by Kieran Griffith
1/72 RNLI Severn (Airfix)
The Severn Class Lifeboat kit from Airfix is a near perfect kit. Its only problem is it might be too detailed on the inside and you cant see much through the windows. Good kit for anyone who wants to do a cutaway model in a similar, (but far more detailed) fashion to the 1/125 cut-away Revell U-47. I started building this kit a while ago but then through a mistake with the spray on decal sealer I destroyed the hull leaving the great kit useless even though the rest of it was almost complete. But I liked it so much I bought the kit again just to get a new hull. Well worth it, You can make the lifeboat as any Severn Class lifeboat in use and I chose to make it as the Rosslare harbor one in Ireland. The Severn class lifeboat is the largest lifeboat used by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), a UK charity dedicated to saving life at sea. The class is named after the River Severn, the longest river in the UK. There are forty-six Severn class lifeboats serving the RNLI around the coast of the UK and Ireland since the introduction of the class in 1996.For added manoeuvrability, in addition to twin engines, the Severn also has a bow thruster fitted. The propellers are enclosed so the Severn can take ground without damaging them. The Severn is constructed of fibre reinforced composite material, and the hard chine semi-displacement hull built to a two compartment standard, meaning it can stay afloat with two of its five compartments flooded. Provision for survivors includes comprehensive first aid equipment including stretchers, oxygen and Entonox. Severns can also carry out pumping and fire fighting tasks using the engine driven general service pump.
