HMS Lord Nelson Life Saving Devices

[Airborne SF]

I am building the HobbyBoss 1/350 HMS Lord Nelson.  At the stern of the ship there are two small PE cages hung over the side just forward of the Admiral's walk.  They appear to be a cage for a life preserver or small flotation device of some kind.  The piece that goes inside looks like four small balls joined together.  Similar to a four leaf clover but with balls instead of leaves.  Anybody have any idea what it is and more importantly, what color it should be painted?  Thanks for your help.

[AWFK10]

It sounds like a night lifebuoy, which featured four globes (copper, IIRC) in a cruciform shape and some means of illumination. I can't find anything about them online: I've seen a printed reference to them but for the moment I'm afraid  I can't recall where.

[foeth]

Manual of Seamanship: yellow-pine wooden cross and copper globes (both the globes and the cross typically not painted as far as I can tell). There's a pair of calcium lights that ignite on contact with water, kept upright but lead weights. One globe has a recess containing a spirit ration and a whistle.

[Rob G]

In the interest of seeing this device for myself (like the elephant's child, I can be insatiably curious at times), I googled around and found this thread.

 

https://modelshipworld.com/topic/4834-strange-objects-on-hms-monarch-anyone-know-what-they-are/

 

The useful bits are towards the  bottom of the thread, at the end of much speculation.