Well it's taken about a year to complete but here's my largest 1:700 scale diorama to date.

This one features members of Force H in port at Algiers. During the period following the liberation of North Africa and the invasion of Sicily, Force H was held in readiness prior to the invasion to cover the invasion force against possible attack from the Italian Navy. The ships featured include HMSs Nelson and Formidable laying off, with HMS Newfoundland and a troopship unloading at the Jettie Du Nord. There are a number of harbour vessels and landing craft being used to ferry materials. Although the northern 'Jettie Du Nord' is in fact a harbour breakwater, photos of the period and archive movie show many ships mooring there and many lighters and small vessels transporting items back and forth. No movie footage or photos actually show Newfoundland moored here (a Dido Class cruiser certainly was). However, she was briefly part of Force H at this time and I wanted to model a Colony Class cruiser, so this is purely artistic licence (it was a possibility though).

The models include a modified Tamiya Nelson kit, a modified Aoshima Illustrious kit, Skytrex Newfoundland and troopship kits. The harbour vessels are from an old Hasegawa Tugger kit. All models have been detailed with WEM etch brass and resin parts. All of Formidable's squadrons at this time are represented by the Seafires, Albacores, and Wildcats on her deck. These are a mix of Fujimi plastic and WEM resin models. The Seafires were always parked on deck, usually on their outriggers as the model depicts. Getting good decals for 1:700 FAA aircraft is a nightmare and I was unable to accurately depict the correct aircraft markings. Does anyone do 1:700 RAF/FAA rudder stripes?

The seascape was limited by the number and size of the main vessels. In order to obtain enough free 'water' between Nelson, Formidable and the jetty it meant putting the jetty almost on the side of the baseboard. The sea conditions and colours are based on two photos and a visit to Gibraltar in 2001. The outer harbour is foil covered MDF with fine modelling acrylic stippled on in order to achieve the slight 'chop' which is apparent in the photos.

My special thanks go to the following SMMLies for providing vital information without which this project would never have materialised: Dimi Apostolopoulos, Roland Mar, Chris Langtree, John Sutherland. Thanks guys!