Hey Guys,

It seems I need a mind-clearing build. I have a few things on the go at the moment, but I need a little fix. I was thinking the Smârdan/”Brutar-II-Class River Patrol Monitor form RB Productions would be just the ticket! This is a small multi-media kit of a unique subject in 1/350 scale. Recently I put together a review for this kit here on MSW.

Link to Review - http://modelshipwrights.kitmaker.net/review/11376

So not wanting to waste any time here, I will get right to this...The Kit:



This is a well manufactured kit. The bulk of the building will be in the form of photo etch as the hull is solid resin and there is a low part count of peripheral items in resin.



Nothing like a floating tank to clear the head! Yes, that is a T-54/55 turret on the bow. Add a couple 14.5 mm turrets, to quad mounts, a twin 30mm rig on the fantail all tied together with two 40-tube 122mm multiple rocket launching systems a midships.....a floating tank!



Okay....time to hit the bench! Hope to be back soon with a little update!

Thanks for taking the time to swing by!

Not letting any moss grow on this one....out comes the PE!






There is still plenty to go here..but I managed to work up a few things; watertight doors, hatches and a few other bobbles. Here I added some "conduit" with copper wire. Not going too far overboard on things!











Also took a bite out of the props! Nice setup since hey provide a turned shaft, blades and brackets.



Like a dope though, I added the props...LOL!! I needed to make a quick base to work off so I wouldn't destroy what I did! Empty dog food container to the rescue!



Well, that is that for the night I think! Hope to have more real soon!

Cracking start Todd,

The casting and the etch look fantastic. Love the small detail like the etched steps up from the foredeck.

Following with interest.

Cheers.

Si

Thank you Si...happy to have you along for the ride! With any luck, I might have a little more to show tonight (this side of the pond! ) Time to play with the guns!

Todd,

Beautiful work on what appears to be a very small subject. I also like the level of detail that you are adding to this little gem.

Very impressive work. I think I will hitch along for the ride as well.

Dave

Thanks Dave! lad to have you along for the ride as well!! Just looking the guns over now!! LOL...should be fun!

Looking good so far Todd, I've hitched up and I'm coming for the ride.

Anything to be aware of so far?

Thanks Luciano! You can man the 30's! Not too much to worry about actually. The PE is resilient enough to handle without destroying, especially with the meat-hooks I was blessed with! The added PE MG's are not bad for the scale but and would work out just fine, but, and as you will see below, could use a little love if you wanted.

I did get the chance to play around with the guns...as I threatened. RBP does supply turned barrels for the 105 and 30mm's but only photo etch barrels for the 14.5mm, and even the 7.62mm's located in the flanking bow turrets.




As you would figure, the 105mm mounted in the T-55 turret was an easy one! I had to clean out the hole slightly but the barrel wen right in.



Even the 30mm mount was not too bad to construct. This is a resin base with a few PE parts and the turned barrels added.





Similar to what I mentioned above, personally I wanted to add a little to the 14.5mm guns. I like the setup and the PE provided will render a decent gun for sure...just playing around is all.







I modified the quads a little using some 40mm bofors I had lying around....actually forget what they were for, but anyway, a quick snip of the mounting pin and I think they pass for some heavy 14.5mm's



Last was the two turrets straddling the 105mm cannon at the bow. I snipped a little more off the barrels as the mountings are inside of course and added a small piece of copper wire to give the appearance of the 7.62's.



With the guns all but out of the way, I made my way around the hose reels...



Not perfect...but plausible for the task at hand!!

Next up I will go after the rocket assembly and then try and get this puppy together!

Thanks for dropping in!!

Nice work on the guns Todd,

The twin 30's and quad 14.5's are real little gems.

The more I see of your build, the more I want one of these.

Cheers.

Si

Thanks again Si! There is a fair amount of detail packed into this little subject. Working on some of the shiny stuff now!

Hi Todd. Would this be the same RB company that makes turned brass barrels?

Hey Biggs! No. RB Productions are their own entity....also, the kit supplied barrels are form Master.

Si get in line

Todd love this little ship and the work your doing on it.

Todd this is a great little model. A patchwork boat with a T-55 turret, very cool. Looking forward to seeing more like the rest of the guys.

Bryan

Thank you Luciano and Bryan!! I really appreciate you taking he time and peek in on this!

So far, I have to say this has been a pleasurable time getting things together on this one!! Looks like I might have things ready to sling some primer soon.



My apologies for not getting a few more in-progress shots of some minor constructions. I was on a roll and as you all have experienced, when this happens, you just go with it!

I have left a couple of small parts off to make paining a little easier...there is an anchor and chain included. I will probably add a couple of small surface details to the side of the deckhouse in the end. There is a couple of red colored...thinking they are electrical boxes and I was trying to work out a conical shaped basket for the flag deck...not too sure on that yet...LOL!!



Also, there are three small rings that get placed in the bridge windows. I will add these after painting as well as they are teenie-weenie and a different color than the windows themselves.



The antenna mast went together rather easily. The two antennas on the side are turned brass included with the set. For the rigging, I used Uschi van der Rostens "Rig That Thing".

Designed originally for aircraft models, the stuff seamlessly falls in place with ships. 3 different sizes: Standard, Fine and Superfine. This was the Superfine which measures 0.001 OD. There is an elastic nature to it allowing a tight finish. A touch of CA and it sticks instantly and can be pulled about 3 ties it's length.





I will have to try and put together some sort of review of this stuff...LOL!

The rocket launchers were a breeze to construct. There was a one-piece resin base, and the carriage is one large PE section with a small girder which is underneath. The top is two pieces and glues directly onto the tubes. On the real ship, these rocket launchers store below deck leaving only the cover plates flush to the surface. There is the option just to place the top PE sections directly over the mounting holes of the launchers if someone did not want to show these launchers in their deployed status.





The 30mm rounds things off nicely I thought. Also, the mini launch was a 5-/50 attachment for me. Many of the reference shots showed the boat both in place and removed.



You will notice in the picture above there are no brass depth charge rails installed. The rails are cast into the boat already and there was the option to use the PE as well. I chose not to as the detailing was subtle in nature to begin with on the original boat and I think I can pick out the definition of them with a wash or two in the end.







Okay...that is that on the construction...minus the few items I mentioned!! Into the painting queue it goes!!

Thanks for tuning in!!

Looking very nice. Can't wait to see the paint work.

Very ominous looking for such a small craft.

Thanks Mike! LOL...she is loaded down with some heavy stuff for such a small craft!! 5 of this one type, plus a couple newer ones patrolling the Danube and probably a couple other rivers in Romania. Pretty hefty deterrent I think!!

Todd,

Phenomenal work. Looks to be a great amount of detail for such a small ship. Great work my friend.

Looking forward to seeing her with some cloths on.

Dave

Hi Todd,
Amazing build of an awesome boat. I think there is more weaponry on this craft than entire NZ navy I wonder who they're expecting to take on with this?

cheers

Michael

Great job Todd,

Looks quite a build for such a small model, looking forward to seeing some paint on her.

Now I really really want one.

Cheers.

Si

Thanks Dave! There is a decent amount of detailing put into the kit. While the PE is quite small for some of the parts, the construction was not so mind-blowing that you need a "PHD" in metal forming to work with it!

Thanks a bunch Michael! LOL...she is loaded! I can only guess this is ore of a deterrent than anything else. It works...I wouldn't try anything! At least on the rivers!

Thanks Si!! LOL...I think this piece sells itself...interesting subject backed with some nice details!

Okay...well, I managed to break out the AB! Primer is always a good place to start! I think most of you know I will tend to pick up the black primer first. This time though my thought was in utilizing the black primer for the black sections....make sense, right? Below the waterline, the hull is painted black along with a portion of the rear upper hull sections.







I know there is not too much definition in the black primer, but she is clean and primed! I will let this cure for 24 hours or so and let the primer get hard as nails...then onto a little color!

Thanks again for checking on me!!

Hi Todd,

looks sinister in black, Nice job.

Cheers. Si

I can imagine with that boat patrolling the rivers nobody is fishing without a permit, swift justice dealt by 100mm HE shell.

Excited to see the black primer technique, Im tempted to adopt it as I am tired of grey all the time. We shall see when all is finished.

Great looking boat,

Bryan

p.s. what ever happened to that huge black stealth aircraft carrier?

Thanks Si! There is an ominous feel to this one!

Thanks Bryan! LOL...Game warden with a 105!! Guessing that would scare more than just the fish!! Oh yeah...that one! She lies primed waiting still! A few things jumped on the plate preventing me from starting the painting. I have a show I am attending at the end of the month....once I am through with that, I will set some time...and a whole lot of space, aside or her!

Hey fellas,

A little color!

For what it is worth in this scale, I added some pre-highlighting with some white.



Then of course some color was added...



I ended up giving the whole thing a quick dusting of almost a wash constancy of the USAF Grey ad a hint of green.

Oh, an pulled off the masking too.



The tiny stuff got some color as well.



A squirt of clear will go down soon and then I can start some detail painting, decals and pulling my teeth out trying to figure out how to do the boot stripe on this one! LOL!! I works out to around a 1mm white line! Think I might have something worked out though!

Thanks for stopping by!