Calling all Vosper 70' MTB fans

[RogerP]

As far as I know, there were no Vosper MTBs in the Pacific.

The closest would have been the Arakan (Burma) flotilla's, these being 16th and 17th MTB Flotillas with US built 72' 6" boats. This info comes from the book "The 13th and 14th Fairmile Flotillas in Burma", the front cover states "witten & published by those who were there". I can list the boats and CO's if you wish.

Some people don't think much of Mr O A Goulden who was involved in the publication, but I have it on very good authority from Ken Joyce, a Scottish veteran from the 14th ML Flotilla now residing here in OZ that this particular book is very accurate.

[Sr. Gopher]

Thanks Roger, but that means my Truk diorama is in trouble, unless I put the MTBs somewhere in Scratch One S-Boat

[coaster]

Just in case anyone stumbles across this time worn thread....My 1/72nd Vosper isn't dead! Time to get this thread back on track and away from Perkasas (lovely though they are and back on to the original subject. I got rather ill back then and it took a while to recover, meanwhile we moved from Prague to Portugal....I got back to my painting, did a few airplanes started HMS Hood etc etc and now I find that Italeri's allegedly releasing a big Vosper, which is thrilling. I am going to try to finish my little 'un before the monster hits the shelves - lots to do. The pictures I posted back then have gone due to my having to change website providers, so I'll put the most recent shots over on Photobucket with links, easier all 'round.




Obviously there's a lot left to do! I'm also in the middle of re-doing a painting of MTBs....never a dull moment.
Fraser

[mossieramm]

Hi all, I'm building WEMs 1/350 MTB 57 Vosper 70 ft MTB in 1942 fit. Are there any good refs on this boat ?? I have the Squadron warship in action.
David.

[Garth]

I really like that model.

[Anthony Lunn]

Hello Rogerp,
I'm sorry this is not on topic. I have come to you via your ref to one Ken Joyce who I am trying to contact about pre ww2 Burma and the rubber estates at Twante. Any chance that you could contact him for me and put us in touch?
Regards
Anthony
anthonylunn1@btinternet.com

[Mike Sills]

With the Italeri 1/35 Vosper out, it�s time for this page to get active again! I�m posting some photos of my build in progress. I�ve rebuilt the wheelhouse interior, adding structural framework and the missing detail from the aft bulkhead. I relied on John Lambert�s drawings and the photos in Allied Coastal Forces Vol. 2. The boat I am building (234) had the steering station removed. I don�t have photos of her wheelhouse, but Warship Profile No. 7 has photos of MTB 66 with this modification, and I felt these could be relied on for the changes. It appears that some of the engine indicators were left intact, as was the hydraulic motor for the steering control (even after the steering was reverted to manual).

Storage bins, chart racks, handrails, the fire extinguisher, and miscellaneous pieces of equipment all have been fabricated and will be installed after painting. While the view through the windows and open door will be somewhat limited, I want what shows to be of the same level of detail as the rest of the boat.

The torpedo tubes were modified by grinding away the inaccurate bulky plastic between the rail mounts. I considered replacing the rails from scratch, but knew it would be tricky to get the rails and tubes to sit level as they cross the cambered deck at an angle. So instead the kit rails were rebuilt. All of the structure was thinned. The vertical bracing was replaced with thinner structure with lightening holes. Bolt detail was added to the tubes and mounts. The remaining firing gear details will be added after the units are mounted on the deck.

The bridge has had most of the molded on detail removed. Once the wheelhouse is painted and installed, the bridge will be rebuilt and detailed in a similar manner. The stowage and flag lockers have been rebuilt in anticipation of this. I hope to make this area the �showpiece� of the finished model.

Any comment or critique is welcome. As I will be on the road, it will be a couple of weeks until I can get to painting and closing up the wheelhouse, so I can still make alterations or corrections.

Cheers, Mike

[TheModeller]

Thats some excellent detailing work Mike, particularly the torpedo tubes, I'm doing a similar re-working myself, I was going to re-build the rails but as you mentioned its tough to get them to sit right due to the angle and camber of the deck, so plan-B, pimp-out the kit tubes!

I'm actually going a little further than you have because the layout of holes in the rails needs to be changed for the boat I'm making, MTB 84, the forward section of the rails should have 3, evenly-spaced, holes, not 4 as Italeri have moulded them, and the rear-most section needs to be altered to so I'm chopping out the sections and using sheet and strip to replace them.

It's great to see your wheelhouse detailing, it has answered a question I've had since I got the kit, how did the crew get below decks from the wheelhouse! Now I know! Have you completely replaced the Italeri wheelhouse 'well'? The floor and lower walls?

And if I might pick your brains a little more? Do you recommend the Lambert plans? I'm toying with the idea of buying a set, I think there are 5 in all including the Vickers Mk.V turret and they are a bit pricey, having never seen them outside of the small reproductions in Allied Torpedo Boats I'd be interested in your feedback before I splash out the hard-earned cash as you are actually using them.

Fabulous work Mike, I can't wait to see what comes next.

[Dave Martin]

The guys on here are pretty knowledgeable & helpful, plus there are some good photos for reference.

http://cfv.org.uk/

[Mike Sills]

I'm actually going a little further than you have because the layout of holes in the rails needs to be changed for the boat I'm making, MTB 84, the forward section of the rails should have 3, evenly-spaced, holes, not 4 as Italeri have moulded them, and the rear-most section needs to be altered to so I'm chopping out the sections and using sheet and strip to replace them.

I've noted a variety of styles of rails used. I haven't really looked to see if there was any pattern to which boats had what. Fortunately, you seem to have pretty good references on MTB 84.

Have you completely replaced the Italeri wheelhouse 'well'? The floor and lower walls?

Yes, it was easier than trying to cut up the kit parts. As to the step down aft to the hull spaces, I believe I have gotten it correct, but if anyone knows otherwise, please speak up! With the wheelhouse in place, little will show of this, but I'd like to get it right.

I can recommend the Lambert plans. The reproductions in the Shipcraft series "Allied Torpedo Boats" are pretty small and hard to work from. If you don't have it, try to get a copy of "Allied Coastal Forces Vol. II" (Lambert/Ross). It has a more complete selection, and the drawings are larger and easier to work with. I feel the book suffered from some poor editing, but it contains a wealth of info and is still probably the best published resource on these boats. Individual plans are a bit pricey, but you can get exactly what you need that way.

[TheModeller]

This picture of 84 is in 'Mediterranean MTBs at War' by Reynolds & Cooper.


(posted for discussion purposes only, I'll happily remove it if anyone complains)

I particularly wanted to do a Med based MTB, and I had the Italeri Breda in the stash, the camo is a bit more interesting too as it seems to be a local variation on the standard Admiralty scheme with extra countershading under the bow.

Its the only picture I have, but the book helps put her operations in perspective which I found interesting so its the boat I went for. The rest of my notes are based on 'Allied Torpedo Boats', Popes 'Flag 4', the Squadron 'In Action' and lots of Googling! So far so good!

I've noticed a number of different 'styles' for the torpedo mounting rails, the kit parts aren't that inaccurate as the style they've moulded is seen on these boats, its just that 84 has a different style, though the kit parts are pretty clunky crude mouldings anyway that need a lot of dressing-up to look good.

The other thing is that very few of the images I've found show the CSA gear on the aft-deck as Italeri have it, in fact it seems that in many cases the gear wasn't fitted at all!

Thanks for the feedback on the Lambert drawings, alas it looks like the book is hard to come by, second-hand prices in the 70 quid range, I think I'm going to plump for a set of the drawings as I might make use of some copied sections as part of the display-base I'm building.

[Blue Devil]

I'm NOT in any way an expert but I really like Italeri's big torpedo boats. I would like to do the Vosper as a boat based in England and with the medium/light grey hull paint scheme and it looks to me like MTB 76 on the cover of the Squadron book fits the bill nicely. Given that it's only one number off from the boat Italeri based the kit on, I assume that it's just a matter of slapping a new number on the side and painting it up the way I want, but I know basing a model off an illustration can be asking for it. So...

Can anyone here tell me if the painting of MTB 76 on the cover of the Squadron Vospert MTBs in Action book is accurate? Can it be built pretty much straight from the Italeri kit? Any idea what colors of grey I should use? Any help is greatly appreciated and I can't think of a better bunch of people to ask than those here. Thanks!

Michael

[PTConsultingNHR]

Micheal,

Good evening ... Merry Christmas to you and ALL here....

Yes, that drawing is accurate, I ran it by John Lambert before it went into the book.

And, as an aside, everything in that book was verified by Mr. Lambert. He was most kind as to check my facts. He's a very nice man.

Garth

[alross2]

Can it be built pretty much straight from the Italeri kit?

Yes.

Any idea what colors of grey I should use?

The colors are white, B15 (a dark blue-gray), and G45 (a lighter blue-gray). Colors are available directly from WEM (http://whiteensignmodels.com) Here's a copy of the actual pattern from The Camouflage of Ships at Sea


Al Ross

[Blue Devil]

The colors are white, B15 (a dark blue-gray), and G45 (a lighter blue-gray). Colors are available directly from WEM (http://whiteensignmodels.com) Here's a copy of the actual pattern from The Camouflage of Ships at Sea

Al Ross

Al,

Thanks! I assume from the diagram that the entire deck is B15?

Michael

[alross2]

I assume from the diagram that the entire deck is B15?

Michael

Essentially, all horizontal surfaces, deck included.

Al

[Blue Devil]

Right, thanks Al!

Michael

[davidwaples]

For those of you building or have built the 1/35 Italeri Vosper kit, they announced yesterday that they are releasing a 1/35 crew. Also note the Elco kit which contains SO radar which has been used on some of these Vospers.

[Cliffy B]

A-4 two-seater back in 1/72 in plastic!!!!

Glad to see Kuznetzov back as well. Those Italeri CVs are super detailers' dreams.

[RogerP]

Hello everyone,

The attached photo shows a Vosper MTB somewhere in the Adriatic area during WW2. I got the photo from the PT Dockyard (wargaming manufacturer in 1/600 scale) but he doesn't have any info as to which MTB it is nor does he know when the photo was taken or precisely when so I'm asking --- does anyone out there know?