Topic: ZB Vance War Bride from St Olaf kit

[ESF]

The photos are of the Zebulon B. Vance in its configuration as a war bride ship in early 1946.

As a war bride my mother was one of 550 women on the first voyage of the Vance from Southampton to New York after its conversion to a personnel carrier.  The Vance started life as a World War II Liberty Ship out of North Carolina, USA.  Later in the war the Vance was one of a few Liberty Ships converted for hospital use, and the ship was renamed the John J. Meany.  The Vance name was restored during its final conversion for war bride use.

The model is based on the Deans Marine St. Olaf, a sister ship to the Vance.  Kitbashing included the following:

Replace all railing wire with a finer brass wire sized to fit the kit etched brass stanchions
Use smaller blocks for rigging
Scratch build awning and awning frame near stern to match that shown in historic photos
Delete red cross decals and paint hull to approximate tones shown in historic photo
Replace kit propeller with brass and set up for RC operation

Upon completion the ship was sailed in a pond near our home, after sea trials in my son’s swimming pool.

Thank you to Deans Marine for a quality kit and for their support during the build.  The kit arrived at our front door in the USA in a very large, well packed box, three days after ordering.

As an aside, Mom told me she was sick the entire voyage.  Despite that, when Dad picked her up in New York he said you’re in the United States now so you need to learn how to drive.  He taught her how to navigate a three speed manual transmission on the 150 mile trip home.  She was a good driver after that.

A full log of the build is available at https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19010-zebulon-b-vance-by-esf-deans-marine-196-plastic/#comment-583314 .

[ESF]

Second batch of photos

[ESF]

Last batch of photos

[ESF]

There are sixteen lifeboats, each with seats and a floor.  Three strands of brass wire were threaded through six hundred individual etched brass stanchions.  Railings and stanchions were set up in sections and painted before mounting on the ship.  End stanchions between sections were doubled to support the railing ends.  The aft awning (canopy) configuration was based on an historic photo showing women doing calisthenics, although I think they may have been nurses during the time when the ship was used for hospital duty.  The spare propeller location was based on a photograph.  The etched brass doors purchased separately were highlighted with dilute black paint to make them stand out.

The ship was my second build and first RC.  During my youth I assembled many plastic car models, most of which were unpainted due to my desire to see them built.  Later in life when I built a Pocher Bugatti I learned more patience and how to work with tiny parts, which paid a huge benefit when constructing the Vance.
 
Thank you for your interest.
Steve

[Bosun]

Beautiful looking model, I've always wondered about these ships post War.

[ESF]

Bosun, thank you for your interest and kind comments.  The Vance made a few war bride trips and was eventually sold for scrap and towed to a breaker in Italy along with a few other ships.  A rather inglorious finish.

Steve

[colin]

very nice, grand job.. 

[ESF]

Colin, thank you for viewing and for your kind comments.

Steve