by Michael Griggs
1/500 HMS Exeter (Eastern Express)
HMS Exeter at the time of the Battle of the Java Sea in February 1942. A 'type B' Washington Treaty heavy cruiser Exeter had been rebuilt after the Graf Spee action but was relegated to the Indian Ocean theatre. The kit is of her at this time. She was sunk by Japanese cruisers during the battle.
She is painted as for RN ships in the tropics and I have done some weathering as you can see along the lines Mike Ashey suggests in his magnificent book from Kalmbach. The kit is actually a re-issue of Frog's venerable one of the 1960s and needs a lot of work. There is an immense amount of flash, and many small parts are un-usable. The masts had to be replaced with rod as well
