The only new models to reach the Antics Warehouse in time for Christmas are the Canary Islands ferry quays and a German WW2 blockade runner, both from Coastlines. The ferry quays are another mini-diorama model from the Northamptonshire Partnership based on the adaptation of a traditional quay for side loading to take end loading and side loading ferries without building finger quays out at right-angles to the steeply- shelving coastline of a volcanic island. A pair of quays are built out at a shallow angle to the coast allowing two ships to dock at the same time with the bow and stern overlapping. I have found three such pairs of quays on two of the Canary Islands. The quayside is 40cm long and modelled in low relief so that a narrow shelf can accommodate a couple of ferries, a pilot boat, an oiler , a tug boat and, perhaps, a fishing vessel.
The WW2 blockade runner is the Anneliese Essberger, made from the Mercator master model of the tramp steamer of 1935. This was one of 11 Mercator masters that I bought from Skytrex immediately before they went into receivership and is the first to be re-issued. Anneliese Essberger was taken over by the Kriegsmarine in 1940 and used as a U-boat supply ship for the South Atlantic. In 1942, she was selected to sail from Bordeaux to Kobe in Japan with a Japanese merchantman which had recently arrived in Europe. The pair were attacked by Halifax bombers as they exitted the Gironde and Anneliese was damaged by a near miss which reduced her top speed to 11kt. Because they had been spotted the pair of ships split up as they headed for the South Atlantic with Anneliese taking the more westerly course. Unfortunately, a Pan-Am Clipper en route from Brazil to Gibraltar spotted the vessel and made a circuit of the ship. Although the Captain changed course as soon as the flying boat left, he ordered scuttling charges to be set and when an American squadron consisting of USS Milwaukee, USS Cincinnati and the destroyer USS Summers appeared the next day, the crew fired the charges and abandonned ship. Anneliese Esseberger sank by the stern and all the German crew were rescued by the Americans. The resin model is painted grey and armed with a 4" deck gun on the stern. This is a version that Mercator did not issue and I can find no evidence of Anneliese Essberger being made by Skytrex during the 20 or so years that Mercator Models were made in the UK.
The Pulham and Cardington airship hangars that were on show at Theale and Wellow are on hold pending a change to the roof windows owing to the vinyl self-adhesive window strips bubbling up off the resin. The 3D-printed people are awaiting painting and I have a lot of ships laid up at home for want of crews!
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