HMS Aurora (12); Flyhawk 1:700
This is my second ship model ever and quite some time has passed since finishing the first one. The story was such that a friend and a fellow modeller Mitja told me, I have to build this model as it is named the same as my daughter. At first I thought that he’s talking about a Russian Imperial Aurora that “started” the October revolution, but after I saw this little Flyhawk kit and reading some reviews, I had to try it.
Besides the kit, I have also bought Flyhawk’s wooden deck and brass barrels. As this was a number of firsts for me, I also decided to put her on a wavy sea surface and try recreating that. Oh and the ship on the sea without any crew looks like a ghost ship and since the photoetched sailors, despite the miniature scale, still look to flat, I had to resort to 3D printed ones from Northstar Models. The latter were Soviet WW2 sailors but in this scale I dare you to point out the differences 😉
Anyhow, about the kit – IT IS FANTASTIC! I really have only one negative critique – the instructions! They are all printed on one piece of paper and despite trying to help the modeller with colour coded guides, they’re still confusing at times and making those more detailed and extended wouldn’t impact the cost of the kit at all. The kit itself comes with photo-etched fret for all the details and railings. The fit throught the kit is excellent and no putty was required so more time was spent on painting and weathering as well as planning the progress of the build – a new challenge for me, flyhead, but an extremely enjoyable one! Unfortunately there is no rigging diagram included so I resorted to few photos and artist paintings of Arethusa-class ships I could find. For the rigging I’ve used Uschi van der Rosten’s rigging thread. Water effects were recreated with AK Interactive Water Gel Atlantic Blue and Transparent and foams were created with Water Effects gel.
I have to admit, this model made me a convert – I wanna build more ships! If you wanna try yourself in 1:700 ships, try one of the Flyhawk’s models – you won’t be disappointed. I am already looking into their HMS Prince of Wales and Bismarck kits.
Model Data
Company: Flyhawk
Scale: 1:700
Aftermarket: Flyhawk Wooden deck and brass barrels, Northstar Models Soviet WW2 sailors
Paints used: Mr.Paint (MRP-005 Basic Black, MRP-97 Dark Ghost Gray, MRP-200 Dark Blue Su-33, MRP-241 Gunship Grey)
12 additional images. Click to enlarge.
Jeff Bailey said on December 24, 2018
Excellent work, Sebastijan ! That’s a lot of detail on a tiny 1/700 ship model. Outstanding water effects, too.
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Thank you, mate!
Rob Pollock said on December 24, 2018
I wondered when someone was going to post a model of HMS Aurora from Flyhawk in 1/700 😆
Very nice and worth the wait!
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Thanks Rob, glad I managed to make your wait worthwhile! 🙂
Michael Smith said on December 24, 2018
Great, great piece of work. The rigging is terrific!
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Thank you, Michael. UvdR’s rigging threads are really easy to use – it took some time nevertheless.
Marc Barris said on December 24, 2018
What a stunning build, I love the way you got the water to look so realistic, just fantastic,
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Thank you, Marc! Hope I’ll be able to recreate this for my next ship build. A lot of experimentation went into it.
Anthony Conway said on December 24, 2018
Very nice result Sebastijan.
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Thanks, Anthony!
Dmitry Ryzhenkov said on December 24, 2018
That’s great! Bravo!
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Spasibo, Dmitry!
Tom Cleaver said on December 24, 2018
Great all the way around – if you hadn’t said so, I would have thought it was 1/350. Excellent work!
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Thank you, Tom!
John Healy said on December 25, 2018
Great work all around!
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Thank you, John!
Dirk Derks said on December 25, 2018
Hello Sebastijan,
Museum quality model. My compliments.
Also your photographing skills are outstanding. Regards, Dirk
Sebastijan Videc said on December 26, 2018
Thanks a lot for your kind words!
david leigh-smith said on December 26, 2018
A beautifully built ship, Sebastijan. As TC noted there is not a weak part of this build and it is an all-round class piece of modeling. Stand outs for me are the rigging, base, and general shading that brings real interest in what’s often a boring colour scheme.
Huge kudos, and ‘liked’
Sebastijan Videc said on December 29, 2018
Thank you, David! As I said before, it was your build of Enterprise that got me inspired to build a naval subject and when a friend of mine suggested this kit and linked it to my daughter, it was a no brainer… And I enjoyed the build immensely so I plan to build at least one ship in the coming year as well.
Greg Kittinger said on December 26, 2018
Well done! Ditto all above comments!!
Sebastijan Videc said on December 29, 2018
Thank you, Greg!
Ulf Lundberg said on January 16, 2019
Somehow I missed this model until it got an honorary mention in the December awards.
Great job!
You got it together: Build, detailing, paint job and rigging.
Evan Franklin said on January 20, 2020
I really like the texture you got on the sea. How’d you get the swells and the small ripple? Is it all the gel or did you care the base?