Argentinian Carrier unveiled!

You may recall the dispatch I posted earlier in the year (21st April), announcing the arrival of the Argentinian Escuadron Independencia. Rumours of carrier support to this squadron have now ben confirmed and the Aircraft Carrier A.R.A. 9 de Julio is ready for action!

Here she is with escorting Torpedo Frigate A.R.A. Rio Negro and a fighter squdron on Combat Air Patrol.

And for the Fleet review flypast, here she is in all her glory:

In making the Carrier, Francisco says he:

"used the Albion flight deck which was just about the right size for the Buenos Aires class cruiser hull.

To make it look less like the Albion and more like a different ship I cut the back part of the flight deck (that is why my flight deck is a bit shorter).

The island comes attached to the flight deck so I took the bridge section of a Mendoza class destroyer, took the secondary guns off and put it looking backwards behind the Albion's island.

To paste the full flight deck to the cruiser hull I had to do quite some work to shave the main turrets of the cruiser ! Being my first ever conversion I was afraid at some point that I would end up with two ruined ships ! but it turned out ok. A little modeling paste insured a good fit from the flight deck to the shaven hull of the Buenos Aires cruiser.

Final touch I attached the tail fin of the Albion to the tail of the Buenos Aires cruiser to disguise the model a bit more. I am quite happy with the end result.

I would have prefered a flat deck so that I could put the island to one side but the Albion's flight deck was the only good fit and since the Island is attached there is nothing I could do. "

A lovely ship, a cunning conversion and some detailed modelling notes - thanks Francisco!

You can see the whole thread at Brigade Models about his Argentinian Squadron here: http://www.brigademodels.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=242&start=0

And of course it is his Aeronefs that grace the covers of the recently unveiled "When Dreadnoughts Ruled the Skies" Nef rules.

Argentinian Squadron goodwill visit

The Argentinian 'Independencia Squadron' has conducted a highly sucessful goodwill visit to Port Jackson in the new South Wales Colony. The obligatory cocktail parties, polo and cricket matches ensured the tourists enjoyed their stay, as well as some mock battles and training exercises over the city.

Commodore Francisco, the Task Group Commander, paid Official calls on the Governor, and the Port Admiral (in addition, it is rumoured, to some seedy backstreet establishments popular with sailors). He was glowing in his praise for the sucess of his visit and he expressed his hope that a second Argentinian fleet, the 'Escuadron Libertad' would be able to repeat the visit later this year.
These lovely Nefs are the product of Francisco's workbench. Incredibly, though he is a long time wargamer he has only just begun to paint and he has been swinging a brush for less than a year. Makes it even more impressive eh? You can see the rest of his Fleet arrayed here:
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=9577807&uid=3161743

Thanks Francisco - help yourself to a snifter!