SCALE MODEL NEWS

SMN REPORT The long-awaited Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer is here at last. It's a big kit too, made to 1:350 scale and measuring some 436 mm (17.2 in) long when assembled. The kit has 203 components and decals for all six Type 45 ships: HMS Daring , Dauntless , Diamond , Dragon , Defender and Duncan . Assembly time Airfix reckons it takes five ‘flying hours’ (‘swimming hours?’) to build the kit, though skilled modelmakers will doubtless take much longer, in order to paint the various parts before final assembly. Weathering importance One thing - as this is a semi-stealth design, the sides are flush and carry less detail than traditional ships of this kind. It could be a case of adding some extra weathering to bring those surfaces to life. Still, that’s a suitable challenge to fill these long winter nights. The real thing Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers have distinctive straight edges and sheer superstructure, free from much of the usual clutter. This is so that the ships have a relat...

SMN report: Tabletop navy fans have something to look forward to in the months ahead - it’s the 1:350 scale Type 45 destroyer HMS Daring from Airfix. No details have been released yet, apart from the box art shown above, but to this scale, the model should be some 435 mm (17.1 in) long, a size that should ensure plenty of detail on this characterful ship. Stealth destroyer The Type 45 destroyers - Daring is one of six built or on order - are ‘semi-stealth’ in their design, with clean, slab sides, designed to reduce their radar signature.  As you can see from the pic above - note the Typhoon making a low pass - much of the clutter that normally hangs off a ship’s sides, such as the life rafts, deck equipment and so on, is now hidden behind flat panels. The mast has been treated in similar fashion, with an absolute minimum of radar-visible antennas. Smaller alternative Type 45 Although there’s some months wait for the Airfix kit, the smaller 1:700 Dragon kit is available now. And i...