by Heiko Schittek
1/700 BRP Apolinario Mabini PS-36 (Scratchbuild)
This is the BRP Apolinario Mabini, one of three Jacinto Class (Ex-Peacock Class) Corvettes serving in the Philippine Navy. After being transferred from the Royal Navy's Hong Kong squadron to the PN in 1997, the ships have undergone major upgrades and are now the most modern ships in the fleet. The ship here is depicted in its 2010 configuration, sailing together with the BRP Rajah Humabon during the Balikatan 2010, an annual USN-PN naval exercise.
Since there is no kit available for this ship class, it became my first scratchbuild project. The hull was constructed in the 'sandwich' manner and sanded into the correct shape. The superstructure, as well as the two aft cranes are also made from plastic sheet. The mast was constructed with various copper wires. The bridge was constructed so the windows can be inserted individually. Each 'window' is made out of clear plastic sheet, cut into the right shape. The backside was painted leaving the front as a reflecting surface for realism. The 76mm gun was taken from a Pitroad kit, the 20mm guns (modified) are GMM's. The 2 RHIBs were also taken from other spare kits. Water and water spray are modeled using 3D model paste.
