by Edward Pinniger
1/96 HMS Velox (Scratchbuilt)
This is my second 1/96 scratchbuilt warship model (the first being HMVS Cerberus). HMS (originally HMTBD) Velox was a Torpedo Boat Destroyer (TBD) built by Parsons/Hawthorn Leslie in 1904, and survived in service until WW1, when it was sunk by a mine in 1915. In appearance, it's a very typical example of an early destroyer with its "turtleback" bow, minimal superstructure, and multiple raked funnels. Velox was armed with two single torpedo tubes on turntable mounts aft, a single 12-pounder gun on the forward bridge platform, and five 6-pounder guns. Measuring about 210ft with a beam of 21ft, its total displacement was 445 tons.
My model is based on plans included in David Lyon's book "The First Destroyers", published by Chatham. It is mostly constructed from styrene sheet and rod, the hull being a box-type construction built, with brass + copper wire + tube used for some details. Some of the armament and fittings were cast in metal or resin after scratchbuilding a master in styrene. The ship's boats and lifebelts are from the spares box, virtually everything else is scratchbuilt. The crew figures are modified Preiser HO scale (1/87) model railway accessories.
The model represents the ship "as built" with the overall black paint highlighted with grey, a commonly used scheme on pre-war TBDs.
