SS Atlantic Conveyor by JSC Models

[SoftScience]

*Record scratch noise

 

You may be thinking, "Hold it right there! This guy isn't a modeler of floaty things! That model doesn't look like its plastic! Hell, we're not even sure if he's a real Yank, or even a person!" 

 

 

And you would be mostly right. I don't typically build floaty things, this model is paper (gasp!) - which I also don't typically build. And I'm only a naturalized Yank with Eastern European roots, so paper modeling is in my blood, 


To date, I've started several dozen paper models, and finished exactly zero. I used to get Maly Modelarz issues from Poland when I was younger, but most were way too complex for me. In the last couple of years, I have dabbled occasionally in paper, but have always hit some kind of snag along the way. I recently found a paper sensei to help guide me along, and I very quickly learned that a lot of my problems were related to using the wrong adhesives and tools. She also helped me choose a kit that was simple, but would also keep my interest in the long term. You see, even the simplest of these kits are all long term projects because you're not only gluing parts together, you're also fashioning the parts to be glued. And so we come to JSC Paper Models' SS Atlantic Conveyor. 

The vessel was a container ship launched in 1970, and was relinquished to the Royal Navy during the Falklands War, at which point it was converted into an auxiliary aircraft carrier for harriers and helicopters. It was hit by two Exocet missiles and sank while being towed back to the UK. 

 

The JSC kit is a waterline model in 1/400 scale, and includes parts to build the Conveyor in either civilian or military configuration. It also comes with a squadron of harriers, and helicopters, as well as a nice model of the HMS Sheffield. 

 

I have a soft spot for merchant and work ships, so I chose to build the civilian version. I also don't find the prospect of folding and rolling itsie-bitsie pieces for a dozen 1/400 scale aircraft the least bit appealing, but that's neither here nor there. 


But here is the digest version of work from the last week or two. 

First, the skellington. 

JSC kits are a bit unique in that most don't have frame parts that need to be backed by heavy card stock to make the skeleton. Instead, they rely on geodetic shapes and the power of physics to give the structure rigidity. 

Here we are laying down the"keel". Well, it isn't really a keel, since this is a waterline model, but I wanted to sound all maritime right there

 

 

as you can see, even at 1/400 scale, this model is going to be pretty large. 

Fast forward a few nights, and we have the nearly completed hull frame. And it looks like its been out drinking....

 

I was pretty concerned at this point, but was reassured that it was part of the kit design. 

Also note the "Shoo Gloo" I'm using. Turns out solvent based adhesives work much better on paper models than PVA. Water from the PVA soaks the paper and causes it to become really wavy. This is what ruined all of my previous attempts at paper modeling. 

 

 

Where was I? Oh yeah, the floppy frames are part of the kit design. The kit comes with two decks. The military and civilian versions. The design calls for you to use both, you just choose which one is the under-decking, and which goes on top, depending on the version you build. The underdecking stiffens the frame pretty nicely. Not perfectly, but some of that might be user error. 

 

 

 

A bit of rolling hills up there. but overall better than all of my previous efforts. 

Here is the front half of the second deck layer, just dry-fit for now. Evidently, if I do this right, it should come out looking straight. 


Stay tuned for more, as I learn more. 


Oh, and if you're interested in seeing the other cool stuff JSC has to offer - here is a link to their well stocked webshop. And Poland's post-office IS shipping out of country once again, so order with confidence. 

http://sklep.jsc.pl/index.php/

[robgizlu]

Fascinating.  These paper models look very compelling - the print looks very realistic

Watching as they say, with considerable interest

Rob

[bootneck]

Ooh! I am going to enjoy watching this thread.  I went to the link (thanks for posting it) and ordered one for my Falklands collection; so, please post regular updates, with photo's.  I intend to follow avidly and learn from your build along the way.

cheers,

 

Mike

[Paul H]

Will be following this with great interest too, as my late grandfather chaired the inquiry into her loss and it was one of many RN related topics that we would often discuss.

[SoftScience]

17 hours ago, bootneck said:

Ooh! I am going to enjoy watching this thread.  I went to the link (thanks for posting it) and ordered one for my Falklands collection; so, please post regular updates, with photo's.  I intend to follow avidly and learn from your build along the way.

cheers,

 

Mike

Cool! I'm glad you found something you liked!

 

As for learning from me, don't assume I know what I'm doing. I mostly don't

 

Just to demonstrate, check out this mess!

 

 

Ugh! I really crapped the bed with the insert on the front hull.

 

The nice thing about these kits is it's relato easy to make replacement parts, so I did just that from a bit of cardstock. An even smarter modeller would have scanned and saved the originals....next time.

 

I glued on my replacement piece but it still didn't fit too well, bit at least the joint was stiff, so I decided to see how filling and sanding would work on paper. Bondo putty is solvent based so o figured it wouldn't waterlog the paper.

 

 

Not great but not horrible. It needs a second round of filling and sanding, but I think I can recover it.

 

 

Tamiya XF-8 with a few drops of xf-83 is a pretty good match for the hull color, so after some.

 

Hopefully I have some less ugly photos to post tomorrow.

 

 

[SoftScience]

4 hours ago, Paul H said:

Will be following this with great interest too, as my late grandfather chaired the inquiry into her loss and it was one of many RN related topics that we would often discuss.

Can you share any of the stories?

[Paul H]

6 hours ago, SoftScience said:

Can you share any of the stories?

Not much I can remember relating to Atlantic Conveyor I'm afraid - mainly that if the exocet hadn't found her, the next likely target it would have homed in on would have been one of the carriers (& thus game over).

[SoftScience]

37 minutes ago, Paul H said:

Not much I can remember relating to Atlantic Conveyor I'm afraid - mainly that if the exocet hadn't found her, the next likely target it would have homed in on would have been one of the carriers (& thus game over).

yikes! 

[SoftScience]

Better.

 

Not good, but since I'm still green at paper modeling, I'm going to have to live with it and hope I do a better job next time.

 

 

Ugh, its going to be hard to live with it

 

maybe a bow wave base will hide some of it.

 

its almost okay from this angle.

 

[Francis Macnaughton]

11 hours ago, Paul H said:

Not much I can remember relating to Atlantic Conveyor I'm afraid - mainly that if the exocet hadn't found her, the next likely target it would have homed in on would have been one of the carriers (& thus game over).

There was a bit about the Conveyor in the thread on HMS Glamorgan a while back:  

 

[SoftScience]

Stern half of the hull went on much better.

 

A little touching up to do, but no crumpled sections.

 

 

3/4 of the hull completed.

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

On 6/5/2020 at 9:47 PM, Paul H said:

Not much I can remember relating to Atlantic Conveyor I'm afraid - mainly that if the exocet hadn't found her, the next likely target it would have homed in on would have been one of the carriers (& thus game over).

Not sure that’s entirely true; more likely that the missile had been successfully decoyed away from the CVS (by a combination of chaff & the decoy jammer hastily installed on a Lynx), and poor old AC happed to be the next big target in the seeker head’s sight.

[Chewbacca]

The heavily redacted BOI report is online here: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121109064631/http://www.mod.uk/NR/rdonlyres/EC14467A-DFAF-4030-BDFB-9E1AAF00205E/0/boi_atlanticconveyorpt1.pdf though it say very little about the tactics involved and much more about the responsibilities for damage control, training, equipment and the response post the hit.

 

There is a much better account here: http://www.atlantic-conveyor.co.uk/about-this-site which was compiled by Gordon Brooks, the RN Medical Officer on board.  The Plots tab is quite interesting.  If that report is accurate then it would seem to suggest that the missiles locked onto AMBUSCADE's chaff, which as it drifted north east in the strong SW'ly wind, lined up perfectly with Conveyor and then HERMES.  The missiles appear to have flown through the chaff and locked onto the next biggest radar cross section they could see which was the slab side of Conveyor (though I don't quite get the reports that the ship was still in the turn to 040 when the missile struck on a relative bearing of Red 150.  That's usually a null in the RCS polar diagram).

 

As far as I am aware, the only ECM equipped Lynx was ANDROMEDA's and she was covering INVINCBLE that looks from the information I have to have been well out of range of this attack.  Of course some of the Sea Kings were equipped with the appropriately named but less effective "Erica Roe" - don't know if HERMES had any - though there's no indication that any were launched in this raid

 

 

[Francis Macnaughton]

I had seen Gordon Brooks's plot of the attack before and noted a number of points that I think are wrong, presumably because he has no other info than recollections provided by individuals on the various ships.  While still serving I was able to check my own memories against an official publication that analysed all the Falklands incidents and made a note of the key points.  From this, I see that at  the time of the initial detection of the attack  at 1936 Ambuscade was heading approximately North as one of the anti-submarine screen and the westernmost  ship of the Task Force.   Conveyor was about 2 miles  to the east and Hermes about 7.5 miles to the east north east of us.  Brilliant was about 2 miles West of Hermes, presumably as the goalkeeper to intercept aircraft and missiles aimed at Hermes.

The first actual detection of the Etendards was by Ambuscade's UAA1 ESM operator who spotted the characteristic 2 or 3 sweeps of the Etendard  Agave targeting radar and he called out "Handbrake 315" on the AAW coordinating circuit to all ships. The aircraft were about 28 nm to the North west of Ambuscade at this stage.  They then popped down to low level again while they passed the target position to the missile before popping back up to release them at about 22 miles from us and I think they would have been spotted on radar by several ships at this stage.  In the meantime as part of the preplanned response, we had fired off a pattern of distraction chaff and turned to port towards the south south west so that we were opening from the chaff and in the optimum direction to minimise being "seen" by the missile homing head when it switched on a few miles short of the programmed target position and started to search.  As a result the missiles were glimpsed passing fairly close to the North of us.  By this stage, with Conveyor having turned to a North East heading at the original alarm she would have been close to the downwind track of our chaff and inevitably in just the wrong place for her own safety. 

The first of Gordon Brooks's plot charts is OK as far as Conveyor and Ambuscade are concerned but I would strongly dispute the positions shown for Hermes and Brilliant.  The claim that Hermes had been the programmed target just doesn't add up as she was well to the left of the initial missile track and at considerably greater range from the likely homing head switch on position than would be expected.  Exeter would only have detected the Etendards after  the second pop up (I assume she was further over to the East than Ambuscade and Conveyor) so would not have raised the original alarm.

The whole of the second plot chart bears little resemblance to what happened and appears to be based on reports from personnel on the upper deck who did not have the full picture on the distances the different ships were apart. The bit on another page about staff on the bridge on Hermes being able to read the markings on a sea skimming missile travelling at high subsonic speed is just utter rubbish. Ambuscade working out that Hermes was the target is simply not true and there is plenty on the Ambuscade Association website to refute that. 

Finally, the suggestion that Conveyor was deliberately manoeuvered to save Hermes is not one I support.  If nothing else, it would require very precise manoeuvering and station keeping to be effective - something that is not exactly a feature of a large merchant ship being controlled over a radio circuit.  It would make more sense to keep the approaches clear so that Brilliant as the goalkeeper could have a clear shot at any missiles that come within range of her Seawolf system.

The loss of Atlantic Conveyor was a tragedy for all concerned and had a very significant impact on the progress of the campaign ashore but it was the result by chance of being at the wrong place at just the wrong time rather than any plan to save a carrier.