Calling all Royal Navy River-class frigate fans

[Matelot]

Sean, glad to help. Everyone on this site is always more than eager to help out with a project, so you can always ask.
The funny part with this is that I served in one of the Rivers, HMCS NEW WATERFORD. She had been altered and was classed as a Prestonian Class at the time, but a lot of the ship was unchanged.

Tom

[Talisker]

Hello Darren,

thank you very much for your help!
I have the appropriate WEM colour coats

cheers
Stefan

[whytewolf]

Gents,

Well, thanks to all your help, I think I've figured out what I need to do to fit out my 1/700 HMCS Charlottetown, but I'm looking for some additional advice:

I'm picking up some resin weapons from WEM for this build and a couple others, and I'm wondering if there's a PE set from WEM that might be appropriate for the River Frigates--in looking at their catalog, the V & W Class Destroyer set looks like it might work with some modification, but I've not got the ship-building experience to be sure.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Cheers,

Sean

[Quincy]

I have 4 total ships now thanks to my resin casting buddy!





Bob Pink.

[Kazec]

Hi,

As confirmed from the main site that a dedicated PE set for the sealsmodel river class kit may not be available within a forseeable period of time, I have to DIY for all the detailing works. Actually, my main concern is the depth charge rack. Is there any clear photo for it?

Plus, were the K-guns identical to those found on US destroyers?

[George Hargreaves]

Hi,

Canadian River Class armament changed dependent on the vessel, check references for your ship. Here are some photos of HMCS Swansea at the Navy Museum of Alberta in Calgary. This is a typical late war configuration.

Cheers,
George

[Quincy]

Great pics George!



Bob Pink.

[Graham Boak]

For those who failed to get (all) the Rivers that you wanted: HLJ are advertising them as available from August......but not yet.

[Unicorn]

Where could one find the 72nd scale hull. I am just finishing the plug for mine but if this has already been done (and the price is right) then why do the work twice.

James

APS Models here in Australia do the RAN River class, as both a hull and as a semi-kit in 1:72. They also do the very similar Bay class AA frigates as hull only or as semi-kit.

Price is roughly AU$550 for the River and AU$600 for the Bay class kits.

Hulls alone are AU$150 plus postage.

You can contact them on APSmods at bigpond.net.au

Unicorn

[Rob]

If anyone is looking for a River class kit then Dorking Models have them in stock at the moment.

Rob

[Phil R]

A few years ago,I built the Skytrex 350th of a River class frigate.For a white metal kit it was quite good ,the only fault I could find was that the funnel was too tall,and needed to be reduced in height. I will post pics if anyone is interested.

cheers Phil

[Graham Boak]

Please do.

[Phil R]

Looking back ,I think I built this in 2003,one of my earliest ship models.Apart from the funnel ,they included 4" guns from their V&W destroyer kits,which are totally wrong for a River,so,I made my own.hope you find it of interest,it protrays HMS Waveney in 1943,BTW
Regards .Phil

[Quincy]

Thank you Phil for the pics!




Bob Pink.

[pegleg]

Having found no etch available for these models, I designed my own,which were professionally etched for me. I have a small number for sale (about 20) and I am offering them here to other builders of these kits. The set consists of the bridge support lattice x 2, 20mm bandstand supports x 4 (allowing the extra pair often fitted forward with Carleys on top) a 3 piece HF/DF aerial, funnel screen and 2 mast stiffener triangles. It does NOT include any items that can be found easily elsewhere,such as anchor chain,doors,stairs,guardrails,davits or 20mm-all these can be sourced from WEMs E class or the many other RN sets from your preferred producer.
Price is �4.00 per etch,including postage anywhere. Payment by Paypal. Sold on first come first served,it is unlikely I will be getting any more of these any time soon. Contact me at seavee2000 at hotmail.com.
If I have broken any rules on this board then I apologise in advance- I have my etch sets and am just trying to help out those others that might find these useful.

[pegleg]

Thank you to everyone that contacted me and ordered,and for the encouraging remarks-appreciated.
I am posting a photo to show the simple deck mods to make with some 15-20 thou plastic card and strip,as the original plastic part incorporates the deck as well as the support.The look is much finer than the kit part,although overall I think that Seals made a very good job of the kit.

[Michael E.]

All:

For all those modeling a WWII era River Class frigate, I strongly recommend that you check out the HMS/HMCS Nene veterans site at: http://timetraces.ca/nene/index.htm

Take your time going through the photo galleries. There are some unique close-up shots of the Nene, and several Flower class corvettes that I don't believe have been published anywhere else before.

A very useful reference site for modelers, and a wonderful tribute to the men who served on this ship. One of the best veteran's sites I've ever visited.

Enjoy.

Mike E.

[Michael E.]

All:

Well, it keeps getting better.

I came across another site dedicated to HMS Windrush/FFL Decouverte, with a number of wonderful portraits and candid closeup shots of the ship during WWII, as well as (sadly) photos of the ship being broken up in 2009.

It can be found at: http://windrush.perso.neuf.fr/sommaire.html

Enjoy.

Mike E.

[Michael Potter]

SEALS 1/700 kit

The book British Warships of the Second World War by John Roberts reprints the actual plans for HMS Swale as fitted. I am using those plans to model HMS Ness from the SEALS 1/700 kit. Particular discrepancies appear in this kit.

In kit piece A12 (the architectural "upper deck" whose aft end is the USN fantail and the RN quarterdeck), the molded deckhouse has parallel sides along its entire length. In actuality, at the hull break the superstructure splayed out an angle. This angle is present on piece A19 (forecastle deck; USN 01-level). The angled edges at the hull break should be the upper surface of the deckhouse. You can see this feature in photos of the actual ships, and in the museum model of HMCS Swansea in this thread. The moulded open passageways did not exist.

The moulded funnel, kitted as two mirrored pieces each labeled B30 and the funnel cap, is too tall. At 1/700 the height should be 10.5mm from the forecastle deck surface to the upper surface of the funnel cap. The kit pieces are 10mm, but that is on top of the funnel base that is moulded on the forecastle deck, and does not allow for the funnel cap, piece B19. Together the moulded funnel base and the moulded funnel cap add 2mm. I have PE for the cap so chopped the kitted funnel by somewhat less than 2mm. The kitted funnel would look spindly and would be too tall by half a deck height.

The plans for HMS Swale show that her funnel had a short section of flat sides and was not perfectly cylindrical as in the kit pieces. A shim .5mm thick could correct it but I have not attempted that, at least not yet. Photographs of particular frigates, including of the ship that I am modeling, appear to show a cylindrical funnel, and other differences such as the attached ducts. So I may leave it as is for Ness.

Some published profile drawings of these ships, including in David Elliott's Allied Escort Ships and in Norman Friedman's British Destroyers and Frigates, depict the aft edge of the bridge wing as colinear with the foremast. The wings of the kitted bridge (piece A10) match those drawings. Broadside photographs of particular ships, including HMS Ness and Nene, and the plans of HMS Swale, show that their bridge wings did not extend that far aft. The aft surface of the kitted bridge interferes with the kitted foremast. I sanded the aft edge of bridge for the foremast (mine is PE brass and PB rod) to fit.

[Rick E Davis]

Well the British weren't the only ones to operate RIVER-class Frigates.

I found these photos of the French River-class Frigate L'AVENTURE, along with other views taken all around the ship, at NARA II on a recent trip. The ship is in post-war configuration in these photos reportedly taken in about May 1957.

I love overhead views.