by Mathew Tuck
1/700 RFA Gold Rover (Scratchbuilt)
RFA Gold Rover is one of only two remaining Small Fleet tankers of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), and was built at Swan Hunters shipyard on the Tyne and commissioned in 1974.
The ship itself is 140m’s long, 12000 tons full load, has a complement of 54 and has a range of 15,000 miles at 15 knots. She carries fuel and other light stores, has a helicopter pad for Vertrep but no hanger (typically they would be provided by the accompanying warship) and is able to support a small task force or deploy for up to two years to support other RN activities (like the South Atlantic Patrol task).
Due to MARPOL regulations she has to be retired soon due to being a single hulled tanker and (like the rest of the RFA tanker fleet) will be replaced under the MARS program by the middle of the next decade.
The model itself is a scrap Airfix County class DDG hull cut and shut in the right places and mounted on a new plasticard base. A new higher bow was constructed; the area under the RAS gear cut out and the Stern was cut off to give it a higher, flat rear. It was given a Plasticard deck, and apart from some spares from the parts box, everything on the deck was scratchbuilt from plasticard or stretched sprue. I painted it using Humbrol paints.
The RMAS vessel alongside it is a scratchbuilt 1/700 water carrier called RMAS Waterfowl.
