Captain Brown builds the Flower Class Corvette HMCS CHILLIWACK (What did he say?!)

[Captain Brown]

Well, due to the lack of activity on my other logs (which are mostly complete any way) I have received a few PMs from members asking if I was alright. I am perfectly fine; I just have not been doing any 40K or WFB stuff recently.

This is what I will be working 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 have not built a model ship since I was 15 and it was a 1/700 scale mounted on a cardboard sea (over 20 years ago)…so this should be a bit of an experience. Also my friend Kelly who used to be one half of Sorcerer Studios summed up historical models with the phrase, “historical models scare me, because there are usually pictures out there that show you the real thing, and nothing I do will ever resemble them". This I think is a little nagging fear of many of us who do science-fiction figures and models.

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

For those who have forgotten their history, 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, weapon changes and if I do later 1942 the 271 Radar lantern).

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 early middle 1942


Someone PM'd me and asked why am I doing this...besides sheer enjoyment I am entering this model in this competition.

The long painting war continues,

CB

PS: In case you were wondering the number of parts:

[McMullet]

Well well, I just escaped from a naval history wikipedia chain (though it touched only briefly on WWII, the flower class did come up), only to be cornered in the place I least expected it!

That looks like a fantastic kit, and it'll make a more socially acceptable ornament than 40k figs (Since people will look at it and say, "Wow, nice ship!" rather than "wtf is that and why does it have tentacles"). Rather makes me want to build and paint something real as well...

[Captain Brown]

Thanks for the props McMullet, I like the socially acceptable comment...never really thought of it that way. We also have this nice new painting log forum just begging for more historical content.

A little more background, the Battle of the Atlantic which lasted 2,075 days was the longest campaign of the Second World War. It pitted Allied navies against German and Italian naval forces, especially submarines, in a battle to safeguard the essential flow of shipping between North America and Europe.

Like the German U-Boats, the Corvettes were there throughout from almost the first month’s right until the end. Like the U-Boats, the Corvettes were required to be refitted/re-designed and upgraded as the war and technology progressed.

No other warship is so intimately tired to the history of the Canadian Navy, with over 120 Corvettes built in Canada and serving during the Second World War. It remains to this day the largest single class ever produced for the RCN/CF.

A great quote on corvettes:
“Soon-but oh, make haste! The vast resources of the United States will be hurled into the North Atlantic to turn the tide…But until that happy day-and long after…remember the Canadian corvettes-those far flung, storm tossed little ships on which the German Fuhrer has never looked and yet which have, since 1940, stood between him and the conquest of the world.” Lt(N) Philip Cabel Evans, HMCS Trillium March 1943

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 Corevetes. 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). But I wanted to use as many parts of the original kit, just improving them to look more authentic.

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 panelling 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, as the kit has nothing and the corvettes built for Britain (which the kit HMCS SNOWBERRY was) did not have it fitted
Winch
Davits (x2)
Large Minesweeping Floats (x2)
Otter/Kite Floats (x4)
Gallows (x2)
Dan Buoys and racks

I also figured I should show my workspace 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

[Lostanddamned]

I think I am going to be following this log with intense interest, I too am looking to build a model ship in the near future, hopefully to beyond the peak of my abilities.

Thankfully the ship I am looking to build has a fair few models of it built, as it is the Bismarck, my great-great uncle was the chief engineer during the building of the boat and I'd like to give it a shot myself as it were.

I will be keeping an eye on your log for hints and tips. Best of luck to you sir.

[Wintermute]

My local indie store keeps this kit as a stock item and I've yet to see one built, so I'm very interested in this project.

BTW despite the fact it says Revell on the box the kit was originally made by Matchbox and dates from the late 70s early 80s.

[The boyz]

That looks a very impressive kit. Good luck Captain Brown. Going to be keeping my eye on this for sure.

[Captain Brown]

Thanks guys,

Build Update

So I started one of my small 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.

So 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:


More to follow as I have hit the image limit.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[Captain Brown]

Update continued...

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.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[Captain Brown]

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...


Image limit reached so I will continue shortly.

Cheers,

CB

[Captain Brown]

Continued...

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 war continues...

CB

[Crube]

Those MkII throwers are a great improvement.

It looks a great kit, but it does show there's always room for a dedicated(insane) modeller to add details.

Just how long do you have to get this finished...?

Anyways, following this with interest, as this is the sort of modelling my dad used to do.

[Captain Brown]

Crube,

I need to be painted and buttoned up by January 2010.

So with that dead-line looming...

The ventilators 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:


The long painting war continues,

CB

[Captain Brown]

Start on the two lifeboats:

Used Bob Pearson's site for some inspiration (his 27' Whaler conversion).

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


Floor 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.

Cheers,

CB

[Captain Brown]

However lifeboats soon faded from mind (this seems to be a pattern for all modeling and painting projects...I just have made lots on little ones in one larger one to keep on track.

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:


Now working on the two mushroom vents that sat at each end.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[GundamMecha]

Awesome project Brown!

Really nice to see some ships for a change! Naval stuff has always appealed to me, my fatehr is big on building wooden model ships. I've never tried wooden ship building before but figure I could manage some injection plastic vesels though!

I'm really looking forward to seeing this progress!

[Crube]

Interesting - have you checked that your longer version still fits where it should on the kit? You've made a good job of it though

[Captain Brown]

Thanks for the encouragement.

Yes, the engine room skylight covers the existing hole and then some quite nicely.

Another update and another attack of the cat!

The Mini-Dremel is excellent, used it to clear the decks of their fake reversed wood panelling...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.

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 armarment they had in the aft bandstand) moved further aft as the original design had two masts...and it does not really work when your principle anti-aircraft defence weapon is wooded by a mast.

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.

Suddenly there was a thud as the neighbours cat which had been waiting for the Dremel to stop batted the bandstand pillar off the table (I was working on the deck at the time and he had been draped across the deck ledge watching)...as soon as I placed down the tool and stood up the camera and started to take a shot...instead of showing off the Dremel work I got a cat leg in action.

Not the first time Charlie has attacked models in progress; previously he has been captured on film knocking at the loader of an Elysian Heavy Bolter Team.

The long painting war continues,

CB

[Captain Brown]

Another Mini-Dremel use was for the deck, 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 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 short due to Minesweeping gear) and all the raised portions on the main deck as I am building new superstructure.


Mini-Dremel made short work of these raised plastic sections.

The long painting war continues...

CB

[Captain Brown]

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).

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.

The long painting war continues,

CB

[Captain Brown]

Update,

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 deckspace).

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 fairlead 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 with the shortened Casing.

Cheers,

CB