Illustrious 1940

Paul Moore
Thanks for starting this project and placing all the parts for display. Looking forward to seeing the build process.

E 177
More photos added, about 10 hours in. Very well engineered parts. Not as brittle as Flyhawk Hermes. Decals are excellent with no noticeable carrier or silvering, though the long stripe down the length of the deck was best handled as 5 separate chunks. Close up of AA guns shows level of detail. No PE used yet, that is the next step.

Paul Moore
Thank you for the very detailed information! I'm fascinated by the Taranto raid. I've built the Tamiya 1/48 Swordfish. Great kit. This looks very impressive. I enjoy the photos and information.

Paul
Cumming, GA

Paul Moore
Obtw, I've got several ships in my stash but haven't built any yet. I've got the Revell USS Buckley (with P/E set) I'm going to use as my practice ship. You look like a dedicated ship builder. I was a gunnery officer on a destroyer and a A-6 pilot on the Ranger. I hated the time I was on that destroyer but here I am ready to build ship models!

Paul Moore
Why is 1/700 scale your favorite? I haven't built any yet, but I feel like I'm drawn more towards the 1/350. I have on order the USS Fletcher (1/144 scale).

Paul Moore
So the length is just under 13 inches (32 cm) ….is that correct?

E 177
Correct about the length. I started building 1/350 subs, then ships, but the space required for a big ship collection made me move down to 1/700. I now have about 100, mainly post-WWII surface platforms. Earlier ones were plastic, then with added PE, more recently resin. When not shipbuilding I do 1/72 aircraft and air defence: probably the best ac I built was an old Italeri A-6. I will post a few more projects in the next few days.

E 177
PE and smallest plastic parts are too fiddly for me. I selected the best PE (antennas, barriers, barrels) and used these, with just a few railings.

Christian Abraham
Great. This model is on my wishlist. But I have already to much to do

E 177
I would recommend the basic kit, not the more expensive one with extra PE

E 177
Finalised model. All the plastic kit parts that are provided as alternates for the PE are perfectly adequate. I now have lots of PE spares for another vessel.

Paul Moore
That's awesome. The water ….. is amazing! I'd like to know your secret for that water affect. Obviously the cranes were PE. So the basic kit came with a smaller but sufficient amount of PE? How about the Air Wing? Thanks, Paul

E 177
Paul, I bought the more expensive version, with extra PE, but the cranes, WT lattice masts, and the main gun barrels were the only PE I really used. The plastic versions of each of those parts would still give a fine model. The cheaper version of the kit does give some PE, but that is for the Swordfish biplanes. I'm still building the air wing, but the 2mm long wheel/strut parts need really good light for me to assemble. I will post a couple more pics when the Swordfish are done.

The water effect is just the printed sheet available from Coastal Kits, costing about $10. I have not yet been brave enough to use resin for a water effect.