105 ft Motor Minesweeper 'Mickey Mouse'

I ordered a few fittings such as deck lockers, anchors, hawse plates and capstans for my Castle Class. They arrived at the weekend so now just waiting for my running gear from George Sitek. But as luck would have it when I ordered them from Sirmar I pondered over a small build to do in between work on the Castle which I figure is going to be a long long job. Always fancied a Motor Minesweeper so took the plunge and ordered a semi kit which arrived with my few fittings for the castle. Having now finished the Caldercraft Puffer at least I cans start on a new build.

The semi kit is fine in quality hull has some imperfections that need addressing with a little filler here and there but nothing major and is a nice hull at 29 inches by 5.75 so a nice size. Fittings are good but the resin ones are mostly moulded as groups on a long strip to be fettled and sanded off rather than single individual items. Its missing a funnel as the mould for the funnell has split. As the funnell is a square(ish) box build I am happy to build that myself. The big snag was the plan - I knew when I ordered it from Sirmar that they didnt have an original plan and need to contact the guy who did the original. So at the moment I am without a plan although one is supposed to be on its way from Sirmar in the next few days and I have sourced a back up copy also. However there is plenty to get on with in the meantime and during the week I will make a start with a stand and also making right the few minor flaws in the hull. I have ordered the shaft and motor (385) and the rudder I will have a crack at making myself. A few pics of what comes with the semi kit.











Okay the last two arent a MMS but thought I would share a couple of pics of my just finished Puffer. I didnt do a build diary as its been done to death over the years and others are probably better efforts than mine so I dont think a diary will add anything. But didnt turn out bad at all. Waiting for some vinyl name decals to arrive to finish it off.

Hi Intrepid as you say that clyde puffer has been done more than once lol but to be fair that looks like a great example !! thanks for sharing it. That mine sweeper hull looks very sleek and slippy and I will be watching this one with interest

I agree with Phil. A lovely job you have done and the puffer is a beautiful little boat. As for the next two builds you have going, not doing a build log is simply not an option.....

I will be doing a blog on those builds certainly. Been making good some of the hull imperfections this evening on the MMS and will start posting at the weekend.

Finally got round to making a start on the Motor Minesweeper over the last few days. Unfortunately as the weather has been that cold and damp I couldnt brave myself to start rubbing down the hull and cutting out shaft openings out in the open. Instead I made a start on the superstucture. First job though was to make a rudder. As it doesnt come with running gear I decided to make one as the brass standard ones commercially available will look totally out of place. It also has a skeg which isnt supplied but as luck has it I have a spare skeg from an old Deans build at 1/48th which when I measured it was the exact size but needs some reshaping. Rudder was made by 1mm plastic sheet with brass rod inserted and epoxied into place to ensure it doesnt move at a later stage.

Then onto the superstructure using copies of the plan as templates. On face glance it seemed a straightforward box structure square at each end. The two models of this I have seen were built in this way. However some research and closer examination of the plans reveals a tunnel at the aft end which leads to the two aft SS wooden doors. So I went brave and tried to build it as it was. First job was to cut out the main parts - the roof, sides and front and bridge wings. Once this was set I then attempted the tunnel. Wasnt anywhere near as hard to either build or read the plans and it has gone together fairly easily. Generally it is all square all round but there are as always some rough seams that I will need to sand to blend in and not show.

Port holes were straightforward using the supplied white metal and they seem to be fairly straight line after my drilling and filling of the openings. AS they are flanged it does help to hide any ovals that I ended up with.

Less straighforward was the lower bridge window set. This is a resin fitting but it doesnt come finished. Oh no. You have to drill out and file out the actual openings in the resin!! Was careful in fact very careful as I was conscious the whole thing could snap in the middle but using the dremel and the flat file cautiously it seems to have turned out okay. There is a bit of plastic filler required in the opening I made but I will settle for that. Next job tomorrow is the bridge wing supports and the spay guards at the top of the bridge which I will do over the next coupld of days. Then after any filling and sanding the doors can be fitted.




This was the basic drilling out very ragged. However a little more squarer and neater below after some filing effort!!

That's a good start intrepid.

Thanks Damien. Its a very simple build really as essentially there is little else to build after this superstructure wise. Its just a question of detailing it as from the photos I have found there are a number of variations of the detail of the superstructure - some didnt have the tunnel but others appeared to have open shelter over hangs at the stern, and there are variations of the bridge supports and also in some cases the funnel as a different shape - not tapering upwards at an angle from aft to forward and others without bridge wings.

Well it wasn't as cold as the last week or so down in the West Country so I figured I would make a start on the Hull and making a stand as I could work outside. But after 22 years living here I now understand that there are only two weather forecasts in this neck of the woods. Its either raining or its going to rain. No sooner had I started when it rained. And stopped. And I started. And it rained. So in between showers and downpours and monsoons I did get the stand built and have sanded down the hull to the right height and cut out the freeing ports. And in a further gap when it wasn't raining but was going to rain I got the prop shaft fitted. The prop shaft was a bit of a mare in that I had a standard M4 laying about just the right length but it was far too thick to fit nicely into the exit so I got a new slimline one that was just right. And it did line up nicely with where the motor and stand will go. Next job is the skeg and rudder but I need to get some new brass tube for the rudder shaft bearer.

A little bit of progress made. The internals have now been fitted with a Planet rx and an Action P79 that I had lying around for recycling after taking it out of a build that I moved on a short while ago. I was originally going to use a 6v SLA but instead I opted for a 7.2v NiCad pack with a 4.8v rx power pack. Deck has been cut to size from 2mm plastic sheet and the deck support beams fitted. The open stern has also been cut out. its a bit rough edged and proud above the deck when trial fitting but once the deck is in place and it is filled and sanded down it should look neat(ish). The next job is the skeg and final rudder fitting. Starting to look a little like a Motor Minesweeper now but still a long way to go.

Given it has been a bit warmer over the last 5 days or so, I have been lucky enough to put in a few hours here and there on the MMS, The skeg and rudder were finally fitted and the deck secured onto the beams. I also managed to fit the forward weather deck along with a few of the fittings that go with it such as the bull ring and fairleads. And then after the rubbing down a few coats of paint on the hull. She is now looking a little bit akin to the Motor Minesweeper she is intended to represent. All the RC gear has been tested and it all seems to work okay.

I have also started the basic fittings on the wheelhouse so hopefully with good weather over the next two to three weeks she will be close to completion.

Very nice build Intrepid.

Coming along very nicely indeed!

Thanks for the comments. Being perfectly honest as I intend for this build to put in a fair bit of time in the water rather than the occasional sail, I am not dwelling to much on getting the best possible finish I can achieve. All the photos of these little ships show them as real workhorses battered and with much localised changes and their own individual personality. So any flaws in my build, well more than my normal amount of flaws, I am not going to fret over. I think with any imperfections that result from my build it will still look what it is meant to be if that all makes sense!

It's great when a boat has personality

Havent had the chance to do as much as I would have liked over the last few days but have made some progress. The hull painting showed some more imperfections that I had missed so had to do some rubbing down in various places and will add more coats over the weekend. A little more work has been done on the superstructure as in the wooden bridge support beams, capping the sides of the bridge wings with u channel to give a better finish. I also started the 20mm. Must admit I am not that impressed with the 20 mm quality compared to the model slipway offering at the same scale but it will do.







In the background is a new project that has overtaken my Castle Class in order of build - 1/32 HMT Thornwick Bay ASW requisitioned trawler at 57 inches. A sort of big beast in comparison to the MMS.

Havent had much spare time to put a blog update on but I have had time to continue with the build to the point where she is almost finished. Just a few finishing touches to complete but otherwise done and ready for pond trials once the ballasting is checked. The rest of the build was really straightforward with no real issues to speak of. Hopefully the last few pictures provide the story of the rest of the build.

and the last......









A few more stanchions and a tidy up of the rigging to go that's all.

Lovely finish to it intrepid.......I like it very much............but the big question is.......when are you going to start that Thornwick bay....she lools a real cracker

Ripper job intrepid

Already had a start when I got her - rudder was done and shaft fitted and some of the rubbing down done and a battery tray made. Since then I have done a few bits and bobs to the point where I hope to wire up the ESC this weekend and test the internals. I have also started some drilling work on the bridge windows and marked out decks so the build is up and running so to speak. I will put up build pics of her later.

On the water

Great build Intrepid I don't know how you handle more than 1 build at a time. In my world there are not enough hours in the day.
Keep up the good work.
John

Hi. Just reading your build, info on these vessels seems rather scarce but I have the drawings and hull and am ready to go. I intend using my 3D printer to produce the parts for the superstructure, I am currently measuring and drawing the relevant parts with Design Spark mechanical and making the stl files for printing. Attached is my initial effort with the wheelhouse front. Nice build Intrepid, hope mine turns out as yours

We would in interested to see a build blog of your 3d printed build bud!!!!!

I think I started one yesterday, if not I will do it this evening in the warships section.

lovely trawler...bags of character......look forward to seeing that build.

helensdad wrote:

I think I started one yesterday, if not I will do it this evening in the warships section.

You did - on Mayhem!!!

Barrie

Oo eck, going daft in my old age!

Nice to see another MMS. Sorry I didn't reply but not been taking any active interest in my modelling lately, well for 3 years !!!! But now heading back into the build fray. Will watch your build with interest. Looks excellent on your thread.