Hi Ray,
Not withstanding the preceding chat about 'scale or not scale' and to answer your original question.
As Dodgy and some others say planked and varnished looks very nice, on a sports boat, yacht or fantasy designs, but totally inappropriate for a naval, RAF Marine Branch or working boat. It would be far too labour and cost intensive to maintain. Not to mention downright dangerous on a wet deck.

Attached therefore is a copy (100th generation?🤔) of the original Vosper painting plan for the #93 and 94 Fireboats / Crash Tenders as built.
In this it is clear (but not so easy to read so I made a negative of the original) that the decks and superstructure (coamings and cabin tops) were all the same colour grey. Deck non-slip, superstructure smooth.
IMHO this is the colour-
https://www.e-paint.co.uk/Lab_values.asp?cRange=BS%20381C&cRef=BS381C%20631&cDescription=Light%20grey
As shown in this chart of the BS381 colours of the time.
https://www.e-paint.co.uk/BS381%20Colourchart.asp
Or you could use
https://www.e-paint.co.uk/Colour_alternatives.asp
It might also be a BS651 colour, in which case-
https://www.e-paint.co.uk/Colour_alternatives.asp?cRange=Pantone%20C&cRef=651%20C&metallic2=False&cDescription=

At the end of the proverbial day it's your choice. Just wanted to try to answer your actual question. Cheers, Doug😎
PS If scale accuracy, at least for the paint scheme is no longer important I'll quit my research and archive digging except for my own projects.

Hi Brianaro That's interesting and I am worrying about the fittings in the kit that are not as comprehensive as other models I have built sadly I have no Model Shops locally ~ regards Ray

Hi Ray.
Yes it's Rob.
My Crash Tender build blog is right here:https://model-boats.com/blogs/23951.
I made my own scramble nets as I couldn't find anything suitable and they came out really well. The boat hooks came from 'Battlecrafts', make sure you get the longest ones though.
Rob.

Hi Maggie. Back in the ‘60s I built a Sea Commander, my school friend built the RAF Crash Tender and my brother in law built Sea Queen. They were all by Keilcraft I think and none came with fittings. I remember all the trips to the local model shop each week with my pocket money to buy navigation lights, life belts, anchor, chain, wheel etc. They were great times but the petrol engines weren’t very reliable!
My mate kept his crash tender for many years

Hi Rob ( is it Rob ) I think we had a good chat by this boat I am used to Model Slipway , Billings etc. who give you full CAD drawings good instructions and all necessary fittings ( mainly white metal ) unfortunately missing with this model I have just got some netting for the scramble nets ( had to buy 1 m x 4.5 m ( have enough for 50 plus models ) I am not used to Boat Mayhem but I think I have all your blog e.g. the boat hooks see 2 different lengths but is the dowel 3mm or 4mm . So as far as superstructure common opinion seems to be grey sides and white roofs yes I purchased planking to do rear , middle and boat hook areas ~ appreciate your advice regards Ray

Hi John,
" there's not a person in the world who can tell you the pike's not correct ! "
I bet there is! LOL!

Martin.

Thought the flak lighters were almost square - like a floating gun platform - which of course was what they were........ Know that they were extremely shallow draft as torpedos were of no use with them as told in Gunboat 658.

Totally right Martin, I think it's a bit like scale judging where people who have never seen or been near a subject (plane or boat or whatever) are judging someones' work from photos. There's always somebody who comes up and says "why didn't you do it this way" I doubt whether anyone can build a 100% scale model so it all seems a bit pointless to me. I think if the public think something looks fantastic and you're happy, then you've done a good enough job. Precise models belong in museums where thousands of people can see them, not just a few at your local pond.
I'd like to plank the decks on my ST but I'll do it as it was when I knew it, (and have photos) but no doubt one day someone will tell me it's not correct, BUT, you're safe Martin,- there's not a person in the world who can tell you the pike's not correct !
John

Martin - I wholeheartedly agree - there was an elderly member of our club who despite ill health and a few other problems like arthritis kept on producing new models which whilst not being of Gold Medal standard were a lot better than many I have seen. And all scratch built too.

A friend collected full size boats and had at one stage two Miami Crash Boats and two Ford Class seaward defence boats. The Crash Boats originally had a material covered planked deck. He removed the material except where a non slip surface was required and the boats looked great when he used them as excursion boats from Hout Bay.

I must admit I usually associate the Pacific with these boats - they have a strong following amongst my US readers, so I should really make some Daihatsu-class 14 m landing craft for them to shoot at. An F-Lighter is not that far away from the already extant Thames Lighter - see below: http://www.eezebilt.tk/lighter2.html

I am wondering what to do next - so any ideas are welcome...

Dodgy - if you build a squadron of PT Boats you will surely have to add an E boat to the 50+ collection ! And then build a few as well as a few F Lighters ............ Unless you were thinking of the Pacific theatre.

I think at the end of the day, how a model maker finishes their model is a personal choice.
At some point there Is always that one person that loves to point out something wrong with a model.
I like to think that if a person spends the time making a model they should be proud of their achievements no matter what others think of it.
Everyone has different opinions and different levels of skill the main thing is to keep on model making.

Martin.

Hello
I think that’s where the RAF archive is held, good luck in your search

Hi Brianaro
Hendon Museum is right on my doorstep so it's certainly worth popping in to enquire.👍
It would be ironic if it were there all the time 😀
Robbob.

I feel in two minds about that PT Boat. They are so cheap to make that I made a couple, and have been tempted to make some more - enough to equip a squadron, and then do a little video of them performing the 'mass attack' manoeuvres which are specified in the PT tactics handbook provided to each captain. But both the ones I made had wood-plank decks. Should I keep on being inaccurate, but matching, or should I paint them up in proper camouflage colours ... ?

Hi DodgyGeezer,
I agree with you, wooden decks do look better.
I suppose if the model maker is a true scale modeller then the urge to get it right is powerfully strong.
You mentioning the Flower class corvette has just reminded me that I have an original Matchbox 1/72 scale kit up in the loft.

Martin.

Have you tried the archive department at https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/default/archive-collection.aspx ?
Good luck
Brian

I am reminded of the 1/72nd Revell Flower class corvette model. That had a steel plate deck, with non-slip walkways and some small planked areas at the bow and amidships. But the model has the deck completely covered in moulded-in raised planking lines, and if you want a more accurate model you have to sand or scape these away...

My own EeZeBilt PT Boat had a stained and drawn planked deck, because I thought that looked pretty. But in reality the originals had plywood sheet decks which were painted. I think a few of the ELCO 80ft prototypes may have had planks - but they were all initially delivered painted grey, so you would never have seen them.

They just look better with wood planking, don't they...?

"....I have been told that when the boat was commissioned into service all the superstructure was painted white ~ I see the majority of other models grey with white roof......."

I think that all service craft have a delivery specification paint job, which would act as an 'undercoat' and then they have other paint jobs specified for different theatres, and maybe even different tasks. These paint jobs may change rapidly - particularly where camouflage or FoF recognition is involved. So if you want to be accurate, you need to look up a date and a location and find the official specification for that craft at that time. Luckily, I think that that Crash Tender had a short career on the South Coast, and probably only ever sported one official pattern.

Hi MaggieM
I saw the same boat as you at Warwick, a superb example of planking on a very well built model, but these boats were working craft and not 'gin palaces' so that kind of deck finish would be inappropriate although I did choose to plank the lower decks and towing deck on mine.
It's such a shame that so few photos of 93 and 94 exist and all of those are in B/W so the question of paint colours is very much hotly debated. There are a couple of films too, again in B/W, that are very useful for all but determining the colours. I'm convinced that there's a big 'Ministry of Supply' book on these boats somewhere and I've seen some pages from it but it's whereabouts has eluded me to date. If anyone knows where that might be ...let me know 😉

Hi Robbob thanks very much for advice yes I know that sometimes it's the builders choice , but I try to make my models as close to the real craft I was at Warwick last year and saw a really nice model planked did seem a bit odd I have planked my Huntsman and looks really cool I will take your advice and paint the deck grey on another point I have been told that when the boat was commissioned into service all the superstructure was painted white I see the majority of other models grey with white roof appreciate your view many thanks

Hi.
The original boats had decks painted with a grey anti-slip paint called Cerrux, some modellers choose to plank the main deck but it doesn't look right to me, ultimately the choice is entirely yours.
I hope you enjoy building the model, and do try to do a build blog 😀.
Robbob.