1/350 HMS Habakkuk. I must be crazy now!

[seadude]

To an insane asylum? Well, not yet. But I probably should be there.    What I just committed myself to is buying a third 1/350 aircraft carrier for a HUGE future model. Same scale, same name, etc., all because I need a lot of spare parts from said aircraft carrier. And I still need a fourth carrier too, but that will have to wait till I get my tax refunds.

So what craziness did I just commit myself to this time? Why the need for so many aircraft carrier kits?












1/350 scale HMS Habakkuk

Yep, you read right. I must be out of my mind.   But I'm going to do it. I can't say for sure when building will begin or when this project would be finished. I do know that it'll be huge! At least about 6 feet long in 1/350 scale and about 10-11 inches wide. It's still going to take me awhile to draft plans, buy materials, etc. for this project. So don't expect any news or updates for a long, long time. What I can say for now is the following:
1. Same full hull configuration like when I did my 1/700 scale Habakkuk.
2. Probably do a small seperate cross section to show the interior similar to what I did for my 1/700 Habakkuk.
3. Bridge superstructure & weapons will be similar to what I had on the 1/700 Habakkuk. 5"/38's and 40mm's and also 20mm's.
4. Aircraft will be mostly American, but some will be painted in British colors and markings.  

Anybody else think I'm crazy?      

Opinions, ideas, suggestions, hints, and tips are welcome.

[Old Wombat]

Yep, definitely definitively crazy!

But in an absolutely, outrageously, stupendously suitable way for this site!

Can't wait to see this monster come together!




By the way, how many acres is your display room?

[kerick]

Obsessive compulsive Habakkuk disorder, OCHD.
Sounds awesome! Maybe you should recruit some help building all the aircraft this fight deck could hold. I smell a group build.
IIRC the mission of this ship was to allow aircraft to patrol and control the atlantic shipping lanes. Could be lots of different aircraft from many different nationalities on deck.

[seadude]

By the way, how many acres is your display room?

What display room?  I don't have a display room. I do know for sure that to move a model this big around or even to show it at a contest, it'll have to be in 2 pieces, split right in half for easier transportability.

Obsessive compulsive Habakkuk disorder, OCHD.
Sounds awesome! Maybe you should recruit some help building all the aircraft this fight deck could hold. I smell a group build.
IIRC the mission of this ship was to allow aircraft to patrol and control the atlantic shipping lanes. Could be lots of different aircraft from many different nationalities on deck.

OCHD? Yep, sounds about right. And I still haven't built a second 1/700 Habakkuk yet.  As for aircraft, I'm going to need a ton of them. I already have a lot. But I wish I had some 1/350 scale Lancasters, Mosquitos, Seafires, etc. Does Trumpeter make any?

[Rheged]

Yes, agreed, totally crazy.  that's why you belong here!!

I have an official-looking drawing somewhere with  Habbakkuk seen from above. There are what look like Wellingtons on the deck and a peculiar aircraft that seems to be a hybrid  Mosquito/Beaufighter circling above. I'll try to find it and post it here........but I moved house a few months ago and so have no idea where some of my stuff has been put.  It's in here somewhere.

  One of the putative uses of Habbakkuk was as a mid-Atlantic refuelling station for aircraft on their way from US factories to the UK. That being the case, you can have just about ANYTHING you fancy  on deck.

[Howard of Effingham]

group build smell hereabouts? yup!  

and why not?  

I think you would need a small fleet of escort  vessels to go with it at the very least. seaplane tenders and the like, various frigates, destroyers and cruisers.

istr, there is a UK company that does WM a/c in about 1/200 scale but they are mostly modern era. they certainly do a wide range of decals for that scale.

[zenrat]

Absolutely bombers in the bast possible way.

I'm sure you could persuade some 3d printing type people to make you some 1/350 planes of the types you desire.

[McColm]

No,
Whatever gave you that impression?

[Captain Canada]

Wow. This is gonna be epic !



Not sure about the Spits and Lancs etc. Might have to try that shapeways site and see if anybody is making them with 3-D printers.

PS- didn't somebody get some Kokoda Trail 3-D aeros ? Still waiting to see pics of them.

[seadude]

I have an official-looking drawing somewhere with  Habbakkuk seen from above. There are what look like Wellingtons on the deck and a peculiar aircraft that seems to be a hybrid  Mosquito/Beaufighter circling above. I'll try to find it and post it here........but I moved house a few months ago and so have no idea where some of my stuff has been put.  It's in here somewhere.

Whatever drawing you have, chances are, I already have it. During the time I built my first Habakkuk, and all the years since, I've "collected" just about every article, drawing, blueprint, concept sketch, etc., etc. that I can find on the Internet and elsewhere.

I think you would need a small fleet of escort  vessels to go with it at the very least. seaplane tenders and the like, various frigates, destroyers and cruisers.

And where would I put those extra 1/350 ships? My living room ain't that big!  Though I may have to build a 1/350 ESSEX carrier for size comparison.

[Captain Canada]

Once your Habbakkuk is built, you can store all of your other boats atop of it.

[PR19_Kit]

Once your Habbakkuk is built, you can store all of your other boats atop of it.

Or even live aboard............ 

[Howard of Effingham]

Once your Habbakkuk is built, you can store all of your other boats atop of it.

Or even live aboard............ 

about the only thing you wouldn't need to do is 'add longer wings' 

fetchin' me coat now! 

[seadude]

When I do build this beast sometime in the future, the main hull will be mostly built with Evergreen plastic sheet. However, as I'm building a much bigger and more detailed Habakkuk, the detailing on the hull, superstructure, weapons, etc. will have to be increased.

When I originally built my 1/700 Habakkuk, I had read that there was supposed to be some type of "outer hull insulation" in the form of fibreboard/corkboard applied to the outer pykrete hull to help keep it cold and/or to protect it from melting. This information was also supported by an article which is titled "Habakkuk" by William J. Wallace.
http://www.fritzwagner.com/warship_tables/w5pg.html
Part of that article concerning the outer layer of hull insulation reads as follows:
"The outside hull would be insulated by a complex 9in thick composite material, made of plywood and insulation boards (masonite type) in 27 layers. This tough outer shell would dovetail together and be attached to the hull by 1ft 6in dowels embedded in the ice."


So I have to wonder..........Should I add some type of "outer hull insulation layer" to the Habakkuk hull? If so, then what? Thin 1/16" thick sheet balsawood or something else? Or nothing at all? And if I do add some type of wood sheeting, then what glues would be sufficient to glue it to the main plastic hull?

Something else on my mind too. I've always wondered the following: How come nobody else has ever built a model Habakkuk ship? I already know somebody built a small 1/1250 one, but I don't have links to the pics. Then there was Ed.S who mentioned in my original 1/700 Habakkuk thread of another modeler in a IPMS Atlanta club who built his version of a Habakkuk ship. But other than that, there's nobody else? I've done tons of Habakkuk research since early 2009 and it amazes me that no other modelers have ever touched this subject. What could it be? Lack of interest? Lack of references/information? Or something else? I just find it curious, that's all. If other people around the world have done one, then I can't find any info. about their projects on the Net. Would be nice to share ideas, tips, advice, etc. 

[PR19_Kit]

. I've always wondered the following: How come nobody else has ever built a model Habakkuk ship?

Quite simply because they'd be HUGE, as you know having done it.