1/700 HMS Ramillies 1917 (Trumpeter Mod)
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by Vlad Cimpan |
1/700 HMS Ramillies 1917 (Trumpeter Mod)
I've wanted for some time to make an "R" class battleship in WWI fit, but no manufacturers were forthcoming with any kits. Eventually, I was so inspired by some research into the dazzle camouflage scheme worn by HMS Ramillies that I decided to try a conversion and make her in a 1917 fit with that scheme. I had already built Trumpeter's 1/700 HMS Queen Elizabeth and after giving it some thought I decided this would be a good place to start.
There are some little details that make this conversion easier than it looks. Firstly, the distance from the bow of the ship to the centrelines of A and B barbettes is the same in both the Queen Elisabeths and the R's. Secondly, the location of the casemates is convenient, since casemates 3, 4, 5 and 6 from the Queen Elizabeth line up with where casemates 1, 2, 3 and 4 are on the R's (this might not be an exact measurement, but it's close enough for 1/700). All that is needed is to carefully remove the forward 2 pairs of casemates from the QE hull, turn them around and place them at the stern of the ship to have a correct arrangement for and R class. X and Y barbettes are more tricky, because they are significantly further forward on the R's than the QEs, but this can be achieved by trimming the stern deck piece and sliding it forward on the hull. The stern itself, unfortunately, has to be completely scratchbuilt, as does the upper deck amidships. The area around A barbette, where the forward casemates used to be, also needs to be filled out.
For the rest of the details, I did my best to chop up and re-use parts of the QE kit. I have included a few early progress pictures. The use of white styrene sheet should make it quite clear what elements are kit parts and what needed to be scratchbuilt.
I've also thrown in a couple of pictures together with my HMS Queen
Elizabeth (1916) and also my HMS Royal Oak (1939) for comparison.
