HMCS Bonaventure by NavyShooter - 1/96 scale - an RCN fitting out

[Ian_Grant]

Looks great!  Did you have these decals custom-made?

[NavyShooter]

31 minutes ago, Ian_Grant said:

Looks great!  Did you have these decals custom-made?

Yes - I reached out to Above & Below Graphics and had them custom printed for me.  He apparently did the decal set for Bonnie in 1/144 for Don Linton's model of Bonnie (that's in the Aviation Museum in Ottawa) and still has the files onhand, so he scaled them to 1/96 for me, and here we are.

 

Ships – Above & Below Scale Graphics Ltd.

 

We won't discuss the cost.  It was....spendy....

[NavyShooter]

Decals applied - those which I'm going to use at least!

 

The elevator decals turned out damn near perfect on the forward elevator - the aft elevator is, for some reason, slightly off-center, but at this point it's an error I'm going to have to accept.  The triangle should be basically centered on the elevator - not offset to Port.  Alas.  

 

I decided to stack a few planes on the deck to appreciate how things look at this point.

 

One thing I decided/determined was that the 'center line' dashed stripe decals are too wide to use.  They're about 1/4" wide, and they should be about 1/8" wide.  So, I'm going to end up painting that line on instead of using the decals.  I spoke with the decal supplier, and we agree that this is probably an artefact of scaling the decals up from 1/400 to 1/144 - and now scaling them up to 1/96 for my model.  

 

Before I do the masking, I want the decals to dry and set - and I want a layer of clear coat applied to seal them so that when I mask, I don't accidentally pull any of the decals off.  So - Patience is a virtue!  

 

I have some painting left to do on the deck anyhow because I'm going to paint on the catapult line. 

[Canute]

She looks a proper bird farm, Chief.

[NavyShooter]

Put a layer of clear gloss on top to seal in the decals.  I now have to paint a couple more lines down the deck - the catapult, and the dashed center line (that's not quite on center for some reason?) 

 

 

[NavyShooter]

Catapult line masked....and painted.

 

 

 

 

Edited Thursday at 04:20 PM by NavyShooter

[realworkingsailor]

On 11/2/2025 at 12:31 PM, NavyShooter said:

Put a layer of clear gloss on top to seal in the decals.  I now have to paint a couple more lines down the deck - the catapult, and the dashed center line (that's not quite on center for some reason?) 

 

 

I wonder if that mark is an alternative take-off centre line, for aircraft not using the catapult, or if the catapult becomes disabled. Perhaps given the size increase of postwar aircraft, adequate clearance was needed around the superstructure, hence the angled nature of the line (rather than straight down the centre line).

 

Andy