This is my first large-scale ship model (really a boat!) and it has definitely made me a convert to this area of modelling! I’ve built a few naval models in the past (Airfix HMS Fearless, Heller Potemkin, Revell Miniships King George V) but was never really enthusiastic about the subject compared to aircraft and military vehicles, simply because of the relative lack of detail inevitable in small scales.
1/72 naval models, however, as they have the same sort of detail and intricacy as you get on a 1/35 tank or a 1/48 aircraft, although the range available is much more limited.
It’s one of the series of Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) produced by Vosper. The box and instructions (typical minimalist Revell style unfortunately, though the box art and colour photos of the model are nice) don’t tell you which version it is, unfortunately . (The Airfix Vosper, which I’ll definitely be looking out for in future, is a totally different version, with a larger bridge, 4 torpedo tubes, and the AA gun mounted on the front of the deck)
The model is painted with Tamiya and Games Workshop acrylics, and lightly weathered (rusting is restricted to around the metal fittings, as Vosper boats were almost entirely constructed from wood).
I made a few minor modifications and improvements to the model - the torpedo tube ends are sawn off at the correct angle (as supplied, they just have a vertical end with a cap on, and this inaccuracy is repeated on the box art!), and I also drilled out the holes in the torpedo tube mounts and replaced the end of the 20mm cannon (which was badly aligned and almost oval in cross-section) with a small section of styrene tube. I also added rigging, made from fishing line (this was something of a pain to do, as the lines just wouldn’t stay straight unless clamped, but worth it, I think). Other than that, the kit is built “out of the box”. I really ought to have superdetailed the bridge area (which is very sparse, and also highly visible as it’s open-topped) but decided to leave it as it is, I didn’t want my first 1/72 naval modelling project to be -too- complicated.
I also have Revell’s US PT boat and German S-boat, acquired a while ago (along with the Vosper) and will certainly be building these in the fairly near future. Last week I also picked up Tamiya’s Vosper “Perkasa” patrol boat at a collector’s fair (a bargain at £6), this is a post-war type but looks like a very detailed and impressive model.
I’ll also definitely be looking out for more 1/72 naval models, such as the Airfix range (Vosper MTB, RAF rescue launch, LCVP, LCM and German S-boat). Their Vosper and S-boat are completely different versions to the Revell ones.
Ideally I’d also really like to build the Revell (ex-Matchbox) Flower-class corvette, but realistically I don’t have either the budget or, especially, the display space for it!
Anyway - here are the photos!
