REALISTIC
"VICTORIOUS"
STEPHEN JOHNS tells hoW' to
make the most of a cle ver piece
of miniaturisation
I MAGINE a m~1 of a man j,ust a shade
over 1-inch hIgh. Then think of the
problems of ,painting . such ,. model, I,nd
you will reailse the dlfficurtl~ of workm&
to a scalt of I in 600. I h:wc heard several
people say of the model of H. M.S.
VIr/orlous: "Nice easy onc thal-ao bi"
it', casy to painl,'':'
But before you go slappina on details
on Ihis model in a carefree manner, just
remember the scale, aQd lreat Y/(tor!o~s
in a manncr more filting a very fC<ahsuc
piece or miniaturisation. Do nOI be deterred.
however. 35 if is still quite eas)' once you
10 about the job in the right manner.
There ate several schools of Ihoo&ht
on how 10 paint a plastic model. One
advocates painting everythillJ before aSo
sembl),. but on Ihis model I found iI best
to I~t the assembly as two ICp.lIralC
stages: the hull and its trimminp, and the
flight deck and superstructure. Cement the
two halves of the hull together. tit in all
the gun decks and the n paint whUl you
have assembled so far. The smaller details.
such as gun turrets. guns. ami.uirt:l"J.n
directol'5 an d boats are ea~ier to paint
..... hile still on the moulding stem.
Wh at arc the coloul'5? The suaaestions
made in the instructions leaflet are a goad
brood ,uide, but need some qUl!!liIkati~n .
The colour of lhe plastic uself IS a quite
lood ballleship grey-but it 'A-iII look
more realistic if painted over in • man
Itq' of the same shltde. The plaUte IS •
Imle 100 aIossy to look riaht.
l he directioos give the aun-d«k and
night.deck colour as "dark are)"areen"-
but do not be misled b)' the word "green".
Slaroourti ~i~"" of "VICfOr/Olls" shll""!
bilgt's and ;stains.
Carc in buiftling UII(/ ptllnt"w ;S11pt!rs/rIlCfllrc
and II'/a$t will gi~e rcullsm to )lQur mmld.
Uu Ihis piclUre of the actuul sMp as gllide.
I have seen one very bilious-looking
Victorious made by a young modeller who
was confused by this phrase. He chose the
very deepest green he could find-and
glossy at that! To act the correct shade
mix some black with some an:en and lighten
the !'!:Sulling shade with while if necessary.
The gun barrels are Jrey for about ~ne­
th ird of their Jenlth and the cnd two-thirds
can be finish«! in Ilossy black. Added
realism can be liven to the model if you
touch in the slits in the ,un turrets in a
matt black. Another minor poi')t 10 Ifive
added life is to touch in the bilges. Just
above the water-line, with Inan black
and then paint in very lightly the brownish
and blackish stains where the bilae.waler
has len its mark.
The flight deck is much e:uier to paint
before it h.as been fined to the hull and
before the superstructure has been added.
Colour is as for the gun deck.s, but there
is a lighlu area CJltendin, j·,nch eilher
side of the centre line. AirflX have obliaingly
outlined the yello ..... cent~line for you but,
if )'ou still rccl that I1 is ratDer a lonl
straight line to paint freehand, use some
sellota~ as a mask. You can then ~Ia p
the paint on as ClIreles.!tly as )'ou like,
leave it to dry carefuJl)' remove the trans·
)Xlrent tape an'd there is ),our line, as cl!!an
as a razor's edse. Onc wo rd or warning,
though: the yellow paint win tend 10 seep
under the tape where it croMCS the arl'CSter
wires. It is best to leave th ls seclion and
to touch it in aner the tape has been
remO\ed. . .
Outboard of the centre-hneand borden~1
the lighter area arc two narrow ..... hlle
lines which arc al50 faintly marked on the
plagic. Tbese. too, can be painted by. mask·
109 with lapc--or you can try uSing an
old pen dipped in slightly thinned paint
and simply rule the lines In. With practice
this technique can producecxccJlent results.
The arrester wires can be highlighte<i
by touchin; them up with a Jighlly-looded
brush of 110U)' black. Tyre marks will
also be .soen on lbe deck. especially around
the .rrester wires. Touch these in wilh mall
black-but leeep them small.
The superstructure i5 best painted antr
iI has been assembled but before fi:dn.
the mast or cementing the whole thin, 10
the flight dock. 111e lOp of the funnel
used 10 be grey like the rest of the super-
structure. but it has now been repainted
with:l bluck band around the tOp. Portholes
llod windows can be carefully touched in
whh gloss) black.
The main pans of the carrier are now
completed Rnd ready for major assembJy-
except for the masl. You might be ~rdoned
if you look al Ihis feature wuh some
distaste and decide it is the ....'Cakest part
of the model.
The main in:accuracy of the mode)'s
masl is th:l! the S!ruts ~ too thick. If
you like hard work you can try whilllinl
them down v,.·ith a sharp, poinled knife.
Or you can build anOlDer.
This laSI step is not SO drastic as it sounds.
If you tab a plastic mouldin; stem. hold
iI a Hulc way above a lighted candle and
keep twislln; it like a chicken on a Spil,
yOIl will find that il will st retch and stretch.
You Cltll pull it ou t in lO very fine st.'Ctions
before it breaks. ncfore you let 10 of the
ends, hold the stretched stem under cold
runnin; water.
Make yourself a small pile of fiDe lenlths
of plastic in this manner and you can lhen
10 ahead and aradually build up your own
masl. UJe the Airfix one as a model, but
make the individual plCCCS much finer.
(The job requires some patience and a
pair of tweezers but the result can be
Infinitely re ....-ardinl. The mast is grey up
to halr·hei,ht and the remainder is black.
Yards and mast top are in white.)
The scale problem will probably hit you
htlrdest wllen you come to painting the
aircra ft. What ran you do with a 1/600-
scale aerop lane apart from painting it In
lhe basic colours suggested by Airfill?
You can. at \cast. put the roundels on
by usina Ihe pcn and paint method.
(Another technique is to paint on a fairly
lar$C blue dOl, cover this WIth a smaller
... hlte dOl and end up with a red dot in
the centre. But this can end up as a rather
noticeable heap of paint unless carcrully
done.) If you like nllher nlplY work,
you can also paint, or pen. in senal numbers
29
WRITE FOR AIRFIX
MAGAZINE
The Editor will be pleased to
consider (or publication articles and
pholOCBpbs of interest 10 readers
of AIRRX MAOAZINE. or particular
inlen:st will be descriptiON of
readers' own layouts in which
plastic kits, or any make, have played
a signiftcant part.
An ClTly decision will be Ih'en
on 1\11 material submhted and
unused copy will be quickly returned.
Pnyment fo r con tributions used will
be made at the end of the month of
publication.
under the wings. The Skyraidcrs carry
mainly "WV" numbers (e.l. WV 179),
the Sea VI.~ens "XO" (e.&. XG 952) and
the Scimitars "XO" (e.g. XO 225).
Finally a word on armnging the aircnal't.
II mUSI be Stated straighl a ...."y thilt no
carrier is likely 10 cany the number of
aifg1lf! 5Upptied with Ihis kit on hoer
decks with all the wings unfolded, so you
can modify the majority of the aircraft
by folding their winas. Cut them off a little
WIly from the winl roots and stick them
on llKain jufd~d ~)'ond the I·u/lcul. The
folded Skymidcr supplied with the kit
has lu wings vertical and look. mther liS
if it hlls had a naSly fright l
The pholOgraph which heads thIS feature
show. Victorious at $Cl! with I "oup of
Skyraiders at the Slern und some Sea
Vixens just ahead of them. all with wings
folded. A tliant of five Scimitars are placed
forward of this RrouP in line uttrn 11001
the ccntre-line with their .... 'np sfTaiahl.
If fI)'lng is in prolress fhe rear part of
lhe night deck is kcpt clear except (or any
aircraft .... hich has JUSt landed. There would
probably be more aircraft. winlP' folded,
parked near lhe bows. oul of line of the
angled deck. and perhaps a couple of
aircmft on the steam c3wpulu.
ArrulIgeml!"t of aircruft 011 deck C(ln be seen
in this pho:ogroph of .. Victorious" at sea.
 WHERE'S THAT TIGER?
'We'll have a helicoptor!' says Airfix Director
'you can't leave that scooter there!'
It was a little after 5.30 on a November
morn ing. It was dark, dismal and damp.
and the porter at East Croydon station was
obviously in no mood for arguing. Never-
theless, Reg Croad, chief draughtsman of
Airfix, tried \0 tell ~he porter that he was
on most urgent business and had to catch
a train straight away. The porter was sti1!
unimpressed.. ..
'You can't leave Lt tnere: he smd agalO,
and then turned and d isappeared into the
station.
Reg Croad stood and looked after him
for a moment and thought one or two
unkind thoughts about porters in general
and this one in particular (a lthou~h he
realised he was only doing his job). As
a brief concession to the demands of
British Ra ilways, Croad wheeled his motor
scooter a few ya rds further along, locked it
and left it.
A few minutes later he was seated in a
tra in speeding down 10 Portsmouth. Croad
was nearing the climax of twenty·four
hours of crises. The previous day had been
onc of conti!1ual acti vity with plans al ways
frustrated at (he last mi!1ute. He had sot
home late, had a few hours sleep and then
was up again at 4.30 a .m. to make his dash
to East Croydon stlltion to catch the train
for Portsmouth.
The three hours enforced idleness in thc
train did nOI come easy to the draughtsman.
He thought back over the series of panics
which had landed him in the train-and he
cast his thoughts ahead and wondered
70
whelher he would get to Portsmouth In
lime, and what would await him there.
* * *
It had begun, as so many panics do,
quietly. Towards the cnd of 1959 Airfix
had de<;idcd to add the model of H.M.s.
Tiger, the guided missile ship, to their
range of J /600·scale ships. They approached
the Admiralty, found them willir8 to
co·operate and were promised plans of the
ship on which to base their model. H.M.S.
Tiger was then allotted a place in Airlix's
tigh t and complex production rota.
Most people would think that omcial
plans would be sufficient guidance to
Airfix for their model. But the company
think differently. Perfection is their aim
and they know, especially with new aircraft
and sh1ps, that minor modifications can
be made which do n01 appear on the plans.
If it is humanly possible they like to see
and photograph the original of every model
they manufacture.
And SO it was with this fact in mind that
Mr. E. J. Gray, Director of Airfix, tele--
phoned the Admiralty late onc afternoon.
He asked whether it would be possible
to go down to Portsmouth to see and
photograph H.M.S. Tiger.
The officcr at the Admiralty was affable
and obUiing.
'Of course you can see her, old boy', he
said. 'But t here's one snag : she leaves for
the Mediterranean the day after tomorrow
so you won't be able to get near her
tomorrow while she's preparing to sail.
You'd best come down the morning she
sails and watch her go out.'
Oray could see trouble looming ahead
already. 'What time is she leaving,!, he
asked.
'Nine o'clock in the morning!' was the
breezy reply.
It was then \00 lale 10 do anything
immediately, but Gmy ran over the pos-
sibilities in his mind. They could delay
the model of TIger until the ship returncd-
but this would upset the whole production
schedule. The)' could also go ahead without
seeing the ship-and hope that there were
no discrepancies in the plnn~-but thi~
was equally unthinkable. Gray knew that
somehow they would bave to get down to
Portsmouth and photograph Tiger as she
was leaving. He decided to sleep on the
problem.
* * *
'A helicopter- that's it!' Gray bad the
idea as he was drivfng to work: the next
morning. A helicopter would be able 10
hover over lInd around the ship as she was
leaving and they could get all the photo-
graphs they wanted. He caned in Reg
Croad , a koon amateur photogrnpher,
whose jOJ it would be to get the pictures.
He found Croad enthusiastic about hiring
a helicopter.
Wasting no time Gray telephoned
Battersea Heliport and inquired whether
they could do tbe job. The first thing he
learned was that the cost would he £70
an hour. Gray was ulldaunted. ' We want
the helicopter', he said.
Then came the first setback. No helicopter
was available when Airfilt waoted one.
T he hel iport was qui te happy to provide
onc later in the day, but Gray knew that
this would be too laiC.
He had another idea and telephoned the
aircraft firm of Saunders-Roe on the
Isle of Wight. Could they provide a heli-
copter? Again the same answer. 'Yes,
but not when you want it.'
Next Airfix tried Croydon Airport in the
hopes that a light aeroplane would be a
good substitute for a helicopter. Croydon
told them they had better get ill touch with
the local airfield at Portsmouth. Portsmouth
thought that they might be able to help.
Then came the doubts-doubts about
the November weather. Would it keep
the aircraft on tho j;!.round? If they could
get airborne, would the visibility besufficient
to take photographs of the ship. Anyway,
was an aeroplane the best medium to
use to take the photographs?
The problem was thoroughly ventilated
at a small meeting in Gray's office at the
Airfix werks. Reluctantly the conclusion
was reached that the wea ther risk was too
7l
great with an aircraft. Croad would have
to go down to Portsmouth by train and
\.5e his own initiative from then on.
* * *
eroad arrived in Portsmouth at SAD a.m.
precisely- just twenty minutes to spare
before the ship sailed. He had never been
to Portsmouth before and dedded that
his best ally would be a taxi-driver. He
found one, told the driver his mission and
asked to be driven to Ihe best vantage point.
It was a linle before 9 a.m. whcn eroad
founa himself llelX>SLted at Virginia Pier,
a small jetty just outside the harbour walls.
Croad saw from his watch that he still
had a lew minutes to spare and decided 10
chance leaving his first. vantage place in
search of something better. Further up
t;)wards the sea, at a place where the
channel narrowed, he could see 'l"hal
looked like an old gun emplacement. He
decided to try it.
He was a little breathless when ho arrived
- aOO found it. shut up. But there were
signs of habitation in a house nearby and
Croad decided to knock up the people
who tiv-eu lh"rc. He was tueky. The owner
was a caretaker and a retired seaman who
was full of enthusiasm when he heard
Croad's story.
'You come through here', he said, and
led Croad through to an eJ(eellent vantage
point, right at the narrowest part of the
channel. There was hardly time for the
draughtsma n to set up his camera before
Tiger came into sight steaming majestically
round a bend in the river.
There followed another hectic period for
Croad as he took one photograph after
anotht:r and, at the same time, made
mental notes on the ahllpc of the $hij).
One small snag was that the deck was
crowded with o1ficers and S<1ilors who were
obscuring some of the detail. But his
n~wly-found caretaker friend put his mind
a: rest tlbout this.
'They'll all disappear below after they've
saluted the Fori over there', he said. Sure
enough the decks cleared after the ceremony
of saluting the Fort, and Croad was aole
to get more detail into his photographs.
By lunch-lime he was back at the Airfi""
works and later the same day the fifty or
so photographs he had taken had bocn
printed and the long task of comparin8
them with the official plans had started.
H.M.5. Tiger was taking shape at Haldlne
Place.
'Guess it was all a bit hectic while it
lasted', Reg Crood said recently, as the
fil'llt models came off the mould. ' Bul at
least we can be certain that we have an
~act replica of H.M.S. Tiger.'