RN Roberts Class monitor 1/144 scale(ish)

As the title suggests, in this thread I will attempt to cover my build of a Roberts Class monitor in approx 1/144 scale. Hopefully it'll end up looking something like this, somewhere around 31" long.



A while ago I found a line drawing on the net and thought 'that looks interesting, I'd like to build that...' like you do.


After enlarging the above drawing to the maximum useable size, I was left with a very blurry image still a quarter of the size I needed so this will not be an exact scale replica, more an interpretation. Luckily I've been able to use a CAD program to create a fairly accurate drawing on top of a jpg image which I was then able to enlarge to more or less the right size.

Sadly I don't have any pictures of the early stages of construction but it's simply a series of 3mm plywood frames and some long bits of 5x5mm timber with a proper technical name that I've forgotten and therefore probably a bit boring. I've half clad the hull so far with 150x3x2mm balsa planks but I've run out of wood. I did order more but it turned out to be thin ply that was no use for what I wanted to do so the hull was put on hold temporarily. I've fitted both motors and shafts, built and fitted 2 brass rudders and kitted out inside the hull for the various electrical bits and bobs.

The superstructure of the ship has been quite interesting to build, trying to decipher the rather rough drawing. On recommendation I bought myself a copy of Big Gun Monitors by Ian Buxton and it's proved really useful with loads of photos and descriptions so I've managed to work most of it out. I've used a laminate of 20thou plastic card for the major components that I have drawn out with CAD then transferred to a Silhouette cutter along with various bits of brass sheet and tube.

Hull 13 - F40/F109 HMS Roberts/Abercrombie... I haven't decided which yet with various parts placed for photo purposes.


13x single and twin barrelled 20mm Oerlikon cannons, 2x quad barrelled 40mm pom poms, an octuple barrelled 40mm pom pom, 4x twin MkXVI QF 4" AA guns (in turrets) and the almighty twin 15" main gun - which incidentally is radio controlled, rotation and elevation - have all been lovingly handcrafted by yours truly. In fact, everything so far has been. The only things I have purchased have been the 2x 385 MFA motors. Everything else has come out of various scrap boxes. For example, the main turret is actually a corner block from an old pallet I 'accidentally' broke at work, hollowed out with a router as are the bow and stern blocks and the funnel is an offcut from an aluminium brush handle. Everything has an alternative use, you just need to use a bit of imagination.

When my new order of wood eventually arrives I will finish cladding the hull, then P38 it and test float it in the bath and hope it doesn't sink. The plan then is to tissue and dope it before painting in filthy primer red & grey. I have a feeling it's going to need a fair amount of ballast given the shape of the hull but I have a cunning plan. More on that later but I can assure you it will only cost 'pennies'

I like that one of those parked off your coast drastically rearranges the landscape.

The hull is now completely planked and awaiting a new tin of P38 - the one in the photo below is empty.



I decided to go for neat with this build instead of my normal method of chaos and I think it looks a lot better for it. No trailing wires and a place for everything. Even a rather nifty smuggling hole in front of the motors. I haven't abandoned the chaos approach completely though (see rest of garage). One day I'll tidy up and maybe find all those tools I've lost. Not to mention the new speed controller that has mysteriously vanished.
I haven't got round to weighing the boat yet but I think it will be suitably heavy and hopefully it'll sit nicely on the water. Once I get the new P38 and get it all sealed, I'll do a test sink in the bath.... then cry probably.

Very impressive work!  I think its outstanding that you are finding new uses for all kinds of things.  Great job all around.

Who is to say what that vessel "really" looked like?  Most ships come out of the yards brand new, and begin an un-ending process of re-fit and replacement.  They barely resemble the original vessel after a short time, especially after combat action.  What you have produced is sea-going diorama quality my friend.  Scratch building is certainly alive and well!

Hull 13, F40/F109 HMS RobertCrombie: Construction Update

This is the current condition of the aforementioned HMS RobertCrombie.

Two weeks ago


Today








All of the internals are completed and working. 2x slightly overscale brass rudders have been constructed, fitted and servo'd (not really a word but you know what I mean). Similarly the main gun - removeably mounted on a rotary servo for roundy roundy motion and a linear servo for the up and down stuff. Prototypically, the main gun turret is held in place purely by gravity - it's made from brass and mahogany so it's quite hefty.

The hull is finally finished - bar painting and despite being clad only in 150x2x3mm balsa strips it is amazingly strong. This is probably due in no small part to the application of hundreds of individual 20x10mm tiles cut from a metre square sheet of a strange almost like a thin blotting paper I found at work and thought... Hmmm... like you do. I've stuck these in position using model aircraft dope which sets like rock. It doesn't show up very clearly on the photos but I think the finished effect does a very convincing impression of steel plating.

The whole of the deck/superstructure aft of the splodgy white line on pictures 2&3 is removeable for access to the internal gubbins. This idea caused a few headaches and design changes along the way but I'm satisfied with the way it looks and operates now. I've had to make one or two structural changes from the original but nothing too serious and nothing that deviates too much from the prototype.

As you can see from the photos, the water line of this vessel is at the top of the sponsons, where the slope inwards towards the main hull begins. Earlier in construction I did a test sink in the bath to assess how much ballast would be needed and it turned out to be quite a lot. Cue head scratching moments on the most efficient (cheapest) way of doing this. I can now report that the ballasting of this vessel has cost me exactly £2.38. A rather precise figure you may think, but what it actually means is that there are 238 pennies epoxied onto the inside of the bottom of the hull. Simple yet effective (and cheap). Unfortunately it also makes the boat quite heavy.

Once again though, I've run out of materials so I'm waiting for delivery of some more plastic card so that I can remodel the secondary gun emplacements and manufacture various other deck fittings. I have several cranes to build for which I think kebab sticks or cocktail sticks will suffice and various other bits of mast /antennae paraphernalia need building. These will need to be fairly robust so I'm thinking brass rods for this.

I think it could be a while yet before this beast actually gets it's bum wet but there's a lot still to do so that's it for now. More as and when.

That's looking really good have you seen this for your cranes:
http://www.plastruct.co.uk i use it a lot it cements beautifully and is a soft cheesy plastic which you can bend and cut easily. Are you going overall gray or a camouflage scheme?