HMS Prince of Wales by Henke - FINISHED - Tamiya - PLASTIC

[Henke]

This will be my first MSW build log “in plastic”. I first want to be clear that this build will be “out of the box”. There will be no aftermarket wood, PE, resin or brass. The purpose of this build is pure glue galore and using MSW to improve my weathering skills and try to do simple improvements on a cheap model. The Tamiya model is quite old and dates to 1980s, I think. I bought it cheaply a couple of years ago and have had in the stash ever since.

 

The battleship HMS Prince of Wales had a short and dramatic active service period. HMS Prince of Wales took part in the battle of the Denmark Straits against Bismarck and Prinz Eugen, hosted the conference between Churchill and Roosevelt at Newfoundland and was tragically sunk by Japanese planes outside Malaysia, all this in period of less than seven months in 1941.

 

Although I prefer wooden ship models, plastic has its charm. Building a ship in plastic brings me on a trip down the memory lane. My first model ship was a torpedo boat which had an electric motor driving the propeller. I played with it in the bathtub practicing torpedo attacks towards my younger brother. The second kit was a pirate’s ship in black plastic which I think I built in 1973 or 1974. I do not remember the manufacturer. I do not think it had an archetype from real life. It looked more like something from a Disney movie, but the model was very intriguing. One detail I remember was that it had shrouds with ratlines in injection moulded plastic. My third ship was Wasa by Airfix which I got for Christmas in 1975. Wasa was a lot more advanced than the previous pirate’s ship and had shrouds with ratlines in sheets of threaded material which you cut out with a pair of scissors. Wasa came with sails in creamy yellow thin and brittle plastic. At that time, I always followed the building instruction and meticulously used all the material included in the box although the model looked much better without the sails. All my friends at that time built Wasa and we compared our building results. Some of us did better than others. Next ship was HMS Victory which I got as a birthday present in 1976. I wanted the 1:180 Airfix version but was given a model in a slightly smaller scale from another manufacturer (Revell?) and thus probably cheaper than the big Airfix version. For some reason I seem to remember that Christmas presents used to be more lavish than the birthday presents. Another disappointment with my Victory was that many of the cannon ports of the hull were moulded closed. What is the point of building HMS Victory if you cannot see all the cannons? I remember my parents had a book about HMS Victory which I studied. It was in English, a language which I did not understand much of at that time, but in it was a picture indicating where Lord Nelson had stood when he was shot during the battle of Trafalgar. I painted a pool of blood on the deck of my model with Humbrol number 19 (bright red gloss) indicating the misfortune of Lord Nelson. My interest then turned towards ships from WW2. First, I built Admiral Graf Spee (Airfix), then HMS Nelson (Airfix) and finally Bismarck (Airfix). My first plastic modelling era ended with the build of Golden Hind (Airfix). This time I ignored using the creamy yellow sails. My fixation to the Airfix kits probably has to do with their fantastic box art of the 1970s. My inaccurate notion for Airfix kits from the 1970s being the pinnacle of plastic modelling was not changed until my wife gave me a modern Tamiya kit 25 years later.

 

1970s now turned into 1980s and my interests focussed on other things than plastic model kits. University studies, marriage and a beginning working career eventually brought me and my wife to northern England (Cumbria) for a couple of years in the early 2000s. Cumbria is known for its mountains, sheep, rainy weather and beautiful lakes where the rain eventually pools up. During the first rainy and dark winter there, I felt I needed a hobby and, in a town, called Kendal I found a model shop displaying a re-boxed Airfix version of Wasa. I was hooked. Gone where the creamy yellow plastic sails and shrouds and ratlines were made using gigs which were included in the kit. It turned into a decent model and for nostalgic reasons I painted the decorations according to the erroneous Airfix instructions from the 1970s. Ever since this second Wasa build I now and then dabble in plastics although I now prefer wood. HMS Prince of Wales is my first ship in plastics since my second Wasa almost 20 years ago. Off we go!

 

Regards

 

Henrik

[mtdoramike]

OK enough talking, get to building I'm all in. Lets see what is in the box.

Edited August 27, 2019 by mtdoramike

[Old Collingwood]

This will be good.

 

OC.

[mtdoramike]

I've got the 350 scale Tirpitz still in the box, waiting on it's turn on the table. But I have a few more models before the Tirpitz. I think the Prince of Wales is basically or at least very close to the Tirpitz.   

[Henke]

On 8/27/2019 at 6:36 PM, mtdoramike said:

OK enough talking, get to building I'm all in. Lets see what is in the box.

Yes, I know. I have a tendency for mumbling around. "Come to the point!" as my impatient children and wife use to complain. Here is the box:

It is neatly packed, not too many parts and well organized as usual with Tamiya. As you can see I had already started with the gun turrets when I took the picture. The molding is not the best compared to modern kits but much better than many of my beloved Airfix kits of the 1970s 🙂.

 

My plan is to paint PoW in the camouflage  pattern she had when she arrived in Singapore on her last mission in 1941. I have seen black and white pictures where the painting looks very worn and roughly painted. I will try to mimic this on my model. The hull in its self has very little detail on it. I have drilled out the port holes with my finest Dremel drill and airbrushed a flat black ground colour. Today I have airbrushed the first thin light gray tone above the water line. The idea is to let the black give a shade variation both on the light gray as well as the "hull red" below the water line to get a more busy look. Before the camouflage is applied I am considering using salt to get a sort of worn appearance. On top of the light gray  I will apply a little bit of salt on water and let it dry. Then I will paint on the camouflage and then carefully scrub away a little bit of colour with a wet sponge. I have tried this on airplane kits with good result. The scale of this model is different. Will it work? Are there any other suggestions?

 

Regards

 

Henrik

Edited August 29, 2019 by Henke
Bad spelling

[mtdoramike]

I'm curious to see how the salt will work. I like the idea of the black sub-paint and then paint over that with the gray paint, which should give it some neat shadowing effects.  

[Henke]

Here comes another report from captain Slow. Since last post I have started a new employment and the Grand(e) Admiral has ordered me shore leave in order to clear parts of our house before a major rebuild which will start in a couple of weeks 😓. There has not been that much time for modelling although I now and then has managed to sneak out to the garage/shipyard. A couple of sessions with the airbrush has resulted in this.

The hull red has a basic black shading which I was looking for with a sort of grimy look. It is Prince of Wales as she looked arriving to Singapore December 1941 I am aiming for, not newly painted in the dry dock. The grey also has some nice shade variation although it is not very clear from the picture. I think I will start with the deck and super structure before I continue with the camouflage of the hull and weathering.

 

Regards

 

Henrik

Edited September 15, 2019 by Henke
Bad spelling

[Alex Parker]

Nice project!  I've definitely got PoW on my list for the pivotal (if unfortunate) role it played in the Pacific conflict.  That bloody nose for the British, coming just days after Pearl Harbor, really contributed (in my understanding anyway) to their being gun-shy of overcommitting to the CBI theater.  And in general contributed to the aura of invincibility that the Japanese air forces had in the opening months of the war.

[Javlin]

I will be watching got this one the stash also. Kevin

[Henke]

Thanks for all kind comments. You make me nervous. I know your capabilities. Yes, I have checked some of your builds and mine will not come up to your standard.....

 

Here is a picture as of today. I did not like the Tamiya deck tan. It looks so flat. I therefore did some weathering brushing the deck with a wash of turpentine and Vallejo pigment Natural iron oxide (too strong unfortunately). I have to tone it down but that is OK. Guns are not weathered yet. I will do some ongoing weathering as the build continues. I am sorry for the messy table.

 

 

Regards

 

Henrik

Edited September 30, 2019 by Henke
Bad spelling

[RGL]

A) your table is not messy 

b) it’s not a competition, we only challenge ourselves 

[Henke]

Here comes a short update on my Prince of Wales. Building has been slower than usual lately due to house renovation and business travelling. I have started the camouflage painting of the hull (but no weathering yet) and will continue on superstructure next. Camouflage is hand painted. I want a rough look and I will try to tone it down with oil colors later. Superstructures are not glued in place yet and yes, the black water line marking is twice as wide as it should be. A stupid mistake of mine which will be rectified later.

 

Kind regards

 

Henrik

[Old Collingwood]

Looking great   build at your own pace  and comfort  - no one is judging you here  - we all learn somthing from everyone.

 

OC.

[Henke]

I have now come to a point where I soon have to plan how to set up the antenna wires. Instructions are not very detailed. I bought fine EZ Line last year for another project and I am wondering if I can use it for the antenna wiring? Where shall I start? What kind of glue? CA? Has anyone written something about this on MSW? Antenna wires were not something me and my modelling friends bothered to add when we built WW2 ships of Airfix 1:600 line in the 1970s 🙂.

 

Whist waiting for advice regarding antenna wiring I will add the last details like airplane (Walrus) and cranes and do touch up painting and weathering.

 

Kind regards

 

Henrik

 

Edited December 1, 2019 by Henke
Bad spelling

[Henke]

My Prince of Wales or my version of "fifty shades of grey" is now finished. I have enjoyed the build although Tamiya's PoW is not the best model. In 1976 I would probably have thought the standard was good but now..... no. It is OK if you get the model for a low price and can accept that this is a build for just the fun gluing plastic together and splash some paint on it. I spent some time weathering and overdid it as usual 🙂 but it was fun. Anyhow here is my interpretation of  a dirty Prince of Wales arriving to Singapore in December 1941.

 

Finally thank you all for encouraging comments and thumbs up.

 

Kind regards

 

Henrik

 

 

[RGL]

Well done, always good to have another plastic person here

[Canute]

Henke, nice work. As to rigging sequence:  bottom to top, middle to outside.

[mtdoramike]

Very good job on the Prince. I like the weathering and the paint job.

[Henke]

Thanks RGL, Canute and mtdoramike and all you other friends out there for support and likes. Went to my local hobby shop yesterday. Bought a Panzerkampfwagen IV (I don't know if it can be mentioned loudly here at MSW) so I just whisper 🙂. Anyhow, I there saw a Trumpeter model 1:350 Hood model. I did not buy the kit but I was tempted. There is no build log on MSW on this particular kit. Does anyone know anything about the Trumpeter Hood? Maybe a build log on Hood can be a continuation of the hunting Bismarck theme?

 

Regards

 

Henrik

Edited December 16, 2019 by Henke
Bad spelling

[mtaylor]

Henrik,

You can mention the Panzer here.  We have a non-ship model area so you can even do a build log.  The area is here in the Shore Leave section:   https://modelshipworld.com/forum/73-non-shipcategorised-builds/

[Canute]

Henke, it's one of the better reproductions of HMS Hood. See this site of the HMS Hood Association for more details: http://www.hmshood.com/hoodtoday/models/trumpeter/trumpeter350.htm

 

The site is very thorough, as you would expect fro the Association. References pro and con, photo-etch, other reviews. It will keep you occupied for a while, absorbing all the info.