Hi y’all. I haven’t posted the video yet, but the Patriot ran well, stayed dry, and pumped a lot of water, luckily I got her maiden done before the wind hit 22 or so gusting to 35. We had some drama but all turned out well.
So, I’ve said this before, I like to keep my bench busy…building is therapy for me, and my wife lets me have 6 or so hours on the weekends and unless I’m needed for something or there’s a family emergency, about 2-3 hours a week on average. I’m going to use a lot of that time over the course of the next 3-4 months I think. Maybe more. Let me explain. About 2 Christmases ago I was searching for something for my Christmas present. Now, sometimes I give my wife a list of things I would like to have and I am pretty good about budgeting money for gifts, food, donations, etc. Also…I’m intrinsically cheap. Blame my mom. That woman could stretch a penny clean around the house…and to her credit, I don’t remember ever going without anything I needed or wanted growing up. She and my dad drilled that into my head, which I promptly forgot the first few years of adulthood. Anyway, the budget was settled. Looking thru EBay I found a new in the box Revell Flower class corvette kit. I had read of several conversions that were done, all done differently, all ran and performed well…and it’s not the Tecnic kit, which isn’t cheap…if you can find one. It was an earlier kit after Revell bought the rights to the Matchbox kit…and the price was extremely reasonable. So I got it for Christmas and it’s been in my project stash for a couple of years. Now, she’s on the bench.
This kit is pretty nice, there’s tons of parts to her, over 1000. There are things I’ll have to address going forward, like making railing from brass wire instead of plastic, what to glue down vs what’s removable, but the first thing to do is build the stand. Now, the stand provided is fine for a display model, but just a little sketchy for an rc model. The for and aft rods that connect the ends are just plastic styrene rod. I had 2 hardwood dowels and a piece of 6mm cf tubing that would work. Later on I’ll build a proper stand and cut the dowel and tubing away to put back in the wood/brass/whatever stash. But for now, it works.
The hull is a 4 piece affair, you have fwd port and starboard halves, and aft port and starboard also. Now, I built 2 sides then assembled the hull, thinking about it now it might have been a good idea to build a fore and aft section then complete the hull, as I had some minor fiddly alignment issues, but was able to resolve them fairly easily. Once that was done I added the chine rails, then decided on internals.
Hers where you have to stop and think about what you’re going to do. The aft deck has a good sized opening, maybe 10x4 or so. Not huge, but workable if you plan things out. All my equipment , running gear,etc is built into this hull with that in mind, as I’m going to make the aft house removable for aces and battery changes. Looking at the instructions this looks like a good way to go. I may have to make a compromise how the foscle and bridge connect to this, but from what I can tell this will work.
I thought I had a Fineline stuffing box but I only had a standard box in my stash, so I had to carefully drill and ream the propshaft exit to fit the box. I added a greasing tube, then scuffed the tube and the inside of the hull, then glued it in place with copious amounts of epoxy mixed with microballoons. I heated the mixture with a heat gun till it got runny, and poured it in, around and under the tube, the heating makes the epoxy runny enough to get into nooks and crannies, but it also makes it fire off quicker so you gotta be quick.
I built the rudder next. Instead of making a rudder from brass, I opted to use the kit rudder and modify it into something useable. I had a Robbe rudder tube in my parts bin, but I was out of 3mm brass stock. Luckily I remembered that I had a short 3mm steel shaft that I wasn’t using for anything. It was bent at an angle, cut to fit into the rudder halves. The shaft was centered, the angle boxed in with wood strip, then filled epoxy was laid in both halves and clamped together. Works like a champ.
I used a piece of 1 inch thick balsa, drilled to fit the rudder tube. I glued a piece of 2 mm sheet on top to prevent splitting, sanded the bottom to reasonably match the hull contour, then once lined up epoxied into place.
I decided on a 650 KV Zippkits outrunner for power. This motor is wound for tugs and workboats, and it hauls my Taucher Wulf around with no issues whatsoever..bench running I’m pulling less than 1 amp at full chat. I made up a motor mount and once jigged up I tacked down with ca, double checked motor to shaft alignment then epoxied it down. I then made up a rudder servo mount from scraps and an electronics shelf just fwd of the motor. I’m still on the bench about the receiver placement there though, as it’s awful low in the hull, and 2.4 doesn’t like being surrounded by water. That might change.
That’s where she’s at now. Next up is reinforcing the hull joints, making a battery shelf then loading the hull up with ballast to the waterline and a leak check. Then..,the real fun begins.
Cash

Hi y’all. Nothing really interesting this week, as I spent my time going over the hull and making sure that the hull is as leakproof as I can make it. The hull was initially assembled with ca. I’ll use traditional plastic cement on smaller or non critical joints, but I feel more secure with ca. Once the hull was assembled, I recoated all joints. Then the fun began. The area just forward of the motor is covered with thin ca soaked fiberglass with a light epoxy coating over that. The joints under the tube and rudder bush are covered by the thin epoxy used to set those parts in place. I then used sheet plastic to build up a strip level with the middle side hull flange joints, then glued a strip over that to help spread the load. The whole flange from one side to the other was coated in filled epoxy. I used baking powder and thin ca to pack the bow joint, then coated that with filled epoxy. Lastly I covered the fwd hull seam with fiber glass, tacked down in the middle with thin ca, then coated with 30 minute epoxy squeegeed thru the glass and liberally coated with the remainder of the epoxy. I’m going to leak check the hull soon.
Cash

Hi y’all. It’s been a bit since the last update. I wanted to get the hull painting done before moving on as I’m building this in sections before final assembly…hull, aft deck and superstructure, fwd deck and superstructure. This way I’ll be able to make sure she’s watertight, I’ll have access to internals, and it’ll be easier to get the ballast right. So, I ordered my paint, including a light blue from Tamiya. It’s not that light. Looking at my hull vs the Sackville that blue is about 3 shades too dark. Since I’m building “Dicky” from the movie Greyhound, and the Sackville was used for the cgi model of Dicky, I at least want to get it close. I have a different shade of blue coming in Tuesday, and a test piece painted with the Tamiya light blue ready to check compatibility.
Cash

Hi y’all. I decided to start slowly building up some of the upper deck structures while waiting for the (hopefully) right, or “closer to right than what I have now” paint to come in. I had already started building up the aft deckhouse, and was in the process of building up some of the smaller detail pieces when I decided to look at the gun tub, and realized that the Sackville has her aft gun tub almost at the very aft end of the house, whereas the kit boat, the Snowberry has hers about 2/3s of the way fwd. AND….the gun tub sits on a rounded, tapered mount which is molded into the roof of the aft house.
Cue sad music…an empty whisky bottle is on the workbench..the modeler reaches for the wheelhouse,holds it in his hands and screams why? WHYYYYYY!!?
Okay, so I’m being a bit dramatic. And…I can’t bitch. This is all on me, as I was, and still am bound and determined to build Dicky, simply because I want to run up to my buddys 1/72 scale U-Boat and yell “Give’em hell Dicky!!”
Anyway, I’ve decided to go forward with Dicky. To that end I had to cut the mounting post off of the roof, which left a roughly 12mm hole that I’m having to fill, plus the scuffing around the hole from the er….ah..”procedure”. I cut a piece of 2mm thick plasticard to fill the hole, tacked it in place, then backed it up on the inside of the roof with an approximately 1” square piece of the same plasticard, then sanded and filled. Once dry I’ll sand and paint.
There yall have it. I have a very long way to go. I dont have any plan views of the Sackville as she sits now, but I’ve found a few good renderings, pics, and one scale model donated to a museum to go from. This boat will likely not be perfect, some details may be omitted for easier building and servicing, not to mention my sanity, but in the end, I hope to present y’all with pics of a Flower class that co-starred in Greyhound.
Pray for me yalll…🤣
Cash
PS: the first pic is the scale model I’m using for reference.

Just finished spraying Dickys hull with the lighter blue I acquired. Tell me what y’all think then I’ll own up to what I painted her with….😁

Hi y’all. Got a bit more done to Dicky over the past few weeks. I started by modifying the aft deck for a rudder linkage access hatch. It looks a little crude, but it’s okay as it will sit directly underneath the depth charge rack. The hatch was cut out with an xacto, which took a bit as the deck is fairly thick, and is styrene. Once I got it cut out I made supports. The hatch is a good tight fit, so it will be pressed into place and painted in place. I can push it up from under deck with a little effort. That plan is to build the rack over the hatch, with maybe 2 legs actually glued to the deck surrounding the hatch. If I need to access I’ll break the glue joint on the rack supports and push it out, then reinsert the assembly and reglue the rack supports. This, in theory, should suffice.
I built up some of the details for the aft cabin. Now, between the documentation that Doug provided, pics of the Sackville, models of the Sackville, and computer graphic artwork of the Sackville, there are several things that just don’t match, including the tub attached forward of the aft gun tub. I decided to split the middle and use the tub shown in the manual for “Saucy”…looked for the parts to no avail until I read a little side note that stated “ parts not provided, use templates to build from scratch” . Not the actual verbiage but close. So that’s what I did. I used brass wire to make the 4 gun tub supports.
The railing was made up from 2 hole 15 mm brass stanchions from my stash ‘o parts. I had to go to the craft store to get some 26 gauge copper beading wire that I used for the railings themselves, came out ok.
I painted and installed the two bulkhead/doors that go under the back of the forward upper deck, and to either side of the aft cabin. They’re supposed to be glued to the aft deck, the bottom of the fwd deck, the hull sides and the front of the aft cabin, since the aft cabin will be removed for battery access and maintenance, I had to grind off the vertical tabs that these parts are supposed to be glued to, that way I can slide the cabin back and up.
I then made up boxes and chests and etc for the roof of the cabin, including 2 I didn’t need as I moved the gun. I used those to hide the rough area where I had cut loose the gun tub support. May not be “right” but since Dicky is imaginary I felt like I had a little artistic license.
Some of the parts fell a bit fragile, especially the aft ladder rails. I WAS going to make them from brass wire, but used the kit parts telling myself to just be careful. The rails lasted maybe 2 days. After I took the pics I noticed one was already broken, so I removed the assembly, ladder and all, and will be making the handrails from brass, like I should have done the FIRST time. Lesson learned.
Last thing was the liferaft supports. These were “fun”. Now, this is an early kit, probably from the same molds when the kit was originally brought out by Matchbox. Some of the parts fit is a little questionable. The liferaft mounts look simple, but getting the angles right and the fit right was a chore, also, since the cabin will be removable, I had to reinforce their attachment to the cabin, so they will come away with the cabin when removed. Looks okay, but I’m going in after the fact with brass wire to reinforce the assemblies some more.
Last thing was to glue on the painted and detailed (as best I could) liferafts.
I still need to build up the depth charge rack and some other deck details, then it’s on to the forward cabin, funnel, gun, etc.
Cash

Pics!!😀

Hi y’all. Had a little time this weekend tos get the aft section of the boat fitted out. First thin I had to do was build a new rear ladder. The original plastic part broke as I was handling the wheel house to work on it, should have saw that coming. Luckily I have several strips of the old Robbe cut to length brass ladder which is almost the same width as the stock part. I cut a piece to length, soldered a piece of brass wire on the backside and then bent that up into railing, once test fit the assembly was painted and installed. I also built up the port and starboard depth charge launchers. Today I built up the depth charge racks. This was a challenge, as the parts are extremely fragile, and the instructions are not the best, as there’s a picture of the parts with arrows going to the mating surfaces, but you can’t tell if the horizontal parts go on the inside or top of the rails. I noticed my mistake when I had the first rail and upper track glued irrevocably, irreversibly together. So I tweaked and hid what I could, and it turned out…okay. The second rack came out better. Once assembled I loaded a few charges in each rack, painted and installed.
That pretty well finishes the aft deck. I still need to make my coamings for the wheel house but that will come later. Middle of this week I’m going to start the fwd deck and house construction.
Cash
PS. I’m adding a pic of the paint I used for the light blue of the camouflage….it’s Sonic Blue vintage guitar lacquer!!😁

Hi y’all. Started on the fwd deck detail pieces Saturday, did the gun that day and the mount today. Most of the deck was detail parts, including the anchor winch. Nothing earthshaking there, just assemble the parts, paint and install. The kit comes with anchor chain that’s black, so there’s at least ONE part I don’t have to paint!! Anyway, the chain is supposed to com from holes in the winch and then go into the holes for the anchor. I ended up using thin clear plastic on the underside of the deck covering those holes, then cut holes just big enough to drop the chain thru and then glue in place. I don’t like having open holes in my deck I don’t car how much freeboard I have. Once I had all that made up I build the gun.
Today was the gun platform. Now, there’s a few things going on here. First thing, you have little ammo carriers that each hold one shell. The ammo carrier and shell are molded as one piece, and there’s 30 something of them. The parts are painted the same color as some of the upper deck parts, which is a combo of 30 percent gray and 70 percent white. I’m using Tamiya USAF Insignia White, which has a touch of gray in it. However, the shells need to be bronze, and I have some bronze enamel for doing that kind of work. However, detail painting at this scale is not my strong suit. But, I did my best. Those are glued in a “track” molded into the gun platform. Then the fun begins. The railing on the platform is interesting, as it is not circular to match the gun platform, but goes in a straight line from upright to upright. AND, the builder is supposed to cut the uprights and the rail from very thin plastic styrene rod that’s included in the kit, then glue them together to make the safety rail. Nope. First thing styrene rod in that kit isn’t like plastic t or evergreen rod, it’s stiffer but much more brittle. Also,I’m not going to take that much time building a detail that I know I’m going to break at some point, so I bent small brass wire to the correct shape for upright to upright, using the holes in the platform as a guide, the made the uprights by using tiny brass cotter pins from my stash. I glued the assembly together, painted and installed. I then went to mount the platform. Now, I had read that the early Snowberry kits had some parts fit issues, and that’s correct. I’ve ran across a few, but nothing as egregious as the platform mount. There are marked depressions in the deck for the mount on the deck and on the platform. The platform to mount fit was perfect, however, the mount to deck was not, I had to cut away a bit off each leg to git it to fit properly. Once installed I mounted the gun assembly. Need to do some touch up and tweaking but that’s essentially done. Now, I get to start the deckhouses.
Cash

Hi y’all. Got a bit more done this weekend. I started building up the forward house. It’s all fairly straightforward, one thing I did not do was use the kit windows, as I was not even going to attempt installing close to 18 separate panes without getting glue on them. I used I strip of clear plastic per panel and called it a day. There’s a walkway of sorts that’s glued in place, ladders, a walkway railing and what looks like a shelter of some sort. I used the supplied rail stanchions but used brass for the rail. I checked the fit in the deck and looks good. Now, I have to build up myriad chests, lockers, hatches and other detail parts and glue them in place, then I’ll see to the house roof, bridge and gun mounts.
Cash