Modernized King George V battleship. Any time from the 1960's to the 2000's.

[seadude]

As I'm doing a bit of cleaning and organizing in my bedroom, I glance over briefly at the TAMIYA 1/350 scale King George V battleship model kit I got when my best friend passed away.
I currently have no plans to build it now or in the near future. Maybe sometime in a few years, I may take a crack at it. But what would I do with it?
So I'm curious to ask everybody else:
What would you do with a 1/350 scale King George V battleship kit?
Would you keep it in it's 1940's configuration or would you modernize it for continued service anytime between the 1960's to the current 2000's?
What would you add, delete, change, etc., etc.?

[kerick]

I'd say keep the guns and update as much of the radar and comm as possible. Add CIWS guns and some missiles. And a nice comfy helipad. I never did see the sense of trying to turn a BB into an aircraft carrier as some Iowa class suggested.

[Old Wombat]

My take's a little different;

1. Keep the 4-gun turrets (there's nothing like 8 x 14" HE shells exploding around you to say "Good morning, sunshine!")
2. Replace the 2-gun turret with blocks of VLS cells (Fill in between the casemate & the existing superstructure)
3. Replace the 5.25" guns with modern Mk.8 Mod.1 4.5" guns (Veteran Models) do one, which comes with a DS30M MK-2 30mm Gun, or Swordfish Mk.8 only kit)
4. Add some Sea Wolf 6-pack launchers (Swordfish)
5 If you use the Veteran Models Mk.8s, then you can replace some of the 20mm & 40mm WW2 weapons with the DS30Ms
6. Add a suite (4-ish?) of 20mm Phalanx systems
7. If you have any spare floating about a set of Nulkas wouldn't go astray, either (HS Models)

This would give you a 1990s-2000s KGV-class upgrade similar to that of your Iowa-class.

[kerick]

I thought about the VLS replacing the smaller turret. It would be a good idea.

[Joe CalPo]

Yeah, modern is fine but earlier would be more fun, though I can't tell you parts sources.

4.5" twins replacing the 5.25", and some smaller MGs
Ikara in place of the twin 14"
Sea Cats
Exocets
Helo pad aft with Skycrane for Harrier

[Weaver]

I'd go for a slightly earlier period than most other suggestions, the ship being reactivated for shore bombardment duty in the Vietnam War, presumably to swap places with Vanguard when the latter wasn't available. You could pick any of the KGVs since the survivors were all scrapped in 1958 in real life.

1. Keep all the 14" guns since they're the point of the exercise.

2. Keep the fore and aft 5.25" guns on each side: if Vanguard and maybe a Dido/Black Prince or two are still inservice then that's enough to justify the extra calibre in the logistics train. Also, I'm not wholly convinced that the relatively big and square 4.5" Mk.VI turret would actually have clearance to rotate in the same positions as the round 5.25" ones.

3. Delete the seaplane facilities amidships and replace them with a new structure, two decks high, going almost to the edge of the deck. This would offer more space for accomodation to peacetime standards. On the roof on each side would be two Seacat SAM launchers, fore and aft, with a director between them.

4. Delete the middle pair of 5.25" turrets on each side. This would a) reduce manning, b) keep 5.25" muzzle blast away from the Seacats, and c) allow their magazines and hoists to be converted for Seacat.

5. All UP mountings/2pdr (pom-poms)/quad Bofors (depending on the date the kit represents) deleted and replaced by a limited number of 40mm Mk.5 utility twins. This is mostly to reduce manning, but also reflects the fact that the RN had fallen out of love with the 40mm and regarded Seacat as the preferred close-range AA weapons at the time.

6. "Modern" radars and directors: MRS-3 for AAA gunfire control, Type 993 radar. I doubt they'd fit Type 965 ("bedstead"), but if they did, it would need a substantial new mast, probably aft

[Andrew Gorman]

You can't go Wrong with Talos missiles. Ramjets are cool.

[PR19_Kit]

You can't go Wrong with Talos missiles. Ramjets are cool.

There speaks a true Whiffer.   

[Joe CalPo]

Sea Slug is amazingly huge, but where would one put it? Follow the USN example removing the aft 14"?

How about a big helo carrier ala HMS Tiger? Several Sea Kings, or Lynx, or commando choppers for Royal Marines.