On the weekend of 28th/29th March 2009, South Shields, Tyne and Wear hosted the first ever North-East Model Boat Show. As I was only in North Shields at the time, it seemed like a good opportunity to see some model boats up close and personal. Stupidly, I decided to take the scenic route there so after an hour and a half's walk along South Shields coast road in howling wind, sleet, and rain, I finally made it to the sports complex where the show was being held.

I went over on the Saturday morning and, despite the awful weather outside, there was quite a decent crowd there. Sunday was much sunnier and probably attracted more visitors, but in some ways the bad weather helped me as it gave me more of an opportunity to get unhindered photos of the models on display.

The mix of exhibitors at the show was pretty good. Club stands did seem to outnumber trade stands but that was probably due partly to the fact that this was a new show on the model boat calender and partly due to the fact that Tyneside is a long way for some of the more southerly companies to lug their gear. However, I think it's safe to say that most of the major manufacturers in the model tug world were there.

The other thing that was clearly obvious when entering the room was that this was a static show. The show was staged in a downstairs room that appeared to be a basketball court and unfortunately didn't have room for a demonstration pool even if they'd wanted one. However, with a very modest entrance fee of just £2.50, you can understand that the organisers might want to keep things simple and keep costs down.

Bearing in mind the fact that most of the clubs exhibiting at the show were based around working rivers of the North-East, it was no real surprise to see an abundance of "working boats" rather than the more glamorous cruise ships that might be popular around my hometown of Southampton. In particular, Hull Model Boat Group had an interesting mix of fishing trawlers, lifeboats, and even a hopper dredger barge complete with rubbish skip and obligatory seagull! There was also plenty to keep the tug enthusiast happy though and, in keeping with this site's theme, that's what I'll be focussing on here.

The first stand that I came across was Model Slipway who have always offered a wide range of model boat kits. For the tug enthusiasts, they had two quite different models on display: a World War 2 Assurance Class escort tug and the more modern Dutch Courage.

The Assurance class model is 1:43 scale and measures in at 1108mm (43 1/2 inches) in length with a 248mm (9 3/4 inches) beam. The kit is based around a GRP hull and includes just about everything you need apart from radio gear, motor, speed controller and batteries. It certainly is a fine looking model when complete and the WW2 theme certainly puts a different slant on things. It's not very often that you get the joy of fitting anti-aircraft guns to your tug!

The Dutch Courage is much more of a traditional tug based on the 2003/2004 built tugs Dutch Pride and Dutch Power. These tugs were specifically designed with a shallow draft to allow them to operate in water depths not accessible to deeper draft vessels. At a scale of 1:32, the Dutch Courage measures 870mm in length.

The next stand that caught my eye belonged to a company that I must admit I hadn't heard of called Mount Fleet Models, though I think that's probably more to do with me being out of touch with the boat modelling world for a number of years. One thing's for sure though, they certainly had an interesting array of models on display, which luckily included three tug models.

The first tug that I noticed on their stand was the 1951 tug Bangarth, thanks to the Rea Towing Company colours on the funnel. A closer inspection soon revealed the amount of detail in this model such as a wheelhouse constructed out of wood strip and a hull moulded to include metal plate lines and rivet heads. This Bangarth model is 1:32 scale and measures 1055mm (41 1/2 inches) in length with a beam of 240mm (9 1/2 inches).

The next model on their stand was a 1953 steam tug named Crusier. Again, this is a 1:32 scale model with similar dimensions to the Bangarth and a similar level of detail in both the mouldings and the fittings.

The final tug model that Mount Fleet Models had to offer was the 1942 Warrior class tug Flying Tempest. The scale and dimensions are similar to the other two models but this kit adds an extra dimension in the fact that this kit can also be built as the admiralty tug Empire Ivy, thereby appealing to fans of military vessels who might want to add a tug to their collection.

Next, my travels took me to the stand of the Roker Park Model Boat Club who, amongst the trawlers and a 1:95 scale Maersk container ship, displayed fine models of Flying Spindrfit and the United Towing vessel Yorkshireman.

It was also interesting to see it wasn't only completed models that the clubs were exhibiting at the show. Next to a work-in-progress model of the revolutionary motor launch Turbinia (complete with working home-made steam turbine), I found this partly built Eldergarth/Rowangarth model courtesy of the Washington Model Boat Club.

One of the most impressive club stands for sheer variety of models belonged to the Tynemouth Model Boat Club. Their stand had models ranging from the Bismarck to the former Shields Ferry Shieldsman with the former Cunard ship Caronia thrown in for good measure. Luckily, tugs were also represented by Tynemouth MBC with a model of Ormesby Cross.

Being a Southampton resident, I was also pleased to see a model of the local Itchen Marine tug Wyeforce. Stupidly, I forgot to note down which club stand the model was on (sorry about that) but I'm assuming that the model is built from the Model Slipway kit.

Over in the far corner of the hall, I came across one of the oldest names at the show, Deans Marine. Of most interest to me, mainly because it's the first time that I've seen them close up, was Deans Marine's Almost-Ready-To-Run (ARTR) range of models. Basically, the models are supplied fully detailed and painted with motors installed. All the buyer has to do is install batteries and radio gear.

One of the things that concerned me when I'd previously read about ARTR models was whether the level of detail and finish would allow them to stand up as serious display pieces as well as working models or whether they would look cheap and toy-like. However, a look at their Newcastle revealed that they're not too bad. Granted, they don't have the level of detail that a custom-built model might have, but there's certainly a decent base there if you wished to make your own modifications.

My next stop was the stand belonging to some old friends of ClassicTugs.co.uk, Mobile Marine Models. As you may have read elsewhere on this site, I'm currently building a model of the Tyne tug Rowangarth based on MMM's hull so I was looking forward to meeting them and seeing what they had on their stand.

I was expecting to see some familiar models on the MMM stand that I'd seen on their website but what I wasn't expecting to see was a rather large hull and superstructure bearing a label proclaiming it to be "The ALL NEW revolutionary design FT-X". The shape looked vaguely familiar but it didn't appear to match any of the models that I'd seen on the website. So, I thought I'd best have a word with the main-man, Bryan.

My question about which tug the FT-X is based on was soon answered when Bryan directed my attention to the piece of paper that he'd just handed me. The truth is, the FT-X isn't based on any tug as such, not one that's been built anyway. It's actually based on a concept design developed for a famous maritime institute of a tug that's not even due to be built for at least another two years. However, the institute have allowed MMM to produce a model based on the design as a proof of concept.

Of course, the FT-X offers another great advantage to modellers apart from the cutting edge design. Because the model isn't based on any specific vessel or class of vessel, the modeller has the freedom to create their "dream tug" with all the features that they think the perfect tug should have. So, for anybody who's looked at the latest tug designs and thought that they could do it better, here's your chance.

The FT-X is larger than Mobile Marine Models' usual models at 1:25 scale. This gives the model an overall length of 54 inches with a beam of 18 inches. That certainly gives a lot of room for detail.

The final stand I wanted to visit (and perhaps the one I was most excited about seeing) was the "local boys", and again old friends of ClassicTugs.co.uk, Tyne Models. I really like the range of models that Tyne Models has to offer (especially with the local connection) so it was great to get an opportunity to look at them in detail. Luckily, they had their full range of models on display.

On the classic side of things, they had on display two different versions of their Ironsider kit, with different funnel markings, and their Alfred model. Both these kits are based on good looking tugs and as a result they produce really good looking models with nice classic lines and good proportions, which will especially appeal to anybody who thinks that modern tugs are shapeless machines (though personally I can appreciate both the modern and the classic designs).

The two Tyne Models that I really wanted to see though were Flying Phantom and Flying Spindrift. I have both of these models on my shortlist as possible projects after Rowangarth is complete so it was important to have a good look at them.

Flying Phantom now has an eerie legendary status due its capsizing in December 2007 with the loss of three crew members' lives. A fact that was compounded as I overheard one man recounting the story to his son like an ancient tale of the sea as they gazed over the model. In fact, the MCA actually borrowed a model of the Flying Phantom off Tyne Models for use in the official inquest into the accident. That tells you how accurate the model is.

There's no denying though that the Flying Phantom is an impressive looking vessel with the tall mast topped off with a large fire monitor. It would certainly make a great addition to anybody's model collection, and is definitely still on my shortlist.

Looking equally impressive was Flying Spindrift. Since I'm only a short-term visitor to the Tyne (if you can call nearly two years short-term), I've tended to focus my modelling attention on tugs with a Tyne connection, hence the Rowangarth model. Although Flying Spindrift never operated on the Tyne during the time that I've been up here, the connection as a former Tyne tug is still there, and the fact that the model originates from a company based in South Shields fits it in nicely with my theme.

A chat with Les Thompson from Tyne Models revealed that Flying Spindrift is actually what they class as their "best pound-for-pound model", offering a level of detail that is quite superb. In fact, just a look through the wheelhouse windows at the little skipper's chair and control consoles reveals that what he's saying is true. Again then, Flying Spindrift is still very much on my shortlist of future projects.

It would appear then that my visit to Tyne Models' stand didn't make my choice any easier, but it certainly convinced me that I was on the right track! It also gave me the opportunity to chat to Tyne Models partner Tom Appleby, a serving tug boat skipper on the Tyne, about such subjects as the build quality of Chinese tugs and the previous day's sailing of HMS Illustrious, which was delayed due to high winds (since you ask).

All in all then, for a first-ever North East Model Boat Show, I think it was rather good. I must admit that I'm not a regular show goer so I don't know what attendees of the bigger, more established events around the country might make of it but it seemed to offer everything that I was looking for. As I mentioned earlier, it might have been nice to have a demonstration pool but you can understand why the organisers don't want to overstretch the event in its first year. If this year's event has proven that there's enough local interest then perhaps it can grow from there with a bigger venue or perhaps even an outdoor location with proper boating lake... but without the sleet and gale force winds, please!

Jason Webb

For more information on the manufacturers mentioned in this article, please follow the links below:

Tyne Models

Mobile Marine Models

Mount Fleet Models

Model Slipway

Deans Marine

NOTE: All prices and specifications are correct at time of writing but are subject to change at the manufacturer's discretion.