Monday, 20 August 2012

Lions and tigers and Temeraires*. Oh my!

Recent additions to my 1/1200 scale fleet are these two battleships of the Lion class.  Six of these were planned, and the first two (Lion and Temeraire) laid down as a planned follow-up to the King George V class.  Unlike the KGVs, the Lions were to be armed with 16 inch guns in three triple turrets.  As the hull was basically a (very) slightly stretched KGV (the difference in length amounts to a fraction of a centimetre in 1/1200 scale), I simply made up the Revell kit from the box, less the main turrets.  Suitable turrets were sourced from a chap on ebay who produces a range of such items  - mostly as replacements for the old Tremo models.  The turret mounts had to be carved out a bit to enable to new turrets to fit. 
An easy conversion then, to produce an only slightly fictional ship!  Or two.
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12 comments:

  1. Paul20 August 2012 at 12:01

    Lovely job Tim, the painting is great as well.

    The turrets look like they belong on it.

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  2. Tim Gow20 August 2012 at 12:06

    Paul
    Ship painting tips: drybrush over a black undercoat and take the photos from a safe distance!

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  3. Peter Douglas20 August 2012 at 13:42

    TIm

    Lovely stuff! Will we see a Graf Zep or RMI Aquila?

    Cheers
    PD

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  4. Tim Gow20 August 2012 at 13:46

    Peter Douglas
    Who knows....

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  5. Martin Rapier21 August 2012 at 08:49

    Very nice looking ships, the triple turrets look much better balanced than the original armament configuration.

    More than a match for the Tirpitz I suspect.


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  6. Tim Gow21 August 2012 at 09:47

    Martin Rapier
    I agree. The KGV's mix of twin and quad turrets looks like a bit of a lash-up by comparison.

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  7. Geordie an Exiled FoG23 August 2012 at 00:37

    I've got to say I really like them Tim especially since I never liked the 14" Revell (I know they are just the latest owner of the molds) quad turrets

    I think they look the business ;)

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  8. Tim Gow23 August 2012 at 22:01

    Geordie
    They are just nicely different from my KGVs. And with a usefully heavier broadside....

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  9. ian drury24 August 2012 at 09:42

    Funnily enough, I have Lion under construction in Walthamstow. And the Hindenburg has just joined the Kriegsmarine (The planned Bismarck follow on).

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  10. Tim Gow24 August 2012 at 10:39

    Ian Drury
    I have a pile of spare Bismarcks, so you may expect some forthcoming Z-Plan silliness...

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  11. David Crawford12 December 2018 at 19:27

    In my usual timely fashion, I'm posting messages on a blog more than six years old. Will anyone even see it?

    I was wondering if you know if the guy who supplied you with those triple gun turrets is still casting them, and who he is? I'm looking at a couple of Revell PoW's that I don't really need, and turning them into Lions might be a fun way to use them.

    Thanks.

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  12. Tim Gow12 December 2018 at 21:49

    David Crawford
    It never does to rush these things! I found the turrets on eBay so it might be worth running a search.

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