1/700th scale HMS Habakkuk WIP (aka Project Habakkuk)

[Brian da Basher]

If you get this done by the end of the year, I see another nomination for "Best Ship" Whiffie. This is the first time I've ever heard of anyone attempting a Habbakuk, which must be a Navy Whiff "holy grail" of sorts.

The shots with the island and the guns are my favorites and really help me see where you're headed with this. Outstanding work!

Brian da Basher

[seadude]

If you get this done by the end of the year, I see another nomination for "Best Ship" Whiffie. This is the first time I've ever heard of anyone attempting a Habbakuk, which must be a Navy Whiff "holy grail" of sorts.

The shots with the island and the guns are my favorites and really help me see where you're headed with this. Outstanding work!
:Bow:  :Bow:
Brian da Basher

Thanks for the compliments.   To the best of my knowledge, I think this also represents the first time anyone has built a "really good representation" of the Habakkuk. HOWEVER..........I have heard about someone who did build a Habakkuk for the 2000 (or 2001?) IPMS Dallas Nationals long ago, but I can't seem to find pics or information of that anywhere. Though I did hear on the FineScale Modeler forums a few months back that someone said the guy who built that Habakkuk mixed sawdust with a glue mixture, then spread it on some type of hull form kinda like butter to get the appearance of pykrete.  
I actually wouldn't mind trying to get this model done for a contest that is coming up next week right on Halloween. But I think that's pushing things a bit. I doubt I'd make that deadline. The Nov. 14th contest is the real jewel I'm shooting for.
Kinda fascinating how interest in Project Habakkuk has grown ever since I started talking about and building this model. I was browsing the Net one night and I'm starting to see other Habakkuk websites with links in them to this thread on this forum, or the thread I have over on Modelwarships.com. Click the following link, then scroll down to the bottom where they list a link to my thread over on MW ship forum:
http://www.thewarillustrated.info/230/strange-story-of-hms-habbakuk.asp

I seem to remember a movie line that said "If you build it, they will come." from the movie FIELD OF DREAMS. I guess with all the information I've posted and such, that must make me the "de facto" leader in modeling Habakkuk. I guess you could say I'm setting the standard for others to follow.

[seadude]

Pardon me for making another post here right after my last one, but there's something I forgot to mention about this whole project. I do want to sincerely apologise for it not being a proper British Habakkuk class ship, since the whole Habakkuk project was originally conceived in Britain by a British inventor in WWII.
I simply did not have the proper spare parts, finances, or other resources to make a true British Habakkuk ship. Therefore, I had to build instead an American version using American 5" guns and other parts.

No hard feelings, right?    Anyway, more pics coming possibly this weekend.

[Mossie]

Not a problem!  The way I understand is that HMS Habbakuk would most likely have become 'USS Habbakuk' anyway.  The project was so costly & resource heavy that it had passed on to the Amercians as they were the only ones who could handle it.  Although it started as a British project, it would almost certainly have entered service as an American ship.

[seadude]

I'm sunk.........and so is the Habakkuk.      
After giving the wood hull 2 primer coats, then painting Tamiya TS-32 Haze Gray above the boot topping line, I think I made a mistake. Tamiya spray Haze Gray looks absolutely nothing like Testor Model Master Marine color Haze Gray (Which is what I used for the superstructure and armament). The Tamiya Haze Gray when dry looks like a gray, but with a greenish tint. Now my upper portion of the wood hull and the superstructure do not match up with similar grays. WTF am I supposed to do now? I had hoped to try and get this model done for a contest this coming Saturday, but I guess that won't happen. I was about set tonight to paint the bottom portion of the hull red, but that might have to wait.
The only thing I can think of doing is probably say Goodbye to the contest this Saturday, and instead focus on finishing the Habakkuk for a contest in November. The only solution I can think of to re-paint the upper portion of the hull and try to match the color of the superstructure is with one of the following spray paints:
Testor Light Sea Gray
Testor Flat Gull Gray
Testor Camouflage Gray

Painting this whole model has been a pain in the @$$!  Whatever color I use for brush painting doesn't seem to have an equivalent color for spray and vice versa. I'll try to post pics late tonight or early tomorrow morning.

[seadude]

Ok, here's some pics in regards to my post above. The bottom portion of the hull still shows the gray primer which would've been painted over with a bottom red color eventually. The upper portion of the wood hull got painted with the Tamiya spray paint that I already mentioned. The superstructure was brush painted with Testor Model Master Marine color Haze Gray.

CLICK THUMBNAIL PICS TO VIEW LARGER IMAGES.

[Stargazer]

Greenish indeed... Too bad! But I certainly wouldn't call the Habbakuk sunk yet, let alone melted!

Painting this whole model has been a pain in the @$$!

You mean... a PAINT in the @$$!?  

[Mossie]

Shame you couldn't make it for this weekend, but I'm sure you'll get it done for the November show.  I guess you could simply overcoat the offending colour, or you could strip it completely with oven cleaner or similar?

[Sauragnmon]

I'd say this is fate saying a straight up MS-13 Haze Gray Scheme is not gonna work on this model, Big E.  A canvas that big, I would suggest one of the more disruptive patterns in general, it would provide quite a massive effect when you set her on the table - MS-32 in one of its variants would be quick and painless to mask and paint, as it can be a straight up block pattern or a swoosh pattern as you feel inspired to paint.  Scratch this weekend, Pencil in November, and don't let deadline pressure stress you out, man.  That's no bueno.

[sequoiaranger]

Yeah, forget this contest and work for November's contest. Patience!! This project is too good, and too unique, to be hasty with.

What I might do is, since it would be unlikely that a ship would be painted simply one color, is to use the spray Haze Gray as one color, then use the island color for patches all around the top part of the ship (of course including the island) to break up the ship's outline (like they do with British aircraft). To break up the single island color, spray a bit of your spray Haze Gray into the cap of the spray can (creating some liquid paint) and brush a swath of it on the island (also save some of it in a spare paint jar for touch-ups).

[seadude]

As much as re-painting the superstructure sounds nice, I'm not willing to go that route as everything has already been added such as radars, guns, etc. and it's too difficult to use a brush to get in corners and such.

I appreciate the advice on a splinter dazzle camo pattern for the upper portion of the hull, but I can't seem to wrap my mind around that. If the Habakkuk had actually been built, it might not have entered the war till late 1944 or 1945. By that time, maybe it might have had a Measure 22 scheme the way most US carriers had late in the war. I was wrong about the green tint on the hull. After looking at the paint color in better light after I got home from work, the color is more like a blue/gray.
IIRC, a splinter camo pattern is designed to do two things:
*  Possibly disguise the true size/length of a ship?
*  Confuse enemy captains as to the speed/direction of a ship.

Therefore, why paint a splinter scheme on the Habakkuk when it is only capable of no more than 6 knots?  The Habakkuk was thought of more as a "floating island" rather than a ship per se. Also, there'd be no need to camo a ship this big when high flying aircraft and U-boats can spot it far, far away so easily. A splinter scheme does no good.
Therefore, should I just leave the blue/gray paint as is and instead go for a Measure 22 scheme?

[Sauragnmon]

Much as I would try and rationalize any other camo scheme... unfortunately, your points are valid, and MS-22 is the option to go with... much as I loathe to admit defeat on the point.

[seadude]

Ok, you guys win. I'm NOT going to try and enter the Habakkuk in the contest tomorrow. But I WILL be taking it with me so that I can sit down with some modeling friends and discuss this project, show them my progress, and discuss future construction advice for this project. The more I look at this ship, the more I begin to think there's still too much that needs to be done..........which is still true.
* Finish aircraft
* Finish 20mm guns and galleries
* Add flight deck and markings.
* Finish cross section cutaway.
* Finish display base.

So..........November 14th is the FINAL deadline. That's the contest that's most important. And while I'm at the contest for tomorrow, If I see any WHIF's, I'll be sure to take pics and post them to these forums.

[Stargazer]

Sounds very good! Can't wait to see both your whiff pics and the finished Habbakuk!

[seadude]

I feel real stupid right about now.      I took my Habakkuk hull to a model contest today and chatted with some people about my painting problems. At first, we pretty much tended to agree on going with a Measure 22 scheme which is described here:
http://www.shipcamouflage.com/measure_22.htm
........simply because if the Habakkuk had actually been built, the Americans would've taken over control of the ship/project because of larger monetary and other resources, and probably painted it similar to other carriers late in the war.
Now here's the part where I feel stupid: After returning home and discussing things with a friend, I showed him all the leftover bottles of paints I had, including some that were sitting on top of my refridgerator. I thought the paints on top of the fridge were all blue colors which were leftover from painting my Montana battleship in MS22. They were not. I completely forgot that some of the bottles were also Testor Model Master Marine color Haze Gray, which is the same color as my Habakkuk superstructure and armament.  I had bought so much Haze Gray earlier this year because I had heard the Model Master Marine line was being discontinued, and then I set aside the bottles and forgot I even had them. DUH!
So now..........after careful thinking and research, I can re-mask the hull and re-paint the upper portion Haze Gray to match the superstructure and armament. So now the ship will be in a Measure 13 scheme as described here:
http://www.shipcamouflage.com/measure_13.htm

Why MS13? Read below:

Effectiveness:
Low visibility to surface observers in hazy or foggy weather especially when it is accompanied with periods of weak sunlight.

High visibility in bright weather when seen against the water.

Useful in submarine infested areas, where periscopic observers will see a vessel entirely against a sky background.

High visibility under searchlight, and down-moon at close ranges. Very low visibility on moonless nights and at twilight.

Method of Application:
Haze Gray 5-H All the vertical surfaces of the ship above the waterline.
Deck Blue 20-B Deck surfaces and other horizontal surfaces, which are visible to aerial observers. Under sides of overhanging horizontal surfaces may be painted with white (5-U) to lighter) shadows.

And since the Habakkuk was originally intended to patrol the Northern Atlantic waters and help with the U-boat problem, then this measure sounds like the perfect one since if I understand correctly that weather in the North Atlantic can be quite cloudy, overcast, hazy, foggy, etc. and the Habakkuk would almost blend right in.

So.........Agree or Disagree?