Atlantic Models 1/350 HMS Hurworth

(Text from the kit´s instructions)

The Hunt class Mine Counter Measures Vessels are the largest ships in the world to be made from GRP. The Royal Navy has a reputation for being the best in the world at mine detection and clearance, and even in these modern times, the necessity of MCMVs are essential. The Hunt class vessels have a secondary role as patrol craft and are frequently attached to the Fishery Protection Squadron when required. Most recently a group of these vessels have been detached to the Persian Gulf to assist in keeping the sea ways clear and open following the Iraq and Iran conflicts. The ships are kept in place there for long periods with just the complete crews changing over at intervals.

HMS Hurworth was built by Vosper Thornycroft (UK)Ltd, Woolston Yard, Southampton, England and was launched on 25th September 1984, by Lady Ann Halifax.She was officially commissioned into service on 2nd July 1985. Being the second ship to bear the name, HMS Hurworth became the tenth ship of the class, combining the traditional roles of Minesweeping and Mine Hunting into one vessel, using the latest state of the art detection equipment.

Shortly after her commissioning Hurworth found herself involved in the rescue operation following the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster at Zeebrugge in 1987. She also won a Battle Honour in the First Gulf War of 1991. After an extensive refit in 2014, during which she received new engines and complete update of her detection equipment to present day standards, HMS Hurworth returned to the fleet at Portsmouth early in 2015 to carry out tasks around the UK before deploying to the Gulf later in the year.

HMS Hurworth has a ship´s company of 6 Officers, 39 Ratings and is part of the First Mine Countermeasures Squadron based at Portsmouth.

Length: 60 metres Beam: 10 metres Displacement: 725 tons max Propulsion: 2 x Napier Deltic diesel engines at 3,540 shp

Max Speed 17 knots Armament: 1x 30mm DS30M Mk2 gun 2 x Miniguns 3x General Purpose machine gun

The kit utilizes the resin and white metal parts of the earlier WEM kit of the class, with a new PE sheet and decals.

I started this kit in the summer of 2018, and aimed at presenting it in a livelier seascape. I assembled the hull parts, cleared the horizontal seam up and then started on the base. Sadly, that seascape failed to convince me, so after another false start I repacked the parts and let them mature.

Late in 2019, I decided to give the project a fresh start, and on Xmas Eve morning I made the hull cutout in a piece of styrofoam. I aimed at rather heavier seas, with the vessel diving into a wave she met head-on.

On Xmas day morning, I had shaped the base, cut it to size and had embedded the insulated hull in acrylic caulking to blend it in.

After a week of holidays I stippled white wall paint on to the base, and let that cure for a few days whilst I returned to work. On Friday afternoon after my first working week, I sprayed the base using first green and then blue. Over that weekend, I primed and painted the hull and started tackling the various subassemblies, first cleaning them up and then mounting them for priming. The various railings were pre-bent and then mounted for painting. As it is a rather small vessel, that all went faster than anticipated. I encountered virtually no problems during the build.

The model was built virtually out of the box. I only added a few 3D printed life raft canisters from my stash, and some stiffening wire to the lower yardarms. Following some reference images, I rebuilt the top part of the mainmast, replacing the white metal part.

Following the kit instructions, things went smoothly, and quite fast. This project appealed to me because of the numerous details displayed on the well deck and the boat deck above it, and the relative amount of colour displayed on a modern warship. Combined with the lively seascape, I really liked the look of the project.

The model was primed using Stynylrez primer, with the white primer used for the yellow and orange items. I used the grey primer for the deck grey, and the black primer for the boot topping. Apart from that, Vallejo ModelAir was used, plus my now very old but still functional JPS DayGlo Orange bought more than 10 years ago.

I had overlooked the bridge window decals, therefore I gave them special mention at the beginning of this text. Hence I sprayed the bridge window area a bluish black and masked the windows using my trusty kip 308 tape.

The subassemblies were sprayed where they were mounted, including the railings. I hand-painted the horizontal railing wires. The only instance of paint liftoff was at the funnel, for whatever reasons, but easily fixed.

Once everything was painted, I started assembling the components, obviously beginning with the well deck and working my way from there ahead and to the periphery. Only four crew figures were used, acting as lookouts in the bridge wings. The vessel was „rigged“ using blackened Albion Alloys .1 mm nickel-silver wire, which is straight, glues well, and is reasonably thin. A White Ensign from the decal sheet was applied to a bit of aluminum foil and rigged to the mast.

Finally, the outboard railings were applied and the inevitable paint touchups were performed, followed by ye flat coat of Mercy hiding hopefully most of the sins of building.

The vessel was not weathered, as all the images I found show the MCMV´s in near-pristine shape. Given that the hulls are non-metallic, they are not overly prone to rust anyway.

The vessel was then mounted to its base, which had been gloss-coated and further accentuated with clear acrylic gel and white paint before.

The model was finished on 21 January, which I consider a pretty short building time.

This was a fun project. No hair-raising PE assemblies of terror, a very nice fit all around, an interesting type of vessel with loads of gizmos clutetring the deck in a thoroughly un-stealthy fashion – what´s not to like?

Frank Spahr

4 March 2024

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