The Ship Model Forum

Hey guys, some ideas I've had floating around in my head lately, thought I'd share:

What If the Hood WASN'T sunk during the Bismarck engagement but only "mauled?" In my scenario she limps back to the UK and is made watertight/sea worthy once again but due to a more aggressive Germany in 1941/1942 the UK is unable to fully repair her (think the Pearl Harbor BBs stripped and patched at Pearl for their transit to the West Coast for major rebuilding) and they subcontract it out to the USA and or Canada with Hood emerging from the yards on or about 1943-44.

*Side note: I have the UK falling in 1944-45 time frame and the remnants re-locate to Canada and the US to continue fighting culminating with a very whiff heavy invasion of the UK in 1951!!!*

Ideas on how she would look gents? I'm working on a 3D model at the moment that I'll post a little later. Have to add the superstructure and weapons, rest is done. I've added a torpedo bulge similar to the US BB-43 class rebuilds already and a bulwark to the bow to aid in water displacement. She'll be re-armored with at least 5-6" decks and an increased side belt over the original 12" tapered to 5". How much I'm not sure, ideas?

Since the situation in the UK is a bad way I'm going to re-arm her with US weapons and electronics save for the main 15" battery. Do you think she could take twin 16" turrets like the US Colorado class? I MIGHT do that if its feasible, not sure of the details. Secondary battery will consist of the usual twin 5"/38s with twin and quad 40mms and twin 20mms. Modern US gun directors as well.

Superstructure wise I propose a forward setup as a mix of the HMS Belfast, USS Iowa, and HMS KGV. She'll get a UK style square open bridge atop the conning tower with a Mk-37 director abaft it as well as a main battery control tower abaft it. Two more Mk-37s will go on pedestals beside the after funnel with two searchlights. Two quad 40mms between the funnels and a trio between the funnels and after superstructure like in the Iowas. Funnels will be raised considerably and capped.

Aircraft won't be added in favor of a better AA battery.

Questions, did Canada posses the ability to manufacture any of the UK 40mm mounts? Sextuple, octuple, twins? If so I'll use though in lieu of quads and twins. We re-armed a UK DD with 5"/38s and Mk-37s at one point and the Brits LOVED them so I want to use them on this whiff.

Any thoughts, ideas, death threats, should I stop now and back away slowly?

Discuss!!!

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Drawing Board:
1/700 Whiff USS Leyte and escorts 1984
1/700 Whiff USN Modernized CAs 1984
1/700 Whiff ASW Showdown - FFs vs SSGN 1984

Slipway:
1/700 Whiff USN ASW Hunter Killer Group Dio 1984

This technically belongs in the thread below regarding Hood post-Bismarck engagement.

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De quoi s'agit-il?

I think it's a rather inventive plan really - the concept is rather sound. Of course, there's bound to be the nay-sayers who'll try and point out all manner of things, but if you're starting at a concept of a retreat to Canada, you're already looking at a situation where it's in a dire nature anyways.

Canada probably could have produced the 2Pdr mountings, I don't know if we Did per se, but it's not impossible. Consider a lot of the Mosquitoes were built in Canada, as well as other weapons of war for Britain.

I think it'll look quite interesting all together, and I would hazard a guess that the Colorado 16's might not fit on the mounts - even then, in 700 they'd be hard to find, since the only Colorado is in resin IIRC.

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Die Panzerschiffe - Putting the Heavy in Heavy Cruiser since 1940.

It's not Overkill, it's Insurance.

If you think my plastic is crazy, check out my Line Art!
http://s37.photobucket.com/albums/e58/S ... %20Images/

Alright here's what I have after about 5 hours. Pardon the Mk-25 radar on the Mk-37 directors. I borrowed the Mk-37s and the twin 5"/38s from another project and just plopped them in. Everything in the program is a uniform %50 gray until it gets textured and that is the very last thing you do so no paint for awhile.

I've got the main hull done down to the waterline. I might extend it later but for now its sufficient. Secondary battery is in place as well as their directors. I've left off the AA battery as well as the 15" turrets and associated directors as I haven't made them yet. I did rough in the main battery fire control towers though. Superstructure is basically done save for details. Mast is rough as well. Funnels don't have caps yet.

The basic layout is there though. any ideas on AA layout or search radars?

Starboard Aft


Port Bow


Bridge Close Up


Twin 5"/38 Close Up


Mk-37 Close Up


For those 3D modelers out there I'm using Maya 2008 and modeling in polygons.

What do you think?

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Drawing Board:
1/700 Whiff USS Leyte and escorts 1984
1/700 Whiff USN Modernized CAs 1984
1/700 Whiff ASW Showdown - FFs vs SSGN 1984

Slipway:
1/700 Whiff USN ASW Hunter Killer Group Dio 1984

Any thoughts on how to bugle the hull? I'm planning on getting one of Trumpy's 1/700 1941 Hoods soon to begin the experiment. I'm adding more than just an armored belt so some strips of sheet plastic won't do the whole job or would they? Was also thinking maybe add some blocks of varying sizes to the hull and then plating them with sheet plastic complete with deck sheathing. I'm going make the entire midships section steel decking and keep just the foc'sle and fantail clad in wood similar to the BB-43 Class re-builds. It'll alleviate any large scale rescribing of the deck after the bugles are installed.

How have you guys done it in the past?

Any help is appreciated as always, thanks.

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Drawing Board:
1/700 Whiff USS Leyte and escorts 1984
1/700 Whiff USN Modernized CAs 1984
1/700 Whiff ASW Showdown - FFs vs SSGN 1984

Slipway:
1/700 Whiff USN ASW Hunter Killer Group Dio 1984

thats a very Americanised version of Hood, interesting though... take a look a my build log of hood in 1/144 scale, I've building her as she would have been with the planned refit of 1942.. a very KGV looking superstructure and secondary armament.

Anton

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AT
1/72 Arleigh Burke flight iia
1/72 Hobart class AWD HMAS Brisbane
http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=154767
1/72 Friesland
1/75 Wasa
1/53 STS Leeuwin II
1/72 HMAS Perth 1942
1/72 Russian Corvette Steregushchy

I also started building a Hood with the proposed refit a while ago, but in 1/700. I've got some line drawings in the Siegfried Breyer Battleships and Battlecruisers 1905-1970 book. She had 4 twin 5.25" mounts each side in a very similar arrangement to the KGV and as you mentioned the big, boxy bridge and superstructure. The drawing in the Breyer book is labeled as "planned conversion - conjecture" but apparently there was some evidence that seems to indicate that had she not been sunk in the Battle of Denmark Strait she may have undergone a pretty comprehensive upgrade similar to the one we are discussing.

I really like Cliff's US conversion also. Great idea Cliff!

On a similar note, what about a US conversion of the Jean Bart. After she fled France she made it to the US and got completed for the Free French Navy as their flagship.

Hmmmmm, another idea for a whiff. Too much plastic and ideas and not enough time.

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"There seems to be something wrong with our bloody ships today"

So how'd it come out???

Also, what software did you use to make the design?

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Current builds:
Hobby Boss 1/700 Type VIIC U-Boat for my AH

Planned builds:
3 more 1/700 AH submarines

I used Maya (10 I think, can't remember) to make the model. Learned how to use in College and decided to buy it, really cool program! Sadly though my laptop decided to die back in Feb and I lost a bunch of stuff. I backed everything up a month prior but I haven't been able to find the Hood files yet. They're more than likely gone Oh well, I can always rebuild it later on, too many other projects inline in front of this one. Maybe I'll get back to in a year or so, we'll see.

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Drawing Board:
1/700 Whiff USS Leyte and escorts 1984
1/700 Whiff USN Modernized CAs 1984
1/700 Whiff ASW Showdown - FFs vs SSGN 1984

Slipway:
1/700 Whiff USN ASW Hunter Killer Group Dio 1984