Queen Elizabeth Model

[jamesatmaisonverre]

Hi Lads,
said i would post a few pics of my airfix qe1 in progress. Very excited by it. Its interesting to do the comparison between the other two queens, she really was massive. Included and pic also of the growing fleet.
Hope you like it.

[Lynda Bradford]

Looking good!  What is the size of the model?

[jamesatmaisonverre]

Hi Lynda,
How are you? Thanks a mill. The model is 1:600 scale, I think its nearly 21’’ long. The qm and qe2 are the same scale so you get a good indication of the differences between the two ships. There is also:
1:350 lusitania
1:350 titanic
1:700 qm2
1:1200 qe2
1:1200 aida
1:1200 qm2
1:1200 colo fantasy
I have a 1:600 mauretania to build yet and keeping an eye out for 1:600 france.
I will be ordering the 1:700 olympic at the weekend. I am going to take a break from it after qe1 is built to take up the painting again as I have an exhibition next month so need to get working I think.

[jamesatmaisonverre]

starting to look the part now

[jamesatmaisonverre]

Well here we go folks, the finished product of the qe1. You would not think by looking at it that this kit is over 40 years old although i did have an issue with decals starting to disintergrate but i managed to save them.
A nice kit i must say but i did do a bit extra like putting in most of the windows and vents. I did a 90% rigging plan, If i did anymore it would have looked cluttered.
There decals were also incorrect with the deck games as there were not enough so ended up being spaten in places where they actually were. The tennis courts were also listed in the wrong places but at least i had al 4 to put in the correct positions.
I also seperated the cargo booms an put them in a working condition as i think this looked very nice. The rigging thread is to scale which it is difficult to see at this resolution.
Next up is my rms olympic which you can see in the last pick.
enjoy the picks guys.

[Lynda Bradford]

Well worth the effort and the finished result is fantastic! 

I really like the design of the original Queen Elizabeth.  She is a ship with a very interesting history starting with being built in Clydebank and ending in Hong Hong harbour, an unfortunate end for any ship. 

Thanks for sharing the photos with us James. 

[jamesatmaisonverre]

Hi Lynda,
Thanks a mill, she was a beautiful design and had an amazing present with her lovely raked bow and very well proportioned. She literally raced into life and had a very sad end alright which was non deserving of such a wonderful ship.
Definately my favorite ship of all, now i just got to build a case for it, well once i finish my other 40 ships and finish my other 40 painting....lol. not enough time in the day

[Alan.C.]

Nicely made. Am I right in thinking that model is currently out of production? Same with the Airfix Canberra, which I find surprising considering the prices I've seen them go for on Ebay!

[jamesatmaisonverre]

Thanks Alan, yes they are which is a shame. I contacted airfix about it and they advised they were never going back into production which is believable because the last output was in 2002. They have never gone that long without a release of this series. I remember they used to cost about ten pounds back in the day because i had them and now i paid 4 time more including postage and that was cheap. They are becoming rare enough now. I also have the mauretania which was partially build by someone and in a poor state which i am also going to refurbish. The are few and far between as well. I think airfix are leaving the commercial side of things to revell and sticking to plains and battleships with the exception of titanic of course. I tried to get as ss france but was too rich for me at £120. My advise is to buy them now as they are getting rare.