Building a Severn Class lifeboat.

[Ratch]

 

Some more little bits have ben added, though the instructions are not clear, so I hope I've fixed them in the correct position.

[Ratch]

The main additions here are the railings.

[Ratch]

I have deliberately slowed up on this build so that it isn’t rushed. 

Many of the incremental steps are fiddly. Cleaning up is essential and I have found some trimming to be necessary for railings to match.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

1 hour ago, Ratch said:

I have deliberately slowed up on this build so that it isn’t rushed. 

G'day Ratch, you've probably heard the saying "Rush now, repair and replace later". Actually I just made that up (or maybe heard it myself in the past) but it has a nice ring to it. 😁

Regards, Jeff.

[Ratch]

Proceed in haste, repent at leisure (or something like that). The V shaped bracing stanchion for the mast was short-shot and I had to replace a leg with plastic rod. Progressing to the end of the assembly stages I realised I had several parts left over. Going back through the steps I found where they were meant to be attached, but I was still left with two pieces. 

One should be inside the cabin, so it is impossible to fit it, and it certainly cannot be seen with the lid on. The other seems to be a duplicate. Two identical parts numbered 138 appear on frames two and four, but the only time it appears on the instruction sheet is singularly in step 25, so we have one left over. 

I may have missed these parts because the instructions/parts are not sequentially numbered, maybe I should tick them off when fitted. 

I will let the paint dry fully before spraying with Klear and applying the decals, which will be my next step on this journey.

[modeling maniac]

Nice job Ratch, good luck with the decals and I hope they are less trouble than the build.

[Ratch]

I airbrushed a coat of Klear as the base for the decals. They were applied with Micro Set solution. A final coat of Klear was sprayed to seal and protect the decals. This finish also hints at a watery environment.

 

Conclusion:

I try to report my builds honestly. I’m just an average modeller and others may encounter the same troubles that I have. The uber-modellers never seem to have problems with builds, or they do not publish theirs. I hope that others may learn what to avoid or work out a better build/paint/decal sequence than I have employed. I have already thought of different ways of tackling this kit. As everyone knows, the more times you build the same kit processes improve to make things easier and for better results. In a general sense, some skills are transferrable. In other areas specialist knowledge can be a great advantage, and I have none regarding this subject. But I suppose that many sales of this kit will be impulse buys by holidaymakers visiting a lifeboat station. This certainly isn’t a kit for beginners and being one of the last, pre-Hornby era designs, Monsieur Goulard’s work leaves much to be desired. In my opinion the instructions are vague, and colour callouts are incomplete. Experienced modellers may have the skills to overcome the problems (though I remember some complaining about the build at the time of its first issue). Compared with the design of the Shannon, much has moved on in the time between these kits. Although I’m not happy with the result, I do have a sense of achievement in finishing the build. I cannot help but think that if Airfix were to tackle this subject today, Matt and the design team would make a much better job of it.

[Ratch]

Make no mistake, a real six-footer.

[paul71]

even with all the problems you had with this its turned out well ratch i do like it, well done with persevering with it ratch  

Edited August 16 by paul71

[Valhalla]

4 hours ago, Ratch said:

I’m just an average modeller

I think you do yourself and injustice here Ratch. Not many would take on a difficult kit like this, persevere and get such a good result. Yes lessons will always be learnt when we build a kit so the next one will always improve  and I love your honesty when you report on these things. It helps all of us to be better modelers at he end off the day so well done to you.

Ian

[SD45elect2000]

I think it looks nice, it photographed well. 
 

Randall

[Ratch]

Thanks for your generous feedback guys. I think I've learnt something on this journey. The acid test will be when I build the next one.

Meanwhile, some more pictures of the Severn and Shannon together.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

8 hours ago, Ratch said:

I do have a sense of achievement in finishing the build.

G'day Ratch, that's a positive. I know you had problems with the build but you persevered with it. I think many of us have done models that haven't turned out quite as well as we'd hoped but have still learned something along the way. Congrats on your completion. And the two classes of life-boat do look good together, to show the different types. Well done.

Regards, Jeff.

[DoubleD]

Well done - you got there in the end

[modeling maniac]

It might have been hard but you persevered and saw it through to the end, even if a one stage it seemed as if it were about to go out the window. Nice job and it turned out well 👍 😀 👌

[Ratch]

Thanks for your comments guys 🍻

[A J Rimmer]

I'd say you're being far too hard on yourself Richard, that looks an absolute swine of a build and having finished it at all is a worthy achievement - also, brush painting gloss paint can be a real pain, so doubly well done. If nothing else, at least you've highlighted the issues for those of us that might well want to try and tackle this beast at some point - poor fools that we are! 

Very well done sir and what a cracking looking pair of Lifeboats. I hope it's a theme that Airfix continue with.