Used from the 1970's to the 1990's, the Mine Sweeping Boat Type 7 was a follow on from the Type 1, which was built to sweep in shallower areas than the medium minesweepers could go. The Type 7 were made larger than the Type 1 in order to include some bunks, which the Type 1's didn't have. They carried a single line for cutting moored mines and could be fitted with an acoustic mine detonator, but those were carried on the mothership when not being actively towed by the boat. When the Type 7 was retired their job was replaced by remote piloted sweepers launched from a modified medium minesweeping ship (MCL).
I used plan-view drawings from an issue of Maru Special, and like most drawings from Maru Special the horizontal does not totally match the vertical. The model is made from styrene card except for part of the bow which used two-part putty to get that wave-splitting shape.
And to show how big it is:
I made decals for the windows and the name-plate on the back. The numbers are from the Modelium YT64 class tugboat kit, using an extra "1" to wrap around the bracing timber. The railing is GMM and the lifeboat canister is Big Blue Boy. I used Colourcoats paints. This is the earlier design of the ship - later on they got larger cranes in the back and more antennas.
I hate seeing this magnified so much because I swear you can't see those faults in the real world. I'm not really happy with those lights on the sides and they are only glued on with white glue so I can replace them when I figure out how to make better ones.
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