The Ship Model Forum

The Hr.Ms. Mercuur was a torpedo tender built for the Dutch navy in the 1930's to replace an aging predecessor of the same name. Small, trawler-like and unarmed, she passed into German hands in may 1940 and was renamed Mercur. After the war, she was returned to Dutch service and served until 1966, replaced by, you guessed it, a new Mercuur. Apparently, she's still around somewhere in the Rotterdam docks in civilian livery.

The model is from German manufacturer HP, basically the only player in town when it comes to oddball ships like this and the Dutch navy of WWII in this scale. Nice little kit, although she fails to portray the elegant shear in the hull up front, a major feature. Improved with bits of PE and some awnings (some PE with white glue), she's a cute little thingy.

(sure, now I see the paint glitches too. )

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If all else fails, a complete pig-headed refusal to see facts in the face will see us through. - General Melchett

Words like neat, unusual subject, good job and wow come to mind.

Thanks for the history on the real ship as well. Gives a lot more meaning to the model.

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Building:
1/48 Su-33 (decals being applied)
1/48 RA-5C (painting)
1/350 CVN-65
1/350 Gato (painting)

Cool kit of a little known naval subject! Inspiration for my next China Station gunboat project perhaps.

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No Quarter Asked - None Given

No I'm sorry but that's a 5 gallon paint drum, I'll always fail to understand how someone can firstly build something that small, and second, make it look so darn good.

Yeah, you're right. I stripped the image of a Revell paint tin, scanned it, ran it through Photoshop, and had it printed to fit the big tin, which is custom made by BMK models from Germany. The photo-etch fret you see in the distance is a home-made enlargement of a WEM set. Cost me a arm and a leg (and some real skin, that acid is a b*tch),but makes that 1-foot ship really look like it's 6 cm or so.

BTW, thanks for your comments!

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If all else fails, a complete pig-headed refusal to see facts in the face will see us through. - General Melchett