Modelling out of my comfort zone - HMS Lord Clive, updated

[PR19_Kit]

That's pretty good Alastair, thanks for the link. It's only been posted for 3 hours, so well spotted. 

[PR19_Kit]

I'll make no secret that the book that triggered my interest in this bizarre class of ship was Douglas Reeman's 'HMS Saracen', which I've read and re-read 3-4 times now. The ship in the book serves in both World Wars, which no RW monitors did as far as I can see, but my HMS Lord Clive is rumoured to have done just that. 



You can see the cover artwork shows the ship with an IMMENSE barbette supporting the big gun turret, which is what monitors are all about of course, and the barbette's proportions are about the same as that of the Roberts class monitors, and I'm modelling my Lord Clive in the same proportions. Of course I've got to scratchbuild the turret as no 1/350 scale ones exist for the 18" gun turret, or I don't think they do anyway. So I drew a turret and barbette up using some plans of the Furious in its original configuration.



I printed the drawing out and cut out the templates, drew round them onto some 15 thou styrene and cut out the bits. I did the barbette first as it was a simpler shape, being just a cylinder, and spaced the top and bottom apart with some sprues cut to length. Here's the bits, with the outer skin having been stretch formed under my 6" rule.



It's all gluing together now, and in the meanwhile I'm starting on the PE stuff, it's a BIG sheet!



Lastly, I've noticed that most of these big naval turrets have some sort of tarpaulin covers over the joint where the gun comes out through the turret. How do people model that as it's not in any kit that I can see?

[PR19_Kit]

Ah yes, HAPPY NEW YEAR you guys! I managed to post the first post this year, in the UK anyway, at 6 minutes past midnight. 

Actually though, Redfoxx over in the US managed to post one in the Movies thread at 30 seconds past midnight, but he was still in 2025 really. 

It all gets a bit complex as the New Year gallops round the planet, doesn't it? 

[jcf]

The 15" monitors had the tall barbettes for two reasons: the length of the bits below the turret, and because it was the only way to increase the elevation of the guns to 30°, which was considered to be lowest angle that was still effective. The 15" two-gun turret and the 18" turret for Furious were basically the same, indeed two that were used on two of the monitors were backups in case the 18" failed and would have been used on Furious.
Mounting an 18" Furious turret on Lord Clive would require a tall barbette just like Soult, Ney, Erebus and Terror, for the same reasons, the most important being the increased gun elevation it would allow.
Reading Ian Buxton's Big Gun Monitors he states that the 18" gun was mounted aft of the engine room because that was the only part of the ship that was open enough under the deck that made it possible to add the under deck supports for the gun mount, gun and shield. Which was far lighter than the 18" turret of Furious. The gun and mount increased the weight aft by so much that they permanently plated over the holes in the aft part of the anti-torpedo bulges that had previously allowed water to flow in and out. That section of the bulges became buoyancy chambers. An 18" turret fwd. and the 12" aft and the freeboard would approach that
of the original Monitor. 

[jcf]

In regards to updating the look to more of a WWII appearance, this might give you an idea. HMS Erebus in 1918 and 1944.
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[PR19_Kit]

I've got that book on the way to me right now, and I figured that a tall barbette was the only way to get enough elevation into that monster gun once I'd done the drawing for the turret. I'll have to saw down the original gun mounting as the gun would stuck out through the top of the turret using the mount as it is, and then the turret floor will need a hefty cut-out to take the breech as it elevates.

The barbette's dried out now and fits a treat.    So today it'll be work on the turret, a bit like planking a model boat as it's quite a complex shape.

[Rick Lowe]

Ah yes, HAPPY NEW YEAR you guys! I managed to post the first post this year, in the UK anyway, at 6 minutes past midnight. 

Well done, you get the Bragging Rights.  For the Northern Hemisphere, anyway.

As to the Bag (I think it's called) over the gun embrasure: what about draping a piece of tissue over the opening, applying white glue, and when dry cutting it to shape?

[zenrat]

Coincidentally (there are no coincidences...) a podcast I was listening to today was talking of the Battle of Rufiji Delta (October 1914 to July 1915) where the SMS Königsberg was sunk by the Humber class monitors Mersey and Severn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rufiji_Delta

[PR19_Kit]

Coincidentally (there are no coincidences...) a podcast I was listening to today was talking of the Battle of Rufiji Delta (October 1914 to July 1915) where the SMS Königsberg was sunk by the Humber class monitors Mersey and Severn.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rufiji_Delta

That's an astonishing tale Fred, I'd never heard of it before! 

It's got everything, the Germans taking their ship apart to have some bits repaired after moving them overland (!) Them unshipping some of the guns to use as land based artillery, the British aircraft falling apart because the glue wasn't strong enough, the two monitors being TOWED all the way from Malta to East Africa and the final sinking! 

The Royal Navy REALLY didn't want the Konigsberg around, did they?

[Rick Lowe]

The Royal Navy REALLY didn't want the Konigsberg around, did they?

I guess if something bothers you enough, or you see it as enough of a threat, you'll do whatever it takes to make the problem Go Away...

[zenrat]

If you enjoyed that, then have a look at this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Lake_Tanganyika

No monitors but the RN dragged armed motor launches overland from Cape Town to Lake Tanganyika to take on German gunboats.  1915 to 1916.

I first learnt of this through Peter Shankland's book The Phantom Flotilla.  The events aparantly inspired The African Queen.

[scooter]

If you enjoyed that, then have a look at this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_for_Lake_Tanganyika

No monitors but the RN dragged armed motor launches overland from Cape Town to Lake Tanganyika to take on German gunboats.  1915 to 1916.

I first learnt of this through Peter Shankland's book The Phantom Flotilla.  The events aparantly inspired The African Queen.

And one of the participants, the SMS Götzen still plies the lake, the last Kaiserlichemarine vessel still in service.

[PR19_Kit]

Serious progress on the gun turret.



I sawed down the mountings as I mentioned earlier, and cut away a large chunk of the turret floor to give 'The Gun' (which is how I think of it....) some substantial elevation, you can just see the cut out in the pic. It fits the barbette quite nicely, as it should as I drew it up that way, and I'm trying to figure out a way to make the turret rotate when it's in place.

The turret skins will be in place later on I expect, once I've worked out the various sizes and angles etc.

[NARSES2]

I think my first reading of the Battle of the Rufiji Delta was in the Hotspur or Victor comic back in the day ? When boy's comics were all about War, real or fictional, or a mix of the two 

[PR19_Kit]

I've got most of the turret done now, and it's not too bad. Needed a bit of PSR on the two rear corners, but that's curing now. I can't quite figure out how to do the front part of the turret and still allow The Gun to elevate, and it needs that 'bag' thing on there too. That has to move to allow the gun to move as well, so that's the current problem.

Here's the Lord Clive with both its primary and secondary armament mounted, and that fore turret certainly TOWERS over the whole ship!