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Airfix HMS Hood: S.O.S !!!

Ettienne

Ettienne

Joined
May 31, 2021
Messages
263
Points
168

Location
Kommetjie, Western Cape, South Africa
Good day fellow shipmates,

As per instruction I have constructed this structure aft, but it does not look right... :rolleyes: . Onthe few pictures that I have looked at, I cannot find a structure aft that looks like the one circled in yellow. It looks as if there is something missing, with a structure just hanging in the air. Any suggestions to make it look a bit more realistic. I am still learning, so information on that bit will come in very handy.

Hood W (2).jpg
 
Wedgie01 said:
Hi there,
Looking at the attached photo, there was a structure in that area. Is the section you have built complete, or still awaiting some additions
View attachment 350330

Check out the HMS Hood association web site for a lot of information which may assist you with he build: http://www.hmshood.org.uk/
Click to expand...
Morning,

There was definitely a structure there oon the pictures, but nothing like that the structure by Airfix. No bits are missing on the kit. That is all that was in the box. So I am looking for some ideas that will not include major surgery to add something there to make it more realistic. On the other hand it it mentioned somewhere on the net that the Airfix kit represents the Hood during the interwar years, so maybe that is how the structure looked?, as per Airfix although the "hanging" part does not make sense.
 
hood-03.jpg

Found this on ModelWarships site, nice build by Patrick Camilleri
 
Ettienne said:
Morning,

There was definitely a structure there oon the pictures, but nothing like that the structure by Airfix. No bits are missing on the kit. That is all that was in the box. So I am looking for some ideas that will not include major surgery to add something there to make it more realistic. On the other hand it it mentioned somewhere on the net that the Airfix kit represents the Hood during the interwar years, so maybe that is how the structure looked?, as per Airfix although the "hanging" part does not make sense.
Click to expand...
Hello again,
I have a couple of good reference books on the Hood, but none specifically mention that piece of superstructure. One, by Stefan Draminski, provides quality graphically generated images of the ship configuration in 1941. I leafed through another book I have that covers the history of the ship, but unfortunately does not have any post construction or pre-war images of that area.
Hood Port Aft.jpegHood aft structure.jpeg
 
Many thanks fo
Wedgie01 said:
Hello again,
I have a couple of good reference books on the Hood, but none specifically mention that piece of superstructure. One, by Stefan Draminski, provides quality graphically generated images of the ship configuration in 1941. I leafed through another book I have that covers the history of the ship, but unfortunately does not have any post construction or pre-war images of that area.
View attachment 350496View attachment 350497
Click to expand...
Many thanks for the pictures. They are quite helpful. I came to the conclusion that the structure as represented in the Airfix kit may not be entirely correct and incomplete. Based on these photos I will attempt to replicate some construction beneath the "hanging" structure as per Airfix.
 
The raised piece of superstructure was primarily a flat searchlight platform.
As it developed, an enclosed 'control office' was required. To avoid interference with the lamps, the office was slung bellow the platform; a typical example of British extemporization!

The wwweb is a tremendous research resource. Unfortunately, much of what was freely available online (especially photographs) is not now what it once was, for many and varied reasons.
I have collected terabytes of images for my own use over the last 10 years, many of which are hard to find online now. It also helps to build an extensive library of good old fashioned books.

Be aware that warships were constantly being developed and modified throughout their lives, none more so than this one.

The Airfix 'Hood' is one of their first iterations and in some ways rather crude by modern standards. It is however. a sound basis to build any and all of the ships configurations.
 
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Ettienne said:
Many thanks fo

Many thanks for the pictures. They are quite helpful. I came to the conclusion that the structure as represented in the Airfix kit may not be entirely correct and incomplete. Based on these photos I will attempt to replicate some construction beneath the "hanging" structure as per Airfix.
Click to expand...
Glad to help, and great to see Pugwash was able to provide you even more detail and pics. Good luck with the build. :)
 
pugwash said:
The raised piece of superstructure was primarily a flat searchlight platform.
As it developed, an enclosed 'control office' was required. To avoid interference with the lamps, the office was slung bellow the platform; a typical example of British extemporization!

The wwweb is a tremendous research resource. Unfortunately, much of what was freely available online (especially photographs) is not now what it once was, for many and varied reasons.
I have collected terabytes of images for my own use over the last 10 years, many of which are hard to find online now. It also helps to build an extensive library of good old fashioned books.

Be aware that warships were constantly being developed and modified throughout their lives, none more so than this one.

The Airfix 'Hood' is one of their first iterations and in some ways rather crude by modern standards. It is however. a sound basis to build any and all of the ships configurations.
Click to expand...
Thanks pug. Very helpful indeed and very good advice indeed. I appreciate your contact with me and your support with my project. I have browsed through the wwweb and used the search keywords "HMS Hood world travel" and found a few useful photographs. What I could gather from the pictures, is that the "hanging control office" was a feature on the Hood until 1937 ... ? I have absolutely no problems to build the current Hood as an "interwar period" Hood. Prefer it actually.
 
pugwash said:
Some years ago I built this kit as the ship was, early in her career, when she had aircraft flying off platforms on B and X turret, which I felt added that little bit extra.

http://www.hmshood.org.uk/ is a marvelous resource, where seemingly every rivet can be found.
Click to expand...
Very interesting, that you built this kit, a nice bit of nostalgia. The will definitely not my last ole' Airfix Hood. Your posts convinced me that one can build up quite a collection of them representing the career of this ship. Thanks for the web reference as well.
 
Here's a point I feel is important.
I've built these Airfix kits since I was a small boy (I'm nearly 70 now).

My last 'Hood' was built 'old school'. I was never in a position where I had more than basic hand tools.

At 1;600 I never felt the need for all the expensive so called upgrades such as what I regard as a modern fetish; brass barrels, resin parts, wood decks and festoons of etch.
If one couldn't scratch build or modify existing parts then there is something wrong with the builders view of the hobby.

Railings are an example. If you look at photo's of the ship at sizes relevant to the kit, these railings are invisible!

Yet these days modellers seem to have no imagination and include such things to satisfy their need to know such parts are there; even if the 'scale' stanchions are thicker than a man!

Of course this is only my opinion and I appreciate and respect others views.

My last 'Hood' exists somewhere, so I'll endeavor to photograph it before your project is finished.
As always, have fun.
 
pugwash said:
Here's a point I feel is important.
I've built these Airfix kits since I was a small boy (I'm nearly 70 now).

My last 'Hood' was built 'old school'. I was never in a position where I had more than basic hand tools.

At 1;600 I never felt the need for all the expensive so called upgrades such as what I regard as a modern fetish; brass barrels, resin parts, wood decks and festoons of etch.
If one couldn't scratch build or modify existing parts then there is something wrong with the builders view of the hobby.

Railings are an example. If you look at photo's of the ship at sizes relevant to the kit, these railings are invisible!

Yet these days modellers seem to have no imagination and include such things to satisfy their need to know such parts are there; even if the 'scale' stanchions are thicker than a man!

Of course this is only my opinion and I appreciate and respect others views.

My last 'Hood' exists somewhere, so I'll endeavor to photograph it before your project is finished.
As always, have fun.
Click to expand...
Very good point.

I have just entered my 6th decade in June 2022, but only started building ship models in 2021, looking for a drastic change from 1/72 tanks and armoured vehicles. One can only assemble so many link-and-lenght tracks. The point that you have raised has been, up to your post, been an ongoing debate in my mind. Especially when it comes to 1/600 and 1/700 scale ship models. I agree with your point, when it comes to building my own ship models. I have great respect for the work on which detail is added, but as I say, I would rather keep to OOB or added some scratch build bits. I find your post, for me, quite liberating, thanks Pugwash.
 
Thank you for being so receptive. If I can help in any way, don't hesitate to ask.

Proper glue, some sheets of plastic card, good quality brushes and a sharp scalpel can take you a long way without costing a fortune.
Many of the over molded items can be improved immensely by careful scraping..
Good references are essential.

All other kits from this Airfix range have many possibilities.
I built 'Warspite' and 'Repulse', converting each to original WW1 configurations, which needed some serious research but in the end delighted me, the original kits became unrecognisable.
 
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Ettienne, do you have two Hood blogs on this thread? I've been commenting on 'this, but you seem to have another'??
 
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