Current and Finished Projects > Sea
1/700 HMS Indomitable (R08) Whiffed circa 1984
Cliffy B:
Hey guys,
Actually got some time to do some work on the bench today and figured its time I shared this one with you. I'm currently working on a long and involved story about a full scale war in South America circa 1984 and currently have around 20-30 ships in various stages of completion for multiple dioramas depicting scenes in it. One of which will involve HMS Invincible (R05) and her escorts and work has commenced so far on her and 3 escorts.
As far as the mods go I'm limiting them mainly to sensors and weapons right now, primarily in the ASW and CIWS departments. She was meant to be an ASW helo cruiser so she'll be getting a nice torpedo decoy system on the quarterdeck and a big old door on her rear for a VDS. For extra defense I'll be modding the Sea Dart launcher for ASROCs and adding Phalanx and Sea Wolf launchers. Radars will be adjusted as well as the superstructure to make room for all the new toys. More to come!
Anyone planning on working on any of the Dragon Invincible kits and have the inkling to waterline it here's some tips on how to go about it. If you simply put the two hull halves together (its a full hull) it goes together no problem but once you slice the halves at the waterline you lose almost all stability for the remaining pieces. Keep in mind the only thing marking the waterline is a VERY small raised line. I wound up taping it off on each half before going at them with a box cutter and a razor saw. "Hack job" doesn't my job justice at all :icon_zombie: Oh well, its flat enough to take a waterline plate and sanding and putty will fix the rest.
At the bow they molded two very large tubes for connections but left them hollow, add some appropriate rod (6mm I think) to one side. Aft the connection point is a tube and rod but the rod is oh about 0.5mm in diameter and about the same length so its worthless. I added some 4mm square stock underneath the quarterdeck to reinforce that area. After all of that you'll notice that the hull sides are as floppy as wet noodles so some more reinforcement is needed. I added a piece of 4mm square stock halfway between the tubes and the quarterdeck (at the lowest point to allow for another connection point for the waterline plate) which will allow the hull to hold its shape but still give you some play when you're gluing the flight deck. Before adding the brace, tape the hull halves together and tape the flight deck in place so that you won't wind up deforming the hull with the brace(s). You might want to add more braces and I probably will as well but I added a hangar deck that is also helping to stabilize the hull and keep its shape. I'll probably add some more though to allow for more attachment points for the waterline plate that I cut from 0.5mm sheet.
The hangar deck is a piece of 0.75mm sheet I cut to fit after many measurements and trial and error. It doesn't fit entirely flush against the sides but that's fine since their hangars don't go from bulkhead to bulkhead. Next step will be to add said bulkheads and cut out the after lift so that I can glue it in place just above the hangar deck, having just picked up a Harrier. I'm dreading cutting out the lift since the flight deck is a solid 1mm thick :-\
To attach it I added another length of 4mm square stock to the quarterdeck bulkhead so that it rests on TOP of it. The other end of the deck is glued to the undersides of the boat deck cubes. This simplified anchoring it in multiple locations and assured me a level deck. Yes its a touch too low in the hull but I'm not going to be too picky about it.
And no, that's not the extent of the hanger deck in these ships for it extends well beyond the forward lift all the way up to the Sea Dart mag. I chose to only depict the after part for two reasons; its a closed hangar so you can't see inside save through the lift wells and the after lift has a fire door immediately forward of it. That way I can depict the door closed and only have to deal with the after section of the hanger deck. You won't be able to see much like I said anyway so I figured why bother with the rest.
Anyway on to the photos!
Box:
Hull:
Size Comparisons all 1/700. Front to back, DD-445, R05, KGV, Minotaur CL. Really puts the different ships into perspective. The Minotaur for those that don't know was essentially an RN Worcester CL, IE all 6" DP guns. Look at it compared to the KGV, a CL the size of a BB!!! :-\ I'm going to build it as a CLG to my own design but more on her later 8)
Any and all comments, questions, ideas, etc... are appreciated as always.
-Mike
Volkodav:
Whiffed, I can't wait, many physical changes planned to Invincible? I have been temped to do an improved Invincible assuming Australia insisted on Invincible being delivered post Falklands and the RN built a new ship incorporating lessons learnt.
Cliffy B:
I actually have a conventional CV the size of an Essex in store for the Aussies which will be full of A-7s, F-4s, and plenty of other goodies 8)
Only really noticeable change besides the extra/modified weapons will be the superstructure. I'll be re-working both ends of it and moving the bridge around. Need to do some measurements first and figure out exactly how much room I'll need first.
Working on the torpedo decoy system on the quarter deck right now. Had to putty the fore and aft seam first. Waiting for plastic bits to dry so I can clean them up and glue everything in place. Also tried my hand at building a Sea Wolf launcher based on the Light Weight version but with extra rounds. We'll see how that turns out later.
Cliffy B:
Sea Wolf launcher still needs some work and I might just re-do it so photos later. Finished the torpedo decoy and its fairlead though and sliced the after lift from the deck and sanded the flight deck smooth. The stern piece is just dry fitted but you can see the fairlead. I used some pieces of Evergreen I-Beams to make them. There's another on a small piece of 1mm square stock in front of the cable reels to act as a cable guide. I looked at photos of NIXIE reels and then made something simple that resembled it.
Cutting the lift out was a pain especially with those curved corners and thick deck. Its looks OK now after I attacked it with a needle file and sanding sticks.
More later!
-Mike
Brian da Basher:
Watching with much interest!
Brian da Basher
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