I’m getting back into the hobby and I really like WW I British battleships. I’d like to start with a larger scale QE class battleship evrything I find is either old Airfix and Heller kits or 1/700 waterline kits. Any help would be appreciated.
Not sure if this fits the bill (not really GB QE class), and I assume you want to stay in PLASTIC (vs resin, of which there are many available examples):
Zvezda makes the Borodino, Oriol and couple other 1:350 Russian BB of the Borodino class, you can find them in many online shops from 20-25$USD
Alanger makes a 1:400 Potemkin, not sure if its OOP
Revell has the SMS Emden (light cruiser) in 1:350
ICM has the German BB Konig in 1:350
Airfix just re-released the HMS Hood in 1:700
At this very moment I do not believe that there are any QE class battleships available in plastic or resin in 1/350 in their WWI fit. If you are not stuck on the QE class battleships you could get a 1/350 battleship Dreadnought, a 1/350 battlecruiser of either Invincible or Queen Mary in their WW1 fits from Commanders Iron ShipWright. There has been a teaser from ISW for a QE class ship but it may be in WW2 guise. I don’t know yet. WS
I appreciate the info. From what I already know Iron ShipWright makes a WW II QE but what I’ve read/heard the kit has poor detail quality and is quite expensive I would want to back date the kit to how she looked in 1914. Do you know of any blueprints/plans maybe I could scratchbuild from ?? I’ve got a list of books on amazon I’m going to order as soon as I have the funds, the Campel book from 1972 on QE class ships is $75.00 alone.
check this link out.
http://www.wunderwaffe.narod.ru/Magazine/BKM/QE/Draw/index.htm
Don’t know of any British WW1 battleships in that scale (though I seem to recall a ‘Warspite’ in 1/500 sometime back, and I think a ‘Royal Sovereign’ too but both were in WW2 configuration), but Trumpeter is coming out with a 1/350 HMS Repulse battlecruiser in the next month or so to go along with the HMS Hood it released a couple years back. This might be an easier ship to ‘backdate’ to something like a WW1 configuration, and it won’t cost anything like the Iron Shipwright resin models. You might also want to investigate one of the 1/200 card models that are out there… That said, just a few years ago if anyone asked me if there was ever a chance of anything being produced in 1/350 other than the ever-repeated ‘standards’ (Yamato, Musashi, Bismarck, Tirpitz, KGV, Missouri), I would have said absolutely no way! And yet, look what has come out in just the last five years! Astounding! We are truly living in ‘the golden age of modelling,’ and it seems just about anything is possible in the next few years…
Well, I ordered Iron Shipwright’s QE 1/350 battleship resin kit and I’m going to back date, we’ll see how this goes. If you guys are curious you should check this site out http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/viewtopic.php?f13&t=18343 this guy Dino in I beleive Italy is scratchbuilding a WW II 1/350 HMS Barham and it’s amazing !! There’s a book "Anatomy of the ship " for HMS Warspite (a QE class ship) that I’m told has all schematics and plans that would aid in a scratchbuild.
Chris
mic53mlb, in that shipmodel thread on the barham, is a post or 2 of mine which i tell dino that i’m building a 1/144 scale model of the warspite. that model is about 52 inches long & about 6.5 inches wide.
Really !! ?? I must of missed that. Do you have any pics of your Warspite project ?? I emailed Anthony over at the Dreadnought project and he suggested “Anatomy of the ship” series HMS Warspite for my QE project … do you have the book ?? I figured I’d suggest it if you didn’t have it allready.
This is just an update for those wanting to know. I spoke to Joe over at Iron Shipwright and he told me that they are planning to produce a Queen Elizabeth class battleship in original WW1 form, I believe 1914. We just have to see how the economy turns out. If anybody has any info on QE class kits or projects please let me know I’d be very intereted.
I also meant to include that the QE is planned to be 1/350 … can’t wait.
A 1/350 scale WWI version of HMS Queen Elizabeth from Iron Shipwright? That would be amazing! I have their USS Texas, which is a very beautiful kit in resin. I have seen pictures of their HMS Queen Mary, the LION class CB of WWI, and it is fantastic!. The only other WWI version of QE is the 1/700 offering from White Ensign Models, another very nice model. If 1/700 is okay, check out the Combrig kits as well.
Bill Morrison
Thanks for the info Warshipguy. While I’m waiting for the Iron Shipwright’s QE I’m going to try the White Ensign 1918 QE. I really wanted to build a full hull ship but I’ll make an exception here.
My pleasure! The WEM 1/700 QE is an excellent kit. I wish it had been done with a full hull, as I wish the Combrig kits had a full hull option. Anyway, good luck with it!
Bill Morrison
Just found this thread. I have some Warspite plans for scratchbuilding in 1/192 which I believe are WW1. Plus I just recieved a set of special order plans for the Warspite (1942-43) from Loyalhanna Dockyard in 1/72, thats going to be Biiiiiig
Hey scarecrow,
where did you get the warspite plans ?? I’d appreciate any info. It sounds like you’ve got a neat project on your hands.
The Warspite plans I have in 1/192 were bought on e-bay from a lad in Australia. The 1/72 plans I bought from www.Loyalhannadockyard.com , they were originally in 1/144 but Don digitally scaled them up to 1/72 for me. This is a project I have been wanting to do for over 15 years now, getting the right plans was all that was holding me up. I tried the NMM in Greenwich, UK. They had what I wanted but their prices seemed way to expensive. With the scaling up Don only charged me $160. Which compared to the NMM price was almost miniscule. I am looking forward to starting, though being an over the road truck driver time gets precious. I have planned for a 5-6 year building time. If you are looking for the Warspite in her WWI period I can check my 1/192 set ( I think they are that period). Let me know and we can strike a deal, if that’s what you want?
Sorry about the long wait in getting back to you but I would be very interested. If you could send me a sample so that I could take a look at the different plans like maybe a broadside view I could determine which era plans you have and which set I need and we could make a deal. Let me know.
Thanks
Sure I can do that just as soon as I find my plans. Just moved into a new house so everything is not where I thought it would be
Sounds great. Whenever you can get around to it I would appreciate it.