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Airfix RNLI Severn Class Lifeboat 1:72 scale


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This is one of those builds that I really wanted to do as it brought back many memories of my time as a young kid rushing down to my local lifeboat station to watch them launch the boat down a steep ramp. The sight of the bow hitting the water and the large spray of water being thrown up was something else to a young lad. My local station was at Newhaven (Sussex) and that is why I used this name. Alas, the one I used to watch was not the robust Severn Class but I just wanted to have something to display.

This kit is the new model as I read so much negative stuff about the old Airfix kit and so I decided to be patient and wait for it to come out. I had no major problems overall but the hull was a bit tricky to do. In the end I chose to glue the hull parts in stages and this seemed to work for me.
I hope you enjoy viewing the pictures and thanks for taking an interest. A video can be found HERE and I will post some WIP pictures that show the internal work.

 

Lifeboat01 Lifeboat02 Lifeboat03 Lifeboat04 Lifeboat05 Lifeboat06 Lifeboat07 Lifeboat09 Lifeboat10 Lifeboat13 Lifeboat14 Lifeboat16

 

Edited by ukmodeller
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You've done a good job there Kevin - it certainly looks like the Severn classes that I have seen.  I was confused though by your comment that this is the new kit.  As far as I was aware, Airfix have only ever changed the box for this - the mouldings are the same as the original from about 15 years ago aren't they?

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That looks to be very nicely built! I know I enjoyed the one I did (I did it as the Torbay boat). 

 

You should be very pleased indeed with your result.

 

Ray

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1 hour ago, Ray S said:

That looks to be very nicely built! I know I enjoyed the one I did (I did it as the Torbay boat). 

 

You should be very pleased indeed with your result.

 

Ray

Thanks Ray. Appreciate what you said very much. I would recommend the kit as there is some nice details on it. I really like the way the paint scheme is so contrasting and each colour enhances the others. Whoever came up with the idea was a genius in my book.

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2 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

You've done a good job there Kevin - it certainly looks like the Severn classes that I have seen.  I was confused though by your comment that this is the new kit.  As far as I was aware, Airfix have only ever changed the box for this - the mouldings are the same as the original from about 15 years ago aren't they?

Thanks Chewy. I'm happy that you liked it. 

While hunting for Christmas presents last year I saw the kit and, like all my kits, I used the Internet to get reviews regarding the quality of the components, etc. All of them seemed to be negative and I was just about to scratch it from my list when I found something on the Airfix forum that mentioned that Airfix had re-modelled the original kit and improved it (maybe a new mould?) but there was no release date. 
So I waited and waited until I spotted it in an online store and noticed that with the old kit the lifeboat was facing the opposite way on the box. Thinking they may have only changed the box art I did some more searching and came across the news that it was the only way to tell the difference between the old and the new build. 
Not having done the old version I cannot tell for sure if this is true but I didn't have any of the problems that others seemed to have with the old kit.

 

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Thanks Kevin.  I must confess I thought it was just new boxart.  I've seen nothing either on the internet or in the modelling press to suggest its in any way different to the 2007 release.  But nevertheless, you've done a great job on it either way!

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3 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Thanks Kevin.  I must confess I thought it was just new boxart.  I've seen nothing either on the internet or in the modelling press to suggest its in any way different to the 2007 release.  But nevertheless, you've done a great job on it either way!

You're welcome. I did have to do a lot of searching I must admit. The main complaints I saw were that the cabin and other sections didn't line up and a lot of filler had to be used to bridge the gaps but I had no problems with everything fitting. Thanks again for your kind comments.

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Cracking job there kevin from your WIP photos I think Airfix have listened to some of the complaints the interior supports look different this was the area I had some problems with when I built mine when first released

It was getting all the bridge and cabin lined up so in the end I cut out some of the frame work to get it to fit.

 

beefy

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3 minutes ago, beefy66 said:

Cracking job there kevin from your WIP photos I think Airfix have listened to some of the complaints the interior supports look different this was the area I had some problems with when I built mine when first released

It was getting all the bridge and cabin lined up so in the end I cut out some of the frame work to get it to fit.

 

beefy

Thanks, Beefy. I always appreciate people taking the time to post comments.
I'm glad that you said about the problems that you had with your build. I've been having a discussion with Chewbacca above about whether this kit with the new box art was an improved version or not. There seems to be very little written on it other than the problems people had with the old one. I found that the cabin was easy to remove to view the internal parts and put back on again, with a perfect fit and others had said that it was not possible without modifying the frame. I seem to remember that most of their production was done in China but they decided to bring it back to the UK. When they received the moulds a lot of them were so badly worn that they scrapped them and are currently building new ones. That's good news to hear that they are seriously taking on the other big manufacturers. 

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On 20/04/2020 at 13:15, ukmodeller said:

I will post some WIP pictures that show the internal work.

 

Please do!  I've often been tempted by this kit, and would be very interested to see more.

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On 4/21/2020 at 7:05 PM, Paul H said:

Please do!  I've often been tempted by this kit, and would be very interested to see more.

Hi Paul.

It really is a nice kit to do but be sure to get the one where the Lifeboat is facing to the right on the box art. 

10 hours ago, Murdo said:

Really does look very nice!

Thanks, Murdo. Appreciate it.

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On 4/22/2020 at 12:50 AM, PF Naughton said:

Hi,

Your build looks great. I really enjoy seeing these larger scale kits of smaller vessels.  

Pat

Thanks, Pat. I've seen some amazing scenario's that people have created with this kit, such as docks, helicopter rescue, etc. 

 

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Nice build, Kevin.

 

I don't wish to hijack your thread but I feel I should make a couple of points.

 

I built one of the original "unbuildable" kits in 2008 and used almost no filler doing it, partly because I ignored the sequence of build in the instructions and used some lateral thinking. At that time, Airfix asked me to produce a tutorial on how to waterline the hull because that was the main problem that customers were having and Airfix were going to send the tutorials out to them.

 

I still have my original 2008 build sitting here on my bookcase in my living room and making a quick comparison to the parts in the 2020 boxing, and the instructions from 2008 and 2020, there is NO difference between them apart from the type of polystyrene used. The first kits were moulded in a more brittle, light grey plastic but later kits were moulded in the same mid-grey plastic that Airfix have been using on all of their kits for the past 11 years. The parts are the same, assembly sequence is the same, the decals are the same, everything is the same. I will be making the 2020 later this year and the only challenges I can foresee are my fading eyesight and arthritic hands!

 

BTW, I did post most of my 2008 build here if anybody wants to see it and here is a picture of a "what-if" lifeboat.

 

Dave

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55 minutes ago, davecov said:

Nice build, Kevin.

 

I don't wish to hijack your thread but I feel I should make a couple of points.

 

I built one of the original "unbuildable" kits in 2008 and used almost no filler doing it, partly because I ignored the sequence of build in the instructions and used some lateral thinking. At that time, Airfix asked me to produce a tutorial on how to waterline the hull because that was the main problem that customers were having and Airfix were going to send the tutorials out to them.

 

I still have my original 2008 build sitting here on my bookcase in my living room and making a quick comparison to the parts in the 2020 boxing, and the instructions from 2008 and 2020, there is NO difference between them apart from the type of polystyrene used. The first kits were moulded in a more brittle, light grey plastic but later kits were moulded in the same mid-grey plastic that Airfix have been using on all of their kits for the past 11 years. The parts are the same, assembly sequence is the same, the decals are the same, everything is the same. I will be making the 2020 later this year and the only challenges I can foresee are my fading eyesight and arthritic hands!

 

BTW, I did post most of my 2008 build here if anybody wants to see it and here is a picture of a "what-if" lifeboat.

 

Dave

Hi Dave

No problem. The information that you posted is very useful and has decided once and for all the many queries about whether it was a new kit or just the old one re-boxed. 

Like you I didn't quite follow the sequence in the plan and used previous experience to foresee any problems, which helped a lot.
I really love the plastic that Airfix uses as it has flexibility whereas with other makers you only have to bend a thin part slightly and it snaps.

Thank for your comments and I'm glad to have your input and good luck with the hands and eyes (I know the feeling well).

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On ‎4‎/‎20‎/‎2020 at 1:15 PM, ukmodeller said:

This is one of those builds that I really wanted to do as it brought back many memories of my time as a young kid rushing down to my local lifeboat station to watch them launch the boat down a steep ramp. The sight of the bow hitting the water and the large spray of water being thrown up was something else to a young lad. My local station was at Newhaven (Sussex) and that is why I used this name. Alas, the one I used to watch was not the robust Severn Class but I just wanted to have something to display.

This kit is the new model as I read so much negative stuff about the old Airfix kit and so I decided to be patient and wait for it to come out. I had no major problems overall but the hull was a bit tricky to do. In the end I chose to glue the hull parts in stages and this seemed to work for me.
I hope you enjoy viewing the pictures and thanks for taking an interest. A video can be found HERE and I will post some WIP pictures that show the internal work.

 

Lifeboat01 Lifeboat02 Lifeboat03 Lifeboat04

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Way better than mine!

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4 hours ago, Major Eazy said:

 

Way better than mine!

Thanks, Major E.

I'm sure that your build is just as good but I think it is more about the enjoyment you get out of the build rather than the quality. As long as you are proud of your build, that is the main thing.

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1 hour ago, ukmodeller said:

Thanks, Major E.

I'm sure that your build is just as good but I think it is more about the enjoyment you get out of the build rather than the quality. As long as you are proud of your build, that is the main thing.

 

Is gone.

 

I had been a single parent for 16 years, I have a kid who is autism, my Severn Class Lifeboat keeps getting broken, finally I decided I can't be bothered to do repairs on account of not having spare time, and even if I get spare time, I'm likely to want to do other things, so it went into the bin.

 

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Sorry to hear about your kid but if your Lifeboat brought him/her some pleasure then maybe it was worth the sacrifice?
The only problems I had when I was a kid was that my mother thought that she could use the duster on all my builds............Several mysteriously 'went missing'.........

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  • 2 years later...

Excellent work! Unfortunately the link to the video doesn't work, so I'm wondering about the paints you used. I'm currently working on a 'What if?' of a Westland Scout helicopter in RNLI colours. 

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12 hours ago, The Rat said:

Excellent work! Unfortunately the link to the video doesn't work, so I'm wondering about the paints you used. I'm currently working on a 'What if?' of a Westland Scout helicopter in RNLI colours. 

Hi

Thanks for letting me know about the link. I've now updated it and it should work fine now.

With regards to the paints, I used Revell Aqua paints as per the instructions having converted them from the Humbrol equivalent but I think the Westland chopper in RNLI livery would make a very interesting subject. I've not seen it done before.
The colours used for the boat were:

 

Revell:
Blue 36154

Orange 36130

Red 36131

Grey 36177

Black 36108

 

I hope this helps.
 

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