1/700 HMS Manchester D95 (Dragon)

This picture has a representation of HMS Manchester D95 during Her Global 1986 tour visiting San Francisco.  HMS Manchester, D95, first of 4 batch 3 Type 42, shown here with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background and Pacific dolphins racing the bow wave.  Helicopter on deck and some Crew lined up on the Flight Deck - not certain the RN does this upper deck manning pattern, usually personnel all along the sides, but looked OK for the picture.  The Ship was Commissioned on 16th December 1982 and Decommissioned on 24th February 2011, and known as the Busy Bee.

I enjoyed making the Trumpeter model with errors purely mine and the balance between model, painting and frame giving a good overall effect, but unfortunately each element could of been done to a higher standard.  I used the photo etchings rather than the plastic items in the kit, with a mix of 2D 1/700 Color Naval Figures? (Photoetch?) by EDUARD and 3D 1/700 US NAVY figures in working positions set 1 by NorthStar.

Picture shape a trial which turned out to give an aesthetically pleasing amount of background to paint and think about, with the sea just enough to give a choice of Ship position.  The drainage connector used shown in picture next to one I use for rounds for size comparison.  Tube very big and in MHO too big for a round but cut into 3 equal tubes, then in half the size is not over powering on a wall.  I then remove all but one of the exterior fins, against which I put the surround.  The same method to make the rounds is used, with cork, paint etc with it still only sticking out of wall 100mm with the sea just flat angled rectangle of polystyrene which is the same one I used on flat shelf type modelling, but just 56mm wide.

For the pictures I did this year, starting with HMS Dauntless, I started putting in Sea Monsters in one form or another, something for people to spot, plus who really knows whats down there?  The one here is to the right hand side and made out of electrician bootlace ferrules, cut, bent and painted, as long as slightly resembling them the eye and brain does the rest.  I used white bootlace ferrules for dolphins, in later picture with Orca's, Great Whites and Humpback Whales I use the larger ones going up to brown/orange ferrules.  In 1985 someone reported they saw a long necked monster like a Plesiosaur surge up and try to catch a sea lion in Golden Gate Bay, so a rival to Nessie and worth looking out for if enjoying the view with a picnic overlooking the Bay.

Apologies as forgot to put railings on top upper bridge deck, radar shape could of been more accurate, possibly more mistakes but did not see them at the time and then did not think it worth removing and redoing glass as busy on next Ship picture.

Gallery updated 12/19/2019

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