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Darren, I've got 1 & half (submitted but not published) reviews over on Aeroscale. I'd be glad to help.

Please send an E-mail to Jim Starkweather letting him know what you are interested in reviewing, please also let Jim know via your E-mail which reviews/features you have submitted.

Darren

I just bought the Trumpeter 1/350 scale HMCS Huron last night, I will see if I can get a quick inbox review done this week for it.

Kevin

Thank you Kev

Thank you gentlemen, we welcome all builds/reviews to include older releases

Other
MODELLING AN R.C.N . TRIBAL CLASS DESTROYER
by Ian Moore IPMS C0018
With the release by Trumpeter of HMS Eskimo and HMCS Huron the opportunity exists to build any of the RCN WW2 and postwar tribal class destroyers . The Trumpeter kits are not perfect in either 1/700 or 1/350 and require a number of modifications to correctly represent any of the RCN tribals. They do represent a much more affordable alternative to the venerable Iron Shipwrights resin kits HMS Zulu which lack detail and require many of the same changes.
Insert Photo 290.293
The eight RCN tribals were built in both the UK (Tyne) and Canadian(Halifax) yards. This accounts for some of the differences between the sister ships . Also the fact that they were a later continuation of the british design permitted the inevitable design evolution. These changes included the one foot wider beam, fewer scuttles, better stability, better AA armament and arcs of fire, radar and lattice masts on later ships in the class.
RCN tribals served with distinction in the English Channel and European waters as well as during the Korean war . They soldiered on from Canadas east and west coasts with additional modifications up until the mid 60s . HMCS Athabascan 1 was the only was loss of the group.
HMCS Haida is a museum in Hamilton Ontario and is the sole survivor of her class. The best reference for the modeling of RCN ships is to check pictures of the specific ship and time period you wish to model.
REQUIRED MODIFICATIONS to Trumpeter kits of the tribal.
1. HULL WIDTH Purists may wish to widen the hull by one scale foot. As this is 1/29 of an inch we will not consider this an essential change.
2.FORECASTLE deck- As the hull is assembled do NOT glue the deck at the bow fight away. The bow deck should have a very slight upturn or flare from the breakwater forward. Trumpeters kit has no bow flare at all and looks too flat . Putty in or styrene strip the ledge for the deck on the hull forward of the breakwater ,or use a plastcard shim . Then glue down the forecastle deck and square off the edges.
Add anchor chain from model railroad supplies .
Photo 543
3. SCUTTLES- RCN tribals had about half as many portholes(scuttles) in the hull as RN tribals. Check photos – approximately every second scuttle on the trumpeters hull must be filled with putty and sanded smooth. The remaining scuttles should be drilled out. The porthole count should be 13 aft, 13 lower deck forward and 20 upper deck forward.

4. FWD SUPERSTRUCTURE-assemble bridge and B gun deck

Photo 540
a. Cut away the too small bridge wings and replace the bridge wings at the level of b deck , widen the wing on each side to the hull edge . The forward edge of the wing at approx 45 degrees angled aft and the after end .
b. Add strip styrene bulwarks on the wingdeck edges . Note the forward and aft bulwarks are normal rail height while the outboard edge is half rail height.
c. Scuttles- drill out all remaining scuttles on the superstructure
d. The Bridge deck wings armament depended on the era.Initially was single 20mm, per Athabascan 1 , then 20 mm powered oerlikons on remaining ships, postwar all had 40 mm single bofors and later in 60s was vacant except for inflatable life raft bundles.
e. Add strip styrene .25 mm wind baffle vents along the outside edges of the bridge sides and edges of lookout /signalling platforms.
f. Add the reinforcement cross bracing 2X or 3X under the platform edges to the main deck
g. Sand down the triangular forward bridge roof so that it slopes more to the forward end .
h. Modify the bridge searchlight signalling platforms to elongate and extend the positions further aft along the aft quarter of the upper bridge
i. Add a gun crew shelter for A gun under the forward gunshield.

5. ARMAMENT Haida & Huron did NOT have the forward fire control rangefinder on the bridge and had the fire control radar aerials on the second (higher) bridge fire control mkiii .
Photo 643
a.Postwar tribals had a variety of Fire control directors Athabascan ii and Cayuga had the large USN style
b.Wartime tribals had 4.7’ guns in A,B,Y positions ,secondary twin 20mm on the 3 wings- bridge,mid and aft deckhouse , and a 4 barrel pompom on the high aft platform
c.Most Postwar tribals after 47 had 4.5’HA guns in a,b,x,y, positions with either 4 or 6 single 40mm bofors in the wing positions with no pompom.
d.Post war Nootka & Athabascan II had 2* 40 twins in the modified Pompom position and for a brief time MicMac had a quad 40 mm in B position.
e. After 1954 until early 60s remaining tribals had a 3.7” twin open mount on the modified upper deck of the after deckhouse X position, 40mm bofors only in mid and aft wings.
f. For wartime ships replace the 4.7 gun barrels on A B Y mounts with metal replacements or gently sand off the ugly and incorrect counterweights on the kit supplied barrel ends.
g. In late 50s as DDEs all ships converted to two triple barrel squid mortars in place of Y mount on quarterdeck and depth charges removed.
6.MAST – for early war tribals with a tripod mast replace the kit mast with 20 thou brass rod and yardarms and support struts with 2 * 10 thou brass.
a late war and postwar tribals had lattice masts of two basic designs . Initially the british slim lattice design Photoetch from White ensign is ideal for these.
b. Korean war era wide squat lattice mast and later upgraded masts to hold larger radar arrays. These are well represented by the resin Shipyard Haida kit but regrettably are not available separately.
7 MIDSHIP AA PLATFORM – Cut off the hexagonal sides to the midship platform and replace with a styrene deck . The wider platform is angled 45 degrees aft on forward edge
Photo 544
a. Again add bulwarks styrene of rail height on for and aft edges with a half height bulwark on the outboard edge.
b. Add cross brace below platform to main deck edge
c. Add armament consistent with era and remaining aa platforms of either single 20 mm , twin 20mm or single 40mm
d. Add or replace ammo storage lockers
e. Add a 3 sided and roofed gun crew shelter to the forward edge of the centre midship platform for wartime tribals
f. For postwar tribals a gangway ran fore and aft from the midship platform to the fcsle dec on the port side and aft to the after deckhouse on the starboard side.
8 FUNNELS- the after funnel of all RCN tribals was cut down in height relative to the RN ships Cut the after funnel top off at approximately 2 mm or on the line etched on it . This helped offset the weight of increased armament. Drill open the funnel tops and add PE spider cover supports for WW2 ships.
Photo 549
a. Postwar RCN tribals after 1954 had funnel caps on both fore and aft funnels.
b. Add red maple leaf to after funnel both sides
9. AFTER DECKHOUSE- assemble using the large square upper deckhouse.
Photo 545
a. remove and shorten the under aft gunshield side supports crew shelter .
b. shorten the upper aft deckhouse on the forward end by 1 cm and replace fwd bulkhead with plastic card.
c. remove the forward end of the after deckhouse deck only from the first WT door forward. Replace this deck portion with plastic card of same thickness in a 6 sided shape with length of 2 cm and width of 2.5 cm each side.
d. extend the 2 mushroom vents from the forward end of aft deckhouse underhang to project out in front of the AA gun platform above the torpedo tubes.
e. add a circular searchlight dodger on a 1.5 cm pedestal , with searchlight to the forward apex edge on deckhouse above the vents and torpedo tubes.
f. add secondary aa mounts on each wing on forward end of after deckhouse. These are same mounts as the other 4 positions in bridge and midships aa wings.
g. add under wing cross brace below deck wing to the main deck
h. add a 1.75 * 1.5 cm six sided rectangle pompom deck atop the upper aft deckhouse
i. add a 4(four) barrel pompom on the raised platform. Note the kit supplied 8 barrel is incorrect and in the RN position not the RCN position. White ensign make a great 4 barrel pompom replacement.
j. add a 4.5 “ HA gun in X position for all wartime RCN ships. Train forward.
Photo 542
k. for wartime Haida and Huron ONLY add type 271 radar between the searchlight and pompom platform on after deckhouse. Site a square 5 mm * 15mm tower and top it with a round radar lantern with narrow rail ledge walk around.
l. for Haida Huron only add a HFDF lattice mast behind the radar
10. MAIN DECK-. resite the depth charge throwers to the main deck just aft of the after deckhouse aa wings and forward of the after main deck carley floats( abreast the pompom. )
Photo 551
a. add a single depth charge rack aft of Y gun
photo641
b. add smoke floats near prop guards and scramble nets to deckhouse sides aft
11. BOATS- Replace both port and starboard motor boats with british pattern 25’ motor boat. The kit supplied motor boats are of a german pattern and are incorrect. White ensign make an excellent replacement set.
b. replace the kit supplied rowboat with a 27’ british whaler – again from white ensign or a spare from the ww1 Varyag kit.
Photo 640
c. add carley floats to the following positions
i.Single on forecastle deck below B gun –against bulkhead
ii.Two stacked on cross x rack on 2 deck level forward of bridge wing
iii Single on outboard of aft deckhouse aa wing cross brace.
Iv Two stacked on cross x rack on after deckhouse abreast X gun
Photo 642
Finally replace with 3 bladed props
GENERAL NOTES
ATHABASCAN 1 G07 - had Western approach scheme B55,(humbrol 28) White ,mid grey decks.tripod mast and 6* 20mm singles No radar . Lattice mast post June 43
IROQUOIS G89 -217 -tripod mast 6* 20mm single ,no radar initially Western approaches scheme then Admiralty Intermediate scheme in 42 colors 507A,B5,507C , deck medium green- grey. Humbrol 27,144,147,128
Photo 3495 photo 366/367
HAIDA G63,215 HURON G24,216 - 271 radar aft,tripod masts til 45, 6* twin 20mm AA , no dctower.
Photo100vis
Special home fleet emergency scheme G20 ,G45 ,white with mid grey decks. Humbrol 7,90,33,128
MICMAC R10,214, photo 572
CAYUGA RO4,218 ,
NOOTKA II R96,213 ,ATHABASCAN II R79 219 Canadian built ships
Lattice masts Various fits postwar all 4.5” with 40mm secondary . Initially light sea grey overall with B20 hull panel.
Photo 573 photo 617
By Korea 1951 all RCN were Dark grey(EDSG) hulls FS36099 with light sea grey FS36329 upperworks .and decks . Pennant numbers 213-218 in white Carley floats light grey.
Conversions to DDE with funnel caps , 3.50 twin in x position and triple squid *2 after 1954 Hydrostatic life raft bundles replaced carley floats at that time .
By 1960 all remaining tribals were overall Canadian Shipside grey 501-109 FS36480 WEM RCN grey or Tamiya XF12 (+ touch white) Pennant numbers 213-218 in Black . Carley floats pale yellow , black lattice masts, canvas dodgers white.
All RCN tribals had a Maple Leaf on the aft funnel . WW2 were green and later red on all schemes .
Bottoms and interiors of ships boats white for most of all above schemes.
PARTS LIST
Trumpeter 05759 1/700 HMS Huron 1944
White Ensign Models PE793 1/700 tribal class destroyer, 1/350 Eskimo Photoetch .
Trumpeter 05331 1/350 HMS Eskimo 1941
Iron Shipwrights 4-032 HMS Zulu
Resin Shipyard C-01 H.M.C.S Haida
Resin Shipyards Hawk decals D3505 RN RCN hull Numbers decals. and maple leaf decals # ?
White Ensign Models
PRO 3534 Eskimo Ships Boats 25’ motor boat, 27’ whaler
PRO 3508 4 barrelled Pom Pom
Pro 35333 and 3535 Gun Barrels 4.5, 4.7” when available
A line- black chain# 29220 27 lpi and 40 lpi
Paints –humbrol 7,27,33,90,128,144,147
Or WEM RN 507A,507C,B5,B20,G20,G45,White, Deckgreygreen. RCN shipside grey.
Other
MODELLING AN R.C.N . TRIBAL CLASS DESTROYER
by Ian Moore IPMS C0018
With the release by Trumpeter of HMS Eskimo and HMCS Huron the opportunity exists to build any of the RCN WW2 and postwar tribal class destroyers . The Trumpeter kits are not perfect in either 1/700 or 1/350 and require a number of modifications to correctly represent any of the RCN tribals. They do represent a much more affordable alternative to the venerable Iron Shipwrights resin kits HMS Zulu which lack detail and require many of the same changes.
Insert Photo 290.293
The eight RCN tribals were built in both the UK (Tyne) and Canadian(Halifax) yards. This accounts for some of the differences between the sister ships . Also the fact that they were a later continuation of the british design permitted the inevitable design evolution. These changes included the one foot wider beam, fewer scuttles, better stability, better AA armament and arcs of fire, radar and lattice masts on later ships in the class.
RCN tribals served with distinction in the English Channel and European waters as well as during the Korean war . They soldiered on from Canadas east and west coasts with additional modifications up until the mid 60s . HMCS Athabascan 1 was the only was loss of the group.
HMCS Haida is a museum in Hamilton Ontario and is the sole survivor of her class. The best reference for the modeling of RCN ships is to check pictures of the specific ship and time period you wish to model.
REQUIRED MODIFICATIONS to Trumpeter kits of the tribal.
1. HULL WIDTH Purists may wish to widen the hull by one scale foot. As this is 1/29 of an inch we will not consider this an essential change.
2.FORECASTLE deck- As the hull is assembled do NOT glue the deck at the bow fight away. The bow deck should have a very slight upturn or flare from the breakwater forward. Trumpeters kit has no bow flare at all and looks too flat . Putty in or styrene strip the ledge for the deck on the hull forward of the breakwater ,or use a plastcard shim . Then glue down the forecastle deck and square off the edges.
Add anchor chain from model railroad supplies .
Photo 543
3. SCUTTLES- RCN tribals had about half as many portholes(scuttles) in the hull as RN tribals. Check photos – approximately every second scuttle on the trumpeters hull must be filled with putty and sanded smooth. The remaining scuttles should be drilled out. The porthole count should be 13 aft, 13 lower deck forward and 20 upper deck forward.

4. FWD SUPERSTRUCTURE-assemble bridge and B gun deck

Photo 540
a. Cut away the too small bridge wings and replace the bridge wings at the level of b deck , widen the wing on each side to the hull edge . The forward edge of the wing at approx 45 degrees angled aft and the after end .
b. Add strip styrene bulwarks on the wingdeck edges . Note the forward and aft bulwarks are normal rail height while the outboard edge is half rail height.
c. Scuttles- drill out all remaining scuttles on the superstructure
d. The Bridge deck wings armament depended on the era.Initially was single 20mm, per Athabascan 1 , then 20 mm powered oerlikons on remaining ships, postwar all had 40 mm single bofors and later in 60s was vacant except for inflatable life raft bundles.
e. Add strip styrene .25 mm wind baffle vents along the outside edges of the bridge sides and edges of lookout /signalling platforms.
f. Add the reinforcement cross bracing 2X or 3X under the platform edges to the main deck
g. Sand down the triangular forward bridge roof so that it slopes more to the forward end .
h. Modify the bridge searchlight signalling platforms to elongate and extend the positions further aft along the aft quarter of the upper bridge
i. Add a gun crew shelter for A gun under the forward gunshield.

5. ARMAMENT Haida & Huron did NOT have the forward fire control rangefinder on the bridge and had the fire control radar aerials on the second (higher) bridge fire control mkiii .
Photo 643
a.Postwar tribals had a variety of Fire control directors Athabascan ii and Cayuga had the large USN style
b.Wartime tribals had 4.7’ guns in A,B,Y positions ,secondary twin 20mm on the 3 wings- bridge,mid and aft deckhouse , and a 4 barrel pompom on the high aft platform
c.Most Postwar tribals after 47 had 4.5’HA guns in a,b,x,y, positions with either 4 or 6 single 40mm bofors in the wing positions with no pompom.
d.Post war Nootka & Athabascan II had 2* 40 twins in the modified Pompom position and for a brief time MicMac had a quad 40 mm in B position.
e. After 1954 until early 60s remaining tribals had a 3.7” twin open mount on the modified upper deck of the after deckhouse X position, 40mm bofors only in mid and aft wings.
f. For wartime ships replace the 4.7 gun barrels on A B Y mounts with metal replacements or gently sand off the ugly and incorrect counterweights on the kit supplied barrel ends.
g. In late 50s as DDEs all ships converted to two triple barrel squid mortars in place of Y mount on quarterdeck and depth charges removed.
6.MAST – for early war tribals with a tripod mast replace the kit mast with 20 thou brass rod and yardarms and support struts with 2 * 10 thou brass.
a late war and postwar tribals had lattice masts of two basic designs . Initially the british slim lattice design Photoetch from White ensign is ideal for these.
b. Korean war era wide squat lattice mast and later upgraded masts to hold larger radar arrays. These are well represented by the resin Shipyard Haida kit but regrettably are not available separately.
7 MIDSHIP AA PLATFORM – Cut off the hexagonal sides to the midship platform and replace with a styrene deck . The wider platform is angled 45 degrees aft on forward edge
Photo 544
a. Again add bulwarks styrene of rail height on for and aft edges with a half height bulwark on the outboard edge.
b. Add cross brace below platform to main deck edge
c. Add armament consistent with era and remaining aa platforms of either single 20 mm , twin 20mm or single 40mm
d. Add or replace ammo storage lockers
e. Add a 3 sided and roofed gun crew shelter to the forward edge of the centre midship platform for wartime tribals
f. For postwar tribals a gangway ran fore and aft from the midship platform to the fcsle dec on the port side and aft to the after deckhouse on the starboard side.
8 FUNNELS- the after funnel of all RCN tribals was cut down in height relative to the RN ships Cut the after funnel top off at approximately 2 mm or on the line etched on it . This helped offset the weight of increased armament. Drill open the funnel tops and add PE spider cover supports for WW2 ships.
Photo 549
a. Postwar RCN tribals after 1954 had funnel caps on both fore and aft funnels.
b. Add red maple leaf to after funnel both sides
9. AFTER DECKHOUSE- assemble using the large square upper deckhouse.
Photo 545
a. remove and shorten the under aft gunshield side supports crew shelter .
b. shorten the upper aft deckhouse on the forward end by 1 cm and replace fwd bulkhead with plastic card.
c. remove the forward end of the after deckhouse deck only from the first WT door forward. Replace this deck portion with plastic card of same thickness in a 6 sided shape with length of 2 cm and width of 2.5 cm each side.
d. extend the 2 mushroom vents from the forward end of aft deckhouse underhang to project out in front of the AA gun platform above the torpedo tubes.
e. add a circular searchlight dodger on a 1.5 cm pedestal , with searchlight to the forward apex edge on deckhouse above the vents and torpedo tubes.
f. add secondary aa mounts on each wing on forward end of after deckhouse. These are same mounts as the other 4 positions in bridge and midships aa wings.
g. add under wing cross brace below deck wing to the main deck
h. add a 1.75 * 1.5 cm six sided rectangle pompom deck atop the upper aft deckhouse
i. add a 4(four) barrel pompom on the raised platform. Note the kit supplied 8 barrel is incorrect and in the RN position not the RCN position. White ensign make a great 4 barrel pompom replacement.
j. add a 4.5 “ HA gun in X position for all wartime RCN ships. Train forward.
Photo 542
k. for wartime Haida and Huron ONLY add type 271 radar between the searchlight and pompom platform on after deckhouse. Site a square 5 mm * 15mm tower and top it with a round radar lantern with narrow rail ledge walk around.
l. for Haida Huron only add a HFDF lattice mast behind the radar
10. MAIN DECK-. resite the depth charge throwers to the main deck just aft of the after deckhouse aa wings and forward of the after main deck carley floats( abreast the pompom. )
Photo 551
a. add a single depth charge rack aft of Y gun
photo641
b. add smoke floats near prop guards and scramble nets to deckhouse sides aft
11. BOATS- Replace both port and starboard motor boats with british pattern 25’ motor boat. The kit supplied motor boats are of a german pattern and are incorrect. White ensign make an excellent replacement set.
b. replace the kit supplied rowboat with a 27’ british whaler – again from white ensign or a spare from the ww1 Varyag kit.
Photo 640
c. add carley floats to the following positions
i.Single on forecastle deck below B gun –against bulkhead
ii.Two stacked on cross x rack on 2 deck level forward of bridge wing
iii Single on outboard of aft deckhouse aa wing cross brace.
Iv Two stacked on cross x rack on after deckhouse abreast X gun
Photo 642
Finally replace with 3 bladed props
GENERAL NOTES
ATHABASCAN 1 G07 - had Western approach scheme B55,(humbrol 28) White ,mid grey decks.tripod mast and 6* 20mm singles No radar . Lattice mast post June 43
IROQUOIS G89 -217 -tripod mast 6* 20mm single ,no radar initially Western approaches scheme then Admiralty Intermediate scheme in 42 colors 507A,B5,507C , deck medium green- grey. Humbrol 27,144,147,128
Photo 3495 photo 366/367
HAIDA G63,215 HURON G24,216 - 271 radar aft,tripod masts til 45, 6* twin 20mm AA , no dctower.
Photo100vis
Special home fleet emergency scheme G20 ,G45 ,white with mid grey decks. Humbrol 7,90,33,128
MICMAC R10,214, photo 572
CAYUGA RO4,218 ,
NOOTKA II R96,213 ,ATHABASCAN II R79 219 Canadian built ships
Lattice masts Various fits postwar all 4.5” with 40mm secondary . Initially light sea grey overall with B20 hull panel.
Photo 573 photo 617
By Korea 1951 all RCN were Dark grey(EDSG) hulls FS36099 with light sea grey FS36329 upperworks .and decks . Pennant numbers 213-218 in white Carley floats light grey.
Conversions to DDE with funnel caps , 3.50 twin in x position and triple squid *2 after 1954 Hydrostatic life raft bundles replaced carley floats at that time .
By 1960 all remaining tribals were overall Canadian Shipside grey 501-109 FS36480 WEM RCN grey or Tamiya XF12 (+ touch white) Pennant numbers 213-218 in Black . Carley floats pale yellow , black lattice masts, canvas dodgers white.
All RCN tribals had a Maple Leaf on the aft funnel . WW2 were green and later red on all schemes .
Bottoms and interiors of ships boats white for most of all above schemes.
PARTS LIST
Trumpeter 05759 1/700 HMS Huron 1944
White Ensign Models PE793 1/700 tribal class destroyer, 1/350 Eskimo Photoetch .
Trumpeter 05331 1/350 HMS Eskimo 1941
Iron Shipwrights 4-032 HMS Zulu
Resin Shipyard C-01 H.M.C.S Haida
Resin Shipyards Hawk decals D3505 RN RCN hull Numbers decals. and maple leaf decals # ?
White Ensign Models
PRO 3534 Eskimo Ships Boats 25’ motor boat, 27’ whaler
PRO 3508 4 barrelled Pom Pom
Pro 35333 and 3535 Gun Barrels 4.5, 4.7” when available
A line- black chain# 29220 27 lpi and 40 lpi
Paints –humbrol 7,27,33,90,128,144,147
Or WEM RN 507A,507C,B5,B20,G20,G45,White, Deckgreygreen. RCN shipside grey.