I've finally given in. The WEM etch set for the Westminster has been purchased. I couldn't see the fragile Trumpeter etch being adequately glued, let alone having ez line wire attached to it for the rigging. It also wouldn't have looked right without railings. I'm weak.......

Heck no, your not weak, just sensible.
Go for it,

Hi Toby,

What Julian said. I had some real fun trying to use the Trumpy stuff, way to soft.

Si

Unfortunately there's a 3 week delay on the etch so the build is on hold until it arrives. However, I have started painting the hull and main deck in the meantime. Pics to follow when I upload them.

Give in to the dark side Toby-join us in the madness that ensues with photo etch additions we all seem to suffer

In all seriousness though, this is looking very nice...

Hi,

Just had an email from WEM to say that my etch has landed and will be on its way to me in the next day or so. I should be able to continue with the build from next week.

Toby

Hi,

The WEM etch has arrived and I'm very impressed with how comprehensive it is and its level of detail. It was definitely the right choice. Having pre-primed the sheet, last night I attached all the lanyards to the foremast. I'll post some photos later to show the difference between the Trumpeter etch and the WEM etch. I don't imagine I could have positioned the etch as well as I did using the Trumpeter stuff, without it collapsing due to its fragility.

On another note, when I attempted to attach the netting to the rear of the hull around the flight deck I found that there was a piece that was proud and required significant sanding in order for the etch to fit. Going back to my references, it appears that this is a slight error in the kit and this piece should blend in with the aft of the ship. More photos later when I get home from work.

Toby

Hi,

I've now sprayed the etch fret from WEM with primer and started to attach the yardarms to the foremast. My references show that the yardarms are fairly substantial affairs and that the WEM set offers a better facsimilie than the very fragile kit parts. These were all attached and it has been left for painting now. The older (pre-refitted) ships had the rear of the foremast painted black. This may have been due to the exhaust (???) that is attached to the rear of it and clearly exhibits some soot staining.

I have also built up the hanger, which includes a reasonably detailed interior. You're not going to see much in this scale, so I'll probably give it a coat of paint and a wash. The WEM set gives you the option of having the roller shutters on the hanger open or closed or part rolled up. I haven't seen sufficiently detailed pictures to make my mind up as to have it open or part open. The kit part only offers the closed version, which makes a hangar interior a little pointless. By ommitting the part you could show it as open, but some of the shutter should still be visible, hence, realistically the only option with the kit parts is closed.

A few other structures on the deck have been built which went together very easily. I'm still working my way through the kits instructions to work out what I'm going to replace and at which point. I've also just received the correct paint colours, so I'll be re-spraying the hull and deck tonight. The deck will need redoing as I've shaved off the kit anchor chains and purchased a 44 link per inch set of fine chain from EBay. This should give a better look and allow the weathered rusty effects to look more realistic. If I get the chance tonight, I'll get the red colour on the hull and possibly the black strip as well.

Anyway, here's some photos that were taken last night. I've not taken many due to it being nearly midnight and the lighting wasn't best ever for the iPad.







I'll try and get some more stuff uploaded tonight, but I'm off work for two weeks after wednesday, so hoping for a few more updates as the build nears completion.

All comments welcome.

Toby

A further update this evening. I painted the hull and deck again using the correct colours then added the anti fouling paint along with the black stripe. I sealed the entire lower hull with a layer of a Tamiya clear. In addition to the deck I also painted the roofs of the structures in the same colour. Once dried I will mask and paint the vertical sides the same colour as the hull. A small amount of brush work will be needed as the instructions don't cater for the different colours required.











Toby

Looking good Toby!

Hi,

A small update tonight. I've been so busy at home and at work over the last few months that I've just had no bench time. The ship has sat in a cupboard along with its WEM update set.

Funny thing happened though. For the last 18 months I've been staying at a friends house following my divorce, and whilst waiting the hull I managed to break a piece off of the underside of the hull. I searched everywhere for it but just couldn't find it. Fast forward a few months and I'm in my new partners house doing some work on it and I break another piece off the underside of the hull. This one appears to have been devoured by the carpet monster and cannot be found. I was doing some work on it last weekend and what do I find at the bottom of the box.....???? Not one missing piece, but both, and I had searched the box thoroughly!!!! Someone was definitely looking out for me there!! These parts have both had a stern talking too and have been glued back on.......

Anyway back to the kit. I initially painted the decks with a dark grey colour, but not the one stated in the instructions as I didn't have it. The one I painted it in was quite close. However, I have since purchased the correct colour and went back and lightly repainted the decks the correct colour. Additional work was then required in repainting the vertical superstructure even with masking. This was repainted and then I found some glue spots on the sides of the funnel, which were sanded flush and now await a further repaint this week. Some pars were removed and replaced by the WEM parts, whilst additional parts were added throughout. The new replacement anchor chain has been test fitted and is a great replacement. This will be painted off the ship and then added prior to weathering.

I did manage to break some of the main mast by pulling a photo out from under a small pile of books which resulted in the largest book sliding straight into the mast and smashing off the kit etched parts. The WEM parts were only bent and just needed moving back into place. The kit parts had to be glued back on. I didn't want to replace them with the EM parts as it would have meant a lot of work as they are particularly small and fiddly. In the event that they don't stay glued, I'll probably then replace them Fingers crossed.

I added some of the WEM details and started cutting out and gluing the railings on. I really wish I'd had this set at the start as the metal is so much stronger than the kit etch. I would highly recommend it. I found it much easier to spray the etch whilst it was on the fret rather than hand painting it after it was glued on. It is much easier to touch up than completely paint.

I also panted all of the remaining parts on the spurs as they are very small, and some of the platforms would be nigh on impossible to paint once glued on with railings attached. It was easier to paint part of these platforms in the darker colour whilst on the sprue rather than once off. All the painted small parts were then added before it was attached to the ship.

The railings are a work of art, once you work out where they have to be bent and test fit them numerous times. Unfortunately I lost two small ones to the carpet monster and despite half an hour on my hands and knees they are lost forever!!

There's only two pictures in this update as the others were slightly out of focus. My aim this week is to complete the bits that are in the dust box and then get it photographed with my camera which I now have with me. The kit doesn't come with any railings which is a shame, as you will see how much the WEM set enhances the kit.

Anyway heres the small photographic update. More will follow this week.

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Oh, yes and I have sourced some 1/350 crew figures to populate the bridge and other parts of the ship. They are painted in a navy blue colour, with those outside the bridge having their faces painted and black headgear as well.

All comments welcome, and hopefully there won't be any more ridiculously long periods between updates.

Toby

Good to see some progress Toby,

Looking good, very tidy etch work, one comment on painting the figures, the colour is good for the "No.2's" shirts worn by both officers and ratings, but the No.2's trousers are a very dark blue, almost black.

Hope that helps

Si

Thanks Si,

Will get the pants and boots painted black when I finish them off. Won't bother with the bridge crew as you'll never notice the difference.

Cheers

Toby

Hi Toby,

good to see you back online and some progress on your Westminster!

Some torture you did to the poor ship it appears, but, to quote a submarine captain from a famous German movie, 'Das muss das Boot abkönnen!' and after all it looks like she recovered

Nice work on the railings, the WEM set does make a difference! Looking forward to some progress and more pics!

Jan

The model and your build of it are leading me into temptation again Toby,
excellent work,
Julian

Catching up around here... Well done so far Toby!! Looking forward to seeing more as time permits!!

The madness continues.......

I began to lose my mojo a bit with this kit due to the amount of PE and how fiddly it was becoming. However, I am determined to finish this, so I have had a real crack at getting it done this week.

I began by detail painting the 6 relevant areas;
Fo'csle
Bridge superstructure
Funnel superstructure
Hangar superstructure
Helicopter and other exterior areas

I had already scraped off the kits folded anchor chains, and added some 1mm chain that I had in the spares box. I painted this in Mr Hobby Dark Iron, which is a colour that allows you to buff it up. A small amount of buffing once dry, and it was out with the tweezers and superglue. The kits chain does not include a small amount of chain that branches off at the fore of the ship. This was easily added as was the painting of the rope guides in red. The area around the chains will be heavily rusted, which is something that shows in all my reference photos. I purposefully did not fit the flag poles fore and aft as they are removed once away from port, and this model is to show a ship at sea.

The AA missile caps were painted the same colour as the superstructure sides and I gave the Harpoon launchers another thinned down coat of paint as not everything had been covered first time round. These were then glued to the deck as it would have been too fiddly once the bridge superstructure was fitted.

Moving onto the bridge, I repainted the figures inside, and outside (losing one in the process!!) I have painted numerous other figures who will be added once the ship in completed and weathered. All the smaller details we're painted in the hull colour thus contrasting against the darker deck colour. I realised that I had glued the rear of the main mast incorrectly, and it was too low, so it was out with the debonder and off it came. This then allowed me to mask and spray Tamiya X-18 on the rear of the mast and then brush paint the small structure at the top the same colour.

The bridge roof was then glued to the lower structure and then to the deck. Then the madness began.....

The railings were so much fun to glue on and then hold the ship without pinging them off. All went swimmingly but my eyes hurt after adding the remaining railings and antennae that are provided in the WEM update. I have to say that the look of he ship is totally different with the railings, and makes it look far more realistic.

Moving on to the funnel superstructure my references showed that the top of the funnel was entirely black, which is not depicted in the instructions. This was duly masked off and sprayed. The small radome in front of the funnel was handprinted in Model Colour white. The instructions showed two panels behind the funnel in a light grey colour, which I duly masked and sprayed, then too late, checked my references and found it to be the same colour as the deck!! Always check your references first!!!!!

Additional railings were added to this including some PE replacing the vertical supports either side of the RHIB wings. There still appears to be some more missing, but I have some spare railings, so may add them later. The 20mm cannons had their barrels painted along with the plethora of small box shapes dotted everywhere. The RHIBS were painted grey , masked and then painted black. Additional PE was added to the rear and they are now ready for a small amount of detail painting and a wash before being fitted at the end. Take note that the kit supplies two types of davits for launching the RHIB's. Check your references to ensure you fit the correct one. The whole structure was then glued on with superglue and I began the finishing details on the hangar.

I had already built the hangar, which is a structure within a structure. An off white colour was used to give a bit of light, but I had already intended to show the hangar door just starting to open. There was a lot of photo etch that needed adding from the WEM update and it took some time to get it all glued together and painted. Again detailed reference photos are invaluable in checking locations for some parts.

There is a plethora of good pictures on Google, and I would advise searching for the larger pictures as you can zoom in and look in detail at what you're trying to replicate.

There are 4 wings (2 big and 2 small) on the hangar, and all caused me some issue with the vertical rod supports. Most don't touch the deck and having glued mine early on, I think i would take a different approach next time. Rather than glue them all together I would attach the wings and a support at each end. These can be positioned correctly and then the remaining supports can be added so that they all line up correctly and reach the deck.

I changed how I built up the last set of wings on the hangar, compared to the bridge and funnel sections. This time I painted everything before adding it as I felt it would save time and make less mess. There were some problems gluing the emergency raft containers to the deck as both parts were painted, but nothing that a small drop of Tamiya extra thin couldn't resolve. I used the hangar door from the WEM set and cut a portion off it. Unfortunately it doesn't fit the kit part due to the make up of the internal hangar. A small chisel and half an hour later (as well as a fe snapped pieces....) I had created a channel for the door. The kit also supplies what I would describe as almost a signpost which it says goes on the port side of the hangar doors. Again, check your references as some of the other ships carried Lynx helicopters and they have a different set up. The instructions are correct, but you will need to remove a small amount of plastic for it to fit correctly.

Moving onto the helicopter, the kit provides a Merlin that was correctly assigned to the Westminster. Having spoken to a naval officer who has been on the ship in question, he was not aware of any Lynx helicopters being assigned to her. The kit is made up of clear styrene in two main parts with additional parts making up the tail, rotors and wheels. Once glued together all the windows were masked and it was sprayed the same colour as the hull. In my haste I had glued both sets of rotors to it and instantly regretted it. Some very careful masking and I thought I'd got away with it, only to find id hit the starboard side of the Merlin with some Tamiya Nato black. With the naked eye its not really noticeable, but under a camera it looks like I've gone to town with it!! This will need to be weathered in as part of the next process.

All that is left the glue is the second mast on the hangar roof and the ships railings, courtesy of WEM. The mast was glued and painted for the last update, but something was bugging me and didn't look right. I checked my references again and found that id glued it at too acute an angle. Out came the debonair and everything fell apart, so I have had to strip all the paint off the parts, give them a light sand and then will re-glue them tomorrow. They can then be repainted and attached. The railings ill leave until the end as otherwise I'll never be able to gain access to the main deck. Then it will just be the stand and nameplate to complete. The stand is rubbish and doesn't do anything to hold the ship upright. If you knock it slightly it goes for a spin. Ive tried to reposition it further back with seems to give it more stability. Next time Ill add ballast the the keel and make sure it has a proper stand.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the update. Below are some pictures I've taken today of where the ship is up to.....

You're been busy it seems Toby!! Nice "little" update you have!! She is looking really good!!Look like you are heading into the home stretch now!!

Definitely into the final parts of the build. It is then a gloss coat and light weathering. Once I've fitted the last few parts I'm going to leave it for a week as it's been tough with all the fiddly parts!!!

Looking good, Toby, can't wait to see her finished.

That last rerference pic with the RIB chasing the ship is awesome!

It is isn't it!!! It would make a great diorama, but I don't think you could catch the swell and the size difference as well in plastic.

Anyway, the build is now all complete. She has had two light coats of 40% XF-22 / 60% Mr Color Leveling Thinner. Ill leave it now for 24 hrs and then try and get the decals placed tomorrow, then another light coat of the same mix and its weathering week next week!! Finally feel as if I'm on the last stretch. Apologies of the bad photo, but its on my iPad



Im now thinking of some way in which I can adapt the poor stand to hold her on securely. Ive glued some thick plasticard to the base of the side pieces and then used Mr Dissolved Putty to fill the gaps. I will then use my left over modelling clay to line the box created. I can then glue two styrene rods in this and drill two holes in the bottom of the Westminster for them to fit into. The rods can penetrate nearly an inch into the ship so that will prevent it from moving. The clay will give the stand some weight and the rods will be sprayed brass colour to give the impression of brass tubes. I'll probably glue some braces into the stand to support the rods otherwise they'll move in the clay. Any thoughts on this??? As an aside I can't afford to spend any more money on this build, so it will have to come from something in the house.......

Toby,

it's great to see you and your HMS Westminster back on line and the ship's really looking fantastic!! I know very well how difficult it is to come back into a build when you almost lost it, or were just not able to continue for any reason. My REPULSE has moved twice since I started here (and I and the whole flat along with here, of course...), so great job for catching up and finishing this nice project!!

As for the stand - not for making it look nice, just for holding the ship securely - I put insulation tape, the foamy stuff that you use on doors to get some sound and wind insulation - on top. It serves my well for the time being. It has a thickness of some 5 mm (0.2") and that is sufficient to let REPULSE sit safe and secure on the - equally misfitting - stand. If you than build something around to make it look nice it should do

Great job, cheers,

Jan

Well done on completing the build Toby! She looks great! Looking forward to seeing the decals on!! As for the stand, I wish I could help ease the pain of coming up with a suitable base. You sound like you have a plan formulated for the display. I would think the clay would work well as long as the rods are secure in it. Worse case, slide the rods in to make the indentation and then remove after it dries and add some CA and replace them. Good luck!

Finished applying the decals and gloss coat. Had a minor issue with one of the hull keels which I'll fix tomorrow.

She's looking good with the dressings on Toby!!