An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 9 A scale model by LT COL KEVIN ByRNE RETD M any thousands of young and not-so-young people, mostly males, have been making scale aircraft models for dozens of years; a much smaller number actually make scale models of warships. However, a highly skilled modeller has done wonders with a brand new 1/350-scale model of the Irish Naval Service's LÉ Roisin OPV (P51). This is Cpl Roy Kinsella of the 2MP Coy (RDF) based at Cathal brugha bks, Dublin. Having acquired this new model from RB Productions, Roy described his efforts to assemble this kit: "The kit was a total joy to build; probably the most finely produced and detailed kit I have ever built. Having built a number of 1/350 kits, I'm yet to discover a producer who could come even a close second to this detail! I highly recommend this kit, you will not be disappointed. I really hope RB Pro- ductions might consider producing more ships like this. Perhaps even LÉ Eithne in the near future." It is a multi-media kit, which includes resin, photo-etched parts and brass components. This kit was designed using Computer Aided Design from exact scale drawings of the full-scale ves- sel. The mastercast was then produced using a very high- resolution 3D-printer and care- fully cleaned up and produced in resin before production. The brass photo-etched parts are one of the most detailed seen in this scale, while the steel photo-etched railings are alleg- edly almost indestructible. The beautifully detailed turned brass barrels included for the weapon systems are exceptional. Roy has had much experience in this particular scale and he recommends taking your time with it, "as the engineering is quite complex if not breath taking!" He notes that the resin parts needed very little cleaning, indicating general high precision and that all parts fit perfectly; the decals are also of the highest quality and easy to apply. Roy was persuaded to enter the finished model in the Scalemodel World 2015 in Telford in the UK recently and was pleasantly rewarded by winning the Gold Medal in its class, surely a great result. RB Productions is the brain child of Romanian native Radu Brînzan who came to Ireland in 1995 and now lives in West Cork with his wife; a passionate scale- model builder and the holder of many medals and awards in international scale-model com- petitions, Radu later produced a number of resin patterns, photo-etched components and decal artworks for various model companies before establishing his cur- rent business. This model would make the perfect gif t for those interested in Irish naval ships and is available on line from www.radubstore.com. View from Starboard Quarter of LÉ Roisin (P51) View from Port Bow View from Starboard Bow View from Starboard Side View from Port Side

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