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After a very long absence, I'm back building again! The new house was a considerable refurbishment job, back to plaster and boards plus complete garden strip out so it took a little longer than I had hoped. New workshop is on the top floor so for the first time, I'm not in a shed, nice to be warm... I've been planning this thread during that time and I believe I've assembled enough information to do the subject justice, scratch-building the original 70ft Vosper MTB with a wooden hull and metal fittings as is my style, in 1:48th scale making a nice neat model 17.5 inches long. Along the way I will produce my own drawing set for this type to 1:48th scale, available to anyone who wants copies. 1:48th scale naval crew figures are available on Shapeways so it can be populated Now the challenge, volunteers needed... And before anyone mentions it, I know the old joke about the navy calling a volunteer, someone who misunderstood the question...." I've long considered creating my own "bare" kits using my techniques for others could construct. By "bare" I mean drawings and all the hard stuff will be supplied but basic materials (tube, strip wood etc) won't be This relatively simple project is the first such kit I intend to develop and I'd love it if one or two others could follow me building their own copies and providing feedback. This idea is that I'll do all the artwork, drawings, etc for etchings, laser cut and printed parts, anyone following with their own copy would only have to purchase the etched or laser cut copy. 3D drawing for the printed parts would be available for free, if you want me to print them, I'll take a small donation towards the cost of resin only. This is certainly not about me making any money, its about seeing if I can produce the information and components for others to build museum quality wood and metal models. Of course I will post the whole build here, but others following can also post their progress and reactions to the final form becomes a collaborative effort. If no one joins in, I'll still carry on, but I felt it would be more fun if a few of us went through the journey together and I get direct feedback on what I can do better. I realise that not everyone is into silver soldering so brass-etched assemblies will also be available as resin components. Budget wise, I'm hoping those collaborators can get this done for around £100 all in spread over the next 6 months or so. Any laser cut parts and etchings will benefit from my correcting my mistakes and re-doing the artwork (I make loads of mistakes) before other copies are made available. The hull construction will be wood. I intend to use 1/64th ply strips and double diagonal plank the hull. I've done this once before, its actually easier than tapered planking and the same as the full size practice for this vessel. No one need commit until I've shown this idea works I've assembled the following reference material I have three plans, the John Lambert one, a 1991 plan from Model Shipwright with lines and this drawing from IWM that I believe the other two are based on As this is a Vosper drawing, I'm using this as the master coupled with the lines from the model shipwright plan. From these I will produce my own 1:48th scale drawings. This drawing is applicable to MTB's 31 - 40 only. MTB57-66, 69-70 and 218-221 were also 70ft boats but the hatches and engine room vent look like they changed over time so I can't be sure the drawing is applicable to those. If we assume it is, then MTB61 could be constructed which was a conversion into a MGB mounting 3 Breda cannons which looks very cool. Depending on how purist you are, its probably close enough. One distinctive feature of this drawing is the wheelhouse shape and the curved wind break as you can see clearly on these pictures of MTB34 MTB74, the St Nazaire raid conversion, was a 72ft 6in boat, don't know where the lines were stretched for that sub-type. It's a shame because that is a very cool looking one-off Still Coastal Craft History vol 1 has colour renders of 32, 34 and 35. For my model, I'm leaning to MTB34 as shown in the image below So that is the plan. Any one who fancies joining me on this little journey (wood for wood, metal for metal), reply in the thread or PM me Cheers Steve

My dear Britmodellers Having built the RWD-5 and RWD-6, both posted here at BM, I decided to follow suit with the RWD-8, another ungainly but ultimately charming Polish effort: This old but still reasonably good kit was gifted to me by my good friend Sønke Schulz, an Evil Genius that has a lair in a Volkano, in the country of Volkania, of which you may haven't heard before. Here is his note, from his very hand: Such magnanimous gesture deserved an equally flamboyant build, so I decided to get the box with me in our holidays trip to visit the inlaws, and start the build there. How can that be done -you may rhetorically ask yourself- in the midst of scores of relatives, pets, libations, and people speaking unintelligible languages (they are from Yorkshire and Ireland)? Well, to start with, I first acquired a Yorkshire cap, in order to ingratiate myself with the majority of the inlaws (and hopefully with some members of the BM distinguished audience): Foreseeing this event, I had also purchased a Part after-market set of photo-etched parts, and two sets of Yahu instrument panels: As said, the kit is still holding: I made a box with the basic needs just to start the model, that is, to separate the parts and clean them, check the fit, and glue the bits that could be glued together without having to paint. For a mold this old, there is surprisingly no flash whatsoever, and hardly any noticeably mold lines. The detail is fair, if profoundly (never that well said) marked on the wings, which will require some subduing. Researching the history of this kit I found that replacement resin parts had been issued more than once, to correct some shortcomings on accuracy. I looked around but the parts are not easily available at this time, nor I am completely convinced that I want them. There is a surprisingly wide range of decorations that this little parasol monoplane can wear, and the kit provides a few of which I still have to check accuracy. In any case, will see how much of this can be done as my Third World relatives mill around preparing (and eating, mind you!) British food, which is kind of an oxymoron. Will try to keep this diary in exile from my building board. Alea jacta est.