HMCS Snowberry was a Flower-class corvette that was originally built for the Royal Navy, but spent most of the war in service with the Royal Canadian Navy. She fought mostly as a convoy escort during the Second World War, primarily in the Battle of the Atlantic.

The "corvette" designation was created by the French for classes of smaller warships just below a frigate in size and power, but above a sloop or gun vessel; the Royal Navy borrowed the term for a period during the 19th Century, but discontinued its use after the 1880s, with the introduction of a new rating system for cruising warships.  During the hurried preparations for war in the late 1930s, Winston Churchill reactivated the corvette designation, needing a name for smaller ships used in an escort capacity, in this case based on a whaling ship design.  The generic name "flower" was used to designate the class of these ships, which – in the Royal Navy – were named after flowering plants

Snowberry was ordered by the Royal Navy (RN) 22 January 1940 as part of the 1939-1940 Flower-class building program. She was laid down by George T. Davie & Sons Ltd. at Lauzon (Canada) on February 24 1940 and launched on August 8 1940.  She was commissioned into the RN on November 26,1940. She sailed to the United Kingdom in February 1941 and was completed at Greenock in April 1941. In May 1941 Snowberry was one of ten corvettes loaned to Canada. She could be told apart from other Canadian Flowers by her lack of minesweeping gear and the placement of the after-gun tub amidships. 

Upon her arrival in Newfoundland in June 1941 she joined Newfoundland Command as a convoy escort between St. John's and Iceland. From July to October 1941 she was deployed as such.

In March 1942 Snowberry transferred to Western Local Escort Force. In June 1942, after the U-boats had begun attacking oil tankers sailing along the North American coast, she joined the newly formed Tanker Escort Force. In September 1942 she was placed under American control escorting convoys between Guantánamo and New York.

On August 23,1943 Snowberry, as part of the 5th Support Group, was deployed to relieve the 40th Escort Group which was undertaking a U-boat hunt off Cape Ortegal. The warships of both groups were attacked by 14 Dornier Do 217s and 7 Junkers Ju 87s that were carrying a new weapon - the Henschel Hs 293 anti-ship guided missile. Two days later, the 5th Support Group was relieved by the 1st Support Group, and the warships of both groups were again attacked by 18 Dornier Do 217s also carrying Hs 293 weapons. Athabaskan was heavily damaged, and HMS Egret was sunk but Snowberry escaped damage on both occasions.

On 20 November 1943 Snowberry, along with Nene and Calgary, depth charged and sank U-536 northeast of the Azores

Snowberry was paid off from the Royal Canadian Navy on 8 June 1945 when she was returned to the Royal Navy at Rosyth. In 1946 she was used as a target ship off Portsmouth. Her remains were sold for scrap and in August 1947 she was broken up.

This history was culled from Wikipedia.  You can find more here. 

The Triumph Models HMCS Snowberry

Triumph’s new Snowberry kit is actually not the first 1/350 version of the class on the market.  Previous 1/350 Flower-class corvettes include:

• Iron Shipwright – At least 2 versions
• Mirage – 4 versions
• BlackCat Models – 6 versions

So, this kit came as bit of a surprise, given the number of previous releases.  Triumph does not skimp on the packaging - the model comes packaged more like a mainstream injection-molded release, then something you'd generally see from a smaller resin/3D print manufacturer.  On the box top is a dramatic rendering of Snowberry in action, apparently sinking a U-boat.  The sides of the box have photos of a completed kit, a color profile of the ship and some CAD views of the parts.  Upon removing the box top, you'll find a copy of the box art that is suitable for framing, along with the instructions.  The hull and various parts are in three different pockets.  This is the full hull version of the kit. A waterline version is also available.  The hull is wrapped in bubble wrap, with some foam tapes to the box area to prevent any breakage. Most of the 3D printed parts are in two separate flip top plastic containers, with a few small print rafts placed inside bubble wrap. There is no photo-etch included with this kit - it's sold separately as an deluxe upgrade set. Triumph did send that along separately to be included in this review.

Cast in resin with the casting plug/gate still attached, presumably to prevent warpage of the hull. I’d rather have to remove the gate then deal with a warped hull. Casting is very crisp, and the hull scaled out pretty much perfectly in length and beam. All over the hull are well defined holes/openings to place the 3D printed parts. 

As is all the rage these days, the model comes with raised hull plating. It is overstated, but I think under a coat of paint it won't look too bad. The portholes are well defined, with nicely done "eyebrows" over them. 

There is some really nice planking on the deck, along with some raised rectangular lines to replicate deck plating.  The bulwarks along the quarterdeck are so this as to be translucent, I noticed while formatting the photos that it is so thin in sections that its almost non-existent. 

One of the most impressive things about the hull - which is one of the most sharply cast hulls I've ever seen - is the open hawse pipes. 

3D PRINTED PARTS

The instructions are lettered in a way that each print raft is specifically identified, though as most of the print rafts are in black, the letters on each raft are a little hard to see.  The print rafts are printed with several rafts attached to each other. The end caps are very long, and most of those are warped. For photography, I separated the print rafts, and found it to be a bit of a chore.  I broke one blade and two of the print rafts fractured - the resin is very brittle.  Luckily no parts were broken.  Overall, however, print quality is very good. The parts look nicely detailed. The lantern radar, depth charge roll off racks and weapons look particularly good. 

Based on the addition of some parts that don't appear to go onto the model, I suspect other versions will be coming. 

Chocks, bitts, cable reels and vents.  I highlighted the warped end cap to show what I referred to earlier. 

Hatched, vents and additional cable reels

Deck storage and ready ammo boxes 

Some depth charge related stuff, like arbors and a pair of open boxes.  This was one of the rafts that snapped when removing it from another raft.

Searchlights, signal lamps, davits, cowl vents, bridge equipment & some really freakin' small parts that really push the envelope of 3D printing.  

More cowl vents -  in several sizes - and additional stowage boxes.

K-guns, a hedgehog launcher, some hatches and davits for the K guns.

Two types of rafts - rectangular and oval - are included, along with a small anchor and some piping.  

A large winch, two anchors, depth charges and the crows nest.

The lantern radar, a large hatch with skylights, boat cradles, depth charge roller racks.

Splinter mats and some hatches.

The prop and rudder.

Two different types of Lewis guns, 20mm guns, single barrel pom-poms and a pair of cutter.  

Raft supports, the main gun and gun shield.

A large bulkhead, some bundles of what maybe life nets and some really small parts.

Some additional bulwarks, a platform and more.

The has the Snowberry's superstructure and open pilot house (imagine being out in the open on that in the middle of winter in the North Atlantic). This is printed as one part, with stepped 20mm gun tubs and the platform for the radar integral to the print.  There is also planking on the bridge deck. 

The funnel, which has a funnel grill and piping, is on this small print raft.

The platform for the main gun.

The platform for the amidships AA gun.

This is one print raft with two parts.  Both look like parts for superstructures and the bridge, but they don't match Snowberry, or appear in the instructions, so I guess they are for future releases.

Three lengths of anchor chain are included.  These are very very finely printed.  

There is no photo-etch included with the standard kit.

Listed on the kit instructions are decals, which appear to be simply two versions of the White Ensign. However, there were no decals in my sample.

There are four photo-etch sets included.  None of them are marked - on the fret or on the instructions. 

The first fret has railings, bridge wing supports, inclined & vertical ladders, boat cradles, a gun shield, boat oars and more

The second fret - same size as the first fret - has the main gun platform, depth charge racks, boat davits, rafts supports and more.

The third fret is smaller than the first two, and has the deck for the pilot house (this part looks like it folds in half - the top has planking, the bottom support detail), bulkheads and watertight doors.

The last fret is almost smaller than the first two, and has parts for the amidships AA gun platform, more davits, porthole outlines, and hatch covers.

Everything is well done, but I am at a bit of a loss as to why most of these parts are here, when these are all provided in the kit as 3D printed parts, which, frankly, are nicer.  I guess it gives you options.  This photo-etch might also be useful to anyone who has one of the Mirage kits and needs PE to dress it up,

Still, even in a crowded field of Flowers, this kit stands on its own. The hull is very well cast, with sharp details.  Even if the hull plating is a little over-scale, you have to be impressed with the way it is cast, and I like the open hawse pipes. The 3D printed parts, while a bit brittle, are well printed and have nice details, though I don't like the way all the rafts are all printed side by side - it is hard to separate them. While there is brass included for the mast, yard and flag staff in the standard kit, there is no photo-etch, which means you have to buy the upgrade set if you want railings and the bridge wing supports.  These two items (rails/bridge wing supports) should be included with the standard kit, in my opinion. Outside of these few nitpicks, I was impressed, and think this should build into an nice model of the Snowberry. If you are looking for a Flower-class corvette to add to your fleet, this is a good choice.  Recommend. 

This kit came courtesy of Triumph Models. The full hull edition with the upgrade set is appearing on auction sites starting at around $80.00, with minimal shipping and export fees on top of that.