Lindberg Atlantic Trawler goes to war

I’m converting the Lindberg Atlantic Trawler kit into an rc model of a generic Brithish WW2 ASW trawler.

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Cool idea - got pics? (Haven’t seen that kit in decades…)


The kit is of the 1950s Diesel trawler Hildina with raised stern, wide bridge sloping back past for funnel adding a streamlined look.


HMT Bedfordshire torpedoed off North Carolina, it a typical wartime trawler showing a similar hull, but tall round stack, boxy pilotouse with wartime compass house added on top and sterm cleared away to make room for depth charge racks and throwers.

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Some trawlers did have the high stern retained but removing it will make it easier to make the deckhouse removable to access the works and lower the center of gravity. The funnel and sloping structure under it also have to go, and the wide pilothouse changed to a smaller box more typical of the 40s, which will also leave bridge wings where twin Lewis machineguns were often sited, both changes also lowering the center of gravity.

So let the destruction begin! :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Tstern

First, I cut the stern down to the rail.


Then cut the aft deckhouse roof and deckhouse sides to match the opening in the kit deck.

Thouse
Next I cut the bridge front to form the new pilothouse front and sides. I’ll have to decide whether to flatten the sides or leave them as is.

Troof
Last I cut down the upper deckhouse roof to make a smaller pilothouse roof. A compass platform can be added just by adding plastic card walls or I might make a more elaborate compass house. Both can be seen on wartime trawlers. Hundreds of Trawlers were taken over by the Royal navy with a wide variety.

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Hi Danie, what a cool project - I’ll be following along with interest!

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Being a lowly trawler, as usual I have to make do with the dregs of the local Royal Naval Dockyard, er, Shapeways; a 12 pdr, 2 twin Lewis guns, pairs of depth charge throwers, ready racks and tracks, and an Oerlikon bandstand. Shapeways could not make the Oerlikon I ordered, so instead of ordering another one, I’ll assume it is just after Dunkirk when more important vessels hoovered up the 20mms so I’ll try fabricating a Holman Projector, the makeshift substitute issued to trawlers as a substitute. In theory they used boiler steam to loft hand grenades into the path of attacking aircraft. In practice they were more safely used for friendly potato fights with rival trawlers. Yes, THAT is where the potato cannon craze first started!

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I should be surprised but this is the same country that fitted a flame thrower to a Beaufort to well… burn things I guess. No one seems to be entirely sure why this mod happened, but the Brit’s were quite flame happy, especially when invasion was still a real threat.

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DITTO!

Mark :beer:

A spud-gun firing grenades - what could possibly go wrong? :thinking:

Still, it’s a very cool build!

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This will prove to be educational.
Please keep sharing

Holman model

Here’s a larger scale Holman Projector. I’ll probably use toothpick for the pedestal and shaft, perhaps sprue for the pressure cylinder at the breech and wire for the handle. I’ll likely skip the sights; too delicate at that scale for a working model.

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Wha’th’eck!? Where’d this model come from - never heard of it. What scale???

Man, too cool!!! Shapeways is great! I ordered some items to gussy-up so e of my old kits. I’ll be watching.

Ah ha! Just enlarged the box top and see 1/90 - almost HO-1/87.

I’ve started to cut away the outer sorting bins but may keep the outer eall of what is left to form the coaming for an access panel to the front of the hull.

Instead of deckhouse walls blending into the raised stern, a new back wall of card changes it to a discrete structure with space aft for depth charges. The walls will probably be glued to the upper deck and fit around a coaming of card stock, allowing access to the back while keeping out any water that sloshes on deck.

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The walls of the new wheelhouse, made from the original front and a section of card for the back.


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Recycling seems an emerging theme, so a scrap from the upper deck becomes the forward gun platform.

Pieces from the discarded upper deckhouse form the pedestal

Just needing s bit of adjusting and filler to fit nicely into the cutwater.

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Hi Danie,

I’m really enjoying your build of what can only be described as a fairly primitive plastic kit. (I built one years ago which was so disappointing I actually brought it along on a family trip to a lake and let my then school age children play with it and leave it for the next kid to find).

Anyway, I just love your conversion idea and the improvisational approach to the build. Who says we can’t have fun with old kits?! :smiley_cat: