• SUBSCRIBE TO SHIPS IN SCALE TODAY!

    The beloved Ships in Scale Magazine is back and charting a new course for 2026!
    Discover new skills, new techniques, and new inspirations in every issue.

    NOTE THAT OUR NEXT ISSUE WILL BE MARCH/APRIL 2026
  • Win a Free Custom Engraved Brass Coin!!!
    As a way to introduce our brass coins to the community, we will raffle off a free coin during the month of August. Follow link ABOVE for instructions for entering.

Life Like Hobby Kits North Atlantic Fishing Trawler build

Joined
Aug 14, 2021
Messages
19
Points
48

Good day. I started this ship a few months ago. It's an old kit which needs a LOT of work. Because I am not a ship builder when it comes to plastic models, i have to do a LOT of research on the subject in order to get the model built "right". As a result of that, I am learning a LOT about trawler fishing and what those men went through.
For the most part, i have shaved off kit details and replaced with scratch built items. I added a wood deck strip by strip, added chains, added the otter boards, which were not a part of the kit. Replaced lights with scratch built items and replaced the hand rails among many other things.

IMG_0980.jpg

IMG_0981.jpg

IMG_0982.jpg

IMG_0983.jpg

IMG_0984.jpg

IMG_0985.jpg

IMG_0986.jpg

IMG_0987.jpg
 
Nice job so far.
You weathering makes it really look the part.
Thanks too for add trawl boards.
I know this subject well if you have questions.
 
Nice job so far.
You weathering makes it really look the part.
Thanks too for add trawl boards.
I know this subject well if you have questions.
I have done a LOT of research on the trawlers and the equipment.
Here are the updates:
if you have ANY critiques I am more than welcome to listen. I am NOT a ship modeler and this is way outside of my comfort zone!

IMG_1383.jpeg

IMG_1384.jpeg

IMG_1385.jpeg

IMG_1386.jpeg

IMG_1387.jpeg
 
Nice detail and weathering! Let me present a bit of history on this kit. The model is of the British trawler Hildina, built in 1951. The original Model Shipways (Bogota NJ) produced a solid wood kit in 1/8" scale. The drawings from that kit are shown below. Pyro produced a plastic ripoff of that model, something they did with several Model Shipways kits. Eventually Lindberg acquired Pyro tooling and manufactured kits of the trawler. A photo of the Lindberg kit box is shown. Apparently, Life Like is now producing plastic kits. I built one of the Lindberg kits. It matched the Model Shipways drawings quite well. The major inaccuracy that I identified is that the plastic masts are flattened athwartship. The real vessel, unsurprisingly, had round masts. I assume that the masts in the kit were altered for easier plastic molding. I replaced the plastic masts with round wooden ones. As a bonus, a couple photos of the real thing are attached. Fair winds!

hildina 1.jpghildina 2.jpglindberg trawler 2.jpeg
hildina 3.jpeghildina 4.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Nice detail and weathering! Let me present a bit of history on this kit. The model is of the British trawler Hildina, built in 1951. The original Model Shipways (Bogota NJ) produced a solid wood kit in 1/8" scale. The drawings from that kit are shown below. Pyro produced a plastic ripoff of that model, something they did with several Model Shipways kits. Eventually Lindberg acquired Pyro tooling and manufactured kits of the trawler. A photo of the Lindberg kit box is shown. Apparently, Life Like is now producing plastic kits. I built one of the Lindberg kits. It matched the Model Shipways drawings quite well. The major inaccuracy that I identified is that the plastic masts are flattened athwartship. The real vessel, unsurprisingly, had round masts. I assume that the masts in the kit were altered for easier plastic molding. I replaced the plastic masts with round wooden ones. As a bonus, a couple photos of the real thing are attached. Fair winds!

View attachment 577798View attachment 577799View attachment 577800
View attachment 577802View attachment 577803
Wow! Thank you SO much for the details! I appreciate it. I can use the original plans better than the actual kit instructions! Through my research, I have found errors in the kit instructions. This helps - especially with the rigging!
 
Wow! Thank you SO much for the details! I appreciate it. I can use the original plans better than the actual kit instructions! Through my research, I have found errors in the kit instructions. This helps - especially with the rigging!
Glad to help. Photos of the plans aren't very good but if there are particular parts that you are interested in and they are unclear, I can attempt to get better shots of those. Fair winds!
 
Back
Top