HMS Illustrious in 1/350 scale by Airfix Kit# 14201

Jeff Head said:

You got the special gift set from Airfix. They make those sets for a number of their models (have one for the Type 45 Daring Class too). They are the same model, but, as you say, include the glue, paint, etc. They also include more documentation and other niceties.

I have a complete model shop I use so did not need that particular kit. See my shop and the 1/350 scale Modern Carrier Battle Groups I am building:

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I would recommend finding a White Ensign Models *WEM) Photo Etch set for the vessel. These sets include finely phtot etched brass parts for all of the railings, all of the sensors, many of the platforms, and other gerar for the vessel. They are well worth the money if you want the vessel to look as realistic as possible. They also increase the difficulty of the model. All of that metalo has to be bent and shaped properly and then glued in place.

Anyhow...hope you have a lot of fun building it.

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Thanks Jeff for the tips!

steve_rolfe said:

Thanks Jeff for the tips!

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You are welcome...and as I said, have a lot of fun.

The Photo Etch kit allows you to add these types of details that you would otherwise not have:


Nice stuff.

'Airfix' have been going for years.........i remember in the 60's when i was a kid, they were the No1 modelling company for selling kits of aircraft etc in the UK.

I don't think, at that time they were the best for the quality of the parts in their kits........but i was very impressed when i opened the box to my new 'Airfix' model to see the detail of the parts for HMS Illustrious.

I now just need to make some space at my shipyard to begin construction!

Equation said:

My gosh look at the details on the structure of that radar. That kit modeling company sure is good.

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Equation, that is the Photo Etch assembly for the radar that came from the Whie Ensign Model Photo Etch kit that was specifically made for the Airfix HMS Illustrious model. The Airfix model itself does not include that level of detail. You replace their plastic part with the assembly you see there (which was made up of about 4-5 photo etch parts). The Airfix part is a nice part, but it is a solid piece of plastic in the same size and shape as that piece with some raised lines to show the bracing, but without the type of 3D detail you see there.

You can find that photo ecth kit for about $50 (US). Retail is a little more than that. But, despite the cost, it makes a world of difference in how the model looks after construction.

Completing the Island


I had hoped to get into the details and lighting on the hanger deck during this last week, but the remaining Photo Etch details on the Island were just too time consuming and so I didn't get to it. However, I did complete the island. Altogether there were over 90 Photo Etch parts for the Island alone. I had quite a bit of small railing to complete and then all of the yard arms for the funnels. With the plastic parts comprising the island, you are looking at well over 150 parts for the island alone. Quite a detailed model assembly in its own right.

Anyhow, with all the detailing, here's how the island now looks, ready to be added to the carrier flight deck when the time is right.


And here's a picture of the overall Island:


Now, I have already started preparing for the hanger deck. I will add the hallway from the fantail to the hanger deck, add the PE railing onto the hanger deck side walls and then construct them around the hanger spaces, build, paint, and detail the two Harriers and two helos and equipment I intend to have on the hanger deck, and then place those on the hanger deck. Finally, I will put together the lighting system for the hanger deck by placing the LEDs on the bottom of the flight deck in the appropriate places and then running the wiring so I can feed it out the bottom of the vessel into the stand where I will place the swith. It will be a 9v dc system. But all of that (or as much as I can accomplish) is for the next session.

HAnger deck PE Railing details and aircraft


Well, quite a bit of time has gone by. I got side tracked into a couple of projects, one a 1/22 Peterbuilt conventional tractor build with one of my grandsons for my father-in-law, my grandkids great granfather who retired from trucking after over 55 years at 80 years old. The other another build with another grandson of a 1/700 scale USS Regan CVN-76 aircraft carrier. But now it's back to my HMS Illustrious, R-06. Back to working in the hanger spaces. I got all of the PE handrailing in for the hanger deck walls, and then put those walls together, matching the entry ways I had cut into the sides of those walls with the various auxillary decks along the side of the hull so you could look into the hanger deck when completed. Also preparing for the hanger deck lighting system (which will come next).


Then it was on to painting and building the aircraft I intend to have being serviced in the hanger deck area. I will have two Harriers, a Merlin ASW helicopter, and a Sea King AEW helicopter in the hanger deck. So I painted those while on their sprues, using Light Ghoast gray for the body of the aircraft and then weathered black for the windows and flat black for the wheels. I then placed these on the hanger deck, one of the Harriers being on the lowered aft lift, preparing to be lifted to the flight deck. I will add some more details (various equipment and personnel) after the lighting system is complete and before buttoning up the hanger deck.


So, that's it for this session. In the next session, within the week, I hope to have the lighting system completed, tested and installed (and I am using Modeler's Brand parts for this, just as I did on my USS Enterprise). Also, I want to have the hanger deck finished and the upper hull put together with the hanger deck attached so I can button up the hanger deck and place the flight deck over it.

Ok, since I had been working on the aircraft for the hanger deck, I decided beofre I changed gears to just go ahead and build the entire airwing I intend to display on the Illustrious. This will consist of the following:

4 x Sea Harrier FA.2s (3 on deck, 1 in hanger)
4 x Harrier GR.7/9s (3 on deck, 1 in hanger)
2 x Westland Sea King AEW.2 (1 on deck, 1 in hanger)
2 x Augusta Westland AW101 Merlin (1 on deck, 1 in hanger)


Once these were completed (and I still need to scratch build the side mounted AEW radome for the Sea Kings and then add all of the decals), I then gathered my material for putting together the lighting system I intend to have on the Illustrious hanger deck. The parts to do that include the following (none of which are included with the kit):

- 3 Modeler's Brand () regular, double-density, warm white lighting strips with 3 LEDs each
- Several feet of #14 Red (positive) and White (negative) wiring.
- Modeler's Brand 9 vdc leads and Solderless connector leads for the lighting system.
- A 16 pole terminal block (which I will split in half).
- A 9 volt DC battery and an on/off switch.
- A bag of wire tie downs and several tape-on attach points.
- Several electrical wire connectors (butt connectors, flat connectors, etc.).

I bought the Modelr's Brand () regular, double density, warm white lighting strips/tape, the 9 VDC, the Solderless leads, and the switch from Modeler's brand. I purchased the 9 V DC battery, the wire, the tie downs, the tape-on attach points, the terminal block, and the connectors at a local hardware store (True Value). I then use the parts I have purchased for several lighting systems. This bunch also let me build the lighting system on my 1/350 scale USS Enterprise, CVN-65 by Tamiya, and will allow me to build the lighting system on my upcoming 1/350 scale JMSDF, DDH-181 Hyuga by Fujimi, in addition to this one for the Illustrious.


I then built the wiring. I attached the solderless leads to each of the three lighting strips ensuring proper polarity (postive-negative). Normally, on these lighting strips, the side with the little "R" is the positive side. But, it is always good to test the polarity before you finalize. I found that two of my lighting strips or solderless leads (it did not really matter to me which it was) had their polarity reversed and therefore I had to account for this in the wiring. I simply reversed the solderless leads from the lighting strip on those two, and then switched everything over to proper coloring with my red (positive) white (negative) wiring after they were joined.

Once the leads had been attached and each individually tested. I then began adding the wiring that leads along the ceiling of the hanger deck, into the body of the vessel, and ultimately through the bottom of the vessel and into the stand where I will place the 9 vdc battery (power source) and switch.

The pictures show the wiring, which is on the ceiling of the hanger deck, so you are seeing it turned over. Since the only view into the hanger deck is through the aft elevator, the several side passageways, and the rear passageway I cut into the model and scrtach built, this wiring will not be visible. I cut a slot in the forward, starboard end of the hanger deck structure, up near the ceiling, to allow these wires to route out to the interior spaces of the ship, which I will later route out through the bottom of the hull, to the switch in the model stand.

Once the wiring was completed, and each section successively tested and working, I tied every thing down, tidied it up, and then performed a final lighting test, as shown below.


Nice.

So, the hanger deck, its aircraft, and the lighting system are now completed. Tonight and tomorrow (Saturday, July 6th) I hope to build the two sides of the upper hull with the hanger deck installed, and then place the flight deck on top of the hanger deck. With my island already completed, I can then move rapidly to adding the many kit included and PE details on the hull and flight deck.

Outstanding work Jeff!

Blackstone said:

Outstanding work Jeff!

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Thank you my friend. These larger vessels, particularly the carriers, LHDs and LPDs take quite a bit longer to complete and get all detailed up.

I hope to finish this HMS Illustrious by the end of the month (July 2013). That will end up being three months of after hours and weekend work. My took me six months.