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PostPosted: Thu Sep 07, 2017 11:28 am 
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So with the sudden Photobucket block of images I decided to repair my Revell model build of a Flower Class Corvette. I hosted it on some other sites, but never here, I meant to, but never seemed to find the time, well now as I am repairing my other build images I figured I would share them here, as so many builds have lost posts to the image block.

It should be noted I had not built a model ship since I was 15 and it was a 1/700 scale battleship mounted on a cardboard sea (over 20 years ago)…so this should be a bit of an experience.

So I want to build the Canadian Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK in her 1942 configuration (short foc’sle). Why, because I am in the navy...and it will be my navy's 100th anniversary next year and there is a competition to build these 1/72 scale models as one of the ways to celebrate that fact.

The Flower Class Corvette were simple escorts built to hunt German U-Boats and sweep for mines laid by submarines near harbour entrances. They were based on pre-war Whale Hunting ships and were simple to build and maintain. As a result of the U-Boats being more efficient at sinking merchant ships than initially believed and the loses encountered by convoys, the little Corvettes were impressed into convoy escort across the Atlantic...something they really had not been designed for.

Canada, not having much of an established ship building infrastructure discovered that it could produce these from multiple civilian yards across the country, in fact we built about 111 of the Flower or her successor the Revised Flower Class. As for the name, so the story goes Sir Winston Churchill liked the idea of newspaper stories announcing the sinking of a German U-Boat by HMS Buttercup as somewhat inspiring. Canada named all but 10 of her Flowers after cities and towns, because flowers couldn't knit mittens for the sailors. In fact in Canada almost all our warships are named after cities and towns to encourage connections between the navy and the nation.

HMCS CHILLIWACK was one of the 1939-1940 Canadian Program built on the West Coast at Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd (very close to my home).
Launched: 9-14-1940
Commissioned: 4-8-1941
Foc’sle Extension: 10-10-1943 Halifax (not an issue for this build)
Now I have acquired a copy of the original plans for CHILLIWACK and her sisters AGASSIZ, TRAIL and WETASKIWIN. These plans are with the two mast configuration, which by 1942 CHILLIWACK had dropped to the single mast forward of the bridge (as well as other changes such as Bridge wing extensions, and some weapon changes).

The Corvette has arrived:
Image
It was a little flat from Canada Post.

However the kit seems to be intact:
Image

Check of the parts and they all seem to be there, a few bits had broken free, but nothing seriously damaged, just the box getting a little flat.
Image

I will need to wash them and take a look at the parts next.

One version of CHILLIWACK in the middle of 1942
Image

Cheers,

CB

PS: In case you were wondering, this was the second edition of the Flower produced by Revell, before the brass etched parts. For those of you with the older version of the kit sitting on a shelf (and I know there are a lot of you).
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:23 am 
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I'll be following your Chilliwack build,CB.

I have the same kit(unbuilt).I'll probably build her as Snowberry.

Scott

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 7:17 am 
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 8:36 am 
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I built one of those for a friend. Ended up modifying or replacing the majority of the parts, and I could have done a whole lot more than I did. They can look good when done but take a lot of work.

The Anatomy of the Ship book on Agassiz is useful for modeling any of the Flowers.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 09, 2017 4:35 pm 
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Great Little Ships (Dave Parkins) does a ton of detail sets for this kit. first class quality. Model Monkey, do you produce any parts for this kit? Regards, Pete in RI.


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 1:31 am 
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Depending on your skill level and patience, the GLS detailing is a "must".


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 10, 2017 8:09 pm 
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Check-out diStefan & 3Dboats on Shapeways! Edit* also: b_nolting76list:Snowberry on Shapeways
As well as Nialls Model Parts on Shapeways also Modelmonkey too.
John


Last edited by JCRAY on Tue Sep 12, 2017 1:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:36 am 
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Also -
www.shapeways.co/shops/nmp

There are parts for the RN minesweeper varients and 1 type of tall depth charge racks for some of the RN ships.


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 11:07 am 
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Thanks for all the replies. When I was building this I tried to use as many of the kit parts as possible (often not for their intended original purpose) and scratch build the rest.

So I went through the kit and looked at the various parts on their sprue, comparing these to the drawings in John McKay & John Harland’s Anatomy of the Ship – The Flower Class Corvette AGASSIZ as well as John Lambert and Les Brown’s Flower Class Corvettes. I also visited Bob Pearson's excellent site and reviewed some of his conversion articles.
After that I made a list of the changes/modifications I will have to do (there will likely be more as I carry out the build).

Hull
Removal of a portion of the upper deck to forward of the bridge
Extra-large keel ground off
Stem needs to be removed and rebuilt
Bilge rails are way too large and thick, replacing with plasticard
Extra Portholes Covered
Square Scuppers Covered
Port Hole Eyebrows…torn as the West Coast ships seemed to have these
Stern needs to be flattened out and pulled to make sure there is room for Minesweeping gear and the Canadian stern

Deck and Fittings
All decks needs to have the fake reversed wood paneling taken off
Well deck needs to be scratch-built
Some water tight doors and other materials for the foc’sle
Additional decking added at the stern of the engine casing
Windlass, this is going to have to be built from scratch or a substitute found
Anchors need work and the hawse pipe is a joke
Hull Splinter Shields; on the forward ones I think I will have to move the placement as some of the West Coast Corvettes had them added slightly inboard
Lockers all need hinges and detailing
Wooden decks added forward and aft and in the well deck area
Mast…kit version is too short for short foc’sle and the SW1C/SW2C is missing
Life Boat Davits need lots of work
Boat Deck needs to be scratch-built and wood planking added, it will need lots of work as the kit is dearth in details here
Oval Life Rafts, need some work, not that bad
Life Boats, fortunately 1942 the smaller square stern life boats were in use and not the Whaler…but major internal work will be required. Things like oars, rudder, ribs, thwarts, etc.
Hatches need detailing
Rectangle Life Rafts still debating if I want to make a pair
Rope & Cable Reels need detailing or replacement
Small Ventilators need detailing
Need to scratch-build blake and bottle screw slip

Bridge
A new bridge will need to be built for the Short Focsle version
Search Lights need some pretty major work
Bridge Deck needs wood planking
Bridge Ladder Moved
Radar Lantern House…depending on early or late 1942 will determine if I need this, it needs a door, holes in the grate, etc.
Bridge Supports, again a pre or post 271 Radar set addition (CHILLIWACK had parts of the set added on repeated visits to Londonderry with the set being completed in December 1942)
Windshield…I will think of something
Bridge Splinter Shields/Splinter Mats…kit ones are a little sparse and the whole Bridge needs to be rebuilt for a type B design
Pipe Rails added instead of the fake flat plastic in the kit which look fragile and not really accurate
Rail Dodgers see above, going to built the pipe rails and then add some tissue paper
Wind dodger needs to be scratch built
Flag Box needs a complete replacement
Assorted Lockers need hinges and butterfly clips
Signal Light Platforms replacement or major conversion work
Deck House Ladders need replacement
D/F Coil, replacement with a round version
Bridge Voice Pipes need some detailing

Engine Room Casing
Needs to be shortened and corrected for Canadian version with overhang and struts
Move the 2 Pdr Bandstand aft
Engine Room Skylight…needs to be completely rebuilt as the kit version is wrong on so many levels.
Watertight Doors…the kit versions are really poor
Galley to be removed and moved aft of bridge
Funnel is a decent representation, but the rivets are such a noticeable feature, I may replace it.
Funnel Ladder, kit version is pretty simple
Steam Pipes on Funnel
Large ventilators really need some work as the kit versions are simple and too thick
Placement of gear and other changes are necessary

Weapons
4-inch Main Gun & Shield replacement or a complete scratch-build
Bandstand for the above will need treads and a replacement for the ammunition holders as well as some mesh and other detailing
2 Pdr (working on deciding if I am going to do early 1942 or late 1942…as early actually seemed to have a 20 mm Oerlikon in the rear bandstand while late had the 2 Pdr – if someone knows when I would love to know). Either way a replacement of complete scratch-build looks necessary
The 2 Pdr Bandstand tub needs to be replaced and a tread added
Bridge Weapons – either 303 Lewis Guns or 50 Cal twined Machine Guns look like the fittings for 1942. As per the 2 Pdr a completely new build will be necessary as the kit parts are really quite poor (again, no confirmation seems available)
Depth Charge Throwers…these are not bad…OK they are bad, about the level of the other weapons, I think some framing for the base and a little detail work will make them acceptable. Depth Charges are a little weak, but with some cutting off of extra parts and some paint detail they can work. The stalks are really too small and will have to be replaced, as well as stalk carrier detail.
Depth Charge Racks, too thick and too large, so some platicard replacements look necessary
Smoke Candle Racks…I think there is some sort of thick box that the kit provides
Floater Nets & Racks
Smoke Candles need some holes drilled

Minesweeping Gear
As this was not removed until the foc’sle extension I need to scratch-build the lot
Winch
Davits (x2)
Large Minesweeping Floats (x2)
Otter/Kite Floats (x4)
Gallows (x2)
Dan Buoys and racks

I also figured I should show my work space and tools...OK, it is the kitchen table which means I will have to clean up after every session otherwise Mrs Captain Brown will have words with me.
Image

Therefore my construction is going to be start and stop...so I will likely break many of these jobs down into mini-projects.

That is going to be a lot of work, notice I have not even mentioned painting/weathering, etc.

Image
Since everyone loves pictures, here is CHILLIWACK in either late 1942 and early 1943.
Photo courtesy of the CF - Project Pride
Notice the bridge struts, 271 Radar lantern and I am pretty certain that is a 2 Pdr now in the aft bandstand.

Cheers,

CB


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:48 pm 
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Build Update

So I started one of my small projects, the Mark II Depth Charge Throwers.

Image
As you can see the kit versions are really rudimentary plastic...things and other than a tube and a suggestion of another smaller tube they really bear little resemblance. The drawing above is from John McKay & John Harland's Anatomy of the Ship - The Flower Class Corvette AGASSIZ and I cannot recommend this book enough.

So I started by trimming off the excess plastic for the forward support and much of the plastic protrusion that is supposed to be the firing chamber. Top is the basic assembly and below it is my trimmed version.
Image

Now for a firing chamber I wanted something cylindrical and of the correct length, wanting to use as much of the Kit parts as possible I grabbed the two Lewis Gun supports and cut them to down to get two cylinders…these when divided were just about the perfect length.
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Building the bases (the Chooper II is excellent for this – that tool was not on my work bench table because it was a present from Mrs Captain Brown for my birthday), styrene and some small L bracket styrene.
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Comparison between the kit version and my ‘upgraded’ one, the firing pins came from some small 1/35 tank tread ends (with a pin), some styrene rod and .020x.010 styrene strips to make the brackets:
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A shot of the Mark II Throwers all fixed up:
Image
Image
So all that is left is a little cleaning of the pieces (especially the now pointless banding and where the styrene has gotten bent).

So there they are, my first ‘kit-bash’ for the corvette.

CB


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 1:21 pm 
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Next parts to get worked on are the forward and after bandstands. The kit comes with flat plastic bases (no tread - which Corvettes had added fairly quickly into commission), and the aft bandstand for the 2 Pdr has a really, really thick shield. I visited Bob Pearson's great site and got some ideas on what to do. Treads are all 0.010 x 0.020 styrene strips.

4-Inch Bandstand
Original part with some pencil marks, found a use for that old compass and protractor to get the lines drawn...use pencil, very easy to erase mistakes.
Image
Tread added (again I used the Chopper II to make the treads fairly quickly)
Image

Next was the aft Bandstand for the 2-Pdr Pom-Pom
Original Part.
Image
Using the Dremel Mini to cut off the old splinter shield...one minor error. I recommend that you use a clamp to hold the Bandstand and a glove on the holding hand...just in case.
Image
The star tread.
Image
Modelling action shot...the plastic cement is still drying...
Image
Splinter Shield getting added.
Image
With the shelter added (I filed down some of the shelter parts to remove the part numbers on the inside and to widen the doorway.
Image

Cheers,

CB


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 11:52 am 
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The ventilators from the kit are rather chunky, especially at the mouth; the thick plastic is particularly noticeable. So after gluing and regular trimming I sat down with my Mini-Dremel and began to sand down the mouths.

Before:
Image

After:
Image

Started on the two lifeboats:

Used Bob Pearson's site for some inspiration (his 27' Whaler conversion).

The boats themselves are a two part set that sort of resembles a lifeboat…sort of. Lower halves of the lifeboats.
Image

Ribs added with 0.010 x 0.020 styrene strips
Image

Floor boards (which look a little low, might add something to raise them up now) added.
Image

Still need to do thwarts, knees, build a rudder, oars and survival keg/ration tins.

Cheers,

CB


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 3:07 pm 
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However lifeboats soon faded from mind (this seems to be a pattern for all modeling and painting projects...I just have made lots on little ones in one larger one to keep on track.

I have been working on the Engine Casing Skylight. Again I followed the basic guidelines set out in Bob Pearson’s site, with some minor adjustments. The kit part has two few skylights and is too short and too high.

"Using [a] sheet styrene I cut two sides (2mm x 60mm) and two ends (32mm x 7mm). The end pieces then had the angle cut in place by centering a line at the middle of the top and connecting it to the side at 2mm height. The four pieces were then glued together and the sloping tops (17mm x 60mm) were added."Source Basic_Accurizing by Bob Pearson.

After following this I trimmed the corners 45 degrees to get a good join and added some gash styrene to be braces on the inside and had a completed base to work from.

The scuttle shutters were made of at base of 0.020 styrene rectangles of 7.5 mm by 9 mm and over these were added 0.010 styrene rectangles of 9 mm by 10.5 mm. Both sets had their corners cut to create the impression of a rounded corner and were glued together to make the scuttle shutters.

Skylight base on the left, scuttles above and the shutters below on the right. The scuttle shutters have been flipped over to show you what they look like underneath.
Image
Then I added a small round disk of styrene created from cutting off a sliver of styrene tubing and standing it down to about 0.75 mm in height. You can see them in the image above before I glued them down. The hinges were made from 0.010 by 0.020 styrene strips.

With scuttles added and the start of the handles above:
Image

Handles were made from staples, just regular staples bent with a pair of pliers and trimmed with a clipper. I traced a line on the scuttle shutters below the scuttle itself and then measured off for the holes. Drilled through with a pin-vice and inserted my handles, a little super glue inside and there we are.

Compared with the kit version on the left:
Image
From the end as it will sit looking aft:
Image

Now working on the two mushroom vents that sat at each end.

Cheers,

CB


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 27, 2017 4:34 pm 
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Nice work on those upgrades,CB.

Scott

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PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 11:45 pm 
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Thank you Scott,

The Mini-Dremel is excellent, used it to clear the decks of their fake reversed wood panelling...also for the ventilators, and it will be used to sand off the large keel that the real corvettes never had and likely the bow stem so I can replace it with some styrene.

Here is an example of the speed of the Dremel, I started the pom-pom move. RCN Corvettes had their 2 Pounder 'Pom-Pom' (or whatever other secondary armament they had in the aft bandstand) moved further aft as the original design had two masts...and it does not really work when your principle anti-aircraft defence weapon is wooded by a mast.

Original engine room casing deck:
Image

After the dremel made short work of the base:
Image I went to work on the deck to smooth it down.

Suddenly there was a thud as the neighbours cat which had been waiting for the Dremel to stop batted the bandstand pillar off the table (I was working on the deck at the time and he had been draped across the deck ledge watching)...as soon as I placed down the tool and stood up the camera and started to take a shot...instead of showing off the Dremel work I got a cat leg in action.
Image

Another Mini-Dremel use was for the deck, the Revell kit has the decks covered in this reverse wood planking, so instead of small gaps between boards there are raised lips of plastic...might work for painting except that Corvettes had steel decks and added wood planking at various high traffic areas and over living spaces.

The deck prior to sanding:
Image
Then cleaned…since this photo was taken I have sanded off the four lines at the aft end of the quarterdeck (where the depth charge racks would go…except RCN Corvettes had theirs on an angle and much short due to Minesweeping gear) and all the raised portions on the main deck as I am building new superstructure.
Image

Mini-Dremel made short work of these raised plastic sections.

Cheers,

CB


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PostPosted: Mon Oct 02, 2017 3:23 pm 
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So as I mentioned in my first posts, this is a model of a Corvette earlier in her career, with technology advancing various additions to her superstructure, increasing crew sizes and the fact they were designed as coastal vessels and found themselves steaming into the Atlantic to escort conveys a substantial increase in superstructure/hull was necessary. Often referred to as the focsle extension, the Revell kit is post extension (middle to late war addition...in fact about ten Canadian Corvettes went the entire war without that extension).

Here are the four portions that make up the hull.
Image
You can clearly see the rise in the hull in the stern halves below...my build needs to move that rise forward of the bridge...which also means I have to build the superstructure previously hidden by the deck extension.
Image
That also means that once I cut I am committed to building a short focsle corvette...

So, I have been putting it off, but once Bob’s drawings arrived it was time to take the plunge and cut the hull…the feeling you get just before you cut is a strange one.

A Dremel cut or two later, some sanding, more cutting, more sanding. Then removing some of the overlap plastic…more sanding…sanding the old deck and cutting the middle portion in two and adding a piece to the end and we have this:

Image

Very rough, since nothing is glued together yet, but you get the idea.

Now I do need to square off the stern before I glue...looking at attempting the 'hot water' method for that, and I just want to pull out the stern to make it less rounded rather than pushing it in and making the ship too short.

I have started on the superstructure; I want to make sure that the bridge is level with the angle of the deck (since the corvette has a curve...it was based on a civilian Whaling Ship after all).

The templates from Bob Pearson are very useful, a little cryptic in one or two instances (like the alcoves on RCN corvettes, and some spots you need to cut and add styrene to cover the sides of the raised galley). But really, really a fantastic time saver and guide to the build.

So I needed to start squaring off the stern (as the RCN Corvettes were built for minesweeping from the start and the squaring of the stern added much needed deckspace).

Original Stern
Image
Using hot water I stretched out the stern and gave it some flatness (as opposed to the original round RN stern), to increase this I added some 0.080 styrene.
Image
Now you can see it is very rough, and the actual railings have been pulled up as I stretched the plastic back, I will be using the Dremel to sand that down and then cut the fairlead for the minesweeping gear and moving the depth charge holes as well.

Then I started on the end of the Engine Room Casing, RCN Corvettes moved their galleys just aft of the wheelhouse earlier than their RN counterparts and this did not need as much Casing aft, so to make room for the minesweeping gear they shortened the Casing. Here are my cuts to the deck and building the new end pieces.

Image

Here is what it looks like on my hull.
Image
You can see the extra decking in white styrene I had to add to cover the hole left in the deck with the shortened Casing.

Cheers,

CB


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 7:19 am 
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great model kit, also have one, should finish mine one day ^^) Really excited to see this one grow!


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PostPosted: Tue Oct 03, 2017 11:05 am 
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Thank you silvershadow,

So continuing with my plan to try and get the superstructure built to a point I could see it with the short focsle.

Wheelhouse

I still have not added the window frames, hence the rough appearance of the windows (I used 0.020 thickness styrene due to the requirement to cut out the windows)
Image

Assembling the wheelhouse
Image
Had a little trouble with the sizes, I probably should have tried to square the edges better as it seemed I had some extra structure by the time I finished.

So did some more work on the compass house (which sits above the wheelhouse from my last post) and here is my dry fit stage (so things will look strange as parts are not secured or leveled yet):
Image
She is now starting to resemble an early Corvette.

Next I have to work on the atrociously large extraneous keel and massively thick stem…neither of which the Corvettes had…not to mention those excessively long and thick bilge keels…they are also going. So I am charging up the Mini-Dremel.

Cheers,

CB


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PostPosted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 3:52 pm 
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So I took the hull and started to sand down the excess keel, as well as the mountings for the extremely large and long bilge rails.
Image

I used a combination of the Mini-Dremel, craft knife and files. Keel was relatively easy; just use the sanding attachment and high speed to eat away at the excess plastic. A little more care was exercised as I got down to the base and I ran the blade of the craft knife along the keel remnants to make it nice and smooth, as well as round off what was left.
Image

I used the cone sanding attachment on the bilge rail mountings, as I wanted to be careful and not to scar the hull too badly if at all. I used some styrene L bracket strips to make proper bilge rails of just under a foot in scale width.
Image

I also had to cut out some more scuppers…and fill in one of the aft most scuppers and one fairlead (as the kit being the British design had one more added with the extending of the focsle and the Canadian design had only one fairlead hole aft vice two modeled in the kit).
Here are the three new scuppers:
Image

At the same time I flattened that rise in the stern bulwarks created when I stretched out and flattened the stern. The flaps for the depth charge holes almost fit perfectly into the gaps so I will be gluing them in and sanding them down…as they are presently on an angle due to the plastic bending for the additional styrene. Once this is all ship shape I will add some polystyrene strips to recreate the lip of the top of the transom and later cut out three holes for the depth charge rails and the fairlead for the mine sweeping gear.

For the bow and the ridiculously wide stem I actually used the sanding attachment on an angle and tried to marry it to the hull form, basically extending forward a few millimetres…I did this because the actual stem of the Corvette was a single piece of steel and not a great flat thick slap as featured in the kit by the fusing to the two sides of the hull.
This is a photo from someone else building a corvette, to give you an idea of the size of the stem and keel...
Image

Now what I did with the Dremel.
Image
Image

Now for the stem itself I cut a piece of styrene (0.020 square strip) to make the actual stem for the Corvette’s most deadly weapon…the ram. Sad as it seems today, despite depth charges, a 4 inch World Ward One deck gun, a 2 Pounder anti-aircraft weapon and a pair of Lewis or 50 Calibre Water-cooled Machine Guns…the most effective way for a Corvette to dispatch a U-Boat was to ram her and cut through the submarine’s pressure hull with the Corevette's bow. Corvette’s were especially adapt at this, as they did not ride so high as Destroyers (because of their low speed) and thus could usually ram a sub several times without doing extensive or critical damage to themselves.
Deadly weapon:
Image

Cheers,

CB


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 05, 2017 3:25 pm 
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Next up: The non-watertight doors.

The non-watertight doors are made from 0.020 thickness Polystyrene with 0.020 square strip polystyrene for the central support and 0.020 by 0.010 strips for the frame and cross-pieces. A little square of 0.020 thickness for the door handle lock and the end of one of the rather useless plastic stanchions makes a nice handle.

So the Chopper II was really useful again and I started by making my doors, after getting the measurements I found the doors to be extremely narrow…so narrow that I cheated and increased the thickness by 1 mm to make them look more realistic at this scale (a little artistic license). Then I sat down and made them in assembly line fashion. After an hour 8 non-watertight doors were sitting complete before me and I was feeling quite proud of myself…I had finished enough for the model and a few extras in case of problems and cleaned up…

Polystyrene frames:
Image

Handle construction:
Image

Finished:
Image

Later when I was looking at the model I noticed there are a few more doors than I thought in the bulkheads under the focsle. I need eight just for that, so it looks like I will have to pull out the Chopper II and make some more.

Cheers,

CB


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