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Finally finished, kit was from Black Cat Models, resin hull, 3D parts, photo etch and some turned brass, only extras were some Uschi line for the rigging and a lot of swearing😝. Oh, and a few beers😁. Oh, and some wooden decking kindly donated by @Faraway, thanks Jon. Build log here

WIP here: Another excellent Corvette model from Black Cat Models Thanks for looking Rob

At the risk of getting a serious telling off from @Courageous I can't resist starting this despite having HMS Abelia on the ego. The LCT-5 is near RFI. You can't have too many corvettes on the go It's surprising that with the overall popularity of Flower Class Corvettes, there has not been a decent model in 1/350 to date. Ben at Black Cat Models has rectified this by releasing a state of the art Resin /3D moulded parts offering that comes after his earlier short Foc'sle version. These earlier short foc'sle models were well received and many including myself have waited eagerly for their perhaps, definitive larger brothers. The model is released in 3 different long foc'sle versions: 1) HMS Mimosa 2) HMCS Snowberry 3) HMCS Sackville Mimosa has the "old" enclosed bridge, Snowberry the forward 2 Pounder (Royal Navy) configuration (despite being a Canadian vessel) and Sackville has the 2 Pdr bandstand aft which was so common on Canadian vessels. The kit comes as a complete package - with the exception of anchor shain - you need nothing further to complate an extremely detailed model in 1/350. Here are the contents Of note is the single moulded-piece bridge superstructure and open top. It saves building and getting adequate fit for what is quite a complicated shape. My only relflection i sthat there is no moulded "wood" flooring. For those with a dislike of PE Ben has moulded the wiindscreen removing the need for fiddly fitting - though be warned - when I removed mine from the (very hardy) packaging - my thick fiingers manged to break the side. ben has done the same on the funnel with moulde don ladder, vent wheels and top frame all of which removes the need for fiddly PE attaching. Here's the superstructure fitted... And a comparison with a short foc'sle version side by side It's very apparent how much extra space was acheived with Long foc'sle adaptation. I like the way that Black Cat includes metal masts and cross-trees, made by Master. The Decals also provide a treat and provide many of the Gun "art" that so commonly featured on Canadian vessels. The awkard Blue white and red rectangle that Campanula and Mignonette wore (convoy markings) is included (Thanks Ben) as painting them in 1/350 would have been challenging. Instructions come as a booklet,are pictorial and very easy to follow together with an extensive parts identification plan. There are a LOT of parts, all of them showing the highest of detail capable with 3D printing, detail that would have been unthinkable 5 or 10 years ago. The PE fret includes the railings - is thin but easy to remove fromthe fret with a sharp scalpel blade. So for those of you who've waited for a state of the art Flower Class Long Foc'sle Corvette in 1/350 - here it is I predict we'll be seeing a lot of these in the future. So on with the build in the hope I can do all this justice. I originally intended building HMS Mignonette using the Matchbox 1/72 kit but size an cost just put me off so here it'll be in 1/350 with likely considerably more detail There are 2 extant photos of Mignonette in her "stretched" form, unfortunately both of her port side only. As is so often - Thanks are due to IWM collections for their fabulous and evocative images gratefully reproduced here And near identical but taken at a slightly different time... There are also views of HMS Campanula and Clemais that are very similar if not near identical that provide insights into rear deck configurations And a brief reflection here about Clematis that in nearly all model representations is portrayed as having B55 contrast camouflage, presumably following an earlier deliberation propagated by Bob Pearson's colour profile especially in Lambert & Brown's corvette book. It is possble but given the date of the photos above of 1942 and the tonal similarity with so many of the other Western Approaches Blue schemes, it seems to me unlikely that she is wearing B55 in the above photos (possibly same scheme but in B55 later??) To analyse Mignonette I'll go from bow to stern, she is a ner typical long foc'sle version but nearly evey corvette has it's differences and peculiarites, due to builds coming from different yards and on-the-go adaptations to real-time war experience. 1) 4" gun has square shield and casiing is likely WA Blue which is the contrast colour to the white background. BTW the line you can see stretching form the bridge to the top of the turret is a voice tube 2) Side splinter shields iin place 3) Typical Type "C" open bridge with Oerlikons in situ. she carries splintr mats 4) Metal side lattice bridge supports are 2 squares and a rear rectangle 5) Lantern platorm is not round but ?octagonal with pronounced angles (canvas covered). Lantern is late with multiple windows 6) She carries a Carley raft on curving downturn rails just aft of the foc'sle 7) 2 Pdr bandstand shelter has no platform but sports an aerial frame instead, it appears camoufaged at it's aft-most VIII) The aft Carley raft on the aft splinter shield is raised and angled downwards, presumably for rapid launching 9) The Depth charge rails are "raised" and likely hold 2 rows 10) Colour scheme is relatively straight forwards with prominent bow depth marks So.. hajime! I've taken to beginning the base first so as to "plant" an unpainted hull. This styrofoam has just been sanded with some wet and dry, a method I haven't really tried before Chris Flodberg talks about using Gesso oto "smooth" the surface so I'll try that - he suggests multiple coats up to 10+ And with the following minor scratching this is likely to be that rare beast - an OOB build 0.3x0.5 plastic rod at a length of 10mm is used to replicate the fwd Carley flaot rails And I apologise to Ben as I'll be using Micromaster Type 19 raft (8ftx5ft) instead of the Type 20 (10ftx5ft) that ben supplies - Mignonette definitely has the smaller version, that ben does not produce More soon Thanks for looking Oh and I'm lead to believe there is an absolute gem coming from Black Cat shipyards soon Rob

WIP here: With grateful acknowledgement to IWM collections. Thanks for looking Rob

Hi, I've decided to start Trumpeter HMS Eskimo in 1/350 scale.: . . I use WEM photoetching... and Black Cat models set. Chris

Well, for the first time in months I had a full day at the desk yesterday - Bliss. Multiple episodes of "The Rest is History" and more accomplished than in the last 2 months. After having put together the raised bridge on the LCT-5 and being in the mood I though I'd crack on with the Flower Corvette from Black Cat Models which needs similar treatment. Jon @Faraway has done one iteration as HMS Begonia And Michal @socjo1 recently opted for HMS Hibiscus which I had orignially eyed up with it's striking zig-zag camo pattern It would have been perverse to have 2 ships being modelled with the same camo pattern given the enormous numbers of Corvettes and their multiple morphologies and colour schemes. So I searched for an alternative - given that this is a short focsle Flower, there wasn't a huge choice until I stumbled across a photo of HMS Abelia. With many thanks to IWM collections for once again providing such an evocative image. For once there appears to be consensus that the colour scheme is a variant of Western Approaches Sadly I have only been able to find this one photo of her in her Short Focsle iteration. She was slightly peculiar as so many Corvettes are and has a number of distinctive features. From stern forwards: 1) She is fitted with minesweeping gear including winch (Good as the kit supplies all ) 2) She lacks rear splash guards 3) 2 pounder platform is amidships (unlike most Canadian vessels including HMCS Agassiz that the kit portrays, (which had the platform at the rearmost part of the aft superstructure) 4) 2 pounder platform has an extended searchlight platform 5) She carries double Carley floats in an atypical position and a futher raft is mounted at an angle abrest the funnel 6) The ?14/16ft ship's boat platforms are further aft than for the kit's HMCS Agassiz 7) She carries 274 radar and was one of the first Flowers to be so fitted. It is mounted on a tall raised platform that communicates with the bridge deck 8/ The Bridge is almost unique in being a type A with wheelhouse and charthouse below and compass house above. The compass house has a "Flying bridge" above that, which is solid panelled (vs railings) as evidenced by the presence of pominent wind deflectors. The radar tower integrates with the bridge deck. Lantern cover is round and multi-facetted which is a "late" feature. (Early versions were octagonal and had fewer frames) 9) There appears to be no secondary anti-aircraft armament - she carries searchlights on the bidge - not Lewis guns. There might just be a pair of Lewis guns on the rear superstructure 10) Mast is forward of the bridge 11) The 4" gun shield is rounded 12) She lacks portholes beneath the gun platform Some modifications will be required fom the supplied resin kit The resin hull is beautifully and flawlessly moulded Superstructure and Bridge parts are separate and "plug" into the hull First order of business was to construct the Radar tower. Without plans the only option is to work from the photo using "proportions" and comparators as to regards size and height. The supplied bridge deck was definitely extended backwards on Abelia. I had a Micromaster 274 platform with lantern, so construction of the tower could be divided into base with it's distinctive "arch", square tower abutting the rear bridge deck and likely envaginated by it (Can't take the anatomist out of the modeller ) and finally the lantern platform atop. A former is shaped and then stuck to a second piece of plastruct with CA glue so that a second can be shaped accurately My little set-square is used to "square" parts up The first try was too wide so start again...... The middle "box" section was constructed using my cheap guillotine to get uniformity of length and the set square to .....ahem "square". The edges were bevelled with a file so as to get a neat join Test fitting showed it was too high so it was sawed down The metal "credit card" appeared as a windscreen scraper one Christmas and is one of my most useful tools The "Flying bridge" has been added and comparison with the originial photo shows it is still too high. More soon Thanks for looking Rob

WIP here: This RN LCT-5 is modified from the Black Cat Models kit with the following: 1) Ramp "Mulock" extensions 2) Raised Bridge 3) Attached mast Vehicles are from L'Arsenal and stowage is all Black Cat including the small mine-sweeping floats as these craft often served as Auxiliary Minesweepers Thanks for looking Rob

Well after another brief foray into AFVs, it's back to floatey things. Kudos to Ben at Black Cat Models for daring to release some of the more prosaic types of WW2 naval craft. And in this instance, it's the Landing Craft Tank - 5, an original Brit design that was built in the US and operated largely by the US Navy with a sizeable handful being leased to the Royal Navy in anticipation of amphibious landings first in Italy then France and Holland etc. You'll see that my site tagline is "Modelling the mundane" so this is apt. These were true unglamorous work horses that as well as landing vehicles in amphibious assault were also used as de facto minesweepers, balloon carriers and general dogsbodies. Virtually each and every one built is given an entry in that Fabulous resource that is Navsource.org. It's a crying shame that no one has done a similar data base for Royal Navy vessels, in fact it's a minor disgrace (and no I just don't have the knowledge). So enough of the waffle. here's some pics and as is often the case with me - a set of photos of LCT 2188 in Holland at War's end first captured my imagination There's real difficulty sourcing "Red" decals at a size consistent with 1/350 scale and the different shaped "8"s on 2188 are a problem so pragmatically I''l be building 2272 that lends itself to easier decalling though the original source photos are of a much lower quality. Some of these pictures are copies of "Photo Collection of Sub-lieut. Leslie Tom Fowler CO HM LCT-2130" that features as a separate web link under the Navsource entry for "2130". https://www.navsource.org/archives/10/18/180130a.htm I am indebted but should anyone object to their useage - let me know and I will remove immediately. British vesels differed from their US counterparts in a numbe rof ways - the most prominent being 1) Fixture of bow ramp extensions that were common throughout all RN landing craft 2) A raised bridge by a further level 3) Many RN vessels had added "bolt-on" armour Here are some pics illustrating those differences: And despite lacking a RN resource to rival Navsource, at this point it seems appropriate to acknowledge the wonderful photo collections from the IWM Collections from which many of these photos are taken. And so onto the model. Despite being one of Black Cat's earliest offerings the level of detail is admirable. A Resin moulded hull in one piece is provided with 3D printed accessories, a small etched metal sheet, decals and a brass rod mast I'm not planning to use the supplied AFVs but they are beautiful models in their own right So here's the build/modifications list: 1) Scratch forward ramp extensions 2) Drill "drain holes" in forward ramps 3) Include "painted" white guide line on ramp 4) Include RN Carley floats and Flota-nets that were prominent 5) Mount 20mm ammo boxes and close in forward facing bridge rails (?armour) 6) Scratch upward bridge extension with attached rear access ladder 7) Scrounge a 10ft dinghy that many of these carried 8/ Painting will be white with B30 "blocks" 3 per side (It varied) 9) I have considered mounting a HA/LA (US) Balloon??????????? The build commences with a base - I'm now having to use the harder Grey Styrofoam now that my cream supply is running out A cardboard waterline template is cut out and the base "excavated - the draft on these vessels was very small By way of a "water-sculpt", I'm going to try a new method, one I picked up from that excellent modeller Alan Blythe - those of you who have see the D-day/Mulberry harbour exhibition at recent model shows will have seen his work. It uses proprietary moulded sheets that depict a wind-rippled surface. The trick is to cut the sheet to match the waterline aperture And work begins on the ramp extensions that demand accuracy in cutting styrene strips It's good to be blogging again on naval - sadly modelling time remains elusively tiny Thanks for looking Rob

At a loose end at the mo' so I thought I'd kick off with the box art and all the little bits and bobs, that will go to make this nice little ship. I thought it might make a change to a 'Flower'. That's about it, except I couldn't resist this close up, Bens 3D printing is superb. I'll start in January, meanwhile I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and an even better New Year. See you all in '23 Jon

Good day everyone! Recently have finished the notorious Trumpeter's Tribal-class destroyer kit with a few addings of Micromaster (4.7 inch., 4 inch. HA, Wickers MG), Black Cat Models (general kit for the class), specially ordered decals and others. Besides that I had to slightly raise the bow part of the ship with plastic sheet. 3D kits are amazing, they helped so much in kit's improvement. It's a great pity that we can't afford Micromaster in Russia because of delivery issues... The model is depicting HMS Tartar during her participation in escorting Northern convoy PQ-18 in September of 1942 as a part of Fighting Destroyer Escort. I'm very glad to add my ship to this forum's fleet

Known as "Elsie Item" to it's crews, here's the Black Cat Models LCI (large) in Royal Navy colours. Thanks for looking Stay Safe Rob