Hi Guys,

Kyle Lord of East Providence, RI picked up my SNOWBERRY from ROG (1:144) and my G-5 from Merit (1:35) yesterday. He and his girlfriend, Amanda are very nice people.

He has already started the HMCS SNOWBERRY as the USS SAUCY. The first thing he did was to wash the kit to get the residue of the releasing agent from the molding process off. Secondly, he put the two halves of the hull together. I picked up some brass light finnels for him to use as pedestals (on both kits). He mentioned in an email that he is going to be using some "generic" PE railings to replace the kit's thickish railings. I agreed with him on that.

Here are some photos:













He dryfitted the decks too:



Tim

looks a great kit, got one in my stash, so will be following very closely.

Cheers

Si

Here are more photos of the build, putting the depth charges together, putting the CSA generators together, doing something to the prop, and painting the decks.

Simon, be advised, Kyle says the seams on the hull are difficult to line up and there is flash as well as seams on the depth charges, but other than that, he likes it.

Oh, yeah, he did say there is warpage where the decks and hull meet.























Tim

Kyle sent me an update today, and here it is. These are his words:
Decks are masked and ready for weathering deck blue which will be a mix of dark gray and field blue at half each.

Bottom of the hull has been sanded though I filled the low spot again as it wasn't quite right. Stern piece is glued in and was filled though not pictured.

The upper surface was sprayed with Tamiya white with a small amount of light grey added. Prop has been primed and is waiting to be painted bronze.





Tim

Good morning, guys …
Kyle sent me a few updates today. I am really impressed with Kyle’s work. He’s doing a good job on this kit, even with its shortcomings. Frankly, I am amazed at his work and his progress … This is the gist of all of his emails and a ton of new photos:
“Glued the strake. Parts on the hull, really not sure what they are and primed the bottom of the hull this morning. Going to do another coat of primer and will smooth out tonight.
Here she is, the color is interesting from the top it shows gray, from a slight angle it's blue.”










Tim

Hi Guys.

Kyle just sent me another update this morning. He’s moving right along … This is what he said, “…quick update. Bottom of the hull was given a mist of flat black and faired using a sanding stick. It will be smoothed using 600 grit and final primed. The stern piece has been faired including the seam that will show on the inside.”








Tim

Looking good Tim.

Following with interest.

Si

Thank you, Si. I like it.

Kyle sent me an update and this what he said, “I temporarily put the deck on to see the whole color scheme. Couldn't help but do a mockup.

I assembled two little gun mounts, they will be painted white and the guns dark gunmetal before assembly. Not pictured but I have an assortment of small parts ready to be primer.

Also not pictured but the waterline has been marked and taped and will be sprayed when the weather improves.

Lastly I drilled holes in the bottom, fabricated hardwood blocks and epoxied them in place. These will be drilled, tapped 10-24, then hardened with super glue. The finials will be chucked in the lathe, turned down and be threaded 10-24. The finials will thread into the hull, then bolts will pass through the base into the finials.”
Here are some photos:










Tim

Kyle sent me an update this morning – he’s putting together the sub-assemblies of the kit. He also glued part of the decking to the hull …
Yesterday, he attached some pieces of hard wood to the interior of the hull where the pedestals will be screwed into …
Here are some photos of the progress …

She is coming along just fine....looking forward to seeing the
mods that will be made to superstructure and and other details, to
see how different the US corvettes were from the RCN ones.
Cheers,
Joe

Joe,

Chris Preston from BC in Canada told me that the SAUCY was the very same as SNOWBERRY when the USN took delivery of the FLOWER which became the SAUCY.

Kyle sent me an update, he has painted the hull’s bottom and he will attach the rest of the deck(s) tonight. I am impressed with the progress and with his work. Here are photos:









Tim

Kyle sent me an update today. This is what he said: “Front deck went on last night, I had to tack glue the front with super glue then pull in the sides with tape and liquid glue to adhere. The racks were a bit of a pain too, they design the top and bottom to fit into notches but there was no way they'd fit so I finagled a little. They will require white touch ups but I wanted to show you the progress.”
Here are some photos:




Tim

Kyle sent me another update, here’s what he said, “After unmasking the front deck there were still a few areas that didn't adhere well so I wicked in Tamiya thin and retaped. The rear upper deck went on and the smoke stack was sprayed base white and masked for the upper blue then the deck blue. I'll have to touch up some edges with white but when I get the majority of the upper surfaces on I'm going to spray from the waterline up with a coat of flat clear.”
Here are some photos:





Tim

Tim,

pretty professional work Kyle is doing there, this is really taking shape! Fine model and very crisp and clean work!!

Cheers,
Jan

Jan,

Yes ... I am very impressed with the work which Kyle is doing.

Kyle just sent me an update. He has started to mount the depth charges along the sides and he has started on making its mast. He also had a placard made for the base.
Here are some photos:




Tim

Kyle just sent me another update. This is what he said, “quick update of yesterday's work. I painted a bunch of platforms, the first platform I hand drilled all the holes with a pin vise to clean them up. 128 in total. I glued on the posts and platform for the 4-in. gun and the depth charge racks are permanently on. The platform for the 4" gun was based in white, masked and spraying blue and the additional ammo was brush painted. The shroud was radiused over to match Saucy's. Lastly, the rudder mounting was sloppy so I used a 3/32" brass tube that slips over the rudder post, and drilled the hull to 3/32". It's a snug fit and will be removed and painted red.”
Here are some photos:






Tim

Kyle sent me another update today, and this is what he said: A little more progress, painted some small parts white and attached them. The Pom Pom and 4" gun mounts are painted. The platform is just resting on the deck but the pedestal is attached.
Here are some photos:





Tim

Kyle sent me an update this morning. Here’s what he said, “Got some more parts on last night. I'm preparing more parts now for primer and paint. I'm closing in on being done with the aft section.”
Here are some photos:



Tim

Hi Guys,
Sunday and Monday, Kyle sent me two updates. But, I couldn’t post them because I was switching to a new computer and the old one and my external hard-drive were being broken down and packed up to be brought up to the Cape yesterday. Once I got everything set-up, I saved Kyle’s photos to my external hard-drive so I could upload them to imgur. Here’s what he said:
“The smokestack got painted and had the vents glued on and is baiting to be attached to the deck. I got some storage boxes and the rope pulleys painted and glued on. I did the railings for the upper deck and tonight I'll be painting the blue on the ladders that go to 2 pounder and lead to the front deck.
A little more work done, ladders going to the fore deck and Pom Pom are on. The smokestack and cap are now permanently attached. I assembled the cabin area but it isn't attached because I still have to fill the seam, paint it white and put the windows in.”
Here are some photos:










Tim

Hi Tim,

Kyle is doing an amazing job there - crisp and clean work at an amazing speed! It's fun to watch this project grow!!

Cheers,
Jan

Yes, he is, Jan.

Hi Guys,

Kyle sent me an update last night, this is what he said: “Hey Tim sorry for the lack of progress but work had been really kicking my butt. I did a little last night, I got the spotlights, guns and Pom Pom glued in. I also got the front railing section on the upper deck. Temporarily on hold until I can get to Hobby Lobby for some more primer.
Here are two photos:


Tim