This is my just-completed build of the Trinity House South Goodwin lightship, built from the old FROG kit. Hopefully this will be on display at the Milton Keynes model show tomorrow:
This was one of a handful of large-scale civil ship models produced by FROG in the 1960s (another was the coastal tanker "Shell Welder") As far as I know, the kit doesn't represent the South Goodwin lightship wrecked in a storm in 1954 (which was built in the '30s) but its replacement built in the 1950s. A number of similar lightships were built for Trinity House at the same time and quite a few are still in service today, though heavily modified. The scale of the kit is 1/110 (not 1/144 as found on some kit boxes), the real ships were 138' long and the model is 15".
One very noticeable feature of this ship is the lack of a propeller! It was towed into position and then moored, the onboard diesel engines are for electricity generation rather than propulsion.
My kit was the current Eastern Express issue produced in Russia. (Previously it has been reissued by Revell and Novo). Unlike some ex-FROG kits (e.g. HMS Exeter, Shell Welder) the moulds for the lightship kit seem to have survived the years well - my kit had sharp detail and minimum flash + mould lines.
I didn't make any major changes or additions to the kit, but made lots of small fixes. Railings (the ones in the kit are horrible rubbery vinyl plastic, as are the anchor chains - which I replaced with blackened metal chain) were replaced with Dean's Marine PE stanchions rigged with fine brass wire, the ladders are also PE. The masts are scratchbuilt from brass tube + rod, as the plastic ones are very flimsy and won't take the weight of rigging. All portholes were drilled out and glazed with "Kristal Kleer". A few other small bits were added including lifebelts and boat oars from the spares box.
Thankfully the large name decals on the hull went on perfectly with no silvering or cracking. The model was painted with Revell acrylics and weathered with oil washes + acrylic craft paint. This wasn't exactly the easiest model to paint, given that red and white are (along with yellow) two of the worst paint colours in terms of covering ability, but it turned out OK in the end. The red is painted over an undercoat of white.
I couldn't find any close-up photos showing the deck fittings, so I had to use a bit of "modeller's license" in painting these! Similarly, I'm not sure how much maintenance + repainting these ships got when in service (photos of the current ones aren't much help, as they are usually unmanned) so I tried to add just enough weathering to give the model "character" without making it look too shabby.
The photos have showed up a couple of flaws which I didn't pick up earlier, notably the rigging on the aft mast is less than straight (but note that the lines from the masts to the light tower are supposed to be slightly slack, this is a radio aerial rather than rigging), but I'm still very pleased with the finished result. Now to find a Lindberg "Nantucket Lightship" kit!
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