H.M.R.T Assurance Class Tug - 1/48th scale
The Real Boat...
The real tugs were built from 1940 to 1943 by Cochrane & Sons Shipbuilders Ltd (Selby, U.K.) for use as rescue tugs. Their main purpose was to assist shipping that was damaged or disabled by U-Boat attacks in the Western Approaches or English Channel . The 21 tugs in the class sported a variety of unique names. After the war the surviving tugs were sold off to civilian owners - some even surviving until the early 2000's.
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The Kit Build...
Purchased in August of 2016, I began work on this kit in early September. The construction progressed during the winter and spring of 2016-17 and the build was finally called complete September 2, 2017.
The model is powered by a 500 size motor, with a 2.5:1 gear reduction to its 70mm three blade brass prop. Its set up to run on 6 volts. Average run times are in the neighborhood of over 2 hours at normal sailing speed on a 6 volt SLA battery. The model also has running lights for night operations. There were several liberties taken during this build to make it my own version of a civilian Assurance Class tug. The funnel color is similar to that used on White Star Line ships of the early 20th Century. The port of registration is as well. The name is just something that I thought would fit the list of names that the tugs were given by the Admiralty when they were launched. In the end the boat is about 44" in length and weighs in at about 20 pounds (it has a lot of ballast epoxied in, but I have never officially put it on a scale). |
There are 3 sections of image galleries below - Construction, Painting and Completed Build.
