Amongst everything else going on in life currently (work, steam rallies, motorcycle events, motorcycle maintenance, photography, computers, Xbox 360 and interacting with other humans), I have decided to start a new project – building a 1:600 scale model of the battleship HMS Warspite.

HMS Warspite (Courtesy of MaritimeQuest)

Needless to say, the picture above is not a model. It’s HMS Warspite off Normandy, France in June 1944. This image, many other images and lots of other information, by the way, can be found at MaritimeQuest.

Anyway, this all started when Sarah and I were in Hobbycraft. Sarah was searching for supplies and I was bored. I therefore ventured to the back isle in the store where I found model cars, Lego, Hornby trains, model planes, all sorts of Airfix models and various other things of vague interest to me.

It was there I spotted an Airfix model of HMS Hood. I thought the Hood looked a lot like the Warspite, the ship my Grandad served on during World War II, and pondered building a model of the Warspite if I could find one. If I was to undertake such a challenge, however, I would want it done properly, with lots of detail, nothing missing, painted to perfection and placed inside a custom case to keep the dust off, and perhaps displayed somewhere within the house, but would I have the discipline and skills to pull it off given that I have never attempted anyhing like this before? I retreated to think some more and eventually we left Hobbycraft (they didn’t have a model of the Warspite anyway) and I have spent the last week researching it on the Internet.

HMS Warspite (Courtesy of MaritimeQuest)

This week I have learned that the Warspite was a Queen Elizabeth class battleship and the Hood was an Admiral class battlecruiser. Therefore, although they look similar at first glance, a model of the Hood would not do. I needed the Warspite specifically. This seems to restrict me to either a 1:600 Airfix plastic model or a 1:700 resin model and as I’ve never dealt with resin in any form before and 700 to 1 feels a bit small, I have decided to go for the 1:600 Airfix HMS Warspite model!

HMS Warspite (Courtesy of MaritimeQuest)

Having also read about Dr. George Pek’s Warspite model building attempt between 2000 and 2003, I have decided to pick up the “PE 614″ Warspite Photo-etch kit from White Ensign Models.

So far, I have not purchased anything – I have no model, no photo-etch kit, no glue, no paint and no brushes. I intend on buying the model and the rest of the kit some time in the next couple of weeks though (time permitting) and getting to work ASAP! I also have the advantage of knowing someone who builds lots of models, has lots of equipment (airbrushes, compressors, paints) and lots of knowledge on this topic, so given enough time (and that might be a year or two) I hope to produce a fairly accurate version of the ship my Grandad served on during WWII!

If you are interested in keeping up with my progress, feel free to either subscribe to my blog’s RSS Feed or keep checking my HMS Warspite page!

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