Conclusion
The Academy kit is very good and will build up into an acceptable kit for those who can’t invest the time it takes to bend all the brass in either the Pontos or White Ensign sets. Obviously there is a lot of fuzzy detail in the basic kit otherwise there would be no market for the additional brass etc. But I like the plastic as it is possible to apply a very smooth coat of paint to it.
I painted all the sections before assembly with an airbrush. I have yet to learn how to paint the whole model once assembled, if indeed anyone actually does it that way (check out Ian R’s projects, somehow he seems to go down this route – Geoff)
The Pontos accessories are pricey but very good, I may be wrong but they seem to be made with a slightly thicker brass sheet than W.E. Having said that there is nothing wrong with the W.E. set at all and in fact their detail on the ships boats far exceeds that of the Pontos set.
I didn’t keep a record of how long it took to build but I was away for considerable periods in the summer and overall it has been 5 months since I started it.
It is very difficult to find high quality images of the Warspite and, as yet, I have not seen a colour image of it. In spite of this there is enough material of other warships to get the idea of how these magnificent ships looked in service.
It was a very absorbing experience.
Julian S.
Gallery
Below are a series of images of the completed model. Click on a thumbnail to see the enlarged image.
