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1/72 RCN British Power Boat Co. Motor Torpedo Boat


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I’m beginning a new scratch building project of a 1/72 scale WWII Royal Canadian Navy 71’-6” Motor Torpedo Boat, from the 29th MTB Flotilla, similar to RCN MTB 485 shown below.  These boats were built by the British Power Boat (BPB) Company.

 

5958008c35e12_mtb485-3.jpg.630a3f1d43bc7274c36ac09d10706fa0.jpg

 

To prepare for the build I made 1/72 scale plans from line drawings and photos found on the Internet.  I’m using the plans to make templates for the various scratch built parts.   I’ll be using Coastal Craft weapon sets, as well as odds & ends from around the house & the parts bin.

 

In 2008 I completed a scratch built  Fairmile ‘D’ Motor Gun Boat.  I carved the hull of the Fairmile from a 4”x4” cedar fence post.   I’m using a remnant piece of that same fence post for this MTB build.

 

Next up, I’ll be cutting, filing, & sanding the hull & deck to the final shape.

 

Thanks for looking.

Edited by JohnS
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After tracing the shape of the hull on the 4x4, a rough shape was cut out.

002 Rough Cut Hull.JPG

Then lots of cutting, filing and sanding to make the hull shape.

 003 Hull In progress.jpg

004 Hull In progress.jpg

Next up, I’ll be finish sanding the hull & deck shape & start adding hull details.

Thanks for looking.

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Welcome aboard HAJO & Silenoz.

 

I've finished most of the hull sanding & filled all the remaining deep gouges, holes, etc. with putty.  The putty was sanded to a smooth finish.

005 IMG_8727.jpg

 

006 IMG_8730.jpg

 

007 IMG_8733.jpg

 

Next up, priming and sealing the hull.

Edited by JohnS
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Once I was happy with the hull surfaces, I applied a thick coat of white primer/sealer paint.

 

008 IMG_8736.jpg

 

009 IMG_8738.jpg

 

The sealer/primer will provide a hard smooth finish (once sanded) & good base for the finish paint.

 

Next up, finish sanding the primer/sealer.

 

Thanks again for looking.

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I've started to add some details to the hull.

 

There are three rails that run the length of the hull.

 

MTB Spray Rails.jpg

 

I've made the rails from strips of balsa wood.  So far, I've glued on the gunwale rail (held in position with tape) & am currently waiting the glue to dry before sanding the rail to the proper shape.  I'll locate the other two sets of rails once the gunwale rail is complete.

 

I've also made towing reinforcement plates from paper card stock & added bolt heads using drops of white glue.  I'm not worried about detailing the small hardware, other than showing the they're there, since the details aren't really visible at this scale.

 

Six exhaust outlets were added to the transom similar to those shown in the photo below.

 

MTB exhaust.jpg

 

I made these from plastic tube and discs hole-punched from a paper sheet.  Again, I'm not too worried about detail at this stage, since each exhaust will be covered by a muffler/vent flap.

 

Here are a couple of photos showing the progress, to date.

 

010 MTB Hull In Progress.jpg

 

011 MTB Hull In Progress.jpg

 

Thanks again for looking.

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  • 3 weeks later...

The hull is complete & ready for paint.

 Here are a few photos showing the progress to date.  The hull looks pretty bad at this stage after filling all the defects with putty, and sanding everything smooth in preparation for paint.

First, photos of the port & starboard sides showing the addition of scratch build splash rails, bow reinforcement, vents & ports, front & rear towing eyes, propellers, rudders, & underwater exhausts.

 I’ve also added a scale figure to give you an idea of the boat’s size.

012 Stbd Hull pre paint.jpg 

 013 Port Hull pre paint.jpg

 

A close-up of port bow, including scratch built;

-       - Plastic sprue vents.

-      -  Masking tape bow reinforcement.

-       - Balsa wood splash rails.

-       - Evergreen plastic sheet towing eye.

014 Port Bow pre paint.jpg

 

A close-up of the starboard quarter, including scratch built;

-      -  Evergreen plastic tubing outlets,

-       - Evergreen plastic sheet towing eye.

-       - Rudder & propeller assemblies.

 015 Port Qtr pre paint.jpg

 

A close-up of the stern, including scratch built;

-       -  Evergreen plastic sheet & tubing rudders.

-       -  Finish nail propeller shafts.

-       -  Propellers made from Evergreen plastic tubing hubs & paper card blades.

-      -  Underwater exhausts (between propellers & rudders) & propeller shaft fittings made from Evergreen plastic tubing.

-     016 Stern pre paint.jpg 

 

Next up, finish painting the hull bottom & sides and starting to build the bridge & deckhouse and upper deck bits & pieces.

Thanks again for looking.

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Thanks Silenoz & Hajo L..  Let's hope this diamond will shine. :coolio:

 

3 hours ago, Hajo L. said:

... I hope you will add some crew to the boat! ...

Me too!  I like adding crew figures to my builds to give each model a sense of scale.  However, one of the downsides of scratch building British & Canadian naval vessels is that there are not a lot of 1/72 British/Canadian Navy crew figures available.

 

As a result, I've been pirating figures off some of my plastic model kits. e.g. I used figures included in Tamiya's 1/72 Perkasa Patrol Boat kit for my Fairmile build. 

 

This time, I've conscripted five sailors from the Matchbox Flower Class Corvette model kit.

 

Here's a couple of quick pic's showing my motley MTB crew.  I might modify the figures a little, depending on where they will be stationed on the boat.

 

017 Crew.jpg

 

018 Crew.jpg

 

John

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Hello again!

 

The hull sides, bottom & stern has received its final coat of paint.  The paint colour is the grey and white British Coastal Forces camo scheme.  White is used the minimize the visibility of shadows when the boat is illuminated from above.

 

Here's a few pic's.

 

019 Painted Hull.jpg020 Painted Hull.jpg021 Painted Hull.jpg022 Painted Hull.jpg023 Painted Hull.jpg024 Painted Hull.jpg

 

And a comparison pic showing the actual boat paint scheme.

 

025 Painted Hull Comparison.jpg

 

Next up I'll start building the deck detail.

 

Thanks again for looking.

 

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1 hour ago, Hajo L. said:

LOL, and even decades later modellers like me avoid any white painted models because the color is so hard to paint!

 

 

HAJO

I hear you.  I ended up applying 3 coats of flat white, on top of the white sealer primer, on this model.

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For me, one the fun things when scratch building is taking 2-dimensional drawings and plans, and converting them to 3-dimensional objects.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, there’s not a lot of information available for this boat design.  This is adding a degree of difficulty to the build.  Another major challenge is that there are a number of complex shapes – angles, curves, etc. in the boat design.

 

For example, one of the unique features of this boat design is the breakwater on the forward deck.   As you can see below, it has a number of complex curves.

026 Breakwater.jpg 

 

To make the breakwater, I made a balsa wood form using the shape and scaled dimensions taken from drawings and photos.   I made the breakwater from pieces of Evergreen plastic, and carefully bent it around the balsa wood form using a heat gun to make the plastic pliable and to hold its formed shape when cooled.

027 Breakwater Form.jpg

028 Breakwater.jpg 

 

It turned out not too bad, and sits nicely on the boat’s curved deck.

029 Breakwater.jpg 

 

Also, I’m currently drawing the shapes for the bridge and wheelhouse.

030 Bridge & Wheelhouse.jpg

 

As with most of the prep work for the build, I trying to keep the drawings simple using Photoshop Elements, and will add the detail to the model itself.

031 Bridge & Wheelhouse Patterns.jpg

 

To verify I have the correct size, shape, & fit, I’ve been printing the simple drawings on paper, then cutting out the shape, and folding it to the required dimensions.  This usually means a little trial & error and a few tries before the correct shape is achieved. :bandhead2:   I’ll use the final drawings to make the final parts.

032 Bridge & Wheelhouse cutout.jpg

 

You can see in this next photo how small the bridge & wheelhouse are relative to the size of the hull.  Also, you can see how the boat design was based on the designer’s boat racing experience.   These boats were definitely built for speed, and not for the comfort of the crew.

033 Speed.jpg

 

Here’s one more photo comparing the 71-6"’ MTB to my 115’ Fairmile D MGB.   Although these two boats served in Coastal Forces at the same time, note the differences in the camo paint design and colour.

 

034 Comparison.jpg

 

Well, that's it for now.  The build will be slowing down over Christmas, but I should have time to detail the breakwater, & start building the bridge & wheelhouse.

Until next time ... :cheers:

Edited by JohnS
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  • 2 weeks later...

I've had a little time over the past couple of weeks to build a few deck structures using plastic card, including the bridge, wheelhouse, torpedo tube bed rails, as well as adding the supports to the breakwater.  It's been finicky work getting the proper angles and matching the contour & curvature of the deck.

 

Here are the results, so far;

035 Deck Structures.jpg

 

I've placed the structure on the deck, to help visualize the overall layout, and to make sure that everything fits properly.  So far, so good!

 

036 Stbd Qtr.jpg

 

037 Stbd Bow.jpg

 

038 Stbd.jpg

 

Thanks for looking.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi again!

 

I just finished adding ribs (I think that's what they're called :rolleyes:) to the deck surface, using plastic strips.  It seemed like a simple task at first, but I found it took some time to ensure the strips were located correctly, & straight, plus ensuring the parts I already finished fit properly.

 

Here's  couple of photos of the 'ribs' glued to the deck.

 

039 Deck.jpg

 

040 Deck.jpg

 

And, a few photos showing the finished parts test fitted on the deck.  I've placed the Coastal Craft resin Oerlikon 20mm cannon ‘bandstand’ to check it's fit & location, as well.

 

042 Deck.jpg

 

041 Deck.jpg

 

043 Deck.jpg

 

Thanks again for looking.

 

:cheers:

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