by Guido Hopp
1/350 HMS Mary Rose (White Ensign)
Hello, Modelwarshippers!
Here are some pics of my HMS Mary Rose from WEM. It's easily one of WEM's best kits and I can recommend it to both the beginner in resin and the advanced modeller. There are actually no pitfalls in this kit. I did scratch-build the guns and torpedo tubes as I didn't like them much, but actually they are nice enough for the beginner as supplied in the kit. The only thing that is really missing in the kit would a flag and draft marking decal sheet. Since these were missing I added draft markings from Begemot and signal flags from Lion Roar. The White Ensign I took from the NNT 1/700 HMAS Sidney. The crew came from L'Arsenal. The lettering at the stern is from Lion Roar. The rigging is made from Lycra stained with a black permanent marker.
The base is a foam board from the local hardware store. Waves were shaped with a rotary tool and smoothed over with sanding paper. On top the board received a cover of acrylic gel to shape the waves. It was painted with artist's acrylic paints. The weathering on the hull is done with Artitec pastel chalks.
I was able to finish it within 7 weeks including base and all. That is really fast for a modeller like me.
A couple times over the kit was said to go out of production. I am glad that again and again is was re-issued until I got my senses together to finally buy one. Now I do recommend you to get your copy before it actually disappears for good.
