by Kieran Griffith
1/600 HMS Victorious 2008 (Airfix)
The HMS Hermes was a really great ship with a great history. I so wish there was a 1/400 to 1/500 full hull scale model of it that was available from maybe Heller or Airfix. I thought that perhaps I would be able to convert the 1/600 Airfix HMS Victorious to the Hermes but the differences were too much for me at the time (Though converting this kit to the Hermes would be a little bit easier then building from scratch at the same scale.). I decided instead of putting the kit in the attic or selling it on Ebay I would make it as how the HMS Victorious would look if it was still around in 2008, using the INS Viraat as a guide. I didn't take the kit too seriously but it was a lot of fun and I think it looks nice from a distance with PE railings. One of the most interesting things about this kit was I found I could convert the four Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer aircraft, from the Airfix kit, in to a very good looking Sea Harrier with just repositioning the wings, tail fins and redoing the undercarriage. The Blackburn Buccaneer was a British low level strike aircraft serving with the RN and the RAF from 1962 to 1994. Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft it was later known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley group. The HMS Victorious would not still have been in the RN in 2008 so I pasted Indian flags and stuff on the base since they would have been the most likely to buy it.
