Imperial Airways marine launch colour question.....

[seawings]

Hi All,

I have received a request for help from a really nice Guy in the States called Hunter Phillips. His special hobby is restoring and building scale model marine craft and the one he is currently working on is a relica Imperial Airways flying boat tender. Here's what he has to say:

Hello, Bryan:

Thank you for your note!

Since I emailed you, I was able to spend some time on your site – and between the forum, links, and links of links, I have learned a lot more. What a resource!!!

The British Powerboat RAF launch you provided the photo of is similar to the BPC 37’ Imperial Airways launch that I want to restore my model hull from the UK as. What I want to model is a civilian tender – either prewar IA or BOAC colors.

Seawings has more than enough black and white photos featuring BPC passenger launches that I think I have enough reference for the construction.

The big challenge is the livery. Looking at the launch in the foreground in the attached photo from Seawings, it’s pretty clear that most of the superstructure is varnished wood. And it appears that below the boot topping, the hulls are white. But the waterline color, main hull color, cabin roof color, and lettering are mysteries.

What I need to find is a color photograph, a retiree who remembers, or a color IA or BOAC color poster that depicts a tender.

There is an IA poster by Brenet showing passengers boarding Canopus with a BPC tender along side (Inside cover of the current “Airliner Classics” magazine.) In the illustration, the hull is painted the same mid/dark blue as the lettering and registration on the “C” Class flying boat. In fact the tender livery in the poster looks like it might be the same as the launch at the top of the photo below. Why IA had two different liveries for their BPC launches at the same time as shown in the photo – I have no idea!

Welcome any further suggestions – that’s as far as I’ve gotten.

All the best,

Hunter
Me again: Here is the picture he sent me:



Ok, so can anyone help him?

[seawings]

Hi Everyone,

Here's the email from Hunter that sparked the one above:

Hello:

I just learned of your wonderful site, and will look forward to exploring it more in the coming weeks.

I enjoy the history of flying boats, and visiting the Solent MkIII (ex-City of Cardiff) on my trips up the California coast. But in terms of modeling interests, my passion is restoring and recreating 1930s-40s era pond models, both sail and motorized.

Years ago, I purchased the 36” motorized wooden hull of a 1930s pond toy from another collector. The deck and superstructure were long gone, but the lines of the hull were very close to photos and poster images I’d seen of passenger launches operated by the Imperial Airways and BOAC Motorcraft Units. I am finally getting around to this project, and want to restore/rebuild the model as IA/BOAC launch.

I would greatly appreciate any advice you can provide on several fronts:

1: Any sources for reference or further information on MCU launches that may you may know of – sites, books, enthusiasts.
2: Information on launch paint/lettering colors – from vintage posters, it appears that IA launches had blue hulls – but that may be artistic license!
3. Sources for IA/BOAC decals that might be relevant. I assume I’ll need to recreate and print my own – but I’d love to know what’s out there. In fact, if any of the flying boat kits in any scale come with a launch kit for diorama use, it would be worth my buying the kit to have the little launch for 3D and decal reference!

While I am an experienced and (immodestly) talented modeler, the effect I am going for is not so much a hyper-detailed scale model of a launch, but what an expensive, working 1930s/40s boys toy of a flying boat launch might have looked like in new condition if they’d sold such things at Hamley’s or the like back then – if that makes any sense!

I certainly understand if you don’t have time to indulge my limited knowledge of the flying boat enthusiast community, but I would be grateful for any direction you can provide.

H Phillips
Los Angeles, California, USA

Me again: Isn't it amazing the hobbies we have?

Again, anyone got anything to help him??