1/700 Motor Vessel Steyning (sort of!)

[Rhino]

Geez Rhino, another ship? I know, I know. The British MV Steyning, built in 1955 was a coastal Collier. I imagine a coastal Collier is s vessel that carries coal in coastal and in littoral areas and rivers as well. By 1955, coal-burning ships of the Royal Navy were no longer en' vogue, so her cargo may have gone to powerplants, railyards and proper English homes (hem) as it were.

I know the push is on to finish Bluenose and her instructions, so Mark may receive his most recent TLAR Models order in good time.
I do love best the "messy part"! The cutting, gluing, measuring the overall layout drawings and shaping that comes with the creation of a new Master! You can see, the basic Length Over All and the beam, the main deck sheer (upward curve at the and bow and stern) of the main deck, and the forcastle and main deck superstructures taking shape.
Hundreds of small details will be added, but a successful basic shape is most satisfying! I'm A Boy-child. Have good time, Make big mess!

She had more than one guise throughout her lengthy, rather mundane career. Her most notorious was that of a 1930's Egyptian-flagged tramp steamer "Bantu Wind" under the command of Captain Katanga in another of Steven Spielberg's excellent movies, around 1983, if memory serves. In the above screenshot, she is riding at anchor with a light load.

 

[moon puppy]

Never did get a good story about how Indy hid on a U-Boat for thousands of miles.

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Never did get a good story about how Indy hid on a U-Boat for thousands of miles.

First movie? I don't remember. Going to have to pull it out and watch it again.

 

[Rhino]

Never did get a good story about how Indy hid on a U-Boat for thousands of miles.

More succinctly, how did the DKM crew get the huge Ark of the Covenant down the little hatches on the type 7c U-boat?
There's a great story about how the cast and crew of "Das Boot" awoke one morning to find their vessel missing.
Steven had rented it for a week to film the Bantu Wind intercept scene!

 

[Rhino]

Fortune smiled upon me again! The printed deck plan of MS Steyning's close sister, MS Shoreham is accidentally near perfect in scale for this project!

 

[centaur567]

For the movie 'U-571' they made a non diving Type XII boat. The sunk it afterwards. Gary S.

 

[Rhino]

For the movie 'U-571' they made a non diving Type XII boat. The sunk it afterwards. Gary S.

Aviation MT

The famous, full-scale World War II submarine replica built for the Oscar winning year 2000 movie U-571 resides in Malta. Maintained by Cassar Marine Group, the 23+ year old non-diving prop was...

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That's odd. This missive tells us the Type VIIc replica U-Boat is on display at Valletta Harbor, Malta as of 13 July 2026

 

[centaur567]

Good to hear. I had a VHS tape of the movie and the back stories said it was sunk. Gary S.

 

[Rhino]

Today's day's goal was coaling hatches. These will be separate parts, in case a guy wants to build a little Aviation Gasoline tanker (AOG) or a regular Tramp Steamer. MV Steyning has an optional aft deckhouse, so MV Shoreham-like model could also be possible to built from my one little kit.

The side rails will need framework on the inside, then I'll cap these rails with a slightly wider strip of .010 plastic.
This worked on the 1/700 CSS Alabama kit, so another attempt is being made. This kind of plastic surgery makes a mess.

I'm fond of this small ship. She's just a little Coastal Collier. A rusty, oily smudge in British Maritime history.
Hey, when I heave a big sigh of satisfaction, this model doesn't sail off across the desk! That all by itself is endearing!

 

[moon puppy]

Nice! you got more scrap than what's on the model!