Calling all Royal Navy River-class frigate fans

[jclimie]

Anyone have a source for the Seal Models River class kit? I had a look at the Japanese hobby shop links above but couldn't find one.

Jason

[D-Boy]

Anyone have a source for the Seal Models River class kit? I had a look at the Japanese hobby shop links above but couldn't find one.

Jason

Foresight might be coming out with a new release, as their three previous versions of this kit are long sold out and very difficult to find - you'd have to look on the second-hand market, for sure. Have only seen one kit on US Ebay in the last few years.

See this link as to why I am speculating there's a re-release on the way.

http://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10090054

[George Hargreaves]

Here is a colour shot of HMCS Waskesiu K-330 the first Canadian River Class built.

My guess on the colours are MS2 and MS4a of an Admiralty Intermediate Disruptive Scheme but G45 and G55 are close and were used in 1943 when the ship commissioned. So no definite answer.

Cheers,
George

[Haijun watcher]

Here is a colour shot of HMCS Waskesiu K-330 the first Canadian River Class built.

George,

Perhaps someone should re-title this thread to include the word "frigates", lest someone mistake this Canadian River class for another Canadian River class that refers to a particular class of destroyers (click here) such as HMCS Skeena.

[George Hargreaves]

HMAS Diamantina

An active link to photos of HMAS Diamantina by Craig Walker at Finewaterline:
http://www.finewaterline.com/pages/albu ... ntina.html

Cheers,
Geroge

[npb748r]

quick call out for HMS Mourne - sunk 70 years ago today. Unfortunately my uncle was onboard and lost his life - signed up at 16, he was just 18 when he died. I have some fantastic documents that my nan left me include his war record, the telegram from the king informing her of his death, a clipping form the local paper and his last letter home, sent 2 days before he died. Really sad and makes it personal. A month after he died my nan's house (in Queens Park, London) was destroyed in a V1 attack so a crap year for her ! Fortunately for me, my dad survived (rear gunner on halifax in 298 squadron). Anyway, thoughts to all family members of the crew of HMS Mourne.

[George Hargreaves]

On the Donald R. Koehler drawing of HMCS New Glasgow drawn in 1987 he represents HMCS New Glasgow circa January 1944 as commissioned. He has called out on the drawing 'when commissioned carried Admiralty Camouflage Scheme L-22 modified for RCN practice.' This camouflage pattern looks the same as for HMCS Waskesiu. He goes further and states that the Vertical Surfaces are Light Grey Overall and the dark areas are a shade of Gray-Green.

Can anyone shed light on what 'Admiralty Camouflage Scheme L-22' may be?

Cheers,
George

[aptivaboy]

Hi all,

Are there any quality plans of the Rivers? I know the Floating Drydock has plans of the Tacoma-class, the Americanized River, but I'm interested in the British version for a potential HMS Tay build.

Thank you!

Bob

[George Hargreaves]

Hi Bob,

You may try here: CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=158736
from the drawing collection, HMS Spey:
http://www.navalandmilitarymuseum.org/a ... e-hms-spey

Cheers,
George

[K494]

Here is a colour shot of HMCS Waskesiu K-330 the first Canadian River Class built.



My guess on the colours are MS2 and MS4a of an Admiralty Intermediate Disruptive Scheme but G45 and G55 are close and were used in 1943 when the ship commissioned. So no definite answer.

Cheers,
George

That's a great colour photo,thanks for posting it George.

Scott

[aptivaboy]

Thank you, George, much appreciated.

Bob

[Maarten Sch�nfeld]

Hi all,

Are there any quality plans of the Rivers? I know the Floating Drydock has plans of the Tacoma-class, the Americanized River, but I'm interested in the British version for a potential HMS Tay build.

Thank you!

Bob

HNSA had a general booklet of plans on the River on their documents section. It is not a Tacoma! I'm now looking at converting the ISW Burlington kit into a decent RN River ship. Looks quite doable.

[Guest]

Morning all,

I'm new to the forum after finding it on google.

I'm looking to build a dissection/take apart model of a Royal Navy River Class Frigate (circa 1942) in particular i wish to detail the bridge deck, Signal Deck, Wheel House, CO's Sea Cabin and Chart House.

I've searched everywhere and all i can find a plans which a side view/top view only.

By any chance can anyone kindly supply these images or drawings of these that i can take a look at or point me in the right direction?

Thank you for reading.

Kind regards,

Stuart.

[dick]

If you have deep pockets you could try purchasing a copy of a set of the original plans of one of the class from the National Maritime Museum collection: http://www.rmg.co.uk/shop/ship-plan-prints-scanning

A cheaper option might be to purchase a copy of Brian Lavery's book 'River-class Frigates and the Battle of the Atlantic'. On pages 216 and 217 a set of those plans, of HMS Nadder, is reproduced. With a magnifying glass you may be able to make out enough to satisfy your needs.

(I should add that these NMM plans are considerably more detailed than the HNSA set linked-to above. They show internal fittings, furnishings etc.)

Best wishes.

[A.Graham Boak]

The first Rivers were fitted for minesweeping, but only once were they called upon to do any, when seven were collected in support of Operation Torch. Does anyone know which ships these were? Also, what was the gun fit? Supposedly the requirement called for only the forward 4" and three multiple light AA, presumably twin Oerlikons, but what was actually carried? Almost certainly it's too much to ask for the camouflage of each ship, but what's the harm in trying?

I've just been looking at the wide variety of LAA provided with this kit, but to my surprise there are only three single Oerlikons per hull. Definitely not enough, especially when the set provides three twin 4" - which River ever had such a heavy armament? Wasted space on sprue where more Oerlikons could have gone. I'm sure I have lots of spare Oerlikons from various kits, but they'll all be either too large to go with the neat Seal tooling, or the frightening White Ensign etch. If all else fails, there are enough of those to allow for getting lots wrong!

[Michael Potter]

Graham, check Brian Lavery, River-class Frigates and the Battle of the Atlantic:

pages 97-98: "Five of the class were set aside for minesweeping operations late in 1942 in preparation for Operation Torch, the invasion of North Africa. They formed the Tenth Minesweeping Flotilla and did some training in the Firth of Clyde, but it remained a shadow organization and was never used as such." HMS Exe was in "the exercise."

pages 87 and 198: HMS Spey and Rother, the first two Rivers, were on convoy escort duty by July 1942, Spey sharing in the sinking of U-136 that month. < Wikipedia List of River-class frigates > shows five other River-class frigates were completed when convoys were sailing from the UK for Operation Torch: HMS Swayle, Tay, Exe, Waveney, and Test.

An undated photo of HMS Swayle in camouflage: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ ... e_K217.jpg. (2018-11-26 Author edited this line to correct the name.)

[Michael Potter]

More about camouflage in 1942, the time of Operation Torch:

Alan Raven, Warship Perspectives, Camouflage Vol. 2: Royal Navy 1942, page 48 depicts HMS Jed in a Western Approaches (WA) pattern of WA green, WA blue, and white. Those WA colours were very light and soon faded. When the UK allocated green pigments to other war production, black replaced WA green.

Warship Perspectives, Camouflage Vol. 3: Royal Navy 1943-1944, page 6: "The River-class frigates, the first of which entered service in 1942, were almost always painted in one of the Western Approaches patterns."

[Michael Potter]

Starling Models 1/350 kit for River class frigate!

Mike McCabe of < Starling Models > announces (18 June 2018), "Some news on kits, the River class will be available in around four weeks now with pre-order available two weeks before. Our 1/350 Algerine class kit will be back in stock next week."

[npb748r]

got my Starling river class in the post last week, looks really good, can't wait to work on it.

[BSalmon]

I have finished the Starling 1/350 River Class Frigate kit. I made my kit into the Burmese
Mayu, formerly the HMS Fal. I dated her appearance as she looked in Burmese Naval service around the late 1950s. For this period, there was very little change in her appearance from her Royal Navy WWII service.
One difference was her secondary AA guns were replaced with 4 single 40 mm Bofors. Also, her bridge structure was partially enclosed on the sides.