Help: Looking for HMS Illustrious (WW2 British armoured carrier) references

Dear all,

I managed to lay my paws on a Heller 1:400 Illustrious/Victorious kit, and spent a fair bit of time (3 evenings) searching for references, in English and Japanese, on the WWW. Unfortunately, such details as light AA armament, camouflage, and even photographs are scarce and hard to pin down to an exact period. So I suspect that I will have to fork out for a book. I did not see many books on the class either, the most promising appears to be the title "Illustrious and Implacable class carriers" (I may have gotten the title wrong here, my search results are at home). However, I am not sure if that book will give me the information most suited to modelling the Illustrious at some point in her WW2 career.

After-market parts are another area I looked at. WEM's 2-fret set and a corrected bridge set appear to be the only dedicated sets for the ship, and may need to be supplemented by sets including some USN weaponry (quad and twin and maybe single 40mm Bofors).

I know that AOS used to print a book on the Victorious, which would be ideal for her, is there any similarly detailed information available on the WWW or in print on Illustrious?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Respectfully, Gernot Hassenpflug (returning to modeling after 2.5 year absence)

Reply to
Gernot Hassenpflug
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Reply to
GRAHAM WALKER

Thanks for the tip Graham, will do!

Reply to
Gernot Hassenpflug

As mentioned by another poster, Profile Publications Nos. 10 and 11 might be of use. I have these at home, so if you need scans of photos or of the paint scheme for a particular period in her career I'd be glad to help.

Regards, Ralph Currell

Reply to
Ralph Currell

Ralph>

Ralph> As mentioned by another poster, Profile Publications Ralph> Nos. 10 and 11 might be of use. I have these at home, so Ralph> if you need scans of photos or of the paint scheme for a Ralph> particular period in her career I'd be glad to help.

Thanks Ralph, I haven't found a copy of Profile Publications 10 or 11 yet. I may have some luck at our next club meeting, although since this is Japan I cannot be certain that anyone has English references! I am looking to model Illustrious either in her Mediterranean fit (at the time of her severe bomb damage), or else as in her late-war fit in

1945, which would include American weaponry.

I could not find any information on the internet that would be useful to modelers, but a visit to Osaka next weekend means I can check out the local hobby shops for references too... I wish the equivalent of the "British Battleships of WW2" were available for carriers!

Any help would be most appreciated. This project is not driven by any club display deadlines, so I am willing to wait months for references to appear in the various auction sites.

Thanks again, Sincerely, Gernot

Reply to
Gernot Hassenpflug

Gernot,

I'm not familiar with the kit so can't say which time period it best represents. I believe the flight deck was modified somewhat during the war, which may limit your options. A glance at the Profile book indicates an overall gray scheme in 1940-41, and Admiralty Standard Scheme B for late '44/early '45. In between those dates there were some rather interesting disruptive patterns.

I noticed some discussion of Illustrious in the Ship Modelling Mailing List archives at

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. There seem to be quite a lot of knowledgeable folks there who might be able to help you.

Feel free to contact me at snipped-for-privacy@currell.net for any specific information or scans from the Profiles. Put "Illustrious" somewhere in the subject line so I can pick it out from all the spam.

Regards, Ralph

Reply to
Ralph Currell

Ralph> Gernot,

Ralph> I'm not familiar with the kit so can't say which time Ralph> period it best represents. I believe the flight deck was Ralph> modified somewhat during the war, which may limit your Ralph> options. A glance at the Profile book indicates an overall Ralph> gray scheme in 1940-41, and Admiralty Standard Scheme B for Ralph> late '44/early '45. In between those dates there were some Ralph> rather interesting disruptive patterns.

Ralph> I noticed some discussion of Illustrious in the Ship Ralph> Modelling Mailing List archives at Ralph>

formatting link
. There seem to Ralph> be quite a lot of knowledgeable folks there who might be Ralph> able to help you.

Thanks, that is indeed a very good tip.

Ralph> Feel free to contact me at /../ Put "Illustrious" somewhere Ralph> in the subject line so I can pick it out from all the spam.

:-) I am busy with some audio editing in the next few days, but the weekend looks like it has some remaining time left for modeling. Look forward to chatting with you. All the best, Gernot

Reply to
Gernot Hassenpflug

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