MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

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PropWash
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MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by PropWash »

Well here it is, my first UAMF build post. Please feel free to offer any advice for making better builds in the future. Thanks!

History of HMS Iron Duke

Construction of the HMS Iron Duke was begun in 1912. It was commissioned into the British Royal Navy in 1914. It would serve as the flagship for Admiral John Jellicoe, of the Grand Fleet, during World War I. It's main battery consists of ten 13.5 inch Mk. V Naval Guns (mounted in five twin-gun turrets). The secondary battery consisted of twelve 6 inch Mk. VII Naval Guns located in single-gun turrets (six on each side) along the deck. Numerous smaller guns were located on the deck as well as submerged torpedo tubes.

The Iron Duke was famous for its role in the Battle of Jutland during WWI. The British Grand Fleet fought against the German High Seas Fleet on May 31-June 1, 1916. During the battle, Iron Duke scored several hits on the German battleship SMS Konig and the cruiser SMS Wiesbaden. Iron Duke was also credited with sinking the German destroyer SMS S35. The battle would later be thought of as inconclusive as both fleets would disengage from the battle without a significant victory.

After WWI, the ship would continue to play a role in the Royal Navy. In 1924, the Iron Duke was ordered to the Mediterranean Sea for duty and was replaced as flagship by the newer HMS Queen Elizabeth. By the end of the 1920s, the ship would undergo many changes as its role in the Royal Navy was reduced. Armament would be reduced or removed entirely as the ship became a gunnery training vessel.

During WWII, the ship would have its remaining main battery turrets removed for use as coastal defense guns in Great Britain. What was left was stationed at the Royal Navy base in Scapa Flow where the ship would be used as an anti-aircraft gun platform. Luftwaffe bombers would score many hits on it which resulted in its being beached to prevent sinking. Iron Duke would remain in Scapa Flow through the end of WWII. In 1946 it was decommissioned and sold for scrap. By 1948 the ship was no more.

MPC Iron Duke WWI Super-Dreadnought class battleship

The MPC kit is a 1983 re-release of the Airfix kit of the same subject. It is in 1/600 scale. The kit is full-hull only and comes with instructions that do a decent job of making for an easy build. It comes with a stand, but no flags or other markings.

From my research before (and during) the build, I infer that this is a good kit for the subject matter. However, the kit is an amalgamation of the various forms of the ship from 1914-1929. So if you follow the build instructions you get a nice model of the ship spanning that period. But if you want it to look as it did during the Battle of Jutland, which is how I did my build, you will need to do a little extra work and research. That last bit is the hardest as, I understand, most of the actual building plans were destroyed by the British Admiralty at some point as unnecessary. And there are no surviving examples to visit. So you have to rely on artist renderings, photos, and other model builds for assistance.

For my build I did what I could with the skills (and tools) I have. By 1916, the aft barbette guns had been removed, so this required the removal and sealing of this section of the ship (located on the sides of the ship under the last 13.5 inch gun turret). This wasn't to difficult to do. The next thing was that the main mast was both to high, and was equipped with an incorrect gunnery director post. This was more difficult to do as I had to cut and reform the existing parts. Speaking of cutting, the main batteries have flared-gun muzzles that made them look like old blunderbusses. Snipe those off right away! I also added blast-bags to the main batteries. The last bit was the huge number of lifeboats included with the kit. I didn't use half of them as they weren't added until the 1920s. What you see on the model is, what I understand as, the correct number and locations. There is still much that can be done to improve it for display as a Jutland combatant, but I am happy with what I managed to do with it.

Overall, I think this is a very nice, but dated, kit. It was not difficult to make changes on and came out looking good (imvho). I only wish I could have done more with the rigging and have taken the slack out of the crane cables.


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iggie
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Re: MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by iggie »

Very neat! I've not built a 1/600 ship for about 40 years but do the odd 1/350 effort so can appreciate the work involved.
Best wishes

Jim
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general rocket
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Re: MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by general rocket »

Very presentable
I wish, that I knew what was doing!
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jssel
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Re: MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by jssel »

Pretty sweet build
Besting 60 years of mediocre building of average kits in the stand off scale
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gnomemeansgnome
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Re: MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by gnomemeansgnome »

The Airfix kit of this was my first ship model. Nice work.
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PropWash
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Re: MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by PropWash »

Thank you for your kind comments (I really appreciate them). Please feel free to add any suggestions for future builds.

My reference library has nothing in regard to ships so this might be something I should look to correct (unlike my aircraft / war books of which I have quite a few to refer to when building). Book suggestions anyone?

Iggie: Your work on the Danton model is a great example of the work I wish to do one day.
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Re: MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by pmmaker »

Fantastic build Propwash! Love the color scheme with contrasting greys. I also like the way you modeled the canvas covering where the gun barrels join the turrets.

Great first thread on the forum.

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Re: MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by FAAMAN »

Nice work ;-)
Great to see a 1/600 build. 8-) 8-)
Built this in 1971 just after release and again in 1980, the superstructure faults and mods to bring the kit to a Jutland "fit" were well known back then, but it's still a great kit 8-) 8-) 8-)
Not sure what mainmast you're referring to, none of the class were fitted with mainmasts. Are you referring to the fore mast/tripod/control top?
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PropWash
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Re: MPC "Iron Duke" WWI Super-Dreadnought battleship

Post by PropWash »

FAAMAN wrote:Nice work ;-)
Great to see a 1/600 build. 8-) 8-)
Built this in 1971 just after release and again in 1980, the superstructure faults and mods to bring the kit to a Jutland "fit" were well known back then, but it's still a great kit 8-) 8-) 8-)
Not sure what mainmast you're referring to, none of the class were fitted with mainmasts. Are you referring to the fore mast/tripod/control top?
Thank you, sir! I agree that it is still a kit worth building (just be aware of some of its quirks). As for the "mainmast," you are no doubt correct in terminology. I'm an airplane guy just venturing into naval models so my terminology is not always up to scratch. :oops: At least I didn't call it the tall pointy-thingy with wires hanging off it. ;-) :) I'm happy to learn these things as I go.
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