HMS Dreadnought, initial 1907 configuration

Trumpeter 1/700 HMS Dreadnought, kit 06704

The Subject

HMS Dreadnought revolutionized battleship design, being the first ship to focus on main battery for offensive capability and thick armor for defense.  She also was the first to use turbines for propulsion.  

While she served during World War I, she did not participate in Jutland, being in dry dock for a refit.  However she is the only battleship credited with sinking a submarine.  Post-war she was sold to the scrappers because she had already become obsolete as larger guns and better designs resulted during the war. 

The Model

This kit has nice details and  includes a photo etch fret for some key details that could not be molded in plastic.  In other words, you must use PE with this kit.

I also purchased a Wood Hunter mask for the deck, as I wanted to try one and I did not relish painting painting or masking the deck otherwise.  Frankly, it’s been one reason I don’t do more ship models.  

Constructions was quite straightforward, the only difficulty I had was with the PE, used to construct the boat deck framing and David’s.  I’m not a fan of PE but in this case it was a must as no plastic is provided for these parts.  I considered replicating these in sheet styrene but decided to try my hand at the PE anyway.  It turned out well enough and does provide a more realistic appearance.

Painting was easy enough.  I sprayed the wooden deck areas with Tamiya Deck Tan, then applied the mask.  It went on surprisingly easy and is now a requirement for any future ship models I build.  I then sprayed the dark gray.  The actual color should be quite dark, but photos don’t show it as dark as the paint chips would have a modeler use.  The chips are almost a black so I decided to simply use a dark gray, again from Tamiya.

The base is a simple bit of poster board, cut to about 1 inch all around the ship.  I then painted it dark blue and added gesso to create the waves.  After an initial shaping, I placed the model in the gesso while wet to mount it, and then shaped some of the waves into the bow wave and the wake behind the ship.  I let the gesso cure for a few days, resulting in a clear appearance.  I added some minor spray and churn using some white and light blue paints, then sprayed Future floor polish over the entire thing.  Any clear gloss will work, but I like Future because it cures to a very “wet” appearance.  I then masked the water areas and sprayed a matte clear on the ship.

Summary

I have a vision that includes all the major battleship classes from Dreadnought to Yamato, my biggest stumbling blocks have been masking the decks and photo etch.  This kit taught me that masks are mandatory (just like on aircraft kits) and photo etch is option, but not always.

I thoroughly enjoyed this build, even if I was the only one who actually completed their “any battleship or battlecruiser” model for the group build.