1/168 HMS Sovereign of the Seas (Airfix)
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by Tom Singer |
1/168 HMS Sovereign of the Seas (Airfix)
I saw this old Airfix Series 9 kit in my favourite model shop and thought it would make a nice diversion from the WW2 ships I had been making. Little did I realise the awesome painting I was to be faced with!This ship, originally ,named the Royal Sovereign, was proposed by King Charles 1 in 1634 as he wanted to have a "Great New Ship" built for the Royal Navy. She was to set a new standard in size and armament which was not exceeded for over a century. She was the first 100 gun ship and could sink opposing ships with a single broadside.
She was also unparalelled in her stem to stern decoration especially her magnificent stern. This is well shown in the model! It took me 2 weeks of careful painting under a magnifier to highlight the decoration with Tamiya gold paint. I decided to leave the hull gun ports closed; with the cannons showing the vessel would have looked like a hedge hog!
I had almost finished the masts when disaster struck; I accidentally trod of a finished mast which had fallen on to the floor completely destroying it. After all the work I had already put unto the model I decided to finish it off as an Admiralty Board model and that is what I am submitting in the photographs.
I don't think it's bad for an 80 year old!
