Aerial-01

British Battlecruiser HMS Repulse
by Chuck Bauer

1/350 HMS Repulse (Trumpeter)

HMS Repulse is depicted as she was on the morning of December 10, 1941. A Supermarine Walrus is ready for launching.

To build this kit to a 1941 configuration required significant modification and scratch building.
I am in great debt to Mr. Dan Blackburn for his many hours of attention, which allowed me to build this kit to the level of historical accuracy—and detail--I desired. Mr. Andrew Fock and E.J. Foeth deserve mention also, and the other contributors to the CASF/ Model Ship Forum. In addition, I used materials from Raven & Roberts and the public domain.

Construction details:

Scratch built Quad Vickers guns for the mainmast, and scratch built a platform to accommodate these guns.
Corrected the number and style of the bridge deck ladders.
Constructed scratch built and photo etched aft deckhouses
Eliminated and re-positioned 20mm Oerlikons, as needed, for historical accuracy.
Scratch built an Admiral’s Galley Flue and port deckhouse vent
Scratch built an anemometer and wind vane for the RDF office
Scratch built awning stanchions on the aft deckhouses
Scratch built a Catapult Control Position, including operating levers and pendant, on the main/catapult deck.
Removed the 20mm gun tubs on the aft turret
Converted the conning tower deck from “metal” to “wood” via the plank-on-plank painting technique
Added wave breaks to the catapult deck
Scratch built a stern jackstaff
Scratch built RU lockers and positioned them in 1941 locations.
Enclosed aft superstructure per 1941 configuration
Added spotting instruments and a scratch built Type 291 radar aerial to the Spotting Top
Scratch built a hydraulic ammo loading whip
Added cast metal syrens to the forward tripod legs
Added PE semaphores to the flag/signal deck
Scratch built “bulbs” for the night rescue buoys

I used a combination of components from these aftermarket sets:

Sea Master gun barrels
AKI anchor chain
White Ensign Models Photo Etch Set for HMS Repulse
Gold Medal Models PE Set for HMS Repulse
Eduard PE Set for HMS Repulse
Eduard Repulse railings PE set
Royal Navy hatches and covers PE set
White Ensign Models HMS Hood Ultimate Detail PE set
Eduard HMS Hood PE set
White Ensign Models Royal Navy cable reels PE set

The roman numeral hull depth markings are InvisiClear decals from Gold Medal Models.

The model was airbrushed and hand painted with a variety of Tamiya and Model Master paints. The wooden decks were painted using the plank-on-plank technique. Light weathering and shading was done with artist’s oils and turpenoid.

Summary
I hadn’t intended for this to be such a large project, but I was encouraged to put in “extra innings”, which I did. As a result, I ended up using 644 kit parts and added 945 scratch built and photo etched pieces. I put in about 1,200 hours on this project and it took 14 months to complete.

Chuck Bauer

Gallery updated 2014