An eBay bargain: a part-built kit that had been stripped and needed some tlc on the prebuilt parts, plus some building, repair work and adaptation/upgrades.

Stripped it back, sorted the RC gear- it came with a rudder servo and motor fitted- so added a FlySky receiver, internal LED lights and nav lights run on an RC switch, then started to rebuild as Campanula.

HMS Campanula (K18) was Nicholas Montserrat's ship - the author of The Cruel Sea - and there are some good photos of her, showing the different layout to Snowberry, so these were used as a starting point. I was taking all the lessons learned from building Snowberry and trying to make a much more accurate version of the Corvette. The main deck was sanded to remove the planking lines, as wood was only present in a few locations, so once that was done, the deck was painted dark grey, panel welding lines were added and sealed. Then some paper-thin wooden laminate (borrowed from hubby's stash) was added to the deck and weathered, and edging strips cut and secured, before sealing again.

On Campanula, the bridge supports are 2 large X-crosses rather than 1 large and 2 small X-crosses on Snowberry, plus the Carley float holders are all different, as is the position of the stairs; there are 5 Carley floats on 4 holders, plus stores on one of the holders. These differences were created from adapted parts and scratch-building, and then Flotta nets were created and added.

I decided to order some 3d printed upgardes for the 4" gun, the Oerikons, the PomPom, the Lewis MG, the searchlights and signal platform and the depth charge throwers - all of which were much more detailed than the kit parts. Painting is in Western Approaches cao, as per the pictures of Campanula, and uses Humbrol Light Grey and Aircraft Blue enamels, brush-painted.

Extra details were scratch-built - extra cabinets, oil drums, ropes, and new brass derricks were created for the starboard boat, to allow me to have it swung out, ready for a rescue should it be needed.

I also ordered some more 3d crew, and once painted, added 40 crew figures to the deck. All in all, 5 weeks of weekends, evenings and an hour before work from start to end, and she will be on the water for the first time tomorrow, have to say I am happy with how she has turned out.