OutcastJoel Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Hello All, I mostly model aircraft and railways and am utterly clueless on ships... I am hoping to build a model of the ship my Grandpa's was on; HMS Dianella which was a Flower Class Corvette. I have managed to find a rough service history and two or three photos via Google and the Imperial War Museum but other than knowing enough to be fairly sure none of the Flower Class kits are quite right for me, I have nothing which helps me know where to start. Are there any good reference sources which would help with drawings or good photos from a few angles? I expect with the nature of the subject that there will not be anything on the Dianella specifically, but with it being a fairly mass produced type of ship I guess that there will be some guidance on what the ships tended to look like if made at certain yards between certain dates? Thank you in advance for any help on this. (and for letting me into your mystical watery section of BM) 😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wamwig Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 (edited) Sorry didnt fully read the original post, oops Edited December 4, 2019 by wamwig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europapete Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 hiya, google flowerclass corvette forums, a couple of good ones should come up. Also check out Great Little Ships, lots of detail sets, very good quality. Search on Amazon, there are quite a few good books on the subject. ( I quite often grab the ISBN number off the listing and use that to order the book from my local library. 0 $$ 😁 ) Regards, Pete in RI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Looks to be a typical 2 colour Western Approaches scheme very similar to Plate 23 of C.A.F.O. 679/42 "Sea-Going Camouflage Designs for Destroyers and Small Ships" https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205147267 Edit: I should have added that the default 2 colour scheme prior to mid-1943 used Western Approaches Light Blue, sometimes called Peter Scott Blue, as the darker tone. W.A. Light Blue was rather pale and used Ultramarine and White pigments. Most model kit instructions recommend weird electric blues and olives which are not typical of real RN Western Approaches scheme paints. The scheme was based on a naturalist philosophy, and intended to work at high lattitudes, typical misty conditions and low light - the most popular time for U Boat attack. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EwenS Posted December 4, 2019 Share Posted December 4, 2019 Links to flower class corvette forum and Dianella page with another(not such good quality) page https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theflowerclasscorvetteforums/ https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theflowerclasscorvetteforums/hms-dianella-t535.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutcastJoel Posted December 4, 2019 Author Share Posted December 4, 2019 Thank you very much guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robgizlu Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 Hi Joel I apologise - I've only just seen your thread. You are seeking to build HMS Dianella and as Jamie has indicated there are some super pics of her. You are mistaken re kits being inappropriate. You have a choice depending on what scale you are contemplating 1/350 MIRAGE hobby - HMS Pennywort will build to this IF you are happy repositioning the mast 1/144 Revell HMCS Snowberry - check out my build as a rough guide in many ways this is your best choice in terms of size cost and convenience. We'll come back to this 1/72 Matchbox/Revell HMCS snowberry - venerable, large and needs a lot of (expensive) aftermarket bits to reach a standard Right - details The ONLY book you really need is this one unless you are really going to town - https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/ShipCraft-Special-Flower-Class-Corvettes-Paperback/p/2903 HMS Dianella as portrayed in these excellent IWM pics will build VERY easily from the Revell 1/144. In no particular order - you can add the Eduard Aftermarket PE sets or one from Starling models https://starling-models.co.uk/en/search?controller=search&orderby=position&orderway=desc&search_query=Corvette&submit_search= ...they also have a replacement f'wd wood deck For 4 inch gun and other deck fittings you'll benefit from L'Arsenal pieces that are just lovely http://www.larsenal.com/1-144-c102x2500029 The 273 Radar "lantern" you can obtain from Shapeways https://www.shapeways.com/product/YZLSAY24K/radar-271-round-housing-1-144?optionId=60339441&li=shops She had a 3 section bridge support "lattice" which is included in the Starling etch. She has 4 aft 20mm Oerlikon bins which is a little unusual for an "Atlantic" scheme boat and they are available from Nial Orr who I'm also reminded does the lantern and the Curved gun shield (which Dianthus has https://www.shapeways.com/product/MN72N7C9A/144-aft-oerkilon-tub-pair?optionId=65003286 She has "High" aft Depth charge rails which are a little problematic but I have a solution As Jamie says the colour choice is relatively straight forwards. make life easy and invest immediately in his Colourcoat paints - that spray and brush wonderfully - you won't be disappointed. The hull is white - the decks are non slip grey and the hull colour is likely Western Approaches blue but COULD also be B55 - no one is going to argue either way The Hull pennant numbers are a little problematic - IF you decide they are white then they are available from Coastal Craft Models, if you decide they are grey (a possibility) then you'll need Maketar masks https://shop.maketar.com/ You can detail this kit to whatever degree you want and If you are slightly bonkers you could go for the full English with the Pontos set http://pontosmodel.com/ Should you choose 1/72 then Great Little ships as has been mentioned above is your special friend https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=264, and there's a plethora of parts on Shapeways. I Hope that's a help - PM me if you need any further help I'm going to be building HMCS eyebright in the New Year in 1/144 Cheers Rob 8 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutcastJoel Posted December 16, 2019 Author Share Posted December 16, 2019 Rob, thank you so much for this! That is a superb summary. I will go have a look at all of the model bits you have linked and start planning which bits to pick up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRK Posted December 16, 2019 Share Posted December 16, 2019 So I haven’t ventured into ship building but I would definitely choose a corvette as my fist build. I’m mainly posting just to say what a helpful bunch you all are on this forum, not just in the kind comments you put in builds but in the care and level of information that comes from people! It’s great 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europapete Posted February 3, 2022 Share Posted February 3, 2022 Morning all. As an update to Rob's list above (well done Rob, that's a great summary!) there is now Micro Master out of NZ. They do many parts for Corvettes and other ships in all the popular scales. Regards, Pete in RI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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