Topic: Gunboat melik

[richardabeattie]

This was a very strange looking gunboat used on the Nile in the advance to Omdurman.  The ship still exists in the Sudan and the Melik society in the UK has spent years trying to rescue it.  Mr Google knows all about it and Paper Shipwright does it at 1/250 and 1/160 scale but only as a waterline model.  Surely a natural (though perhaps a bit top heavy) for Deans Marine?  Has anybody ever built an RC version?

[TailUK]

There doesn't seem to be a lot about Melik beyond the Society to preserve her.  There's very little about her hull form.  She was described as a "twin screw, Guide blade Hull."  I think the guide blade refers to side board similar to those fitted to Thames barges.
The hull itself was probably a shallow draft flat bottom design with either tunnels or a sharply cut away stern form to provide protection for the screws.
Her Specifications:
Length: 145ft
Draft: 2ft
Beam: 24ft ? 6ins
Displacement: 134 tons
Speed: 12 knots
Ordered in 1896 from John I Thornycroft at Chiswick, she was delivered a year later.

[richardabeattie]

Agreed that Deans would need to guestimate the under water form but what a model it would make! It looks like a floating double decker bus with a gun on the front and would certainly make the Bismark think twice.   The only difficulty I can see is the top weight and the side windage.

[TailUK]

The stability shouldn't be a problem given how broad the boat is (think scaffolding plank) Weight is a different matter the shallow draft means that the running gear and superstructure would need to be pretty light.  You could of course double the draft, making the hull deeper than the prototype. I've seen this done on paddle steamers to increase deplacement.

[richardabeattie]

No the guide blade does not mean a side mounted lee board as on a Thames barge - it seems to refer to the fact that the props were in tunnels under the hull to protect them in shallow water.  I've now got the larger 1/160 kit from Paper Shipwright and although it's beautifully printed it looks pretty unbuildable to me.  I'd need to make a wooden structure to support the very thin paper.  But as a 1/96 scale model from you know who it would not go unnoticed!  Maybe I can photo enlarge it.

[paul swainson]

There is detail information held in the NMM and may be plans of HMS Melik a quick seacher found the under mentioned information.   I am sure a Email request to the NMM asking if plans are held would give you the necessary information to scratch build the shp in 1/96 scale.

An album in poor condition (covers missing and leather spine weak) showing portrait photographs for ten vessels and two engines built by John I. Thornycroft at their Chiswick yard, London, between 1894-1900. 1. HMS Speedy (1893) [port near beam view, at anchor] 2. HMS Albatross (1898) steaming at 32 knots [port near bow view, underway] 3. HMS Ardent (1894), Boxer (1894), and Bruiser (1895) [shows the port near bow view of Boxer followed by Ardent] 4. HMS Desperate, Fame, Foam, Mallard, Angler, Ariel [shows starboard near bow view of HMS Fame (1896) underway at speed] 5. Japanese Torpedo Boat Destroyers Murakumo, Shinonome, Yugiri, Shiranui, Kagerou, Susgumo [shows the port near beam view of one of the Kagerou class (1898-9) at anchor, flying the Rising Sun] 6. Shallow Draft Gunboats: Melik, Woodcock, Woodlark [shows the port near beam view of HMS Melik at moorings] 7. Steam Lifeboats Queen, Duke of Northumberland, President Van Heel [shows the port broadside of Queen (1897) underway with passengers] 8. Shallow Draft River Launch [shows the port broadside of the steam launch Bedouin (1900) at anchor] 9. Shamrock (1899) built for Sir Thomas Lipton [starboard bow view of her underway with main sail, topsail and both jibs set] 10. Thornycroft Patent Engine for Destroyers of which 61 complete sets have been supplied or are under construction. 11. Thornycroft Patent Watertube Boiler for which 800,000 I.H.P. have been supplied of various types. 12. Thornycroft Patent Watertube Boiler with casings and mountings on.

Pictures from the NMM web site.

Paul

[richardabeattie]

Thanks - these are wonderfully clear photos.  I will eventually have a go but I hope Mr Dean is reading this and will take the hint! As for plans I can use the Papershipwright printed pages.

[Richard Beattie]

Well I am now building a roughly 1/48 scale R/C version 36" long scaling up from the 1/160 paper model (which I agree is very difficult to build).  I've started with a flat plank as the bottom and am adding block ends and thin ply sides.  I've simply scaled up the sides from the waterline version and added 35mm to make sure it floats.  But I imagine the crew will be getting a wet ride and in any wind it will go sideways.  Under the flat bottom I will fit two long thin shallow plywood keels to simulate the guide blades and to keep the prop and rudders off the ground.

But where can I get 1/48 scale figures of chaps in topis? Can't see anything on the internet.

[Richard Beattie]

Years later I finished Melik complete with crew figures and two camels on the after deck.