AJM Models
1/700 HMS Argus (1918)


 
Reviewed April 2023
by Martin J Quinn
HISTORY
HMS Argus was a British aircraft carrier that served in the Royal Navy from 1918 to 1944. She was converted from an ocean liner that was under construction when the First World War began and became the first example of the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight deck that allowed wheeled aircraft to take off and land. After commissioning, the ship was involved for several years in the development of the optimum design for other aircraft carriers. Argus also evaluated various types of arresting gear, general procedures needed to operate a number of aircraft in concert and fleet tactics. The ship was too top-heavy as originally built, and had to be modified to improve her stability in the mid-1920s. She spent one brief deployment on the China Station in the late 1920s before being placed in reserve for budgetary reasons. 

In February 1936, it was decided to refit the ship as a tender. The opportunity was taken to widen her flight deck by 10 feet (3 m) and replace her old boilers with destroyer-type boilers which could generate more steam than her turbines could handle. The boilers were taken from scrapped destroyers of the V and W class which were being broken up at Inverkeithing. Her refit was completed on 30 July 1938 and she underwent sea trials the following month.  She was classified as a Target Aeroplane Carrier and recommissioned on 11 August 1938.  After recommissioning, Argus served as a training carrier to allow pilots to practice their deck-landing skills. She was carrying out this duty in the Gulf of Lion when the Second World War began.

She spent the war performing a variety of duties, such as convoy escort or ferrying/transporting aircraft to places such as Murmansk and Malta.  She also provided air cover for some of the ferry runs to Malta and participated in Operation Torch.   In 1943, after a refit, she was designated an escort carrier and assigned to training pilots in deck landings, a task she performed until September 1944.  After further service as an accommodation ship, she as sold in December, 1946, and subsequently scrapped. 

For more on Argus, see her Wikipedia page, where this history was taken from, here, or check out this short history of her on Drachinifel's YouTube channel here. 

AJM Models Argus

AJM Models HMS Argus. comes in a sturdy white box, with a photograph of a completed example of Argus on the cover.   The model is supposed to depict Argus just after she entered service, in an attractive dazzle scheme.   The parts are cast in a gray resin.   Included in the box are over two hundred resin parts, with parts for both the ship and aircraft; photo-etch, decals and brass wire. 

THE HULL 
The hull scales out pretty close to the real thing, in both length and beam.  She's nicely cast in dark gray resin, with good details, like well defined portholes, bollards and chocks, as well as other deck equipment like capstans - you can see her liner pedigree in her lines.  The planking looks good, and there are outlines on the deck to help with placement of the deckhouses and other equipment.  There are recesses cast into the hull side, where photo-etch parts will represent the "doors" on the side of the ship, which is a nice touch.  There is a little bit of flash you'll have to remove from the bottom of the hull with sandpaper.  Though this may not be an issue if you display your model in a seascape. 

There is a large bulge/blister along the waterline, which I'm not sure is entirely accurate for an "as-built" Argus.  According to Chesneau in "Aircraft Carriers of the World", Argus didn't get her bulges until a 1925-26 refit.  You may want to try and sand this off, or just leave it. 

FLIGHT DECK
The flight deck is cast integrally to a large resin wafer.  The wafer has thick runners along three sides to prevent warping.  There is scribed planking on the decks, which looks a tad over-scale to me, but might be hidden by a coat of paint.

There is a smaller deck that matches the outline of the forward end of the deck, albeit without any scribed planking.  On the instructions, this is show as a separate piece, but it's not entirely clear if this is supposed to go under the flight deck.  I'm guessing it does go underneath, as it has no scribed lines. 

DECKHOUSES/FUNNEL EXHAUSTS/FLIGHT DECK SUPPORTS
There are four structures that sit on top of the "main deck" (which is actually the roof of the hangar). One of these parts is obviously the bridge.  It's not indicated what the others are, though one is most likely the the bulkheads for the elevator.   Either way, these will be mostly invisible once the flight deck and supports are added.   All these parts have very large resin casting blocks on the bottom of them.  One structure also has Aztec stairs, which would have been better represented with photo-etch.

 Also included are the two large exhausts for the funnel gases, which ran under the flight deck on Argus.  These vented out at the aft end the flight deck.  There were also a pair of large electric fans that could vent some of the gasses over the side.  These fans, and the associated ducting connecting them to the exhausts, are included. These parts are also on large casting blocks, and there is some flash visible, so you'll need to clean these up before installation. 

Finally, there are a pair of supports - and associated bulkheads - along with an overhead gantry that support the after end of the flight deck, and a large pair of cranes.  The bulkheads will have to be faired into the sides of the hull.  I think these parts might have been better represented in either photo-etch (the gantries and support columns especially) or 3D printed for better definition.

SMALLER RESIN PARTS
There are a number of smaller resin runners, with various parts:  ships guns, vents, anchors, signal lamps, searchlights, vents, winches and more.  Casting is decent, but there is some flash here and there, and a few smaller parts have some voids in them, from the parts not fully forming in the mold.  The barrels of one of the guns was broken, I may replace these with 3D printed parts. 

SHIPS BOATS AND RAFTS
Argus carried a variety of boat and rafts.  There are three runners of boats and one runner with rafts.  The quality here is good, and some of the boats have nice photo-etch parts - like thwarts - included.  The rafts are decent, but you may want to replace them with 3D printed versions if you want something a little crisper. 

AIRCRAFT
Being an aircraft carrier, you'd expect Argus to have some aircraft, and she does.   The aircraft included are:
  • Sopwith Cuckoo (4)
  • Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter (4)
  • Sopwith 2F1 Camel (2)
  • Sopwith Pup (4)
While they look alright to the naked eye, under magnification and digital photography, the some of the fuselages are a little rough, and the fabric on the wings is a little overstated.   Some light sanding of the former, and a coat of paint on the latter, will probably make them look alright.   Torpedoes are included for the Cuckoo, which is a nice touch.  Landing gear and struts are provided as photo-etch parts. while some aircraft have resin tires, other PE.  Overall, it's a nice compliment of aircraft, especially for such a small ship. 

DECALS 
There are a numbers of small decals sheets included.  There is one for Argus.  The rest are for her aircraft.   The decals for the ship include a White Ensign, flight deck markings, draft marks and what appear to be the ships name.   The aircraft decals - broken out by aircraft type - all contain roundels and tail "fin flashes". 

 
PHOTOETCH
Argus comes with two larger ship specific photo-etch fret, a fret for the ships boats, and several smaller photo-etch frets for the aircraft.  The smaller of the two ship specific frets is of a heavier brass than the other.  This particular fret includes the lattice supports for the flight deck along both sides of the hull.   The second, thinner, fret contains cranes, PE doors, rails, netting, inclined ladders and more.

The aircraft specific frets include the struts for the wings, landing gear and propellers, along with tail skids and wheels (as mentioned, some aircraft have resin wheels, some PE).  The final fret has the thwarts for the boats, oars, cable reels, tillers and boat cradles. 

The photo-etch parts for the planes - especially parts like the tail skids and props - are tiny, and should also be handled with care.  There is also some brass wire included with the kit.  The instructions seem to indicate these for for masts, yards, spars and booms, but the wire seems rather thin and pliable for these purposes. 

INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions, parts of which are in color, are spread out over six double sided sheets of paper.   Page 1 consists of a manifest of all the parts.  The rest is step-by-step build instructions for the ship itself.  They seem fairly logical and straightforward. There is a separate page covering the aircraft - both assembly along with painting and markings.  Finally, there is a very nice painting guide of Argus in camouflage on the last page.  This shows both port and starboard patterns, as well as an overhead view of the ship.   The color callouts are for Lifecolor paints. 

CONCLUSIONS  
This is a solid kit of one of the world's first full-deck aircraft carrier.  While it's not the same overall quality as say, something from Combrig, the casting is generally good. Along with over 200 resin parts, there's a lot of of photo-etch, along with decals, brass wire and solid instructions. The packaging of the overall product is very good as well. 

Overall, Argus is a nice kit from AJM Models, and it should keep experienced modelers busy for quite some time (due to the myriad of photo-etch and small parts, this isn't a kit for beginners).  It's a historically significant ship, and if you are a fan of aircraft carrier models, you'll want this as part of your scale model fleet.  Recommended, especially for the aforementioned aircraft carrier fans, those with an interest in World War 1 ships, and/or ships with unique camouflage.  Argus checks all of those boxes. 

This is AJM Models' 1/700 HMS Argus, kit number 700-038. The model lists for around $130.00, and is available from many of our fine sponsors.  I picked this one up, courtesy of my wallet, from FreeTime Hobbies. 

As always, this is an in-box review, your mileage may vary once you commence construction.