HMS Audacity. From gaming miniature to 1/700 waterline model.

[Rhino]

Most of us a familiar with Royal Navy Captain Eric "Winkle" Brown and his aerial exploits. Major model manufacturers seem to ignore Winkle's first escort carrier model, in any scale.

HMS Audacity - Royal Navy - Wargaming - Axis and Allies - Naval Miniature | eBay

Perfect for Wargaming, Axis and Allies: War at Sea, Victory at Sea, or dioramas of naval actions. Products in pictures are example pieces. As these are individually printed, there may be small variations .

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Enter eBay and Esty seller XP Forge of Hiram, Georgia. Tim Smith 3D prints HMS Audacity in 3 scales of gaming miniatures. I asked him if he could make a 1/700 scale version, of HMS Audacity and he agreed to attempt it. The price was reasonable.

HMS Audacity's LOA is 8 inches exactly in 1/700 scale. A few of the details are accurate-ish. That flightdeck texture has got TO GO! The mast, anchors and gun tubs likewise will be carved/chopped off. Cartoonish portholes will be eliminated. Job one, the gawdawful flight deck!

I spent a few happy hours with 220 grit wet-or-dry and hand soap on the bathroom vanity. Dial anti-bacterial hand soap makes it easier to rinse the leavings from the sandpaper media and gives even the crudest casting, Master or model a pleasant scent. Always a plus!

Once the flight deck is sanded down to the clean deck edges, the usual C/A fill/sand process begins. I will comment that this resin is HARD! 2 sheets of 220 wet-or-dry gave their all to get this far.

I love the way this grand Scots gent puts his words together. I listened to several of his interviews while laying waste to the stout 3D resin Audacity details. My Captain Brown impression is giving my Sweetie a few chuckles, as it were. I bought his DVD and his "Wings on my sleeve" book. He passed away in February of 2016. He is one of my heroes.

So it begins....................

 

[Rhino]

Drilling the stern gun mount for installing a new 4" gun tub reveals that HMS Audacity is hollow. Remembering the 3D printed Fying Fluck and Missile toad debacle, I drilled a couple of holes in the underside to see if any toxic fluid runs out. None did. Pshwoo!
There will be no complaining about the modifications to this vessel. Tim did what I asked him to, and I knew full well a lot of extra care would be required to get her Just So.

Winkle might say; "This is the state of HMS Audacity (ahem) as it were. She gotten her undesirable bits removed, been smoothed and filled, you see. One would expect one would install a proper Royal Navy wooden flight deck, and rightly so. In any case (ahem) with the bloody shinies filled and bridge deck added, Awe-Dasiteh is coming up quite smartly, indeed! If this Yank knows what he is about, one might add the 2 arrestor wires and then the third emergency wire (ahem) which we called the For Christ's Sake wire. "

Thanks for looking in!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Interesting build Chris. This is a huge build compared to your usual stuff. Wondered why it was such a beast to smooth out the deck.

 

[Rhino]

HMS Audacity's replacement 20mm gun tubs begin with Model Monkey's excellent 3D prints. These are so fine they must be gently cut with a fine saw blade. Applique wood deck is on the way from a US supplier. Plenty of work left to do!
Many thanks for having a look.

 

[Rhino]

Every magnifier on hand is utilized to fit the applique the wood to HMS Audacity's flight deck. Fine scalpel blades and p/e scissors.
Tis quite tedious.

I think this about as good as it will get. The seam up forward is where the wind deflector will go. Better gun tubs, coming up.

 

[moon puppy]

Smooth!!

 

[Rhino]

Teresa bought me a new magnetic money clip for my habby burseday! She did not know how many hours I had spent, as a much younger child, flying about in a Piper Cherokee.

A very strange bird visited her Oriole feeder this morning. Who knew they liked oranges? Another 'Furry Free-loader" came by as well.

 

[moon puppy]

I give chipmunks the pass, they cute. Rodent but cute.

 

[Sharkmouth]

I give chipmunks the pass, they cute. Rodent but cute.

I let the Garter snakes take care of them...

 

[Heavens Eagle]

I have little blue colored and brown colored lizards that scurry around the outside of my house. They are FAST!! I pretty much let them alone as they keep the bugs down. One time one of the blue colored lizards ended up inside the house. It couldn't get any traction on my tile floor and would go for all it was worth and just wiggle in one spot. Caught it and set it back outside.

 

[Rhino]

The gun tubs have been re-fitted to HMS Audacity. One shouldn't think Rhino would bore one (hem) with the details of building the 'tubs, such as it is. He is considering molding the flight deck as it were.

 

[moon puppy]

I don't mind tubs.

 

[Rhino]

The decision to mold the flight deck has been made. HMS Audacity will be suspended by her bottom and RTV will be poured up to cover just the deck. The mold box for the 1/350 USCG Reliance class WMEC will serve nicely, of course.

Floquil reefer gray primer reveals the wood deck and gun tub details really did turn out well. Designer Henry Turners 1/700 HMS Surprise 3D print is in the background. Happy Jack Aubrey's ship will be completed "As-Is". Surprise is compatible with Warlord Games sailing ship gaming pieces.
The deck planking is SERIOUSLY ugly. I won't rip that down and re-do it.
Thanks for looking in!

 

[moon puppy]

The decision to mold the flight deck has been made.

I'm sure the planning committee worked hard on making this decision.

 

[paddy]

Looking good and a great subject. I have seen a few programs with Winkle Brown talking. What a character
Where was the bridge on these escorts ?

 

[Rhino]

Looking good and a great subject. I have seen a few programs with Winkle Brown talking. What a character
Where was the bridge on these escorts ?

HMS Audacity's bridge was under the forward flightdeck. The helmsman could not see where he was going. The conning station is on the starboard side of the flight deck, just forward of the windbreak. It is said there were 2 conning platforms, but I see no evidence of the portside one. On later, more purpose built escort carriers, a small island structure was constructed that housed the bridge and navigation station.

 

[Rhino]

I'm sure the planning committee worked hard on making this decision.

I really just wanted to build Winkle's first ship for the fun of it. I thought about sawing the flightdeck off the hull and making a rudimentary resin 2 part kit of her. Deck and hull. That would be too much fuss and take too much work to correct all her "sins". This is a compromise.

 

[Rhino]

Flightdeck suspension mold in progress. Moldmax 20 will be used to make a stouter, more rigid mold. If you are going to dick around with it, do it right!

 

[Rhino]

HMS Audacity's demise (hem) as it were, from Michael Turner's very fine book, of course.