History

HMS Badsworth and ORP Krakowiak (ex-HMS Silverton) were part of the 33 ship batch of Type II Hunt’s. HMS Badsorth began her career in the fall of 1941 doing escort work in the north west approaches. In June 1942 she struck a mine well entering the Grand Harbour in Malta. She returned to service in December, only to hit another mine off Bone Algeria in April 1943. Upon completion of repairs, she joined the Royal Norwegian Navy in September 1944 as Arendal. She remained on active service until 1961.

HMS Silverton was commissioned in to service with the Polish Navy as ORP Krakowiak on April 3, 1941. In December 1941 she was involved in Operation Anklet, the Allied raid on the Lofoten Islands. Krakowiak also participated in Operation Husky and Operation Neptune as part of the D-Day landings. In August 1945 she reverted back to the RN, where she became part of the Reserve Fleet. She was sold for scrap in 1958.

HMS Badsworth & ORP Krakowiak Hunt Class Type II Escort Destroyers

The kits come in sturdy boxes decorated with very colourful paintings of the ships. The contents include a 6 page instruction booklet, decal sheet and PE fret. The Badsworth kit is made up of 65 parts on six sprues and Krakowiak has 64 parts. The parts are molded in dark grey plastic and there are no signs of flash or sinkholes. Sprue A contains 56 parts and is common to both kits. The hull is one piece and water lined. According to Man o War No. 4 Hunt Class Escort Destroyers these vessels had a waterline length of 272 feet, the kit scales out three feet short. Parts A18 are tiny. Great care will be needed to remove them from the sprue and placing them will be an even bigger problem. I was not the least bit impressed with the quad 2-pounder. It is made up of three parts and really should have been one, and a much better one. The detailing on the kit parts is satisfactory.
The decal sheet contains pennant numbers for six ships and flags. The PE fret has 37 parts. Unfortunately it contains no aerials or radars. Still there is enough here that you don’t have to go to the aftermarkets. There are locating holes for most PE parts!

The instruction sheet without doubt is the best I have ever seen. Nice large photos for each step of the way. Arrows pointing to the parts exact location on the kit. Another nice touch is a rigging plan. Paint call-outs quote only Hataka Hobby and Lifecolor paints.