2018 is the 400th anniversary of Sir Walter Raleighs execution in 1618.
Walter Raleigh, soldier, explorer, scholar, Member of Parliament, one-time favourite of Queen Elizabeth, believer in the legendary land of El Dorado and the man credited for introducing tobacco and potatoes to Britain (though they were almost certainly known before), was executed for treason on 29th October 1618.

The other part of British history that is attached to him is the Ship Ark Royal. The Ark Royal was an English galleon, originally ordered for Sir Walter Raleigh and later purchased by the crown for service in the Tudor navy. She was used as the English flagship in a number of engagements, including the battles that resulted in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, and had a long career spanning over 50 years. Her fame led to a number of later warships of the Royal Navy being named Ark Royal in her honour. The most famous of all the Ark Royals is the 1934 HMS Ark Royal That was an aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy that served during the Second World War. Designed to fit the restrictions of the Washington Naval Treaty, Ark Royal was built by Cammell Laird and Company Ltd. at Birkenhead, England, and completed in November 1938. Her design differed from previous aircraft carriers. Ark Royal was the first ship on which the hangars and flight deck were an integral part of the hull

She served during a period that first saw the extensive use of naval air power; several carrier tactics were developed and refined aboard Ark Royal.

Ark Royal served in some of the most active naval theatres of the Second World War. She was involved in the first aerial and U-boat kills of the war, operations off Norway, the search for the German battleship Bismarck, and the Malta Convoys. Ark Royal survived several near misses and gained a reputation as a 'lucky ship'. She was torpedoed on 13 November 1941 by the German submarine U-81 and sank the following day; one of her 1,488 crew members was killed.

Seems like as good an excuse as any to crack open this classic kit and get her built in time for the October anniversary and ahead of a build next year of the Merit 1:350 kit

This will be a labour of love for me I built two of these as a kid in the 1980,s and possibly could be my favourite kit of all time😇

Kit review in the next couple of days

Jase

Yes Titanic will start before the endo fo the month when I complete the Hanomag build, I can multi task for a short while 😁

Wow

Fortunarly my scale is slightly smaller

So this classic Airfix kit dates back to 1966. As a youngster I loved this kit because unlike any other model it allowed for a degree of imagination around the placement of the aircraft. I have built two of these as a teenager and I believe this is the kit that inspired my first thoughts around a diorama which was a German airfield in 1:72 scale and a nearby village that was being assaulted by British troops.

Anyhow back to the kit, I am looking forward to revisiting this. so lets remind myself whats in the box. there are two sprue the first one contains the numerous ships boats guns gun platforms and some bridge parts along with deck elevators. the detail is as you would expect, fairly sparse with plenty of injection marks in horrid places and appalling scale thickness

The other sprue con gains the failure 'classic' Airfix ship stand along with bow and stern decks funnel aircraft and the various hull boat decks. the boat desk are entirely bereft of any detail whatsoever. The cranes are chunky

The hull is 2 part full hull. Again there is little detail other than scuttles and a raised line for the waterline. still not much flash and little sink to fill.

The deck is a single piece including the elevator shafts. there are some arrester line details.

There are no decals, the build is simple but poses some challenges in terms of using paint to get the best out of her.

White ensign do an etch set that costs $31 plus shipping which I have no doubt will elevate the kit no end but when you consider you can pick the kit up for £12 wish from ebay its a lot to shell out, but thats not what I am looking to do when I revisit these classic Airfix kits the idea is to build the kit in a classic way, pre photo etch any mods are scratch built if done at all.

I have no doubt that Airfix will reissues this under their classic box art range at some point for me this kit is as classic as their Victory.

The build will start in a week or so and is the third of currently 8 planed 'classic' build coming over the next 2-3 years or so

1. Fortieth anniversary Spitfire double build
2. Stephensons Rocket
3. Ark Royal
4. Denis fire engine
5. christie fire engine
6. 58mm English musketeer
7. HMS Victory
8. S Boat
and maybe some others

Nice start Jase another ship I built as a kid brings back great memories regards Phil

Thanks Derek for looking in

Looks like your prayers have been answered...
https://www.jadlamracing...-1-600-ships-model-kit/
Sadly, I don't think that Airfix resurecting/reboxing what are dated old kits, is going to save its demise.

Cheeper to buy it direct from Airfix though

https://www.airfix.com/uk-en/shop/ships.html