Many thanks to all those who are contributing to this thread! Your contributions are very helpful and are helping to widen our perspective on this project.
We have talked with a number of individuals and museums that might be relevant, but in most cases their models were too 'model like' on close inspection. The main problem was the way they were painted, because to look right on screen a miniature has to be 'over weathered' to reinforce the onscreen illusion that it is a full size ship. Many models also showed the subject ship at an inappropriate and fixed time in her career. This is a particular issue in the case of HMS Hood, which spent 20 years as the RN Flagship and went though a number of refits which changed her silhouette considerably. Even the short-lived HMS Prince of Wales - sunk after only seven months of service - evolved between the Bismarck action and her demise. Generally, naval vessels in the Second World War went though frequent updating of their radar systems and anti-aircraft armament, which were quite noticable. Our models will mostly have to be built with optional parts which can be switched around to represent different eras in their histories. We want them to be as accurate as possible. As this Forum shows, there are a lot of knowledgeable people out there!
Museums, and most individuals, would insist that their models could only be borrowed if they were returned unaltered. This is entirely understandable, but would not be an undertaking we could give. Making our own models gives us the freedom we need to make sure that the end product - the on-screen image - has priority. The human eye/brain system is not the same as a camera, and we always have to be focussed on the cinema audience's experience. When James Cameron made 'Aliens' in 1986, there was no CGI, and the 'Sulaco' starship was a fibreglass model about six feet long. It still exists, in a private museum in Los Angeles, and when I saw it I was amazed to find that it was only detailed on the starboard side. The port side is completely bare. Jim asked for this deliberately, because all four shots of the vessel that appear in the movie only show the right-hand side. He correctly argued that it was better that the modelmakers did twice the work on the flank that would be seen by the audience, and no work at all on the unseen side. That's a good example of how the thinking behind 'models for film' has to be different from conventional 'modelling for pleasure'
Certainly it is very useful to examine full-sized ships that have been conserved, and the USA is the prime hunting ground for this. HMS Belfast in the Pool of London - a short walk from our Studio - is a must-see, as is the Flower Class corvette in Colin Bishop's picture. Technology is certainly available which can scan large areas with a laser and produce 3D datafiles, and this is now commonly used in surveying aircrash sites, and in other situations where accurate spatial information has to be gathered quickly. Other techniques such as Photogrammetry (analysing still photos to deduce dimensions) are also valuable, and we have found the 'Anatomy of the Ship' series of books to be a great help. Companies like Tamiya still use many old-school techniques, such as 'walkaround' photography, the trusty tape measure and template 'combs', although with their contemporary car models - which have very complex 3D curves - they're more likely to strike a deal with Ferrari or Porsche to use the actual CAD files downloaded direct from the factory.
With regard to the cost of our project, it's too early to be definitive. Once we know the number, scale and quality of the models we will be making, and the timescale, and have then quantified all the likely resources needed, we'll sort it out.
Our prototype hull for HMS Hood is now being made. We coded the body plan, ship's lines and longitudinal drawing into the program that we use to produce models of objects with double curvature, which we mostly employ for architectural design projects. The 12' hull is being carved from 46 foam resin blocks, which will then be stuck together with two-part epoxy adhesive. We sandwiched an alloy plate along the vertical centreline to prevent distortion. It's going well, and should be ready for camera in a couple of days.