by Rod Ulrich
1/600 HMS Orpheus, 1918 (Airfix Kitbash)
A scale plan was made by copying the WEM profile of HMS Mary Rose © 1916 and reproducing to the correct 1/600 dimensions with a photocopier.
This plan was then updated and converted to HMS Orpheus 1918 by using photographic evidence taken from as many available sources as possible. The basis of the conversion is the venerable Airfix 1/600 HMS Hotspur. Therefore, the following had to be altered to match the published dimensions of Length, Beam, Stem and Stern.
Sanding the longitudinal hull joint to reduce the overall width of the hull altered the Beam. The length was altered, after joining the hull halves by removing a section from the most parallel section of hull. Great care is needed to ensure the ‘squareness’ of the cut to avoid any kinks in the finished hull lines.
The portion of the original Hotspur deck moulding conforming to the foc’stle and fore deck was slimmed down and fitted to the forward portion of the hull. This preserved the moulded detail on the foc’stle.
The remaining portion of the original deck was used as a pattern to reproduce a plain plastic card blank to represent the after decking. A plain plastic card bulkhead blanked off the fwd portion of the hull and when both sub assemblies were dry the hull was rejoined and the join line blended with plastic filler.
To give the bow a more vertical profile, a piece of plastic rod was glued to the prow below the waterline. Liquid super-glue and baking powder were then successively applied to build up the bow and then sanded down to the correct lines and profile. This produced really sharp, crisp lines that are more durable than simple plastic filler.
The stem was then undercut to correct the necessary profile. There was sufficient plastic available on the original mouldings to do this. All scuttles were then opened out using a suitably sized drill bit in a pin vice.
The bridge / wheelhouse / for’d deckhouse were converted from the Hotspur item. A plan of the bridge was created in thin plastic card with a raised central portion as per the plan. The wind-dodgers were made by super-gluing a narrow strip of very thin lead foil (Similar to the foil from around the neck of a wine bottle) to the edges of the bridge. The weather screen was taken from a generic etched brass ladder / railing / walkway set by cutting the railings away from the treads. The compass binnacle was from the Hotspur kit and the semaphore unit from the WEM PE Iron Duke set, the searchlight mounting from plastic rod.
The after deck house was scratch made from plastic card, as were the engine and boiler room vents and hatches running along the main deck from the bridge to the after funnel. The funnels were converted from the Hotspur and Cossack kits detailed with fuse wire and PE brass mesh as necessary. The centre gun-mounting platform was cut from thin plastic card using a compass cutter. 1-2
The main armament was all converted from the Hotspur kit and enhanced with a small length of fuse wire to represent the recoil cylinders. The torpedo tubes were scratch made from plastic rod and card. The 2 Pdr AA gun was scratch made and mounted in a tower scratch made from wire, plastic card and lead foil. The search light position on the after deckhouse was scratch made from plastic card and lead foil. Both searchlights were sourced from the Airfix Iron Duke. Depth charges were from plastic rod detailed with PE laddering to represent racking and release tracking.
All deck fittings winches, deadeyes, bollards, etc, were scratch made from plastic rod / card with additional fuse wire detailing as required. All masts, yards, Jack and Ensign staffs were scratch made from brass wire and soldered together for security and strength. A ‘crow’s nest’ was scratch made from a rolled up lead foil and the tall vent pipes were from fuse wire.
All ships boats and Carley floats were sourced from WEM generic items but mounted on Hotspur davits as necessary. Ground gear was either scratch made or sourced from the ‘spares box’. Screws and rudder came from Hotspur but the screw shafts were replaced with items made from brass wire.
All subassemblies were then ‘dressed up’ as necessary with generic WEM PE WW1 style hatches, doors, vents, etc, mostly taken from their Iron Duke set; plus suitable WEM PE 1/600 ladders, gangways, etc, where necessary. A further selection of WEM PE 1/600 boat davits, handling davits, etc, was sourced for detailing the model on completion. All these items were then subjected to many ‘dry runs’ to ensure perfect fit and alignment, with any ‘gotchers’ being dealt with if and when they arose.
All items were then painted RN Dark Grey using WEM Colourcoats enamel paints. Detailing was then picked out in representative colours. The lower hull anti-fouling was again from the WEM range. The funnel banding and hull boot topping were created using Xtra Decal white and black striping respectively.
At the same time, a small sheet of decal film was painted with WEM ‘Corticene’. This was then cut into the representative panels and deck gangways and applied to the for’d and main decks in the normal manner. Where this was impractical, the normal brush painting methods were employed! The pennant number was taken from suitably sized generic aircraft serial codes.
Final assembly was then carried out and all railings and stanchions added from WEM PE 1/600 generic sets. All the rigging was added using very fine lycra thread. Lastly, a fine coat of matt acrylic varnish was sprayed overall to seal in the paint and decals. As I personally prefer my ships displayed ‘on sticks’ as a full hull model, it was easy to mount it on its display base and minimise my contact with the paint finish. The ‘brass’ painted mounts are in fact Dolls House banister spindles suitably cut down and fitted with a wire core going through from the base into the model. An engraved plaque is then added to identify the ship.
