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Building a model of HMS Picotee

Our job is to look after all the old models in our collection but occasionally we get to build something new. This model of the small ships that protected convoys from submarine attack during the Second World war was made for the Battle of the Atlantic gallery

Veterans were asked to choose a ship as a memorial and they chose 'HMS Picotee' as she was one of the ships that sank with no survivors. These small ships were named after flowers and were known as ‘flower class corvettes’ this is one of the first of those ships to be built. They were a very simple ship design built quickly at the start of the Second World War to provide every convoy with a warship escort; they even used second hand guns left over from World War One!

The model was entirely hand made featuring a traditional carved wooden hull and delicately hand made metal fittings. The parts are really tiny as the model is 96 times smaller than the real ship. The main gun is only 50mm long and is made from brass with a shield made from thin steel. The only part we didn’t make was the anchor chain!

The model is painted to appear realistic with rust stains caused by the hard winter weather of the North Atlantic. The model is no bigger than an A3 sheet of paper and is on display in the Battle of the Atlantic gallery, Merseyside Maritime Museum|.

Click on the thumbnails below to see the building of the model in progress.