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Tuesday, 6 October 2026

Two British coastal defence ironclads in 1/1200th-scale

I have always liked the look of the British mid-nineteenth century coastal defence ironclads ... so when 1/1200th-scale  models of a couple of them came on sale on eBay, I could not resist putting in some (successful) bids!

I am now the proud owner of models of HMVS (later HMAS) Cerberus ...

... and HMS Glatton.

In due course, I will write longer blog posts about these two ships, but it is worth mentioning that the hull of HMAS Cerberus is still extant!

She was sunk as a breakwater in Half Moon Bay in September 1926, and despite the ravages of time and tide, the hull and the remains of her turrets and funnel still remain. In 2001, the Friends of the Cerberus was formed, with the goal of preserving her, and since then they have raised funds to remove her guns for preservation and to combat corrosion in order to stabilize the wreck. This remains ongoing.

10 comments:

  1. Great hauls Bob. Interesting ships and models.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Roger,

      I already have models of two other ironclads in my collection and hope to add more as and when I can.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Nice little ships. They look like they could use a strip down and repaint to bring out the details. Glatton also needs proper Victorian B&W instead of Edwardian grey.

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    Replies
    1. Peter Douglas,

      I will be adding more ships as and when I can.

      I understand that Glatton was painted grey at one point in her career, although I agree that she would look better in the traditional Victorian colour scheme.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Splendid finds! Victorian ironclads in all their strangeness always warm my heart. I agree w Peter, B&W for Glatton.

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    Replies
    1. Mad Padre,

      Cheers! Some of the ironclad designs were - to put it bluntly - rather odd one off!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. BOB,
    The Cerebrus model could do with an overall spray of Light Grey to bring out the detail. All the best. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson (Kev),

      I agree that the all black hull and deck do rather obscure the detail. It’s something I might need to change.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. Nice looking models and great additions, very interesting read about the Cerberus too, amazing it it still there.

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    Replies
    1. Donnie McGibbon,

      It would be wonderful if Cerberus could be restored to her former glory rather than left to slowly rot away.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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