HMS Hood - 1/200 (with Pontos PE) - Build Log

Some fine PE :)

A venture into the some of the small, yet detailed, PE parts within the Pontos detail kit. Armoured deck boxes (32 pieces to make 16 lockers) and skylight hatches (x8)

Tiny in the grand scheme of things for this ship, but so time consuming. I think I need a new glasses script. ROTF

Armour boxes.jpeg​
Armour box in perspective.jpegSklight hatches.jpeg
 
Wedgie01 said:
Some fine PE :)

A venture into the some of the small, yet detailed, PE parts within the Pontos detail kit. Armoured deck boxes (32 pieces to make 16 lockers) and skylight hatches (x8)

Tiny in the grand scheme of things for this ship, but so time consuming. I think I need a new glasses script. ROTF

View attachment 445784View attachment 445785
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Fantastic work, Just catching up on your build. If I may comment and suggest. If you have not yet sealed you hull with the deck, it may be helpful to add some weight (I use BBs mixed with epoxy) in the bottom of the hull to give it a bit of heft. The hull is easier to handle if it has some weight. Also if you want to mount the ship on a stand, now may be the time to think about drilling some holes in the bottom to attach bolts to.

Using all the PE is indeed hard on the eyes, impossible for me. I have a pair of optivisors and find them invaluable.


There are many lower price knockoffs available but I don't know how good they are. Also when working with small items, a well lite workbench is essential.
 
Rob444 said:
Fantastic work, Just catching up on your build. If I may comment and suggest. If you have not yet sealed you hull with the deck, it may be helpful to add some weight (I use BBs mixed with epoxy) in the bottom of the hull to give it a bit of heft. The hull is easier to handle if it has some weight. Also if you want to mount the ship on a stand, now may be the time to think about drilling some holes in the bottom to attach bolts to.

Using all the PE is indeed hard on the eyes, impossible for me. I have a pair of optivisors and find them invaluable.


There are many lower price knockoffs available but I don't know how good they are. Also when working with small items, a well lite workbench is essential.
Click to expand...
Hi Rob,

Thanks for the advice mate, but I had already sealed the decks. I will be building a stand for the ship, so that's also taken care of.

Yep, I have pair of optivisors as well, and agree they are great. Couldn't do a lot of the fine work now without them. Thanks aging eyeballs! :rolleyes:

Appreciate you comments.
 
Still Progressing.....

Despite a slow down in updates, the Hood is being progressed, albeit a little slower the last two weeks due to work/home front happenings.

All the PE updates have been added to the shelter deck and I plan to finish off that area this week. Use of the Pontos kit requires a lot of modification to some of the larger kit parts, such as the Admirals Bridge, Conning Tower, etc. so been doing a lot of prep work in those areas.

Also have made a start on the forecastle area, working up the anchor runs, wave breaks, etc. Got a lot of PE built and ready for priming/painting. Nothing really worth a photo or two yet, but they'll come. :)
 
Hello again!

Lovely progress on your HMS Hood! I just got my first battleship as well, a USS Missouri, that I'll be getting the advanced Pontos set for. I was originally just going to do the decks, but Decided to go all in again!
After 2 moves, it will be time to pop the Titanic back on the bench, just finishing up an Airfix Sea King, that I thought was so lonely at the store...

For help (and company!) during the build, check out this channel on YouTube! The Model Shed, Steve, the owner, runs a tight ship and his build series of the Hood and Bismarck both in 1/200 are epic! I'd class him as a master modeler. I often have him running in the background on the bench whilst I fiddle with the finery of making models.

Cheers
Harald
 
Winnie said:
Hello again!

Lovely progress on your HMS Hood! I just got my first battleship as well, a USS Missouri, that I'll be getting the advanced Pontos set for. I was originally just going to do the decks, but Decided to go all in again!
After 2 moves, it will be time to pop the Titanic back on the bench, just finishing up an Airfix Sea King, that I thought was so lonely at the store...

For help (and company!) during the build, check out this channel on YouTube! The Model Shed, Steve, the owner, runs a tight ship and his build series of the Hood and Bismarck both in 1/200 are epic! I'd class him as a master modeler. I often have him running in the background on the bench whilst I fiddle with the finery of making models.

Cheers
Harald
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Hey Harald,

Thanks again, and good luck with the Big M! I'm enjoying the Hood build and have been following Steve in the Model Shed's videos. Agree with your comments on his capabilities. :) Also been watching David's Ships on You Tube; he has a build of the Hood in 1/350 scale, but is putting a lot of detail into it, so another nice source for tips.

Cheers,
Steve
 
Wedgie01 said:
Hi Rob,

Thanks for the advice mate, but I had already sealed the decks. I will be building a stand for the ship, so that's also taken care of.

Yep, I have pair of optivisors as well, and agree they are great. Couldn't do a lot of the fine work now without them. Thanks aging eyeballs! :rolleyes:

Appreciate you comments.
Click to expand...
I have 2 Optivisors...Both purchased at competitive pricing, both have plastic lenses, both hmmmm okay. Now currently saving all my pennies so I can buy an Optivisor with glass lenses that will give sharper and clearer definition of those tiny PE pieces. Cant bring myself to buy cheap for 'Aging eye sight'
Love the work your doing on this 1/200 kit. Cheers.
 
OCD? Perhaps...... :)

In progressing this build, I have sometimes found it difficult to correlate what Pontos updates/parts are required at which Kit instruction step, as they are a little disjointed. It's likely my need to ensure everything is done in an efficient, military manner has kicked in and I decided to create a spreadsheet to track incorporation of the Pontos upgrades following the kit instructional steps. The following is a snapshot of what I've been putting together. It's a long way from being complete, as is the model at this time, but once it is finished I'd be happy to provide a copy to any interested members.

Hood - Assembly Tracker.png
 
Quick Kit vs. PE upgrade.......

Been working some minor deck structures and thought I'd show a quick comparison between the standard kit part, and same part with PE details. The following are the FWD and AFT funnel bases. The FWD is done as far a PE, but the AFT still has a few more sections to add, but hopefully you get the idea. Will post again once primed and painted.

FWD Funnel Base - Kit.jpegFWD Funnel Base - PE.jpeg
AFt Funnel Base - Kit.jpegAft Funnel Base - PE.jpeg
 
Dry Fit.......

There's a lot of small PE detail with this build, including dozens of hatches, reels, storage boxes and ammunition lockers, to say the least, so been spending a lot of time recently just making PE parts. Time consuming and hard on the eyes, but will make the model look great once completed.

In the interim, I needed a bigger picture, so did a dry fit of the shelter deck and some of the 'uppers' to get a feel for things, before breaking out the airbrush again and getting to gluing things down. :)

DryFit1.jpegDryFit2.jpeg
 
New reference....

Just picked up another excellent reference book for the HMS Hood and, I have to say, it is a must-have for anyone building this model wanting to ensure accuracy of detail. The numerous drawings provided alone are an excellent resource. Not that easy to come by today, but managed to score a copy from a site on Amazon.

Battlecruiser Hood.jpg
 
Still on the slipway.....

It's been some time since I posted an update, mainly due to annoying things like work impinging on progress. However, the Mighty Hood is still on the slipway, albeit construction has been progressing slowly.

There will be photos soon. :cool:
 
Awesome! Thanks Steve. Just started back on mine after a loooooonnnnggggg hiatus. Am doing the decks right now, using te Pontos wood decks as patterns to cut the shapes out of the ScaleDecks full sheets. I prefer the multi-coloured look to the plain blonde.
 
europapete said:
Awesome! Thanks Steve. Just started back on mine after a loooooonnnnggggg hiatus. Am doing the decks right now, using te Pontos wood decks as patterns to cut the shapes out of the ScaleDecks full sheets. I prefer the multi-coloured look to the plain blonde.
Click to expand...
Yes, the Scaledecks look so much better. Good luck with that; no small task. :)

I'm just about finished the forecastle area, and after a few paint touch ups will have the Admirals Signal Bridge done. Basically I'm working from the stem to the stern on this one; instructions are advisory only. ROTF
 
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