Modelmakers step in to help with the big plant re-build (From Western Telegraph)

Modelmakers step in to help with the big plant re-build

As part of the Waterston Petroplus plant is painstakingly dismantled, a group of local model enthusiasts are planning to put a scale model of it back together.

The 1:24 model was built to act as a guide to the construction of the plant in the 1960s. Having once held pride of place in the main control room, it has been in storage for more than 20 years and is in need of a little sprucing up.

Enter Ron Weatherall and Howard John Harrison from the Pembrokeshire Crane Model Club - two men who now have something to keep them very busy for the next 12 months.

Howards interest in models began with trains in 1982. He moved on to focus on cranes after being given a model of a Sparrows crane a few years later. He now has around 100 cranes, ranging from eight inches long to 12-and-a-half feet high.

Ron has been interested in models since he built Airfix models as a boy. He now builds all his projects from scratch, working from sheet plastic. Commercial vehicles such as lorries, including a vast amount of tiny detail, are his speciality.

The pair will work on the five-section model one section at a time. As soon as one part is finished, it will be made available as an attraction for Gulf and Petroplus events.

Ron said: All the bits are there but it will take a fair bit of work to get it back together.

Their task will be helped by the fact that all the pipes are labelled, showing what they carry and where they go. This was originally so that individual components of the plant could be pinpointed on the model. The model will also accompany the pair when they travel to model shows. Howard said: Well take one section of it at any given time. It will be a fantastic backdrop for some of the cranes.