A Paddle Tug. Director Class Diesel-Electric.

[Faraway]

This will be the second Paddle Tug I've built, during the build of that one I developed a love/hate relationship. Loved the ship, hated some of the parts and the instructions.

But being a complete knob and always up for a minor challenge, I thought I'd have go at another one.

I did originally consider this one, not the 1/700, but the 1/350 version.

But I read so many bad reviews and I know @Bertie McBoatface is struggling with it and appears to have given up (?)

That I forgot about doing a paddler, until this one came out from Neomega.

By the way, its not 1/144 scale, but 1/350.

 

And having built their Eppleton Hall paddle tug, it was a fairly easy decision, thinking I probably knew some of the pitfalls I would encounter during the build.

 

So here we are, the hull is a resin cast....

 

All the other bits are 3D printed, and at first glance look to be quite good.

Paddle boxes

 

Paddle deck

 

Superstructure 

 

Paddles.

 

Mast and bollards

 

All the rest

 

Delicate PE

 

In this class (Director) there were seven vessels. Director, Dextrous, Faithful, Favourite, Forceful, Grinder and Griper. Not sure who this one will turn into, maybe none and it'll just represent the class. 

Finding information about these vessels is proving a bit of a challenge, they don't appear to have made much of an impact on the maritime world, so the colour scheme is going to be bit difficult to get 100% accurate. So if anyone reading this has any information about these vessels, I'd be very grateful.

 

First task will be the clean up the hull and make a base, so see you soon.

Jon

 

[robgizlu]

Nice one Jon - I wondered how long it would be before Neomega switched to 1/350.  Fascinating boat - I had no idea paddle steamers were still being contructed in the 50's.

Bet you are going to smash this !!!  (not literally) 

Rob

[Bertie McBoatface]

What an interesting  and charming little vessel. It looks like a throwback to a much earlier age, yet was intended to support the newest technology, the carriers. 

 

The printing looks delicate, especially the paddles. Don't sneeze in the same room as those.

 

(And yes, I abandoned QoT, and the whole 1/350, resin, 20th century genre.)

[Faraway]

36 minutes ago, robgizlu said:

Nice one Jon - I wondered how long it would be before Neomega switched to 1/350.  Fascinating boat - I had no idea paddle steamers were still being contructed in the 50's.

Bet you are going to smash this !!!  (not literally) 

Rob

It is surprising that a paddler was built in the 50’s, but given their manoeuvrability I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised, also this is a little before bow thrusters were perfected.

Jon

[Faraway]

4 minutes ago, Bertie McBoatface said:

And yes, I abandoned QoT, and the whole 1/350, resin, 20th century genre.)

Given what I read about the kit, I’m not surprised. I know reviews aren’t always accurate, and rely a lot on the reviewers likes and skills, but I couldn’t find any positive reviews for QoT.

Jon

[Faraway]

Stand done and hull mounted and painted.

I've still not decided whether to do her unnamed or name her. If I name her, she will need a nameplate, which from what I can find out there is one on the stern gunwale and one on the sides of the funnel. As I don't have any decals that will suite, I'm going to attempt to make my own. So I've ordered some bits and bobs for said task, when they arrive I'll give it a bash and let you know how I get on. It's certainly something I've never done before.

Jon

[bootneck]

Ah! my favourite tug type.  These were built for their manoeuvrability and low profile for the large angled-deck carriers Ark Royal, Eagle, Victorious and Hermes.  They could get in under the large overhangs of structures for the angled flight decks.  The power of separate paddle wheels gave them the ability to control the ships movements when coming alongside or leaving the side in heavy winds or sea state.

 

If I remember correctly, one was stationed at each of HM Dockyards at the time: Portsmouth, Plymouth, Rosyth, Singapore. Gibraltar and Malta; I'm struggling to remember where the seventh was based.   They didn't last very long, once the big carriers had been scrapped and I think only Forceful survived, until the mid-1980s, for working with HMS Hermes at Portsmouth.

 

Here is a photo of Portsmouth's Forceful manoeuvring the various County class destroyers alongside Fountain Lake Jetty in 1981.  Photo taken from HMS Intrepid.

 

 

I may just have to get one of those models, so I shall follow your thread for inspiration.

 

 

50 minutes ago, Faraway said:

I've still not decided whether to do her unnamed or name her. If I name her, she will need a nameplate, which from what I can find out there is one on the stern gunwale and one on the sides of the funnel.

The name was also position on both sides of the bow.

cheers,
Mike

Edited May 27, 2023 by bootneck
addition of details for name placement

[S-boat 55]

What an interesting little ship, and who's have thought a paddle driven ship was still in use in 1981!

 

Speaking of said paddles the cast looks really nice but the paddles themselves look delicate! 

[Faraway]

2 hours ago, bootneck said:

The name was also position on both sides of the bow.

Mike. Thanks for that.

Forceful does pop up when searching for these tugs.

Jon

 

16 minutes ago, S-boat 55 said:

Speaking of said paddles the cast looks really nice but the paddles themselves look delicate! 

Indeed they are, so they might be a late fit.

Jon

[ArnoldAmbrose]

       Gidday Jon, like others I'd not heard of these tugs either, and thought paddle-wheelers were long gone except for nostalgic vessels of yesteryear. Since their very good maneuverability has been mentioned I take it that the paddle wheels each side can be operated independently from the other? My only experience with a paddle-wheeler was a river trip in Echuca on a tourist boat in 1999 and I think both wheels operated together.

       That hull looks good already.       Regards, Jeff.

[Faraway]

1 hour ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

paddle wheels each side can be operated independently from the other

Indeed they can. From what I can gather, these ships had a main Diesel engine which generates electricity to power two electric motors, one for each paddle. 
Which would have made them very manoeuvrable.

[Modelholic]

Such a quirky little vessel.

I wonder if that hull lends itself to any other tugs?

Tom

[Courageous]

Another unusual one for me and looking go so far. As for decals, you can always look at 1/72 aircraft letters, it's what I used in my 1/350 Fushimi Maru build and on my Everard build, just a thought.

 

Stuart

[Faraway]

8 minutes ago, Courageous said:

As for decals, you can always look at 1/72 aircraft letters,

I will, thanks for the tip.

Jon

[Dancona]

Hi Jon, lovely job, and another unusual subject, looks like a really nice kit, funnily enough my father was talking about these not so long ago, evidently for some reason or other, a long time ago, a lot of Victorious´s crew were being transported on one, and they had some sport by all running to one side of the tug at the same time, making one of the paddles come out of the water, leading to an incandescent tug skipper as he found himself unintentionally changing course !

I will be following this very closely, those printed parts look lovely !!

 

Cheers

 

David

 

[Faraway]

2 hours ago, Dancona said:

Hi Jon, lovely job, and another unusual subject, looks like a really nice kit, funnily enough my father was talking about these not so long ago, evidently for some reason or other, a long time ago, a lot of Victorious´s crew were being transported on one, and they had some sport by all running to one side of the tug at the same time, making one of the paddles come out of the water, leading to an incandescent tug skipper as he found himself unintentionally changing course !

I will be following this very closely, those printed parts look lovely !!

 

Cheers

 

David

 

That does conjure up a hilarious scene.

I would imagine the language was somewhat choice.

Jon

[Orso]

A very interesting ship. Can Neomega be found inside the EU? 

Looking at pictures of some of the ships on these pictures: https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2047675.m570.l1313&_nkw=Director+Class+Paddle+Tug&_sacat=0

Shows that the position of the names moves around. 

[Faraway]

6 hours ago, Orso said:

Can Neomega be found inside the EU? 

Not sure what you mean.

https://www.neomega-resin.com/

Jon

[Orso]

Since Brexit there is the tax to pay when buying from Britain. That is OK but the £7 fee for the pleasure to pay the tax isn't. That is why I prefere to shop inside the union.

[Dancona]

11 hours ago, Orso said:

Since Brexit there is the tax to pay when buying from Britain. That is OK but the £7 fee for the pleasure to pay the tax isn't. That is why I prefere to shop inside the union.

No joke there, I bought a Wingnuts Gotha seaplane from Hannants as they still had a couple at a reasonable price and reckoned that it would be cheaper than E-Bay scalpers, the Spanish customs caught me for € 90 !!

I dont want to be political but if there is a hell being put together for Mr Fromage I would like to be involved in the planning !

Though since then I have smuggled a Felixstowe in a very large suitcase !!

 

Cheers

 

David

 

[dnl42]

Interesting subject! I had never heard of a diesel-electric paddle tug. I suppose though it was amazingly maneuverable, particularly before Voith-Schneider propellers.

[Faraway]

There will be some update photos soon, things are coming on nicely.

 

A while ago, I built HMS Janus with a view to doing other Destroyers of different classes, so my plan after this paddler was to start on the Destroyer fleet. But a spanner has been thrown into the works by that well known thrower of spanners, The Royal Mail.

I ordered some replacement bits and bobs from Black Cat and these were tracked as leaving France on 18th May, problem is they seem to have vanished, as there is no record of them arriving in the UK.

Now, according to the RM I must wait until 15th June before they can be declared lost, Ben at BC says he usually waits 2 months, but I'm not sure I want to wait that long.

So I'm now having to rethink my build schedule, and have no idea what will be next.

 

Jon

[Bertie McBoatface]

Lost at sea! 

 

I'm sure that in two months you will be able to fit in quite a few extras for us. 🙂

[ArnoldAmbrose]

 

52 minutes ago, Faraway said:

these were tracked as leaving France on 18th May, problem is they seem to have vanished, as there is no record of them arriving in the UK.

Such a huge body of ocean between the two countries, I'm not surprised. 😲

 

54 minutes ago, Faraway said:

So I'm now having to rethink my build schedule, and have no idea what will be next.

Gidday Jon, didn't you mention "Battleship" on another thread? 😁 

 

Regards, Jeff.

 

[bootneck]

3 hours ago, Faraway said:

......I ordered some replacement bits and bobs from Black Cat and these were tracked as leaving France on 18th May, problem is they seem to have vanished, as there is no record of them arriving in the UK.

Now, according to the RM I must wait until 15th June before they can be declared lost, Ben at BC says he usually waits 2 months, but I'm not sure I want to wait that long.

Hi Jon,

 

As far as I am aware you, as the intended recipient,  can't claim a non-delivery from RM.  You would have to claim non-receipt to Black Cat and they have to raise the issue with their postal service to track it through to end etc. 

 

cheers,
Mike