Severn Class – PAGE 3

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Painting

A model of this size requires careful thought on how and what to spray first, also where and with what. My normal method would be to use the Halfords range of acrylic hand sprays. The finish you get from these is superb, which is ideal for the smaller model and they work very well for the Severn fittings and superstructure, but the hull could be just a bit too big. Working on that assumption, I decided to see what alternatives I could use and where better to go than a local car spray paint supplier, Leonard Brooks of Harlow, Tel: 01279 417501. So after some hours of deep discussions on the various types of paint and application methods, the results included either acrylic paint applied with the use of an airbrush or medium sized spray gun, or a two-part paint product where you have to mix the paint and hardener together making sure you get the correct amounts otherwise problems will occur, plus it has to be thinned to get it through the spray gun. Another important issue with this type of paint is that it hardens chemically and will also do so inside your lungs, so it has to be applied outside, wearing the correct mask for the job. For me, the two part paint along with the chemical side put me off big time! All I wanted to do is to thin the paint and spray with the added bonus of quick drying, hopefully as quick as Halfords aerosol paint. Boy, have us modellers been spoilt!?
Further extended discussions came up with the final answer – synthetic enamel paint and surprisingly cellulose thinner applied using either a touch up spray gun – around £30 from Halfords – or a gravity spray gun at the same price. The air supply was from my normal large compressor, making sure that it could supply the amount of air according to the gun specification.

Synthetic paint colours used were Red Oxide for primer all over, British standard Oxford Blue No.105 and below the water line Satin Red No. 59. The usual note always applies. Never mix different paint types and always stick with the same acrylic to acrylic, enamel to enamel, etc. To obtain a good paint finish requires good preparation, all blemishes filed and sanded, and washed all over with mild soapy water and left to dry. Always spray light coats, not heavy ones, and sand lightly between every few coats of paint with a very fine wet and dry paper (1000 grade) and wash. Warm days are best for spraying, but if it’s very hot then pick a shaded area.

I was initially concerned regards using cellulose thinner at the recommended 10% mix, thinking it might react with the paint or GRP, but I realised that the idea of thinned paint allows for faster evaporation and drying time. According to the experts, using White Spirit as the thinner actually slows down the drying time. At the end of the day the finish was super and equal to that of acrylic. Sometime in 2007 there will be new guide lines as to what paint stores can supply, so things could get complicated.

Once sprayed I decided to leave the hull indoors in a warm location for two weeks while I was on holiday. By doing this you are making sure that all will be dried hard enough ready for a fine ‘T-cut’ to remove any blemishes and blend all in if needed. The decks were painted with my version of anti-slip which I detailed earlier and the kicker boards as well. For the superstructure, it being a bit smaller, I decided to revert to my old faithful Halfords aerosols – first coating it with white primer which shows any areas requiring attention, and once sorted the top coat was applied using VW Brilliant Orange, lightly sanding between coats. For this part and other items requiring the same colour a total of 10 aerosol cans was used.

All was then left for one week to dry hard. Other Halfords colours used were Satin Black, Toyota Silver, Appliance White, Red Oxide primer, White and Grey primer and Ford Polar Grey. For all other fittings my usual method of mounting them on some scrap wood and spraying them as a batch worked very well with any added detail picked out using Humbrol paints. See Photos 171 to 179.

Rubber Fendering

This is supplied as one complete length of hollow ‘D’ section rubber which was the nearest Speedline could get to the original profile shape. The main tool required here is a very sharp Stanley knife. The area on the hull where the rubber is to be fixed needs to be roughened up, as does the back of the rubber, with sandpaper to achieve a good keyed surface for gluing. Also make sure that no damage or scratches occur elsewhere on the hull paint work. One continuous length of fender rubber needs to be glued on with the aid of superglue gel, not the liquid version, thus avoiding any runs on the paintwork. This goes all around the top edge, noting that towards the stern where the deck starts to curve upwards, it continues in a straight line or parallel with the deck line. Please note Speedline supply just enough rubber fender for the job, so be careful as one cut in the wrong place and it could mean a phone call! The transom rubber and side areas need to be cut or trimmed at various angles to obtain a good joint, and it really is a trial, trim and fit affair. On the underside of one piece I cut it slightly too short, so with a little thought on how I could hide it, a trip to B&Q found the answer in the form of black silicone worktop sealant. Apply to the gap, let it dry and you would be hard pushed to find the mishap. The whole process is easy but time consuming and very visible. The red and yellow Jubilee lines are applied with the use of Model Technics Trimline tape available from good model shops. See Photos 180 to 186.





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Hex Nuts Heads

On the full size boat there are over 1,700 stainless steel bolt heads left unpainted and in full view. Mostly they secure panels bolted to the outside of the wheelhouse and deck area. These are an important feature of the model which Speedline have gone to great lengths to reproduce, specially made from brass and plated with nickel silver which are stunningly effective on the model. Wherever one is located there is a pre-drilled 1.2mm hole to be found. Now fixing each hex head in position has been achieved by using a good quality make of superglue gel. My choice is Loctite and just a small dab is enough on the back of the hex head stalk to glue home, and with the aid of pair of small fine tweezers I could hold the nut tight across the flats, offer into position and job done. Only 1,699 to go!

A sure sign of old age is when you have to wear magnifying glasses. Anyway, after some six evenings of gluing, dropping, finding and the occasional bad word, all was nearly complete. Note this part can only be done after the orange spraying has been completed, since the hex heads need to stay in stainless steel finish and are a very important detail of the model. I have seen one model with them all sprayed orange. See Photos 187 to 190.

Mob Crane and Brackets

The ‘A’ frame part is made up from brass tube cut and filed to the correct required angles so that it meets at the top etched brass plate. On looking at the photos during the construction, other detail information can be obtained – like how it is retained and where the pulleys go, the rope route, etc. Pulleys are not supplied and have to be made or purchased. Luckily I had four spare in my unused fittings box from a previous build. The links have been made up from 1.5mm diameter brass wire bent around a pair of round nose pliers. The lower pivot point bracket and spacer is all part of the etched brass and Perspex set. Careful soldering is required with very little heat as the brass is very small and thin; too much heat would distort the brass. The spotlights supplied are castings, so if working ones are required then Bow Wave or Reade Plastics have a very good range to choose from. The cleats at the side have been made by bending two 15mm lengths of 1.5mm brass rod at 90 degrees and then mounting them through a rectangular piece of styrene and gluing them to the side of the wheelhouse. I believe resin cast ones are now supplied. I have used Robbe 1mm diameter white polyester model sail rigging cord, Part No.1319 for the pulley ropes and retaining top rope. See Photos 191 to 196.

Steps

Both sets of steps are very simple to fold and bend into shape. Once again Speedline have indicated all the required marks already etched, so you cannot go wrong, even knowing where to solder. The secret is getting every step to be perfectly square and by using square blocks and a flat surface it can be achieved. Once built, although simple they do look very good. These are then sprayed off the model and the stepping area masked off and painted anti-slip using the same mix and paint colour as the deck. There is also an area on the top of the side box as a tread plate where the steps end that requires the same anti-slip finish. When fitting the steps to their final location I have used small pieces of styrene as a spacer, glued and pinned. See Photos 197 to 201.

Life Raft Canisters and Four Fenders

All are supplied as a very accurate set of half vac-formings. These required cutting and trimming to shape, then the whole edge sanding down on a flat surface of fine sandpaper to achieve an all round even edge. A length of strip styrene 0.75mm thick by 3mm wide is used as a half a lip or fence. This needs to be glued all around on the inside of one half vac-forming, with approximately 1.5mm left showing for the top mating half inside to glue to. Once completely dry, both halves are fitted together, held in position with tape and then after checking that all looks in proportion with no twisting, liquid glue is applied with the aid of a brush all the way round – not too much glue, otherwise it will deform the vac-forming. Once all is set, the tape can be removed and any filling done with Humbrol model filler and lightly sanded down until the join line disappears – very simple and effective. The liferaft canisters on the real Severn, slot into a tray which I have used modeller’s licence to achieve. I made up each canister from flat brass into two ‘U’ shaped holders, painted white, drilled and pinned down in position on the top of each stern box. The blue straps are simulated by the use of car lining tape and the eye bolts and cleats are all bent to shape from 1mm brass rod using a pair of round nose pliers.

The four vac-formed fenders require the same treatment as the liferaft canisters, plus there are two resin cast rope eyes on each to be glued in position using superglue. A tip here is to file a flat on each end of the assembled vac-forming fender where each eye is to be glued on, thus making for a much closer and neater fit. See Photos 202 to 205.

Decals

Decals or stickers are not supplied as standard due to the many different names in the class, so one has to decide on which one of the stationed lifeboats your model is to be based upon. Once decided, Speedline can supply a full set of decals, numbers, name plates, water markings, warning signs, manufacturers’ logos and flags. The numbers and letters have all been pre-spaced and ready to fit. Just work out from the plan and photos the required position of each decal and apply. The large numbers are applied by gently peeling off the backing paper, leaving the decal face held on to the front semi-clear sheet, then gently placed on the model in such a way that the air can escape. Start one end and press out to the other end, then rub the outside film with the face of the thumbnail only over the decal area and then gently peel back the semi clear-holding film to leave the decal on the model. The others are normal peel off backing and stick type. The only ones Speedline could not supply are for the various instrument dials. To compliment all the excellent etched and Perspex control panels I have drawn some myself. Others I have purchased from www.modelflags.com, Tel: 0208 1230510 as a one sheet instrument decal set. See Photos 206 to 209.

Radio

The good thing about big models when it comes to radio equipment is that you have plenty of room to install it; a football pitch is the order of the day here! The main ballast in this model are the two 12 Volt 7.5 Ahr drive batteries and four motor assemblies. Between the motors and shafts, allowing for the oil tube positions, I have made and fixed in position with screws for easy maintenance an MDF radio tray, and with the aid of Velcro I have laid out and fixed all the radio equipment that I have chosen to use. This being a spare Futaba 8 channel receiver being available at the time. If you only require the basic controls then a 4 channel would suffice.





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My configuration is as follows:

Channel 1 = Rudder.

Channel 2 = Starboard Motor also ‘Y’ cable linked to sound.

Channel 3 = Port Motor also ‘Y’ cable linked to sound.

Channel 4 = Bow Thruster.

Channel 5 = Eventually lights on and off via switcher.

Channel 6 = Eventually radar on and off via switcher.

Early on in the build I tested the current drawn using one motor connected to a 12 Volt battery off load at full speed. It pulled around seven amps so as the configuration will be two motors wired in parallel and mounted as a pair I could then do the same test, resulting in an off load current drawn of approx 9.2 Amps. Obviously this will rise once in the model is on the water, so armed with this information it was a safe bet to look for two heavy duty fully proportional electronic speed controllers, ideally one for each pair of motors. Electronize Design, who I have used many times, advised the use of their 30 Amp rated version model type FR30HX. This and other controllers in their range are based on micro-controller design making them very efficient and power mosfet technology is used to give the modeller perfect smooth control from low to full power. The setup and installation is very simple and well documented. The neutral position is pre-set with a precision within 0.5% and a simple screwdriver adjustment sets the speed range from 25% to 125% in either direction. In fact you can use this controller on small or large motors. On delivery you just need to plug the pre-crimped connector servo wires into the plug housing depending on the manufacturer’s wiring details (JR, Futaba or Hitec etc.,) connect up, test and go. They do work exceptionally well.

For power and motor connections I use Tamiya style connectors, push on terminal type and temporary screw terminal block connectors until I am happy that all works well. I have used high current rated well insulated wire. In line 30 Amp blade type car fuses from the battery to the controllers have also been fitted for safety reasons. As the bow thruster uses a lower current 540 type motor, I have used an Electronize Type 43HX controller rated at 15 Amps. For the rudder movement I have fitted a Hitec Quarter Scale size servo HS-700 as it’s a large model with two very large area rudder blades. The receiver power comes from a separate 6 Volt 700 mAh rechargeable Nicad pack. See Photo 210.

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Sound

The real Severn lifeboat is fitted with powerful twin Caterpillar 3412T engines and when underway they sound wonderful, a noise I wanted to recreate. Luckily the man behind JJC Electronics is Jim Casey, who with his electronic wizardry has managed to captured this sound perfectly by recording it, then digitalising it on a microchip, and with a few more bits of electronics around it you can now put a small matchbox size module inside your boat, close your eyes and it sounds just like the real Severn underway. It’s very reasonably priced as well. So from that I have now installed the following modules, PE310 master, PE310 slave, connecting cables and two speakers for more all round sound – although just one would do. Wiring and setting up is again very simple. Just follow the instructions and they do give out lots of sound power which can be adjusted if so wished.

At a later stage I will be connecting up their new Smoke Generator unit called ‘Old Smokey II’ so that I can simulate a little diesel smoke coming from the exhaust ports on the transom. I wonder what super products JJC will have for us all in the future to plug in and enjoy. Email address is [email protected] or tel: 01789 471129. They do have website well worth a visit – www.jjc-electronics.com. In case of difficulty contact Westbourne Models who advertise within this very magazine and who stock the full range. See Photo 210 again.

‘Y’ Boat

A major part of the Severn’s equipment is the ‘Y’ class inflatable boat which is stored on the bridge deck until required. This was originally launched and recovered using a lightweight framework and winch. In 2004 this was replaced by a small Hiab crane. The addition of the ‘Y’ boat is for the rescue or the transfer of equipment in shallow water and close to the shore. The parts supplied are a series of vac-formings which all need to be cut and trimmed to shape. Other small items are of Perspex, resin, cord and included is a full set of peel and stick decals and a very comprehensive set of instructions. The first job is to mark out the hull tubes as indicated, using a scribing gauge or tool – a simple idea which enables a line to be marked at the required depth in conjunction with the base of the tubes. This way a parallel line can be drawn all around not just the outside, but the inside as well. Next was to score on the pencil line slowly with a sharp knife. It helps to use tape all around on the line to form a guide if one has not got a steady hand. Once cut out the edge or joining face on both hull vac-forming halves needed to be sanded flat with the use of a sanding board, the latter consisting of a sheet of fine sandpaper stuck down with contact adhesive on a flat surface, i.e. a piece of plywood.

Once happy, the two vac-formed halves were put together to confirm they fitted, which as the instructions state they probably initially won’t, but with more careful sanding they come together, keeping in mind that a snug fit is required. Do not overdo the sanding as it is only thin plastic. To achieve a gluing edge, on one half of the hull vac-forming – preferably the lower half – a lip or fence from 3mm wide scrap plastic needs to be glued all around on the inside, leaving 1.5mm wide showing for the top half to glue on to. Once completely dry fit both halves together, hold in position with tape, check that all looks correct and in proportion with no twisting, and then apply liquid glue with the aid of a small brush all the way around, a section at a time. Not too much glue otherwise it will start to deform the vac-forming, if not melt through it. Once all was dry I then removed the tape and filled any problem areas with model filler such as Humbrol, and gently sanded until the join line disappeared.

The underside of the hull is in two parts. The flat inner floor is cut from 1mm sheet styrene using the paper template and trimmed to fit and glued inside the hull recess. The vac-formed rigid hull section has to be glued over the top of the inner floor. Note the width or distance towards the transom is controlled by the Perspex transom piece and should be offered up and checked first before gluing. All was then filled to tidy any join lines and sanded smooth. The next stage is the cutting and trimming of all the additional vac-formed items such as storage bags, rope patches, oar holders, etc. Now to trim these, or should I say sand these all to the required same curve ready for gluing on to the hull tubes, Speedline has passed on a tip in the form of the Speedline Wonder Sander, patent pending of course! This consists of a piece of 400 grade wet and dry abrasive paper taped to the outside of one of the hull tube halves, and by placing the required part on to it with a light back and forward motion you will achieve the corrected profile ready for gluing in position. Simple ideas create great things! I decided to move it one step further and found some plastic tube of the same diameter, thus not requiring the use of the hull, and effectively creating another sanding tool for the workshop.
Once all parts have been sanded the hull joint strips in the form of white vinyl tape were cut to size and applied. The wider one is for the bow only – just follow the drawing and you can’t go wrong.

The transom is made up from six pieces of Laser-Cut-Perspex (LCP) and two resin castings. On the largest of the LCP sheets are the two halves of the transom. These need to be removed carefully from the backing sheet so as not to break the pointed edges and then glued together with the engraved detail markings facing outwards . The correct way round is with the markings on the rear face of the transom with the large motor plate on it and the inner face has the small strip like spacer near the top edge. The outboard motor is made up from Perspex parts and vac-formings – once again following the same sanding and gluing lip/fence principle as in the hull. Once cut out to the half moulding marks, care needs to be taken, since the styrene is very thin, so you must not overdo the gluing. After both halves have been joined together the usual process of filling and sanding is carried out.

The engine cover vac-forming actually fits inside the base. It should be noted that the base has a slight curve in it. The instructions along with the very clear diagrams are straightforward enough. At this stage I still had the urge to fully radio and motorise the ‘Y’ craft, although not an easy task due to it being all open inside. A propeller and shaft could be fitted along with an external rudder, or better still a working outboard. Anything else just would not look right on the model and it had to be right on the Severn. So for now I have opted not to make it a working model, but given the time my idea is to have a working outboard, if possible a commercial one or my own design, and built at the same scale of course. A mini servo within the centre box could be used to steer it and a small mobile phone battery pack as power source. All should work just fine, but theory at present. I will have to purchase another Speedline ‘Y’ boat and have a go. Painting the ‘Y’ boat left me with two choices. Although the majority of these are orange in colour there are a few grey ones, and they do show up better, especially as the Severn is all orange. The end result though was good old orange once again from the trusted superb Halfords’ range – VW Brilliant Orange. First everything was sprayed with white primer and left to dry for one day and then given a light sand down and any problem areas corrected. For the top colour apply at least three coats. Inner Perspex floor plates have been sprayed satin black, and transom hand painted using matt brown including the oars, etc.

The ‘Y’ boat sits on four vac-formed chocks requiring loops to be fitted. Spacing and location of each chock is easily worked out by placing the ‘Y’ boat and chocks loosely on the model until it sits firmly (no wobble). Note, always wash down any items before spraying with lukewarm mild soapy water to remove any grease as well as any static charge. Ideally let it dry naturally or gently dab with a dust free cloth or kitchen towel. See Photos 211 to 221.





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Figures

For a model to look right on the water it needs to have some life on it, and the bigger the model the more realistic it looks with a crew on board. I am glad to say Adrian at Speedline thought the same and got together with a very talented professional model and figure maker by the name of Rob Skinner to create what must be the best 1:12 lifeboat crew figures around. Currently there are five main poses, four standing and one sitting. These are all cast in light weight resin which can be easily cut, filed and sanded. The arms and head need to be glued in position with superglue; the head should be the last thing attached making it easier to complete off the body.

The first job is to check and remove any excess casting flash left over during the production process. Choose the arm position, which can be limiting depending on the one chosen, unless you carry out some extensive re-sculpturing. Casting resin fittings or figures will almost always have some small air bubble holes present, and if visible will need some filling. A good primer coat using Halfords White primer showed up very tiny imperfections which have been resolved using Humbrol filler. A second coat of primer was applied to check once more that all was ok, then it was left to harden for a day or two.

For the main waterproofs’ colour I have used Halfords Signal Yellow sprayed all over. Once dry I picked out the detail colours with a fine sable brush using the following Humbrol colours: Satin Grey No.196, Coal Black No.85, Matt White No.34, Matt Flesh No.61, Matt Silver No.11 and Matt Black No.33. Painting the face is never an easy task. I want it to look realistic, but I’m never quite sure that it does, and the bigger the figure the harder it is. To achieve the flesh colour I mix Humbrol Matt Flesh with a little white and a touch of grey, giving it a first all over coat, then a thinned out coat here and there to try and give it a little shading. I have used black and grey to highlight hair, stubble, etc., using the dry brush method, eyes a semi-white colour, then the eye balls – believe it or not pencilled in. The waterproofs in some photos show up to be lightly dirty and stained in places, so I have done the same using black and dark grey, not too heavy, but just enough.
Decals and helmet visor are supplied and these need to be applied carefully, as the Perspex visor if over bent, will break. On one figure I have re-cut and replaced it using clear styrene.

It certainly helps using photos of an actual crew member. Well that’s my way of doing it, basic as it is and if you want to follow an expert’s way then I can highly recommend looking up www.philsrcmodels.co.uk website, and view how his figure painter went to town – a true work of art. One can also pick up some great ideas in Military Modelling magazine as they normally have some very good figure painters. Most use artist acrylic paint which I must try one day. See Photos 222 to 227.

Severn Storage

A model of this size can create transportation and storage problems. My usual method would be to build a storage box with a handle on the top for carrying, so why not? Well, allowing for length, beam and height, plus a little extra space within the box for easy handling, the internal dimensions came out at 20ins wide, 62ins long and 38ins high – not a box one can move around with ease! So Plan B was hatched. This is a static storage box built from 24ins x 72ins x 1/4ins (6mm) thick readily available plywood sheets built around a 30mm square wooden framework. Now those of you reading this should start to visualise this big box as an actual wardrobe, because that’s just what it turned out to be! I decided not to cut any of the plywood – just make use of the standard off the shelf sizes in full. Once complete it was then given a good coat of paint to seal up the grain and moved into position within my storage area, or more to the point – my now almost full storage area! However with a shelf part of the way inside the box I do have room for another model, but that’s another story. See Photo 228.

Running the Severn

Before running the model for the first time a ballasting session is required. Normally this can be within the confines of the domestic bath which is fine for the average size model, but we are talking big here and I mean big, so the choice of the local boat club pond is the order of the day for most. For me it’s a 100ft walk down to the bottom of my garden to the river, so transport poses no problem. I was concerned that it might need extra weight, apart from the two lead acid batteries, to bring it down to the water line. How wrong I was and so pleased as well, as once in the water (it took two of us to put it in there) it sat almost perfectly – just a little low at the bow which I felt that once under power would be immaterial.

During the build I always try to place any internal items of weight symmetrically either side of the centre of the hull, thus keeping it balanced, and it seems to work. Of course extra ballast is sometimes required, but not on this occasion which was great news – in fact amazing! After a full radio range and functionality check, all was ready. A little power was applied and that’s when the starting sound of the engines kicked in. What music to the ears! A little right hand down a bit and she moved easily away; a very positive response from the Electronize speed controllers as always and steering was very positive.

Once away from the bank I introduced full power and what a noticeable wash and wake from the stern. I even got my feet wet which was not part of the test! Anyway with the bow up, it was off, water coming off the spray rails just like the real Severn. A gentle slow down to a stop and a little reverse and the turn was just brilliant. Once the water had calmed down I decided to try out the bow thruster which worked to a degree, but not as positively as I would have liked, so a little tweaking of the props is required. However the model will actually turn in its own length just by using the rudders and forward and reverse motor direction, so no big problem really.

Overall a very pleasing run and there is no doubt that large models do look very realistic and now can even sound the part using the JJC engine sound modules. What more could you want. Running time from the two main batteries was around 40 minutes during which I applied full power more than dozen times at short intervals, so very acceptable. Next session on the water I do need to raise the bow slightly with a little extra weight in the stern, even possibly reducing the trim tab angle to allow the bow to rise higher under power. A relaxing, enjoyable sail especially after many hours of enjoyable hard work. See Photos 229 and 230.





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Conclusion

The build of this model has taken much longer than I first thought, mainly due to its scale and physical size. The larger the scale the more careful you have to be not to mess things up, otherwise the errors will stand out like a sore thumbs. The quality of all the materials, etched brass parts and especially the Perspex parts supplied is of the highest – as is the accuracy. A few extra items and fittings that require sourcing or making up separately is all part of the enjoyment. With a kit of this magnitude there is always plenty to do I can assure you. The photo CD supplied is of immense use along with the set of RNLI plans. There are no blow by blow instructions or a definitive parts list to work from, but this did not cause any problems. The ‘Y’ boat makes up into yet another superb model on its own and does come with instructions. All the component parts of the Severn are labelled and the hull and superstructure moulded to shape ready for action. The real hard work has been done for you and Speedline (Adrian Gosling) has gone to great lengths to make what was a very ambitious project from the outset an extremely accurate reality. It is most definitely not a kit for the beginner or modeller with a small workshop. You do need to know how to manipulate materials, glue, solder, measure and read from a plan. On any problem or part of the build Adrian of Speedline has been very supportive, not just to me, but also to many other very happy customers. It was a sheer delight from start to finish. If there was a Rolls Royce of model lifeboat kits this surely fits the bill.

The only part of the kit I would like to see additionally included would be the stern rail base plate and to be fair he is constantly updating things, so it could happen yet. The total package just for the kit is not cheap, yet ‘Rolls Royce’ quality products never are. Once built and fully working you could be looking to at least £1,400 and in my opinion you would not be disappointed. I am sure for the average modeller at a smaller scale it would be a big hit and Adrian being a very dedicated man to his art of perfection is making this his next project.

Prices and Manufacturer

Hull and Wheelhouse Moulding set: £260.
Running set: £60.
Detail set: £300.
Casting set: £50.
Handrail, Stanchions and Kickboard set: £75.
Window set: £65.
Y boat: £45.
Vacuum formings set: £10.
Fendering: £45.
Screw set: £35.
Miscellaneous set: £20.
Speedline also produce a kit version of the Trent class lifeboat, at 1:12 scale, and the quality and detail is the same. Other lifeboat classes will be added in due course.

Speedline Models, Windsor End Cottage, Windsor Street, Burbage, Leicestershire LE10 2EE. Email: [email protected]. Tel: 01455 637658 or 07787 112136.


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