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Last year at Scale Model World at Telford I took one of Peter Hall's H-class destroyers off his hands for a project: The kit is Atlantic Models ATK35058 HMS Hesperus, a Brazilian H with the later design of bridge. Due to a family connection, I wish to build the I-class destroyer HMS Imperial, pennant number D09, which was built by Hawthorn Leslies in Tyneside in 1936. The I class was a continuation of the Brazilian H making Peter's kit a very good starting point, however there are some differences to be addressed. The easiest problem is that the I-class had 4 of the 4.7in QF Mk.IX single mounts. The Hesperus kit provides 3, lacking Y-turret. Peter kindly supplied my kit with a fourth mount knowing my plans for this kit. Next up, the H-class funnels were unequal height but both had oval cross sections. On the I-class, the aft funnel was taller, approximately equal in height to the forward funnel. The forward funnel was circular in cross section. Armed with a set of plans (again, thank you Peter!) I set about extending the aft funnel and replacing the forward funnel. This is the aft funnel from the H-class in situ: I cut out a piece of modelling board the correct thickness to insert into the funnel, then chopped the aft funnel in two. Unfortunately the steam pipes had to go to enable shaping of the insert. The modelling board was glue in between the two resin parts: The fit of the upper and lower parts of the hull is excellent. I will go as far as to say that Peter's resin kit fits together far better than any injection moulded ship kit from Trumpeter that I have assembled. I have purchased some photographs of HMS Imperial for reference. Whilst well photographed before the war, I know of only a single image taken during the war. I have ordered (for £21) a high resolution copy of this image from the Australian War Memorial: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/133585/ I hope that in high resolution it can offer some clue as to how HMS Imperial was painted in the Mediterranean in 1941. If not, then she shall be painted in 507C in pre-war guise. There is a good reel of footage on Roland Smith's Royal Navy in Colour DVD taken from HMS Ivanhoe which appears to show some of the 3rd Flotilla in all-over Mediterranean Grey (507C) whilst others look to have Home Fleet Grey hulls with Mediterranean Grey upperworks. I cannot make out HMS Imperial's pennant anywhere on the footage, but all of the destroyers in the footage clearly show the 3 bands on the aft funnel to be in red. The neutrality stripes on B-turret are in the usual red, white and blue. I have started work on the deck painting. Those who have been steering me on paint research have also been helping me more recently with deck coatings. What a minefield! The I-class were trialled with 3 comparable latex-based trowel-on deck coatings from 3 different manufacturers. Semtex Ltd was one supplier. The trouble is, that the three products were different colours, one described as "the colour of dry asphalt", one green and one brown. There may have been 9" high bands of contrasting colour around the base of superstructure items the troweled on stuff butted up against. So far, I cannot determine which manufacturer's product was which colour, nor even which groups of 3 I-class ships received the products from each of the 3 suppliers. Whilst I am keen on getting things right, I am also pragmatic and in the interests of actually building this model rather than pontificating until I depart this world, I had to make a decision. There is reasonable evidence to support the bridge and platforms being linoleum covered, which gives us some brown colour, so I chose a grey that looks like the roads around the North East of Scotland, on the rare occasions when they are dry. I have sprayed the main kit parts accordingly. At this point, I realised that the little platform at the back is surplus to requirements, as Imperial carried two pentad 21in torpedo tube mounts. The H-class kit provides a single quintuple torpedo tube mount. I could scratchbuild them, but am exploring alternatives presently.

Steam Gun Boat HMS Grey Goose Atlantic Models 1/350 HMS GREY GOOSE was built in 1942 and was one of a series of seven Denny type steam gunboats, planned as miniature destroyers, their steel hulls with steam turbines were intended to give superior type of all weather motor torpedo and gunboats, however their vulnerability to small calibre gunfire (all those steam pipes!) and their poor acceleration proved embarrassing, the intended programme for more vessels was cut back, only the seven GREY boats were built of a planned 60 boats, they did however prove very useful as high speed stripped down blockade runners going to Sweden to bring back loads of ball-bearings. At one time commanded by Sir Peter Scot (painter & naturalist) GREY GOOSE achieved her greatest fame when after the war she was converted by Vospers to an experimental gas-turbine powered vessel. S HM SGB-9 was built by J Samuel White & Co at Cowes, Isle of Wight. She was laid down on 23rd January 1941 and was launched on 14th February 1942. She was commissioned on 4th July that year. On completion, she was 145 ft 8 in long, 20 ft wide across the beam and displaced 220 tons at full load. She is still extant and moored at Hoo Marina in Kent, having been tastefully converted to a house boat. The Model Originally announced several years ago by White Ensign Models it never saw the light of day as the company ceased trading. Fortunately Peter Hall of Atlantic Models kept the project alive and now has finally been released. The kit arrives in a small cardboard box filled with polystyrene peanuts, and comes complete with, and rather unusually for a narrow seas model, a two piece hull, a small resin block and a small etched brass fret. The main hull, which is just under 5 inches, (120mm) long, and is a superbly moulded item, There is a bit of flash on the lower hull section and some resin nibs on the mating surface. But these won’t be a problem as I’m sure most builds will be as a waterline, so the lower hull can be put to one side. The rest of the hull and "superstructure" is beautifully moulded, with no sign of pinholes or other defects. Another small bag contains the rest of the resin items, namely the funnel, 6pdr mountings, torpedo tubes, dinghy, 20mm Oerlikon mountings, 3” mounting, 20mm gun platform, life rafts and cowl vents. The rest of the parts come on a smallish etched brass fret. Construction begins the choice of whether to build the model full hull or waterline. If full hull the the lower hull section should be glued to the upper hull and the seam filled and sanded as required. The lower hull comes with the propeller shafts, A frames and rudders moulded integrally, all you need to do is add the pair of PE propellers. The 3” gun mounting is assembled by fitting the PE gun shield and support arms to the resin mounting, this is followed by the 20mm Oerlikon and depending on the option the modeller chooses, two of these need to be assembled from 3 parts of PE and a resin pintle. Whilst we’re on sub-assemblies, the two PE 0.5” turret platforms are folded to shape, as is the Holman projector and fore mast assembly which is made up from the brass rod lower mast, PE upper mast section and PE radar aerials. The two platforms are then glue in position, followed by the resin funnel, metal cowl vents, two torpedo tubes, PE ships wheel in the bridge, and the main mast spreader fitted at the stern. The modeller can then fit either the Holman projector on 20mm Oerlikon to the bandstand glued to the amidships superstructure. The 3” assembly is also glued into place, as are the ships railings, dinghy, dinghy davit, and life rafts. Behind the breakwater, one of the 6pdr mountings is fitted, while the bow chaser 6pdr can be replaced with the second Oerlikon depending on what mod state the modeller wishes to build. The two PE twin 0.5” Vickers machine guns are then folded to shape and fitted to their respective turrets either side of the bridge, followed by the foremast assembly which is fitted aft of the bridge, which is fitted with a windscreen. As is usual, the colour call outs are for Colourcoats paints, available from Sovereign Hobbies. Conclusion Well, it’s been an awfully long time coming, but the wait is certainly worth it, as this is a cracking little kit, and while the construction isn’t actually difficult, the rolling and bending of some of the PE parts could be a little awkward for those not used to working with etched brass. As with the other narrow seas models, this will make for a very nice vignette or as part of a bigger diorama, but will be just as home in full hull in a display cabinet. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

Fairmile D MGB 660 Atlantic Models 1/350 The Fairmile D has to be one of the most popular boat used in the narrow seas, certainly by this reviewer. Following on from the earlier Fairmile boats the D was designed purely as a gun boat to take on the German S boats, although it never matched the speed of the S boats the armament was such that if intercepted they could easily overwhelm the German vessels. When fitted with even heavier weapons and torpedo tubes, these boats were able to take on much larger craft with considerable success. Around 229 D’s were built between 1942 and 1945. The Model The kit arrives in a small cardboard box filled with polystyrene peanuts, and comes complete with single piece hull, a small resin block and a small etched brass fret. The main hull, which is around 2 inches, (50mm) long, and is a beautifully moulded item, although the review example has one very small remnant of a moulding stub on the stern, but this is well below the waterline so when using in a diorama it may well be ignored, unless the modeller is really picky, even then they will easily be removed with a sharp scalpel or a few swipes of a sanding stick. The rest of the hull and "superstructure" is very clean and nicely done. Another small bag contains the rest of the resin items, namely the dinghy, life rafts, 6pdr mounting, twin 20mm mounting and 2pdr mounting. The rest of the parts come on a smallish etched brass fret. As can be seen in the photo there is quite a bit of thin resin around each of these parts that will need to be carefully removed with a sanding stick or scalpel. Construction begins with the assembly of the twin Oerlikon mounting with the fitting of the two guns to the resin mounting along with the separate sighting and laying frame. Two single Oerlikons, each consisting of the barrel with sights attached and which have to be folded to shape, the two sides of the breech section and the gun shield. These are then attached to the moulded pintles on either side of the bridge The 6pdr mounting resin part is fitted with the sight and armoured top box before being glued into position. With the weaponry fitted to their respective positions, the bridge is fitted with the windscreen, the anchor is mounted on the foredeck and the mast glued into position and fitted with the small yardarm and upper mast section with gaff attached. The ships wheel is fitted as is the hatch aft of the bridge, along with its associated railings. The rest of the ships railings can then be fitted in their respective positions, and that is pretty much it, unless you are going to mount the model in a display case, in which case the four propeller shafts, propellers and two rudders can be fitted. Since there are a number of Fairmile D versions being re-released the etch sheet does have quite a lot of spare parts which can be used to modify this kit into the boat of your choice according to the references you are using. Conclusion This is another great re-release, and Peter Hall should be thanked for bringing this wonderful little kit back on the market. As usual the resin moulding is superb with absolutely no sign of defects such as pin holes etc, only the tiny bit of moulding stub needs to be cleaned up. It is also another great kit for those new to resin and etch which lends itself to a whole raft of different scenarios for a diorama or vignette. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

73ft Motor Torpedo Boat Atlantic Models 1/350 Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) 379 was the prototype of a new Royal Navy design for a 73-foot fast attack flush decked wooden MTB combining torpedo and heavier gun armament. Chief designer was Commander Peter du Cane, Managing Director of Vosper Ltd, Portsmouth, UK. Power was provided by three 1400 horsepower Packard petrol engines. Top speed was 39 knots at full power. Armament was four 18-inch torpedo tubes, one 20mm Oerlikon gun and two twin Lewis .303 machine guns. Sixteen of this Type 1 design were built as MTB 380-395 and five Type 2 boats were built as MTB 524-527 featuring a six-pounder gun. MTB 379 was ordered in 1942 and built in early 1943 with the other boats being built thereafter. These MTBs were widely used in naval operations in the English Channel and along the coast of occupied Europe until 1945. The Model The kit arrives in a small, ziplock poly bag, complete with single piece hull, a small resin block and a small etched brass fret. The main hull, which is around 1.5 inches, (37.5mm) long, and is a beautifully moulded item, although the review example had two very small defect on the starboard side lower hull, near the chine and a slight moulding stub on the bow and stern, but these are all below the waterline so when using in a diorama they may well be ignored, unless the modeller is really picky, even then they will easily be removed with a sharp scalpel or a few swipes of a sanding stick. The rest of the hull and "superstructure" is very clean and nicely done. Another small bag contains the rest of the resin items, these are the four 18” torpedo tubes and four ventilator cowls, although the review sample only came with three as one seems to have been knocked off the moulding block and it definitely wasn’t in the bag. These items have a small amount of soft resin flash and pour stubs which are readily cleaned up. Otherwise they are once again nicely moulded. The rest of the parts are contained on the single, smallish etched brass sheet. These include the mast assembly, which is folded together to make the complete mast, with the radar antenna already in place. Just the anemometer and yardarm to attach and it’s ready to glue into position. The forward mounted twin 20mm cannon mounting consists of the guns which need to be folded into position, the separate sight, pintle, which isn’t actually needed on this kit as the pedestal is pre-moulded on the hull and shield. The bandstand railings are then carefully rolled to shape and glued in place. The rest of the brass fittings include the boats wheel and windshield for the bridge, two liferings, three deck hatches, jackstaff, anchor and railings for the bow and stern. On the forward pair of tubes there is a rocket projector, each required to be folded to make the complete part. On the rear tubes there are a pair of twin Vickers machine guns, which like the Oerlikon also need to be folded to shape along with the pintle and each gun fitted with a drum magazine. If required the model can be fitted with the three propeller shaft skegs, propellers and rudders, but as these kit will most likely find themselves in a diorama or vignette then they can be left off. Conclusion It’s great to see this and other narrow seas boats being re-released by Atlantic Models, having been lost to the modelling world since White Ensign went down. This is a great little kit and would be a good starter piece for those not used to working with resin or etch. Look forward to seeing other boats in the range being re-released as well as number of new kits which are or the drawing board. The instructions show the paint scheme for MTB 379 using Colourcoats paints, but if you wish you can paint it for whatever boat you wish to depict as there are no decals to worry about. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

Well making headway with a couple of builds so decided to start on this oldie goldie and will be adding the Atlantic Models PE set something about these type of WW2 destroyers that just makes me want to build them Oh and MTB,s as well You can see from the price tag how old this kit is £1.99 I wish they where that price now. Got this kit given to me by a good friend a few year ago the hull molding is way to deep for the platting and nearly non existent for the raised parts oh well here goes Port holes starting to be drilled out before the plating is toned down And the very full PE sheet from Peter hall and you can see the difference of the hull sides so far no illusion I have two kits and PE to do another version later told you I liked these type of ships beefy

Due to a family connection... I wished to build the I-class destroyer HMS Imperial, pennant number D09, which was built by Hawthorn Leslies in Tyneside in 1936. The I class was a continuation of the Brazilian H making Peter's kit a very good starting point, however there are some differences to be addressed. The easiest problem is that the I-class had 4 of the 4.7in QF Mk.IX single mounts. The Hesperus kit provides 3, lacking Y-turret. Peter kindly supplied my kit with a fourth mount knowing my plans for this kit. Next up, the H-class funnels were unequal height but both had oval cross sections. On the I-class, the aft funnel was taller, approximately equal in height to the forward funnel. The forward funnel was circular in cross section. Armed with a set of plans (again, thank you Peter!) I set about extending the aft funnel and replacing the forward funnel. New 3D printed 4.7in Mk.IX QF guns were sourced from Shapeways but the barrels were as poor as the breach end was brilliant The barrels were thus sawn off and replaced with brass The torpedo mounts were likewise replaced by Shapeways items. They were extremely expensive for what they are, but they look nice The pair of Vickers 0.5in quad machine gun mounts were replaced with Tetra Modelworks items which I had used before on a HMS Hood build as was very happy with them I did as best I could in interpreting the scheme from the single wartime photograph I have ever seen. I had to pay around £20 for this from the Australian War Memorial to get a high resolution version to even find out if the photograph showed anything - the low-resolution version online just showed a smudge where the ship claimed to be So, after a few months' work, here it is. I never really finish model ships - I just stop. I plan to get some better paravanes and fit them to the deck at the stern, and I will definitely get some crew members to stand on watch when they become available from Northstar. For now though, it's safely in my display cabinet

I have wanted this ship ever since,my Dad serviced on her,and I went aboard her ,in the late 70's.I will not go into her history ,there is plenty of books and on the net.I will talk about the kit.Its not the same standard as Flyhawk or Orange hobby,but I don't care.I have added a lot of detail around the walk ways and added more detail to the bridge.All the boat decks are not wide enough and the ships boats are not correct. You will need two sets of decals ,the reason ,I will show when I down load the photo's.The photo etching is to the high stardard from Peter Hall. Ever since I received the kit I have been working on her.First had to add the stern deck.Interesting approach . I have not added that much detail in the stern ,looked at my other carriers and realised it was not worth it.

I have already trailed this in my Dido build, but I ought really to reveal what I am up to. Dido - now at the painting stage, so progressing nicely - has been my first full ship build for a good while, and I have seriously enjoyed it... plus the modular nature of building ships seems to suit my weird weekdays only, away from home current set-up. I am painting Dido with enamels and (in due course) some oils, which will require plenty of drying time... so I’ve decided on the next project. Dido was my first ship: my second was the County Class DLG HMS Norfolk. I joined her in July 1981, straight out of university. Only a few weeks later she was sold to Chile, and her programme no longer really worked for a young officer who needed lots of sea experience to get his tickets, so in November 81 I was re-appointed to Fearless as she emerged from refit in the Tyne. 6 months later I found myself in San Carlos Water... but that’ll be a story for a future build. Norfolk, therefore, is the Prat part of this build (her Chilean name was Almirante Prat). She will be modelled looking something like this (a photo of her sailing from Pompey during my time on board, September 1981 en route to Amsterdam). However, I actually have two Atlantic Models 1/350 DLGs. The second is a commission for one of my oldest friends; he has a significant birthday next year. We didn’t actually meet until 1982, but he too served in a DLG around this time. While I was in San Carlos in Fearless, my mate was out on the gun line in HMS Glamorgan. We all know what happened next - indeed Mark was on the bridge when she was hit. Happily both Glamorgan and he survived. So in parallel with a relatively shiny Norfolk, I will be building a distinctly battered sister; my plan is to try to reproduce this scene, which is Glamorgan entering Pompey with very clear battle scars in July 1982. The wrecked hangar area will require some ingenuity, but I have some good reference shots & I’m sure it’s doable. Here, just because it’s the law at the start of any build, is one of the two kits: This won’t be quick, and I haven’t finished Dido yet... but that’s what is next on the hoist. Crisp

After a nice straight forward build of Eduards 1/48 spitfire I wanted to see if I could finish a ship before Telford. I had an Atlantic models 1/350 Musketeer that I had finished over 10 years ago but I was never happy with, not least because the paint scheme didnt quite seem right with the combination of 507C and MS4A looking mixed up compared to photo's., Now that Colourcoats have released their new range this seemed like a chance to see what difference they would make. I quickly pulled the ship apart (easy when the main superstructure blocks were origionally glued in place with white glue, stripped all the railings off and dunked the seperate parts in oven cleaner to strip the paint. I've made a start by adding plating runs and some extra deck detail, plan is to improve some details and correct some of the issues with the original kit (and some mistakes I built into it myself!) i've got a few photos that I am using as a basis for the ship however theres still quite a few areas I dont have enough details of so no doubt there will be quite an element of guesswork involved in some of the detail work but I wont tell if you don't....... The kit itself is lovely and while a little simplistic in places gives a very sound basis to improve (if you want to) and the range covers some really lovelly subjects. I did have some pics of the model in its original condition however i seem to have misplaced them so the couple of pics of it halfway through the stripdown process will have to do to give a feel for what I started from.

This kit comes with lots of problems.I wish, I could start a again,however we must say, that a lot with your models and l found this superb link, only after I had finished Kent. There are plenty of photo,s of the County class on the net,here are a couple. http://countyclassdestroyers.co.uk/index.htm plenty of pictures http://www.modellmarine.de/index.php?option=com_alphacontent&section=11&category=210&Itemid=59 Great build of an Airfix kit. http://www.hazegray.org/navhist/rn/destroyers/county/ more pictures Items to overcome with the kit. 1 Plastic soft and brittle. 2 Gap between B turret and Bridge to big. 3 The difference in the class between Batch 1 and 2,even the rear mast was position different within the batches.

Quite a quick build by my standards, three weeks start to finish. My first model using resin and photoetch and I'm still in two minds over doing another. I prefer the feeling of actually creating something by doing a wooden plank on frame model. However, the end result is pleasing

HMS Gorleston Atlantic Models 1:350 The Banff-class sloops were a group of ten ships of the Royal Navy. Built as United States Coast Guard Lake-class cutters, in 1941 these ships were loaned to the Royal Navy as anti-submarine warfare escorts. The transfers took place at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, where HMS Malaya was under repair after being torpedoed by U-106. The sloops were manned for transport to England by personnel from the damaged battleship. The sloops were initially used to escort SL convoys between England and Sierra Leone, and one was sunk while so employed. The nine surviving sloops were assigned to Operation Torch where two were destroyed attacking Oran in Operation Reservist. The remaining seven escorted Mediterranean convoys in support of the North African invasion and saw varied employment in the Atlantic until assigned to the Kilindini Escort Force in late 1943 and early 1944. They stayed in the Indian Ocean for the remainder of the war escorting trade convoys in the Arabian Sea, and five served in the Bay of Bengal supporting Operation Dracula and Operation Zipper in the last months of conflict with Japan. Six were returned to the United States after the conclusion of hostilities; and one, disabled by mechanical failure, was scrapped overseas. Originally in USCG service as the Itasca performed Bering Sea patrols; but is most remembered as the "picket ship" that would provide air navigation and radio links for Amelia Earhart when she made her 1937 attempt to fly around the world. Itasca, stationed at Howland Island, tried to keep in radio contact with her. However, due to a series of misunderstandings or mishaps (the details of which are still controversial), two-way radio contact was never established. Itasca was decommissioned on lend lease to the United Kingdom where she received a name change, becoming HMS Gorleston (Y92) after the East Anglian port of Gorleston on 30 May 1941. Gorleston was equipped with Type 286M Radar after arrival in England; and was assigned to the 40th Escort Group escorting trade convoys between England and Sierra Leone with sister ships HMS Landguard and HMS Lulworth, Lend-Lease destroyer HMS Stanley and Shoreham-class sloop HMS Bideford. After escorting convoys OS 4, SL 87, OS 10, SL 93, OS 12, SL 95, OS 17, SL 100, OS 22, SL 106, OS 28, SL 112, OS 34 and SL 118 on this eastern Atlantic route, Gorleston made a trip to Iceland escorting convoys DS 33 and SD 33, and escorted convoys KMF 3, MKF 3, KMF 5, MKF 5, KMF 7 and MKF 7 between England and the Mediterranean Sea in support of Operation Torch. Gorleston was then assigned to the 42nd Escort Group with sister ship HMS Totland, River-class frigates HMS Ness and HMS Exe, and sloops HMS Weston and HMS Folkestone escorting tanker convoys UC 1 and CU 1. Gorlestone then resumed escorting eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean convoys until refit in Wales in December 1943. After refit, Gorleston escorted eastern Mediterranean convoys from March 1944 until assigned to the Kilindini Escort Force in August 1944. Gorleston escorted Arabian Sea convoys until transferred to Colombo in June 1945. Gorleston spent the remainder of the war escorting Bay of Bengal convoys in support of Operation Zipper. She was returned to the United States on 23 April 1946 and redesignated USCGC Itasca until scrapped in 1950. The Model As with all the other Atlantic Model kits this one comes in a sturdy cardboard box, although admittedly somewhat smaller than normal in this case. Inside you are met with a box full of polystyrene chips, amongst which you will find a bubble-wrapped two piece hull, two bags of resin and one of metal parts, a sheet of etched brass, and the instructions. As usual Peter has cast his magic and produced another superb resin model. The two piece hull is free from blemishes, pin holes or other imperfections other than the moulding pips on the mating surfaces of the hull sections. The detail included on the upper hull section is superb, but their is a fair bit of cleaning up on the smaller resin parts and particularly the metal parts. Originally, I believe that this was to be released by White Ensign Models, and was on their website for some time. But then they went down, and Peter has finally picked it up and finished it off. While it may not be the most well used or largest class in the RN, it is still a very interesting ship and a good reminder that there were many of these unsung heroes amongst the hundreds of ships the RN had at the time, small ships doing important and dangerous jobs. Once the modeller has decided whether to make the model as a waterline or full hull, it’s on with the build. If building full hull you will have to remove the small moulding pips on the mating surfaces first. This will ensure a really good fit with minimal filling and sanding required. The main superstructure is the glued to the deck. The rudder and prop are then attached to their positions on the lower hull. The many sub assemblies are then built up, these include the forward gun with PE shield, 6pdr gun and PE shield, PE 20mm Oerlikons, PE quad 0.5” mounts, anchors. The main gun, two 6pdrs, anchors, and if building one of the other ships of the class you may need to add the two gun platform extensions. The superstructure is then fitted with two tall ventilators, which may need to be shortened to match the bridge height as this was done in British service, the funnel, with PE funnel cap and two intake structures. The bridge is made up from the single piece main section bridge roof railings, the four piece PE Type 279 radar lantern, and six piece foremast topped off with the three piece HF/DF aerial. The bridge assembly is then glued to the front of the superstructure, followed by the two piece PE gun platform on which either two Oerlikons or two quad 0.5” assemblies and mounted. The bridge wings are fitted with two angled supports and inclined ladders are attached between the bridge deck and superstructure. The boat davits and accommodation ladders are assembled from their PE parts, as is the multipart aft platform, which includes the gun platform and splinter shields for two more Oerlikons or 0.5” Quads. Two short ventilators are also fitted to the roof of the structure. The three piece rangefinder tower is also assembled and glued into position. The aft platform is also glued into position and the wings fitted with their lattice supports. Again, depending on which ship of the class is being modelled, there are alternative gun tubs which are attached to the superstructure sides along with their lattice supports. Two inclined ladders are then glued into position between the superstructure and the main deck. There are four boats, two sitting on cradles either side of the aft superstructure, and two on davits which have a separate part depicting the downfalls. Just forward of the two cradled boats there are PE support platforms for three Carley floats on each side of the superstructure. The two depth charge racks aft are assembled and glued into position, followed by two depth charge throwers and their handle derricks, towing hitch and aft mounted 5” deck gun, followed by the railings, thus completing the build all bar the painting. Conclusion Well, Peter does it again, with this release of another great kit of an unusual subject. With the exceptional moulding and etch we’ve come to expect from Atlantic models it would make a good kit to start with if you wish to build these multi-media style models. It is quite a bit smaller than the previous releases too, so would make for a nice centrepiece to a seascape that will be easy to transport and store. Very highly recommended Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

Well, the next project just arrived from Atlantic Models, a 1/350 scale type 81 tribal class frigate in resin, white metal and brass. I was a little surprised by the seemingly small number of parts, but its all about the end result and the initial inspection bodes well. Excellent detailing cast into the resin and the brass etching looks promising. The two halves of the hull would need a little fettling and filling, but I'm going to build this as a waterline model on a semi calm sea, so the lower hull will end up surplus. The kit: Stage 1 is to prep the base board for some water modelling; here is my initial sketch of the wake pattern. The end result won't be quiet so geometrical! To be continued...

Yes I know another one you are all thinking But while the 466 MTB is taking shape I will be making sure I take my time with it as it is my first resin kit and the high price tag means I do not want to make any mistakes So as an in between build I have just started this old kit I have had in the storage area for some time i managed to get the PE set for it from Peter Hall at Atlantic Models So started with the hull sides and deck and also drilled out the portholes which will be filled with glue and glaze after painting of the hull Beefy

I will not talk too much,just to say brilliant kits,I will put a link for the review.I have been at this kit since Sept,came with me on Holiday,were all the hatches and extra detail has been added.

HMS Zulu Atlantic Models 1:350 By the mid-1950s, the wisdom of building specialist frigate types was being questioned, particularly on cost grounds and the problems associated with getting the right ships, in the right place, at the right time. Design work was initiated on a ship that could integrate most of the specialist functions of the Type 12, 41 and 61 frigates. The outcome of the design study was the Type 81 (Tribal class) Frigate and the first of the new class was ordered in February 1956, despite the design not being finalised until February 1957. The first keel was subsequently laid down in January 1958. The new design incorporated gas turbines as part of the main propulsion, in the COSAG (combined steam and gas turbine) system which was also used in the 'County' class destroyers. Main propulsion was provided by a 12,000hp steam turbine that could drive the ship at over 20 knots and could be augmented by a G-6 gas turbine (7,500shp) to boost the speed to around 28 knots. The main advantage of this system was that the main steam turbine could be used to give optimum fuel efficiency at normal cruising speeds and the gas turbine could be brought in to give extra power on demand. This meant that less boiler capacity was required with resultant savings on space, manpower and cost. With a gas turbine, the ship could still be powered up and manoeuvred at very short notice while the steam system was still warming up. The disadvantage of the system was that a second funnel was required to carry the gas turbine exhaust, which took up deck space. As a result, the Type 81 was the only frigate design to feature two funnels. The advantages clearly outweighed the disadvantages though and the Royal Navy gained valuable experience in the operation of gas turbines in a wide variety of operational environments and showed that the gas turbine could be reliable enough to run for extended periods. This led to the eventual development of improved models, which were installed as the only propulsion system on later classes. The new ship also incorporated guided missiles as part of the main armament for the first time. Space was provided for a quadruple Seacat launcher and its associated GWS21 control system. The launchers were positioned either side of the foremast while the directors were on platforms either side of the second funnel. The missile was steered by radio command guidance and the target could be tracked visually or by the Type 262 radar in the director. Due to delays in the development and procurement of the Seacat, all the ships except Zulu had single 40mm AA guns installed in place of the launchers and were gradually refitted as the equipment became available. In addition to this the vessels were also designed with facilities to carry and operate a helicopter as part of the ship's equipment, which, due to the space, meant that the ship could only be provided with a single Limbo mortar. The Type 81 had a displacement of 2,300 tons as standard, and 2,700 tons if fully loaded. It was 360 feet long, had a beam of 42.5 feet and a draught of 17.5 feet. The ship had a completely flush deck with considerable sheer with the superstructure block extending the entire width of the ship, supporting the bridge and mast. Both funnels were set aft and raked back slightly with the small hanger and flightdeck being towards the very rear of the ship. The Type 81 had a main gun armament of two single 4.5in guns (Mk V mounting), one being just forward of the main bridge (that had three 2in rocket flare launchers mounted), the other on the quarterdeck. These had come from scrapped 'C' group destroyers but had been modified to improve sighting and loading arrangements before they were fitted to the new ships. They had a maximum range of around 19km, and while the 50-degree elevation would only give them limited effectiveness against aircraft, they were really meant to engage surface and land targets. Fire control was by means of a MRS3 director that was mounted behind and just above the main bridge and incorporated a Type 903 radar for tracking targets. The ship also had a Type 965 radar fitted with a AKE1 'Bedstead' aerial, a Type 993 radar with a 'Cheese' aerial and a Type 978 navigation radar on a small platform projecting forward from the main mast. The Seacat system provided a simple but effective close-range air defence system that was subsequently fitted to almost all British and some foreign warships. Two four missile launchers were fitted on either beam and had a maximum range of 4.75km. Anti-submarine weapons consisted of a single Limbo mortar and a Wasp helicopter, and while the inclusion of six torpedo tubes was dropped, the ship had a comprehensive sonar suite with Type 177, 170 and 162 sonars being fitted. The ships were a giant step forward in terms of crew comfort and facilities. It was the first ship to have cafeteria-like messing facilities and bunk sleeping. Full air conditioning for all accommodation, working and operational areas was provided which meant that the class could operate in a wide variety of environments without being specially modified. A detachment of Royal Marines was carried with their weapons and equipment, the concept being first tried out with HMS Loch Killisport and having proved a success, was adopted on the Tribal and most other frigates as well. The class was named after the 'Tribal' class destroyers that had served with distinction in the Second World War. These destroyers had represented a major change in design philosophy and so it was thought fitting that the new class of frigates was named after them. The lead ship of the class, Ashanti, was commissioned in late 1961 and put through extensive trials to test the new propulsion system and to develop operation procedures for using light helicopters on frigates. The last vessel in the class was Zulu, which was completed in April 1964. As a class, the ships saw service all around the world, with considerable time spent in the Persian Gulf, Middle East and West Indies, due to their high level of accommodation and air conditioning. Modifications were limited - those vessels that initially had 40mm anti-aircraft guns had them replaced by the Seacat. All ships had two single 20mm guns mounted on each beam just forward of the bridge that could be used in peacetime or low intensity conflict situations where the use of the main guns or Seacat missiles might be inappropriate. This was a lesson learnt in the Indonesian Confederation in 1962 - 3 where many patrolling frigates had found that they had no effective armament to engage small boats and fishing vessels used for gun-running. Also, two Knebworth / Corvus multiple rocket launchers (that fired chaff to confuse incoming radar-guided missiles) were mounted, one each side of the bridge from 1970 onwards. Ashanti (1968) and Gurkha (1969) were fitted with the new Type 199 variable depth sonar, which was installed on the quarterdeck. These ships were very useful for peacetime patrolling and low intensity conflict operations (what today would be called Peace Support Operations) as well as 'showing-the-flag' visits. Their limited armament and low speed made them unsuitable to be combined with the remainder of the fleet in Task Force situations and mostly operated on detached duty. With the introduction of new frigate classes and the run down in naval strength, they were relegated to first the Standby Squadron and then listed for ultimate disposal in the 1981 Defence Review, Ashanti having been mothballed in 1979 and Tartar, the last operational ship of the class, being decommissioned in December 1980. Vosper Ship Repairers actually proposed a modernisation programme, with a view to selling them abroad where the two 4.5in guns would be replaced by a single automatic 76mm gun mounted forward. The Mk 10 mortar and existing hangar and flightdeck facilities would be removed and new facilities installed that extended to the stern so the ship could operate a Lynx helicopter. A large streamlined funnel would replace the two separate ones and a new Fire Control system installed. Although there were rumours that Venezuela was interested in buying some of the class, the deal never materialised and it's a shame that the modernisation could not have gone forward with the ships being retained in Royal Navy service as the ships had been relegated to disposal well before the end of their useful lives. The Falklands conflict saw three of the ships (Tartar, Gurkha and Zulu) being recommissioned into service to cover for combat losses and ships being laid up due to battle damage. This showed the value of keeping a number of ships in reserve so that they can be activated should the need arise. The remaining four 'Tribal' class ships were not recommissioned and were stripped of any serviceable equipment to keep the other three going. By 1987, all four had been disposed of, Mohawk being scrapped in 1982, while Eskimo, Nubian and Ashanti were all sunk as targets in 1986, 1987 and 1988 respectively. The other three had another two years of service, after which they were bought by Indonesia, refitted by Vosper Thorneycroft at their Woolston yard and commissioned into the Indonesian Navy as Martha Kristina Tiyahahu (Zulu, 1985), Wilhelmus Zakarias Yohannes (Gurkha, 1985) and Hasanuddin (Tartar, 1986). The Model The model comes in the standard plain cardboard box with just a large sticker on the front depicting HMS Zulu at sea. On opening you are faced with a sea of polystyrene peanuts which protect the parts from rattling around. The two parts that make up the hull are wrapped very carefully in bubblewrap. The smaller resin parts are further protected by having the zip lock bags they are in surrounded by bubblewrap. The metal parts are also contained in a zip lock bag, whilst the decals, instruction CD and etch are in a separate envelope. As with the HMS Cleopatra kit, reviewed HERE, the instructions are in pdf format on a CD, so you will need either a colour printer or a laptop/computer at your workbench. Although doing both is a good idea, as having them on a screen allows you to zoom in to confirm parts placement and able to read the useful text that accompanies each section of the build, whilst having the printed version for general use. The two hull sections are beautifully moulded and matched, in fact on the review example they virtually clicked together once the leftovers of the pour stubs are removed. There are no signs of mould imperfections, air bubbles or flash on the main parts, but the smaller parts do have a small amount of flash that will need to be carefully removed. The metal parts are a different matter, they do have quite a lot of flash and on some parts it’s difficult to see where the flash stops and the part starts. But since this model is for the more expert modeller this shouldn’t cause too many problems. The etch is well up to the standard we come to expect from the man who did all the White Ensign etch which is a good job really as there is a lot of etched parts and looks like they’ll be some very complicated assemblies. Lastly, and quite importantly there is a small decal sheet, which is a great addition to these kits. I’ll go through the build as per instructions, but, if you’ve built these sorts of kit before then you may wish to do it your own way. The first choice to whether to build it full hull or waterline, if you choose waterline you can dispense with the lower hull, otherwise check fit and glue to the upper hull. There may be a slight gap around the joined, but you should only need a smear of fill before sanding back. Careful when sanding though as you wouldn’t want to damage the beautiful resin. I generally paint the hull and deck first before adding anything other than the propshaft, shaft support and rudders then adding the main resin parts. The resin bridge, shelter deck superstructures, midships superstructure, with funnels, hanger are then fitted along with the quarterdeck mounted metal winch. Then it’s a matter of building the sub-assemblies. The first sub-assembly is the two turrets of the main armament. Each turret consists of resin shield, metal gun barrel and in the case of the forward turret, a pair of etched rocket rails, one on each side of the turret. The Seacat launchers are next and each main unit is made of metal and detailed with the four guard rails. The Seacat missiles themselves are made up of three etched parts, which look quite good in this scale. Each of the Corvus decoy launchers are fitted with an etched falre tube folded to give more depth. The Mk10 Limbo launcher is assembled from the separate base and the triple barrelled launcher. One of the more complicated assemblies is that of the Type 965 radar, also known as the bedstead. This is made up form twenty two separate etched parts, including the front and rear faces, individual dipoles, plus the IFF interrogator array and support beams, alignment is paramount for it to look right, so care and patience are the order of the day. This goes for the other complex assembly, that of the lattice mast. This is made up of one etched part which is folded so that it forms three sides and the top of the mast. Within the mast structure there is a small platform with sensors that fit poking out of the sides, the separate fourth side is then glued into place. The mast is then detailed with the two waveguide conduits, Type 978 radar and its associated platform, top sensor arrays, which can be left off if building a later period ship, two yards and their supports midway up the mast, followed by four more yards/supports further up. The completed bedstead aerial is then fitted to the top of the mast via a short piece of rod provided by the modeller. The bridge superstructure is detailed with etched DF antenna attached to the forward edge of the bridge roof, whilst the platforms, complete with railings and supports for the Type 993 radar and the MRS-3 Fire Control Director are attached to their respective positions on the bridge roof, followed by the radar array and director. The bridge is completed with the fitting of the two resin aldis lamps. There liferaft canister racks for single, two and four canisters, each from etched brass, which, once folded are fitted with the required number of metal liferafts. With the bridge superstructure glued to the hull, the various railings can be fitted around the bridge, along with the inclined ladders, liferaft assemblies, both single and twin, chaff launcher enclosure, whip aerial mounts, two 20mm Oerlikon mounts, each made up of a double thickness gun and separate shield, the spare anchor and the two Seacat sub-assemblies. On the fo’c’s’le the side railings are fitted, followed by the anchors and jack staff plus its associated supports. The midships superstructure, with the two funnels attached, is further detailed with the railings, inclined ladders, two liferaft racks, with four rafts on each, and the Seacat directors which have been moulded with their gazebo roofs in the closed position. There are also two petrol tank containers fitted, one per side on the rear edge just behind the Seacat directors. Each one is made up of a folded cage into which three shelves are fitted so that they slope outboards. The rear funnel is fitted with its rear intake grille, two floodlight frames, complete with three separate floodlights, and three wire antenna masts are attached to the front of the funnel top. Forward of the superstructure deck two more whip aerial bases are attached, whilst at the rear the RAS sheerlegs are fitted. Just aft of the midships superstructure is the Limbo well. Into this, the Limbo sub-assembly is fitted along with all the associated railings. On the outside ledges of the well structure the modeller has the choice of fitting the panels that go over the hanger roof if the Wasp is to be posed on the flightdeck. If the Wasp isn’t going to be used on the ship, then the complete cover moulding can be used. The flightdeck also has a full array of netting to be fitted around the outside. Each of the two ships boats is fitted to their respective davits, each of which are made from two parts folded to shape, the completed davits and boats are then fitted into their positions either side of the fore funnel. On the quarterdeck the small paravane crane is fitted to the moulded base on the deck, along with the rear main gun mounting plus all the railings. If you wish to build either HMS Ashanti or HMS Gurkha you can fit the Variable Depth Sonar. This will entail quite a bit of modification to the rear of the quarterdeck, which needs to have the carved out to the correct shape and depth, the dimensions of which are given in the instructions. The VDS frame is assembled from a single etched part folded to shape, then fitted with the four piece pit wheel. The VDS body is provided as a single piece metal part, which, when fitted with its cradle, is fitted into the well. The stern is fitted with an extension plate which needs to be level with the well opening. The single Wasp helicopter is made up from a resin airframe, to which the spider like undercarriage is attached. The undercarriage consist of the cross frames attached to each undercarriage leg, so that when fitted they all mesh on the underside. The flotation canisters are attached to the top of the cab and fitted with two support frames. The main rotor is fitted with the two control linkages, one above and one below the rotor head, then attached to the rotor mast, whilst at the rear the tail rotor is attached to its shaft. Unfortunately there is no option to show the helicopter with rotors and tail folded unless the modeller wishes to tackle a rather fiddly conversion. Decals The smallish decal sheet is very nicely printed, and even in this scale you can read the names on all the nameplates, two provided for each ship of the class. The sheet also included all the required numbers to produce the correct pennant numbers for the ships sides and stern, plus their respective ID letters for the flight deck, as well as the flightdeck markings. There is also a full ships worth of depth markings, a Union Jack, large White Ensign and a smaller White Ensign for use at sea. The ships helicopter also has the codes, correct for each ships flight, for each side and the nose, as well as the Royal Navy titles and roundels. Get you magnifiers out as the helicopter codes are white and therefore difficult to read, and you wouldn’t want to put the wrong ones on now, would you? Conclusion At last we have Tribal class frigate in 1:350, who’d have thought it? The standard is as high as ever, with the exception perhaps of the metal parts which seem to have more flash than I remember on other Atlantic Models kits. The resin is flawless and fits together beautifully with only the finest of fettling. From a conversation I have had with Peter it will be a challenging build, even he thinks so, so what chance mere mortals have is anyones guess. But with buckets loads of patience, care and a fair amount of experience working with these materials you should be fine. If you’d like it and it’s your first attempt at a multi-media kit like this, then I would suggest trying something simpler out first. This is one great all round package, and one Peter should be proud of; I just can’t wait to see what else is in the Atlantic Models pipeline. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

HMS Upton Atlantic Models 1:350 The Ton class were coastal minesweepers built in the 1950s for the Royal Navy, but also used by other navies such as the South African Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. They were intended to meet the threat of seabed mines laid in shallow coastal waters, rivers, ports and harbours, a task for which the existing ocean-going minesweepers of the Algerine-class were not suited. The design of the class was led by the shipyard John I. Thornycroft & Company, and drew on lessons learnt in the Korean War, and numbered 119 vessels. They were diesel powered vessels of 440 tons displacement fully laden, constructed of wood and other non-ferromagnetic materials. Their small displacement and shallow draft gave them some protection against pressure and contact mines, and allowed them to navigate in shallow inshore waters. Primary armament was one Bofors 40 mm gun, although the South African variants also had an Oerlikon 20 mm cannon behind the funnel. RN vessels also had the same but they were gradually removed and an M2 Browning machine gun mounted midships. Sweeping equipment was provided for moored mines and magnetic mines. Many of the class were converted to minehunters by the incorporation of active rudders and the installation of the Type 193 minehunting sonar and associated equipment, including a very welcome enclosed bridge (the exception being HMS Highburton who retained her open bridge until de-commissioning in the 1970s, this actually becoming a source of manliness to her crew when meeting other Ton crews). These vessels only retained mechanical "Oropesa" sweep capability. The class served as patrol vessels in Borneo, Malaysia, Northern Ireland and Hong Kong. The minehunters played a significant role in the Suez Canal clearance after the Yom Kippur war. They also provided the backbone of the UK's Fishery Protection Squadron (4th MCM). Five of the class in Royal Navy Service were permanently converted to patrol craft for service policing Hong Kong's territorial waters in 1971. These vessels, comprising HM Ships Beachampton, Monkton, Wasperton, Wolverton and Yarnton had their minesweeping gear removed and were fitted with a second Bofors 40 mm gun aft of the funnel. They also received new pennant numbers: Beachampton P1007, Monkton P1055, Wasperton P1089, Wolverton P1093 and Yarnton P1096. It was originally planned to name the ships after insects, with names like Red Ant, Green Cockchafer and so on, but this plan was abandoned and the Royal Navy ships of the class were given names of British towns and villages ending in "-ton", hence the name of the class. With the rundown of the Royal Navy fleet in the 1960s, many were sent to become base ships for the Royal Naval Reserve allowing reserve crews to get to sea for short periods without a lot of effort to organise a crew of significant size. Some of these had their names changed to reflect the RNR Division they were attached to. The RNR vessels lasted until the introduction of the River-class minesweepers in 1984. The remainder of the RN ships paid off in the 1990s. The Model As with all the other Atlantic Model kits this one comes in a sturdy cardboard box, although admittedly somewhat smaller than normal in this case. Inside you are met with a box full of polystyrene chips, amongst which you will find a bubble-wrapped two piece hull, a bag of resin and metal parts, a sheet of etched brass, a CD containing the instructions and a small, but well filled decal sheet. As usual Peter has cast his magic and produced another superb resin model. The two piece hull is free from blemishes, pin holes or other imperfections other than the moulding pips on the mating surfaces of the hull sections. The detail included on the upper hull section is superb, with some of the finest bulkheads that can possibly be moulded. The detail continues on the small bridge and funnel sections of the superstructure, with only the small pour marks on the underside of each that requires any work, take care not to remove the locating pips though. The other parts made from resin are the buoy storage rack, complete with six buoys, two Gemini boats and the main sweep winch. The white metal parts include the 40mm mount, 40mm barrel, four sweep paravanes, or Oropesa as they are known, the hawser reel, the stern frame and towing bit, the anchor windlass, three liferaft canisters, and the propeller A frames. Some of the metal parts will require a bit of clean-up to remove the small amounts of flash attached to them. There are three short lengths of styrene rod provided, the two round section rods for the propeller shafts and a square section for the interior of the boat crane. The rest of the detail is provided on the etched brass sheet and includes funnel badges for the Hong Kong Squadron, a full set of railings, the anchors, jack and ensign staffs, boat deck, radar reflector fins, stern gear, buoy rack frame, sweep winch frame, boat derrick, propellers, funnel badges for the 1st MCM Squadron, mast, yardarms, mast platforms and their braces, sweep crane jibs and hand wheels, sensor cross, rudders, Oropesa cradles, radar mounting frame, radar antenna, stern sweep cradle guides, lifering ejector racks, signal lamps, DF antenna, plus vertical ladder stock and anchor chain. Construction begins with the modeller deciding how he would like to show the model off, either full hull or waterline. If full hull then the lower hull is joined to the upper hull and the joint filled and sanded as required. The 40mm gun is assembled from the white metal mount and barrel, whilst the life ring ejector racks, life raft racks and navigation radar mounting are folded to shape with the navigation radar antenna then fitted to the mounting. The 40mm gun, bridge section and funnel section are glued to the upper hull, along with the main sweep winch. The bridge section is then detailed with the various railings, DF antenna, vertical ladder, and fitted with the navigation radar and life raft ejector rack. The foredeck is fitted with the appropriate lengths of railing and further detailed with the anchors, their chains, the jack staff, two liferaft racks, which are fitted with two of the metal liferaft parts and the etched crane, complete with hand wheel. The mast is made up of two halves, which, when joined together are fitted with the three mast supports, and the various yardarms, platforms, braces, sensor cross array and the sensor panel, which is fitted to the base of the mast. The complete mast assembly is then glued into position behind the bridge. The Oropesa are paired up and fitted into the etched stowage racks, whilst the buoy rack is fitted with the etched frame, which contains the buoy arms which are in turn fitted with the radar reflector plates. The whole buoy rack assembly is glued into position over the main sweep winch, with the Oropesa racks just aft, two per side and the stern gear fitted to the transom. The quarterdeck is then fitted out with four cranes, each with separate hand wheels, the stern mounted towing bit frame and the two lower hawser guides fitted to the transom. The etched boat deck is fitted to the funnel section of the superstructure and fitted with the appropriate railings. The boat cranes is assembled and glued into position, with one of the Gemini boats fitted to the boat deck. If the model is being built in full hull configuration the propeller shafts, A frames, propellers and rudders are attached to the lower hull. Decals The smallish decal sheet contains complete pennant numbers for HMS Upton, M1187, P10, for the Hong Kong Squadron period, plus part pennant numbers M11, and M12 to which the individual numbers provided can be added, to make any of the class. There aren’t any nameplates, which is pretty understandable, considering how big this class was. The sheet also contains the bridge windows, for those who won’t like painting them in a large and small ensign and a large Union Jack. The printing is pretty good all told, although the flags are quite out of register, and a little bit thicker than the original decals Peter used in his Leopard class kits, so they should be easy to use. Conclusion Well, Peter does it again, with this release of another important class within the RN cold war fleet. With the exceptional moulding and etch we’ve come to expect from Atlantic models it would make a good kit to start with if you wish to build these multi-media style models. It is quite a bit smaller than the previous releases too, so would make for a nice centrepiece to a seascape that will be easy to transport and store. Very highly recommended Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

Having built Airfix 1/600 Leanders in the 1970's,then another one last year,with Atlantic Models owned buy Peter Hall,who did design work for White Ensign Models before it crossed the pond.When he brought this out a 1/350 ,had to have one,plus at Christmas time,received the 1st series of a TV drama series called "Warship".There are 4 series and the second series has also been released.Not going to say much about the kit,because there is a review on this site.I have been busy on this for the last 4 weeks. Reveiw http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234976589-hms-cleopatra-leander-class-frigate-1350/

HMS Arrow Atlantic Models 1:350 The Type 21 Frigate was the Royal Navy’s first privately designed ship taken into service for a long time. The RN had a requirement for a general purpose vessel to replace the Leopard and Salisbury class Frigates that were not very well suited to escort duties due to their diesel power plants. Vosper Thornycroft came up with a modern designed frigate that they claimed was comparatively cheaper than the Leander class frigates already in service. The new ship was all gas turbine powered and was not restricted by having to allow time for boilers to bring up steam for propulsion. The Admiralty ordered eight ships of the new class beginning with the name ship HMS Amazon with all of the remainder of the classes names beginning with A and these were all accepted into service between July 1974 and April 1978. The type was well liked by all those that served in them, but because of their small size and lack of long range radar, there was no prospect of being able to modernise them as they were already close to their top weight limits. All of the class served during the Falklands campaign of 1982 with Amazon being the only one to arrive late in the second group of ships, after the Argentine surrender. Two of the class were lost to enemy fire. Ardent was strafed and bombed repeatedly by flights of aircraft on the 21st May and sunk. Antelope received bomb hits om the 23rd May which failed to explode, but one was set off by the disposal team attempting to defuse it. The resulting fire set off the ships magazines which broke her back and sinking her. HMS Arrow was built by Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd, Glasgow and launched on 5th February 1974 by Lady Raper, wife of Vice Admiral Sir George Raper, Arrow was the fifth Type 21 Frigate to be built and the first to carry Exocet missiles. She was commissioned on 29th July 1976 in Sunderland, the town to which she was affiliated. HMS Arrow served along with all her sister ships that made up the 4th Frigate squadron, during the Falklands campaign in 1982, and was in the first wave of ships deployed. She claimed the distinction of being the first ship to fire on the Argentine shore positions as well as the first ship to be hit by enemy fire after being strafed by a fighter jet. She went alongside HMS Sheffield after the missile attack which disabled her, and helped to take off the survivors. She operated in and around Falkland sound with HMS Alacrity, keeping the seaway open and providing gunfire support to the troops ashore. After Arrow returned from home she went into refit until September 83 after which she headed back to the Falklands as guardship. She also spent time in the West Indies as guardship and carrying out anti piracy patrols. HMS Arrow served in the fleet until 1994 after which she was decommissioned and sold to the Pakistan Navy and re named PNS Khaibar. She remains in service to this day in the Pakistan Navy where she serves alongside the other five remaining Type 21 Frigates that were purchased from the United Kingdom. Model The kit comes in the standard sturdy Atlantic Models box filled with poly chips to protect the contents. The metal, (39 parts), and smaller resin, (20 pieces) parts are contained in to zip lock bags stapled to a piece of card, whilst another, slightly larger zip-lock bag contains the larger resin parts, (4 pieces). The upper and lower hull sections are further protected from damage, by being wrapped in bubble wrap. There is a long envelope found at the bottom of the box containing the large sheet of etched brass, whilst a separate disc holder contains the instruction disc and a sheet of decals. When the hull is unwrapped the first thing that strikes you is the cleanliness of the resin. It is silky smooth, with no sign of deformation, bubbles or other imperfections, Peter must also have the shrinkage weighed off, as when the two sections are joined, (at the waterline) they are a near perfect match, with only the slightest difference at the rear which can easily be sorted with a couple of swipes of a sanding stick. The rest of the resin parts are just as well moulded, although the large sections of the superstructure do appear to have more pour stubs on their undersides than normal. These are needed to ensure that all the superb detail on these quite large sections are moulded correctly. They just need some careful removal with a scalpel blade and a sanding stick. The foremast and most of the smaller parts have some flash, but it’s very soft and easily removed. The white metal parts are the only pieces that have any flash, but again, this will be easily removed and cleaned up. The large etch sheet is what we have come to expect from Atlantic Models, beautiful clean relief etching, great design and lots of parts, and is probably the area that makes these models more for the experienced modeller than even the resin. Before any construction can take place, make sure you clean all the parts in warm soapy water to get rid of any mould release agent that may be attached. Once the parts have been cleaned it’s on with the build, beginning with several sub assemblies, namely the 4.5” gun turret which is made up form a resin turret, white metal gun and four etched parts. The two 20mm Oerlikons are each made up from four etched parts, whilst the single Seacat missile launcher is made from a single resin launcher, four PE guide rails and each of the four missiles from three PE parts. The two Corvus chaff launchers are also of resin and have an etched flare launcher fitted to the two tubes. They are then fitted to the bases, each of which has an etched railing to their rear. The 913 fire control radar can be used as is, a single piece resin part, or, for the more adventurous, the radar dish can be removed and replaced with and etched piece. The two double Exocet launchers are also moulded in resin, and are fitted with the four Exocet canisters and handed etched platforms with railings to the front. If you wish, you can leave the canisters off; as they weren’t always fitted, just check your references. The main radar platform is fitted with PE under panels. The foremast has been moulded with several sensors attached, but since these can be quite brittle, PE alternatives have been provided. The Type 1006 radar platform is fitted with the white metal radar and PE railings, whilst at the top of the mast the Abbey Hill array is attached, followed by the Type 992 platform, with its metal 992 and IFF Interrogator arrays, PE railings and front mounted antenna. The PE yardarms and aerials are then attached to the mast sides, front quarter and forward faces. The compelted mast can then be put aside to dry properly. There is more PE work next with the assembly of the wire antenna collector, small boat stowage, into which the small resin boats are fitted, small boat davit. The main mast can be assembled either as an early or late version. If you’re modelling the late version, you will need to cut the PE DF antenna off eh PE part and glue to the resin section of the later version. Both version are then fitted with the yardarms and their supports. The small boat stowage, Corvus chaff assemblies and small boat davit are fitted to the mid section of the superstructure, whilst he funnel section is fitted with the two resin SCOT platforms, with PE railings, SCOT transmitter house, funnel intake grilles, exhaust grilles, auxiliary conning station and several small PE railings. The main boat davits are next, these are made up from two PE parts each and there are four davits to be assembled, each pair joined by another PE part. The PE life raft racks are then folded to shape and fitted with the metal liferafts, before being located around the ship. The metal anchor are glued into position and the forward railings attached to the foredeck. In B position the missile launchers are attached, along with the RAS post and missile telemetry aerial. The bridge section and 01 deck railings are then attached, followed by the 20mm Oerlikon assemblies. Around the funnel section the intake box supports are fitted to each side, along with the respective railings, two further intake grilles on the aft section of the funnel, the ships boats and their davits, and the two triple torpedo tubes. The hanger section is fitted out with the Seacat launcher and associated radar on the roof, a choice of either early or late shield railings, to each side, flight deck netting, either raised or lowered, flightdeck lighting rig, and hanger door. Since there is quite a bit of detail, which can be further improved by the modeller, inside the hanger, you may wish to cut down the hanger door and depict it in the open position. On the quarter deck there is a rack fitted with a pair of acoustic decoys, another for fuel tanks, a small davit and obligatory railings. If you are building the model full hull, then you would have already fitted the upper and lower hulls together and cleaned up any joins. Whilst the instructions show them fitted last, it may be an idea to fit the two white metal stabiliser fins, rudders, metal propeller shafts, white metal propellers and white metal A frames before beginning any of the topside work. The kit also comes with two helicopters, a Westland Wasp, with resin fuselage and etched flotation gear, undercarriage main and tail rotors. The other is the Westland Lynx, again with resin fuselage and PE rotors, but this time with a separate tail which can be posed in the folded position. The main rotors of both helicopters can be shown folded, the lynx having blade fold poles fitted to the tail sides. Decals The single decal sheet contains the main pennant numbers for F169, F170 and F184, with F185 included int he transom mounted numbers. There individual numbers included to enable the modeller to produce pennant numbers for any ship of the class. To aid with this the ships names for the whole class are also included along with the appropriate flight deck code letters. The flight deck also receives the correct white markings, whilst the hull has the depth marks provided and the helicopters the correct codes for the nose of each helicopter for each ships flight along with roundels and Royal Navy lettering. The decals are very nicely printed, with very little carrier film and are quite thin, although I understand they aren’t as thin as Atlantics own HMS Leopard and HMS Puma kits, which were a little too unforgiving. Conclusion Well, once again Atlantic Models have done it again, producing a kit that has been on the wish-lists of many a maritime modeller for a long time. Not only that, but Peter has produce, in my opinion another winner. The mouldings are superb, the etch amazing and even if you don’t like the use of white metal, there is still a place for it if it helps produce amazing models, which with a bit of care this kit can be done. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

This has been built out of the box,apart from figures and adding more detail to the superstructure.Very enjoyable build,that I have moved straight on to Leander class frigate as "HMS Hero" from the TV series.Enjoy the photo,s and a big thankyou to Peter Hall for bring out these kits. http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv360/mightyhood41/Ton%20class/Up%205_zps8m77ale7.jpg[/img

HMS Scorpion Atlantic Models 1:350 HMS Scorpion was an S-class destroyer of the Royal Navy, the eleventh of her name, commissioned on 11 May 1943. Initially she was to be named Sentinel, but this was changed following the loss of the Dragonfly-class river gunboat Scorpion in the Bangka Strait in February 1942. Scorpion joined the 23rd Destroyer Flotilla of the Home Fleet at Scapa Flow on 11 May 1943 and was deployed on patrol in the North-western Approaches. On 20 October she joined an escort group of nine destroyers, a Norwegian corvette and two minesweepers which sailed to the Kola Inlet as part of Operation FR, tasked to bring back merchant ships that had been waiting in Russian ports over the summer while the Arctic Convoys were suspended. Covered by dense fog, convoy RA54A arrived safely in Loch Ewe on 14 November, while the destroyer flotilla turned around to escort Convoy JW 54B to Archangel. She returned to Scapa Flow, but was out again on 10 December to screen the battleship Duke of York and cruiser Jamaica which had been ordered to sea to cover Convoy JW 55A. The Kriegsmarine did not emerge and so she sailed with the battleship all the way through to the Kola Inlet, an unusual and risky move that surprised the Russians. Scorpion covered Duke of York as she returned west to refuel in Akureyri in Iceland on 21 December 1943. The Home Fleet left Iceland on 23 December to cover Convoy RA 55A and Convoy JW 55A, alerted of German intentions to intercept one of the convoys by Ultra intelligence. On 26 December the German battleship Scharnhorst, escorted by five destroyers, attempted to attack the ships of Convoy JW 55A, but were driven away by Admiral Burnett's three light cruisers and then cut off by Admiral Fraser's force. During the action Duke of York hit Scharnhorst's starboard boiler room with a 14 inch shell, slowing her briefly to 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph) as she attempted to evade the British fleet. This provided the destroyers with an opportunity to attack with torpedoes. Closing from astern, Saumarez and Savage fired star-shell, blinding the Germans to the approach of Scorpion and the Norwegian Stord on the starboard side of the battleship. The two destroyers launched 16 torpedoes, scoring one hit, and driving Scharnhorst into firing range of Saumarez and Savage, which scored two more hits. This crippled the German ship and allowed the slower Duke of York to catch up and sink her. After the battle Scorpion picked up 30 survivors and sailed on to the Kola Inlet, arriving there on 27 December. She returned to Scapa Flow with the rest of the fleet on New Year's Eve. In March 1944 Scorpion was assigned to the "Ocean Escort" force for Convoy JW 58, one of the largest Arctic convoys of the war. All ships arrived safely and Scorpion returned with Convoy RA 58. Scorpion was then assigned to Force S, alongside several other S-class destroyers, part of the Normandy invasion fleet. During May she took part in preparatory exercises before sailing to Spithead early in June. She crossed the channel on 5 June and took up position off Ouistreham to bombard targets in support of Allied landing forces in the Queen Sector of Sword Beach. On 7 June she was assigned to patrol the Eastern Task Force area following the loss of her sister ship, the Norwegian Svenner to German T-boats. On 9 June she was detached with Scourge to reinforce the O-class destroyer flotilla against the threat posed by the German heavy destroyers from Brest. She spent the rest of June, July and August on patrol in the English Channel protecting convoys from E-boats. Scorpion returned to escorting the Arctic convoys in September 1944, screening the battleship Rodney in support of Convoy JW 60 and then Convoy RA 60. In October she was diverted to support Operation Lycidas, screening two escort carriers, Fencer and Trumpeter, as they carried out aerial minelaying around the Norwegian coast. In November, sailing with Savage, she carried Norwegian troops to the Kola Inlet (Operation Freeman), their role being to join Red Army as it pushed the Germans away from Murmansk back into Norway, lending authority to the Norwegian Government in exile. She then joined the escort for Convoy RA 60A on 11 November. Later in the month she supported two more operations with escort carriers off the Norwegian coast near Karmøy on 20 November (Operation Handfast) and then near Mosjøen on 27 November. She escorted Convoy JW 63 over the New Year period, her anti-aircraft gunners accidentally shooting at (and missing) two Wildcats which had been launched to intercept a German aircraft. She escorted four more Arctic convoys early in 1945, RA 63 in January, RA 64 in February, and JW 65 and RA 65 in March. She was also deployed to support three more operations in the North Sea in February, Operations Selenium, Shred and Groundsheet. She continued in service with the Home Fleet until VJ Day in August 1945 when she was placed in reserve. In October 1945, Scorpion was sold to the Dutch Navy and renamed Kortenaer, serving as a destroyer until 1957 when she was converted to a fast frigate. She was broken up in 1962. The Model Originally, this kit was to be released by the old White Ensign Models. Unfortunately they folded before this could take place, or should I say fortunately, as this and her sister kit have been taken up, like many of the old WEM kits, by Peter Hall at Atlantic Models. Issued under the WEM banner of Atlantic Models the kit arrived at BM’s London offices in the standard sturdy cardboard box. Inside the kit was smothered in poly chips, which provide the much need protection when in transit. Once the poly chips have been removed there are two zip-lock bags, one containing the resin parts, the majority of which in held in small zip-lock bags, whilst the other hold the holds the white metal parts and lengths of brass wire which are used to make the propeller shafts and the basis for the early style tripod mast, late main mast and yardarms. There is also a length of plastic rod which is used to make the depth charges from. As we have come to expect from Atlantic Models, the casting of the resin parts is exceptional, with no signs of imperfections, or bubbles, and only a small amount of flash which is very thin and easy to remove. I wish I knew how Peter does the masters, as there are parts that shouldn’t be doable with resin, such as the main section of the forward superstructure, which includes the chimney “sprouting” from the rear underside of the lower bridge wings. You will need to be careful of this when building, as, if you are as clumsy as I am when building, you will knock it off. There are quite a fe moulding points on the underside of each superstructure section, but, once again these shouldn’t take too long to remove and clean up. The hulls are where these kits really shine, and this is no exception, although when mated there does seem to be a slight undercut to the lower hull which will need to be filled and sanded to make the hull section smooth. If you are making the kit as a waterline, then you will not need to worry. The metal parts never seem to be quite as sharp as the resin, but that is the nature of the material, there are still well moulded, just a little fuzzy. Since you will need to clean most of them up, due to flash and material excess, you can give them a quick swipe with a sanding stick to sharpen them up. Construction begins with the assembly of the main gun turrets. The open turrets will need the gun opening to be cleaned out as they are flashed over out of the box, the metal guns can then be slid into position on their trunnions. The twin 40mm Bofors mount is also assembled at this point, and consists of a resin mounting and metal guns. To the Bofors mount the seven etched parts and a small section of 10thou plastic are attached. The twin 20mm Oerlikon mounts are next, each made from a metal mount and metal guns. Two Oerlikons are fitted to the superstructure mounted just aft of the funnel, this is also fitted out with a platform onto which the main searchlight is fitted along with the appropriate length of railing. The Bofors platform, fitted between the two torpedo tubes is fitted with the Bofors gun, two Carley racks and their floats. With the superstructure sections fitted to the hull the four main turrets can be glued into their respective positions. To the Bridge structure, the main director, director access platform, Type 285 Yagi aerial array, DF aerial, signal lamps and DCT Control tower are all attached, along with the bridge screen and optional bridge awning. The forward superstructure section is fitted with another pair of Oerlikons, lower wing support braces, two Carley float racks, plus floats. There is an option of early or late fits of foremast, the early is made up from the lengths of brass rod, etched braces and yardarms, which can be strengthened with more brass rod, and a white metal crows nest. The mast is usually free from top fittings, but can be fitted with the Type 291 aerial. The later mast is a lattice type, with the PE sections glued together and topped off with a platform with railings. The platform is fitted with a weather vane frame and the cheese slice style radar antenna. The yardarms are then attached, along with the topmast which can be fitted with either a Type 291 radar antenna or an MF/DF antenna. To the foreward end of the rear superstructure an optional single pole past or lattice mast with optional Type 291 or MF/DF antenna is fitted, along with a long length of vertical ladder stock. The Oerlikon platform is fitted with a small mast or wire antenna spreader, basically a length of brass wire with a PE yardarm. The funnel is fitted with a pair of platform braces/handrails, funnel cap and siren bracket, whilst the ships boat davits are folded to shape and attached to the ships boats, the cutter being fitted with the PE thwarts and gunwhales. Each of the depth charge throwers are made of PE and once folded to shape fitted with a length of plastic rod cut to size and fitted with PE end caps. More depth charges are need for the PE stowage racks and stern rails which are fitted with a TSDS gantry. With the superstructures glued to the decks, the two torpedo tubes can be attached, along with their respective cranes. Alternatively you can use the white metal parts for the throwers, with charges mounted and the the separate charges for the racks and stern rails. The ships railings can then be glued into position, along with the PE anchor cables and anchors. The two torpedo deck catwalks, each made from three PE parts are glued between the respective superstructure sections over the torpedo tubes. If you are building the model full hulled, the two lengths of brass wire used to make the propellers shafts are slid into the A frames and glued into position, followed by the propellers and finally, the rudder. Conclusion This has got be another winner from the hands of Peter Hall, the release of this and its sister ship, HMS Vigilant fills another gap in the maritime modellers wish list. The superb moulding and detailed parts, resin, metal and in particular the etched brass will go towards making a wonderful model of an important yet mostly forgotten class of destroyer. Very highly recommended Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

Hi All With interested being shown in Paul E Ton Kit,Instead of Hijacking his build, I will show what I have done so far. I will skid the pics of the model,because the same as Paul E, Straight on to the build. It has as a lot a wooden deck ,I was happy until my ex naval buddies ,said it was too dark,already too far to change,so all a could do was weather it by dry brushing white to tone it down. Added detail on bridge and funnel,even added hinges on the lockers, very sad.

Trinity House Lightship Atlantic Models 1:110 Frog originally released the Trinity House lightship in 1962, since then it has been re-released by the likes of UPC, Novo, Chematic, Revell, Eastern Express and most recently by Ark Models in 2012. In all this time, no company has released a detail set for it. That is, until now, with the release of this etched detail set from Atlantic Models. The single sheet measures 146mm x 143mm and whilst it doesn’t contain as many parts as some of the other Atlantic releases, they will certainly help with giving the kit a huge lift in the finesse of the detail. The lantern structure appears to get a lot of the Peter Hall treatment, but before you add any of the brass, the modeller will need to remove the kits moulded platform and sand the area smooth. The new platform, complete with the attached railings, is glued into position, followed by the supports, all fourteen of them. The clear lantern parts then need to have the moulded frames removed and the the part sanded and polished, before the etched framework is fitted. I suppose an alternative would be to use clear sheet to replace the kits clear parts, but without the kit at hand I’m not sure how successful this would be. For the rest of the ship, there are three styles of inclined and vertical ladders, a set of replacement railings, deck boat supports and six lengths of anchor chain stock. The kits doors need to be removed and are replaced with etched items, which, having detail on both sides, are folded together to make a single door, these can then be fitted in either the open or closed position as per the modellers wishes. There are also two skylight hatches, a small one and a larger one for the gallery roof. Both can be glazed with either thin acetate sheet or the like. The ships boats are provided with new falls for the davits. Conclusion I think Peter at Atlantic Models is doing a great job in keeping the older maritime kits viable with these detail sets and this one is very useful in that respect. It may still take some work, what with the removal of the lantern parts, but then scratch building would require a lot more. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

HMS Devonshire Destroyer Atlantic Models 1:600 Originally released in the 1960’s the last outing for the Airfix HMS Devonshire kit was as part of the Falklands War set, released in 2004. Whilst it is still quite a nice kit, it is certainly showing its age. Lacking in the finesse and sharpness we are used to in this golden age of maritime modelling. Well, Peter Hall, and his Atlantic Models has once again come to the rescue, in the form of a single sheet of etched brass. The set arrives in the standard Atlantic Models envelope with the etched sheet sellotaped to a piece of card for protection. The single sheet measures 147mm x 108mm and contains nearly one hundred and ten parts to add that much needed fine detail to the kit. Aside from a full complement of ships railings, each shaped and sized to fit their specific positions, although some will need to be bent to fit, there are also a full set of flightdeck netting which can be positioned folded or upright. The massive Seaslug missile launcher is one of the most complicated parts of the set, and like its larger 1:350 cousin found in the Atlantic Models kit, this one contains no less than nineteen parts, plus a length of polystyrene rod from the modellers supplies. The Type 965 radar lives up to its nickname of Bedstead and also mimics the 1:350 scale version, with twelve parts required to create that inimitable shape. Some scratchbuilding is still required to bring the kit up to the correct standard of weapons fit and this is particularly shown with the need to build the Corvus chaff launcher enclosures. The set includes a base and two templates for which to shape the 20thou plastic card needed to build the enclosure up. Almost as intensive is the replacement of the kits Seacat launchers which is clearly explained in the instructions and which are further detailed with the four etched Seacat missiles and the launchers guide frames. The two 20mm Oerlikons are also provided along with the Corvus launchers. The foremast is fully detailed, with a complete array of yardarms, platforms, platform railings, Type 277 height finding radar array and aerials, whilst the fore-funnel is also fitted out with a pair of yardarms. The set also includes the davits for the ships boats, quarterdeck mounted paravane crane, a full complement of vertical and inclined ladders, and the skins for the large vents forward of the aft funnel, the bodies of which need to be made up from 1.5mm thick plasticard. The main mast is also given the full treatment with a complete array of yardarms, platforms, and is topped off with the large Type 965 radar assembly. The two Seacat loading cranes will need a pair of crane poles to be scratch built, but the folding hanger door is included, although the kits moulded door will need to be removed first, along with a folding telemetry mast for the hanger roof. The Wessex Mk1 is provided with new main and tail rotors and tail wheel. A nice touch is that Peter has included a set of folded main rotor blades, should you wish to pose the cab in that condition. Conclusion This is yet another winner from Atlantic Models. I know there are many examples of this kit hiding in the stashes of the maritime modeller, mine included. As with the other older kits that Peter Hall is catering for, now is the time to drag them out and get building. Yes, the parts are quite a bit fiddlier than in the larger scale, but it’ll be worth it. Very highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of Peter Hall of

HMS Tiger Revell (yes it is the old Matchbox kit)I have been busy with Tiger,with 3D parts by Bogey at Shapeways and new gun parts,The setting is some were in the Far east,Hong Kong in the 1960,s Link for work in progress http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234988504-1700-hms-tiger-revell-gun-version/ Parts Revell 1/700 HMS Tiger Old Matchbox kit . P.E. Atlantic Models HMS Tiger for both Gun and Helicopter version. 3D parts by Bogey at Shapeways Gun Barrels by Master Display case by Master tools Name plate by laserlayers Junks by Rainbow I have put a couple of photo,s with the helicopter version