HMS Vanguard, an updating of the Lion Class was the last British battleship of a very long line and was the most able big gun platform that the Royal Navy put to sea. Looking at the statistics, she was a 44,500 tons, 814ft long ship capable of 30 knots, and she carried 8 x 15 inch guns in four turrets and was protected by a 14 inch armour belt. She was commissioned in 1946 and then was broken up in 1960, having a very short, and uneventful career essentially as a Royal Yacht. As fine example of British engineering, and ship design that represents a past age, I decided to buy the H-P version of the kit, prior to the Samek release, for a nostalgic build, having seen the real thing at Portsmouth in the 50’s.

The hull and detail look innocuous enough but comparison with the line drawings in Raven & Roberts made me realise that there was a major reshaping of the superstructure to be done. Armed with saws, sanding blocks, fillers, and replacement parts, and after 18 months of perseverance, I have an almost reasonable representation of the majestic ship. Honestly, I could have carried on for another year trying to get things just so, but other projects beckoned. So here it is H-P "funmodel" HMS Vanguard!