I’d like to build a 1/350 or larger plastic/resin kit of a Royal Navy predreadnought in the black, buff and white colour scheme of the Victorian era, as shown below on HMS Formidable.
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Unfortunately there are no plastic or resin kits of British predreadnoughts larger than 1/700. But there is of IJNS Mikasa, with a few options in 1/200 and 1/350 scale. Accordingly to Wikipedia, IJNS Mikasa was a modified Formidable class, with an extra 6” gun per side. I've got a few useful books in my collection to help me discern how the Formidable-class would be fitted out compared to the IJN ship, including
British Battleships 1889-1904 and The Battleship Builders.
Below are HMS Formidable and IJNS Mikasa. An immediate difference is the British fighting tops and the lack of the cutaway on the forward hull for the anchors, but given the lack of torpedo nets on the British ship I suspect this was a later rebuild and that the anchor flats were removed. I would be building HMS Formidable as she was originally completed, so Mikasa's anchor platform will be fine, and I can make the fighting tops from scratch. And deleting Mikasa's extra 6" gun should be easy enough.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
But the biggest difference is with the appearance of the 12"/40 gun turrets, with Formidable having the usual hexagonal faceted, rounded look, while Mikasa's 12"/40 gun turrets appear narrow above the barbettes with slab sides - unlike the turrets I've seen on any British predreadought. Later 12" turrets like those on Dreadnought had slab sides, but were not narrow in profile above their barbettes. Unlike the Formidable class which were constructed in the Royal Dockyards, Mikasa was a private build at Vickers. But accordingly to the Battleship Builders book, the guns for Mikasa were not of Vicker's design but were ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, just the same as the Formidable class. Mikasa did have her guns upgraded from 40 to 45 calibre after she sank and was rebuilt, but the turret housing remained unchanged. So, why does Mikasa have these square, narrow turrets? And surely they'd be more crowded on the inside?
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Unfortunately there are no plastic or resin kits of British predreadnoughts larger than 1/700. But there is of IJNS Mikasa, with a few options in 1/200 and 1/350 scale. Accordingly to Wikipedia, IJNS Mikasa was a modified Formidable class, with an extra 6” gun per side. I've got a few useful books in my collection to help me discern how the Formidable-class would be fitted out compared to the IJN ship, including
British Battleships 1889-1904 and The Battleship Builders.
Below are HMS Formidable and IJNS Mikasa. An immediate difference is the British fighting tops and the lack of the cutaway on the forward hull for the anchors, but given the lack of torpedo nets on the British ship I suspect this was a later rebuild and that the anchor flats were removed. I would be building HMS Formidable as she was originally completed, so Mikasa's anchor platform will be fine, and I can make the fighting tops from scratch. And deleting Mikasa's extra 6" gun should be easy enough.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
But the biggest difference is with the appearance of the 12"/40 gun turrets, with Formidable having the usual hexagonal faceted, rounded look, while Mikasa's 12"/40 gun turrets appear narrow above the barbettes with slab sides - unlike the turrets I've seen on any British predreadought. Later 12" turrets like those on Dreadnought had slab sides, but were not narrow in profile above their barbettes. Unlike the Formidable class which were constructed in the Royal Dockyards, Mikasa was a private build at Vickers. But accordingly to the Battleship Builders book, the guns for Mikasa were not of Vicker's design but were ordered from Armstrong Whitworth, just the same as the Formidable class. Mikasa did have her guns upgraded from 40 to 45 calibre after she sank and was rebuilt, but the turret housing remained unchanged. So, why does Mikasa have these square, narrow turrets? And surely they'd be more crowded on the inside?
statistics: Posted by Admiral Beez — 19 minutes ago — Replies 0 — Views 17
