Building Dutch cruiser Tromp 1:1200 scale – part 2

Ships built from scratch

Spotlight platforms
The spotlight platform has two vertical pillars to support the deck with the funnel as a third support. The pre-painted supports are inserted into the holes made in the deck, then cut to height. The platform made from thin plastic is then glued to the three supports and two sequins are glued in as lamp mounts. And finally the whole assembly is painted

 

 

Lifeboats
Lifeboats are one of the larger additional items. Using a piece of 1.5mm square rod, create a pointed bow by slicing 1mm from the end of the rod. Create the slope of the bow with a single cut. Cut the rod to length using the elevation dimension. For the stern, 1.5mm from the end on the bottom slice a single piece then trim the corners at around 45 degrees .5mm from the end. For the Trump there are 2 larger boats (7mm), 4 medium open boats (6mm) and two open boats aft (5mm). Once the boats are cut the bottoms and sides need to be painted by painting one end first, then when dry paint the other. If paint gets onto the top it can be removed later using the scalpel once the boats are put in place.

Seaplane
Tromp carried a single seaplane. To construct this we need to use 1.5mm square rod for the fuselage, thin plastic sheet 2mm wide for the wings and 1mm wide for the tail and plane and 1mm square rod for the floats. The final task is to paint the plane and glue it in place on the deck aft of the funnel.

Fitting out
Fitting out involves the addition of mid-ships and after deck houses, masts, derricks, searchlights and additions to the bridge.
The final stage is to paint all of the additions, then with a black pen to add deck details – bollards, hatches, anchor chains, portholes and anchors to complete the model.

The Finished Model