1/35 RAM SBS SpORT Boat - Vietnam - FINISHED - Pic's pg.1

[Old Wombat]

OK, I'm running well behind here. Real Life stuff & trying to finish off a build before I start this one have held me back, & it still may be another 3-to-7 days before I get right into it.

So, this is going to be a SpecOps team insertion & support boat operated in Vietnam by the Royal Australian Marines Special Boat Service from 1967 until the withdrawal of Australian main force units in 1978, when they were handed over to the Republic of Viet Nam Navy (RVNN).

(Same timeline as my Fire Support Boat, Riverine.)

Starting point below (with some change elements already marked);

[zenrat]

Oooh, this looks good.
Need that popcorn emoticon.

[NARSES2]

Always loved that box art 

And looking at the sprues reminds me that I'd completely forgotten those "trestles" Airfix always provided in their ship kits 

[Old Wombat]

OK, slow going on this build, mostly because I'm also struggling to paint some figures, for a different build, which is going .... badly.

Anyway, here are some pic's of where I'm at:










And one with the FSBR for a quick size comparison:




Thanks for watching!

[zenrat]

I have a pair of boots in a very similar state.

Nice start.

[jcf]

I have a pair of boots in a very similar state.

Ditto. 

[nighthunter]

Watching

[Old Wombat]

Building!


But at a rate so slow I'm being overtaken by New Zealand racing past me towards Australia!

[Old Wombat]

So many WIP photo's of this build!

Yeah, sorry about the lack of in-build pic's but I've been seriously time-constrained during this GB, with far too much external stuff going on.

Anyway, the build is finished & photo's will be up tomorrow after work (2330hrs my time).

Name has changed from "FAST" boat  (I had no idea what that meant) to SpORT boat (Special Operations Reconnaissance Team).

I'll write something to go with the images between now & then, too.


Cheers!

Guy

[Old Wombat]

Teaser:



FSBR Mk.II
SpORT Boat
PBR Mk.II (dry-fit of main parts)

[zenrat]

Lot of algae in that water...


I demand more pictures.

[NARSES2]

Impressive paint/weathering job 

[Old Wombat]

Keep yer hair on, Fred!


Special Operations Reconnaissance Team (SpORT) Boat

Length: 38 feet 2⅟₂ inches (11.65m)

Beam: 9 feet 2⅟₄ inches (2.80m)

Draught: 12⅟₂ inches (32cm)

Displacement: 5.8 long tons (6.5 short tons / 5.9t)

Propulsion: 2 x 350 hp (261 kW) Ford 351W (Windsor) supercharged marine petrol
                      engines, each powering a Caldwell & Lacey TS6M turbine water-jet with a thrust
                     bucket for reverse thrust; and
                     2 x 50 hp (37.3kW) Simpson Pope Ltd marine electric engines clutching into the same
                     drive system
                     .

Speed: 27.5 knots (31.65 mph / 51 km/h) – petrol engine; 3.6 knots (4.14 mph / 6.67 kmh) – electric motor

Complement: 3 – 5 crew plus 4 – 8 SpecOps troops

Armament: 4 x 7.62mm L7A2 General Purpose Machine Guns (800 rnds each)
                      Assorted personal small-arms

Armour: Hull – fibre-glass reinforced 3/4 inch marine plywood
               Crew Tub – 1 inch armour grade aluminium

The Special Operations Reconnaissance Team Boat was an Australian-built vessel designed & built by Lewis Boats of NSW for operations in the rivers & deltas of South East Asia utilising stealth & speed ahead of the 4 standard GPMGs they were armed with. To assist with this their V8 petrol motors' exhausts vented through the water-jet drives & they were equipped with two 50 hp electric motors capable of propelling the boat at approximately 3.6 knots for approximately 2 hours.

Operated by the Royal Australian Marines of the Joint US-Australian River Patrol (JUSARP) from 1969 until the withdrawal of Australian main force units in 1978, when they were handed over to the Republic of Viet Nam Navy (RVNN).

The SpORT boats were generally used, as their name implies, to insert recce teams into North Vietnamese / Viet Cong held areas along the river, or areas where it was suspected they had changed their normal patterns of operations.

SpORT boats often operated in conjunction with FSBR Mk.II's & PBR 31 Mk.II's, which provided cover & fire support for their operations when required.

Only 14 of these boats were built, all to the original standard. Arguably not quite as adept in their role as the US LSSC's or STAB's, lacking a little in agility, they did, however, have greater acceleration & a higher top speed, despite their smaller engines.

Walk-around:



























Details:

















FSBR Mk.II & SpORT Boat:



The photos's show up some faults I still have difficulty seeing in the styrene but hides others, so it's balancing out.

This boat, obviously, fits into my Royal Australian Marines Alt. History & will, eventually, be part of a 3 or 4 boat diorama with the FSBR & one or two PBR31 Mk.II's.


Anyway, f-i-n-a-l-l-y, I've finished my build for this GB.

Hope you like it!

[PR19_Kit]

That looks REALY good Womby! 

I'm most impressed, specially with the paint work, and the GPMGs are works of art.

How much, if any, of that boat is RW?

[Old Wombat]

Thanks, Kit!

The L7's are by LiveResin & are little works of art (as is most of their stuff).

What do you mean by R(eal)W(orld)?

If you mean "were there any boats like this in Australian service" - No.

However, Ford did make a 351W(indsor) motor, which saw more use as a marine engine than as a car engine; Lewis Boats is the oldest manufacturer of ski boats in Aus; Simpson Pope did make electric motors for various purposes but not, to my knowledge, boats; & the USN operated similar boats (mentioned in the text) but nothing quite like this "Australian" version.

I was just looking for a(nother) way to get the RAM's into riverine operations in Vietnam, without having to rely too much on the US.

The rest is what happens when a random neutrino gets caught in the vacuum of my mind.