1/350 HMCS Chaudiere (WEM)
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by George Warren |
1/350 HMCS Chaudiere (WEM)
This is HMCS Chaudiere based on WEM’s 1/350 model of HMS Havelock. Chaudiere was the former HMS Hero and was built in 1936 and was turned over to the RCN in 1943 and as a River class destroyer (RCN’s nomenclature for A-I destroyers) it was named after a river, the Chaudiere River. By then it was a specialized anti submarine escort which resulted in much of the as built A to I destroyer armament replaced by ASW weapons plus other modifications were made over the years.
Chaudiere is modelled as it was in its late war configuration which included upgrades resulting from its final refit that started January 1945 . It has been modelled by others in an earlier and a more complex hull paint scheme. It’s construction went from Sept 2016 through January 2016 and then finished it up in March with the release of Atlantic’s RN decals. It was much longer than my usual 3 or so month build for a 1/350 WWII destroyer. The main reason for this was the building of additional platforms and the modification and enlarging of other platforms plus other upgrades and modifications.
Reference material included (River Class Destroyers - Butterlay & MacPherson), Ryan Cameron’s Chaudiere as pictured in British destroyers A-I & Tribal Classes (Les Brown), and British destroyers – From the Earliest Days (Friedman). I also appreciated the assistance of those who responded to my painting request linked here.
Chaudiere is displayed with my two other WWII RCN escort destroyers including Annapolis (WEM Montgomery) and Kootenay (Resin Shipyard).
