Working down the stash top to bottom, left column first, here's a look inside the mind of a plastic addict by means of a preview of coming attractions. It'll literally take years, and things might change but here's the plan (not necessarily in order of construction).
HMS Weymouth (SSModel, resin)- WWI cruiser. I just had to have it when I saw it. She's 1/700 and she's Royal Navy - that's all she's got in common with the rest of the stash. Should further 1/700 WWI RN vessels become available (actually, there are a couple of Dreadnoughts and a Queen Elizabeth about)...well, we'll see. I love the look of pre-dreadnoughts, but would really like to keep my fleet in scale.
Isn't she lovely? HMS Calcutta (Trumpeter) - Converted anti-aircraft light cruiser, had a groovy cammo scheme when sunk off Crete, but I'll be doing her in grey as she appeared at Dunkirk and beyond.
ORP Slazak (IBG) - Free Polish escort destroyer, white and blue cammo. One of eight Hunt class ships that participated in the Dieppe raid of 1942, Slazak took off 85 soldiers of the Royal Regiment of Canada, having spotted them trapped on the beach. During the Normandy landings, she was lead destroyer of the lead flotilla of minesweepers at Sword Beach. Sold to India after the war, she became INS Godavari and served until 1976 when she ran aground off the Maldives.
HMS Hermes (Aoshima) - The Royal Navy's first purpose-built carrier, might be grey, might be sporting the cammo scheme she had when sunk by Japanese aircraft. We'll see. She actually chased and fought pirates, I assume in 1930's China Station colours...tempting.
HMS York (Trumpeter) - Town Class heavy cruiser, sister ship to HMS Exeter, she retained her original bridge structure with 'spindly' funnels and sported a fairly groovy geometric cammo scheme, before being bombed, beached and abandoned at Salonika, becoming the subject of a post-war Anglo-Greek diplomatic incident over who was responsible for removing her.
HMS Ark Royal (Trumpeter) - Options for the Ark dependant on what aircraft and bits of Aoshima pho-etch used. Will probably be hunting the Bismark in plain grey colours.
HMS Malaya (Trumpeter) - WWI veteran 'Queen Elizabeth' Class battleship. Flew a Malayan flag with her white ensign battle colours, which - according to a signal sent by the captain of Renown - made her 'look like an angry P&O'. My Uncle Jack's old ship.
Bogue class escort carrier (Tamiya) - Will be HMS Speaker when I've finished with her. The first Allied carrier into Tokyo Bay. She was the only RN carrier to land and despatch Curtis Helldivers (that's handy - there's a few in the box) while being used for take-off & landing trials off Scotland; would make an interesting little scene accompanied by a Clyde puffer, methinks. She sported an interesting cammo scheme at the time. My grandfather's old ship - so I'd better get this one right.
HMS Speaker moored off Grenock, Scotland 19th May 1944.HMS Dorsetshire (Aoshima) - County class heavy cruiser. This version is how she looked when she torpedoed the Bismark. Comes with a Sunderland and a Wellington for reasons best known to Aoshima. Don't get me wrong - I'm quite looking forward to doing them.
HMS Renown (Trumpeter) - WWI vintage battle cruiser. As she looked after a major reconstruction. Had a busy time as 'the largest destroyer in the navy'. Another groovy cammo scheme that interferes with the graceful lines of this fine ship.
An interesting idea for a display that I probably haven't got room for. Renown leads Malaya and Ark Royal through the straights of Gibralter en-route to a series of adventures as Force H. HMS Repulse (Tamiya) - Didn't receive final upgrades of her sister ship, Renown, had a striking black and white almost chequerboard cammo when sunk with Prince of Wales by Japanese aircraft.
ORP Krakowiak (IBG) - Free Polish escort destroyer. Formerly HMS Silverton. Had an unusual cammo scheme including brown paint, not often used by RN ships. (From Wikipedia)
'As she was the first ship of her class to be handed to the Poles, until 10 July 1941, her crew spent most of their time training and getting to know the ship. After that date she entered line service in the convoy escort role in the North Atlantic. In December of that year she was among the ships to take part in the successful raid against a German naval outpost on the Lofoten islands. Throughout the war she also patrolled the North Sea, often engaging in skirmishes with German torpedo boats. In 1943 she moved to the Mediterranean, where she took part in, among others, Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, and later in the Dodecanese Campaign. Altogether, during the Second World War she covered over 146,000 nautical miles (270,000 km) escorting 206 different convoys, including nine in the North Atlantic. She shot down three enemy planes, but the number of enemy vessels sunk is unclear. At the end of the war, she was active in Operation Deadlight (November 1945 – February 1946), in which German U-boats were towed out to an area north-west of Ireland to be scuttled.' Hmmmmm...towing a U-boat. That might make an interesting little vignette.
ORP Krakowiak towing U-boat U-2337 out to sea for scuttling, 28 November 1945HMS Zetland (IBG) - Escort destroyer. Had a busy time in the Atlantic,the Agean and the Med - including Operations Pedestal & Dragoon. Sold to Norway in 1956, becoming KNM Tromso.
HMS Glowworm (IBG) - 'G' class destroyer. Single-handedly saw off two German destroyers before turning her attention to the heavy cruiser Hipper, shot to bits, her damaged circuitry making her siren wail like a banshee, Glowworm emerged from a pall of black smoke and rammed the Hipper before sinking. The Hipper's captain was so taken with the destroyer's actions that he recommended the Glowworm's captain for a Victoria Cross - which was duly awarded.
ORP Garland (IBG) - Free Polish 'G' class destroyer. Formerly HMS Garland, as ORP Garland she put up one Hell of a fight against overwhelming numbers of German bombers whilst escorting a Murmansk convoy. Surviving the encounter to the amazement of Royal Navy observers, she was ordered to proceed independantly to Murmansk where she became the first Polish ship to dock in a Soviet port since the outbreak of war. Further adventures awaited her in the Atlantic and Agean. After the war she was reclaimed by the Royal Navy and sold to the Netherlands, becoming HNLMS Marnix.
HMS Ithuriel (IBG) - 'I' Class destroyer. Originally built for the Turkish navy as Gayret, Ithuriel was requisitioned by the Royal Navy - which didn't go down too well with the Turks. Ithuriel had a busy but brief career including Operation Pedestal and the ramming and sinking of an Italian submarine, before being damaged beyond repair at Bone in Algeria, 1942.
HMS Exeter (Aoshima) - Veteran of the River Plate v Graf Spee, repaired and refitted. As sunk by the Japanese in 1942.
HMS Nelson (Tamiya) - As per her final refit before joining the British Pacific Fleet. I may (dependant on whether I can be arsed) backdate her to an earlier groovy cammo version.
HMS King George V (Tamiya) - As she battered the Bismark. Plain old battleship grey - and there's nothing wrong with that.
HMS Prince of Wales (Tamiya) - KGV class battleship. Widely regarded as a 'Jonah' by traditionally superstitious RN sailors (although it's often overlooked that it was Prince of Wales that damaged Bismark's fuel lines, causing the latter to change course for home and all that it entailed). As repaired and refitted prior to her sinking by Japanese aircraft with Repulse. Sporting a very complex cammo scheme. Comes with a set of 'Betty' and 'Nell' Japanese bombers.
HMS Hood (Tamiya) - The Mighty 'Ood, pride of the British fleet - as destroyed by Bismark (or was it Prinz Eugen?). A darker grey than usual for British ships of the time. I may do her as she shelled the French fleet at Oran...well, everybody does a bloody Denmark Straight Hood, don't they? Comes with an 'E' Class escort destroyer, available sepaerately from the Big T (see completed example upthread).
So there you go. In the meantime, I'd better get back to HMS Eskimo. More soon
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Topic: Andy H's miniature madness (Read 39602 times)
