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Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/16 22:51:19


Post by: Captain Brown


This is what I will be posting on for the foreseeable future, not really GW inspired at all (but a few GW bits might make their way into the model before it is done), it is a model of a World War II Flower Class Corvette.

It should be noted I had not built a model ship since I was 15 and it was a 1/700 scale battleship mounted on a cardboard sea (over 30 years ago)…so this should be a bit of an experience.

So I want to build the Canadian Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK in her 1942 configuration (short foc’sle). Why, because I was in the navy...and it was my navy's 100th anniversary and there is a competition to build these 1/72 scale models as one of the ways to celebrate that fact.

The Flower Class Corvette were simple escorts built to hunt German U-Boats and sweep for mines laid by submarines near harbour entrances. They were based on pre-war Whale Hunting ships and were simple to build and maintain. As a result of the U-Boats being more efficient at sinking merchant ships than initially believed and the loses encountered by convoys, the little Corvettes were impressed into convoy escort across the Atlantic...something they really had not been designed for.

Canada, not having much of an established ship building infrastructure discovered that it could produce these from multiple civilian yards across the country, in fact we built about 111 of the Flower or her successor the Revised Flower Class. As for the name, so the story goes Sir Winston Churchill liked the idea of newspaper stories announcing the sinking of a German U-Boat by HMS Buttercup as somewhat inspiring. Canada named all but 10 of her Flowers after cities and towns, because flowers couldn't knit mittens for the sailors. In fact in Canada almost all our warships are named after cities and towns to encourage connections between the navy and the nation.

HMCS CHILLIWACK was one of the 1939-1940 Canadian Program built on the West Coast at Burrard Dry Dock Co. Ltd (very close to my home).
Launched: 9-14-1940
Commissioned: 4-8-1941
Foc’sle Extension: 10-10-1943 Halifax (not an issue for this build)
Now I have acquired a copy of the original plans for CHILLIWACK and her sisters AGASSIZ, TRAIL and WETASKIWIN. These plans are with the two mast configuration, which by 1942 CHILLIWACK had dropped to the single mast forward of the bridge (as well as other changes such as Bridge wing extensions, and some weapon changes).

The Corvette has arrived:

It was a little flat from Canada Post.

However the kit seems to be intact:


Check of the parts and they all seem to be there, a few bits had broken free, but nothing seriously damaged, just the box getting a little flat.


I will need to wash them and take a look at the parts next.

One version of CHILLIWACK in the middle of 1942


Cheers,

CB

PS: In case you were wondering, this was the second edition of the Flower produced by Revell, before the brass etched parts. For those of you with the older version of the kit sitting on a shelf (and I know there are a lot of you).






Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/17 00:28:46


Post by: Nevelon


That is a lot of tiny parts.

Needs more skulls a/o dakka.

Never seen someone build something like this, should be interesting. Good luck!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/17 01:39:36


Post by: MacPhail


Fun project! That should keep you busy now that your Sisters are wrapped up. I did a few much smaller ship models with my dad when I was a boy... I can still smell the plastic cement.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/18 23:12:02


Post by: Captain Brown


Thanks for the replies. While building this I tried to use as many of the kit parts as possible (often not for their intended original purpose) and scratch build the rest.

So I went through the kit and looked at the various parts on their sprue, comparing these to the drawings in John McKay & John Harland’s Anatomy of the Ship – The Flower Class Corvette AGASSIZ as well as John Lambert and Les Brown’s Flower Class Corvettes. I also visited Bob Pearson's excellent site and reviewed some of his conversion articles.
After that I made a list of the changes/modifications I will have to do (there will likely be more as I carry out the build).

Hull
Removal of a portion of the upper deck to forward of the bridge
Extra-large keel ground off
Stem needs to be removed and rebuilt
Bilge rails are way too large and thick, replacing with plasticard
Extra Portholes Covered
Square Scuppers Covered
Port Hole Eyebrows…torn as the West Coast ships seemed to have these
Stern needs to be flattened out and pulled to make sure there is room for Minesweeping gear and the Canadian stern

Deck and Fittings
All decks needs to have the fake reversed wood paneling taken off
Well deck needs to be scratch-built
Some water tight doors and other materials for the foc’sle
Additional decking added at the stern of the engine casing
Windlass, this is going to have to be built from scratch or a substitute found
Anchors need work and the hawse pipe is a joke
Hull Splinter Shields; on the forward ones I think I will have to move the placement as some of the West Coast Corvettes had them added slightly inboard
Lockers all need hinges and detailing
Wooden decks added forward and aft and in the well deck area
Mast…kit version is too short for short foc’sle and the SW1C/SW2C is missing
Life Boat Davits need lots of work
Boat Deck needs to be scratch-built and wood planking added, it will need lots of work as the kit is dearth in details here
Oval Life Rafts, need some work, not that bad
Life Boats, fortunately 1942 the smaller square stern life boats were in use and not the Whaler…but major internal work will be required. Things like oars, rudder, ribs, thwarts, etc.
Hatches need detailing
Rectangle Life Rafts still debating if I want to make a pair
Rope & Cable Reels need detailing or replacement
Small Ventilators need detailing
Need to scratch-build blake and bottle screw slip

Bridge
A new bridge will need to be built for the Short Focsle version
Search Lights need some pretty major work
Bridge Deck needs wood planking
Bridge Ladder Moved
Radar Lantern House…depending on early or late 1942 will determine if I need this, it needs a door, holes in the grate, etc.
Bridge Supports, again a pre or post 271 Radar set addition (CHILLIWACK had parts of the set added on repeated visits to Londonderry with the set being completed in December 1942)
Windshield…I will think of something
Bridge Splinter Shields/Splinter Mats…kit ones are a little sparse and the whole Bridge needs to be rebuilt for a type B design
Pipe Rails added instead of the fake flat plastic in the kit which look fragile and not really accurate
Rail Dodgers see above, going to built the pipe rails and then add some tissue paper
Wind dodger needs to be scratch built
Flag Box needs a complete replacement
Assorted Lockers need hinges and butterfly clips
Signal Light Platforms replacement or major conversion work
Deck House Ladders need replacement
D/F Coil, replacement with a round version
Bridge Voice Pipes need some detailing

Engine Room Casing
Needs to be shortened and corrected for Canadian version with overhang and struts
Move the 2 Pdr Bandstand aft
Engine Room Skylight…needs to be completely rebuilt as the kit version is wrong on so many levels.
Watertight Doors…the kit versions are really poor
Galley to be removed and moved aft of bridge
Funnel is a decent representation, but the rivets are such a noticeable feature, I may replace it.
Funnel Ladder, kit version is pretty simple
Steam Pipes on Funnel
Large ventilators really need some work as the kit versions are simple and too thick
Placement of gear and other changes are necessary

Weapons
4-inch Main Gun & Shield replacement or a complete scratch-build
Bandstand for the above will need treads and a replacement for the ammunition holders as well as some mesh and other detailing
2 Pdr (working on deciding if I am going to do early 1942 or late 1942…as early actually seemed to have a 20 mm Oerlikon in the rear bandstand while late had the 2 Pdr – if someone knows when I would love to know). Either way a replacement of complete scratch-build looks necessary
The 2 Pdr Bandstand tub needs to be replaced and a tread added
Bridge Weapons – either 303 Lewis Guns or 50 Cal twined Machine Guns look like the fittings for 1942. As per the 2 Pdr a completely new build will be necessary as the kit parts are really quite poor (again, no confirmation seems available)
Depth Charge Throwers…these are not bad…OK they are bad, about the level of the other weapons, I think some framing for the base and a little detail work will make them acceptable. Depth Charges are a little weak, but with some cutting off of extra parts and some paint detail they can work. The stalks are really too small and will have to be replaced, as well as stalk carrier detail.
Depth Charge Racks, too thick and too large, so some platicard replacements look necessary
Smoke Candle Racks…I think there is some sort of thick box that the kit provides
Floater Nets & Racks
Smoke Candles need some holes drilled

Minesweeping Gear
As this was not removed until the foc’sle extension I need to scratch-build the lot
Winch
Davits (x2)
Large Minesweeping Floats (x2)
Otter/Kite Floats (x4)
Gallows (x2)
Dan Buoys and racks

I also figured I should show my work space and tools...OK, it is the kitchen table which means I will have to clean up after every session otherwise Mrs Captain Brown will have words with me.


Therefore my construction is going to be start and stop...so I will likely break many of these jobs down into mini-projects.

That is going to be a lot of work, notice I have not even mentioned painting/weathering, etc.


Since everyone loves pictures, here is CHILLIWACK in either late 1942 and early 1943.
Photo courtesy of the CF - Project Pride
Notice the bridge struts, 271 Radar lantern and I am pretty certain that is a 2 Pdr now in the aft bandstand.

The long painting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/18 23:55:00


Post by: Nevelon


So I have to ask, with all the changes, why the kit? Sounds like you are going to be modifying everything from the keel up!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/19 00:21:17


Post by: MegaDave


Good luck, you're gonna need it!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/19 07:34:16


Post by: Midget Gems


Wow CB, not seen one of those kits before, that is gonna take a lot of work.

Good Luck and thanks for sharing


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/19 18:31:14


Post by: Meer_Cat


Very nice kit, and the Flower class are woefully under-represented in terms of finished displays considering how ubiquitous they were during the war. I had a slightly less daunting experience assembling the Revell kit for my Coast Guard cutter (the first of my three services!)- USCGC Duane, WHEC-33. Very detailed kits, but sometimes off in some specifications. For me, not much to modify; for you, Cap'n- this looks to be the equivalent of an axles-up restoration of a '64 1/2 Mustang.

Or, as Nevelon put it- from the keel up!

I'll be following this thread.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/20 17:18:08


Post by: Llamahead


Flowers were key. Mass produced escorts were vital during the war it was the absence of these which caused the axis fleets in particular Japan so much trouble. Talking about WW2 ship models my Grandfather was given a model of British Promise a BP tanker he served on made by one of the other crewmen both him and her survived the war. He ended up serving in pretty much every theatre of the war with the merchant navy.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/21 19:13:37


Post by: Captain Brown


Nevelon wrote:So I have to ask, with all the changes, why the kit? Sounds like you are going to be modifying everything from the keel up!

It is always easier to upgrade/convert a kit where even if the part looks nothing like the real thing, you have a base to work from. That and the hull is nearly three feet long and I did not want to build it from scratch.

Thanks MegaDave, Midget Gems, and Meer_Cat.

Llamahead wrote:Flowers were key. Mass produced escorts were vital during the war it was the absence of these which caused the axis fleets in particular Japan so much trouble. Talking about WW2 ship models my Grandfather was given a model of British Promise a BP tanker he served on made by one of the other crewmen both him and her survived the war. He ended up serving in pretty much every theatre of the war with the merchant navy.


A nice connection there Llamahead. The Canadian Flowers were built from the British plans, but differed almost immediately since Canada really did not even have the equipment to arm them. Some of the 10 built to the British standard carried a log in place of the 4 inch on their first crossing and their only armament being a .303 on the bridge until they could be finished and armed in the UK.

Build Update

So I started one of the smaller projects, the Mark II Depth Charge Throwers.


As you can see the kit versions are really rudimentary plastic...things and other than a tube and a suggestion of another smaller tube they really bear little resemblance. The drawing above is from John McKay & John Harland's Anatomy of the Ship - The Flower Class Corvette AGASSIZ and I cannot recommend this book enough.

I started by trimming off the excess plastic for the forward support and much of the plastic protrusion that is supposed to be the firing chamber. Top is the basic assembly and below it is my trimmed version.


Now for a firing chamber I wanted something cylindrical and of the correct length, wanting to use as much of the Kit parts as possible I grabbed the two Lewis Gun supports and cut them to down to get two cylinders…these when divided were just about the perfect length.


Building the bases (the Chooper II is excellent for this – that tool was not on my work bench table because it was a present from Mrs Captain Brown for my birthday), styrene and some small L bracket styrene.


Comparison between the kit version and my ‘upgraded’ one, the firing pins came from some small 1/35 tank tread ends (with a pin), some styrene rod and .020x.010 styrene strips to make the brackets:


A shot of the Mark II Throwers all fixed up:


So all that is left is a little cleaning of the pieces (especially the now pointless banding and where the styrene has gotten bent).

So there they are, my first ‘kit-bash’ for the corvette.

Depth charges was something Canada could produce, but the demand was so high to get them to ships that one Commander trained his crew using a garbage pail filled with some mining TNT and a mining fuse instead of a hydrostatic charge.

Cheers,

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/21 19:29:17


Post by: Nevelon


Damn, that is some fiddly little detail work. Well done!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/22 23:50:34


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you Nevelon,

Next parts to get worked on are the forward and after bandstands. The kit comes with flat plastic bases (no tread - which Corvettes had added fairly quickly into commission), and the aft bandstand for the 2 Pdr has a really, really thick shield. I visited Bob Pearson's great site and got some ideas on what to do. Treads are all 0.010 x 0.020 styrene strips.

4-Inch Bandstand
Original part with some pencil marks, found a use for that old compass and protractor to get the lines drawn...use pencil, very easy to erase mistakes.

Tread added (again I used the Chopper II to make the treads fairly quickly)


Next was the aft Bandstand for the 2-Pdr Pom-Pom
Original Part.

Using the Dremel Mini to cut off the old splinter shield...one minor error. I recommend that you use a clamp to hold the Bandstand and a glove on the holding hand...just in case.

The star tread.

Modelling action shot...the plastic cement is still drying...

Splinter Shield getting added.

With the shelter added (I filed down some of the shelter parts to remove the part numbers on the inside and to widen the doorway.


The long painting and modeling war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/22 23:55:14


Post by: amazingturtles


This is an impressive and challenging project. It looks like you've got it well handled, i'm looking forward to what comes next!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/23 09:36:16


Post by: FabricatorGeneralMike


Did you do this project before maybe on Warseer? I remember seeing this years ago right down to the Chilliwack conversion (as I live in BC like you )

Great you just Mandella effected me

This does look great tho. My Grandfather was in WWII and I've been in contact with my father as I wanted to know where gramps served and what he did. I would love to make a little diorama of -Him- or what he did over there(He drove trucks on convoys and hated it because you couldn't stop to go to the washroom so the guys cut holes in the floor so they could do their business). It's neat little things like that that can help really personalize a model.

I can't wait to see what you come up with this time CB.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/23 09:52:24


Post by: Tyranid Horde


Keen to see your progress on this, always like to see some work done on WWII historicals and I barely see anyone working on ships. Subbed.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/24 21:24:36


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you amazingturtles and Tyranid Horde,

I will try to live up to expectations.

FabricatorGeneralMike wrote:Did you do this project before maybe on Warseer? I remember seeing this years ago right down to the Chilliwack conversion (as I live in BC like you )

Great you just Mandella effected me

This does look great tho. My Grandfather was in WWII and I've been in contact with my father as I wanted to know where gramps served and what he did. I would love to make a little diorama of -Him- or what he did over there(He drove trucks on convoys and hated it because you couldn't stop to go to the washroom so the guys cut holes in the floor so they could do their business). It's neat little things like that that can help really personalize a model.

I can't wait to see what you come up with this time CB.


Thanks FabricatorGeneralMike, I have posted the log on two other sites...they got trashed with Photobucket started blocking things and I have been replacing the images. I won't go to that extreme of detail, however I will model the forward heads as I am building the model as the original short foc'sle

The ventilators from the kit are rather chunky, especially at the mouth; the thick plastic is particularly noticeable. So after gluing and regular trimming I sat down with my Mini-Dremel and began to sand down the mouths.

Before:


After:


Started on the two lifeboats:

Used Bob Pearson's site for some inspiration (he did a 27' Whaler conversion vice these lifeboats).

The boats themselves are a two part set that sort of resembles a lifeboat…sort of. Lower halves of the lifeboats.


Ribs added with 0.010 x 0.020 styrene strips


Deck boards (which look a little low, might add something to raise them up now) added.


Still need to do thwarts, knees, build a rudder, oars and survival keg/ration tins.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/25 14:19:45


Post by: kestral


Wow - I love a good ship model. My father and grandfather both built model ships and sailed both models and full size boats from time to time. The level of detail you show is amazing - you know your really working at the highest level when thinkness of the plastic is an issue. You've certainly chosen a valiant class of ship to model and I'm sure it will be brilliant when done.
The Chopper Two sounds pretty great - what is it exactly?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/25 15:26:32


Post by: Captain Brown


 kestral wrote:
Wow - I love a good ship model. My father and grandfather both built model ships and sailed both models and full size boats from time to time. The level of detail you show is amazing - you know your really working at the highest level when thinkness of the plastic is an issue. You've certainly chosen a valiant class of ship to model and I'm sure it will be brilliant when done.
The Chopper Two sounds pretty great - what is it exactly?


Thanks kestrel,

The plastic cutter is a NorthWest Short Line - The Chopper II is a tool that is designed to cut plastics or wood of a certain size. You can set it up to make repeat cuts of the same length, which is great for cutting polystyrene plastic strips into blanks, etc.


http://nebula.wsimg.com/b9cf661ddc0e6ab0031c8f25d0777d38?AccessKeyId=08BEE66B97B387F20C0D&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/25 15:33:43


Post by: youwashock


The level of additional detail is amazing. Magnificently obsessive.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/25 15:55:01


Post by: Theophony


Amazing project , you almost got me to order one thinking how cool it would be to turn it into the gondola for a 40k zeppelin (Darn you Vik with getting me hooked on that idea ).


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/25 22:39:34


Post by: theCrowe


Exalt! Subbed. Awesome.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/26 16:30:51


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you youwashock, Theophony and theCrowe.

So historical fact, the original two dinghies were really only suitable for inshore use or calm weather (not for the North Atlantic)...unfortunately the priority to change this never high in the RN and the RCN corvettes did not get the 27 foot whaler until much later (the 10 RCN Corvettes built to the British pattern and named for flowers never got whalers), so for this 1942 build there are two dinghies.

First thing I did was remove the 0.010 by 0.020 strip seated on the ribs and replaced it with a lowered 0.020 by 0.020 strip. Next I used some 0.020 by 0.080 styrene for the thwarts and some 0.010 by 0.060 for the knees.

Here you can see the rudder detail:

The rudder was actually made from bits of the original kits thwarts and stern (instead of cutting some from styrene I have tried to use as much of the kit as possible). The brackets are 0.010 by 0.020 styrene and the tiller bar was made from some styrene tubing.

In reality these would have had canvas covers at sea.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/27 11:56:58


Post by: Ketara


Magnificently done.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/28 04:16:49


Post by: RiTides


The attention to detail is amazing!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/28 14:26:06


Post by: totalfailure


Good luck with your build. People may not realize the kit itself has a bit of history, too. The 1/72 Flower corvette was originally a Matchbox tooling in the mid 80s. When Matchbox got out of the plastic kit business, the molds were acquired by Revell and have been issued several times since. That included the 'Platinum' release with photoetch, and a lighted and motorized 'Technik' release.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/29 15:05:17


Post by: Captain Brown


Thanks Ketara and RiTides

totalfailure wrote:Good luck with your build. People may not realize the kit itself has a bit of history, too. The 1/72 Flower corvette was originally a Matchbox tooling in the mid 80s. When Matchbox got out of the plastic kit business, the molds were acquired by Revell and have been issued several times since. That included the 'Platinum' release with photoetch, and a lighted and motorized 'Technik' release.

As totalfailure has pointed out, this basic kit was the Revell version, before they added all the photo etched parts.

I have been working on the Engine Casing Skylight. Again I followed the basic guidelines set out in Bob Pearson’s site, with some minor adjustments. The kit part has two few skylights and is too short and too high.

"Using [a] sheet styrene I cut two sides (2mm x 60mm) and two ends (32mm x 7mm). The end pieces then had the angle cut in place by centering a line at the middle of the top and connecting it to the side at 2mm height. The four pieces were then glued together and the sloping tops (17mm x 60mm) were added."Source Basic_Accurizing by Bob Pearson.

After following this I trimmed the corners 45 degrees to get a good join and added some gash styrene to be braces on the inside and had a completed base to work from.

The scuttle shutters were made of at base of 0.020 styrene rectangles of 7.5 mm by 9 mm and over these were added 0.010 styrene rectangles of 9 mm by 10.5 mm. Both sets had their corners cut to create the impression of a rounded corner and were glued together to make the scuttle shutters.

Skylight base on the left, scuttles above and the shutters below on the right. The scuttle shutters have been flipped over to show you what they look like underneath.

Then I added a small round disk of styrene created from cutting off a sliver of styrene tubing and standing it down to about 0.75 mm in height. You can see them in the image above before I glued them down. The hinges were made from 0.010 by 0.020 styrene strips.

With scuttles added and the start of the handles above:


Handles were made from staples, just regular staples bent with a pair of pliers and trimmed with a clipper. I traced a line on the scuttle shutters below the scuttle itself and then measured off for the holes. Drilled through with a pin-vice and inserted my handles, a little super glue inside and there we are.

Compared with the kit version on the left:

From the end as it will sit looking aft:

The kit part does not even have the correct number of scuttles.

Still need to work on the two mushroom vents that sat at each end.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/29 15:36:51


Post by: amazingturtles


This continues to be amazing! I like just how much the handles add to it.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/29 18:46:32


Post by: kestral


Interesting. How do "scuttles" relate to "Scuttling"?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
The Chopper looks prettty handy!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/29 20:04:42


Post by: Kid_Kyoto


Great bit of history and a real labor of love. Looking forward to seeing more.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/29 21:18:50


Post by: Meer_Cat


I'm not sure if it's the same for Canadian warships, but US ships have what's called a 'breakaway' song that's played when underway replenishment is completed and the loaded vessel is moving away from the stores/supply ship. In my checkered past the ship I served on used 'The World Needs Guts' by Alice Cooper. I think the practice started in the mid-70's. Prior to that, the uploaded vessel would sound a special signal over the 1MC system to alert crew that the ship was preparing to make turns- and angle away at a fairly steep plane to avoid being rolled back at or into the supply ship.

This Chilliwack has a natural, built-in breakaway song- 'She's gone so long', by the Canadian music group Chilliwack from the early 80's!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/30 13:23:19


Post by: Frodeck


This is beyond good


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/04/30 21:24:33


Post by: Briancj


Following, because of my unholy love of 80's Canadian pop songs that never really made it into the US.

And I <3 the Chopper and Chopper 2. But folks should be sure and buy the NWSL (Northwest Shore Line) version, NOT the Micro-Mark crappy knockoffs.

--Brian




Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/01 15:12:40


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you amazingturtles, Kid_Kyoto and Frodeck.

kestral wrote:Interesting. How do "scuttles" relate to "Scuttling"?
The Chopper looks prettty handy!


Well a scuttle is another name for a port hole, but usually one facing the sky...while scuttling is purposefully sinking yourself (somehow I think you already knew that).
The Chopper is very useful for cutting plastic card strips to be the same length quickly, or making a perfect 45 degree cut.

Meer_Cat wrote:I'm not sure if it's the same for Canadian warships, but US ships have what's called a 'breakaway' song that's played when underway replenishment is completed and the loaded vessel is moving away from the stores/supply ship. In my checkered past the ship I served on used 'The World Needs Guts' by Alice Cooper. I think the practice started in the mid-70's. Prior to that, the uploaded vessel would sound a special signal over the 1MC system to alert crew that the ship was preparing to make turns- and angle away at a fairly steep plane to avoid being rolled back at or into the supply ship.
This Chilliwack has a natural, built-in breakaway song- 'She's gone so long', by the Canadian music group Chilliwack from the early 80's!


Briancj wrote:Following, because of my unholy love of 80's Canadian pop songs that never really made it into the US.

And I <3 the Chopper and Chopper 2. But folks should be sure and buy the NWSL (Northwest Shore Line) version, NOT the Micro-Mark crappy knockoffs.

--Brian

Thanks Meer_Cat and Briancj, I did not realize that music would be quoted so often. Yes, the NWSL cutters are very good and worth the cost.

Another tool I found very useful was the Mini-Dremel. Used it to clear the decks of their fake reversed wood paneling...also for the ventilators, and it will be used to sand off the large keel that the real corvettes never had and likely the bow stem so I can replace it with some styrene strips.

Here is an example of the speed of the Dremel, I started the pom-pom move. RCN Corvettes had their 2 Pounder 'Pom-Pom' (or whatever other secondary armament they had in the aft bandstand which included paired Lewis guns from WW1 on some RCN Corvettes) moved much further aft, as the original design had two masts (forward and mainmast)...and it does not really work when your principle anti-aircraft defense weapon is wooded by a mast in two directions.

Original engine room casing deck:


After the dremel made short work of the base:
I went to work on the deck to smooth it down.

The Revell kit has the decks covered in this reverse wood planking, so instead of small gaps between boards there are raised lips of plastic...might work for painting with a brown wash, except that Corvettes had steel decks and added wood planking at various high traffic areas and over living spaces.

The deck prior to sanding:

Then cleaned…since this photo was taken I have sanded off the four lines at the aft end of the quarterdeck (where the depth charge racks would go…except RCN Corvettes had theirs on an angle and much shorter due to Minesweeping gear) and all the raised portions on the main deck as I am building new superstructure showing the difference between the Canadian and British designs.


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/01 23:30:35


Post by: kestral


I'd have assumed scuttles were below the waterline and you opened them to let the water in. I suppose you would still want to open them when deliberately sinking the ship, hence the name?

Looking good. I enjoy hearing all the technical details of the real ships.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/02 00:04:32


Post by: Meer_Cat


If I remember from my 'yo-ho-ho days', a scuttle is any opening between two distinct spaces that can be actuated by a lever or valve. I know on my cutter we had 'the captain's seachest' which was a gang trunk of 'scuttling valves' which could be used to sink the ship, but also served to drain the lowermost portion of the hull in drydock. There was also the 'slops scuttle' in the galley which was a double valved tube running over the side for disposing of food waste into the sea.

The crew of one coastal freighter that we busted hauling more than 100 tons of marijuana (this was the early 80's) tried to scuttle her by opening the scuttling valves (I think we also called them sea-cocks) but there was so much loose weed floating around that the valves clogged and she didn't take water on fast enough.

I'm not sure which came first: the noun for the opening with its cover or valve, or the verb for the action of opening and closing it.

My two cents any way, I'll try to find the terms in copy of Flexner's dictionary of maritime and naval slang. And my memory might be faulty- I was a gunner's mate at that time (and went on to other services still playing with large things that went boom) and this is more the province of the bos'uns mates (boatswains, also affectionately known as deck apes).

Great project building here Captain- the kind that leaves memories!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/03 15:47:51


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you kestrel and Meer_Cat

So as I mentioned in my first posts, this is a model of a Corvette earlier in her career, with technology advancing various additions to her superstructure, increasing crew sizes and the fact they were designed as coastal vessels and found themselves steaming into the Atlantic to escort conveys a substantial increase in superstructure/hull was necessary. Often referred to as the focsle extension, the Revell kit is post extension (middle to late war addition...in fact about ten Canadian Corvettes went the entire war without that extension). So to build CHILLIWACK I had to make some substantial cuts.

Here are the four portions that make up the hull.

You can clearly see the rise in the hull in the stern halves below...my build needs to move that rise forward of the bridge...which also means I have to build the superstructure previously hidden by the deck extension.

That also means that once I cut I am committed to building a short focsle corvette...

So, I have been putting it off, but once Bob’s drawings arrived it was time to take the plunge and cut the hull…the feeling you get just before you cut is a strange one.

A Dremel cut or two later, some sanding, more cutting, more sanding. Then removing some of the overlap plastic…more sanding…sanding the old deck and cutting the middle portion in two and adding a piece to the end and we have this:



Very rough, since nothing is glued together yet, but you get the idea.

Now I do need to square off the stern before I glue...looking at attempting the 'hot water' method for that, and I just want to pull out the stern to make it less rounded rather than pushing it in and making the ship too short.

I have started on the superstructure; I want to make sure that the bridge is level with the angle of the deck (since the corvette has a curve...it was based on a civilian Whaling Ship after all).

The templates from Bob Pearson are very useful, a little cryptic in one or two instances (like the alcoves on RCN corvettes, and some spots you need to cut and add styrene to cover the sides of the raised galley). But really, really a fantastic time saver and guide to the build.

So I needed to start squaring off the stern, as the RCN Corvettes were built for minesweeping from the start and the squaring of the stern added much needed deck space and kept the minesweeping wires from get crossed.

Original Stern

Using hot water I stretched out the stern and gave it some flatness (as opposed to the original round RN stern), to increase this I added some 0.080 styrene.

Now you can see it is very rough, and the actual railings have been pulled up as I stretched the plastic back, I will be using the Dremel to sand that down and then cut the fairleads for the minesweeping gear and moving the depth charge holes as well.

Then I started on the end of the Engine Room Casing, RCN Corvettes moved their galleys just aft of the wheelhouse earlier than their RN counterparts and this did not need as much Casing aft, so to make room for the minesweeping gear they shortened the Casing. Here are my cuts to the deck and building the new end pieces.



Here is what it looks like on my hull.

You can see the extra decking in white styrene I had to add to cover the hole left in the deck by the shortened Casing.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/03 22:59:45


Post by: kestral


I admire your attention to detail. I love the stage on a big project like this where you can imagine walking around on it and peering into the corners. Minesweeping too, eh? A jack of all trades!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/06 19:33:56


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you kestral,

Yes, the Royal Canadian Navy originally conceived of using their Corvettes to patrol around harbours and sweep to keep the channels clear.

So continuing with my plan to try and get the superstructure built to a point I could see it with the short focsle.

Wheelhouse

I still have not added the window frames, hence the rough appearance of the windows (I used 0.020 thickness styrene due to the requirement to cut out the windows)


Assembling the wheelhouse

Had a little trouble with the sizes, I probably should have tried to square the edges better as it seemed I had some extra structure by the time I finished.

So did some more work on the compass house (which sits above the wheelhouse from my last post) and here is my dry fit stage (so things will look strange as parts are not secured or leveled yet):

She is now starting to resemble an early Corvette. Many of the parts will need adjustment to be level as they would be once the ship was in the water.

Next I have to work on the atrociously large extraneous keel and massively thick stem…neither of which the Corvettes had…not to mention those excessively long and thick bilge keels…they are also going and will be replaced.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/09 20:10:40


Post by: kestral


Was the wheel house wooden?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/10 08:24:54


Post by: Tyranid Horde


Awesome stuff here Cap! Love the attention to detail that's going into this.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/10 17:16:41


Post by: Captain Brown


kestral wrote:Was the wheel house wooden?

The wheel house was not, but the pilot house on the deck above (that looks like a little one room house) was wooden. Doors and window frames were wood.

Tyranid Horde wrote:Awesome stuff here Cap! Love the attention to detail that's going into this.


Thanks Tyranid Horde and kestral

So I took the hull and started to sand down the excess keel (which is far to large and thick), as well as the mountings for the extremely large and long bilge rails (which again look nothing like bilge rails).


I used a combination of the Mini-Dremel, craft knife and files. Keel was relatively easy; just use the sanding attachment and high speed to eat away at the excess plastic. A little more care was exercised as I got down to the base and I ran the blade of the craft knife along the keel remnants to make it nice and smooth, as well as round off what was left.


I used the cone sanding attachment on the bilge rail mountings, as I wanted to be careful and not to scar the hull too badly if at all. I used some styrene L bracket strips to make proper bilge rails of just under a foot in scale width.


I also had to cut out some more scuppers…and fill in one of the aft most scuppers and one fairlead (as the kit being the British design had one more added with the extending of the focsle and the Canadian design had only one fairlead hole aft vice two modeled in the kit).
Here are the three new scuppers:


At the same time I flattened that rise in the stern bulwarks created when I stretched out and flattened the stern. The flaps for the depth charge holes almost fit perfectly into the gaps so I will be gluing them in and sanding them down…as they are presently on an angle due to the plastic bending for the additional styrene. Once this is all ship shape I will add some polystyrene strips to recreate the lip of the top of the transom and later cut out three holes for the depth charge rails and the fairlead for the mine sweeping gear.

For the bow and the ridiculously wide stem I actually used the sanding attachment on an angle and tried to marry it to the hull form, basically extending forward a few millimeters…I did this because the actual stem of the Corvette was a single piece of steel and not a great flat thick slap as featured in the kit by the fusing to the two sides of the hull.
This is a photo from someone else building a corvette, to give you an idea of the size of the stem and keel...


Now what I did with the Dremel.



Now for the stem itself I cut a piece of styrene (0.020 square strip) to make the actual stem for the Corvette’s most deadly weapon…the ram. Sad as it seems today, despite depth charges, a 4 inch World Ward One deck gun, a 2 Pounder anti-aircraft weapon and a pair of Lewis or 50 Caliber Water-cooled Machine Guns…the most effective way for a Corvette to dispatch a U-Boat was to ram her and cut through the submarine’s pressure hull with the Corvette's bow. Corvette’s were especially adapt at this, as they did not ride so high as Destroyers (because of their low speed) and thus could usually ram a sub several times without doing extensive or critical damage to themselves. Naval architects were horrified that the surest way to make certain a U-boat sank was to employ a tactic from ancient Greece. Of course ramming was not as easy as it seams because the U-boat had to be driven to the surface first and could steer to avoid the Corvette.

The Corvette's most deadly weapon:


Folks often ask: "what about the depth charges?" Early in the war the depth charges on a Corvette used TNT and thus did not have that much explosive power, so to damage a pressure hull they had to be dropped very close...more likely the result of a close drop was hull valves bursting or rivets being forced through (and an expert crew could repair those). What a successful drop did sometimes achieve was causing a U-boat to lose it's trim and force it to the surface...and then the escort would usually attempt to ram as their deck gun could not depress low enough to fire at the hull of the Boat.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/10 19:27:25


Post by: Briancj


It's the history lessons that bring me back to this thread.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/13 16:00:29


Post by: Captain Brown


Thanks Briancj,

Next up: The non-watertight doors.

The non-watertight doors are made from 0.020 thickness Polystyrene with 0.020 square strip polystyrene for the central support and 0.020 by 0.010 strips for the frame and cross-pieces. A little square of 0.020 thickness for the door handle lock and the end of one of the rather useless plastic stanchions makes a nice handle.

So the Chopper II was really useful again and I started by making my doors, after getting the measurements I found the doors to be extremely narrow…so narrow that I cheated and increased the thickness by 1 mm to make them look more realistic at this scale (a little artistic license). Then I sat down and made them in assembly line fashion. After an hour 8 non-watertight doors were sitting complete before me and I was feeling quite proud of myself…I had finished enough for the model and a few extras in case of problems and cleaned up…

Polystyrene frames:


Handle construction:


Finished:


Later, when I was looking at the model I noticed there are a few more doors than I thought in the bulkheads under the focsle. I need eight just for that, so it looks like I will have to pull out the Chopper II and make some more.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/14 06:27:05


Post by: Dysartes


Some impressive attention to detail here, Captain - keep up the good work!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/15 18:01:35


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you Dysartes,

Finished another five non-watertight doors, that should be enough for my build, ironically I finally tracked down where the other two doors are located, there were two leading to the RCN galley and another two inside the alcove recesses. Which leaves me with one extra in case of problems.

Next up is the watertight doors. I have made mine from a base of 0.010 thickness styrene cut 11 mm by 24 mm on top of this is a piece of 0.020 thickness styrene 9 mm by 22 mm so that there is a nice 1 mm gap all the way around.

Rather unimpressive styrene pieces:


Edges are trimmed at a 45 degree angle and then filed to make a rounded corner. Handles were made with left over stanchion pieces and they were placed 4.5 mm from the top and bottom. Hinges were made with some 0.010 by 0.020 strips of styrene. Handles were made the same way I made them for the Engine Room Skylight, bending staples for the wire portion. I used the same staples for the dogs on the watertight handles, because they have the curve already there. Trimming them down to size and attaching them with 5 minute epoxy (I tried superglue first, but my applicator really sucked as it was one of those push end variety tubes).

Finished Product:


I need three for the end of the Engine Room Casing and two for the Focsle.

Here they are getting added to the Engine Room Casing.
Starboard side:

Port Side:


Speaking of the conversion work of watertight and non-watertight doors, here is the bulkhead under the focsle facing the well deck. Eight non-watertight and two watertight doors (there actually is a ninth non-watertight door that accesses the companionway, but since it faces inwards and won’t be visible once the deck is fitted I am leaving it off.


The large number of non-watertight doors on the port side led to the heads (toilets)...which had a direct standpipe to the sea and meant that using them in any sort of rough sea was very, very, very tricky. A good wave on the bow and you got salt water shooting up...well I will leave it at that.

Next up, was the bulwark railing, the kit has a very nice top to the bulwarks back aft, but since I cut my hull to create the short focsle I am left with a rather narrow and rough bulwark. So I sanded down the inside to remove the now visible part numbers, then I attached a strip of 0.010 by 0.125 styrene to each side, then a bracket of styrene was added underneath. This effectively made me a common rail.



Another issue I had was my cut was a little two deep at the rising of the bulwarks to meet the focsle. I followed the template from the drawings Bob Pearson sent me, but I noticed after I had cut that CHILLIWACK and her sisters from the West Coast had a more gradual rise…*nuts*…so some two part epoxy putty was necessary to rebuild the missing section.


In this picture you can see the doorways under the focsle deck with the template from Bob Pearson still attached before I added the non-watertight and watertight doors.

The whole hull with primer coat:


A little sanding needed midships that the primer highlighted.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/15 18:10:47


Post by: Flapjack


I always wanted to work on a miniature ship model. This will be interesting to follow. Great stuff so far.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/15 21:16:03


Post by: Briancj


Salt water up the standpipe == bidet, quit yer bitching, sailor!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/17 22:11:57


Post by: Captain Brown


Thanks for the comments Flapjack and Briancj.

Some more progress.

I started working on the engine room casing aft, as you see above the watertight doors are now on and I fixed up my skylight with two mushroom vents and an edging of 0.015 by 0.060 strips of styrene down the sides.



Then I started on the two ammunition lockers located at the after end of the engine casing deck on RCN corvettes. I added some plastic parts from other kits to try and recreate the butterfly clips, not sure I like them, but it is better than what I started with.


Anyone with ideas on how to make better 1/72 scale butterfly clips please let me know.

So with the four shorter ventilators and a cleaning gear locker I placed them on the casing to see how it fits together.



Then I started on the boat deck with this mock-up. You can see the sanding marks where I removed some of the raised detail on the funnel deck base (I also had to build the front bulkhead as the kit was a later RN corvette with the galley moved forward and raised directly in front of the funnel deck).

The non-watertight doors hanging in the air are to the galley which in RCN corvettes was directly behind the bridge, superior to RN corvettes in that you did not have to walk the length of the deck to get your food, you still had to walk down the steps and across the well deck to your mess…which meant your food was just cold and slightly wet when it got to the mess instead of cold and very wet in the RN corvettes, where the galley was right aft.

I also made sliding doors for the wheelhouse; this was with some angle bracket styrene.

Still need to clean up the window frames for the addition of 'glass'.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/17 22:21:33


Post by: Briancj


Can you shoot me a picture of what the clips-in-question look like?

Thanks!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/17 23:49:20


Post by: MajorTom11


Absolutely fantastic to see this on Dakka, we often don't realize just how much we owe to military/historical modelling and how much more there is to learn and apply. Great blog, keep it up!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/18 01:59:21


Post by: amazingturtles


Looking good and i love the look of those doors with the staples


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/18 01:59:27


Post by: kestral


Interesting what the water tight doors looked like. I'd never seen that type before. Good job getting the hull to line up - I often have trouble with that kind thing. What does a Bilge Rail do?

Thanks for posting!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/21 21:19:01


Post by: Captain Brown


Briancj wrote:Can you shoot me a picture of what the clips-in-question look like?

Thanks!

Briancj,

Butterfly clips is another name for a wing nut. They are used to dog down the bolts that hold a hatch cover down and try to make them watertight, so imagine very large wing nuts. They look like this

Thank you for your comments MajorTom11 and amazingturtles.

kestral wrote:Interesting what the water tight doors looked like. I'd never seen that type before. Good job getting the hull to line up - I often have trouble with that kind thing. What does a Bilge Rail do?

Thanks for posting!

kestrel,

Today a water tight door will have a wheel that as you rotate it, it pushes in the bars that dog down the door and even out the stress points if it comes under pressure. The old water tight doors that these ships used were the old fashioned version with each handle having to be manually turned [dogged] to secure that portion of the door to make it secure...very cumbersome and time consuming.

And a little more progress, still doing small bits at one time, mainly because I have to clear my construction area after every session.

Here are the 4 large ventilators getting new reinforcing bands (removed the raised plastic kit portion, which was out of scale with a dremel). Top bands are 0.015 by 0.125 with a 0.010 by 0.080 on top. The base band was a 0.015 by 0.060 strip.

Next I will use the brown plastic rods that the kit supplied for railings to make the controlling gear (for turning the ventilators into and out of the wind...or sea in the case of Corvettes crossing the Atlantic)...not sure if I want to go all the way and make a notched top band.

I also glued in the scuttles with epoxy (I did this to prevent plastic cement distorting the clear plastic) and placed electricians tape behind them to help keep them fixed. Then I added the forward deck of the focsle and added some 0.010 thickness styrene rolled and pushed through the deck to make hawse pipes. Right now they looked like my Corvette has tissue up it's 'nose'.



So next up was the funnel, the kit version is a really plain tube with a rounded band about four fifths up the stack…the instructions suggest you drill four holes through it and tie the supporting stays through the holes and there are a few plastic pieces to add to represent steam pipes, whistle, etc. But that is it, while the pictures of the funnels show some fairly prominent riveting, so I had to do better.

Original Funnel:


Following some more Bob Pearson advice, I sanded off the rounded band, then using a sheet of thin (0.010 thickness) styrene I used my $1 thread punch to make rivet marks…it actually took two tries as you cannot let your punch wander…so a metal ruler is a must. My riveted band was even more problematic as it was so thin and narrow, it took five tries and a whole lot of wasted styrene.

After gluing the patterned covering over the funnel I added a (0.010 x 0.080 thickness) strip of styrene with a rivet pattern to make the band. This was glued at the same level as the original (now removed) band and then I drilled eight small holes in vertical pairs at virtual right angles to each other in the band. Brass rod of a very thin diameter was cut and bent into shape and glued with superglue into the hole for the rings to attach the supporting stays.



Raising the funnel cap. I glued one of my failed rivet marked bands inside the funnel to raise the cap slightly off the stack. I also drilled a hole in the centre of the supporting braces on the top…same as I have seen in photographs.

Inside band for the funnel cap:


Finished Funnel:


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB




Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/21 23:33:29


Post by: Briancj


I suspect, for the butterfly bolts, I'd make a good head out of styrene with a rounded head cut off to form the center of the bolt, and then drill in two small holes, put styrene rods in, crimp them to make the flat portions, and trim to length. Then, use that was the basis of a press-mold for green stuff.

As always, hella fun watching you ultra-detail-if-fy this kit!

--Brian


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/05/30 21:39:28


Post by: Captain Brown


Nice suggestion Briancj.

Next up...what everyone wants to see on model warships...the main gun. It's purpose was to drive a U-boat to submerge and allow the Corvette to then depth charge the submarine. Due to the manual firing weapon and the fact that it was mounted on so small a vessel (Corvette's pitched and rolled a lot). There are very few recorded hits...however CHILLIWACK did have at least one in her career where she struck a conning tower. The U-boat so struck was able to dive, avoid the depth charges and return to port for repairs as the pressure hull was untouched by the shell passing through the conning tower.

The 4-Inch gun mounted on the forward bandstand. The BL (breach loading) 4 inch Mk IX naval gun mounted on the Flower Class Corvettes was a World War I weapon left over in storage, and thus available in the first days of rapid rearmament.

The RCN corvettes had square or round gun shields (predominantly fitted with round gun shields according to photographic evidence)…it seems that those outfitted by the RN had mostly square gun shields…as did the ten corvettes built for the British by the Canadians. Fortunately the kit comes with both versions…unfortunately the gun is built to the same standard as the rest of the kit fittings, a sort of approximation. CHILLIWACK had a round shield through her entire career.

Original Parts:


So I started off by taking the shield and sanding down the ends of the two pieces that would be exposed to a viewer (lots of folks have suggested cutting entirely new gun shields but I have decided to try and salvage as much as I can), these are the port and starboard sides of the shield.


Then I cut holes for the targeting sites in the front of the shield.


Shield assembled:


Then I took the barrel and breech assembly and cut off the extremely large cap/muzzle, the toy like angle adjustment.


Since the kit mount bears no resemblance to the original I am taking one of the Oerlikon mounts (as the bridge mounted weapons of this period were either paired Lewis Guns or .50 cal machine guns). I cut a hole in the back and built some elevating gear to fit in the gap. I also glued a short strip of 0.020 thickness styrene a couple of mm high to widen the base.


Added some details to the gun itself, using the drawings from my books and some photos to make the details on the barrel.


Some angle brackets on the inside of the shield and some large nuts made by cutting up some styrene tubing and I have a basic weapon and shield.

Still need work on the inside.
Side view:


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/01 18:13:59


Post by: theCrowe


it's all coming together so nicely. great work!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/10 18:41:01


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you theCrowe,

Another update...

4 Inch continued:

So I have added some rivets to the gun shield and I am not really happy with them, a little too large and distinct.


What do you think? (Since these were taken I have tried sanding down the rivets some more)

I think the that I will just sand them off and forget trying to do the rivets, as looking at photographs they are not that distinct.

Aft Bandstand update:

I also noticed in several pictures and the scale drawings I am borrowing that the aft bandstand has a square shield added for access on the middle of the port side vice the cut in the shield and ladder on the starboard side forward that SNOWBERRY and the RN built flowers possessed.

So some 0.020 styrene sheet was cut out and three sides of the square were glued together, then I used 0.020 square styrene to make the lip; over lapping the ends to help the join and then reversing the overlap for the second set to create a lock. I also left some overlap on the open end which I would marry up to the round shield once I had cut the access point.


Then a cut in the side and I married up the ends of my square shield to the lip I had built to the round one.


That should be it, until I add the anti-aircraft weapon…I am still leaning towards doing the late 42 and early 43 version of CHILLIWACK, and at that point she had a 2-pounder Pom-pom, the mid 42 version might have had a pair of twin Lewis guns in the Aft bandstand. A point of contention among the sources, although the 2-pounder Pom-pom is likely as CHILLIWACK was one of the earlier Corvette's built in Canada.


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/10 19:35:37


Post by: youwashock


Your skill continues to amaze.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/10 23:16:40


Post by: Briancj


I live for these updates.

Have you considered a set of these? They're great for tapping embossed rivet detail.

https://www.esslinger.com/stone-setting-beading-tool-set-with-hardwood-handle-stand-23-pc/ (Probably find a set cheaper.)

Each tip is indented/rounded, which allows you to make a rivet-shaped circle of a wide variety of sizes with a single tap!

--Brian



Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/13 15:46:23


Post by: Captain Brown


youwashock wrote:Your skill continues to amaze.

Thanks youwashock
Briancj wrote:I live for these updates.

Have you considered a set of these? They're great for tapping embossed rivet detail.

https://www.esslinger.com/stone-setting-beading-tool-set-with-hardwood-handle-stand-23-pc/ (Probably find a set cheaper.)

Each tip is indented/rounded, which allows you to make a rivet-shaped circle of a wide variety of sizes with a single tap!

--Brian

Brian,

I just use a simple stitching wheel and roll it along on the opposite side of the plastic card if it is thing enough. Could not do it on the gun shield due to thickness...I am going to sand them down to make them smaller in any case.

So next up on my project list was the mine sweeping winch, I figured since it was a really ambitious component I would try to get it done sooner rather than later. With the constant clean-up required after each build period I am slowly seeing some progress, but I really want to get to the painting stage sooner rather than later.

I again used Bob Pearson’s great site for a guide.

After reading through his guide I deviated almost immediately, I started with 0.040 thickness polystyrene to build the steel plate base and a second sheet for the wooden mat it sits on. This gave me a nice lip all the way around as the real set would have looked.

Then out of 0.040 styrene I cut out four struts using the drawings from AOTS converted to 1/72 scale (this proved to be really, really time consuming and next time I try this I will just cut the struts separately and glue them together rather than trying to make each one a single piece, especially with the cuts in the middle.

Then I added three strips of the kit provided piping for railings to act as the guide wires, Bob used brass wire, I used the kit plastic to try and maximize the amount of kit materials used in the model, since the guide wires were thicker than the mine sweeping wire I am content with my plastic ones, they also glue down with plastic cement rather than epoxy.




Next was the spools, here I used 0.040 thickness for the gears and 0.020 thickness for the spool sides and plastic tubing for the centers. The axle was made from some round sprue sanded down. I added 0.010 by 0.020 strips for struts on the large gears and 0.010 by 0.060 strips to make a nice smooth outer edge.




Next was adding the small gears that run of the winch engine and the embossing of geared teeth on the wheels themselves. This proved to be very, very messy…I think it is the Krazy glue coupled with the size of the parts…more ended on my hands than on the wheels.

Two ½ inch wooden furniture plugs provided the warping drums; the two I have attached are only temporary as I add some 0.020 by 0.020 strips to make a rim and braces for the ends. I used my Mini-Dremel to sand out the sides to make the proper curve.




Next up I have to build the pistons and engine to power the gears, this sits on the empty portion of the base. Then some guides for the guide wires and some breaks…I have been trying to think of how I could get/make some of the round handles when I though that I might be able to find some small rings at a bead shop, then I can add some polystyrene spokes with epoxy…look for an update next week for how that works.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/13 18:15:46


Post by: Flapjack


All those fiddley bits... I'd go mad. Great stuff. Any ideas for Captain Brown's personal cabin?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/15 07:52:23


Post by: Frodeck


I'm amazed by your effort and attencion to details you put in this project


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/20 19:01:57


Post by: Captain Brown


Flapjack wrote:All those fiddley bits... I'd go mad. Great stuff. Any ideas for Captain Brown's personal cabin?


Frodeck wrote:I'm amazed by your effort and attencion to details you put in this project


Thank you Flapjack and Frodeck.

For a base I pulled out the two bases for the Oerlikons (which RCN Corvettes did not get until later in the war), I added some thicker styrene rod from the mixed bag and cut out discs of smaller tubes to fill the top. Then I drilled two holes, one on each side for the turning hand cranks.



The arms of the davits I built from 0.020 thickness styrene cut from the plans in John McKay & John Harland's Anatomy of the Ship - The Flower Class Corvette AGASSIZ, the davits are basically two identical halves (arms) surrounding the blocks. I purchased a mixed bag of round styrene tubes from Evergreen and it has been extremely useful and I cut out discs to represent the wheels for the davits (large ones for the end and smaller ones down the middle. Then a bit of plastic rod at the bottom to allow the davits to swing freely until I decide on which angle to glue them.

The eye bolts at the ends of the arms were made from small discs cut from the styrene rod and cut in half to create the ring.

Then I built the winching gear box out of two small squares of sprue, first was the smaller angled piece, since the sprue parts are usually angled to a narrow side I just matched a segment to my paired arms. I then made a diagonal cut to match the angle of the arms. Then I cut a small cube of larger sprue and squared the edges and drilled a small hole all the way through (this was for the hand cranks), before attaching to my angled piece.

Hand cranks are made from piano wire.

On the minesweeping gear front: Well I went to a bead store and purchased several small metal rings. Then I cut some styrene piping (smallest diameter I could find in a mixed assortment from Evergreen) to fit inside the ring and filed a notch in the middle. Then I repeated the process and glued the notched sides together making a cross. Then some 5-minute epoxy to get the plastic to adhere to the metal.

Then I built my breaks for the minesweeping winch. 0.015 by 0.060 styrene stripes were cut and then glued together at an angle, these were married together with some of the brown plastic piping provided in the kit for railings.



What is not in that picture are the small discs cut from the brown piping to fit at the bend in the break support and one at the short end (the break pipe attaches at the top of the long arm and connects to the pressure bands on the drum). I may add a pair to the bottom of the break support to the bottom of the drum…but we will have to see if I have room when the thread is added.

Meanwhile I built three styrene staffs, with another little pit of brown piping to serve as the pivot upon with the break support sits. In this photo you can also see the steam motor which ran the gears to provide power to the engaged drums (I made it from some tank treads cut down, brown piping, two kit stanchions, some round sprue from the kit and lots of left over styrene – failed parts/shavings).



Next stage with breaks added, the turning handles, etc.



More to follow as next I have to tackle that worry of mine, the minesweeping floats…

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/20 20:37:14


Post by: Briancj


I sincerely hope you enter this into a local model show when you're finished!



Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/20 21:44:21


Post by: youwashock


Alright. Now this is just wizardry at this point.

Amazing, man.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/20 22:11:04


Post by: Meer_Cat


"We've found a witch m'lud- may we burn (him)?" Monty Python and the Holy Grail.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/23 17:39:24


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you Briancj, youwashock and Meer_Cat,

Little bit of work on the 4-Inch, mainly the elevation wheel and some more detail on the base.



Mock-up of the progress:



Now that the winch is nearing completion I tackled the item that has had been worrying me from the start and that is the minesweeping floats (dolphins). In the end I decided to make them from scratch as buying an aircraft kit to cut off some tanks was not in the cards and my searches for spare fuel tanks also came up empty.

I purchased a bag of wooden furniture plugs (each plug is about two inches long) of the right diameter for the widest portion of the dolphin. An old Ikea plug cut in half would provide the tail. I drilled a hole in each for some piano wire to give the join strength and then secured them together with some 5 minute epoxy.



Next came the Mini-Dremel and I sanded down the wooden plugs to a general dolphin shape.



Then some two part epoxy putty to fill in the gaps (thread marks in the plugs).



I sprayed them with some grey automotive primer, and while I was letting that dry I started some work on the racks they would sit on.

First I built a simple frame out of angle bracket styrene and then some 0.015 by 0.125 styrene for the ends:




Then I sanded the now dry floats one more time to smooth out the raised areas left by epoxy putty. I followed this with some 0.020 styrene to make the tail and stabilizers (securing them with superglue - a little 0.020 by 0.020 stripes added some strength to the vertical fin glued to the end of the float), and then some 0.010 by 0.060 stripes to build the brackets. A quick trim of the flat styrene at each end and I have two minesweeping floats.



The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/23 20:52:15


Post by: Briancj


Yeah, I can think of a bunch of fuel tank/bomb/whatever kits for 1:35, 1:48 and 1:72 scale aircraft models, but no guarantees they'd be the right size/length/etc without actually buying them. So, I think the scratch-build here was the best choice.

Bravo!

--Brian



Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/06/26 12:39:30


Post by: kestral


Love seeing all the details - I've always found minesweeping interesting. In ocean or space.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/08 18:54:00


Post by: Captain Brown


Briancj wrote:Yeah, I can think of a bunch of fuel tank/bomb/whatever kits for 1:35, 1:48 and 1:72 scale aircraft models, but no guarantees they'd be the right size/length/etc without actually buying them. So, I think the scratch-build here was the best choice.

Bravo!

--Brian


Thank you Briancj.

kestral wrote:Love seeing all the details - I've always found minesweeping interesting. In ocean or space.


Cute reference kestrel.

Next part of the stern fittings was the depth charge rails. Now my original plan was to just scratch-build my own, but after taking a closer look at the drawings from John McKay & John Harland's Anatomy of the Ship - The Flower Class Corvette AGASSIZ, I have decided to just use the kit parts with some adjustments. First thing was to cut off the last segment of each set of rails and from the removed segment I cut off the curved loading rail. Now one set of rails would have been for regular depth charges and one set would have been for ‘heavy’ charges which carried an extra weight and would sink faster to make the net of depth charges around the submarine. Of course pretty well no drop was a perfect bracket over the submarines as they would maneuver to avoid the charges because they were well aware that the corvette lost 'sight' as soon as they came close [downward looking sonar was developed much later in the war].

On the depth charges themselves I think that I will be cutting off the extra extensions on each depth charge in the kit (they are too wide when the scale is checked), leaving one side on to represent the ‘heavy’ charges.



So I may still have to narrow my rails by cutting out some of the cross braces. I have already started to sand down the parts to make them narrower and more to scale.

Here is the sweep gear as it stands right now (minus the winch as there was not room in the photo…gives you an idea of how crowded it is going to be back there).



I am intending on mounting it on some lamp finials.
Here is what they look like:


Here is what they look like when the ship is mounted on them.


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/08 19:03:21


Post by: Briancj


Great choice on the brass finials!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/09 14:44:02


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


That's a fantastic mount, it'll look amazing once the ship is all painted up.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/10 13:59:58


Post by: Vulcan


Captain Brown wrote:

I am intending on mounting it on some lamp finials.
Here is what they look like:


Here is what they look like when the ship is mounted on them.


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


It looks low by the bow like that. Can you adjust the front support up a millimeter or two?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/11 18:48:09


Post by: Captain Brown


Briancj wrote:Great choice on the brass finials!

Thanks Briancj

Thank you for the comments Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll

Vulcan wrote:
Spoiler:
Captain Brown wrote:

I am intending on mounting it on some lamp finials.
Here is what they look like:


Here is what they look like when the ship is mounted on them.


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


It looks low by the bow like that. Can you adjust the front support up a millimeter or two?

Actually Vulcan it is not. Because these escorts were based on a civilian whaling ship design they had the "duck tail" stern (which was raised) and allowed the smaller hull length to handle the North Atlantic swells (or originally the North Sea). Now the raised stern also meant that any water that was shipped would eventually make it's way midships to the scuppers and was not appreciated by the crew trying to traverse the steel decks. The ducktail stern was so successful that no Corvette was lost due to storms/weather during the war, storms that sank or crippled many Destroyers (built to military standards) escorting the same convoys.


So next up is the bridge (you could see a little of this work in the last photo of the previous post), while I seem to be jumping from section to section…the truth is I am. I want to make sure I don’t get too bogged down in a particular area. Also helps when I start to get frustrated with a particular part.

Bridge for CHILLIWACK in her 1942 configuration was the original mercantile bridge that had been modified with extensions on the wings and an armoured shield covered by splinter mats. So I adjusted the bridge from the drawings provided by Bob Pearson as his were for a British owned RCN Corvette (like ARROWHEAD, TRILLIUM, etc). Next I added a 17 mm high shield made from 0.040 styrene around the front and extended sides (the aft portions just had canvas dodgers over railings). The shield then had it’s wind shield made from very, very small triangles of styrene glued at regular intervals along the top and a 0.010 by 0.080 strip to make the actual wind deflector…making sure to leave a very tiny empty strip below to allow water to drain. The purpose of this wind deflector two twofold, to help break up any sea that reached that far as well as push the wind away or more accurately deflect it…any one who has stood on an open bridge in a storm knows how strong the wind is once it reaches the bridge.





So I was feeling very proud of myself when I looked at the pictures a little more closely…specifically how high the pilot house sits in relation to the shield.



Therefore I needed to raise the shield to make it look more accurate…several paired strips of 0.020 by 0.020 styrene were needed to do this and I ended up with this:


Just ignore the chips and nicks on the front shield, I had a little trouble with my first attempt at adding splinter mats. I made some from modelling clay and some from epoxy putty and was happy with neither, the kit mats are really, really too plain and uniform.


In this picture you can even see some of the bridge sagging which was a major problem for RCN Corvettes. They do add supports, but never enough as more equipment and heavier weapons were added to the bridge.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/20 10:42:03


Post by: kestral


The Brass mounting is really elegant. Interesting bit about the Duck Tail - that is the kind of detail my father loved about ships (and understood far better than I). You know, this blog is inspiring me to rebuild the scratch built Glouster fishing schooner model my late father built when I was young. My son and I were thinking about it doing it together. The rigging is trashed after poor storage and some other parts are broken or missing. Since it was built to actually sail in model races there are some compromises with accuracy, but seeing your scratch building makes me think maybe I could do it.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/20 18:27:56


Post by: Theophony


Great progress, I applaud your work towards accuracy.

The finials are great, as others have mentioned.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/22 20:20:50


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you kestral and Theophony,


Now that I have been working on the model for a while I decided to review my original plan and see what I have accomplished and what is still to be completed and what is to be modified…

Hull
Complete - Removal of a portion of the upper deck to forward of the bridge
Complete - Extra-large keel ground off
Complete - Stem needs to be removed and rebuilt
Complete - Bilge rails are way too large and thick, replacing with plasticard
Complete - Extra Portholes Covered
Complete – Extra Scuppers Covered
Dropped (Since the West Coast Corvettes seemed to have the eyebrows I will leave them on) Port Hole Eyebrows…torn as the West Coast ships seemed to have these
Complete - Stern needs to be flattened out and pulled to make sure there is room for Minesweeping gear and the Canadian stern
Additional Work - Also had to cut out new scuppers.

Deck and Fittings
Complete - All decks needs to have the fake reversed wood paneling taken off
Complete - Well deck needs to be scratch-built
Complete - Some water tight doors and other materials for the foc'sle
Additional decking added at the stern of the engine casing
Windlass, this is going to have to be built from scratch or a substitute found
Anchors need work and the hawse pipe is a joke
Complete - Hull Splinter Shields; on the forward ones I think I will have to move the placement as some of the West Coast Corvettes had them added slightly inboard
Lockers all need hinges and detailing
Wooden decks added forward and aft and in the well deck area
Mast…kit version is too short for short foc'sle and the SW1C/SW2C is missing
Life Boat Davits need lots of work
Boat Deck needs to be scratch-built and wood planking added, it will need lots of work as the kit is dearth in details here
Oval Life Rafts, need some work, not that bad
Partially Complete - Life Boats, fortunately 1942 the smaller square stern life boats were in use and not the Whaler…lucky me
Hatches need detailing
Dropping (going to use the kit ones) - Rectangle Life Rafts
Rope & Cable Reels need detailing or replacement
Complete - Small Ventilators need detailing
Need to scratch-build blake and bottle screw slip

Bridge
Complete - A new bridge will need to be built for the Short Focsle version
Search Lights need some pretty major work
Bridge Deck needs wood planking
Bridge Ladder Moved
Radar Lantern House…depending on early or late 1942 will determine if I need this, it needs a door, holes in the grate, etc.
Bridge Supports, again a pre or post 271 Radar set addition (CHILLIWACK had parts of the set added on repeated visits to Londonderry with the set being completed in December 1942)
Windshield…I will think of something
Complete - Bridge Splinter Shields/Splinter Mats…kit ones are a little sparse and the whole Bridge needs to be rebuilt for a type B design
Pipe Rails added instead of the fake flat plastic in the kit which look fragile and not really accurate
Rail Dodgers see above, going to built the pipe rails and then add some tissue paper
Complete - Wind dodger needs to be scratch built
Flag Box needs a complete replacement
Assorted Lockers need hinges and butterfly clips
Signal Light Platforms replacement or major conversion work
Complete - Deck House Ladders need replacement
D/F Coil, replacement with a round version
Bridge Voice Pipes need some detailing

Engine Room Casing
Complete - Needs to be shortened and corrected for Canadian version with overhang and struts
Complete - Move the 2 Pdr Bandstand aft
Complete - Engine Room Skylight…needs to be completely rebuilt as the kit version is wrong on so many levels.
Complete - Watertight Doors…the kit versions are really poor
Complete - Galley to be removed and moved aft of bridge
Complete - Funnel has had a styrene shell built with rivet detail
Dropped (Going to use the kit part) - Funnel Ladder, kit version is pretty simple
Steam Pipes on Funnel
Complete - Large ventilators really need some work as the kit versions are simple and too thick
Placement of gear and other changes are necessary

Weapons
4-inch Main Gun & Shield replacement or a complete scratch-build
Complete - Bandstand for the above will need treads and a replacement for the ammunition holders as well as some mesh and other detailing
2 Pdr (working on deciding if I am going to do early 1942 or late 1942…as early actually seemed to have a 20 mm Oerlikon in the rear bandstand while late had the 2 Pdr - if someone knows when I would love to know). Either way a replacement of complete scratch-build looks necessary
Complete - The 2 Pdr Bandstand tub needs to be replaced and a tread added
Bridge Weapons - either 303 Lewis Guns or 50 Cal twined Machine Guns look like the fittings for 1942. As per the 2 Pdr a completely new build will be necessary as the kit parts are really quite poor (again, no confirmation seems available)
Complete - Depth Charge Throwers…these are not bad…OK they are bad, about the level of the other weapons, I think some framing for the base and a little detail work will make them acceptable. Depth Charges are a little weak, but with some cutting off of extra parts and some paint detail they can work. The stalks are really too small and will have to be replaced, as well as stalk carrier detail.
Dropped (Going to use the kit parts with a lot of sanding) - Depth Charge Racks, too thick and too large, so some platicard replacements look necessary
Smoke Candle Racks…I think there is some sort of thick box that the kit provides
Floater Nets & Racks
Smoke Candles need some holes drilled

Minesweeping Gear
As this was not removed until the foc'sle extension I need to scratch-build the lot
Complete - Winch
Complete - Davits (x2)
Complete - Large Minesweeping Floats (x2) [/COLOR]Otter/Kite Floats (x4)
Gallows (x2)
Dan Buoys and racks

So the build is progressing.

Here is the bridge with splinter matts added. (I tried making some with clay, some with epoxy putty and finally just used the kit ones with a lot of filing)



Started working on the Boat Deck (or Funnel Deck depending on who you ask); adding ladders and some railings, (looks like I am going to have to make some stair railings out of piano wire) also added the small platform to access the two galley doors.


The mast was going to be tricky, not only was I moving the mast forward on the model, but I was also lowering it a deck...actually two decks with the moving forward of the focsle. (RCN Corvettes built for British accounts had the mast on top of a raised galley amidships…which is what is supplied with the kit and thus too short…really too short) So now the mast sat at the front of the well deck, with a clamp at the focsle deck level.

I started by removing the plastic angled pin at the base and measuring how much additional mast I needed. Then I selected the styrene tubing that was a close to the diameter of the base of the mast as possible. The one I selected was hollow and needed another tube inserted to make a solid cylinder. I did leave a little extra of the filling styrene tube and this will act as a guide to help seat the mast properly later on.

Then I drilled a 2 cm deep hole down the center. A similar 2 cm deep hole was drilled into the base of the existing mast and a 4 cm piece of piano wire was inserted to make the join strong (this took a very long time as drilling a 2 cm hole is not easy with a pin-vice).

When the two parts were joined I used plastic glue rather than epoxy, banking on the grip of the melted plastic to hold in the wire.

Then I took a piece of the next largest styrene tubing and cut a piece larger than my addition and started sanding down the end. I also sanded some of the original mast where the join was to narrow it to the same diameter. Then I applied the larger tube like a sleeve to create the continuous and gradual increase in mast diameter.

Here you can see the join as well as the mast bracket made from the next size up of styrene tubing and some 0.2 thickness styrene…you can also see roughly how it will sit on the deck.

So with the mast and the additions to the Boat Deck I have this for a mock-up:

What this has highlighted is that my angling of the bridge to adjust for the rise in the deck is a little too great…my bridge is sagging forward. :( So I will have to do some repair work before I secure it to the deck. Mast also has not bee glued in so that is why it is raked so far back.

And a view looking down, sorry no tripod to hold the camera steady:

You can see how crowded the Sweep Deck is going to be:


Next up is the expanding foam to fill the hull and then I will glue the deck down and some quick fittings for the bulwarks and I will start to paint it.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/22 21:43:35


Post by: Briancj


Why are you filling the hull?



Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/23 00:01:09


Post by: kestral


Love that airborn shot of the stern.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/23 17:13:22


Post by: SickSix


Your dedication to detail is astounding. The effort going into this... Feels like more effort than I have in all my painted minis so far lol.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/29 16:41:30


Post by: Captain Brown


Briancj wrote:Why are you filling the hull?

Because the model is so light and the superstructure is getting heavier as more fittings are added. I did not want her toppling over as I do work.

Thank you kestrel and SickSix.

While doing this build I did have a fascinating discussion with a veteran who served two years in HMCS SHEDIAC, he provided me with some corrections on the build. Since in 1941 and 1942 he was an acting PO and was a Leading Torpedo-man he pointed out the depth charge racks on the early RCN corvettes were straight (just angled against the slope of the deck) unlike the kit versions which have a dip near the end, so some more work will be needed on those.

Here are some progress photos, work that was carried out in spare moments.

First I filled the hull with expanding foam "Great Stuff" brand filler...use carefully as it really expands. The large Popsicle sticks were used to create the tumble home of the deck as the foam filled underneath. The foam provides strength to the model and makes is a little more substantial.



Here is the mock-up of the stern at the sweep deck (I did this so the veteran could point out what he remembered and the depth charge racks need to be straightened). The green is paint covering up my epoxy putty which filled in where I had pushed out the bulwarks and stern hull to make the square RCN corvette end vice the round cruiser version of the RN.


The vet also pointed out there was room to walk between the closing ends of the depth charge racks as his position was to pull the pins at the stern to roll the charges off. He also said that he did not remember ever using 'heavy' charges. Based on his memory I will be placing two .50 Cal machine guns on each bridge wings.

Next part of the kit that needed work was the bases for the davits, the kit just makes plastic pyramids, when the real ones had sections cut out to save on weight, steel and allow drainage.



With holes drilled and a primer coat of paint.



Some more work, started the wooden planking for the boat decks, bridge and pilot house roof.




I ended up using scored styrene due to my Popsicle stick method being to time consuming. So besides cutting the planks at the joins I am also scoring them with course grit sandpaper to simulate the grain.

I also need to add planking to the focsle and near the sweepdeck. RCN corvettes had these added after the initial construction and initially went to sea with no deck planking, just painted steel...which was really, really slippery. Based on what I found out speaking with veterans is that most ships had the planking added around the time the main mast was removed.

Here are four photographs from two Battle of Atlantic veterans who graciously let me scan them to post.

First from Bruce Menzies who was a sonar rating in HMCS WASKESIU, he answered my questions on the colour of the bottom of the hulls. RCN hulls were Black vice the Admiralty Anti-Fouling Red. Bruce sent these pictures taken in London in October 1944 of WASKESIU having her hull painted. He described the paint as almost a black tar.


You can see Bruce here, and he was recently featured in the History Channel's presentation of Convoy (Episode 4).

The second pair are from Ted Paxton, who prior to his commissioning and service in the Pacific was an Acting Petty Officer in HMCS SHEDIAC 1941-42.

You can actually see sailors taking a dip off the stern, one man is about to jump from the forward Carley Floats. One of the few pictures I have ever seen with the bridge wing .50 Cals visible.

The famous SHEDIAC Cat reaching into the bowl to grab a German U-Boat "Fish".

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/29 16:59:21


Post by: Briancj


Wow, excellent work on tracking down veterans and getting their input!

Those pictures also must really help get a clearer view of things.

Magnificent work!

--Brian



Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/31 02:35:33


Post by: amazingturtles


Amazing progress, every time it's more clear how much care you are putting into this project


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/07/31 04:26:06


Post by: The Riddle of Steel


Excellent progress on this crazy, ambitious project. The effort to get photos and input from the vets is really impressive to me and really shows your dedication to historical accuracy. And really good plasticard work. It looks like you are building over half the boat from scratch. Amazing.

-Rids


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/08/28 17:24:12


Post by: Captain Brown


Briancj wrote:Wow, excellent work on tracking down veterans and getting their input!

Those pictures also must really help get a clearer view of things.

Magnificent work!

--Brian


Thank you Brian.
amazingturtles wrote:Amazing progress, every time it's more clear how much care you are putting into this project

Thanks amazingturtles
The Riddle of Steel wrote:Excellent progress on this crazy, ambitious project. The effort to get photos and input from the vets is really impressive to me and really shows your dedication to historical accuracy. And really good plasticard work. It looks like you are building over half the boat from scratch. Amazing.
-Rids

Thank you The Riddle of Steel,
I figure when I finish there will be about 90% of the kit will have been modified or scratch built.

More progress.

Here is CHILLIWACK as she stands at this point.


I started to shrink the depth charge racks on the stern. I did this by cutting through the cross pieces and then after sanding them down glued the two halves back together. Here they are without any post join work after the cut. (Reason for the reduction in width is both due to space of the sweep deck and the fact the depth charges that come with the kit are too long, so after cutting off the ends they tend to drop out of the depth charge rails)

Next step is to get them to fit and angle inwards while still leaving room to get between them for pulling the release pins at the end. After doing some more research on CHILLIWACK, based on the drawings from Burrard Dry Dock the rails aft did have a downward angle at the end. Many RCN corvettes built back east were straight as described by Ted, but the West Coast ones had an angle, so I won't need to redo them completely.

Started adding the deck fittings, such as the wooden planking on the focsle and on the sweep deck. Here is the sweep deck, you can also see a depth charge stand against the engine room casing as well as the tops of two vents just above the edge of the lower bulwark.


Then as a break I went back to the 4-Inch and added elevation and training wheels as well as sights.





More to follow, since I really need to get on the forward bandstand and the shells stored there for ready use.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/08/29 03:32:55


Post by: youwashock


Continually impressive.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/08/29 09:44:34


Post by: LavuranGuard


Absolutely amazing work! I remember a childhood friend having the old Matchbox kit on his windowsill...but this is above and beyond.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/09/01 18:03:31


Post by: Wirecat


The joys of larger scale ship modelling! The project is coming together nicely, and with Your attention to details it will be amazing, I'm sure.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/09/01 18:14:04


Post by: Momotaro


Just re-read The Cruel Sea for the zillionth time, and came across this thread. What an amazing build - thank you for sharing it with us!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/09/02 11:40:12


Post by: Nevelon


Your attention to detail, and the ability to actually execute it, remains an amazing feat.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/02 21:16:31


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you youwashock, LavuranGuard, Wirecat, Momotaro and Nevelon.

I worked on some smaller deck fittings, mainly in an attempt to get the deck ready for paint.

I needed to sand down the mount and have added some round tubing to start to fill in the hole for the original kit swivel.


Now the really fiddly work, the forward bandstand has had stanchions added, ladders, ammunition davit and a raft of ready-use shells. The original drawings I have from Burrard Dry Dock show two small ammo lockers like the ones shown (above) just below the Pom-Pom bandstand aft, but from the photographs I have found these were dropped as soon as the ready use brackets were fitted around the forward bandstand. I made those by cutting off the bottom half of the shell holders and added 0.010 by 0.020 strips of styrene to represent the top of the bracket and some 0.015 by 0.060 to make the forward support. Now they look more like the metal brackets that held the 4 inch shells.


Here is a slightly better picture of the beef and vegetable screen boxes (just forward of the mast), you can also see the davit for the ammunition hoist and some of the gun detail. There is also one of the small vents that sat outside the splinter plates, West Coast built RCN corvettes had three on each side. The vent was made from one of the kit stanchions...for a useless part I seem to be using them everywhere.


Railings for my extra stairs proved a bit problematic, at first I figured I would use some plastic railing from the kit and bend them...but I found this to be fairly weak and since this is a display model and may get bumped I needed something stronger...so piano wire was used to make railings. They are a little thinner than the kit ones, but so are the post-production stanchions I intend to use and since those will have canvas dodgers added to most I think the difference will not be as noticeable.


I started to add some Maroon coloured primer to simulate 'red lead' over the grey car primer...you can see a little in this picture at the bottom.


You can see my hand railings made from the plastic kit railings, I added them on the superstructure based on John McKay & John Harland's Anatomy of the Ship - The Flower Class Corvette AGASSIZ.

I also figured out what to use for the last two lockers on the Engine Room Casing (a narrow locker and one of the large Hedgehog or 4-Inch lockers cut in half from the focsle of the original kit). As well as adding ladders down to the breezeway (you can just see the top in the bottom corner).


The green is some painters tape because paint is coming as I am priming the superstructure.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/02 21:26:24


Post by: Briancj


You should win ALL of the awards for this effort.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/02 21:44:36


Post by: youwashock


Paint coming? Sweet. This thing continues to be beyond amazing.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/06 01:01:43


Post by: Captain Brown


Thanks Briancj and youwashock,

It dawned on me I was missing the Carly Float racks/deck. It sat over the top of the galley doors on the RCN corvettes. So since nothing in the kit fit, I scratch built two using etched polystyrene for the planking, L brackets for the frame and U brackets for the legs, adjusting for the slope of the bulwarks and the boat deck.

Carley Float Rack/Deck: (Upside down view…it was the best shot of the conversion)


A picture of the racks/deck after primer has been added…and the wood patterned polystyrene has a lick of paint.

Look from a slightly different angle:

A further look from abeam…these were the photos that turned out.


A slightly blurry picture of the focsle, but you get the idea of the wood planking. The windlass is still a concept and needs to be built.


A look overall…now with the black bottom and grey primer she looks a little like the RCN corvettes before the Western Approaches colours.


The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/06 02:44:42


Post by: Theophony


Man the progress and detail work on this is insane. I can imagine people running around on these decks during conflict.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/06 12:17:55


Post by: Nevelon


Paint!

Amazing attention to detail as always.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/07 22:55:26


Post by: Maharg


Wow Captain Brown, amazing work on this ship, the attention to detail is incredible


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/07 23:54:40


Post by: kestral


Such an amazing model. Is it wrong that I wish I was very small so I could roam the deck?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/08 23:35:59


Post by: Meer_Cat


Revell used to have a 'Master Modelers Club' that I was briefly a member of; one of the perks was a monthly news letter/little magazine thing that showed all the wonderful models and how they could be built and scenicked and all. It always ended with a short story about a kid named Milo, I think, and how he would go to the Revell Master Modelers Clubhouse and use their 'smallifying' machine [not sure if they knew that Danny Dunn also had one] so he could shrink and actually fit into the model airplane, tank or ship that he had just built.

I wanted one of those in the wort way.....

Great work, Cap'n, great work, indeed!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/09 00:51:57


Post by: The Riddle of Steel


This is beyond impressive. It makes my head spin just thinking about the skill and hard work that has gone into this.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/16 01:36:39


Post by: Captain Brown


Theophony wrote:Man the progress and detail work on this is insane. I can imagine people running around on these decks during conflict.

Thanks Theophony, more like sliding, that was the reason the wooden decking was added because the steel decks had no grit paint.

Thank you Nevelon, Maharg, Meer_Cat and The Riddle of Steel

kestral wrote:Such an amazing model. Is it wrong that I wish I was very small so I could roam the deck?

kestrel, if you ever visit the other side of Canada from me (i.e. the Maritimes) and visit Halifax you can walk the decks of HMCS SACKVILLE one of CHILLICACK's sisters, although she is in the late war upgrades with Hedgehog, Orlikons, extended foc'sle, etc.

More progress, now this is the problem when you start a section without referencing the photographs. I started adding the pipe rail stanchions on the engine room casing, unfortunately I used the 3' 3 rail versions rather than the 3' 2 rail and had to remove them…sadly no stanchion survived and now I am without 3’ 3 Pipe rail stanchions. I have used 4’ 3 Pipe rail stanchions for the bridge (as this varied from refit to refit and the higher railings was likely in CHILLIWACK in 1942), for the wheelhouse I was able to use 3’ 2 rail stanchions like those on the engine room casing, galley and boat decks.

Railings added aft on the engine room casing:


Looking at the funnel and boat decks…as well as the galley deck and the aft rails of the bridge, both the latter will be covered in canvas dodgers (the railings from the boat deck to the engine room casing deck are still not connected so I can separate the superstructure for painting):


From forward looking aft:


The railings were very tricky and I ended up using a pin to make sure the holes for the wire were open enough. I used super glue to secure them and general cut only straight wire to join them (I tried a little bending for the funnel deck and a few other places). The stanchions were from “Great Little Ships” and while very accurate, they were also very delicate and unforgiving if they needed too much adjustment.

It is time for the canvas dodgers to get added to the railings for the bridge, wheelhouse and galley decks. I am not using canvas, but instead tissue paper.

Here is the first attempt for the 4’ 3 Pipe railing on the bridge.



I realize it will stop being translucent when I paint it, but it does seem a little too thin, perhaps a second layer of tissue.

Another small addition was the galley chimney. Here is the kit version (which was designed to run aft to the funnel to clear room for the 271 Radar Lantern that was added in late 1942 and not one I am doing) with part of it cut out.



Now attached to the superstructure, when I join the wheelhouse section to the galley section I will add a bracket to the bridge to help stabilize the chimney.



I also drilled holes in the chimney because you always drill weapon barrels.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/16 23:27:44


Post by: Meer_Cat


Fantastic build continues!

My first service was the Coast Guard (followed by the Marine Corps and then the Army) and I served on WHEC-37 USCGC Duane. She was one of the 327' Treasury class cutters and in no way related to your Chilliwack, but we did still have the canvas dodgers on our railings located on the O-1 and higher decks, to help block the spray and the wind. Over time, with extended exposure to the elements and repeated washings, they grew very translucent, much like yours appear in the photos here. I think you could add a layer, but the look they have now I find very accurate, for that state of wear. The stanchions were capped with brass covers which had to be shined each watch and the corner stanchions were served with Turk's Head wrapping, which deck apes (boatswain's mates in polite company) frequently retied.

A really fascinating build and history lesson, Captain!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/17 16:53:46


Post by: Captain Brown


 Meer_Cat wrote:
Fantastic build continues!

My first service was the Coast Guard (followed by the Marine Corps and then the Army) and I served on WHEC-37 USCGC Duane. She was one of the 327' Treasury class cutters and in no way related to your Chilliwack, but we did still have the canvas dodgers on our railings located on the O-1 and higher decks, to help block the spray and the wind. Over time, with extended exposure to the elements and repeated washings, they grew very translucent, much like yours appear in the photos here. I think you could add a layer, but the look they have now I find very accurate, for that state of wear. The stanchions were capped with brass covers which had to be shined each watch and the corner stanchions were served with Turk's Head wrapping, which deck apes (boatswain's mates in polite company) frequently retied.

A really fascinating build and history lesson, Captain!


Thanks Meer_Cat,

HMCS CHILLIWACK actually served with USCG Spencer and Campbell both Treasury-class cutter identical to Duane in 1943 on Convoy ONS 166.

Cheers,

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/17 21:48:59


Post by: Meer_Cat


And another of the 'Seven Sisters', USCGC Taney, is currently moored in Baltimore's Inner Harbor and can be toured. When I was dating the lady who is now my wife I took her to show her 'my' cutter and she got annoyed that other people seemed to be following us around- they thought I was a guide!

Spencer was the last to be taken out of active service, I was in Egypt on Operation Bright Star in 1985 and read in the Stars and Stripes newspaper that she had been decommissioned that month (I think June?) and was scheduled to be sunk to become part of an artificial reef.

The older chief petty officers all claimed that the 327's rode the waves more smoothly than any other hull. I remember that when fresh water ran low, it was reserved for drinking, cooking and the steam turbines (the evaporators usually couldn't keep up with consumption- we almost always had to have a bowser alongside when we put into port to top off) for bathing the deck apes would lower a hose over the side and pump water through an educator and we 'salted' ourselves clean. Not bad in the Caribbean, a whole 'nother thing in the mid-Atlantic and we just smelled for awhile on ice patrol in the North Atlantic.

Hadn't thought so much about that ship in years, until your build.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/18 20:36:57


Post by: theCrowe


Been following your progress on this from page 1 and every update is just awesome on top of awesome. Your attention to detail and commitment to historical accuracy is one thing but your skill and ability to actually make it happen is a big part of it.
So thanks for sharing this, all your thinking and your methodology and of course the great result you're putting together. It's a great blog to follow.

One thing I've been wondering for a while though; in all your time researching the Chilliwack have you ever come upon any information on the ship's cat?


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Also, I've heard wet wipes work well for canvas on miniatures. They're tougher than tissue but might have too fibrous a texture for what you're going for.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/19 10:50:39


Post by: CommissarKhaine


I dropped by since I saw your name on the thread, and don't regret it. Nice build!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/20 00:31:21


Post by: squall018


This is just great so far. Really enjoying seeing the ship come together!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/21 23:15:55


Post by: Captain Brown


Glad I could bring back some memories Meer_Cat.

theCrowe wrote:Been following your progress on this from page 1 and every update is just awesome on top of awesome. Your attention to detail and commitment to historical accuracy is one thing but your skill and ability to actually make it happen is a big part of it.
So thanks for sharing this, all your thinking and your methodology and of course the great result you're putting together. It's a great blog to follow.

One thing I've been wondering for a while though; in all your time researching the Chilliwack have you ever come upon any information on the ship's cat?

Also, I've heard wet wipes work well for canvas on miniatures. They're tougher than tissue but might have too fibrous a texture for what you're going for.


theCrowe,

CHILLIWACK's cat was called "Kathy" and her dog was called "Champ"...but I think "Champ" turned out to be a she and there are three puppies in a 1945 photo of the crew.

Thank you CommissarKhaine and squall018.

Now for another interesting story, as I have mentioned several times in the build log I have been unable to find any record or image of gun art for CHILLIWACK, every photo I have found lacks that famous RCN hallmark. The Gun Art book also is missing any mention of CHILLIWACK.

Then out of the blue I received an invite to see some new stained glass added to Vancouver Christ Church Cathedral and what was sitting in the middle of the first panel?


Now the artist made this from a sketch and the colours are assumed based on the shading…he had no idea if it was from gun shield art or something else.

This is an example of a scan of a photo sent me by the North Shore Museum…notice no gun art:


After speaking with several veterans (two navy and the other merchant marine) it seems that the gun art was lacking from CHILLIWACK...notice the yellow "explosion"...that really looks to be the top of the stylized Maple Leaf added to some corvette's funnels in 43 and 44 to differentiate RCN Corvettes from their RN counterparts and these were green in colour. Canada did not have a Maple Leaf flag during this time. Another veteran said the image is from a jacket patch that Veterans had made for some coats after the war.

Back to the build, the forward railings were made from black thread and the rope stanchions from Great Little Ships. They proved a challenge to add due to the delicate nature of the white metal stanchions and I ended up using crazy glue to secure the thread and running it through.



Same thing was done on the 4 Inch Bandstand, but this time I added some old mesh from a damaged screen to make the safety netting.



The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/24 14:30:01


Post by: Captain Brown


Another update,

Mast got some more work, first I wanted to make sure the yard arm was going to be able to stand up to the stress of halyards so I added a thin brass wire beneath it.



I also added a light fitting to beneath the crows nest and some struts as per several photographs. The Burrard Drydock drawings did not have the crows nest as that was a later fitting.



To keep the mast steady I have added some hard points made of brass to create eyes for the stays, here are a pair just aft of the fo'c'sle.



Next up was the SW1C Radar, the Canadian 1.5 metre wavelength set that was rotated by the operator using a bicycle chain…that was how it was converted from a forward fixed mount to rotate 360 degrees.

I used a single piece of Evergreen Polystyrene 221 3/64” Rod. First I cut off a 50 mm length for the top of the radar aerial. Then a 36 mm length that was cut into 2 x 18 mm lengths, one end received a 60 degree cut and the other a 30 degree cut. A file was used to make a notch in each angled cut and for the end of the long remaining portion.

Then I glued the 50 mm piece at right angled to the long remaining portion at about 18 mm from one end. The two 18 mm pieces were glued with the large angle against the main trunk and the smaller angle against the 50 mm portion creating a yaga style radar.

A piece of that kit provided railing was then cut up make three equal parts of 8 mm long and these were glued together to make an “H” and this is the tail end of the SW1C.



I used the colour photo of the WEYBURN as the best reference shot I could find, it shows the radar post going down the length of the mast, so I drilled can extra hole in my mast bracket and will use some larger hollow polystyrene tubing cut up to make the brackets to hold the SW1C post against the mast.



The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/24 15:50:25


Post by: youwashock


Continually brilliant.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/24 19:23:25


Post by: CommissarKhaine


Amazing attention to detail.; Loving it!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/27 19:20:34


Post by: Wirecat


+1 one to "Loving it" from this shore - wonderful!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/29 16:11:37


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you youwashock, CommissarKhaine and Wirecat].

Well I am getting into the final details; one part that has been long delayed is the secondary armament. Canadian Corvettes tended to mount whatever was available; about the only common fitting was the World War One 4 Inch gun forward. Although documentation today states a 4 Inch deck gun, 2 X 20mm Oerlikons, Hedgehog and 2 Pound Pom-Pom these were the fittings on later corvettes with extended fo'c'sles and the supply of secondary armament had been sorted out in 1944.

Ted Paxton who sailed in HMCS SHEDIAC had identified twin .50 Calibre Machine Guns on the bridge wings and that SHEDIAC had another pair mounted in the aft bandstand (the latter replaced with the 2 Pound Pom-Pom) and when the bridge-wings were extended and given struts the Oerlikons replaced the bridge mounts.

The earliest photos of CHILLIWACK definitely have a paired mounting of some kind aft (likely twin .50 Calibre Machine Guns) but at some point these were replaced with a Pom-Pom as a photo in 1943 when the 271 Radar was added she has the 2 pounder.

So armed with this information I decided to build four twined .50 Calibre Mounts (Browning Machine Guns) and a Pom-Pom to be safe…

First up was the .50 Cals and I started with some plastic styrene tubing, then some square and rectangular strips and cut them down to scale. I also used some more 1/35 scale tank treads which I was trimming down to make the handles at the rear of the Browning.



The Brownings in their rough form, details to be added still:



With my first run at their mountings (I used the drawings from Shipcraft Special: Flower Class Corvettes by John Lambert and Les Brown)…it seems the mountings are a little small for bridge wings splinter shield so I will likely build some larger ones, after seeing a photo of HMCS BATTLEFORD with the high mounts I will make some more.



With detailing added, I think I will trim down the ends of the barrels as the Canadian versions I have seen in photos tended to be the short wide nose variant.



So I spoke with several more veterans about RCN corvettes. Don Bellamy sailed in HMCS CHICOUTIMI (besides several other ships) and remembered CHILLIWACK having a Pom-Pom in the aft bandstand in 1942. He described some of the living conditions and confirmed some of the mine sweeping fittings for me. So it looks like I will be building a 2 Pounder after all.

Bill Hutcheson sailed in the Merchant Marine and did several trips near the end of the war, but only once did a corvette come close enough to pass a message and ask about the crew (probably to see if there were any friends or relations in the Canadian merchant). Bill has also made a model of CHILLIWACK (later long fo'c'sle version) which I hear it is quite spectacular and he says that all photos he has of CHILLIWACK have the Pom-Pom aft, but admits they are from after her fo'c'sle extension.

Peter Lynch sailed in HMCS MATANE (if anyone has any pictures of this Frigate he would be keen to see them) and sailed in concert with a few corvettes, he passed on some anecdotes of the second iteration of EG 9.

Cully Lancaster sailed in HMCS MOOSE JAW and he said that she carried two pairs of Lewis Guns in her aft bandstand. Cully was from Moose Jaw and ended up sailing in the corvette named for his home town when the assigned officer failed to make his connection and the corvette sailed with Cully taking his place…one of those “two year” temporary assignments.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/30 18:32:06


Post by: Heretic Tom


I am blown away, this is an amazing project.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/10/30 19:54:54


Post by: Theophony


The level of detail and history on this project are astounding. Always a treat to stop by and look in awe.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/11/02 09:02:52


Post by: gobert


I can’t believe the detail you’ve got on those .50cals, spectacular! They even have cocking handles and iron sight!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2019/11/03 14:46:28


Post by: CommissarKhaine


Lovely pc work as always... How big are those .50 cals in mm?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/02/17 03:34:36


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you guys.

It has been a while, but photos of some more work.

The windlass has been a long standing project that needed to get done. The kit comes with a very simple “simulacrum” that really is sad looking.

Here are the parts:


Drawings from Anatomy of the Ship: Agassiz



First attempt to use the kit parts…



That was a failure.:(

I then tried getting a windlass from Sirmar Model Fittings, here it is in comparison; unfortunately it is a different pattern than those used on the West Coast built RCN Corvettes, it appears to be a UK merchant ship design.



Attempt number two…



The more complete version, this one I am happy with.




I made the drums out of styrene card cut into discs and glued together, gearing was with aluminum foil, stamped with the rim of a medicine bottle and glued on with superglue. Drums were made from furniture plugs sanded down with a Dremel, then some styrene added around the edge (0.015 by 0.060) and some cross pieces (0.020 by 0.020). Brake handles were made from the railing styrene supplied in the kit.

I used the base and two of the sets of rollers from the kit, and some of the railings for rod, two stanchions cut down as supports and three of the windlass parts together to make some of the motors, rest was all styrene rod and discs...and a little imagination.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/02/17 04:47:22


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


Ah, good to see this project still going! Your attention to detail is fantastic.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/02/17 05:05:45


Post by: youwashock


Been a while, but you are still killin' it. It looks like if you plugged it in, it would run.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/02/21 15:46:31


Post by: Captain Brown


Tank you Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll and youwashock,

After looking at the best photo of the period I am building a 2 Pounder Pom-Pom for the aft bandstand. While CHILLIWACK was almost certainly constructed with two duel 50 Calibre machine guns, at this point in her career there were "upgrades" taking place.

So the kit variant is again almost just a “simulated” item to represent the 2 Pounder (the name Pom-Pom comes from the sound the weapon made, it was an anti-aircraft weapon designed to use up the vast stocks of 2 pound ammunition left over from the First World War) and it could only pass for the weapon from a great distance.

So I began by cutting out a shield from 0.010 thickness styrene, embossing some rivets with my stitch marking roller.



Then I added some more styrene to make the supporting frame using the drawings from Anatomy of the Ship: Agassiz and Shipcraft Special: Flower Class Corvettes





I did use the base (although I had to sand down the bottom support to fit my rebuilt aft bandstand) and I cut off most of the raised portions on the top to move the shield forward to account for the foot stands. This picture also has the side supports cut from another sheet of left over styrene.



Here is a slightly earlier picture of the aft bandstand with the hole that this weapon will pivot in.



The barrel was built from styrene tubing and the muzzle cut from the kit weapon (with the end drilled out to give the impression of a hollow barrel), picture of this was too small and fuzzy to share. The breach was made from sprue as was the magazine hopper. For the magazine I used some thin styrene rod and cut into small dowels and laid them side by side, then some angle bracket was laid over the ends to make it look like an ammunition feed (you can see that the best in the top down picture).



Also added a pair of my home made wheels for training and elevation, plus some discs and other extra styrene rod and some kit railing material for the aiming bars…afraid my targeting rings are rather solid, but I just don’t have the fine etched brass bits to use.



Top down look so you can see the foot rests. These I made from plain styrene card (0.020 thickness) and them some fine screen mesh was glued on top of it to create the tread effect. You can also see the ammunition hopper on the right and a look at the top of the aiming bars. My swinging hinge is also a little warped, but other than that not to bad.



The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/02/21 16:05:03


Post by: amazingturtles


The details you get down to always astonish me.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/02/21 16:31:22


Post by: Yorkright


More amazing scratch built models. Looks good Cap!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/02/21 18:46:07


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


That's a beautiful pom-pom. Absolute attention to detail. Mind-blowing.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/03/09 18:42:18


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you everyone for the comments.

Now that the major additions and changes have been made I still have some minor changes and upgrades. Those little things that were overlooked in the model kit and in my planning…

Starting the last of the mine sweeping gear, here are the rope reels (I used the kit parts for the focsle reels and boat deck reels), I added handles made from kit railing sprue.



Next up for the Engine Room Casing is the Dan buoy storage which will be outside the pipe rails.

On the aft end of the Engine Room Casing I added the gong and on the aft bandstand the stern running light, which was originally mounted on the end of the deck, according to the Burrard Dry Dock drawings, however in photos it was quickly moved up to the bandstand for better visibility. Also added a ladder and a circuit box against the casing.



The depth charges sitting on the deck needed major work, so I simply cut off the sides to make them the right dimensions, and then added a 10 x 10 mm square cut from 0.010 thickness polystyrene for the holder portion of the carrier. Some styrene tubing made the stalks for the carriers and viola…instant depth charges.



Here are the supports added under the extended bridge wings, CHILLIWACK was one of the first Corvettes to get extended Bridge Wings…but sadly the 20mm Oerlikons intended to be placed there were slow to arrive so she kept her .50 Cal twin mounts…however it did save on the supports (once the Oerlikons were mounted they added bracing to prevent the bridge wings sagging)…although there is a picture of ALBERNI with sagging experienced with just the twin .50 Cal mounts.

Based on the photos of CHILLIWACK and some other short fo'c'sle Corvettes as these were additions beyond the initial drawings I have of CHILLIWACK.



Speaking of mounts, here are my second, larger versions:



I also found the photograph I am using shows that CHILLIWACK added some splinter mats to the canvas dodgers on the 4 foot pipe rails on the bridge so I made six more out of epoxy putty (I am especially proud of the one sagging at the top corner as a line has come loose). I also added another locker and finally the MF/DF navigation coil made from kit railing rod and some extra sprue.



Dan Buoys and a few bits and bobs and I will be done construction.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/03/09 18:48:52


Post by: Kid_Kyoto


Kind of a side question if you don't mind. I see you're assembling the whole ship before painting, is that going to be a challenge? Or does it come apart for priming and painting?


I ask because I always to the same thing and always kick myself for doing it.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/03/09 19:31:03


Post by: youwashock


Astounding, as always. Can't believe it's nearly done.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/03/09 20:41:52


Post by: theCrowe


Astonishingly good as ever. I do love watch your build. It's really inspiring.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/04/27 22:25:55


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you Kid_Kyoto, youwashock, and theCrowe

So the superstructure is not glued to the hull yet so I can remove it for painting, as are the main gun, Pom-Pom, some of the deck fittings, etc.

So here are the Dan Buoys, the last main item that needed to be completed before painting:



They are a little further aft than the drawings, but some of the photographs of the Engine Room Casing have them moved back (I suspect a correction made during construction, it was noted in research that many modifications took place during the building because the drawings from the UK had never been finalized prior to their sending to Canada...hence the mainmast still being listed and added to RCN Corvettes when first built).



Now I have started painting…having never used an air-brush before this has been a bit of an experience…and a messy one. The white is now on…the trouble with an airbrush is that I have to do it outside (not having any sort of space to use it with proper ventilation)…which with West Coast weather has been quite challenging.

Spoke with some veterans again on some of the colours. Carley Floats were a grey colour and the floats for the mine sweeping gear were painted an off-yellow rather than white.

Next update I should have the base coats down, just waiting for a dry day to do the Green and Blue.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/04/28 00:19:28


Post by: youwashock


In the endgame, now. Amazing project. Strong finish!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/04/28 11:05:22


Post by: Nevelon


Your attention to detail is amazing.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/04/28 13:09:13


Post by: monkeytroll


Excellent stuff, read through it this morning I do love seeing a super-detailing project, and also love seeing a good boat build. Top marks sir!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/04/28 13:20:51


Post by: gobert


Good to see your still keeping the Corvette going CB. Good luck with the airbrush and weather


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/04/28 13:32:57


Post by: amazingturtles


It's been remarkable following this, every stage has been impressive! Keep up the good work, and i hope that the weather will be better for you soon.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/04/28 14:54:54


Post by: Vermis


I don't feel qualified to even comment on this. Regardless: absolutely astounding. Much respect.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/04/29 15:33:21


Post by: Theophony


I applaud your tenacity and skill with this build. All the labor of love is definitely paying off.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/05/19 20:30:21


Post by: DJJazzyJeff


An astoundingly impressive project. The detail you've put into this ship is incredible.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/05/26 20:14:35


Post by: Wirecat


Looking just a few steps from being alive! Great project, sir, please, do not hurry!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/05/26 21:42:59


Post by: Nevelon


Quick, someone place some periscopes around his workstation. Give him a little motivation to get under sail.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/05/30 20:47:02


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you everyone.

Here is the first WIP shot of the model as it gets its basecoat. For paints I have been using White Ensign Model enamels (all based on the real paint chips of the period), Games Workshop Acrylics and Vallejo Acrylics.



For colours I made several checks, speaking with Ted Paxton and Cully Lancaster about colours of the corvettes they sailed in, as well as the handful of black and white photographs available. I also tried to use the colour photographs of ARROWHEAD and WEYBURN, but this last source caused some problems, because when I painted the hull it just did not look right…


(Photo source DND Archives Project Pride Ken Macpherson Collection)

CHILLIWACK looks to have been in the Western Approaches Dazzle Paint Scheme in 1942, a change from the standard grey that corvettes where painted when first built. There was a fair bit of leeway given to captains, for example Ted Paxton says that SHEDIAC’s captain had grey mixed with everything to give the ship a simple grey toned dazzle paint.

But from descriptions provided with the black and white photos I know CHILLIWACK was a little more like this:

I traded some emails with Bob Pearson, who did the coloured paint scheme images for the Shipcraft Special: Flower Class Corvettes

At first glance it looks like the corvette has only two colours:


(Photo source DND Archives Project Pride Ken Macpherson Collection)

The large dark triangles are WA Green, and the hull would be the off white of the RN/RCN.

WA Blue is so light that it is almost impossible to notice unless you look for it (so I thought I might have a bad batch and opened another tin and used a different agent to thin it for painting...and it was just as faint). However the paint chips Jon Warneke and Jeff Herne showed that the WA Blue is really light and that the blue from the colour photo of WEYBURN was probably B6 or 507A. I read somewhere that CO's could replace any missing colour with 507C and Ted Paxton says his CO insisted that it get mixed with each of the colours so that SHEDIAC was a series of greys.

With that in mind you can see a slight change in colour on the 4 Inch and on the bridge wings with a diagonal, especially in this photo:


(Photo source DND Archives Project Pride Ken Macpherson Collection)

There is even a little contrast on the dodger on the bridge deck. It also looks like the funnel and ventilators might be WA Blue (as the large hatch cover between the ventilators is probably white) with WA Green for the top funnel band.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/05/30 21:43:53


Post by: monkeytroll


Looking great with the bases down. I like all the reference work you have to do even on the colours, makes an enjoyable read.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/05/31 15:38:17


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


The attention to detail continues to be amazing. Thank you so much for sharing your research with us! I'm sure your finished result will make Paxton and Lancaster proud!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/06/02 15:40:20


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you both.

More photos in better light, now I am starting the highlights and touch-ups before the first coat of varnish before weathering.

Midships


Quarterdeck


Focsle


Just the base colours, nothing more at this point.

Never use any form of spray paint on thread…word to the wise. I used black thread for some of the railings that had rope and not wire...it did not react well to the spraying.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/06/02 16:58:25


Post by: youwashock


I cannot wait to see this thing finished. Truly amazing project.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/06/02 19:05:43


Post by: Albertorius


Astounding. This is something I would expect to see in a museum.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/13 21:09:50


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you youwashock and Albertorius,

So I have started the weathering, the soot and grime that comes from Oil fired ships who sailed in convoy with coal-fired freighters of the SC (Slow Convoys) that became the favoured targets of the Kriegsmarine’s U-Boat arm. I cannot leave a model with it’s pristine paint…as within minutes of painting the elements and regular use with start to corrode/chip/dirty up everything. Especially on a heavily used escort ship that sailed back and forth across the Atlantic in the middle of a world war.

First, the ship with soot and grime (rust has not been added yet), in this photo the Corvette is starting to look nearly done.


Nothing is really glued down yet as I have to add the window glass after all sealing is done. I will just have a black backing on the glass so the wheelhouse and Asdic house interiors will not be visible. The grime is a mixture of black wash, water and lacquer thinner (to prevent the water tension in the wash beading). After this was applied over a glass varnish it was rubbed down with more lacquer thinner to create the streaks.

Bow


Midships

I have started making straps for the Carley floats (need to do some for the lifeboats next), they are simply tin foil folded over to make a strap with some cut up polystyrene tubing for the ring…trouble now is painting them as the tin foil is not the best medium to paint on.

Stern

The off-yellow floats are a little pristine still, they were actually that colour for no known reason. I have actually used a couple of GW hand grips from a tank kit to make the top bracket which was a basically the top of a large triangle, for this scale the handle is good enough.

So next up is the rust and then the rigging…just need to get the lifeboats right and add the straps...then the rust...then gluing down everything and placing the depth charges.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/13 21:18:15


Post by: Nevelon


I’m probably repeating myself from before, but your attention to detail is amazing. Watching this come together is astonishing.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/13 21:19:47


Post by: Kid_Kyoto


Congratulations on getting (near) the end of a fantastic project.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/13 21:44:33


Post by: youwashock


It's going to look like a real boat. Like you went out and zapped one with your miniaturizationizer. I await the rust.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/13 23:47:45


Post by: theCrowe


Fantastic painting so far. The finished article will be a masterwork!

Not sure if you mentioned already but what is the plan for your CHILLIWACK once the project is complete? Will it be on display somewhere?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/14 13:13:16


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


Aye, that looks so realistic. The attention to detail continues to astonish.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/14 13:20:05


Post by: 416_SpaceWolves


CB. I love this. Great project.I love your attention to details, and as a grandson of a Royal Navy man on one side, and Royal Canadian Air Force man on the other, I love that you've engaged with veterans so often on this.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/16 18:18:35


Post by: gobert


She looks absolutely fantastic Captain! The streaky grease stains are spot on. It always amazed me how rusty even modern Navy ships get around any opening on the hull, I imagine WW2 vessels would be mostly coated in rust unless they’d just come out of refit


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/17 23:21:25


Post by: Maharg


Exciting to see this incredible project nearing completion. The build is amazing, so many details and the paint job so far is doing it justice, great weathering so far


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/20 03:25:40


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you everyone.

Added the rust, I used some weathering powders, burnt umber oil, and lacquer thinner. I added it to the decks in the scuppers and drains, as much of the rust particulate would make its way there after getting washed down with rain and sea spray. I did a wash of black ink with lacquer thinner first, so it blended with the rust as grime and soot would have. Then I streaked some from the scuppers down the sides of the hull and from the hawse pipe. The anchor chain also received a healthy dose as in a ship the anchor cable has the links banging against each other constantly and is one of the first places rust starts to build from.

All these photos are without rigging (for mast, davits, cranes, hoists, etc), and the port holes are still covered in tape…just noticed that.

I did less rust on the upper works, as this is where the ship’s company would have tried to battle the rust build up with paint…so what rust I did use I diffused with extra lacquer thinner where it could be reached easily.

Here you can see that I added the canvas straps for the lifeboats (made from 0.010 by 0.060 polystyrene strips), something quite prominent in most photos.

So I glued down the superstructure and added the depth charges. Here you can also see the lines added to the rope reels for the Dan buoys as well as one of the Carley Floats.

The straps for the Carley Float were made from tin foil and a slice of polystyrene tubing to make the ring.

Another picture of the forward Carley Floats, additional floats were added aft due to the increase in crew size and the fact some Corvettes were known to drop floats near sinking vessels to aid in getting survivors out of the water.


One more photo showing the depth charges, this photo also shows some of the grime and soot that has run off the funnel casing deck.

Still need to add rigging, including the three colours of thread based on the drawings from Warship Perspectives: Flower Class Corvettes in World War Two by John Lambert.

By 1942 most of the un-milled steel issues had resolved themselves because the grime layer had already worked through the previous navy grey schemes in 1941, so the reason for less paint chips. There would also be lots of chips and sanding at midships due to Corvettes grinding against one another in St. John's harbour where fenders did not cover.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/28 16:25:11


Post by: Captain Brown


More painting photos.

So the fo'c'sle has had the gun mount (forward bandstand) secured and the 4 inch presently can rotate…going to leave that until I am certain of a direction to aim it. The anchor chain was secured and presently they do support the weight of the two plastic anchors.

At the bow you can see some of the grey of the undercoat peaking though some damage, probably as the anchor was raised. You can also see the draft marks right at the stem.

I added clear plastic to represent the glass windows in the wheelhouse and the ASDIC Hut.

I was going to place black polystyrene behind them because there are no internal fittings in either space, but they did not look right, as it is the inside bulkheads, decks and deck head have been painted flat black.

Another picture of the bridge, you can see the voice pipes forward of the ASDIC hut, and there is even a pipe coming from the crows nest snaking in just between the mast and forward bridge shield. Anyone who has ever used a voice pipe in high winds or heavy seas knows how hard it is to communicate through them.


The Mine sweeping Gear on the sweep deck aft. I just had to dirty up the yellow mine sweeping floats.

Depth Charges have been added to the rails and I even added the locking and release bars.

Next up is the rigging.

The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/28 16:38:48


Post by: 416_SpaceWolves


The attention to detail is outstanding CB. Every time I look at a photo, there is something else I notice. One of my favorite threads on the site. Terrific work.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/28 19:18:19


Post by: youwashock


Stellar detail, as always. Have you been tracking the time you have put into this thing?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/29 07:56:06


Post by: gobert


That’s Immense Cap! The details are beyond belief, the rust from the scuppers and drains are spot on, really adds to the working boat aesthetic


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/30 19:34:50


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you monkeytroll, youwashock, and gobert

On went the rigging (in black, white or tan thread as per the rigging diagrams I located).

Here is a bow and quarter view.





Only inaccuracy I know of was I had to and a preventer stay to the ensign staff since the flag was a little too heavy and caused some wilting (actually I have one other with two missing portholes on the starboard bow). Flag is an accurate cotton in miniature form from BECC Model Accessories (they were a great on-line store and highly recommended) and has been dipped in Orange Pekoe Tea to give it the weathered look. Now it is a Sunday Ensign so you can actually see it.









The long painting and converting war continues...

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/30 19:45:54


Post by: maxwin


Awesome work, very inspiring.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/31 07:43:05


Post by: gobert


Wow! She looks stunning. I didn’t realise the RCN used the RN Ensign during the war. Pretty cool that you managed to get a cloth one, the orange stain works well too. Great work Captain!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/31 10:17:55


Post by: Nevelon


When taking your final formal pics, be sure to get some in grainy black and white.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/31 13:14:13


Post by: youwashock


Yeah, and put them up next to pictures of the real ship and see if anyone can tell the difference.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/31 16:09:33


Post by: ListenToMeWarriors


This really is an amazing passion project, the detail and accuracy is unreal Captain. The finish line is in sight though, keep it up Sir.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/31 19:49:06


Post by: Captain Brown


Thank you maxwin, gobert, Nevelon, youwashock, and ListenToMeWarriors.

Yes, Canada used the RN naval and merchant marine ensigns until the adoption of the Maple Leaf. In 2010 we created the RCN ensign that we fly today.

Some more shots:

Bow


Quarter


Beam


Here you get to see the run of the ship and how many fittings have been added.


Here the bridge detail is shown.


Lastly the mine sweeping gear.


The long painting and converting war come to an end.

CB


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/07/31 21:34:35


Post by: theCrowe


Oh dear sweet Canada she's a sight to behold! I wish I could hop the pond and come see her in person. What an acheivment.

Can I exalt this thread again... Maybe... Nope. Too bad. I commend you all to exalt. Exaltation where exaltation is due!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/01 06:04:47


Post by: Briancj


So, where will she be displayed?

--Brian



Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/01 07:43:46


Post by: Lamby


truly great work Captain!



Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/02 13:46:26


Post by: Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll


Just jaw-dropping. Amazing. So wild to compare with the base mini before you started modifying it!


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/02 15:45:43


Post by: amazingturtles


This is just extraordinary, you've created something really special here.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/02 16:50:33


Post by: privateer4hire


 Meer_Cat wrote:
I'm not sure if it's the same for Canadian warships, but US ships have what's called a 'breakaway' song that's played when underway replenishment is completed and the loaded vessel is moving away from the stores/supply ship. In my checkered past the ship I served on used 'The World Needs Guts' by Alice Cooper. I think the practice started in the mid-70's. Prior to that, the uploaded vessel would sound a special signal over the 1MC system to alert crew that the ship was preparing to make turns- and angle away at a fairly steep plane to avoid being rolled back at or into the supply ship.

This Chilliwack has a natural, built-in breakaway song- 'She's gone so long', by the Canadian music group Chilliwack from the early 80's!


Yeah. SCTV did a reasonably funny version of the song.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q9MFqgtzb9A


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/03 23:05:53


Post by: Maharg


Finished piece is incredible Captain, well worth all the hard work you out into it. Going to miss the updates on this


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/10 20:59:34


Post by: Meer_Cat


I would echo Maharg, it's hard to believe that it is finished! The long, careful prep, the painstaking detail work and than wham! she's painted and complete; as the Russian say "he swims". I will miss the updates also- magic unfolding.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/11 13:16:22


Post by: youwashock


What a model. Truly fantastic work, Cap'n.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/11 13:24:28


Post by: ingtaer


Stunning stuff, well done! Echo the desire for some black and white pics.


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/11 15:34:20


Post by: 416_SpaceWolves


CB, absolutely terrific exquisite work here. You blew this build out of the water.

Is there a local navy club you'd consider lending this to be on display in?


Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)  @ 2020/08/11 22:56:22


Post by: Theophony


With my return back to work and other things I have neglected a bunch of threads lately. My apologies. Also :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: