HMS Ton Class Minesweeper radio controlled model 3D print model

The Ton Class Minesweeper was a class of 118 small wooden warships built in the 1950s for minesweeping duties, the last wooden warships of the Royal Navy!

The model is based on the general concept of the Ton Class, rather than on any one particular ship. It has the closed bridge that almost every one of the class was converted to, but it has a lattice mast rather than a pole mast, it carries a RIB rather than a wooden dinghy, life rafts rather than Carley floats. However it has the engine room ventilator grills of the earlier ships in the class. I have painted the decks green - I painted a lot of decks green in my time, but you may want to overlay the deck with thin wood to replicate teak decks.

I used the original shipyard plans for the hull lines and layout, and the excellent photos and descriptions contained in the book Last of the Wooden Walls ed by Rob Hoole for the Ton Class Association, whose website is another excellent source of information on the class.

The model is intended to celebrate the class of ship rather than to be an accurate representation of one ship. There were in any case so many variations.

The model is scaled to 1/48th scale making a model about 980mm long and 200mm wide. This is a nice size of model and it sails beautifully under radio control, its twin rudders giving extremely responsive steering. With one ESC speed control controlling the twin motors and propellors she turns pretty much on her own length. Ballasted with a large 12v 7ah battery she will run for several hours and cope with windy and rough conditions on the local boating pond and is great fun to sail.

The model however could be scaled to different sizes from 1/72nd 00 model railway scale - set the print at 66%, 1/64th scale (75%), or 1/32nd scale 150%, or anything in between that takes your fancy. Instructions though and sizes of motors and prop shafts are only given for the 1/48th scale model. The hull access however is quite good for any of these scales.

I have included an instruction booklet with illustrations that is 25 pages long that should give step by step instructions to building, but if you find any issues or problems then don't hesitate to contact me through the cgtrader messaging service and I will deal with them as soon as possible.

The printer I used was a Creality K1 Max with a maximum build plate of 300mm cubed. However I think there is no part of the 1/48th model which is larger than 200mm cubed - however if you have issues I am quite happy to provide cut up files to fit a smaller printer - just let me know.

I have always loved the Ton Class and this has been a fiun project to design and build and is an enjoyable model to sail. I hope you enjoy building her!If you wish to look at the building instructions before purchase here is a link to a free download of them so that you can see what is involved.... https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-print-models/hobby-diy/robotics/1-48-ton-class-minesweeper-building-instructions