by Roy Allen
1/350 HMS Prince of Wales (Tamiya)
As I do most of my builds water line the lower hull was removed but not before marking out the water line inside. A number of bracing struts were then fixed inside the hull at waterline level to stop any twisting, the main deck was then fixed in position. Construction of the upper works was fairly straight forward as i consider this to be Tamiya's best 350 kit as far as fit goes.
I used the White Ensign P/etch set to detail the build, my personnel favourite were the two cranes.
I decided to place the Walrus in the water coming alongside so as to allow me to show the stbd crane, boom and sea boat in the recovery position. Only down side to this, is that the finished model required a much larger case, which meant more expenditure.
The ship was air brushed using WEM colour coats and then matted down and sealed with extra acrylic matt varnish. The effect i was after was one of battered and worn so i used soft edged masking to simulate this, followed by dry brushing. Finally a good going over with my artist's dry pastels to weather her further.
The water was a ready mix house hold filler and was done flat to simulate the knuckle the ship produced when turning across the sea to offer the calmest landing zone for the Walrus.
