You are doing a magnificent job Simon, of course I wish you luck but you will pull this off, certainly after the antenna adventures,

Thank you Julian,

Watch this space tomorrow / Saturday, and you may find out how the start of this has gone.

Cos I don't yet have a clue how I am going to proceed.



Si

[Quoted text] There is fine line between bravery and stupidity, will find out over the Easter weekend which side of it I am on

It always depends on the outcome, if you win it's bravery, if you lose then it's.... Al

Fantastic work on the sea effect Simon, I am not sure if I have seen that before. Is Dread going to be at anchor or on the move?
Actually, did these boats sail with nets deployed? Whatever I am looking forward to the next update.
Cheers
Michael

Hi AL,

Well I am about to find, off into the workshop shortly to crack on.

Thanks Michael,

It is a very easy cheat, as long as you want a calm sea.

She will be at anchor, which reminds me I still have the anchors not down to add, and a bit of cable between the ship & the sea.

Update on the nets this evening, I hope.

Si

Here we go!

First a few final details, anchor cables, 2nd stbd bow anchor, and a little light weathering. when I moved the carefully joined sections of net, they fell apaet, they are laid out on the base.



starting on the nets, two plans came to mind, one, get the booms at each end in place first, thence all the others should drop into place, two start in the middle and work outwards. Decided the start in the middle plan was best, first boom in place.



Three booms on and rigged. As the weather was nice and young duster wanted to build some of his warhammer figures, I moved out into the garden.



Progress being made, but a spot rain felt. so just over half way down one side, so I moved back indoors.



There is a mistake in the aftermost boom, it is in the wrong place and at the wrong angle, (That's what happens when you move out into the garden and leave the drawings indoors) All the stbd booms in place and rigged.



Rigging at the end of the nets added, and all rigging painted. one side finished!



A couple of things I learned from the starboard side, firstly, put the bend in to fit the short boom at the bow first, and secondly really work out from the middle, both fore and aft.



So far so good down the port side. This is where I left it.



Taking a day off from the workshop tomorrow, but hope to be back sunday or Monday, wind, weather & Mrs Duster permitting.

Si

It looks very impressive Simon and gives a good idea of how cumbersome these nets were. I shudder to think of dragging them along with the ship underway, let alone deploying or recovering them. Compliments on a job well done though

Thanks Julian,

So far so good, I am actually surprised how much I achieved, but once the first two booms on each side were in place it almost becomes a production line.

When my attempt to join the net sections before starting fitting failed I did , but I started fitting them I think it was easier with the two sections separate, less unwieldy.

Talking of unwieldy, I would love to see how these nets were deployed in reality, it would make a great diorama!

A lot of the structure of the real thing is there in the Pontos set, so it should be possible to build the set with them being deployed, (STOP HAVING THESE THOUGHTS!) I reckon if the ship tried to get underway with them deployed, they would be ripped off at even fairly low speed.

Si

Hi Simon,
It is looking great. In the Pontos set do the nets come as 1 section? I know you are using the WEM set which is in pieces. I ask because I am doing mine with a rolled up net and I wondered if the was one long net or in sections. Whatever it must have been difficult to recover once deployed.
Cheers
Michael

Thanks Michael,

The nets are one piece on the real thing, I think WEM actually etched them in two sections because their fret is not long enough to fit them on in one, but it made them a lot less unwieldy to fit.

Si

Final push,

All the booms and their stays have been fitted to the port side,



All final rigging fitted to the ends of the nets.



And finally, a couple of leads down from the main cage aerials and the Union jack and ensign.



FINISHED!













Well nearly, I did notice the brass showing on the tackles and the net boom and that has been touched up.

Would do the cage aerials slightly differently next time, make a jig for the wire as well, get tidier ends that way.

Not technically the best model I have ever built, but I am happy with the end result.

Time for

Si

Don't do yourself short here Simon, it's a great build.
My most sincere compliments on this build

Thank you very much Julian,

I have appreciated your kind support all they through this build. As I said I am happy with the end result, and am now ready for the next challenge.

(well after , am going to crack open a few fine English ales)

Cheers!

Si

You have one a beautiful Build Si. You should be very happy with the outcome......Cheers mark

Congratulations on one very fine build Simon!

This is a very difficult build & you should be very proud of producing such a great dio. Well done!

Thanks Mark,

7-1/2 months on this baby, and I am very happy with the end result, especially with all the stuff I have not tackled before.

Thanks Russell,

Yes I am proud of the end result. I would go for this sort of thing again, however the next project is for the Battleships Campaign, HMS Duke of York, from the Tamiya POW and the Pontos set, different challenge from this one.

Thanks agin for your support during the build!

Si

Great job Simon, that looks amazing!! Cheers to you!!

Mike

Thanks Mike,

Was a good base kit, good upgrade sets and bit of time, patience and the occasional

I feel I have achieved something decent out of the end of it.

Si

Look forward to see you build of the DOY, Si. I have POW in the cupboard which i'm going to build as KGV in May 1941, so will be really interested to see how you proceed.

Thanks Russell,

Not long till the start of the campaign, 1st May, am looking forward to getting on with it. The Pontos upgrade / conversion is very comprehensive, so will be a more complex, (in number of parts) and have more repetitive assemblies, but will not have the challenges of the cage aerials or the nets.

Will you be joining in with KGV?

Si

ooo, that's a real cracker of a question Si! What is the duration of the campaign? Workers in the RussellE dockyard are notoriously slow, and i'm not sure I'll finish in time...

Hi Russell,

It is a 12 month campaign, so lots of time, and I have a feeling the complexity of the PONTOS upgrade / conversion for D.O.Y. build is going to need all of it.

Good luck mate.

Si

I have a few days to think about it, Si. It'll be a stretch for me to finish in a year, but we'll see...

Know what you mean Russell, I don't know that I will be able to finish the Duke within a year either, but I am going for it.

Good luck with your project whatever you decide

Si

Great job Simon, She really looks the part, lean, mean, and aggressive. No wonder the real ship had other Navies scrambling. The torpedo nets and booms are particularly impressive. Al