to spend a little time on the air wings of both builds:
Pic 073:
[ATTACH]365905[/ATTACH]

The aircraft shown are 12 x F-35B Lightning IIs, 2 x CH47 Chinooks, 2 x AH-64D Apache Longbows (all from Shapeways), 3 x MV22 Ospreys (Trumpeter) and 4 x Merlins (Airfix). They will be split between the two builds. Obviously, some of them are not standard complement of the class but will be seen operating from both carriers during their lifetimes. I have also got a Swordfish that will be used on my waterline version as a tribute to the FAA crews of the past.
My modelling mojo has been restored - at least for the time being and the past 24 hours have been very productive. Problems with my arthritic hands means that the sanding sessions of the hulls has to be limited to about half an hour for each hull. It is a long old slog but at least the profile is beginning to show:
Pic 074:
[ATTACH]365906[/ATTACH]

All four hangar openings have been cut:
Pic 075:
[ATTACH]365907[/ATTACH]

Close-up of one of the openings. Once all of the excess plastic has been removed, the hangar door opening should cover any blemishes:
Pic 076:
[ATTACH]365908[/ATTACH]

All four hangar opening assemblies are dry-fitted. As you can see, I will need to fill the gaps at the edges with plastic card and then I can start filling the hull:
Pic 077:
[ATTACH]365909[/ATTACH]

It was then time to work on the air groups. Painting is underway. Here are the Merlins, F-35Bs and two Chinooks
Pic 078:
[ATTACH]365910[/ATTACH]

Ospreys, Apaches and Swordfish plus lots of rotors:
Pic 079:
[ATTACH]365911[/ATTACH]

Another long sanding session today. The sanding was followed by a liberal coating of Isopon38 filler on the full-hull version:
Pic 080:
[ATTACH]365912[/ATTACH]

Having put a lot of filler over the builds, it was time to get sanding. My arthritic hands means that I have to limit the sanding to about 60-90 minutes per day. Here is the bow of the full-hull version after the first sanding session. The different colour of the filler is very helpful in getting the bow profile right:
Pic 081:
[ATTACH]365913[/ATTACH]

Midships:
Pic 082:
[ATTACH]365914[/ATTACH]

The stern:
Pic 083:
[ATTACH]365915[/ATTACH]

Transom:
Pic 084:
[ATTACH]365916[/ATTACH]

That's all for now

Dave