Rendering support to the Naval Group Build, the flagship of Taskforce Z enters into the foray and may just meet the same fate oo 1941. Sank into the deep blue sea.

This kit was more or less put together in my younger days but it never when beyong this as I was somehow reluctant to continue because when I bought this in 1998, Trumpeter was still making clones with modifications. This kit, down to the box art was very similar to the Tamiya kit except with the introduction of a motorised system. I just can't imagine painting this kit in full camo and float it in my tub.

The fit is actually not too bad except that the planked hull join will be a real challenge. More so that Trumpeter introduced the motor switch mechanism on the deck. There are quite a lot of sink holes and gaps to fill.











Recently I bought the KGV White Ensign Models PE from HHQ and it should fit this kit. I will only decide to do so after I compare the kit to the Tamiya original.

To those interested to try a littpe ship building, lets make the Naval Group build into a mighty armada.

Thar she blows......

That switch aperture needs some good old plasticard to fill. Anyway, it's better than a 1/700 King George V I had when I was 14. That KGV has the switch in one of the 5.25" turrets position!

Loo has come out will all guns blazing.

sllim

modellers of Mini Hobby Models/Trumpeter KGV class BB please take note. In MHM/TRMP KGV kit, all four prop shafts are moulded as encased in thick plates without exposing the shafts.

However, contemporary side profile of KGV Class shows that all shafts are exposed and supported by V-brackets just before the propellers.

Thanks for the info Emechelmi. I didn't notice the shortcut MHM/Trumpeter took.

tauke Loo..nice one..
finally the sea is going to be busy once again...

looking forward for u to complete and to be sunk my one of my u-boot.. :)

I am at the moment contemplating of showing this ship listing on its side after the torpedo hits.......
ps:Sil, too late. the japanese got to it first....

Its decided that I shall abandon this half built kit as I just bought the Tamiya original from Will and its leaps and bounds better. So I shall now convert this to a build log starting Monday. Anchors away.....

A brand new start progressed with the Tamiya kit and White Ensign PE for the KGV/POW. The turret and pom-poms came first.

original Trumpeter


Tamiya with PE. Its a killer. The PE is at least 13 pieces here




A strange thing happened. Its now totally confusing whether the Pom-poms at the stern turrets are 4 or 8 barreled. Pictures and artwork are contradictory. ??? Help?

Ah finally, she appears. Now there's some company in the drydocks. :lol:

The Tamiya parts look more refined than Trumpeter's. And the PE really makes a world of difference.

Keep 'em coming.

Just to inform those interested to try thier hand on ship building, the Trumpeter earlier batch of kits which are more or less quite similar to other kits produced by other manufacturers are not too bad OOB. The comparative shots before this show this to great effect. In fact some refining were made to some of the parts. My only crit is that some sharpness was lost.

some shots of the progress this week. I thought it would be interesting for some to see this comparative shot. Unfortunately photobuckets is not co-operative. will do that tmw nite.

Loo

pics in.

at first glance there is not much difference. A t close scrutiny, some details in the Tamiya kit is ommitted or simplifed. That including the fact that there is an on off switch in the hull for the trumpeter kit.


closer


getting closer




for those who are doing the kit and relying on photos from the web, there is not much out there and they all contradict one another. There are a lot of pics though that will help in superdetailing and correcting obvious tooling problem/limitation then. If you notice all the wall panels which are at an angle to the sides of the hull, both kits molded the windows not pependicular to the wall. This need to be filled in and corrected.

I will give a detailed account of the obvious additions later.
Cheers

LOO

Hi... First of all, i wanna say that the ship is super awesome... I really like the story how POW and Repulse, got pound by Japs plane... i mean in technical issue how there is now air support etc.. By the way since it is related, I just wonder for quite sometimes already.. Why there is no Repulse kit in the market except the now rare hard to find 1/600 airfix kit... Considering the ships history, its kinda famous coz she got the chance saw action in world war 1, participate in chase of Bismarck, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau even though she didnt make any contact.. Feel weird why no company manufactured it.. Any thought why???

Hi

Those pompoms look fantastic. I look forwards to the finished model with its interesting camouflage scheme. Will you use the WEM Colorcoat paints?

As for seeing a Repulse kit in 1/350 scale, I believe patterns were created at White Ensign Models years ago. Not sure whether kit was released but it would have cost an arm and a leg.

The Airfix kit is supposed to be very well detailed and is much sought after. You can see this on Ebay now and then.

As for 1/700 scale, there are resin kits from B-Resina, WEM/Niko (very soon) and a white metal kit from Skytrex.

Cheers
Min

Guys,
you can still get the Repulse and POW at 600 scale from Frog ( singapore) which bought the mold from Airfix. He is a regular in Hobby HQ and Mr Low will have no problem getting it. I am afraid there are no other kit for the repulse and sadly, its role is overshadowed by the trajedy that is the POW but it did put up a gallant fight. The best written account that I have read so far is from the Singapore Burning book. Absolutely superb stuff.

I will post some more pics later tonite as I just completed half of the derrick and I must say the White Ensign PE is great!

As for the schemes, I will be doing the Tamiya POW in its camo before the sinking and the Trumpeter kit will be added with some major battle damage to show the actual hits that the ship sustained. Some red bulbs in the hull of the penetration points are being planned! Should be interesting. Keep posted

Loo

Thanks guys for the information.. Really appreciate it.. Just curious why Repulse is not produced like other famous ship.. Lol.. Even though I'm not into shipbuilding yet, kinda have ambitous project dream.. Built a diorama of these 2 ships attacked by Japs plane.. :D .. Maybe have to wait for another 20-30 years kot.. hahaha..

Shahrs,
Some of the guys and I were just talking about that dio and the base would need to be big even at 600 scale. You don't need to wait for 20 years bro, get started tomorrow.

As for the project at hand:
I have started to put in some of the PE vertical stairs and I really like the improvement over the molded stairs. With a quick bend of the edges to lift it from the vertical surface, a small drop of CA was rubber on and fixed.


The derrick ( half constructed ) is also a wonderful inclusion but tedious as the fit and putting together needs you to behave like an octopus with many hands! Sequential gluing was the key as CA was applied one section at a time with a fine brass wire to minimize smudging.


As for some of the obvious differences between the kits, this funnel comparison shows differing position of the oval like protusion. The Tamiya kit is correct.

seen here compared to Trumpeter's....

seen here.

As for the minute box like structure on the hull, there are of course some differences


spot the difference

these are some more shots of the derricks in stored position. I will make one of them in working mode.



a pair of the pom-poms up close with the ammo in place. The top of the plastic pieces are simplified compared to phots. The other strange thing is that some photos show these guys without the shield. Not sure which is correct but will let logic dictate to include them.


some of the windows described earlier on the angled plane is just not right and need to be repaired. The most challenging part in the kit is of course the join between the hulls. Still scratching my head on how to do this well? Help anyone?


these 2 shots show some of the sharpness lost in Trumpeter's kit


and some differences in the rowing boat. Haven't checked this out to see which is correct


a shot of the difference in the prop shaft

Big T and.. liitle T's




last shot....

thanks for viewing...

Loo

Big T is clearly more refined than little t. Moreover, little t has a lot of sink marks all in the most obvious and difficult to reach places.

For the join between the decks maybe you could use some plasticard and slot it in. After that, carefully rescribe each recessed line for a seamless deck.

Jason,
unfortunately those are raised lines rather than recesses! :(

:huh: I thought there were grooves inbetween the deck planks which you could follow. Oookay then back to square one with the thinking cap.

Can I suggest using epoxy putty to tackle the gaps? Try mixing the epoxy putty, then roll it into a thin and long strip and push it in the gap but leave some slightly higher than the areas (I hope you get what I'm trying to say :lol: ). Then using wet finger, run it according the direction of the lines, I think that can solve the problem.

Just my two cents though.

That may just do brother. I will try it on small t first.
BTW, I will be bringing my babies to the NGB workshop in HHQ end April. See u guys there.

some updates on the derrick , 5.25 inch guns and the main 14 inch gun.

Looking at the 5.25 gun images available in the net and cross referencing with the KGV class in general, there appears to be 3 armoured windows at the front and the Tamiya box art indicate some further plating. The windows are supplied in the PE set and are shown here. The plating needs to be sratchbuilt.



I've drilled the gun barrel too but it was too small to notice here. In addition the half molding in the kit was not perfect and that sort of hindered the drilling .


the derrick is now complete in the working mode and will probably be hoisting a boat or some scratchbuilt supplies. Might have to open up the roller shutters at midship to show some interiors.


the railing is added into the 14inch guns at the stern. a lot of care here not to bend the fragile things

This is the progress for the week


see you this weekend.

A bit of progress was made at HHQ NGB workshop and a bit more on Sunday.


the walrus was completed at HHQ with some drilling at the gun pits and no less than 9 PE pieces attached. Can you spot the guns? The funnel PE is in place for one. Can anyone enlighten me as to why there appear to be 3 protusion at the funnel in the original plastic pieces? are there stacks within stacks inside?



overhead shot


can't get enough of this wonderful piece of PE


ladders appearing here and there. The orinal molded ladders were sliced and sandpapered off.


replacement ladders appearing on the birdge superstructure


smaller ones. At this stage most of the superstructure are still in subassembly stage to facilitate painting. Its not stuck to the hull yet.


another shot.

Will be doing the funnel and the other 21 windows at the 5.25 inch guns this holiday... Comments are welcomed.

Looking at whatever resource available, a lot of the details for the PE inclusion will have to rely on best guestimate and quite a bit from the box art. Most pictures from the net either have poor resolution or suffer from bad angles which is of no use to use modellers who love to pry at every nook and crevase.

The progress is now close to 80% of all PE attached. The latest were the antennae starfish at the 2 masts and also the range finder ( looks like TV antennaes)

One thing to look out for when you add PE is that a lot of the join lugs and holes either need to be filled in or shaved off as the PEs will not come with lugs. This is the case on the observation deck at the funnel and also later where the inclined staircases will be. That will give me another problem because the holes are at the planked hull and the patterns will be difficult to maintain.

As usual, photobuckets is giving me nightmares again and I can't seem to upload any pics. What's a good alternative guys?

Hi
If you are in need of references drop me a line. I have 1/700 drawings.
Min

photo upload trial with google pics


this is the radar upgrade



the range finder


the platforms and funnel upgrade


another shop of the range finder


overall shot of the fore mast area


aft mast area


LOO

I see red x's, Kapitan Loo.

strange. Anypne else see red Xs?
BTW, thanks to squealus, this POW will never finish because of the detailed references he posted to me. Wonderful stuff which also made some of by additions look so inadequate!

Hi CK
Are there major discrepancies between the kit and the plans?
Min

Min,
the obvious discrepancies are theones are evident in the White Ensign Models PE and not so much on Tamiya's. Unfortunately the scans are a bit pixelised and some of the graphics are hard to decipher so I may need to resort to some guesstimate work or would need to actually buy the book. Hope they have stock still...unless you would be a kind soul to rescan the pages in a higher resolution? ;)

Some of the technical drawings do not tally with pictures from IWM obtained from the net. There appears to be a rail from the front of the twin 14 inch turrets ladders but none are in pictures. I am not sure whether this is due to the refit after the sinking of the hood because there are some subtle differences during the timeline up to POW sinking. No photos to proof this though.

Overall, its a good set of drawings. Are the others in the series any good?

BTW thanks again.

Loo

ps: coming back to KL anytime soon?

Hi,

I'll see what I can do about the scans. My scanner is very slow at the moment, dunno why. Takes >5 mins per page.

I highly recommend the BS series. They are relatively cheap. Most feature a fold out line drawing of the whole ship plus a separate color 3 view camouflage scheme in 1/400 scale. The book on the POW was unusually light in that it was only 17 pages long and had only those 1/700 drawings.

To get an idea of what's in the other titles, go to the link I sent you.

As for returning to KL, my next rip will be sometime next year.

Min

many thanks Min. That would be helpful.
I am going to start painting the turrets tonite as most of the additional bits which I managed to catch from the pages are added with exception of the access panels.
Any chance you can send me some photos of your recent ship builds so that we can at least include your ships in a gallery form at the Naval Group Build scheduled July?

the paint factory has commenced work:
unfortunately, photobuckets is still not co-operating. IT SUCKS BIG TIME! I can't even log into their main page nowadays. No photos to show for the time being until I get a better host

photo hosting trial with photolava. Pls let me know if it works as its Ok on my PC

Works just fine. :)

Aah at last we get to see the POW in technicolour. Well done, so far.

Man, looks like the camo scheme will be a killer to apply. :P

Yep....photobucket number 10, photolava no1!

At least the ship is in 1/350 scale...imagine painting the POW in 1/700 scale...

the wash technique I am applying to this involves 2 separate hue in turpentine. The oil paint is not thoroughly mixed into the turpentine so that I can have some control over areas where I want some deeper wash and also to vary the tone. A separate clean brush was used to manipulate the streaking effects. The following photos shows the initial process or 1st wash. Some cleanup is required after this









I am quite pleased with the effect on the funnel but I have a strange feeling Tamiya's paint is not too correct as there is too obvious a difference between a gunze hue and a tamiya hue. The tamiya hue has a stronger green tinge...

More to come after this. hopefully I can get 1/2 the superstructure painted this week.

Cheers and comments welcomed

Loo

Cheers!

Comments!




just kidding. :P

Nicely done weathering. Few Q's for ya.

Which oil colours did you use?

Will you be streaking the front of the turret later?

Your funnel is missing something....smoke. :lol: