I normally hang around the Armorama forums but thought this would fit better over here.
I'm not normally a ship modeller but I found this kit in a discount store for £14.99...it normally retails at over £40.00.



Inside it holds a lot of plastic, not least of which is the large one piece hull...




Here's the hull with an AA size battery for comparison...



Overall the detail is very nice and quite fine straight out of the box....however, this being me, I hunted around on the net and came across the mother of all update sets from Eduard.

It is, in fact, two separate sets...one gives all manner of details for the Marwede and it's lifeboat the Verena....








... the other uses four large etched sheets to replace the entire helipad....





The detail on the helipad is astonishing...I only hope my skills can do it justice.
details on the other set are equally amazing including the ships nameplates and insignia...



And for the times when the etch gets too much, I've got the correct type of helicopter for that helipad...



So...the first thing I need to get is a tool to aid in bending all that brass...I'll be back as I make progress...

Well I bit the bullet and started last night....

To put all that etch into perspective, what you see here is the result of about five hours work...

Before...



After...



It's pretty labour intensive cleaning up all those tiny parts but the finished effect is worth it.

First time I see a build up of one of these ships - good beginning.

When I click one of the pictures I get a error ?

Cheers/Jan

Hang on...I'll try and sort that out...

There you go Jan...all fixed

Ahoy, Iain,
Welcome to Model Shipwrights!

Nice beginnings to a great looking Build Log, mate, we'll be watching along as you progress, my friend!

Cheers,
~Gunny

One thing that puzzles me about the etched set is that Eduard have gone to great effort to detail the exterior but provide next to nothing for the bridge of either the Marwede or the Verena which are quite visible through the windows....I'll have to break out the sheet styrene for that.
Another shame is that Revell didn't provide any figures which would have been nice to show off the size of the thing...

Welcome to the dark side Iain, I have been thinking about getting one of these to add to the 1/72 collection. It is nice to see it getting worked over. Looking forward to watching it progress.

This is likely due to Eduard's usual preference for making separate interior and exterior sets. While not really seen in armor all that much (where unless the vehicle is an open topped SPG, etc., there is no interior, with a few exceptions), they do this all the time on planes. A set for the engine, a set for the flaps, a general exterior set, a set (or two) for the interior... and maybe occasionally they'll get combined into one large Big Ed set.

So, you can wait around and hope that they'll eventually release an interior set or, as you say, break out the styrene.





Welcome to the world of ship models. I've already sunk (no pun intended) about 130 hours into my current 1/350 build (my usual for small 1/700 builds is about 50 to 75 depending on subject). I can generally get about five or six tanks done in the time it takes to do a 1/350 ship... But as you said, the finished effect is worth it!

Looking forward to seeing your results!

Great start Iain! Look forward to your progress… and yes, that PE detail really makes a difference! Cheers

Thanks for all the encouragement folks....it's odd that in 40 years of modelling I can count the number of naval subjects I've built on one hand...the last being the Airfix Vosper torpedo boat when it was first released...
What is also odd is that I can find only one other example of this kit online that has been built using the Eduard set...

For anyone interested in the extent of the etched details you can get a better idea from these pictures I found on the Moduni website...click on the thumbnails for a bigger pic...

http://www.moduni.com/product_info.php/products_id/3953014?osCsid=f04efc0c25537bdee2fa9a3fb9330ca5

http://www.moduni.com/product_info.php/products_id/3953013

Great start Iain.

Kenny

Off to a good start......keep the WIP pics coming.....Revell also has the Berlin and Arkona a smaller rescue boat in 1/72.....would be a nice comparison piece.....

Here's a link I have for when I pull mine out of the stash......check out page 5, you could scratch the engine room...LOL!

LOTS of stuff at this site

http://www.sea-rescue.de/english/Photos+%26+Videos/Hermann+Marwede/

Thanks for that link Joe...much appreciated...not sure I'll be building that engine room just yet...

Here's a quick update....

As I said before, the hull is a very neat one-piece moulding to which you attach two large pieces to form the sidewalls of the main forward deck...sorry about my lack of the correct naval terminology here folks!....
Anyway, the fit of these parts is not great as there are only three locating tabs and both parts were slightly warped.
I eventually got them on by tack-welding them in place using CA glue then reinforcing them with scraps of plasticard on the inside face. I followed this with a good coat of liquid cement inside and out and left to dry for a couple of days.
In the photo you can also make out a pronounced fore-aft warp in the hull which, thankfully, seems to straighten out once the decks are in place. You can just make out the styrene strengtheners to the inside faces of the forward hull.

The instructions suggest fitting part B211 to the inside of the stern opening prior to installing the rear deck. After a long time fiddling with the part I realised it is far better to cement this part to the deck first.



Here it is seen from the outside...



...and the inside...



Once dry, I test fitted the assembly into the hull and found that a snug fit is impossible unless you remove the small lip of plastic shown here...



...this allows the deck to locate hard against the back of the hull moulding with no gaps. Speaking of gaps, it's best to apply a little filler to the joint now prior to fitting the deck as clean-up of this seam will be easier. Also a little filler is needed at the bow...

Great minds think alike!
You and i are pretty much on the same page, I'm just waiting on the PE, I got both sets to!
Can only agree with the comments about the hull construction.

Keep up the good work.

Keep us posted! I started this project last week and all the info and pics are really useful! Thanks a lot.