Long time readers of this blog will know that I've had a couple of goes at building a model of the Brede Class lifeboat.
Attempt 1 involved a not very good vac-formed kit which got me interested in the prototype but proved just how difficult it would be to make a descent model.
Attempt 2 got as far as a scratchbuilt hull that looked good until I put the deck on and realised that the back end on one side was all wonky.
Attempt 3 uses a similar assembly method to Attempt 2 except that in that case I used wood, this time it's plastic sheet.
My theory is that I'm more comfortable with plastic. It's a material I use a lot and I get on well with it. Unlike wood for example, if you cut too much off, the missing material can be replaced as long as yo use plenty of solvent. The good people at Humbrol have sent me some tubes of glue and a big bottle of liquid glue. My stocks include plenty of Mek-pak too.
Anyway, I made up a building board - a flat surface with screwed down laths at right angles to the edge. To these slices of the hull are clipped. These slices are taken from a copy of the RNLI plan, stuck to the sheet with spray glue and then slightly modified to take the keel and stringers. Both of these are plastic, the later being long strips of sawn 4mm stuff bought from a model boat supplier.
So far, things are looking good. Hopefully at the end of all this, I'll be writing up the model properly for Model Boats magazine, but I thought you might like a sneak preview.
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