Bluebell by Kevin - Revel - 1/72 - PLASTIC - Flower-class corvette with GLS upgrade - restarted Jan 2022

[Kevin]

got to go phones ringing

 

[lmagna]

Looking forward to your build Kevin.

 

I built this kit back in 19?? when it first came out by Matchbox. In fact I still have it. A little worse for wear from years of simulated North Atlantic conditions under RC control and even more years of storage and one crash when the storage shelf came down. But just like the real thing she is pretty tough and has fared supremely well all things considered. No PE or wooden decks back in those days of course so it will be interesting to see how your improved version turns out.

[Kevin]

29 minutes ago, lmagna said:

Looking forward to your build Kevin.

 

I built this kit back in 19?? when it first came out by Matchbox. In fact I still have it. A little worse for wear from years of simulated North Atlantic conditions under RC control and even more years of storage and one crash when the storage shelf came down. But just like the real thing she is pretty tough and has fared supremely well all things considered. No PE or wooden decks back in those days of course so it will be interesting to see how your improved version turns out.

perhaps not my best opening to a new log, must remember to check what text boxes are open, my wife who is away got my opening blah for the build in messenger

LOL

[lmagna]

So it looks like the secret is out! 

[Blue Ensign]

Love this kit, especially when enhanced with etch and more true scale fittings.

Major visual differences to the original Bluebell kit are  the shape of the radar cover,  some of the Carly floats, and Porthole layout.

Some good reference photo's in Canada's Flowers by Thomas G Lynch, and Ensign 3  and man o' war 7' by Antony Preston and Alan Raven.

Two other reference works I have are Flower Class Corvettes by John Lambert, and Corvettes of The Royal Canadian Navy by Ken Macpherson.

Looking forward to see what you do with her Kevin.

 

B.E.

[Kevin]

23 minutes ago, Blue Ensign said:

Love this kit, especially when enhanced with etch and more true scale fittings.

Major visual differences to the original Bluebell kit are  the shape of the radar cover,  some of the Carly floats, and Porthole layout.

Some good reference photo's in Canada's Flowers by Thomas G Lynch, and Ensign 3  and man o' war 7' by Antony Preston and Alan Raven.

Two other reference works I have are Flower Class Corvettes by John Lambert, and Corvettes of The Royal Canadian Navy by Ken Macpherson.

Looking forward to see what you do with her Kevin.

 

B.E.

lol im learning to solder first, but intentions at present will be to make a Bluebell from her

Edited August 4, 2019 by Kevin

[Blue Ensign]

Well at least you won't have to paint Donald Duck on the 4" gun shield. 😃

 

B.E.

[Old Collingwood]

All the best with this mate.

 

OC.

[yvesvidal]

Great kit. I built the Matchbox version in the late 70's and had a blast. I will build it again, from Revell with all the modern PE and wood decks.

I am looking forward to watching your build.

 

Yves

[Kevin]

1 hour ago, yvesvidal said:

Great kit. I built the Matchbox version in the late 70's and had a blast. I will build it again, from Revell with all the modern PE and wood decks.

I am looking forward to watching your build.

 

Yves

hoping to do a post update in the next 24 hours or so, but at present my soldering is not up to a standard that is acceptable to be shown, LOL and normally im quite happy to show rubbish, just look at any of my builds

 

[Old Collingwood]

1 hour ago, Kevin said:

hoping to do a post update in the next 24 hours or so, but at present my soldering is not up to a standard that is acceptable to be shown, LOL and normally im quite happy to show rubbish, just look at any of my builds

 

Dont knock yourself mate, you do some lovely work  and not at a tiny scale either, I love all your builds you have worked on.

 

OC.

[mtaylor]

Rubbish?  Not to these eyes.   I do think most of us feel that way though that our work is "mehhhh".

[Kevin]

well i suppose i had better start this log the kit is a Flower class corvette HMCS Snowberry, with the option to convert to HMS Bluebell, and at this present time its the Bluebell i wish to build, although no two ships were alike, my options are open

 

The Flower-class corvette

 (also referred to as the Gladiolus class after the lead ship) was a British class of 294 corvettes used during World War II, specifically with the Allied navies as anti-submarine convoy escorts during the Battle of the Atlantic. Royal Navy ships of this class were named after flowers, hence the name of the class.

The majority served during World War II with the Royal Navy (RN) and Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). Several ships built largely in Canada were transferred from the RN to the United States Navy (USN) under the lend-lease programme, seeing service in both navies. Some corvettes transferred to the USN were manned by the US Coast Guard.[5] The vessels serving with the US Navy were known as Temptress and Action-class patrol gunboats. Other Flower-class corvettes served with the Free French Naval Forces, the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Royal Indian Navy, the Royal Hellenic Navy, the Royal New Zealand Navy, the Royal Yugoslav Navy, and, immediately post-war, the South African Navy.

After World War II many surplus Flower-class vessels saw worldwide use in other navies, as well as civilian use. HMCS Sackville is the only member of the class to be preserved as a museum ship.

 

Class designation

The term "corvette" was originally a French name for a small sailing warship, intermediate between the frigate and the sloop-of-war. In the 1830s the term was adopted by the RN for sailing warships of roughly similar size, primarily operating in the shipping protection role. With the arrival of steam power, paddle- and later screw-driven corvettes were built for the same purpose, growing in power, size, and armament over the decades. In 1877 the RN abolished the "corvette" as a traditional category; corvettes and frigates were then combined into a new category, "cruiser".

The months leading up to World War II saw the RN return to the concept of a small escort warship being used in the shipping protection role. The Flower class was based on the design of Southern Pride, a whale-catcher, and were labelled "corvettes", thus restoring the title for the RN, although the Flower-class has no connection with pre-1877 cruising vessels.

There are two distinct groups of vessels in this class: the original Flower-class, 225 vessels ordered during the 1939 and 1940 building programmes; and the modified Flower-class, which followed with a further 69 vessels ordered from 1940 onward. The modified Flowers were slightly larger and somewhat better armed.

All Flower-class vessels, of original or modified design, that saw service with the USN are known as Action-class gunboats, and carried the hull classification symbol PG ("patrol gunboat").

Design

In early 1939, with the risk of war with Nazi Germany increasing, it was clear to the Royal Navy that it needed more escort ships to counter the threat from Kriegsmarine U-boats. One particular concern was the need to protect shipping off the east coast of Britain. What was needed was something larger and faster than trawlers, but still cheap enough to be built in large numbers, preferably at small merchant shipyards, as larger yards were already busy. To meet this requirement, the Smiths Dock Company of Middlesbrough, a specialist in the design and build of fishing vessels, offered a development of its 700-ton, 16 knots (18 mph; 30 km/h) whale catcher Southern Pride.[6][7] They were intended as small convoy escort ships that could be produced quickly and cheaply in large numbers. Despite naval planners' intentions that they be deployed for coastal convoys, their long range meant that they became the mainstay of Mid-Ocean Escort Force convoy protection during the first half of the war.

The Flower class became an essential resource for North Atlantic convoy protection until larger vessels such as destroyer escorts and frigates could be produced in sufficient quantities. The simple design of the Flower class using parts and techniques (scantlings) common to merchant shipping meant they could be constructed in small commercial shipyards all over the United Kingdom and Canada, where larger (or more sophisticated) warships[8] could not be built. Additionally, the use of commercial triple expansion machinery instead of steam turbines meant the largely Royal Naval Reserve and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve crews that were manning the corvettes would be familiar with their operation.

Flower-class vessels were slow for a warship, with maximum speed of 16 kn (30 km/h). They were also very lightly armed as they were intended solely for anti-submarine warfare; many of the RCN's original Flower-class ships were initially fitted with minesweeping equipment, while virtually all of the modified Flowers were fitted with a limited anti-aircraft capability.

The original Flowers had the standard RN layout, consisting of a raised forecastle, a well deck, then the bridge or wheelhouse, and a continuous deck running aft. The crew quarters were in the foc'sle while the galley was at the rear, making for poor messing arrangements.[9]

The modified Flowers saw the forecastle extended aft past the bridge to the aft end of the funnel, a variation known as the "long forecastle" design. Apart from providing a very useful space where the whole crew could gather out of the weather, the added weight improved the ships' stability and speed and was retroactively applied to a number of the original Flower-class vessels during the mid and latter years of the war.

The original Flowers had a mast located immediately forward the bridge, a notable exception to naval practice at that time. The modified Flowers saw the mast returned to the normal position immediately aft of the bridge; however, this does not seem to have been done in all of the modified builds or conversions of the original vessels.

A cruiser stern finished the appearance for all vessels in the class.

Orders

Early Flower corvettes had a mast before the wheel house

 

Later ones had more flare at the bow and a longer forecastle

The RN ordered 145 Flower-class corvettes in 1939, the first 26 on 25 July with a further batch of 30 on 31 August, all under the 1939 Pre-War Programme. Following the outbreak of World War II, the British Admiralty ordered another 20 on 19 September (all from Harland & Wolff) under the 1939 War Programme. This was followed by an order for a further ten Flower-class corvettes from other British shipbuilders two days later. Another 18 were ordered on 12 December and an additional two on 15 December, again from British shipbuilders. The RN ordered the last ten vessels (under the 1939 War Programme) from Canadian shipbuilders in January 1940.

Thus, by the end of January 1940, a total of 116 ships were building or on order to this initial design. The 10 vessels ordered from Canadian shipbuilders were transferred to the RCN upon completion. Another four vessels were ordered at Smiths Dock Company for the French Navy, the first ship being completed for the Free French Naval Forces in mid-1940 and the other three being taken over by the RN. Another 31 Flowers were ordered by the RN under the 1940 War Programme, but six of these (ordered from Harland & Wolff) were cancelled on 23 January 1941.

The RN ordered 27 modified Flower-class corvettes under the 1941 and 1942 War Programmes. British shipbuilders were contracted to build seven of these vessels under the 1941 Programme and 5 vessels under the 1942 Programme; however, two vessels (one from each year's Programme) were later cancelled. Additionally the RN ordered 15 modified Flowers from Canadian shipyards under the 1941 programme; eight of these were transferred to the USN under the Lend-Lease Programme.

The RCN ordered 70 original and 34 modified Flower-class vessels from Canadian shipbuilders. The Canadian shipbuilders also built seven original Flowers ordered by the USN; however, these vessels were transferred to the RN under the Lend-Lease Programme upon completion as wartime shipbuilding production in the United States had reached the level where the USN could dispense with vessels it had ordered in Canada. The RCN vessels had several design variations from their RN counterparts: the "bandstand," where the aft pom-pom gun was mounted, was moved to the rear of the superstructure; the galley was also moved forward, immediately abaft the engine room.

Shortly after the outbreak of war the French Navy ordered 18 Flower-class vessels;[10] 12 from UK yards, two from Ateliers et Chantiers de France at Dunkirk and four from Chantiers de Penhoët at Saint-Nazaire.[11] The two At. & Ch. de France ships are listed as "cancelled"[12] but the four Penhoët ships were under construction at the time of the Fall of France and were seized by Nazi Germany. Three were completed for Kriegsmarine service and commissioned in 1943–44 as the PA-class patrol ships.[11][13]

Armament

Typical BL 4 inch Mk IX gun mounting, here seen on HMS Vervain

Loading a depth charge thrower on HMS Dianthus

QF2 Mk. VIII pom-pom gun, from HMCS Kamloops, on display in the Lebreton Gallery of the Canadian War Museum
The original Flower class were fitted with a 4-inch (102 mm) gun on the bow, depth charge racks carrying 40 charges on the stern, a minesweeping winch, and a 2-pounder (40 mm) pom-pom gun on a "bandstand" over the engine room.

Due to initial shortages, a pair of Lewis guns was sometimes substituted for the pom-pom, which would have left the ship very vulnerable to aircraft attack in its envisaged role of coastal convoy escort and patrol in the North Sea. The long-range endurance of the vessels, coupled with early war-time shortages of larger escort warships, saw Flowers assigned to trans-Atlantic convoy escort where Luftwaffe fighter-bombers were rarely encountered. Vessels assigned to the Mediterranean Sea usually had their anti-aircraft capability significantly upgraded.

Underwater detection capability was provided by a fixed ASDIC dome; this was later modified to be retractable. Subsequent inventions such as the High Frequency Radio Detection Finder (Huff-Duff) were later added, along with various radar systems (such as the Type 271), which proved particularly effective in low-visibility conditions in the North Atlantic.

The Flower class had been designed for inshore patrol and harbour anti-submarine defence; therefore, many required minor modifications when the Allied navies began deploying these vessels as trans-Atlantic convoy escorts. These small warships could be supported by any small dockyard or naval station, so many ships came to have a variety of different weapons systems and design modifications depending upon when and where they were refitted; there is really no such thing as a 'standard Flower-class corvette'

Several of the major changes that vessels in the class underwent are indicated below, in a typical chronological order:

Original twin mast configuration changed to single mast in front of the bridge, then moved behind the bridge for improved visibility.
Heavy minesweeping gear removed for deep-sea escort work and to improve range.
Galley relocated from the stern to midships.
Extra depth charge storage racks were fitted at the stern. Later, more depth charges stowed along walkways.
Hedgehog fitted to enable remote attacks while keeping ASDIC contact.
Surface radar fitted in a "lantern" housing on the bridge.
Forecastle lengthened to midships to provide more accommodation and better seaworthiness. Several vessels were given a "three-quarters length" extension.
Increased flare at the bow. This and the above modification created the modified Flower design for subsequent orders.
Various changes to the bridge, typically lowering and lengthening it. Enclosed compass house removed.
Extra twin Lewis guns mounted on the bridge or engine room roof.
Oerlikon 20 mm cannons fitted, usually two on the bridge wings but sometimes as many as six spread out along the engine-room roof, depending on the theatre of operations.
Any particular ship could have any mix of these, or other specialist one-off modifications. Ships allocated to other navies such as the RCN or USN usually had different armament and deck layouts.

A major difference between the RN vessels and the RCN, USN, and other navies' vessels was the provision of upgraded ASDIC and radar. The RN was a world leader in developing these technologies, and thus RN Flowers were somewhat better-equipped for remote detection of enemy submarines. A good example of this is the difficulty that RCN Flowers had in intercepting U-boats with their Canadian-designed SW1C metric radar, while the RN vessels were equipped with the technologically advanced Type 271 centimetric sets. In addition, RCN vessels were incapable of operating gyrocompasses, making ASDIC attacks more difficult.

Operations
Flower-class corvettes were used extensively by both the RN and RCN in the war-long Battle of the Atlantic. They also saw limited service elsewhere with the RN, as well as the USN and several Allied navies such as the Royal Netherlands Navy, the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Royal Hellenic Navy, the Free French Naval Forces, the Royal Indian Navy, and the Royal New Zealand Navy. The Belgian Navy manned some of these vessels during World War II, and have continued to use Flower names for their minehunters to this day.

Most Royal Navy Flower-class ships drew their officers and crew from the Royal Naval Reserve and the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). Many RN Flowers had captains drawn from the Merchant Navy.

Service on Flowers in the North Atlantic was typically cold, wet, monotonous and uncomfortable. Every dip of the forecastle into an oncoming wave was followed by a cascade of water into the well deck amidships.[14] Men at action stations were drenched with spray, and water entered living spaces through hatches opened to access ammunition magazines.[14] Interior decks were constantly wet and condensation dripped from the overheads.[14] The head (or sanitary toilet) was drained by a straight pipe to the ocean; and a reverse flow of the icy North Atlantic would cleanse the backside of those using it during rough weather.[14] By 1941 corvettes carried twice as many crewmen as anticipated in the original design.[14] Men slept on lockers or tabletops or in any dark place that offered a little warmth.[14] The inability to store perishable food meant a reliance on preserved food such as corned-beef and powdered potato for all meals.[15]

The Flowers were nicknamed "the pekingese of the ocean". They had a reputation of having poor sea-handling characteristics, most often rolling in heavy seas, with 80-degree rolls, 40 degrees each side of upright, being fairly common; it was said they "would roll on wet grass".[16] Many crewmen suffered severe motion sickness for a few weeks until they acclimatised to shipboard life.[14] Although poor in their sea-handling characteristics, the Flowers were extremely seaworthy; no Allied sailor was ever lost overboard from a Flower during World War II, outside combat.

A typical action by a Flower encountering a surfaced U-boat during convoy escort duties was to run directly at the submarine, forcing it to dive and thus limiting its speed and manoeuvrability. The corvette would then keep the submarine down and pre-occupied with avoiding depth charge attacks long enough to allow the convoy to pass safely. The 16-knot (30 km/h) top speed of the Flower-class ships made effective pursuit of a surfaced U-boat (about 17 knots) impossible, though it was adequate to manoeuvre around submerged U-boats or convoys, both of which ran at a typical maximum of 8 knots, and sometimes much less in poor weather. The low speed also made it difficult for Flowers to catch up with the convoy after action.[9]

This technique was hampered when the Kriegsmarine began deploying its U-boats in "wolf-pack" attacks, which were intended to overwhelm the escort warships of a convoy and allow at least one of the submarines to attack the merchant vessels. Upgrades in sensors and armament for the Flowers, such as radar, HF/DF, depth charge projectors, and ASDIC, meant these small warships were well equipped to detect and defend against such attacks, but the tactical advantage often lay with the attackers, who could operate a cat-and-mouse series of attacks intended to draw the defending Flower off-station.

Success for the Flowers, therefore, should be measured in terms of tonnage protected, rather than U-boats sunk. Typical reports of convoy actions by these craft include numerous instances of U-boat detection near a convoy, followed by brief engagements using guns or depth charges and a rapid return to station as another U-boat took advantage of the initial skirmish to attack the unguarded convoy. Continuous actions of this kind against a numerically superior U-boat pack demanded considerable seamanship skills from all concerned, and were very wearing on the crews.

The Free French Memorial on Lyle Hill in Greenock, looking out to the west of the Tail of the Bank anchorage, has a plaque commemorating the loss of the corvettes Alyssa and Mimosa.[17]
Thirty-six ships in the class were lost during World War II, many due to enemy action, some to collision with Allied warships and merchant ships. One, sunk in shallow water, was raised and repaired. Of the vessels lost to enemy action, 22 were torpedoed by U-boats, five were mined, and four were sunk by enemy aircraft. The Flower-class corvettes are credited with participating in the sinking of 47 German and four Italian submarines.

Construction of the Flower-class was superseded toward the end of the war as larger shipyards concentrated on River-class frigates, and smaller yards on the improved Castle-class corvette design.

The Flower class represented fully half of all Allied convoy escort vessels in the North Atlantic during World War II.

 

HMS Bluebell (K80)

Service history
After commissioning and sea trials in July 1940, Bluebell was deployed on Atlantic convoy escort duties.[2] Commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Robert Sherwood, one of her first duties, in October 1940, was to meet Convoy SC 7 mid-ocean. She rescued all 39 officers and men from the cargo steamship SS Scoresby, which had been torpedoed and sunk on 17 October.[3] Sherwood subsequently appeared in the 1973 TV programme The World at War, in the episode Wolf Pack.[4]

In January 1941 Bluebell was attached to the 5th Escort Group, Western Approaches Command, based at Liverpool, to escort Atlantic convoys, transferring in September to the 37th Escort Group for the defence of convoys between Gibraltar and ports in West Africa. She returned to the UK in July 1942 to refit, and was assigned for service on the Russian Convoys. In September she sailed to Iceland to join the escort of Convoy PQ 18 to Arkhangelsk, returning in November, and resuming Atlantic convoy escort duties in December and January. In February 1943 she joined the escort of Convoy JW 53 from Loch Ewe to Kola Inlet, returning in March to resume duties in the Western Approaches.[2]

In June 1943 Bluebell was sent to the Mediterranean, and in early July was part of the escort for assault convoys during the initial landings in the Allied invasion of Sicily, remaining in the Mediterranean for further convoy escort duties until August when she returned to the Western Approaches.[2]

Between February and April 1944 she escorted Russian Convoys JW 57 and JW 58, and in May was transferred to Escort Group 143 to prepare for the invasion of Normandy. On 6 June she formed part of Convoy ECL1 escorting LSTs from the Bristol Channel to the landing beaches, then escorted follow-up convoys until released on 25 June. In August she was transferred to the 8th Escort Group and joined the escort force for Russian Convoy JW 59, returning in September.[2]

After further convoy defence and interception duties, on 2 February 1945 she was attached to the escort for Russian Convoy JW 64. After arriving at Kola Inlet she took part in anti-submarine operations against U-boats known to be gathering to carry out attacks on the return convoy. On 17 February, as Convoy RA 64 was assembling off Murmansk, Bluebell was hit in the stern by an acoustic homing torpedo fired by U-711, which caused her depth charges to explode. She sank in less than 30 seconds at 69°24′N 33°42′ECoordinates: 69°24′N 33°42′E.[5] From her crew of 86 ratings and officers there was only one survivor: Albert Holmes from Southampton.

 

 

[Kevin]

this is a old kit, once made by matchbox, i dont believe anything has changed  since then, however there is a company called Great Little Ships (GLS) David J Parkins that make full updates for her, 

https://www.djparkins.com/home.php?cat=303

infact very little of the kit is used

 

the hull comes in 4 pieces the 2 sides are joined by interlocking then and the the 2 halves are put together, there are some gaps, especialy around the locking join, that will be sorted out later as will the keel that should not be there

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

t

 

[Kevin]

Good evening everyone

 

over the last couple of days i have been learning to solder, and even I have seen some improvement 

 

the hull will stay as it is for a while, whilst i basically built a ship out of PE 

 

so at present i am concentration on the Bridge area, for several reason

it is one of the smaller kit from GLS, so if i was to completly mess it up it wont cost as much as the the main set set to replace, also has a wide variety of different projects to build so that i can get used to not burning my fingers so much and learn new techniques 

lol it also uses some of the original kit as well

 

Bridge area

PE set

from the kit

replacement walkway

first real successful soldering

flag locker 20 pieces no glue,  has been cleaned up a lot since the photo

nearly all the metal work has reverse rivets the need to be pushed through with a centre punch 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2019 by Kevin

[yvesvidal]

This set is going to make a big difference on the finished model. Great choice.

 

Yves

[Kevin]

10 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

This set is going to make a big difference on the finished model. Great choice.

 

Yves

good evening not my photo and i dont know where it came from

[popeye the sailor]

sweet look'in model Kevin........taking a seat   

[Kevin]

2 hours ago, popeye the sailor said:

sweet look'in model Kevin........taking a seat   

im sure i would have had much better results without solder, and faster progress, but thats not the way for this build, i am already seeing that as i get confidence the joins are getting better and not seen, PLUS they can be taken apart and very unlikely to spring open once done, so bear with me, and as the front seats fill up, there will be complimentary popcorn and ice-cream provided throughout the build

[Old Collingwood]

Did I hear food,    this is going to turn into a lovely build.

 

OC.

[RickyGene]

Wow, these days you can purchase so many little goodies for this kit.  I built way back when in the early 80's.  Looking forward to more of your build.

Rick

[Kevin]

thankyou for the likes and comments, this soldering is harder than i thought, last night i finished a unit, and so impressed with it i showed the wife and dog, came back to put another bit on, and heat transfer took over and i ended up with everything as it was hours  earlier, Dog laughed, wife was asleep, oh hum

 

[Kevin]

6 hours ago, RickyGene said:

Wow, these days you can purchase so many little goodies for this kit.  I built way back when in the early 80's.  Looking forward to more of your build.

Rick

im not aware of many other older kits where so much trouble has been done to enhance 

[Kevin]

good evening everyone

 

made some progress over the last couple of days, not pretty though, lots to learn, and enjoyable but shameful to show everyone, but im happy to share the rubbish, as i like to think i will get better

 

this is the bridge area 

[Jim Rogers]

11 hours ago, Kevin said:

thankyou for the likes and comments, this soldering is harder than i thought, last night i finished a unit, and so impressed with it i showed the wife and dog, came back to put another bit on, and heat transfer took over and i ended up with everything as it was hours  earlier, Dog laughed, wife was asleep, oh hum

 

Are you using Flux?

[Kevin]

5 minutes ago, Jim Rogers said:

Are you using Flux?

im using Rosin liquid flux

[kurtvd19]

On 8/6/2019 at 3:30 PM, Kevin said:

over the last couple of days i have been learning to solder, and even I have seen some improvement 

Kevin:

Check out this video - he makes it look simple - but I can attest that you can't go wrong if you follow his advice and techniques.  Paul is a MSW member.

 

Kurt

 

[Kevin]

14 minutes ago, kurtvd19 said:

Kevin:

Check out this video - he makes it look simple - but I can attest that you can't go wrong if you follow his advice and techniques.  Paul is a MSW member.

 

 

 

well that explains a lot, i fine tip that i use is wrong, well i better go and change that 

 hope Paul dont see any of my work, lol 

[Old Collingwood]

Your doing fine mate,   my farther leaned soldering as a matelot  while doing his different stages through the FAA  then combined RAF, he then pased some of his knowledge onto me - he always told me  (make a strong joint - any over seems can be filed down).

 

OC.

[Beef Wellington]

As a kid I always remembered staring up at this kit with longing eyes, it was always sitting out of reach - physically on the top shelf, and financially in its huge box!  Never seen the PE before, so definitely want to follow your progress Kevin, this is the first PE I've seen that needs to be soldered.  You're doing a great job.