Royal Navy Colours

[G-man69]

Hi all,

I’m not a ship modeller, but I am adding a small boat to my 1/72nd WW2 quayside diorama (A4 base size). The image below will give an idea of what I’m trying to achieve, with the small boat sitting in the dark brown wedge shaped area, the boat being 3-4" long.

I am seeking help please to find out what colour the small vessels, such as cutters and whalers, would be, ?

I think, from what I’ve read, that in simplistic terms home water ships would be dark grey, mediterranean light grey, and far east white, but stand to be corrected, .

Would a ship’s range of small boats follow the same pattern as above, or would they be different, ? Also, would the insides of the boat be natural varnished wood, or would they be painted the same colour as the hull, ?

I hope the question(s) make sense, ?

Thank you, and cheers, ,

G

[RedDuster]

Hi,

Yes the question makes sense. In that space, I think a 16’ dinghy , or motor boat, commonly known as a "skimming dish, a 24’ whaler or cutter might be a bit tight. As for colour, it would match the colour of the ship.

The dockside looks very British, so early war the likely colours would be AP507B, medium grey, or AP507C light grey. Mid/ late war, most RN ships were received Camouflage patterns, the boats were generally painted to match the colour of the ship where they were stowed. The pulling boats tended to all over the same colour, except the bottom boards, in some cases they appear to have been stained rather than painted. more hard wearing.
Hope that helps.

Cheers. Si

[G-man69]

Firstly my apologies for not responding sooner Simon, but thank you for taking the time to respond in such detail, it’s much appreciated, .

The dockside, although imaginary, is intended to be ‘somewhere in England’, and early war, though as it evolves, who knows. I start with a rough idea and see where it goes .

I have been looking at the Lifecolor Western Approaches sets, they do an early and late war version, but the boat is a real struggle. I started with a resin kit, but the quality was awful, I then bought the Armageddon/Mach LCA, again awful to the point of being unusable (wish someone (Airfix are you listening) would produce a decent one in 1/72nd, and a 1/35th one would be great too (Italeri) as I think it’s a nice craft).

I then purchased the Zvezda Medieval Lifeboat and hacked it around, but a number of observations by people more in the know than I pointed out that the finished article wasn’t practical, .

Someone kindly sent me a photo of a RNSA 14’ dinghy, which looks a tad like the Zvezda kit, post judicial hacking, so might go down that route, though the Zvezda kit scales nearer to 19’, but it is inexpensive…unless you know of any other 1/72nd possibilities that are both inexpensive and small, no longer than 120mm, and no wider than 40mm?

Thanks again, and cheers, ,

G

[RedDuster]

Hi,

No worries, bit of a week. I have had a dig around the only actual RN ships boat I can find in 1/72, well comes in a pack of 2 is regrettably not cheap, comes from “Great little ships”, is the 16ft dinghy to go on the matchbox / revell flower class corvette. The may be a 10ft Dinghy from “Coastal Craft”, I know they do sell fittings for MTBs / MGBs, separately from their kits, but I don’t know for sure if that includes the dinghy. Beyond that, outside scratchbuilding something, I don’t know of any other options.

One thought did come to mind, the Navy did have harbour craft, some of these would have been ship’s boats, or boats built for the Navy, others would have been civilian vessels pressed into Naval service, so you could get away with anything small and fitting the period.

Hope that at least gives Some ideas.

Cheers, Si

[G-man69]

Thanks for the great feedback Simon, , I checked out ‘Great Little Ships’, not so much the cost that concerns me, it’s the amount of PE, a medium I steer clear of, my skills, or lack thereof, deter me from it, .

The ‘Coastal Craft’ looks to be an issue, there’s some suggestion from what I’ve read that the owner isn’t currently able to provide products…but don’t quote me on that.

Thanks again,

G,

[RedDuster]

No problem, I Have only ever bought stuff from Coastal craft at Telford, so I can’t comment on their online store.

Good luck with finding something to fill the gap on your dio. would be nice to see what you find, and the finished article.

Cheers

Si

[G-man69]

Midway through constructing the scene I decided to try modifying the 1/72nd Zvezda Medieval Lifeboat, but my first attempt was not well received…it was neither fish nor fowl…probably more foul, .

The kit:

My first modification attempt, using as much of the kit ass possible:

Hopefully my second attempt (image below) will be better received, it’s based loosely, very loosely, on a RN 16’ sailing dinghy, but it’s not accurate by any measures, . See below, it’s a wip, so still needs a lot of filling and cleaning, a bench forward through which a mast passes and I need to work out how to make rowlocks/oarlocks and their curved on plan mounts.

Please feel free to comment, positively, negatively, or with suggestions as I know you’re knowledgeable when it comes to vessels.

G,

[RedDuster]

Hi,

Looks pretty good, one thing I would do is extend the section of keel you have between the thwarts the full length of the bottom of the boat. The base of the mast mounts on to the keel. With the details finished, cleaned up and painted should work well.

Cheers

Si

[G-man69]

Thanks for your kind help Simon, much appreciated, .

G,