1/700 HMNZS Canterbury (Bill’s Models, Shapeways)
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by Kieran Griffith |
1/700 HMNZS Canterbury (Bill’s Models, Shapeways)
This ship is a multi-role vessel (MRV) of the Royal New Zealand Navy. She was commissioned in June 2007, and is the second ship of the Royal New Zealand Navy to carry the name. She is also New Zealand's first purpose-built strategic sealift ship.This ship is the most expensive model I have ever bought at 180 US dollars and all I had to do is paint it and print a decal of the landing pad for completion (It is now being sold online for $197.62 and free shipping.). I tried to add PE railings to the model but the ones I had were not up to the task, also I bought a 1/700 helicopter miniature from Shapeways, but it was damaged beyond repair in shipping and I didn’t ask for a replacement since it was so fragile it would certainly get broken again in a future cleaning or dusting. It doesn’t look too bad from a distance of more than a meter.
In 2017, a delegation of Irish Department of Defense (DoD) officials and members of the Irish Defense Forces visited New Zealand to inspect the Canterbury; it was suggested that a vessel of this type, capable of accommodating and deploying a full infantry company either by landing craft or helicopter, and with a fully equipped hospital, was what the Defense Forces were looking for, for the type of military and humanitarian missions undertaken by Ireland. This has led the Irish Navy to plan the EPV Vard-7 Concept. a multi-purpose logistics vessel designed as a flexible platform to aid in force projection, maritime special operations, Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) patrol, and humanitarian assistance. The vessel has significant capabilities for off-loading heavy equipment, carrying cargo, transporting troops, launching boats, and supporting aviation. I have a 1/1250 miniature of the EPV Vard-7 in a previous diorama, ‘Irish Navy in the Early 2040’s’. I also have a 1/2400 model of the Canterbury in my diorama ‘The Irish Navy in the Suez Canal’.
