PA-2 (ex Hallebarde) by Baltic_submariner - Revell - 1/144 - PLASTIC - captured Flower-class corvette

[Baltic_submariner]

Hello. It's been a long time. 

 

Many years ago as teenager I played into rather forgotten now PC video game Enigma Rising Tide which was arcade style game about what-if WWII naval scenario. Even in such time I was suprised when I saw strange-looking escort vessel looking like highly modified Flower class corvette with anormally looking pyramid of aa guns platforms, serving in German Navy. Due to fact that most vessels in such game were purely fictious or very highly modified vessels from real world countries I was almost sure that such ship was just imagination of developers.

 

However I was wrong. Such ships really existed although their names were different as same as their first owner. Four French built Flower class corvettes were captured in 1940 in French yards and after long reconstruction three of them entered sevrice in Kriegsmarine. Their service was rather short but very active and all of them were destroyed in days after D-Day. They were reconstructed as AA escort ships with minesweeping capabilities, their French armament was removed and instead were armed with 1*I 105mm gun, 2*I 20mm guns 2*IV 20mm guns, 2*II ( or 1*I and 1*II ) 37mm guns. 

 

http://www.cbrnp.com/RNP/Flower/GALLERY/German/PA2-1.jpg

 

PA-2 on photo. Maybe I'm blind but setup of 37mm AA seems as 1*I and 1*II.

 

Flower class corvettes have such funny looking shiluettes and were rather popular subject among manufacturers with many kits availaible on market. However there is small problem. French Flowers were akin to first ships of this class what means different forecastle, much shorter than made with plastic kits. However I found card model of HMCS Agassiz by Polish publisher Modelik which depicts Flower in very early variant in scale 1:100 and has really amazing level of details. I rescaled some of pages into 1:144 and decided to merge such parts with HMCS Snowberry by Revell. I like this ships so it's most probably not only vessel from such class which I want to build. Original HMCS Snowberry or pink painted HMS Anchusa are strong candidates for second Flower.

 

There is little source for such unique version so many work will be probably based on solutions known from other ships in such era. Most of info comes from such site http://www.cbrnp.com/RNP/Flower/PROFILE/German_Flower.htm Years ago I made such ship in 1/350 from Mirage Hobby kit but there is little comparison due to size.

 

Box is BIG and it's not marketing trick. I bought also wooden deck for such ship but not sure did I use them as German Flowers most probably never wore wooden deck.

 

Decks are cut into parts. Midship section as same as big parts of superstructure will be taken from rescaled xero of Modelik HMCS Agassiz.  Parts of xero will be moved into polystyren sheets of various thickness. AA guns will be 3d printed AA guns from Polish manufacturer Modelhobby.

 

Sides are corrected to the short forecastle variant. As shape I used Agassiz parts.

 

Not sure about ASW and minesweeping gear but most probably I make 6 single drop chutes, 3 per side and 4 deph charge throwers, 2 per side as areformentioned photo suggest such thing. 

 

 

Last thing. My 1/144 coastal submarines collection. I definitely must make something from surface.

 

 

List of them:

1.British submarine HMS Holland 1 - first sub of Royal Navy

2. Austro-Hungarian submarine SMS U-10 from German U-boot Type UB-1 class,

3. Imperial Russian submarine Delfin, one of first Russian submarines ( torpedoes are mounted on specific mounts called Drzewiecki drop collars ( used mainly on French and Russian submarines, with few examples in other countries ),

4. Type IIB U-Boot U-23. Combat boat of famous highest scoring WWII submarine ace Otto Kretschmer. This boat in 1942 was moved in really interesting journey via land and Danube river into Romanian base and operated against VMF. Whole 30'th U-Boot Black Sea Flotilla scored some hits on soviet mostly smaller vessels. All six boats were sunk by soviet air raids or scuttled near Turkish coast after Romania and Bulgaria change of sides.

5. Type XXIII U-Boot U-2336. Last naval action of WWII in Europe when such boat sunk two allied merchants. Last one was sunk literally few minutes or hour before armistice.

 

First three are from small Ukrainian manufacturer Mikromir, which make plenty of submarines in various scales, often less known or prototypes. Type IIB is from ICM while Type XXIII is from Trumpeter. Collective case for "coastal" boats.

[Baltic_submariner]

Little update to Hallebarde.

 

I made deck plates pattern and midship deck. It was a little tricky as it required to make some supports for midship deck.

Deck plates on stern deck. Rear will be cut near deck and railing placed.

Supports for midship deck.

 

 

Superstructure of forecastle is based on HMCS Agassiz as I remember French and Canadian early Flowers were quiet same.

 

Oops. It looks like drop of glue made little mess. I'll repair it in no-time.

 

Superstructure is made from xero and plastic sheets. Forecastle deck will be fully engraved. 10,5cm cannon was mounted in different way than on allied Flowers so it will be modified accordingly.

 

Plates of deck fully engraved ( using ruler, blunt needle and scalpel ) Stern after first big sanding and lines will need further engraving. Now frames and bulwarks on midship part. 

 

Minesweeping gear will be taken most probably from ICM 1/144 KFK as for such KFK I have infinitely more peaceful idea. A fishing vessel

[yvesvidal]

Very interesting project. I like that you felt compelled to build a surface vessel to go with your nice collection of submarines.

That is exactly what happened to me, after spending close to 2 years on the large U-552 Boot from Trumpeter. And if you feel like 1/144 is kind of small for a Flower Class, you can always look at this build log: 

 

I will be following your progress with a lot of interest.

 

Yves

[Baltic_submariner]

30 minutes ago, yvesvidal said:

Very interesting project. I like that you felt compelled to build a surface vessel to go with your nice collection of submarines.

That is exactly what happened to me, after spending close to 2 years on the large U-552 Boot from Trumpeter. And if you feel like 1/144 is kind of small for a Flower Class, you can always look at this build log: 

 

I will be following your progress with a lot of interest.

 

Yves

Oh yes. I needed something different. Also I very enjoy non-standard variants of famous ships so PA-2 was easy choice as everybody knows Flowers but almost nobody heard about her  I'll call her Dark Flower  In case of subs in 1/144 I still have Schukas from Mikromir and Zvezda, VIIC, VIIC/41 and XXI from Revell and Gato from Trumpeter on stock with description "to build" so subs definitely return, same as wooden vessels. I have some ideas how to merge civilian KFK with wooden parts but now Flower.

 

Wait. 1/48 so it must be giant. Your Snowberry is beautiful but telling the truth I have no space for such leviathan. 1/144 for subs and small vessels and 1/72 in case of midget subs/fast attack crafts is maximum as I simply have little space.

[Baltic_submariner]

Week long update.

 

PA-2 ex Hallebarde recived major update of works. 

Engraved plates of foredeck. Now I will sand it with very fine-grained sandpaper and repeat engreaving.

 

Stern deck partially equipped. British depth charge throwers were modified to look more like german one. Mooring equipment placed as same as details and depth charge chutes. Kit bombs from stern magazines cut into single one.

 

Stern superstructure. This is where Dark Flower loses her big part of similarity to Flowers. Three big platforms for AA mounts. Lowest with Twin M42 3,7cm, middle one with Flakvierling and highest with Single M42 3,7cm. I'm suprised about last one as highest platform definitely has space for two mounts or at least for one Twin M42 3,7cm. However famous photo definitely shows single mount. I bet it's due to center of gravity which was heavily disturbed with such mass of metal so high on ship. Also last floor of front superstructure had additional Flakvierling so overweight could be serious.

 

Test fit of superstructure. 

 

Both flying platforms were also supported by few long steel rods but most of them I mount after painting. Painting of some areas even now will be pain.

 

All scratch made with usage of compasses, ruler and pencil. 

 

[Baltic_submariner]

Update on ship. Based on rescaled card model I tried to make rest of superstructure, which is heavily modified from normal Flowers:

 

Superstructure is dry fitted and require many work to be in acceptable shape. 

 

Added few more depth charges on stern and added few hatches on deck. Mounted 10,5cm cannon on forecastle

Shape of armored covers for single 2cm on sides is not known. Few drawings and model which photo I found on finescale shows semi circular shape.

Photo from https://cs.finescale.com/fsm/m/online/1234077.aspx

 

Different drawing shows even more different placement of armament:

Which however has few very visible differences. No cut stern, no single 2cm on forecastle, no protection on sternmost twin 3,7cm, 102mm/10,5cm cannon placed on pedestal, also as far as I know Germans didn't used stern racks for depth charges like on Allied or IJN ships.

 

Also no drawing of German Flowers is barely similar and all of them differs strongly from others. 

 

[Baltic_submariner]

Further update. 

 

Plastic railing-style profiles from Plastruct helped me to make railings on forecastle, lifeboats area and stern. Used similar stair-shaped profiles on stairs. Works pretty ok at least in my opinion.

  

Mounted 3D printed AA guns; 2 flakvierlings and 2 M42. As manufacturer make only single barrel M42 so I slightly modified mount to accomodate twin barrels. Case of doubt are shields on such aa mounts. It was my first try of 3D printed details and it was real hell to clean printed parts from supports without breaking everything. Partial fail as I was forced to scratchbuild some of broken details like crew seats.

 

On stern transom railing is modified to adjust it to depth charges chutes and is make from 0,75 and 0,5mm plastic rod profile.

 

 

Decided to start second Flower - this time definitely HMCS Snowberry. Flowers had so many interesting combat variants.