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1/350 Strath Class Armed Trawler


Murdo

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I was very impressed with the very classy wee scratch built "SS Ophir Steam Coaster" built by Ray S.

 

Then of course, there's the shockingly brilliant scratch built models that Bob aka ShipbuilderMN produces (hate him... :rofl: )

 

Sooooooo...  Taking my daft ego in my hands I decided to see what ship I could scratch build.  My uncle had a trawler back in the 1960's & 70's and I've always been rather fascinated by the Armed Trawlers used in WW1 & 2. 

 

I really wanted to build one of these wee boats so found some "plans" on Tinterweb and using some of the ideas learned here I set to work. I thought I'd taken a lot more photos than I can find but obviously not. 


I scaled the plans several times till I got it right (cos I'm too stupid to count and measure correctly). 

The Tinterweb plan:

 

HM20STRATH20class20trawler%20Large_zpsfa

 

I printed the bits I wanted and stuck them on plastic sheet to get the shapes I wanted. That worked okay until I tried to un-stick the paper from the plastic. Tried several glues and finally settled on Copydex, the carpet glue. I have lots of this as I use it for masking paint.

 

Here's the start of the hull:

 

20170218_171213_zpsozqxtw5w.jpg

 

Also in the pic are the start of the super structure (two bits of square tube cut to size) and the funnel made from round tube. The deck has been cut to size then scored with a scriber to simulate planking and the top of the wheelhouse and walkway round the wheelhouse has been similarly scribed.

 

They were then painted with Tamiya Buff and given a wash of Cital Seraphim Sepia. I would have preferred to use the lighter Tamiya wood paint, "Light Deck Tan" (or something) but naturally I couldn't find either bottle I own. Patience is not one of my best qualities so they got a coating of Buff instead. Then they were masked for the grey stuff.

 

 

20170218_171206_zpsrvwaofah.jpg

 

 

 

I needed a lathe so the electric drill and a twist drill had to suffice:

 

20170308_215843_zpssciivjcx.jpg

 

20170308_215832_zpsovx3dqu4.jpg

 

 

And that's it for now. I'll post more pics soon.

 

 

 

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Hmmm an interesting build, I tried something similar with 'Queen of the Isles' however that has stalled for the time being. It certainly is a different way of model making and is very satisfying when you see it take place. Best of luck and look forward to seeing more progress soon.

 

Bob

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I didn't take anywhere near as many pictures as I'd thought.        :o

 

Using my "lathe" I tried making some ventilators.

 

20170313_210002_zpsmajjepdf.jpg

 

20170314_144630_zpsrhzfbv34.jpg

 

The first plastic lot were out of scale

 

20170314_204042_zps5lwqsdra.jpg

 

I made some more out of copper rod and plastic. These were thinner and looked better.

 

20170314_203405_zpskguso150.jpg

 

20170314_204728_zpsufzdipzw.jpg

 

I assembled the superstructure and painted it all. Added funnel stays using Uschi elastic thread. Added some spare railing and a ladder from the Trumpeter railings set.

 

The portholes were attempted using clear decal sheet but I'm not terribly impressed with them so I think next time I'll try drilling them out. Mind you, in this scale, on the model they look reasonably good I suppose and you have to look very closely and carefully to see any defects... In fact I have to admit that they probably look okay to the naked eye. Man! Perhaps I'm just far too critical in wanting perfection.

 

20170327_184854_zpshee44bfb.jpg

 

 

After that I made the guns using stretched sprue for the rear AA gun and wire for the front gun. The platform surround and gun shields were made with metal from a beer can. I had to make hundred of attempts on the shields so lot of cans were needed.   :D

 

 

20170327_184914_zpswengbnsr.jpg


 

20170308_213924_zpsz3xblxk0.jpg

 

 

And that's all for now. More later.

 

 

 

 


 

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She is coming along well! The guns and shields look great, I also reckon the portholes look fine too, especially considering the size.

 

Cheers,

 

Ray

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  • 3 months later...

I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted on this build.

 

First I broke the wee USB drive I used to transfer pics from my phone - and which had all the later pics on it. Nae probs, continue pic taking use my trusty old Canon D60 DSLR. 

 

Ah, although it's a good camera, it's also an old camera and won't transfer pics from the camera to the PC cos the software is too old. Nae probs, where's my CF card reader...

 

Umm, yes, where is my CF card reader, I had about three of them. Nae probs, buy a new one, wait a few days for it to arrive. Find the original CF Card reader the day after it arrives   :rage:  

 

Get the final build pics and transfer to PC.

 

Finally receive the dreaded "You've been shafted" message from PB. Nae probs, keep the pics, I have copies.

 

Read back through the posts about PB and decide on Imgur.

 

Post test pic. Did it work?

 

Lnf5Ez5h.jpg

 

olNus2ch.jpg

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Ah sorry, that's just a few bits blue tacked together. It's a bit more advanced than that now. 

 

I'll post an RFI in the next day or so once I get the pics uploaded to a photo site that isn't demanding a mortgage to let me share my pics. 

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Now that's looking impressive, very nicely detailed and finished, and all the better as a unique scratch built subject. Certainly good to see an armed trawler as they played such a massive role in the war effort, but constantly overlooked by model makers.

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