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[Capt Podge]

Geoff - I certainly hope to launch by, say the end of May or thereabouts. then I can get cracking on the next one - I've got quite a number of plans in the pipeline, most of them being the "freebies" from the magazines.
 
 
Dave - the rear deck cut out is mainly for rudder access. I'm thinking of disguising the opening with a lid with 3 x limbo launchers poking through the top and covered by green "canvas" (possibly shrink wrap or something). The limbo mortar well was definitely NOT covered over on the real vessel, but I feel that I must do something that looks ok AND keeps the water out.
 
Also, with regard to Helicopter, I'm not yet certain whether to put one on deck or just pretend it's stowed in the hanger. If I do go for "on deck, ready to fly" I'll be going for the WASP as that was the aircraft carried when I served on this vessel.
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

Pennant numbers, depth markings and anchors were tackled next (these were ordered from Cornwall Model Boats - excellent service), the hull was starting to look a bit grubby and it's high time it was given a protective coat of varnish.
 
Another problem was revealed when it came to applying the pennant letter / number - the sheets of decals (19mm), of which I ordered 2, only had 1 of each letter of the alphabet and I needed 3  This was an oversight on my part - I'd forgotten about the pennant number on the stern !
 
Anyway, I got around this little problem by cutting the letter "E" to make another letter "F", so all was well. There are 4 of each number on each sheet so I was ok there.

picture hosting
Pennant number added
 
Now came the depth markings...and I did the stupidest thing so far - cast your mind back to the time when you made Airfix planes - to finish them off you got waterslide transfers, remember ?
 
Yep, that's right, I cut from the sheet the required depth markings and sank them in a bowl of water, even though it states on the BECC packet that these are self adhesive vinyl 
 
Fortunately, I managed to recover the situation by carefully scraping away the now soaking wet backing and the adhesive itself had remained dry, so onto the hull they went - good job I didn't throw the whole sheet in the water !
These were then finished off with warm air applied with the hair dryer to aid adhesion.
 
Next came the anchors; I decided at the outset not to attempt making the recessed anchor housings. Instead, I simply drilled a hole, elongated with a file, then shoved the anchor shank in and glued the flukes to the hull.
 
Earlier on I mentioned that the hull needs varnishing to protect the paintwork. (no prizes for guessing what happened next)
 
I was working on the superstructure using plasweld, with the superstructure in place on the hull and, in my enthusiasm, I left the lid off the bottle, caught it with my arm and spilled it on the workbench.
Some of the liquid came into contact with the black paintwork on the bottom of the hull and began eating the paint away.
 

image
Aaaargh !
 
oh well - more masking and spraying req'd.
 
In the meantime it's back to the superstructure.
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 
 

[grendel]

just found this topic, I remember aged 16 I think I made the original up from the plans - it would have been about 1975-76, I have no idea what happened to the model, cant even remember if it ever got the radio gear in it. (I did it as part of a youth club group, the guy who ran the club came because his wife ran the badmington group - we made boats, planes (power and gliders) and we got a special deal on a horizon rc gear set).
Grendel

[Davenotdone]

Hello Ray. I presume the Halfords rattle cans have given you a gloss finish? Is this not tough enough as a a finish or do you just want to ' mat ' it down a bit and protect the decals? I have heard of a spray from Chestnut products that may do the job but don't go off just what i suggest as i have not used it myself. Have just finished a night shift at my local super store and it's nice to read your build log with the house nice and quite, a hot cup of coffee and puffing away on my e-ciggie.   Regards, Dave.

[markit]

This is looking realy good I have got the plans thanks Dave. I will be starting to build this model after i finish my HMS Sheffield (First scratch build). I am following this with interest keep up the good work and keep posting it is very informative details like colours used a real bonus     

[Davenotdone]

I must agree, it does look really good. Poor Ray must think he is a guinea pig with this one as i am allso following this build with interest. Can't wait for the next episode ( like having your own build manual on-line    Regards, Dave.

[Norseman]

Like you Dave I often come in from nightwork and look at the threads before bed - a nice way to wind down.

Ray, I am enjoying your build too 

Dave

[Capt Podge]

Thank you all for your kind comments - they help a great deal in building up the enthusiasm to carry on - I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about starting this thread but the support shown by you guys is tremendous.
 
To answer Davenotdone's question ref Halford's paints - you are quite correct, the varnish will indeed be used to "matt" the paintwork down (just hope it works...)
 
 
I'll try and put another update on later tonight - once our Guests have gone to bed
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 
 

[Norseman]

the support shown by you guys is tremendous.

Yes, several of us do have tremendous supports. It's probably just an age thing Ray.

Dave

[Capt Podge]

Yes, several of us do have tremendous supports. It's probably just an age thing Ray.

Dave

nice one !
 
Needed to make some fiddly bits of deck / bulkheads in the space between funnel and mast but leaving room for the boat davits (they will be tackled later).
The deck for the Seacat system and main mast was also started. The upper part was marked out first (birds eye view) to ascertain where each item will fit i.e. Seacat launchers, the guidance system and the footprint of the mainmast.

Seacat deck upper and lower.jpg
 
The lower portion differs considerably from the upper, as can be seen in the above.
So, lower portion was "welded" in place, bulkheads added (24 separate pieces) then a start made on various fittings, doors, hatch covers and etc.
This has to be done before the seacat deck goes on due to the limited access. (These bulkheads are only 20mm high).
Made up the 11 roundbar supports and dryfitted.
Supports were then removed and structure epoxy glued in place ready for undercoating.
 

After superstructure.jpg
 
The reason for removing the supports was that I still needed access to w/t doors for drilling holes for the dogging handles.
The handles are being made with 0.5mm wire, each handle being 3mm long x 1mm bent at 90 deg to fit into the holes.
This model has 21 w/t doors, each with 8 "dogs" - total req'd = 168, oh my eyes !
 
The shell of the mainmast was made up in the same manner as the foremast.

On we go - Applied P38 filler to the damage on bottom of the hull.
This was then set aside to dry.
 
The main superstructure was then given 1st coat of primer which highlighted a few areas that need filling and rubbing down. Bottom of the hull rubbed down, masked off, and given further 2 coats of matt black - waited just 10 mins then removed masking. A very slight ridge line was evident, this will be rubbed down later when the paint has fully dried.
 

Primer.jpg
 
When the matt black was touch- dry, the superstructure was mounted, giving me some idea of how she's (hopefully) gonna look.
 

Primer v topcoat.jpg
 
Not too sure where to go next - time for another brew, or a whiskey or two, and see if we can come up with a forward plan.
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 

[Capt Podge]

Managed to get a bit more done...
 
Holes drilled in w/t doors for the "dogging" handles. Maintenance platform made up for for'd end of main mast. Seacat deck supports glued in position.
 
Start made on the bridge wings - had a few attempts at getting the bulkhead to stick to the bridgewing deck, tried different types of glue but, due to the curvature of the wings, I had an horrendous couple of hours trying to hold things in place but the plasticard kept springing off and tape wouldn't hold it in place. 
 
So, in the time-honoured fashion, I made a brew and sat down for a thinking session.
 
This bulkhead is 14mm in height so I made up some bulkhead supports with 5mm bases and made then 13mm high. These were then glued at intervals along the length of the plasticard strip, leaving a 1mm gap at the bottom - this gave me sufficient gluing area along the length as the deck it was being glued to has a thickness of 1mm. The bulkhead supports also helped with alignment.
 
Finally got around to making a stand from a length of 12mm plywood. Made up the 2 cradles and these were glued & screwed in place then the whole thing was given a couple of coats of sanding sealer, 2 primer coats and 2 topcoats - all rubbed down between coats.
 
Remembered to use epoxy resin to seal holes where the anchor shanks enter the hull. It was then necessary to lightly spray the bow area when the resin was set. I didn't bother masking off for this - just used a piece of shaped card held in place to avoid any overspray.
When this was dry the hull was given a good clean up and 2 coats of spray varnish applied.
 
Made up the deck protectors for the anchor chain runs. Also made up the lips of the hawser holes from brass rod, bent around mini anvil and ends soldered. Used my new toy for this - soldering gun from Lidl - only cost a tenner !

deck_protectors.jpg
 
Double bollard made for centre of foredeck. Also made up 2 capstans plus the 2 chainlocker feedpipes.
The anchor chains were then cut to size, painted and glued in place.
 

anchor_chains.jpg
 
Sorry about the blurry photos...
 
Next came the w/t door handles. The sequence went as follows:-
Lift with tweezers, transfer to fingers, transfer to small pair smooth-jawed pliers (to avoid crushing marks) dip end of handle into blob of superglue and manoeuvre into previously drilled holes. Hold in place and press home with small length of scrap plastic. When dry, trim to final size with side cutters. Repeat the process 168 times !!
 
Somewhere in the process, for a break to the monotiny, lengths of mousemat backing were cut and glued to the cradles on the model's stand.
Felt type feet (the ones used on kitchen chairs etc..) were then added to the bottom of the stand.
 
Finally got to do some Basin (bath) trials to test for watertight integrity. No leaks detected - whoo hoo !
The model was riding a bit high up for'd but, because she has yet to be completed, decided not to add any ballast until later.
 
 
Another update to follow,
 
Regards,
 
Ray.

 
 

[Capt Podge]

Back to the bridge wings...
 
The apertures for the navigation lights were marked out, 4 corners drilled with 0.5mm drill bit, joined the holes up with the Stanley knife (VERY carefully) then drilled out the waste with a 3mm drill bit and finished off with flat files.
 

wing_aperture.jpg
 
The nav light boxes were then made with scrap plastic, "welded" together then the completed boxes "welded" to the bridge wing apertures.
 

navlight_box.jpg
 
The 2 breakwater barriers were made up - 1 with convex bottom, the other with concave bottom - to take deck shape into account. These were cut to shape then 12 bulkhead supports added to each before final spraying.
 
Also made a start on the main armament. 3 blocks of balsa were glued together to form a squarish box shape, cut out part of the front portion for the barrel mechanism - just didn't look right.
So, decided instead to make the main shell of the turret from plasticard. Used the balsa block as a former and wrapped this plasticard around that. The front cut-out was tackled first. This required 2 apertures for the twin gun barrels, with a solid strip in between the two.
Each of the resultant hollows were then built up (inwards) on 3 sides.
Stripped down an old Futaba Tx, trimmed the "stick" controls to fit the gun apertures, cut 2 straws of just the right size to fit in the end holes of the "sticks" - this formed the rods for the brass barrels to fit over, a good tight fit was achieved.
 

main_gun.jpg
 
P38 will be used to develop the shape of the turret - in the meantime, the barrels are only pushed into place, they will be glued later when the turret is finished and painted.
 

Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[delboyandrodney2007]

hey this is looking good. one of my favourite navy ships. you cant beat a good leander! im looking forward to seeing her sea trials 

[Norseman]

168 Watertight door handles - jeepers Ray.
Real Dedication or just a Glue Addiction?

Dave

[Capt Podge]

168 Watertight door handles - jeepers Ray.
Real Dedication or just a Glue Addiction?

Dave

Now that the glue fumes have dissipated...... ......it's time for a little update.
 
The 2 breakwater assemblies were finally spray painted and glued in place. They were a bit fiddly to hold in place while the glue went off - note for future reference: incorporate brass pins to attach through the deck !
 
Next came the liferaft racks just abaft the bridge wings. The main frames were made up using copper coated mild steel and the 2 end "safety barriers" were shaped and soldered in place.
This was followed by wooden walkways on which the liferafts will sit later.
 

liferaft_rack.jpg
 
Also in the above photo can be seen the toprail on the bridge wing - this is just the outer insulation from a piece of electric wire which holds it's shape nicely and "grips" the plastic without the need for glue. It was a devil to get into place but once on should stay on. I'll add a couple of dabs of glue to it later "just in case".
 
Next came the chaff launchers. This is just a plastic platform with holes drilled to accept the support rods. The rods are glued to the platform and only just touch the main deck and come away with the superstructure when access required.
 
The launcher "tubes" are made from hollow plastic rod and "welded" together. The angle was achieved by simply inserting a white-capped drawing pin with the stem bent to the required angle - This can just be seen in the photo.
 

chaff_launcher.jpg
 
 
The structure with the blue bar was my 1st attempt at making the ships boats davits. These were cut from an old piece of perspex I had lying around but turned out looking awful.
 
Decided instead to make the davits out of plastic. Began by making a template for the lower section so that they would all turn out more or less the same.
Each "skid" is made in 2 halves, separated by a couple of pieces of scrap plastic, giving the impression of "stops" for the gravitational arms of the upper half of the davits.
 

skids.jpg
 
The base for each set of davits was then made, along with a piece of rod to hold the sections together - the blue bar is just a rigid drinking straw - once painted this will not be so noticeable.
 
The upper arms of the davits were then drawn on a sheet of plastic, cut to shape (as always, oversize) then filed to final shape. The top of each arm was drilled to take a metal ring (from old jewellery) then the whole lot glued together.
Also made pins from brass rod to locate and hold davits in position. This is to help keep them in place when the superstructure is lifted.
As with the chaff launchers, the davits are not fixed to the deck. They will eventually be glued in position but not until after the model has been given its final topcoats.
In the meantime the davits will stay off the model for safety - and for painting white.
 

gravity_davits.jpg
 
Note; I'm not attempting to make "realistic" falls on the davits - when I get the boats made they will just be hoisted giving the impression of being on falls - if that makes sense 
 
 
.........and now it's BREW TIME !
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 

[pugwash]

Ray things are coming along very well - can I add - I have just checked my Leander Class books
and the Davits are painted grey on every photo in the book, the only ones with white davits are the
survey ships of that era
Geoff

[Stan]

Hi Ray. Must say it is looking good. When is the planned sail date?
 
Stan Reffin
Kirklees Model Boat Club.

[Capt Podge]

Hey Geoff - thanks for the info, the photo I was looking at was taken on a sunny day and the davits "appeared" to be white. But you are quite correct, they should be grey. That'll make spraying the model that little bit easier 
 
 
Hi Stan - I'm aiming for the end of May for sailing the model - if it's not totally finished it should at least be "almost there". I'll see you at the Harrogate Show if you're going again this year. 
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 

[Stan]

Ill be at Harroagte this year.
 
Stan

[Capt Podge]

Time for another little update:-
 
Used P38 filler to achieve a better finish on the gun turret, sanded back and finished off with wet 'n dry, used wet.
 
The twin gun barrels were also rubbed down with wet 'n dry, used dry this time, to give the paint something to adhere to.
These were then sprayed with grey primer. When that was dry the barrels were finished off with Matt Black.
 

Turret_sprayed.jpg
 

Barrels_sprayed.jpg
 
Turret and barrels were then put aside to dry.
 
Both sets of boat davits were then given a coat of grey primer then, when dry, were pinned to the superstructure.
 
The gun director, which I've made from bits and pieces, was also "primed". The dish on the director overhangs the bridge roof and so will not be glued in position until the model nears completion.
 
The limbo "cover" was given 2 coats of primer followed by "Ford Meadow Green" to match the deck colour.
 

Limbo_mortars.jpg



Limbo_cover_painted.jpg
 
I wasn't happy with the finish on the balsa sides of the cover so I'm now in the process of covering over with thin plasticard which is being attached with 2 part epoxy resin.
 
.......more to follow.
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

In the photo (above) of the unpainted Limbo Mortar cover you can see some of my aborted attempts at making sets of "V-Bollards.
 
I've finally managed to make them up as follows: 1mm plasticard for the bases, 3mm copper coated mild steel for the bollard bodies - these were cut overlength to allow for angles to be filed top and bottom to achieve the "V" shape. These were then finished off with 0.5mm plasticard tops.
 
In the photo of the painted Limbo cover you can see one of these bollards on the Stbd quarter.
 
Here's a couple more bollards on the foredeck, near the anchor chain arrangement.
 
Foredeck_bollards.jpg
 
Incidentally, just for interest, the Limbo Mortars were made from 8mm brass tube, cut and angled to represent the mortars, then glued to a plastic base in a balsa frame. This is to give access to the rudder mechanism when required.
 
The next photo shows the boat davits in place having been sprayed with grey primer.
 

Boat_davits.jpg
 
....and again from another angle
 

After_section.jpg
 

Navigation lights:-
These will be non-operating and made up thus: Found some old plastic plugs of the type used in flat-pack furniture (see photo below). The "ridged" ends were cut off and found to be just the right size for the Nav Light apertures on this model's bridge wings. A little bit of tidying up and they were ready for painting. This was done using "Citadel Paints" as used by Warhammer modellers (of which I am one) Red for Port, Green for Stbd and "brass" effect for the nav light casings.
 
 
Navlight_plug.jpg
 

Navlights_painted.jpg
 
The lights won't be fitted until topcoating is completed and the nav light apertures painted black.
 
Here's another couple of views of the model as she is at present:-
 

Birds_eye_view.jpg
 

Side_view.jpg
 
Next time, I'll be attempting to make the ships boats, motor launch for the Captain and whaler for the workboat.
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 
 

[Capt Podge]

24th April was the last time I managed to get anything done on the model. Now, at long last, I am able to return to my little workshop.
Needless to say, I've missed my projected sailing day by quite a large margin 
 
I should know better than to make predictions 
 
Anyway, back to the build...
 
Decided to leave the ships boats until later - so next job was to get the mainmast radar sorted out.
 
This will be the only "working" feature on this model i.e. rotating.
First job was to find a way of fitting the motor. This was achieved by cutting through the seacat deck and down through 01 deck. I could have avoided this with a bit of forward planning but the decision to have a rotating radar head only came while the build was already in progress.
With the motor installed, the operating rod was inserted through the mainmast top and connected to the motor, which was then tested by connecting directly to a battery - all ok so far.
 
The motor will be operated from a single 1.5v battery. The battery holder was screwed to the underside of the superstructure, just behind the hangar door (see photo below).
 
The single pole on/off switch has been installed on the "maintenance platform" just for'd of the mainmast. Holes were drilled through 3 decks to pass the wiring from the on/off switch to the motor & battery connections.
 

switch_wiring.jpg
 

under_superstructure.jpg
 
The switch positive and battery positive were soldered together (same for the negatives). These were then connected to a choc-block then the positive of the radar motor was connected to the negative on the choc-block, the motor negative connected to the choc-block positive. This was done to achieve the correct rotation, that is, clockwise.
 
A folded length of paper tape was then affixed to the operating rod to show all working ok.
 

paper_radar.jpg
 
Now, I just needed to build a convincing radar head 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

Made up a "maintenance box" to hide the radar on/off switch. This was pinned to the maintenance platform for security.
 
Decided at this point to carry out basin (bath) trials - all appears ok so far, she will need a small amount of ballast up for'd as the model is riding about 15mm high in accordance with the marked waterline.
Also decided to weigh the model so far...She comes in at a mere 4lb. Including the stand she has an all up weight of 6lb 
 
I'll compare that later with the completed (and ballasted) model.
 
The radar head was made with a piece of scrap 1mm copper wire, pulled taut with the vice and a pair of pliers. This was inserted through the hole just below the top of the operating rod. A piece of thin scrap aluminium was then cut to size and shaped on a former (just a bit of pine quadrant, left over from a DIY job). A piece of mesh, as used on car body repairs, was then wrapped around the aluminium then the whole thing was draped over the copper wire, held in place with clamps and finally glued up.


aluminium_mesh.jpg

 
 

radar_head.jpg
 
A test run confirmed rotation with no binding evident - phew !
 
 

rotating_radar.jpg
 
The mesh will be dry-brush painted later
 

Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

Next job - the yardarms. I've been dreading this: (a) Not at all certain how to tackle the job and (b) any misalignment will be obvious and could ruin the look of the model.
 
After giving it some thought I decided to start with the Port & Stbd arms on the mainmast. These consist of a "tripod" type structure with underhang and vertical bars.
I could make these with plastic rod but I feel that, over time, they may have a tendency to warp. Therefore I'm going to try with what I have in stock - copper coated mild steel.
 
First job then, was to ascertain the angles between the upper (horizontal) bar and the 2 supporting bars - these make up the aforementioned tripod.
The angle was, first off, drawn and measured off.
 

angle_on_card.jpg
 
This was then used as a guide for making up a jig so that, hopefully, they'll all turn out the same.
 
The rod for the first tripod was cut to the required lengths (32mm for the horizontal and 34mm for the angled supports) and secured on the jig, which is simply a strip of wood with the 3 holes drilled to accept the pieces of rod (2 angled so that they meet up, ready for soldering).
 

tripod_jig.jpg
 
Sorry about the quality of some of the photos.
 
Flats were filed on the 3 pieces so they would sit together nicely.
Once happy with the arrangement the solder was applied. Now came the awkward part - finding the horizontal and drilling the mast to accept the tripods. Incidentally, the hanging parts will be added later, mainly coz I don't know how I'm going to achieve this.
So, used and old adjustable science lab stand/support along with a length of hard plastic drawer runner to rest the soldered up tripod on.
Spent a good half hour setting up both the apparatus and the model to ensure the horizontal planes were correct.
 

setting_horizontal.jpg
 

confirming_position.jpg
 

final_checks.jpg
 
The yardarm was then offered up to the mast, checked for squareness, then the mast marked up for drilling.
The yardarm was then pushed into place and checked again - all ok.
 

portside_result.jpg
 
The stbd yardarm was tackled in the same manner, as can be seen below:-
 
Now I'm off for a headscratch - how am I going to affix the peripherals ? 
 

stbd_setting.jpg
 

stbd_result.jpg
 
Incidentally, the yardarms are just pushed into their respective positions, not yet fixed in place.
 
 
Regards,
 
Ray.
 

[Capt Podge]

Decided to glue the yardarms in position after that last update. I didn't fancy setting the apparatus up all over again to obtain the horizontal
  The "cone" shaped sensors (can't remember the designation for these) were tackled next.
Tried a few different ways of making these - even tried using byro pen nibs but they just didn't look right.
 
A while ago I obtained a packet of toy soldiers from the £1 shop. For some reason the bazooka had, at the rear end, a cone shaped protrusion which looked about right so these were cut off and pressed into service.
 

bazooka_bit.jpg
 
The best method of attaching these to the yardarms was by using 5 min epoxy - this gave me time to make any necessary adjustments before the glue went off.
 

upper_cones.jpg
 
Next came the problem of attaching the lower cones. Solved this one by using one of those plastic collapsable baskets to support the superstructure during this procedure.
 

basket_support.jpg
 
The next photo shows the lower cone in position while the glue is going off...
 

lower_cone.jpg