As with any ship, HMS Coventry had various changes made to her through her life. The main points for modellers to take notice of are as follows:
1978: as commissioned. 8 on funnel (actually a badge, not painted on). Black horizontal stripe on funnel. 5 life rafts on forward shelves either side of bridge superstructure. SCOT domes and cabinet not fitted. Deep green hull undersides. White panamas and bollards. Dark sea grey decks and superstructure roofs (though these weathered to a lighter shade over time – the main decks got more cleaning!). Light weatherwork grey superstructure sides, hull, 4.5″ gun, Sea Dart launcher, breakwaters, 909 radar domes, 965 radar, fore and mainmasts. Black top half of fore and mainmasts. White top of foremast.
1979: 8 on funnel replaced by a 1. SCOT domes (white) and cabinet (light weatherwork grey) fitted.
1980: forward two life rafts on forward shelves removed. Bollards now very dark brown where the lines wrap around them but still white on top/bottom.
1980 (September): large union jack painted on bridge roof for Persian Gulf operations.
1981: empty portion of forward life raft shelves removed. City of Coventry badge on white disc on funnel in place of the ‘1’. Lower hull antifouling reapplied and now black. Nav light removed from bridge roof forward edge. Union jack removed from bridge roof.
1981 (late): Black stripe removed from funnel. NATO badge added on main mast sides.
1982 (early): NATO badge removed prior to departure for Operation Spring Train 82.
1982 (enroute to Falklands): vertical black stripe added amidships. Pennant numbers overpainted in light weatherwork grey. Ships badge on bridge screen painted light weatherwork grey. Funnel horizontal stripe added back, but black top repainted light weatherwork grey (soon sooted up). Foremast and mainmast black areas repainted light weatherwork grey (soon began to soot up, the reason they were painted black on the top half originally). 4.5″ gun painted dark sea grey (soon weathered lighter and began to come off in patches). Anchor winch on focsle painted light weatherwork grey (no longer red/white). Ship’s boats painted light weatherwork grey. Black covers placed over SCOT domes. Large union flag in red, white and (light) blue painted on bridge roof. Panamas and bollards painted light weatherwork grey. Fuel can stowage on hangar superstructure painted light weatherwork grey (rather than red). Interiors of doors that open out on to main deck (not bridge doors) painted dark sea grey (rather than white). White helo deck markings overpainted dark sea grey. White portion of Lynx markings painted out in Oxford Blue apart from tail rotor tips. Fire fighting equipment remained red, as did the HF antenna base near the foremast, and life rings remained dayglo orange.
1982 (25th May): by this time the dark grey paint on the 4.5″ gun had been worn off in large patches to reveal the original light weatherwork grey, the mainmast was very sooty (mostly black top half), the foremast was a little sooty, the pennant numbers were beginning to show through again on the side and very clearly on the stern (may not have been painted out here?). The black boot topping was worn away in places to reveal grey too. The light weatherwork grey on the top of the funnel had begun to wear away to reveal the original black on the angled surface, and sooted up to be entirely black on top.
There are two major kits available that enable you to build HMS Coventry:
Pit Road / Skywave 1/700 Batch 1 Type 42
For many years, the only plastic model kit of a Type 42 was the 1/700 scale range originally produced by Pit Road/Skywave. This has since been reboxed by a number of companies including Revell, Dragon and Cyber Hobby, the latter two boxings including extra etched brass details. It’s a decent little kit, albeit with some simplications and overscale detailing. The Oerlikons, 4.5″ gun and Sea Darts are all a little overscale and look a bit naff as a result.
It goes together relatively easily but does need a bit of filler here and there. White Ensign Models used to do a nice etched brass set to dress the kit up with railings etc. but this is now quite hard to find. The kit is available in a number of boxings, the one with Sheffield on the box art is the one you want if you wish to build HMS Coventry. Be careful to use the right parts for the funnel and air intakes area, as the kit caters for several variations of the batch 1 Type 42 including Sheffield, Coventry and the Argentine 42s, and also the later batch 2 ships with differing Olympus intake areas.
In terms of accuracy, the kit correctly provides alternative funnels for the exhaust deflectors on the funnel (as on Sheffield) and the more standard funnel; alternative main mast tops for UAA1 Abbey Hill ESM fit (part B28) or not (B29) (but not the boxier main mast fitted to Birmingham and Sheffield); the foremast includes the RF blanket around it that was not fitted to Coventry, so needs carving off; there is an odd disc on the stern (part A44) that should not be fitted; the propellers (C3 and C4) only have 3 blades instead of 5. Depending on the boxing you’ve bought, pay attention to photos for the configuration of railings (e.g. the Dragon boxing includes railings around the top of the hangar, which are entirely fictional), and watch out for the deck differences on the middle superstructure as parts need to be cut away depending on which ship you build.
Decals vary with release but if you see yellow hazard lines for the gun and Sea Dart launcher, don’t use them – they should be red.
The kit is also available in batch 2 and 3 guises – see the Scalemates page for the dizzying variety of boxings out there.
Foreart 3002 1/350 HMS Coventry
This more recent release is a real stunner – Chinese company Foreart’s 1/350 scale HMS Coventry. This is state-of-the-art stuff, with the initial boxing including not only etched brass details but also a turned brass 4.5″ gun barrel, a 3D printed Type 965 radar and a clear upper superstructure and bridge so that the bridge actually has clear windows rather than black painted depressions. A full hull is provided, with a stand. The hull is split into sections so you can have it on a sea base if you prefer.
The bridge actually has a decent stab at the interior layout too – most impressive. The quarterdeck area is also fully detailed, and there’s even some interior detail to the hangar. Detailing along the superstructure is very nicely done, and the etched brass fret even includes double-sided doors so that you could ever have a go at posing some of them opened up. The box art is a great rendition of the ship visiting Shanghai in 1980 – complete with historically accurate ‘CONVENTRY’ banner in the background (but to nitpick – the forward life raft shelf is too short and the City of Coventry badge on the funnel wasn’t used then – it should be a simple ‘1’).
There are a few minor issues – the portholes in the upper superstructure are represented only by shallow depressions – these would benefit from being drilled out and backed with clear plastic. The helicopter deck has a nicely detailed grid, but sadly it sits proud of the deck itself, when on the real thing it is level – a bit tricky to fix. The bridge screen is missing the large hatch at the lower port side (this would be correct for HMS Sheffield, which is also available from Foreart as a separate kit – see below). The 4.5″ gun barrel (both plastic and brass versions) is a little too long (it should not overlap the breakwater below it – see photo albums on this site). The panama fairleads are a little undersized but this isn’t hugely obvious.
In step 12 of the instructions, parts M12 and I5 are antenna bases – you’ll need some very thin wire if you wish to add the aerials themselves. Part I3 is the life raft shelf, which is the cut down 3 raft fit seen from 1981 onwards. If you wish to model the ship during her 1980 Far East deployment, the shelf needs to be extended forward to the second porthole ahead of the LAS sight (the railing detail above shows where to go to – and in fact for the 1981 onwards fit, this railing should be removed). If you wish to model it prior to the 1980 deployment, you’ll need two extra life rafts each side, too.
In step 13, alternative parts are provided for the upper main mast – A34 + O37 should not be used. Instead, use the ‘Falklands War’ fit of parts O35 + A38. This is the UAA-1 Abbey Hill ESM fit, which Coventry had throughout her entire career, not just in the Falklands.
In step 18, parts I5 and I19 are once again antenna bases lacking the aerials and I4 is the starboard life raft shelf that is too short for pre-1981 fit.
In steps 36 and 37 the Sea Dart launcher is shown with the launcher rails in the vertical position – only usually seen if the launcher is being loaded. A more likely angle is around 45 degrees, as seen on the box art.
In step 38 parts B8/A9 and I6 are for the forward flag staff – not usually fitted when at sea except when coming in or out of port, though the bullring at the bottom of part I6 should be fitted always.
In step 40, similarly, parts N8/B9 and O21 are the rear flag staff, only fitted when coming in or out of port or when alongside. Parts B1, B3 and B4 are the helo deck netting, these would be folded outwards to nearly horizontal when flying operations are underway. Also, the safety gate on the hangar structure would be folded out to block rearward access from the weather deck (the gate is shown as a moulded on rectangle below the rear life raft shelf). There are similar gates at the forward side of the bridge superstructure which would be closed when gun or Sea Dart firing is underway.
In step 44 do not use part A1 and in step 47 do not use part A2 – there was never any guardrail along the edges of the hangar roof, on any 42.
Two painting options are offered. The first, unnamed, is meant to represent the ship at her initial commission from 1978 to 1979, when she was part of the 8th Frigate Squadron (hence the 8 on the funnel). The main mast incorrectly shows the non-UAA1 Abbey Hill ESM fit. The lower hull should be deep green, not red. The whaler on the starboard side had medium blue upper hull, not red. The SCOT domes either side of the bridge superstructure just ahead of the foremast should be white (or not there at all!). The 3 life raft fit either side of the bridge superstructure is not correct and should be 5 either side. All upper deck surfaces (hangar, main superstructure, bridge roof etc.) should be dark grey, not the lighter grey shown. The D118 pennant number on the hull sides should line up with the front of the bridge screen – it is shown too far back on the instructions. Alternative decals are provided for the ‘8’ on the funnel or a Coventry crest – the latter was never worn in this location. A City of Coventry crest on a white disc was worn during 1981, however it bears no resemblance to the ship’s crest.
The second painting option is the ship as during the Falklands War. The forward 3 life raft fit is correct for this time. The lower hull should be black, not red. The SCOT domes either side of the bridge superstructure just ahead of the foremast should be black. The black stripes should reach all the way to the black boot topping on the hull, not leave a gap. The 4.5″ gun should be dark grey, not the lighter grey shown. All upper deck surfaces (hangar, main superstructure, bridge roof etc.) should be dark grey, not the lighter grey shown. The main mast is correctly shown as the lighter grey and slightly sooty – this should have heavier sooting, with the top third of the mast effectively black. The fuel can stowage ahead of the aft life rafts should be light weatherwork grey, not red. The helo deck markings should not be applied. If the D118 on the stern was ever overpainted, this had worn away to reveal the markings once again by the time the ship was sunk. The union flag decal for the bridge roof should use a paler blue.
Neither option provides decals for the warning lines around the 4.5″ gun, Sea Dart launcher and STWS torpedo mounts, or the ship’s crest on the bridge screen (the ones for the funnel are too large for this purpose), or the white lines on the lower hull for diver guidance. The helo deck markings do not include the small underslung load target (circle with an X in it).
Overall, a beautiful kit – hopefully it builds up well though the myriad of tiny parts are going to be a challenge.
Foreart 3001 1/350 HMS Sheffield
Most of the above comments apply to the HMS Sheffield edition of the kit also. It is basically the same plastic apart from different funnel and main mast parts (sprue K, replaced by sprue N in the Coventry kit). The Sheffield kit once again represents only the cut down 3-life raft fit seen from 1981 onwards. The option of the main mast without UAA-1 is correct for early in Sheffield’s life. The box art is lovely but shows a grey Lynx rather than Oxford Blue, red painted drill missiles on the Sea Dart launcher – and I don’t think Sheffield ever got this close inshore to the Falklands!
Of the two painting options in this kit, the first represents the ship when she was in the 3rd Frigate Squadron (hence the 3 on the funnel). The lower hull is correctly red. The motor launch on the port side should have a red upper hull, not blue. The SCOT domes either side of the bridge superstructure just ahead of the foremast should be white (if fitted, they often were not). The 3 life raft fit either side of the bridge superstructure is not correct and should be 5 either side. All upper deck surfaces (hangar, main superstructure, bridge roof etc.) should be dark grey, not the lighter grey shown. The D80 pennant number on the hull sides should line up with the front of the bridge screen – it is shown too far back on the instructions. Alternative decals are provided for the ‘3’ on the funnel or a Sheffield crest – the latter was never worn in this location. A crossed arrows shield disc was worn sometimes. The helo deck markings include an errant inner white circle – the artist confused by the shiny metal edge of the grid, I think. The Lynx lacks any decals and should be painted Oxford Blue, not grey as on the box art.
The second painting option represents the ship in the Falklands War. The SCOT domes either side of the bridge superstructure just ahead of the foremast should be black. All upper deck surfaces (hangar, main superstructure, bridge roof etc.) should be dark grey, not the lighter grey shown. The union flag on the bridge roof is too light a blue and inaccurate in shape and best replaced entirely. The main mast had been repainted grey to match the rest of the superstructure and had become only lightly sooted at the top. The pennant number at the stern had been overpainted, but was beginning to show through by the time the ship was sunk.