Model Boats 2013-11
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THE WORLD’S BEST-SELLER!
IC T S A L P G IC ! MA
November 2013
HMS Hood 1:400 scale Lindberg kit converted to radio control
£4.35
Mr. Ben
Vintage Models kit reviewed
Finless Free sailing model barges!
Get on board www.modelboats.co.uk
Vol.63 Issue 756: November 2013
Published by MyTimeMedia Ltd Hadlow House, 9 High Street, Green Street Green, Orpington, Kent BR6 6BG Phone: 0844 412 2262 From outside UK: +44 (0) 1689 869 840 www.modelboats.co.uk
SUBSCRIPTIONS
UK – New, Renewals & Enquiries Tel: 0844 543 8200 Email: [email protected] USA & CANADA – New, Renewals & Enquiries Tel: (001) 877 363 1310 Email: [email protected] REST OF WORLD – New, Renewals & Enquiries Tel: +44 (0) 1689 869896
BACK ISSUES & BINDERS
contents Regulars 6 COMPASS 360
General items, what’s on, comment and Woodbridge MBC
Tel: 0844 848 8822 From outside UK: +44 2476 322234 Email: [email protected] Online: www.myhobbystore.co.uk
EDITORIAL
Editor: Paul Freshney PO BOX 9890, Brentwood, CM14 9EF Email: [email protected]
PRODUCTION
Design Manager: Siobhan Nolan Designer: Richard Dyer Illustrator: Grahame Chambers Retouching Manager: Brian Vickers Ad Production: Robin Gray
60 BOILER ROOM
Richard Simpson discusses servos and their use in steam powered models
ADVERTISING
Senior Advertising Executive & Online Manager: Ben Rayment Email: [email protected] Tel: 0844 848 5240
MARKETING & SUBSCRIPTIONS Sarah Pradhan & Kate Scott
MANAGEMENT
Head of Design & Production: Julie Miller Group Advertising Manager: Duncan Armstrong Chief Executive: Owen Davies Chairman: Peter Harkness
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24 RANGE FINDER
Dave Wooley’s Worldwide Review of Warships and Warship Modelling includes Part One of a two part feature about the 2013 National Warship Weekend and Part 28 of his HMS Daring project
John Parker looks at ‘Ships and Ship Models’
66 READERS’ MODELS
A much modified ready to run Severn lifeboat is featured
© MyTimeMedia Ltd. 2013 All rights reserved ISSN 0140-2910 The Publisher’s written consent must be obtained before any part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever, including photocopiers, and information retrieval systems. All reasonable care is taken in the preparation of the magazine contents, but the publishers cannot be held legally responsible for errors in the contents of this magazine or for any loss however arising from such errors, including loss resulting from negligence of our staff. Reliance placed upon the contents of this magazine is at reader’s own risk.
70 TEST BENCH
New items for the modeller
72 READERS’ FREE CLASSIFIEDS
Your free private advertisements
42 GALLERY
Fraser Gray presents S.A. Agulhas
50 SCALE SAIL
For plans, hulls, binders, books, back issues and many other products, please visit www.myhobbystore.co.uk or call +44 (0)844 848 8822 (phonelines open 9am - 5.30pm GMT) 4
The Vintage Model Boat Weekend and Kirklees MBC Annual Gala Event are featured
40 FLOTSAM & JETSAM
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MODEL BOATS, ISSN 0140-2910, is published 13 times per year (twice in August) by MYTIMEMEDIA LTD, c/o USACAN Media Corp. at 123A Distribution Way Building H-1, Suite 104, Plattsburgh, NY 12901. Periodicals postage paid at Plattsburgh, N.Y. POSTMASTER: send address changes to MODEL BOATS, c/o Express Mag, P.O. BOX 2769, Plattsburgh, N.Y., U.S.A. 12901- 0239.
62 AROUND THE CLUBS
Dave Petts demonstrates an easy method of making a ship’s boat
74 BMPR NEWS
Stewart Rae reports from Kingsbury
Special features
44 MR BEN!
Phil Parker builds and reviews the Vintage Models Mr. Tom
54 FINLESS MODEL BARGES 10 JOHN H AMOS - PART TWO
Peter Whitehead’s unique approach to the hobby with his small non-radio controlled sailing models
Phil Button completes his project by installing a steam engine
Bow piece
T 18 CAPTAIN’S BOAT
John Martin describes the Admiralty Fast Motor Boat model he built for his grandsons
AGIC ! M C I T S A L P 32 HMS HOOD
Tony Dalton converts the 1:400 scale Lindberg kit to full radio control
Model Boats November 2013
www.modelboats.co.uk
his issue has 84 pages and includes Part Two of the John H Amos article by Phil Button, where he installs a steam engine in this paddle tug based on a Graupner kit. Tony Dalton returns to these pages with his conversion of the 1:400 Lindberg kit of HMS Hood to full operational and practical radio control, a remarkable achievement considering the size of the model. Peter Whitehead is a new contributor and he enjoys building and sailing small barges without radio control, very often on the sea, near his home in Kent. Finless Model Barges is the first of a number of superb articles he has submitted and it demonstrates that much enjoyment can be had without radio control with small models (that can be carried on a bicycle) and which can cope with real waves on the open sea. Phil Parker has built the Vintage Model Boat Company Mr. Tom kit, which he has named Mr. Ben. This is small traditionally built wood model that should appeal to ‘retro’ enthusiasts or indeed simply as a fun and quick build model to operate when the mood so takes you. John Martin has taken Vic Smeed’s 21 inch Moonmist (MM610, price £12.50 from MyHobbyStore) plan, and built a ‘Captain’s Boat’ based on it, for his grandchildren and very happy they are too, as the pictures show! We also have all our usual regular articles including club reports for a Vintage Model Boat Weekend and the Kirklees MBC Annual Gala Event. I hope there is something for everyone in this issue who has a passion for model boating and please don’t forget to visit our website and active forum. In addition, Model Boats is now on Twitter and Facebook for those readers who use social media. Paul Freshney - Editor
5
Obituary - Frank Mew
signals
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Frank who died aged 87 at his home in Scotland on 31st August 2013. Frank was a chairman of the Blackpool and Fylde Model Boat Club for a number of years and was instrumental in starting the club. He was also responsible for arranging the first Blackpool Tower Model Boat Show in 1997 and organised several regattas at Fairhaven Lake. He was an avid supporter of the RNLI and organised a donation to them from the takings at our annual shows and was a very keen modeller, enjoying his weekly sailing sessions at Fairhaven Lake. You could be sure that he was to be seen, no matter what the weather, with either one of his boats, a submarine or raising a laugh with his remote control duck. As he approached his later years he moved to Scotland to be near his family. Frank will be greatly missed by all his friends at Blackpool and Fylde Model Boat Club and at the various shows and events he supported in the past. It was a privilege and a pleasure to have counted him as a friend. Ray Scrivens - September 2013.
COMPASS 360 EDITORIAL CONTACT - Paul Freshney You can reach the Editor, Paul Freshney, on 01277 849927. The editorial postal address is: Model Boats, PO Box 9890, Brentwood, CM14 9EF. The email is [email protected]
PLANS SERVICE CONTACT - Call 0844 848 8822 The Plans Service is expanding all the time! Over 3000 plans for model builders of all persuasions, Aircraft, Boats, Locomotives, Traction Engines, Steam and IC Engines - we even do Woodworking plans. To purchase plans, please call 0844 848 8822 See and buy all of these at www.myhobbystore.com
Model Engineer Exhibition Elsewhere in this issue are the entry forms and advertisement for this event, being held in December at Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey. The competition classes are judged to international standards, so if a model achieves a medal winning score, then it receives a medal regardless of how many others in the same class achieve a similar score. Previous notable marine models have been Colin Vass’ HMS Warspite and Alex McFayden’s HMS Vanguard and G3 battlecruiser, so the event attracts the best models not only in engineering, but in other categories well. Advance tickets can be purchased and there is a website: www.modelengineershow.co.uk.
International Model Boat Show 2013 A final reminder that this is being held from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th November 2013 at the War wickshire Exhibition Centre, near Leamington Spa, CV31 1XN. There are 31 confirmed clubs, societies and demonstrations attending this exhibition, including five new clubs, with some of the finest marine models on show. Visitors will also have the opportunity to purchase whatever they need from the vast range of products offered by the comprehensive selection of over 20 specialist suppliers. The show opens at 10am on each day. As the only three day marine modelling exhibition dedicated to all aspects of marine modelling this is an event not to be missed. Advance tickets are available until 31st October via the website: www. modelboatshow.co.uk, or tel: 01926 614101. Social media users can follow all the latest news and updates by following @MeridienneEx (#IMBS) on Twitter or via Meridienne Exhibition’s Facebook page.
Navy Model Gallery of the Rijksmuseum In April 2013, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam reopened its doors to the public after major renovation works. The national museum of the Netherlands, world-renowned for its Rembrandts and Vermeers, also houses a fine collection of ship models from the 17th to 19th centuries. The origins of the collection lie within the Department of the Navy that maintained a Model Room from 1817 until the 1880’s to store the increasing number of technical scale models it produced and obtained. Between 1883 and 1889 the collection, by then numbering more than 1600 objects, was transferred to the Rijksmuseum where it was on display until the 1920’s. After that most items went into permanent storage and only some of its highlights remained. With the reopening of the museum, 250 models from the naval collection are back on public display again in a dedicated museum gallery. The Model Room of the Department of the Navy was first and foremost a technical collection, but where the British Admiralty had a long tradition in the use of both plans and models of ships, it was not until
Fleet Air Arm Museum This museum now has a Naval Air Power in the 21st Century exhibition to present the story of the development of the two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and their impressive capabilities for the 21st Century. This new permanent exhibition features films showing the unique ‘building block’ construction process together with interactive displays allowing the user to manoeuvre aircraft on a flight deck and take off! In addition, there is a reminder of the Autumn Model Show at the museum on Saturday 26th October. Although primarily for model aircraft, there is much of relevance to model enthusiasts, not least the FAA aircraft. The event is supported by Airfix who will run a ‘Make and Paint’ workshop with prizes given to the best made workshop models. The Model Show will open at 1000hrs and normal admission prices apply and there is no additional cost for the show. Tickets can be purchased online from: www.fleetairarm.com. The FAA Museum is at: RNAS Yeovilton, Ilchester, Somerset, BA22 8HT, UK. Sat’ Nav’ Ref: BA22 8HW, tel: +44 (0) 1935 840565.
the middle of the 18th Century that the making of ship models of Dutch warships became common practice. Right from the beginning, the Navy Model Room also doubled as an historical and naval art collection as older objects that referred to the glorious maritime past of the Dutch Republic were acquired and added to the already rapidly expanding collection of technical models. The new Ship Model Gallery of the Rijksmuseum is a cross-section of what the collection as a whole has to offer. The centre-piece of the new presentation is the display of rigged models from the 17th to 19th century, while wall-mounted display cases feature various themes like the construction of ships, decoration, armaments, life on board, the introduction of steam power and armour plating. A sample of the large collection of half-block models is shown, as are models associated with non-naval tasks of the Department including models of lighthouses and buoys, semaphores, lifeboats, dredgers and icebreakers. The Rijksmuseum is at: Museumstraat 1, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and is open daily from 0900 to 1700hrs, website: www.rijksmuseum.nl.
THE WOR BEST-SE LD’S LLER !
Model Boats Subscriptions
Seaforth Publishing Available to all Model Boats readers is a discount of 10% for online orders. Seaforth (Pen & Sword Books Ltd.) publish many books, but recent additions include: Big Gun Monitors, Naval Firepower, HMS Hood and German S-Boats in Action. The website is: www.seaforthpublishing.com and the special code is 210408 that needs to be inserted into the promotional box. The alternative telephone number is: 01226 734555.
November
HMS Hood
2013
1:400 scale Lindber conver g kit ted to radio con trol
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Model Boats November 2013
16:30
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Woodbridge Regatta 2013 PHIL BUTTON reports
S
unday 14th July 2013 saw the Woodbridge MBC taking part in the annual Woodbridge Regatta by putting on a static display of their models and having a range of boats in action on the water at the boating lake in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Taking heed of the frightful weather at the 2012 regatta, the static display this year was under cover inside a club building and covered a wide range of models, including yachts, electric boats and steamers and even a 1920’s LePage electric outboard motor in full working order. The pictures give an overview of the models on display and also the way that one modeller brought no fewer than eleven boats in a Fiat Panda!
Cup yacht ‘Columbia II’, the property of the club chairman Bernard Chambers. Unfortunately, she was not actually sailed on the day as the lake was rather crowded and she needs a lot of sea room. As the builder and owner of Queen Alexandra, I was kept very busy explaining to people how she worked and demonstrating her machinery, but still found time to teach a couple of youngsters how to ‘drive’ one of my electric boats. The club also had their trainer boat in use on a simple steering course for other learners. The sun shone for the entire day, so we did not get soaked, as in 2012 and a thoroughly good time was had by all.
The Woodbridge Regatta
The normal programme covers yacht racing on Saturdays and Wednesday morning ‘anything goes’ sailings, details of which may be found on the website: www.woodbridgemodelboatclub.org.uk. The boating lake can be accessed from The Avenue at Woodbridge in Suffolk. Parking is available in the local authority ‘Pay and Display’ car park and the lake is across the railway line to the right. A location map is also provided on the website. Visitors are most welcome as are prospective new members. l
The water activities covered a show of close racing between r/c yachts, together with the sailing of a wide range of other radio controlled and free sailing models. The largest model on the day was a six foot long live steamer, ‘Queen Alexandra’ (see November 2012 edition of Model Boats), and the smallest was a nine inch converted 1:108 scale Revell plastic kit of a harbour tug. Among the yachts present in the display was a superb restoration of a model Americas
Top: The Woodbridge MBC models were under cover this year. Left: A 1920’s LePage electric outboard motor.
The club
This just shows what you can get into a Fiat Panda - 11 models in all! Left: The beautifully restored Columbia.
7
Next issue
1PA0GE0S!
The Model Boats 2013 Winter Special Edition is on sale on the 25th October 2013
EE! FRA N PL
Scudder
Ranzow
Wattle
This 100 page Special Issue has a Free Plan and building instructions for Scudder and also includes a full Kit Review; a Feature Plan project by John Parker and Technical Advice articles from our resident experts See more about what’s in Model Boats magazine month-to-month in forthcoming issues and see some of the articles you may have missed from past issues and subscription offers on our website: www.modelboats.co.uk We have a great range of subscription packages that you can choose from, including our new Print + Digital package which give subscribers 13 issues a year with 6 free plans, 13 digital editions to download and keep PLUS access to an Online Archive dating all the way back to January 2007. Don’t forget! The November issue will be published on 25th October 2013 price £4.95 – don’t miss it! Order your copy now! Or better still why not make it your first copy in a year’s subscription to Model Boats magazine? See our subscription offer on Page 16 in this issue…
If you can’t always find a copy of this magazine, help is at hand! Complete this form and hand in at your local store, they’ll arrange for a copy of each issue to be reserved for you. HM Some stores may HooSd even be able to arrange for it to be delivered to your home. Just ask! THE WO BEST-SERLD’S LLER!
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Amati Kits £46.93 £77.57 £77.57 £105.14 £174.59 £87.78 £155.95 £122.50 £509.57 £83.69 £259.95
Victory Models Kits Lady Nelson Cutter. 1:64 scale 530mm Granado. Bomb Ketch 1756 1:64 800mm HMS Fly. Swan Class Sloop. 1:64 800mm HMS Vanguard. 74 gun 3rd rate 1:72 1171mm HMS Pegasus Swan class sloop 1:64 800mm Mercury: 20 gun Brig 1820. 1:64 scale 860mm
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Mamoli Kits Friesland 80 gun 2 Decker 1:75 775mm Mary Royal Yacht 1:54 scale 483mm Golden Hind 1:53 scale 496mm La Gloire 34 gun Frigate 1:90 840mm Hunter 12 gun Cutter 1797 1:72 440mm Rattlesnake Privateer 1779 1:64 697mm H.M.A.V Bounty 1787 1:64 610mm CSS Alabama. 1:120 694mm
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Panart Kits H.M.S. Victory Nelson Flagship 1:78 1300mm Between Decks Gun Section 1:23 250mm sq. Open Whaler 1850 1:16 scale 615mm HMS Victory bow section1:78 scale San Felipe Spanish 3 Decker 1:75 960mm Armed Naval Pinnace 1800 Scale 1:16 620mm Royal Caroline 1749 Royal Yacht 1:47 830mm
HMS Sheffield 1:200 full hull £28.54 HMS Abdiel Light Cruiser 1;200 scale 635mm £28.54 HMS Repulse. Battleship 1:300 scale 806mm £27.53 Iowa 1:400 US Battleship 1942 680mm £26.52 HMS Dreadnought 1:200 £26.50 HMS Cambeltown 1;200 scale 470mm £25.95 Normandie French Liner 1:400 scale £25.95 Yamato. Japanese Battleship 1:400 scale 685mm £23.95 Grosdeutschland Superbattleship 1:400 £23.44
Hull and Plan Sets
Tel UK: 01872 261755 Tel Int: +44 1872 261755
Dutch Royal Yacht in Bottle 1:300 95mm Egyptian Ship Sahure Dynasty 350mm Greek Bireme 480 BC 560mm Viking Ship Oseberg 1:50 440mm Mayflower 1620 1:60 scale 650mm Chinese Junk Scale 1:100 400mm Xebec.1753 720mm 1:60 New Bedford Whaleboat 1:16 550mm Riva Aquarama. With Transmission kit Endeavour J Class. Wood Hull 1:80 480mm Endeavour J Class 1:35 scale 1130mm
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Caldercraft Display Kits Diana 38 Heavy Frigate 1794 1:64 1180mm £472.45 Cruiser.1797. 18 Gun Brig 1:67 scale 850mm £206.98 Snake 1797 18 Gun Sloop 1:67 scale 910mm £206.98 Mary Rose. Tudor warship 1510. 735mm 1:80 £260.98 Agamemnon 1781. 64 gun ship 1300mm £661.45 Endeavour. Bark 1768. 1:64 scale 725mm £245.65 Bounty. 1789. 1:64 scale 660mm £202.45 Sherbourne. 8 Gun R.N Cutter 1763. 500mm £75.55 HM Yacht Chatham 1741 1:64 scale 530mm £89.96 HM Mortar Vessel Convulsion. 1804 1:64 530mm£96.71 Victory 1781. Nelson's flagship 1:72 1385mm £746.98 Granado. Bomb Ketch 1756 1:64 scale 785mm £220.48 HM Brig Badger 1778 1:64 scale 600mm £177.12 HM Schooner Pickle 1778 1:64 scale 565mm £130.46
Caldercraft R/C Kits Joffre. 1916 Tyne Tug. £251.95 Imara. Twin Screw Berthing Tug £458.95 Resolve. Twin Screw Admiralty Tug £508.95 Amaranth. Motor Fifie £120.95 Milford star. Post war East Coast side trawler £228.95 Marie Felling single screw steam tug £395.95 North Light. Steam Clyde Puffer £251.95 SS Talacre. Single hatch Steam Coaster £251.95 H.M.T Sir Kay Round Table Class Minesweeper £294.95
Card Models SD14 general cargo ship 1:70 2133mm. £295.00 USS Missouri. 1:200 scale £61.24 GPM SMS Seydlitz 1:200 scale 1010mm £56.95 Queen Mary 2, 863mm 1:400 scale £53.06 Prince of Wales Battleship 1:200 scale £51.95 USS Lexington Aircraft carrier 1:200 scale £51.04 Tirpitz 1:200 scale Full hull 1260mm £49.99 Bismarck 1:200 scale Full hull 1250mm £48.98 Revenge 1588 600mm 1:96 scale £47.95 HMS Mercury 6th rate frigate 1779 1:96 scaler £44.95 Admiral Hipper, cruiser 1935 1:200 scale £40.81 HMS Enterprise 28 gun Frigate 1:96 scale £40.80 Graf Spee. Full hulled model at 1:200 scale £30.60 Lexington. American Brig 1:96 scale £30.59 HMS Endeavour. Captains Cook's Bark 1:96 £30.59 Santa Maria & Nina £30.59 H.M.S. Invincible. Battlecruiser 1907 1:250 £28.54
Victoria Steam Launch 1:12 scale 762mm £40.45 Pilot 40 . Pilot boat 698mm £50.45 Bluebird Of Chelsea . 1:24 scale 654mm £46.95 Forceful Paddle Tug Hull only. 1:48 1003mm £51.49 Guardsman Customs launch 1:32 scale 571mm £37.45 Burutu & Bajima Tug 1:50scale 768mm £47.45 Tyne Life Boat 1:12 scale 787mm £46.49 Smit Nederland Hull 558mm £42.45 Liverpool Lifeboat l 905mm 1:12 scale £91.50 RMAS Moorhen Hull 1:43 scale 740mm £51.45 Cervia, Thames Tug 1:48 scale 711mm £71.50 Brave Borderer 1:32 scale 914mm £86.50 HMS Warspite. Queen Elizabeth class £127.66 H.M.S. Devonshire. Cruiser 1504mm £96.00 H.M.S. Liverpool. Town class1409mm £96.31 H.M.S. Hood. Battlecruiser 2057mm £137.87 H.M.S. Repulse. Battleship 1879mm £137.06
Deans Marine Kits 25ft Motor Boat 1:12 scale 690mm Compass Rose. Corvette1:96 673mm H.M.S. Solebay.Destroyer 1945 1210mm Robert E Peary Liberty Ship 1384mm MGB77. 71.6ft BPB 1:24 920mm 73ft Vosper Type 1 1:24 scale 965mm Bronnington. minesweeper 1:100 465mm MTB 488. B.P.C. 71.6 MTB 1:24 920mm RAF Crash Tender 1:24 scale 610mm Steam Yacht Medea 1904. 1:48 870mm Tradition. Seine net trawler 870mm 1:24 H.M.S. Cossack Destroyer 1938 1200mm
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Plastic Kits Trumpeter Bismarck 1:200 scale £225.99 Italeri MTB77 72.5ft Vosper 1:35 632mm £99.99 Heller Le Soleil Royal 1:100 scale £149.95 Trumpeter USS Arizona 1941 1:200 £163.99 Trumpeter HMS Belfast 1942 1:200 £69.95 Trumpeter HMS Dreadnought 1907 1:350 £37.99 Academy Titanic 1:400 Ltd Edition £99.95 Revell Titanic 1:400 £51.05 Revell Flower Class Corvette 1:72 £119.00 Trumpeter HMS Repulse 1941 1:350 £100.06 Heller HMS Victory 1:100 scale £149.99 Trumpeter Queen Elizabeth 1:350 £69.99 Trumpeter USS Alabama 1:350 £79.99 Trumpeter HMS Hood (1941) 1:350 £91.89 Lindberg Sea Witch. Clipper 1:96 838mm £149.95 Lindberg PT 109 MTB 1:32 scale 749mm £149.95 LindbergBlue Devil Destroyer 1:125 910mm £99.95 Lindberg Air Force Rescue Boat 1:72 330mm £34.95 Lindberg Tuna Clipper 1:60 scale 368mm £49.95 Lindberg Atlantic Fishing Trawler 1:90 457mm £49.95 Lindberg Coast Guard Tug Boat 1:72 304mm £34.95 Academy HMS Warspite, Premium Edition £79.95 Revell Gato Class Submarine 1:72 £72.36 Trumpeter Admiral Hipper 1941 1:350 £69.95 Trumpeter Prinz Eugen 1945 1:350 £61.23 Airfix HMS Illustrious 1:350 £51.05 Trumpeter Graf Spee 1:350 £51.04 Trumpeter Jeremiah O'Brien Liberty Ship £32.99 Trumpeter JohnBrown liberty ship 1:350 £30.62 Tamiya Yamato 1:350 scale £270.95 Tamiya HMS King George V 1:350 £49.99 Tamiya HMS Prince of Wales 1:350 £49.99 Tamiya Bismarck 1:350 717mm £61.99 Tamiya Tirptz 1:350 717mm £58.50 Academy Tirpitz 1:350 £28.00 Academy Graf Spee 1:350 £28.00
Plastic Kit Upgrades Lionroar HMS Repulse Super detail 1:350 £98.57 Lionroar Arizona Super detail set 1:350 £74.18 1:350-1:400 Naval Ship Decals £7.19 1:350 Bismarck and Tirpitz detail sheets £45.95 1:350 KG5 & Prince of Wales detail sheets £49.95 1:350 Naval Figures sheet of 100 £4.95 1:350 Various ladders. £6.20 1:350 Quad Bofors and Oerlikon details £8.75 1:350 Doors, Hatches, & Life rings £6.20 1:350: 5,000 scale feet of U.S. Navy railing £20.55 1:350: Arizona Details sheets £43.97 1:350 WWII Liberty Ship Etched detail £43.99 1:350 Hood detail sheets £49.99 1:350 Hood extra detail sheet £25.83 1:350: Alabama Details sheets £49.99 1:350: USS San Francisco Details sheets £49.99 1:350 Repulse detail sheets £49.99 Wooden deck for HMS Hood 1:350 scale £36.50 Wooden deck for Graf Spee1:350 scale £32.30 Wooden deck for HMS Repulse 1:350 scale £34.80 Wooden deck for Prinz Eugen 1:350 scale £34.80 Wooden deck for Tirpitz 1:350 scale £34.80 Wooden deck for Admiral Hipper 1:350 scale £34.80 DX Wooden deck & Railing for Bismarck 1:350 £37.99 Wooden deck for Bismarck 1:350 scale £31.50 Wooden deck for Tirpitz 1:350 scale £31.50 Wooden deck for KG5 1:350 scale £33.20 Wooden deck for Price of Wales 1:350 scale £33.20 DX Wooden deck & Railing for Warspite 1:350 £53.80 DX Wooden deck & Railing for Bismarck 1:200 £149.40 This is just a selection from Gold Medal, MK1 Design, Master and Eduard.
Quaycraft Boats 1:48 Scale 27ft Royal Navy Clinker Whaler 1:48 Scale 16ft Royal Navy 16 Clinker dinghy 1:32 Scale 16ft Clinker Ship s Lifeboat 1:96 Scale 25ft Motor cutter 1:96 Scale 27ft Whaler 85mm 1:96 26ft Lifeboat double ended 83mm 1:72 Motor cutter 2 cabins 109mm 1:48 scale. 22ft Lifeboat. double ended 1:32 Scale 14ft Clinker Dinghy 1:24 Scale 14ft Clinker Dinghy 1:48 Scale 18ft Clinker Lifeboat 1:72 Scale 16ft Clinker dinghy, 1:48 Scale 24ft Clinker Ship s Lifeboat
£19.91 £8.87 £16.32 £7.68 £7.31 £10.31 £19.08 £12.71 £14.15 £16.55 £11.27 £7.79 £16.32
1:72 27ft Clinker whaler 115mm £17.03 1:96 Scale 20ft Motor boat £6.47 1:48 Scale 20ft Motor cutter 130mm £18.95 1:48 Scale 25ft Motor cutter 162mm £30.72 1:48 Scale 20ft transom sterned clinker lifeboat £12.23 This is just a selection of over 100 boats in various scales
R/C Boat Plans H.M.S Cossack Tribal class destroyer 38" £12.50 Lorraine: A really elegant 54in. motor yacht £17.50 Vosper R.T.T.L: 1:24 68ft. Vosper Rescue and Target Towing Launch £12.50 St Louis Belle 1:64 Mississippi stern-wheeler £12.50 T.B.D Cruiser Leader: 1:144 32in. Scout class £12.50 200 Series RAF Seaplane Tender: 1:12 950mm £12.50 Brave Borderer: A 36in Vosper patrol boat £12.50 H.M.S Ark Royal : 1:192 WW2 aircraft carrier £12.50 MFV Admiralty Trawler 1:40 scale 710mm £12.50 Enterprise: Northumbrian Coble 1:12 685mm £12.50 Tyne class Lifeboat 31in. 1:12 scale £12.50 HMS Kite: Ant Class Flatiron Gunboat 1:32 £12.50 H.M.S Kent : 1:96 scale early cruiser 58" £17.50 Miranda Edwardian steam Launch 42in £12.50 Valerie Anne Thames barge. 1120mm £16.85 Orca (Jaws) fishing boat featured in the film. £11.23 Boston Fury 1:48th 1960 East Coast Trawler £16.85 Fairey Huntsman:1:8 scale 1066mm £12.50 TID Tug The wartime tug 890mm . £11.23 Princess of the Lake Cruise Launch £11.23 HMS Inflexible Dreadnought 1890s.1100mm £16.85 Waverley paddle steamer 1365mm, £16.85 Tina Jane A 45ft stern trawler 560mm £11.23 Altair Auxillary gaff rigged schooner 1200mm £33.19 Rhum Islands Class Ferry, 500mm £9.19
John Lambert Plans The Royal Navy’s Standard 14 Ft Sailing Dinghy £14.10 Vosper 72ft 6in MTBs Nos 73-98 £14.10 71 ft 6 Inch British Power Boat. MTB 467 £37.86 The Quadruple 21in QR Mark VIII Torpedo Tubes £14.10 The 16 Ft Admiralty Pattern Trawler Boat £14.10 The Royal Navy's standard 27 Ft Whaler £37.86 Flower Class Corvette. HMS Nasturtium £14.10 United States Navy 2Omm Oerlikon. £14.10 The Twin 2Omm Oerlikon on Post War Mark 12 £14.10 The 3 Pdr Hotchkiss Gun £14.10
Harold Underhill Plans Cutty Sark Clipper Ship 698mm Marie Sophie of Falmouth 1033mm Lady of Avenel. Wood. 850mm 74-Gun Two-Decker (Circa 1813 1422mm Lady Daphne Thames Sailing Barge812mm 12-Gun Brig-of-War. Lines, 1187mm Cunard Liner Servia, 1:192 scale 850mm 40-Gun Frigate (Circa 1790 831mm Valerian. Brixham Trawler 1069mm. Diesel Ring Net Fishing Boat 615mm Three Brothers. Rye Fishing Smack. 797mm
£29.54 £44.41 £33.30 £77.71 £29.54 £55.51 £33.30 £66.61 £49.23 £29.53 £29.54
Static Display Kit Plans Chinese Junk, construction plans. £11.24 Sovereign of the Seas, plans 1:78 1100mm £27.10 HMS Fly Plan set £26.50 Lady Nelson Cutter Plan Set £9.80 HMS Bounty, construction plans £21.71 French Xebec construction plans £11.24 Vikingship, Osjberg, construction plans. £11.24 Titanic Plans set £49.89 Endeavour J Class Plans set £25.28 Cutty Sark, construction plans, Scale 1:78. £31.00 La Couronne, construction plans, Scale 1:98. £28.50 Santa Maria, construction plans, Scale 1:50. £14.95 French Xebec, construction plans, Scale 1:49. £14.85 Thermopylae, construction plans, Scale 1:124. £14.85 Mississippi Stern Wheeler plan 1:50 1050mm £34.95 Pinta. construction plans 1:50 570mm £14.85 Friesland (1:75) Drawings & Instructions £47.73 H.M.S. Victory (1:90) Drawings & Instructions £64.09 Yacht Mary (1:54) Drawings & Instructions £32.73 Golden Hind (1:53) Drawings & Instructions £32.73 Rattlesnake (1:64) Drawings & Instructions £46.36 Royal Louis (1:90) Drawings & Instructions £62.73 This is just a selection of over 1000 plans available
R/C Equipment Hitec Optic 6 (2.4 GHz) combo £124.99 Viper Marine 75 £115.00 Hitec Optic 5 channel (2.4 GHz) combo £89.95 Mtroniks G2 Hydra15 combo £59.99 Hi Tech Zebra 4 Channel £56.12 Viper Marine 40 £53.22 Planet 5 Transmitter and Receiver Set £51.99 Hi Tech Ranger 2 Channel £49.95 FR30HX 30amp speed controller £47.14 Viper Marine SUB 10 6-12v £42.99 Viper Marine SUB 8 4.8-9.6v £42.50 Viper SSR 25amp Speed controller £39.99 15HVR 15amp speed controller £37.69 Viper Marine 25 £34.99 Viper Marine 25 Mirror £34.20 FR12VR 12amp speed controller BEC £33.86 Hi Tech Mega Arm Sail Winch 19.8kg/cm £30.99 Proportional Drum Sail Winch £30.63 Viper Marine 20 £28.99 Viper Marine 15 £22.99 Viper Micro Marine 10 £22.99 Viper Marine 15 Plug Play £22.99 Programmable mixing module £20.34 Waterproof mixing module (w-tail) £17.80 Waterproof mixing module £15.70 Mtroniks EP Multi charger £12.14 1300ma receiver nicad battery square £5.61 1300ma receiver nicad battery flat £5.61 Switch harness with charging lead £4.70 Full range of R/C installation equipment available
Miniature Steam Clyde Horiz Ready Assembled Steam Plant Clyde Vertical Ready Assembled Steam Plant Clyde Horizontal Self Assembly Steam Plant Clyde Vertical Self Assembly Steam Plant 4 inch Horizontal Boiler 3in Horizontal Boiler 3in Vertical Boiler Clyde Fully Assembled Clyde Fully Machined Kit for Self Assembly Tyne Vertical Self Assembly Engine Boiler Feed Pump 3/8"" Assembled" Refillable Gas Tank
£949.95 £949.95 £849.95 £849.95 £649.99 £575.99 £575.99 £444.00 £312.00 £199.50 £119.95 £94.99
"ertical Refillable Gas Tank (1-1/2"" Dia) Ceramic Burner: for 3in boiler Vertical Refillable Gas Tank (1-1/4"" Dia) Exhaust Oil Trap (1-1/4”) Horizontal Boiler Mounting Tray Refillable Gas Tank Adaptor (Long) Refillable Gas Tank Adaptor (Standard)
£84.99 £74.99 £64.99 £49.98 £39.95 £24.99 £21.99
Sound Modules Petrol/Diesel Engine with Horn Machine Gun Steam Engine Sound Whooper Fog Horn Ship Klaxon Sub Sonar Ping Sub Dive Alarm Air Horns Large Ship Horn Large Ship Steam Whistle Old Steam Whistle Tug Boat Air Horn Mtroniks Diesel Canal Boat Mtroniks Multicylinder Diesel
£43.40 £35.73 £43.40 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £59.99 £59.99
Motors Genesis Hydra50 combo Brushless Genesis Hydra30 combo Brushless Genesis Hydra15 combo Brushless Schottel drive unit 70mm dia prop Schottel drive unit Schottel drive unit 50mm dia prop Rudder-propeller drive: Schottel drive unit 40mm dia prop Deans Marine Navy Geared Maxi 6v MICRO T 05: Electric motor Rudder-propeller drive Adaptor: 6v Geared motor 3 rpm Robbe Navy geared motor EF 76 - 6v Speed 600 BB Turbo 12v Micro geared motor 50:1 Micro geared motor 150:1 Micro geared motor 300:1 EL653/16 low drain motor Deans Marine Kestrel 4.8 to 12volts 543/12 low drain motor for large props Speed 480 Motor 7.2v Deans Marine Kondor Deans Marine Kondor 2 543-24 low drain motor Deans Kyte Motor EL653/33 low drain motor Mabuchi Low Drain 545 Mabuchi 540 Mabuchi 480 motor 4.8 to 8.4v Mabuchi 400 Electronize 365/14 low drain
£25.29 £34.22 £34.32 £39.74 £39.74 £23.49 £25.29 £30.71
Rudder Assemblies Rudder assembly 33 long x 22mm wide £3.90 Rudder assembly 60 long x 41mm wide £5.36 Rudder assembly with tiller arm 45 x 35mm £4.54 Rudder assembly with tiller arm 55 x 45mm £4.54 Steerable Kort nozzle for props up to 35 mm Ø £18.33 Becker Rudder 43 x 38mm £20.42 Skeg and Rudder Assembly 68mm deep, 56mm £19.75 Rudder assembly with tiller arm 35 x 26mm £4.54 Boat rudder set: 45 mm Height: 40 £6.69 Boat rudder set: 32 mm Height: 25 mm £6.47 Boat rudder set: 36 mm Height: 50 mm £6.19 Boat rudder set: 36 mm Height: 70 mm £7.42 Rudder assembly 45 long x 30mm wide £4.80 Rudder assembly 53 long x 36mm wide £4.92 Rudder assembly 67 long x 44mm wide £5.36 Double Tiller Arm. Fits 3/16 or 5mm shaft £0.97
Raboesch Bow Thrusters Bow thruster unit with motor 14mm I/D Bow thruster unit with motor 16mm I/D Bow thruster unit with motor 19mm I/D Bow thruster unit with motor 22mm I/D Bow thruster unit with motor 25mm I/D Mini Bow thruster unit with motor 10mm I/D Bow thruster unit with motor 30mm I/D
£33.87 £33.87 £33.87 £38.39 £38.39 £27.10 £81.29
BECC Letters&Number sets 2A Arial Lettering 2 mm, 3A Arial Lettering 3 mm, 4A Arial Lettering 4 mm, 6A Arial Lettering 6 mm, 8A Arial Lettering 8 mm, 10A Arial Lettering 10 mm, 12A Arial Lettering 12 mm, 15A Arial Lettering 15 mm, 20A Arial Lettering 20 mm, 25A Arial Lettering 25 mm, 5A Arial Lettering 5 mm, Available in most colours
£4.07 £4.59 £4.59 £4.59 £5.10 £5.10 £6.12 £7.14 £8.16 £10.20 £4.59
BECC Flags GB02 White Ensign, Size: AAA 10mm £3.05 GB02 White Ensign, Size: AA 15mm £3.05 GB02 White Ensign, Size: A 20mm £3.05 GB02 White Ensign, Size: B 25mm £3.05 GB02 White Ensign, Size: C 38mm £3.96 GB02 White Ensign, Size: D 50mm £3.96 GB02 White Ensign, Size: E 75mm £4.95 GB02 White Ensign, Size: F 100mm £5.97 GB02 White Ensign, Size: G 125mm £7.91 GB02 White Ensign, Size: H 150mm £9.91 Also available, Naval ensigns in red, Blue as well and National flags from most maritime nations
Timber Lime Strip 1 x 1mm x approx 1 metre long Lime Strip 1 x 1.5mm x approx 1 metre long Lime Strip 1 x 10mm x approx 1 metre long Lime Strip 1 x 2mm x approx 1 metre long Lime Strip 1 x 3mm x approx 1 metre long Lime Strip 1 x 4mm x approx 1 metre long
Admiralty Paints Available in 14ml flip top capped bottles in the following colours. Light Ivory, Red Ensign , Maroon Admiralty, Polished Bronze, Antique Bronze, Olive Green, Walnut Brown, Matt Flesh, Gold/Brass, Copper, Dull Black, Matt Black, Dull White, Matt White, Yellow Ochre, Red Ochre, French Blue, Flat Matt Varnish, Matt Varnish Satin Matt Varnish £2.25 per colour
Admiralty Woodstain £109.99 £69.99 £59.99 £95.94 £79.42 £76.48 £74.42 £62.71 £44.95 £42.00 £41.92 £34.83 £33.18 £23.33 £22.18 £22.18 £22.18 £21.95 £19.28 £18.85 £18.75 £17.31 £17.31 £15.93 £11.18 £10.95 £9.96 £7.43 £7.00 £7.00 £5.56
Raboesch Propshafts Waterproof Prop Shaft M4 290mm Waterproof Propeller Shaft M4 290mm Waterproof Propeller Shaft M5 290mm Waterproof Propeller Shaft M4 450mm Waterproof Propeller Shaft M5 450mm Prop Shaft &support bracket M2 230mm Prop Shaft &support bracket M3 270mm Prop Shaft &support bracket M4 330mm
Lime Strip 1 x 5mm x approx 1 metre long £0.39 Lime Strip 1 x 6mm x approx 1 metre long £0.43 Lime Strip 1 x 7mm x approx 1 metre long £0.44 Lime Strip 1 x 8mm x approx 1 metre long £0.46 Lime Strip 2 x 10mm x approx 1 metre long £0.76 Lime Strip 2 x 2mm x approx 1 metre long £0.40 Lime Strip 2 x 3mm x approx 1 metre long £0.43 Lime Strip 2 x 4mm x approx 1 metre long £0.47 Lime Strip 2 x 5mm x approx 1 metre long £0.50 Lime Strip 2 x 6mm x approx 1 metre long £0.57 Lime Strip 2 x 7mm x approx 1 metre long £0.63 Lime Strip 2 x 8mm x approx 1 metre long £0.69 This is just a selection of sizes. Other woods stocks include Walnut, Maple, Tanganykia, Beech, Pear, Balsa, Obechi
£0.32 £0.32 £0.47 £0.32 £0.33 £0.34
Available in 14ml eye dropper bottles in the following colours. Mahogany, Oak, Ebony, Walnut & Cherry £3.32 each
Books The Anatomy of Nelson's Ships IMerchant Ship Construction Thunderer. Building a Model Dreadnought RMS Titanic. A Modelmaker's Manual Rigging Period Ship Models Plank on Frame Models. Volume Two Plank on Frame Models. Volume One l Ship Modeling Simplified Rigging Period Fore & Aft Craft Masting & Rigging of Clipper Ship and Ocean Carrier Ship Modeling from Stem to Stern The Ship Model Builders Assistant. The Built up Ship Model. Puffer Ahoy The Ship Model Builders Handbook Card Modelling Ship Modelling from Scratch Flower Class Corvettes Advanced Ship Modelling by Brian King: Model Marine Steam HMS Victory Owners workshop manual Scale Model Tugs Historical Sailing Ships: Remote Controlled Period Ship Handbook. Vol One. Period Ship Kit Builders Manual Model Ships Fittings Model Submarine Technology Painting Model Boats Ship Modelling in Plastic Scale Model Steamboats Making Model Boats with Styrene Simply Model Submarines The Model Tug Boat Book: Scale Model Warships Submarines. Models and their Originals Making Ships in Bottles Scale Model Boats. Building & Operation Radio Control In Model Boats Introduction to Marine Modelling Ship Modelling Solutions Scratch Building Marine Models The Glassfibre Handbook by R.H Waring. Photoetching For The Plastic Ship Modeler Super-detailing the Cutter Sherbourne
£40.00 £28.00 £25.00 £25.00 £25.00 £25.00 £25.00 £14.95 £22.50 £22.00 £21.95 £20.95 £12.95 £20.00 £19.95 £20.95 £19.95 £16.99 £16.95 £14.95 £21.95 £14.95 £14.95 £16.95 £16.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £12.95 £11.95 £9.95 £9.95 £9.95 £9.95 £9.95 £9.95 £12.95 £19.00
Modelling Tools Mantua 12v Electric Fret saw 12v Mini Compressor Mantua Spar Lathe. 12V Mantua 12v Electric Planer Amati heavy duty Building cradle Building Slip Mantua 4 speed mains transformer Deluxe Modellers Tool Chest Amati Electric Plank Bender Rope Walk kit Strip Clamp. Dremel MultiVise Master Cut. Bench Vice. Swann-Morton ACM Tool Set Planet, special work bench 20 piece twist drill set .3 to 1.6mm Amati Pin Pusher De-Luxe Pin Pusher Waterline marking tool A3 cutting mat Pounce Tool with 4 wheels Assorted grade Sanding Sticks (5) Shroud Making Jig Zona Fine Kerf Universal Razor Saw 32tpi Zona Medium Kerf Razor Saw 24tpi Zona Fine Kerf Universal Razor Saw 42tpi Zona Fine Kerf Universal Razor Saw 24tpi Zona Ultra Thin Kerf Razor Saw 52tpi Zona Ultra Thin Kerf Razor Saw 32tpi 8 piece twist drill set .5 to 2.0mm Rigging Tool Archimedean Hand Drill Pin Vice with collets for .01 to 3.0mm drill bits K&S Tube cutter Set of 3 G-Clamps with Magnetic Base Wooden Clamping Pegs (3) Miniature hand plane
£110.00 £105.00 £99.00 £79.00 £49.95 £54.95 £48.40 £38.95 £36.71 £35.69 £32.95 £32.73 £26.50 £24.46 £22.61 £15.50 £13.23 £13.23 £12.99 £12.97 £11.18 £10.95 £10.94 £10.72 £9.39 £9.39 £9.39 £9.39 £8.34 £8.34 £7.38 £6.79 £6.74 £6.64 £6.50 £5.77 £5.75 £5.06
THE MODEL DOCKYARD CATALOGUE Our non illustrated catalogue contains a brief description and principal dimensions of over 12,000 product items that are available from our extensive range aimed and the the scale modeller. these include both static and R/C Kits, Plastic kits and upgrade parets; the largest range of boats fittings to be found anywhere, building materials, boat plans, boat hulls, props, couplings, motors, propshafts etc etc. Whether you interest lies in working radio control, display period ships or static kits, our catalogue has everything you will need, £1.00 plus £5.00 for UK Delivery
special feature
Paddle Tug John H. Amos Part Two
PHIL BUTTON converts the Graupner Glasgow kit to steam propulsion
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n Part One, I described the process of converting a fully-built Graupner Glasgow kit into a model of the paddle tug John H. Amos and its maiden voyage on a temporary electric power plant. Photos 1 and 2 show the original ship and the completed model just in case you have forgotten. This second part of the article will cover the design, construction, installation and testing of the steam plant and the radio control system for the model.
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Design and construction As mentioned in the opening remarks of Part One, the intention was to fit the model with a steam plant of some description and a great deal of work would be needed to arrive at the design of a suitable engine and boiler. Obviously, any small steam engine is going to run too fast to directly drive paddle wheels, so some form of gear reduction will be required.
1 To begin with, I had to calculate the scale speed of the model (as detailed in Part One) and a paddle wheel speed of around 200 to 250rpm was determined. From experience, I knew that an engine of a size appropriate for this model would run at around 1600rpm on ‘no-load’, so that set the overall gear reduction from engine to paddle shaft in the region of 6 to 1. There was a set of brass gears in stock that would give a reduction of 3.2 to 1 and also there was a set of plastic sprockets and chain with a ratio of 2 to 1. So, using gears and chain together would give an overall reduction of 6.4 to 1, close enough to giving 250rpm at the paddles on no load. I wanted to have full radio control of all functions including speed control, ahead/astern control and steering. Steering is easy - one radio channel with a servo and linkage as for any other type of boat. Full engine control is a different matter as it is dependent on the type of engine selected and could require either one or two radio channels. The simplest engine type was selected, this being a twin oscillating steam engine. This
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can easily be reversed by changing the direction of steam flow to the engine when the inlet becomes the exhaust and vice versa and the engine goes the other way. The plan was to use a rotary valve to control the direction of steam flow to the engine. With careful attention to the design of it, it rotary valve can also be used for speed control in both directions which would require the use of a single radio channel only (on similar lines to using an electronic speed controller in an electric boat), but I decided to control the speed with a regulator valve in the main steam line from the boiler. This meant a basic four channel radio set-up of rudder, regulator (speed control), ahead/astern control and an optional steam whistle. I always fit a radio controlled steam whistle to my boats as it fascinates children and adults alike. As a minimum, the engine would need two cylinders with the two cranks set at 90 degrees to each other. Why? Well, for reliable speed control and reversing you need to be certain that if the engine stops, it is capable of restarting. If a single cylinder
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engine is used and it comes to a stop at top or bottom dead centre (as Murphy’s Law will ensure that it always does!), the engine will not restart unless it is given a flick in the appropriate direction which is not practicable in mid-lake! A twin cylinder engine with cranks set at 90 degrees will always be capable of restarting, since if one cylinder is at top or bottom dead centre, the other is at mid-stroke and will impart the necessary ‘flick’ to get the engine going again. A proprietary steam plant could have been used as a great variety are now available to purchase, but I elected to design and build my own. Over the years I have acquired a well-equipped model engineering workshop, so building steam engines is not a problem.
Design My engine designs are produced on the domestic computer PC using a drawing package called DrawPlus from Serif Software in Nottingham. It is not really intended for use as a CAD package, but it seems to work okay, at least for me. I have tried both AutoCAD and TurboCAD software and failed dismally at learning how to drive them, hence my preference for DrawPlus. Having determined the basic engine parameters, the next stage is to make basic sketches of the parts needed for the engine and try to fit them together into an assembly sketch on the computer. Once all the parts
Model Boats November 2013
seem to go together, more or less correctly on-screen, detailed and dimensioned drawings for each part can be produced for use in the workshop. The detail drawings are produced to scale and the parts can then be built up into a general assembly drawing of the engine, Photo 3, but please note that this assembly drawing is not entirely accurate or complete, as I never actually finally finished it. The final design however was for a twin cylinder, double acting, oscillating steam engine of 10mm bore and 11mm stroke. The engine has two cylinders, one on each side of a fabricated U-shaped baseplate, with the flywheel and primary gear reduction mounted between the side plates. The primary gear layshaft (above the crankshaft) carries the sprocket for the final chain drive to the paddle shaft and runs in miniature ball bearing races in an attempt to minimise friction. Having finalised the engine design, the next step was to come up with a suitable boiler design to supply it with steam. The first step in deciding on a boiler size is to calculate the required heating surface. I use a formula based on the cubic capacity of the engine found in a reprint of the 1920 Percival Marshall book ‘Machinery for Model Steamers’. This might be wildly inaccurate, but it seems to work okay for me which is all that matters. Other design details needed to be produced, included stress calculations for all parts of the boiler based on the thickness and
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overall dimensions of the copper sheet and tube used in construction. Since commercially available tube was to be used for the boiler shell and fire tube, their thicknesses were constrained by what was readily available. In the final analysis, the boiler came out as having a maximum safe working pressure of 35psi (applying a factor of safety of 12 in the calculations). This was acceptable, since the likely maximum pressure envisaged with the engine to be used was around 15 to 20psi, based on previous experience. Photo 4 shows the side elevation and a section of the boiler design. The ring of spikes through the bottom of the boiler is there to increase the heating surface as they project into both the firebox and the water. Owing to the appearance of the spikes, this type of boiler is often called a ‘hedgehog boiler’. The boiler was to be gas fired using a ceramic burner of my own design that eventually took me around three years to perfect on previous models. Gas is supplied from a commercial threaded gas canister (GoGas, Taymar, or similar), as normally used with DIY blowtorches. The valve from one of these DIY torches is used to control the flow of gas to the burner as the purchase of a blowtorch from a local DIY store usually includes the valve and a gas canister and this works out much cheaper than the purpose-made valves available in the marketplace. Only minor modifications are needed to adapt the blowtorch valve to its new use. These include, cutting off the burner tube and then threading the exposed pipe end to take the gas pipe connection, Photo 5 is of the gas bottle and control valve installed in the bow compartment of the model. As an added bonus, the sawn off burner can usually be saved for possible future use and contains a useful gas jet.
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Building the engine To provide a detailed description of the construction of the engine would require a series of articles and would most likely only appeal to readers of Model Engineer magazine. Suffice to say, the engine took around two months to build (when fitted in around other things) and required the services of my Chester MF42B multi-function machine tool as lathe, milling machine and pillar drill, together with a range of hand tools, files, taps, dies, etc. I try to make as much as possible myself, only buying standard nuts and bolts and Viton O-rings. Materials used in construction were
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mild steel, brass, phosphor bronze, stainless steel and copper. An indication of the work involved in constructing the engine can be gained from the photographs. To give a scale to the pictures, the overall size of the completed engine is approximately 3 inches high (to the top of the drive gear) by 4 inches long and 3.5 inches wide. Please keep in mind when viewing the pictures that I do not claim to be the world’s best machinist! Photo 6 is of the engine baseplate during construction. Photo 7 shows the baseplate after silver soldering the bushes for the crankshaft and layshaft bearings (temporarily held in place by threaded rods). The ‘burnt offering’ look was removed by ‘pickling’ the whole unit in a citric acid solution.
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Photo 8 is of the completed engine, now fitted with cylinders, connecting rods, crankshaft and flywheel, primary gear reduction, pipework and reversing valve. On completion of construction, the engine was run-in on air using a small air compressor and checked for proper operation of the reversing valve and the regulator valve. Then the completed engine unit was bolted to a removable brass machinery tray (later changed to aluminium to save weight), which was also arranged to carry the boiler.
Building the boiler I will give some details of boiler making, as this is probably not familiar to many model boat builders. Most of the boiler was constructed from commercially available copper tube and sheet, with phosphor bronze for the bushes and brass for inlet clack (non-return valve), steam outlet fittings and safety valve. The safety valve contains a stainless steel ball and a spring to hold it onto the valve seat. As steam pressure in the boiler rises, the ball is lifted off the seat against the spring loading and steam is vented to reduce the pressure. The safety valve is roughly set using compressed air and finally adjusted to the correct working pressure during steam tests on boiler completion. Some parts of the boiler have to be made to a particular shape, such as the endplates. Hammering annealed copper sheet around a hardwood former creates these. The hardwood former was turned on the lathe to a finished diameter equal to the internal diameter of the boiler shell tube, minus twice the material thickness of the endplates so that the finished endplates should be a close fit inside the boiler tube shell. The greatest virtue required when making any boiler is patience. When copper is worked (i.e. ‘bashed’ into a shape it would rather not be), it hardens and then no longer bends to your will. The only way to tell when this has happened is by how it feels under the hammer. This is difficult to explain in words, but easily learned by experience. The copper part then has to be annealed (softened) by removing it from the former, heating it to red hot and allowing it to cool naturally, then cleaning the scale off it before replacing it on the former and continuing with the shaping. This softening process may need repeating several times in order to form a boiler endplate. Photos 9 & 10 show a copper blank for a boiler endplate and the hardwood former with a finished endplate. The hole in the centre of the finished endplate was carefully drilled out and bored to size in the
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lathe, whilst the endplate was still on the wooden former after finally persuading it into the correct shape. Obviously two endplates are needed, so this process has to be repeated to make the second. The lower endplate was marked out and drilled for the ‘hedgehog’ spikes. These spikes were cut from bronze rod and are there to increase the boiler heating surface. The top endplate was marked out and drilled for the bushes for the safety valve, pressure gauge and steam outlet pipe. Photos 11 & 12 show some finished endplates that are actually for a different boiler, but the same principles apply. Boiler bushes were turned from phosphor bronze bar, then drilled and tapped with the thread required. The boiler shell was cut from a length of commercially available 63.5mm (2.5 inch) o.d. copper tube and the ends trued up in the lathe to make them square. This has to be done with a great deal of care to avoid the cutting tool digging in, otherwise the tube either gets bent and/or thrown at the lathe operator. The sides of the shell were then drilled for the bushes for the clack valve and water level gauge. A length of 22mm (7/8 inch) copper tube was cut to
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After the hydraulic pressure test, the boiler was given a coat of heat resistant black paint and completed by adding the boiler fittings. These are a water level gauge and clack valve, safety valve and steam outlets for the engine and pressure gauge. A layer of teak planks was added around the boiler shell as insulation, fixed in place by polished brass strips and then varnished, Photo 16.
The burner
form the flue and the ends trued up in the lathe and once again, very, very, carefully! Photo 13 shows all the parts of a similar boiler prior to assembly. Bit of a change now with Photo 14 which shows the boiler shell and bushes and the two endplates complete with bushes and spikes after silver soldering. The areas to be silver soldered have to be coated with a liquid flux (required to prevent oxidation of the surfaces and to help the solder to flow into the joints), then the whole lot is heated to red heat in a firebrick hearth using a DIY type of gas blowtorch and the silver solder applied around all joints. Once the solder has run all around these joints, the job is done. As you can see, on completion of silver soldering, the parts take on the appearance of ‘burnt offerings’ owing to the formation of an oxide layer and excess flux. This oxide layer is removed by a process called ‘pickling’ whereby the parts are placed in a dilute acid (sometimes sulphuric acid, but I prefer citric acid as it is a little safer) and then washed clean with water. The completed boiler endplates were fitted into the boiler shell, together with the flue pipe and the boiler bushes, all treated with flux and then silver soldered as explained earlier, but using a much bigger gas torch, as the DIY type cannot provide enough heat. After ‘pickling’ the completed boiler and flushing it clean with water, it has to be pressure tested to ensure that it has no leaks and is safe to use. Safety dictates that this pressure test is carried out hydraulically using water, as a boiler failure is not as
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catastrophic with water as it would be for testing with either air or steam. I would stress here that I am able to test my own boilers, but other’s will need a properly certified boiler tester with the right equipment to issue a Test Certificate. Being a member of an engineering club or the Model Power Boat Association, will usually give you ready access to such an individual.
After a great deal of experimentation with all sorts of burner set-ups which were mostly not successful, I have finally arrived at a design for a ceramic gas burner that works, using commercially available ceramic plaque and gas jets as in Photo 17. This is one of the reasons why commercial boilers are popular, in that hopefully the manufacturer has arrived at a design of burner that matches the boiler heating requirement, rather than something ‘generic’ that will probably be okay, which of course is not the same thing.
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Hydraulic test To carry out this, all except two of the boiler bushes were plugged and a non-return valve fitted to one of the open ones. The boiler was filled completely with water and a pressure gauge fitted to the second open bush. A hand pump with its inlet piped to a water supply was connected to the non-return valve on the boiler and the pump operated until the pressure gauge showed twice the boiler safe working pressure as in Photo 15. Any leaks become readily apparent and will require the boiler to be drained and repaired. If there are no leaks, the pressure gauge reading will remain steady and the pressure should be left on for a time. The boiler then has to be checked to ensure that it has not deformed whilst under pressure, as any deformation implies that the boiler is not safe to use. The test pressure gauge needs to be certified as giving true reasons, hence a certificate (if required) needs to be issued by a certified tester with certified equipment.
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Assembly and steam test The boiler, burner, oil interceptor, engine, steam manifold complete with regulator/lubricator (for the engine) and whistle with its valve were finally all bolted to the machinery plate and given a full steam test before fitting inside the hull, Photo 18. The blue painted pipework at the left hand end was for a proposed boiler feed pump installation that had to be removed later to save weight. The lubricator (the green painted cylinder between the boiler and the engine) provides the engine with a measured volume of steam oil to lubricate the cylinders and this oil leaves the engine in the exhaust. The oil interceptor (the copper tank at the right hand end) is a simple vessel set up to catch the oil in the exhaust to prevent it being thrown all over the model and the model boating lake. Also, before anyone panics, the main steam lines are not insulated with asbestos as it is merely string, painted with white emulsion. The pipework between the engine exhaust
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19 and the oil interceptor comprises silicone rubber flexible tubing as there is very little residual pressure at this point and the pipes need to be easily disconnected to drain steam oil and condensed water from the interceptor.
Steam test This was used initially to set and check the operation of the safety valve against the boiler pressure gauge. With the engine stop valve closed so that there was no steam outlet from the boiler, other than through the safety valve, the burner was lit and steam pressure raised towards the 20psi required for setting the safety valve. If the safety valve opened before that pressure was attained, the valve adjuster could be screwed down to increase the pressure setting. Similarly, if the valve was not open at 20psi, then the valve adjuster could be slackened off to reduce the pressure setting. Once the safety valve pressure was correctly set, the burner was left at maximum to check that the safety valve was limiting the maximum boiler pressure to no more than 10% above its 20psi setting. As a general safety requirement for any live steamer at each sailing, a check should always be made for correct operation of the safety valve before allowing the model to steam away, since it is not unknown for these small valves to stick closed with potentially disastrous results. At the very least, a boiler explosion will destroy your pride and joy, but is also quite capable of maiming or even killing bystanders. So, think of the safety of others and yourself, something that Richard Simpson has regularly expounded on in these pages. After setting the safety valve, the reversing valve was set to the ‘ahead’ position, the regulator was opened and the engine turned over (initially by hand) to warm the cylinders and expel any water from condensed steam. Then the engine was allowed to run on steam for the first time and checked for correct operation of the regulator and reversing valve. The first engine run showed up all sorts of minor steam leaks in the engine
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glands, valves and pipework and notes were made of these for later rectification. The machinery plate was designed to fit inside the plywood baseplate that had been supplied with the Graupner Glasgow kit and was insulated from it using a layer of 2mm thick ceramic insulation material, as after all it would not be a good idea to scorch the plywood and perhaps melt the plastic hull! Photo 19 shows the machinery plate installed in the hull and ready to go and as you can see, it’s a very snug fit.
Radio control installation The temporary electric drive installation as described in Part One had been removed to make space for the steam plant. Items removed included the 27MHz receiver, drive motor and gear train, batteries and electronic speed controller. The receiver on/off switch and its LED, together with the rudder servo were left in place for reuse with the intended Spektrum 2.4Ghz equipment. Whilst waiting for delivery, a spare Futaba 2.4GHz receiver was fitted (for testing purposes) to the equipment plate under the after companionway and a micro-servo installed next to it to operate the whistle valve in the machinery compartment via a steel rod with a plastic clevis at the servo end and a metal clevis at the hot end. Photo 20 shows the revised installation before adding the steel rod. As there did not seem to be much space in the after radio compartment, the 4.8v NiMH AA size of receiver battery was installed in the forecastle with the gas bottle and valve. An extension cable had to be added, carried on small hooks underneath the side deck, to reach the receiver. Photo 21 shows a trial installation of the battery pack and the horseshoe shaped wooden bulkhead provides support for the gas bottle. For similar space reasons, and also on the basis that the control rod runs were easier, the regulator and ahead/astern servos were also installed in the gas bottle section, extension leads being required for these as well. These servos are standard size, fitted in styrene mounts and connected via steel rods that are actually salvaged bicycle spokes, with a ball joint at the servo end and a metal clevis at the hot end, once again. Photos 22 and 23 are of the old, but still perfectly serviceable, Sanwa servos in their clear styrene mounts.
Model Boats November 2013
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Maiden voyage on steam power
After setting up and running-in of the steam plant on the bench, careful programming of the radio control equipment and setting/testing of all its functions, it was off to the boating lake at Sheringham on a cold November day for the maiden voyage on steam power. This voyage actually took place in almost ideal conditions, with a very light breeze and virtually no swell on the water, which is somewhat rare at Sheringham as the pond is on the cliff top by the sea. Out of the car at the lake, fill the boiler, fill the lubricator, install a new gas canister and get ready to go. Checks with the model in the water with a full boiler showed that she floated a lot lower than the scale waterline, but not dangerously so. This was of course because the steam plant is a lot heavier than the previous electric installation. Leaning the model over to each side and letting go gave a rough check of stability and fortunately it recovered, indicating that stability was OK. Next, turn on the gas and light the burner at the boiler flue. Whilst waiting for steam pressure, apply oil around the engine and make a check of all radio control functions. Once the boiler was producing some steam, although not yet at full pressure, the regulator was partially opened and the engine turned over by hand (using a paddle wheel to pull it round) to warm the cylinders and to expel condensed steam to the oil interceptor. With the normal working pressure of 15psi showing on the gauge, the engine was ready to go, but we had to wait for the safety valve to lift at 20si to check for safe correct operation. Only after the safety valve check (making sure bystanders are not crouched over the model), the model was put in the water and sailed for the first time in steam. A short video of part of this steam maiden voyage is available on YouTube by entering my user name ‘philbutton01’ in the search box and scrolling down until you find ‘John H Amos’. With the reversing valve set to ‘ahead’, the regulator was opened and the model moved off at a very slow speed and the engine gave the distinct impression that it was struggling somewhat, but the steering behaved perfectly. Speed control via the regulator worked reasonably well and the next test was to try going astern. This also worked perfectly and she also steered well whilst going astern, but unfortunately the model looked totally wrong owing to how deep she sat in the water and this struck me as a possible reason for the
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engine having a hard time, owing to the depth to which the paddle wheels were immersed. This was fixed prior to the next sailing by replacing the brass machinery plate by one from aluminium and removing the boiler feed pump and its associated pipework and water tanks to make the model float much higher in the water. The performance after these modifications was transformed, proving that the depth of paddle wheel immersion really does matter.
Practicalities Although the gas canister holds sufficient gas for around 45 minutes sailing, the model now has to be brought back after 15 minutes in order to refill the boiler with water. The timer facility built in to the Spektrum transmitter comes in very useful for this, otherwise one usually forgets all about the operating time lapse once the model is on the water. An additional problem also raised its head during this voyage. The model was returning to me at the side of the pond with the wind astern, giving off a strong smell of burning wood! A lady nearby said, ‘Is it supposed to smell like that?’ The response was, ‘No, I think its on fire’! It turned out that gas flames were coming out of some ventilation holes made in the bottom of the boiler firebox and scorching the boiler lagging. This was fixed before the next outing by simply blocking the air holes which had no discernible effect on boiler operation. Photos 24 and 25 show John H. Amos’ on the water for her maiden voyage on steam at the Sheringham boating lake and you can see that it is a little bit low in the water.
Conclusion The Graupner Glasgow kit is a great starting point for modification into virtually any other paddle tug and is also eminently suitable for live steam power, providing that you think it all out carefully before starting the project. I have had much pleasure, together with some headaches, converting the model into John H. Amos and then sailing it. I had doubts initially about installing a steam plant in a moulded plastic hull, although Graupner do sell a steam plant for it, as thoughts of a disastrous meltdown came to mind. I have to say that thus far, these fears have not come to pass. However, I did have some trouble early on in the sailings with scorching of the inside of the superstructure that was traced to gas flames coming out of air holes in the boiler firebox, so the insides
of the superstructure are now lined with litho plate (thin aluminium sheet) in the hope of reflecting the heat away. As with all of my live steamers, John H. Amos has a mind of her own and does not always do what I want. It has caused much frustration when refusing to steam (usually when there is an audience), but has also had good days. With all the trips to the lake, rebuilding and refitting she has kept me well occupied and has finally turned out to be a most satisfying model, being fun to sail and always attracting attention at the lake. Two of the most frequently asked questions at the lake are: ‘Is it actually pushed along by the paddle wheels, or have you got a propeller under there?’ and ‘How do you get that realistic steam effect out of the funnel’? I think that last comment says it all……… (Editor’s note: Phil is qualified to test his boilers, but for insurance purposes a test certificate by a third party is normally required by the MPBA and other organisations) l
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Model Boats November 2013
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Captain’s Boat JOHN MARTIN describes the Admiralty Fast Motor Boat model he built for his grandsons ollowing the success of building my firstt m radio control model, HMS Sheffield, from free plans in Model Boats, (see Model ght Boats September 2013), to be sailed by my eight oat year old grandsons, they asked for another boat so they could both sail models together. Keeping the naval theme, I decided to build a model of a ship’s motor launch, as carried on warships for transporting the captain, officerss d and VIP’s to and from the ship when anchored off-shore, or between ships at sea. ee I wanted a model that could be built in three to four weeks before the boy’s next visit, however I could not find a suitable simple plan. I wanted something similar to Vic Smeed’s 21 inch Moonmist (MM610, price £12.50 from MyHobbyStore), a very successful streamlined motorboat that has been built in high numbers and then it occurred to me that this plan could be suitably modified into something that would do very nicely. I did find a small image of a standard Admiralty Pattern 25 foot Fast Motor Boat (FMB), often used as the ‘Captain’s Boat’, which had a general arrangement profile and deck level plan and this provided the general launch shape and profile I was seeking, but did not give any detail of the hull form.
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Developing the plan From my shipbuilding background, I know that most ships are a variation of a previous ship. Ship’s hulls are often modified versions of a proven hull, with their superstructures designed to suit the operational requirements of the vessel. As mentioned earlier, Moonmist is the basis of this hull form and the model construction used the image of the FMB as guidance for the profile, cabins, and deck arrangements.
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vertical, causing minimum change to the aft hull lines. The bulkhead positions and construction methods for Moonmist were all retained. The modified stem is not an accurate ‘blunt nose’ as used on the RN launch, however it has an acceptable look as the basis for the project and being close to the proven Moonmist hull design, it should still have similar sailing qualities was my reasoning. From the small image of the FMB, I designed a cabin arrangement that would be clearly recognised as a ‘Captain’s Boat’ from its unique two cabins and forward coxswain position layout. Having modified the stem, I used the new bottom and the deck lines to determine the width of top and bottom of the bulkheads and transom, using the profile to obtain the height and the centre stem bulkhead size. Photo 1 Plans modified from Moonmist to achieve desired look.
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Moonmist is a sporty boat with a distinct sloping stem and angled transom, whereas the FMB has a fuller hull form forward, an almost straight stem and a vertical transom. So, the stem on the Moonmist plan was modified to a shallow angle by filling out the lines forward a little whilst retaining a hull shape that could be built with sheet sides. This changed the shape of the flat bottom, but retained the deck edge shape. The transom of Moonmist was changed to
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Model Boats November 2013
special feature Hull and superstructure Typical of many simplified models, the flat bottom, two bulkheads, stem piece and transom provided a simple shape that enabled a hull to be built in just a couple of hours from sheet balsawood. The hull was then coated in a standard brush-on resin and fine fibreglass cloth applied followed by a second coat of resin. The deck cabins are also simple in form with straight fronts, sides and roofs, easily constructed from balsawood sheet. The cabin window openings were cut out and clear plastic glazing cut for the windows. All the wood surfaces, including the inside of the hull, were also coated with resin. For access to the radio control equipment, motor and batteries, a hatch was created along the centre of the main deck and a removable deck section built to fit over this opening. The two main cabins and the coxswain’s steering position were built onto this removable deck. The result is a very simple model with the look of a Captain’s Boat, but with easy access to the operational items inside the hull. Modifying a proven design to obtain the desired look worked well and with a little thought and care,
this can be achieved with many other plans, whatever the ability or experience of the modeller.
Propulsion, steering and radio control Research on Moonmist recommended a 385 motor as the correct propulsion unit for this hull, so a motor, complete with mount and an electronic speed controller were purchased. As I wanted both my models to sail simultaneously when my two grandsons visit us, I used a cheap secondhand 40Mhz two channel radio system for this model and HMS
Photo 2 Moonmist basic structure is retained.
Sheffield of course uses 2.4Ghz. A seven-inch M4 (4mm threaded) propshaft was chosen, together with a flexible coupling and 30mm three bladed plastic propeller. Shaft alignment was straightforward, being just a simple hole in the bottom of the boat with a groove gouged out until a suitable shallow angle was obtained for the propshaft. Once alignment was set, the propshaft tube was secured to the hull with epoxy adhesive. A commercial rudder was purchased and a standard rudder servo is used to control steering with a single wire linkage arrangement. The internal layout is classic, with the motor
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Photo 3 A straighter stem and vertical transom produce the traditional form of a ship’s motor boat.
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Photo 4 The cabins each have simple straight fronts, sides and roofs. Photo 5 The cabins are fixed to removable one piece hatch. Photo 6 A commercial rudder, M4 (4mm) propshaft and 30mm propeller are used.
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Photo 7 The motor, battery and rudder servo are positioned along the centreline.
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forward, battery amidships and rudder servo aft, all along the centerline hopefully producing a well-trimmed boat. The battery pack is 7.2v of 2600mAh capacity and is of a stubby shape to suit the available space above the propshaft tube between the motor and rudder servo. Compartments were constructed to house the speed controller and receiver, port and starboard, midway between the battery and the motor to minimize interference, and also keeping their wires away from the rotating propshaft/motor coupling.
Photo 8 The overlay added to the forward deck.
Photo 10 The completed model - a general view, but still minus the fittings.
Finishing All the wood surfaces of the boat had been coated with brush-on resin, but the upper deck was stained before coating with it so as to look like a wooden deck! The superstructure was painted white and the hull blue, with enamels, both the chosen colours being those often used on such craft carried on warships.
Photo 9 The completed model, but still awaiting fittings.
10 9 limited to just enough to give an impression of a Captain’s Boat’ and take away the blandness of the basic model. Then, on their next visit, it was off to the lake again with the family for a sailing session as depicted here in the photographs. The boys had (and still do) a wonderful time sailing the models together, their taking turns with HMS Sheffield and the Captain’s Boat. Only battery endurance gets them to come away from the lake! Below: Sam brings the Captain’s Boat to shore, with HMS Sheffield standing by.
First sailing The model was initially launched and tested on our local model boating lake and it sailed well. The recommended 385 motor is more than adequate for the model size, as it moves at reasonable speed even when against a strong wind and choppy water. The model was very stable on its turns and ran well in a straight line, not being affected by the swell waves blowing across the lake in the wind. However, the model did look a little ‘bow down’ when sailing against the waves. Lead sheet, as sold to make fishing weights, has subsequently been added as ballast in the rudder compartment aft, which ensures the bow stays ‘up’ in most wind and wave conditions.
Further sailing by the grandsons Once proven after these initial trials, detail was added with a couple of lifebelts carved from balsa on the cabin roof, a couple of ‘horns’ also on the main cabin roof and two stubby masts with a line strung between them. Detail is
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Model Boats November 2013
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Above: The model trimmed out well with no list on initial testing.
Conclusion
gave the desired ‘stand-off’ appearance, without compromising on performance. The Moonmist model sails so well that I have now decided that it could be the basis for several models. With a good hull performance, and all of the operational gear purchased, installed and working well, it seems an unnecessary expense to re-build and re-equip another hull just to have a different model type. So, I plan to
The modified Moonmist hull with its straightened stem and square transom has a traditional and acceptable look for many ship and boat types. It was selected as the basis for the model after reading it was a very good performer and had been successfully built by numerous modellers over many years. These simple modifications to the Moonmist plan
investigate building alternative topsides on a removable deck to fit the ‘Captain’s Boat’ deck main hatch, perhaps a fishing boat, lifeboat or tug for example. Perhaps readers will be interested to see how using alternative topsides works and I will let Model Boats know in due course.
Above: Leaving the jetty on first trial sailing.
All photographs taken by author and his wife
Above: Me and my grandsons sailing the models!
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Model Boats November 2013
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warship scale
Range
Above: Glasgow Richmond MBC go to a lot of trouble to make their warship event a success. Photo 1. The dock area is large enough to enable four or five models to manoeuvre within it, whilst the rest of the lake has various features to test steering skill or just to sail around.
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DAVE WOOLEY with his Worldwide Review of Warships and Warship Modelling organised by the Scottish Model Warship Association and the Glasgow Richmond MBC. The facilities are second to none with a large clubhouse and a really efficient and cheerful café, plus the usual personal facilities and most important of all, a very nice large pond! This year there were a number of modellers attending from the Belgian club of MBV Hofstade. This group may be familiar to readers through their extraordinary diorama of the D-Day landings which is a regular feature at the Intermodellbau Show in Dortmund each April. It was the 30 or so models used in this static display that were brought by them to Glasgow.
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The event
Photo 2. The Belgium D-Day group brought along many of their working models which included this attack transport, a floating dock and tugs.
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elcome once again to our regular sortie into the world of fighting ships and this month we have Part One of a two part feature about the 2013 National Warship Weekend in Glasgow, plus Part 28 of the HMS Daring project and instead of the usual Mystery picture teaser, there is ‘Tools for the Job’.
National Warship Weekend
Now in its sixth year and for the last three it has been at Richmond Park in Glasgow, this is now firmly in the calendar as one of the best attended model warship events in the UK. Richmond Park is within easy distance of Glasgow City Centre and only five minutes from junction 1A on the M74. The event is
There is no fixed format or timetable for how the two days progress, a gathering of like minded enthusiasts being the name of the game. Having said that, there was a competition for static models (i.e. on the stand) and on the water, but entry is not obligatory. A large dock area was provided and for this year a minefield which attracted more than just the models, Photo 1. Part of the D-Day theme brought along by the Belgian modellers, were the pontoons and one of these was used to good effect, alongside the attack transport Montrose. Two 1:96 scale tugs manoeuvred the models to enable stores of timber to be offloaded, Photos 2 and 3.
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Photo 3. The floating dock was manoeuvred alongside the attack transport for off-loading timber.
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Model Boats November 2013
warship scale
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Photo 7. HMCS Athabaskan is an attractive Canadian destroyer, semi-scratch built by Steve Huston. Photo 8. The Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto.
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David Jack’s model of the heavy flak Seibel ferry has been featured before, but I think Photo 4 is well worth including, if only because of the angle from which it is taken. USS Wolverine first appeared, but unfinished, at the 2009 National Warship Weekend. Douglas Kinloch from the Edinburgh MBC now brought along his completed 1:144 scale model of this WW2 paddle wheel propelled carrier pilot training ship. She was converted from the side wheeler Seeandbee and operated on Lake Michigan from 1943 until 1945. Together with her sister ship USS Sable, she possessed no hangar and was slow. The model is 100% scratch built and is shown here with Wildcat and Hellcat fighters on her flight deck, Photo 5. Basic US Navy pilot training was carried out on these aircraft carriers on the US Great Lakes and it is said that there are numerous examples of WW2 aircraft littering the lake bottoms! Gary Mills is building a semi-scratch model of the armed trawler The Three Kings FY918, based on a Mountfleet Models Britannia hull.
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This model can be seen here in the background of Photo 6 and it makes an interesting comparison with Osprey in the foreground. This is a really interesting conversion with more details and pictures to follow next month.
Canadian warship models Many models at this event are to a scale of 1:72 and the model of the Iroquois class destroyer HMCS Athabaskan was but one example. This is a new project by Steve
Huston of the Scottish Model Warship Association and is almost complete but for some radar arrays and is based on a GRP hull and drawings provided by Jonathan Evans of Canada. Having recently been aboard HMCS Iroquois, this makes for an interesting model, Photo 7. Also from Steve Huston, was this 1:72 scale HMCS Toronto, a Halifax class frigate, Photo 8. Drawings and hull and fittings were supplied by Jonathan Evans once again, email: [email protected].
Photo 4. David Jack sailed his superb Seibel ferry. Photo 5. USS Wolverine is a paddle wheel driven US Navy Great Lakes training aircraft carrier.
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Photo 6. In the background is the incomplete armed trawler The Three Kings FY918, based on a Mountfleet Models hull and in the foreground is an example from the classic Mountfleet Models armed drifter kit, Osprey.
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warship scale
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Photo 9. A 1:96 scale HMS Lord Nelson built by David Hamilton of Edinburgh MBC.
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14 Photo 10. This is a scratch built model of a Leichte Schnellboote (small torpedo boat) that was carried on the German surface raider Michel during WW2.
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Photo 14. In the Pacific during WW2, special paint schemes were used to reduce a vessels’ visibility when seen from the air.
HMS Lord Nelson
Not all models are of modern warships as this 1:96 scale pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Lord Nelson, Photo 9, built by David Hamilton of the Edinburgh MBC, clearly demonstrates. This is a particularly well-detailed model with a ‘distinctive’ presence on the water. Its 1:96 scale hull is available from Fleetscale, website: www.fleetscale. com, and normally retails for around £115.
Kriegsmarine small attack craft
David Jack is a prolific builder of German coastal force vessels, many of which are unusual and unheard of until David appears with his latest model. On this occasion it was a model of a Leichte Schnellboot (small torpedo boat) that was carried on the German surface raider Michel during WW2, Photo 10.
Other models Photo 11. A short forecastle Flower class corvette HMCS Agassiz built by John Macalister.
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At Richmond Park was this very nice all scratch built model of the short forecastle Flower class corvette HMCS Agassiz, built by
John Macalister, Photo 11. Hospital ship models are rare and Photo 12 is of one from the Belgian modellers and it is based on a Deans Marine hull and fittings. Rex Hunt is well known for his model of HMS Hermes as of 1982 and he had travelled from Norwich. This was the first time I have had the opportunity to photograph the model ‘at sea’, and what a magnificent sight it was, Photo 13! Rex has spent some years building this model and to also reach this level of authenticity on the water is a real achievement. The next picture is of a WW2 Fletcher class destroyer, Photo 14, and although this model has no pennant number, the colour scheme is the distinctive US Navy Measure 21 (or Navy Blue System) when all the vertical surfaces of the hull and upperworks were painted Navy Blue 5-N. This model is based on the Deans Marine 1:96 scale Fletcher class kit and was, once again, brought along by our Belgian friends. The Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided missile frigates make for an interesting project. Having recently visited
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Photo 12. The Belgian D-Day Group showed what can be done using a Deans Marine hull and fittings for this hospital ship. Photo 13. Rex Hunt has produced not just a very well researched Falklands period HMS Hermes, but it is a stunningly realistic model when on the water.
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Model Boats November 2013
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one of the type, I was pleased to see that there were no less than two 1:72 scale models at this event, one of which was USS McClusky FFG-41, Photo 15. Scales and types of vessels varied, but certain models caught my eye and I was intrigued by this USN sub chaser, SC 1441, Photo 16. The original was 136ft long, built at Harbour Boat Company Terminal Island in California and entered service in April 1944. Another new model was the four stack (funnel) USS Aaron Ward being built by Stewart Lachie. He is probably best known to readers as the builder of a 1:72 scale KM Bismarck featured in the review of the 2010 Warship Weekend. The USS Aaron Ward is all scratch built to a scale of 1:72. I note that this four stacker is not listed in Silverstone’s US Warships of WW2, therefore I assume that it must be one of the 50 lend-lease destroyers transferred to the Royal Navy in 1940 and this is confirmed by reference to ‘A Dictionary of Ships of the Royal Navy of the Second World War’ by John Young. USS Aaron Ward was built at Bath Iron Works, launched in 1919 and on transfer was renamed HMS Castleton. Often referred to as the Flush Deck Class, these warships were real workhorses and were converted to perform many different roles, including minelaying and high speed transports. According to Arnold Hague’s excellent book ‘The Towns’, the ship’s bell of Aaron Ward was handed over in 1950 to the town of Castleton Vermont as a gesture of appreciation, Photo 17.
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And to end this month? Not all the models were large, and here is an American harbour tug helping HMS Edinburgh, no doubt on a courtesy visit to the USA, Photo 18! To finish off this Part One, here is a picture of two NATO warships in company on the water, Photo 19. These last two pictures perhaps show what the event is all about, that is to say, enthusiasts showing their models and sailing together in a convivial atmosphere - what more could you want? In the December issue of MB, there will be a detailed review of the models on display highlighting a number of current unusual model projects.
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1:72 scale HMS Daring Type 45 destroyer - Part 28
VLS housing and liferafts When building any model there are two primary sources of information, namely plans and photographs and sometimes these can be in conflict. This not because they’re in any way deficient, but it’s more a lack of precise knowledge at the time the drawings are
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Photo 15. The 1:72 scale Oliver Perry class USS McClusky FFG-41, makes for a fine, stable model. Photo 16, The sub chaser SC1441 - a nice subject and a bit different from the norm’. Photo 17. These old WW1 destroyers proved their worth in both US Navy and RN service in WW2. This particular 1:72 scale example of USS Aaron Ward is still being superbly built by Stewart Lachie and he has I believe even conducted trials on Loch Lomond! Photo 18. Tugs come in all shapes and sizes! Photo 19. Sailing as a team: The stretched Type 42 destroyer HMS York D98 in company with HMCS Toronto.
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Photo 20. Each side of the VLS housing on HMS Daring is different. This is a view of the starboard face. Photo 21. The forward facing slope of the VLS housing and this shows how the middle access panel is slightly smaller than the outer two. Photo 22. The VLS housing was sanded smooth externally with 1mm thickness styrene sheet in preparation for re-siting the access panels. Photo 23. At the top of this picture are the shaped 0.5mm litho plate access panels and in the lower half are some of the fittings. Photo 24. Each panel is fixed into place using a cyanoacrylate metal adhesive. Photo 25. Photographs were used to precisely locate the new panels on the VLS housing.
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prepared or if the pictures were taken in a different time frame. Fleetscale supply a well-moulded VLS (Vertical Launch System) housing and it is excellent and its surface features conform to the drawing. However, when referencing pictures there is a conflict, as the large panels surrounding three of its sides are different to those on the drawing and on the moulding, so what to do? The answer was to sand away the detail on the front and the port and starboard side sloping faces, and then cover all these surfaces with 1mm styrene sheet. This course of action had the penalty of increasing the overall length and width of the housing slightly, but it allowed each of the large panels to be reset as per the pictures. This was not one of those pedantic whims, but a real problem of having conformity to HMS Daring as she actually was at the time of my photographs.
Identifying the problem Both the moulding and drawing show three similar size panels on both port and starboard
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faces, but pictures reveal that on the starboard side, Photo 20, there are only two, whilst to port there are three, with the smaller of the three nearest the bridge, whilst the forward face, Photo 21, shows that there is a distinct gap between each panel with the centre panel being of a reduced width. With this information, work could begin on redefining the VLS housing moulding. First, and whilst referencing the pictures, the size and position of the panels were drawn on the freshly styrene laminated sides. The location of the electrical boxes, lighting, speakers and other fittings could be left until the basic changes had been made, Photo 22.
Making and fitting the panels Each panel is flush with the outer surface and on the moulding (as supplied) these are shown as distinct raised surfaces. I opted to repeat this (which is not strictly correct), but using thin litho plate as this will show the panel to best effect without giving the
impression of too much depth and of course it’s easier to fit the panel to the surface rather that etch the panel into the styrene surface laminate. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the entire VLS housing reduces slightly in height along its length from the back to the front, so this affects the shape of both port and starboard panels as they run parallel with the upper and lower edges. Templates were made which made preparing the final litho plate cut pieces much less problematic, Photo 23. With the panels cut and shaped, these could now be glued into place starting with the forward face of the housing and for this I used cyanoacrylate ‘metal’ adhesive. This is an excellent glue for bonding small sections of litho plate, but care is needed as once in position there is very little time to make adjustments, Photo 24. Next came the two starboard side panels and please note how the top of each panel remains parallel with the top and lower edges of the housing, Photo 25.
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Photo 26. To port, there are three panels with the smallest one towards the rear of the housing.
The port side panelling, Photo 26, is as already mentioned, positioned differently. The three new panels were now be fitted to the port side of the VLS housing, Photo 27.
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Fittings Once the revised panels were in place, the various electrical boxes etc. could be fitted, On the starboard face of the VLS housing, there are (as already mentioned) two panels with the space nearest the bridge occupied by some electrical fittings. These were made from an assortment of Evergreen styrene box section, with nickel silver and/or brass wire, creating the cable conduits, Photo 28. On the front face, there are oval shaped inspection hatches and bulkhead lights, together with two speaker units and a control box, Photo 29. With the port, starboard and forward faces prepared, attention could shift to the rear face. Here it became obvious it was necessary to clad this surface in the same way as the others, so the vents and openings could be adjusted to match those in the photographs, Photo 30. With the VLS housing now virtually complete, attention could shift to the racks supporting the liferaft containers.
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Liferaft stowage racks HMS Daring, at time of her commissioning, carried eight stowage racks for single liferaft containers mounted along the main deck inside of the bulwarks and a further two dual container storage racks sited either side of the hangar front. These are basically quite simple as locking pins retaining the relevant section of bulwark can be removed, thus allowing it to drop down and the liferaft container to be released over the side. The stowage racks are of a steel fabricated framework and the liferaft container itself rests on two lengths of timber which in turn are fitted to right angle flange pieces. Each length of timber is shaped to conform to the circumference of the container, Photo 31. Like all modern liferaft containers, they can be manually released or operate using a hydrostatic valve which is just visible at the rear of the device. The steel frames forming the stowage racks are permanently fixed to the deck.
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Making the stowage racks This is a straightforward task and all eight were made in about two hours. The basic design was sketched and the five main parts cut from 1mm styrene sheet. These parts consisted of the base 15mm x 12mm, and the sides, each having a section removed with the inboard ends sloping outwards from the base. The back support is a U-shaped vertical section and the front piece was cut to a depth that allowed the flange piece to seat inboard and flush with each side, Photo 32. With the basic unit prepared, the top flange piece and box section styrene strip to form the timber support for the container, were cut to size for all eight racks (of which only seven are shown here), Photo 33. The flange piece is fitted inboard and flush with the top edge, now leaving only the
Photo 27. The three panels on the port side of the VLS housing are fixed into place. Photo 28. Using 0.31mm nickel silver wire from Albion Alloys, this forms the electrical conduits for the various boxes on the blank section of the starboard face of the VLS housing. Photo 29. The various bulkhead fittings are being added. Photo 30. The after face of the VLS housing has an assortment of inspection hatches, panels, vent grills and a ladder. Photo 31. Inboard of the bulwarks are eight liferaft containers mounted on fixed chutes/frames. Photo 32. The basic mounting frames can be made using just five parts. Photo 33. Using the same method, all eight chutes can be assembled.
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Photo 34. Styrene strip was used to make the Inside flange pieces. Photo 35. Styrene box section strip is used to form the timber seating for the container and was then shaped to form a semi-circular cutout in which the container rests.
Photo 36. About Easter 2013 and nearly all the construction work is complete. Photo 37. Albion Alloys now retail this Flexible Detail Sanding Kit. Photo 38. The Flexible Detail Sanding Kit will be very handy for lots of good and practical reasons.
styrene box section container support to be fitted, Photo 34. This box section is fitted to the top of the flange piece and was adjusted to coincide with the edge of the outer rings surrounding the container, thus allowing the container to seat nicely on it all. In Photo 35, (where we once again have all eight racks!), it’s worth noting that the third frame along the front row has already been sanded to match the circumference of the container in very much the same way as the original.
Progress to date It has been many months since I showed a full hull picture and this Photo 36 is one of the few pictures where much of the superstructure has been fitted. During the construction period, it is rare to have so much of the model in place, even temporarily, as many of the completed parts are stored ‘off the model’ for their own protection. This picture is not truly up to date, but does give an impression of progress as of Easter 2013. The remaining descriptive parts of this project will concentrate on painting the model and its final assembly, including signage and markings with many new items from BECC Flags.
Tools for the job? Many readers will be familiar with the name of Albion Alloys and their extensive range of precision tube, wire and section in brass, copper and alloy. They also market precision abrasives and suitable tools especially designed for the model maker, so I’m going to take a look at one of these products, namely a fully waterproof flexible detailing sanding kit. As some will know through the pages of this magazine, I have been
keen to promote the use of simple self-designed tools to function as ‘little helpers’ that extend one’s capability to sand into places other conventional tool do not reach or just to make the task easier. Albion Alloys have recently produced such a sanding device that most certainly helps the model maker. Basically, the new sander kit consists of a rubber applicator/holder, 50mm by 15mm wide, that is rounded at each end and comes complete with a selection of self-abrasive pads. Removal of the self-adhesive protection means the abrasive can be stuck to the underside of the applicator. It can be used wet or dry and the abrasive pads vary from 800 grade very fine to very coarse. In short, the Albion Alloys sanding device works really well on both small and large items, dry or wet. The kit retails at around £7.50 and can be obtained via selected model shops or: www.emodels.co.uk.
Answer to the October MB Mystery Picture
The clue was: Could this be one of the largest radio controlled ships ever built? As Mystery Pictures go, it was a relatively easy one because of its very distinctive appearance and the ship’s links with the rise of the German Navy prior to WW1. It was of course SMS Zahringen. With the 100th Anniversary of the start of the First World War coming in August 2014, there will no doubt be a considerable amount of discussion as to the reasons for the conflict. There is still a debate amongst historians as to the ‘whys and wherefores’, but many agree that naked naval ambition was a driving force at that time. It was the desire of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Alfred Von Tirpitz Secretary of State for the German Navy, from1892 to create a navy that was strong enough to match that of the Royal Navy. Before 1900, the Royal Navy was the largest in the world and Tirpitz saw that the growing industrial might of Germany could provide a challenge to it and by implication, challenge Great Britain’s imperial position. From 1898 onwards, laws were passed that set in train not just the development direction of the then Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) but would lead inevitably towards conflict with Great Britain. The Wittelsbach class of battleships were the first to be ordered under the new naval strategy with the third of the class being SMS Zahringen, laid down in 1899 at the Friedrich
Krupp Germaniawerft (often just called Germaniawerft, ‘Germania shipyard’) which was a German shipbuilding company located in the harbour at Kiel. Completion was on 25th October 1902 and by the standards of the day these ships were at a disadvantage when compared to RN pre-dreadnoughts particularly in their main armament of 4 x 240mm and the secondary battery of 18 x 150mm guns. Displacing 12798 tons and having three propshafts and six boilers, the engines developed around 15000hp which gave a top end speed of 18 knots, similar in performance to one of the RN Formidable class battleships of that time. The pace of technological change was so rapid that before 1914 SMS Zahringen was considered obsolete as were many of the pre-dreadnought battleships of both Great Britain and Germany, so SMS Zahringen was then use for training and later as a target ship. After the end of WW1, Germany was restricted in the number of warships she could have, so in 1926 the Reichsmarine (Imperial Navy - the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany), converted the now hulked SMS Zahringen into one of the first radio controlled target ships.
References and acknowledgements
Naval colour schemes Fletcher class destroyers ref: Naval Camouflage 1914 to 1945 by David Williams, pages 168 to 170. Sub chaser SC1441 ref: US Warships of WW2, Paul H. Silverstone, page 254. USS Aaron Ward/HMS Castleton ref: The Towns by Arnold Hague, pages 39 and 40 and A Dictionary of Ships of the Royal Navy, page 51. SMS Zahringen ref: Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1860 to 1905, page 248. German Naval Laws ref: The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, page 871. My continuing thanks to the Commanding Officer and Ship’s Company of HMS Daring for their help and valued assistance during my visits. My thanks to the organisers and members of the Scottish Model Warship Association and Glasgow Richmond MBC for their hospitality when making my visit to the National Warship Weekend. l
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plastic magic
HMS Hood PLASTIC MAGIC !
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exploded. The subsequent loss of HMS Hood had a profound effect on the British people and Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the Royal Navy to ‘Sink the Bismarck’, which was duly fulfilled on 26/27th May 1941.
The model
TONY DALTON converts the 1:400 scale Lindberg kit to radio control
H
MS Hood, Photo 1, was the last battle cruiser built for the Royal Navy and was commissioned in 1920. She was named after the well known 18th century Admiral Samuel Hood (1st Viscount Hood). HMS Hood operated in WW2 and was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. She was one of four Admiral-class battle cruisers ordered in mid-1916 and her design, although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved whilst under construction, had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be completed. HMS Hood was involved in a number of showing the flag exercises between her commissioning in 1920 and the outbreak of WW2 in 1939, as well as training exercises in the Mediterranean and a circumnavigation of the globe with the Special Service Squadron in 1923 and 1924. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, HMS Hood was officially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet
until she had to return to Britain in 1939 for an overhaul, as by this time advances in naval gunnery had reduced HMS Hood’s usefulness. She was scheduled to undergo a major refit in 1941 to correct these issues, but the outbreak of WW2 in September 1939 forced the ship to continue in service without the proposed upgrades. When war with Germany was declared, HMS Hood was operating in the area around Iceland, and she spent the next few months between Iceland and the Norwegian Sea hunting for German commerce raiders and blockade runners. After a brief overhaul of her propulsion system, she sailed as flagship of Force H, and participated in the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir. Relieved as flagship of Force H, HMS Hood was dispatched to Scapa Flow, and operated in the area as a convoy escort and later as a defence against a potential German invasion fleet. In May 1941, she and the battleship HMS Prince of Wales were ordered to intercept the German battleship KM Bismarck which was en-route to the Atlantic where she was to attack convoys. On 24th May 1941, early in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, HMS Hood was struck by several German shells which
This HMS Hood plastic kit was purchased at the 2010 St. Albans Model Engineering Exhibition and as like all things, it seemed like a good idea at the time! After a few weeks sitting on the shelf (the kit not me!), I decided to take a closer look. Checking the internet for information about the kit resulted in finding a number of very scathing reviews suggesting that it lacked a lot of detail, so being extremely disappointed the kit went back onto the shelf. It was some three years later, having built the 1:700 scale Bismarck (MB May 2013) that the urge to do something with it came about again. The good thing about the model is its size, as at 1:400 scale the finished model is about 28 inches (71cm) long, so is large enough to be sailed on the Luton & District MBC lake on reasonably calm days. The kit as supplied in the box is shown in Photo 2. All the parts were checked to confirm that they were present and correct and in fact it appeared that there were actually more than was required. The entire kit as supplied is shown in Photo 3. It is a fairly simple kit and to enhance its appearance I planned to add a ‘wooden’ deck, radio controlled internal cabin and navigation lights using small surface mount LED’s, plus of course powering ALL four propellers using four small motors controlled by a single electronic speed controller (esc).
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Some experiments were carried out using a small motor that was to hand by making up a small shaft and running tube, including one of the kit supplied HMS Hood propellers. This was mounted as an assembly complete with motor into a test jig, Photo 4. Applying 3.6 volts of power to the motor and immersing the propeller in some water, I then measured the current, which was greater than the motor’s published performance limits. Browsing the Precision Microdrives website to see which suitable motors they had available, I selected a type that I thought would be suitable and ordered four of them. On receipt of the motors, one was assembled into the test jig again and powered-up. It proved to be satisfactory, the maximum current now being well within the published specification. Next, attention turned to the hull and on inspection, I noticed that there was a provision for a single propeller shaft on the centreline of the hull, Photo 5, and on checking the instructions, there was indeed no reference to this particular feature. In fact there were quite a few parts that looked as if they were intended to be used to make the model into a child’s floating toy, so these were discarded and the project continued as intended. However, before all of that, a decent stand was required. This was made out of some scrap bits of fibre board (MDF) and softwood strips, the edges mating to the hull being lined with green felt, Photo 6. When inspecting the hull, there did not appear to be a bulges on the outside of the hull where the armour belts would have been, so this was corrected by making two shaped spacer pieces out of foam board as in Photo 7. These were bonded to the sides of the hull, epoxy filler added to the edges and when cured, profiled to the hull as in Photo 8. The rudder and propeller shafts I manufactured myself, the plastic kit rudder also being discarded. The four propeller shafts and running tubes together with four flexible couplings and modification of the outer propeller shaft supports are as follows: Propshafts: 1.2mm dia. Silver steel threaded M1.2 at each end. Propellers: The plastic kit propellers were drilled and tapped M1.2 then screwed to the propeller shaft ends and bonded. Running tubes: 2.4mm dia. x 1.6 i.d. brass tube bushed at both ends then drilled 1.2mm to suit the propeller shafts.
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Shaft bearing supports: Existing supports bushed with 1.5mm brass tubing and drilled out 1.2mm to suit the propeller shafts.
Rudder down tube: 4mm dia. brass tubing (3mm i.d.) 18mm long. All these completed and assembled items are shown in Photo 9.
Flex-couplings: Plastic tubing with brass bushes inserted at both ends. One bush drilled and tapped M1.2 at one end and the other bush plane drilled 1.0mm at its motor end to suit.
Power and propulsion
Rudder blade: 0.8mm thick brass sheet profiled to size. The plastic rudder discarded was discarded. Rudder shaft: 3mm dia. brass bar slotted at one end to suit the rudder blade and tapped M2.5 at the other end to suit the tiller arm.
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First, the kit of parts for the Action R/C Electronics speed controller (esc) were assembled, Photo 10. It had been purchased in component form as this is cheaper, but also because I was not convinced that when fully
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assembled and boxed that it would fit inside the hull of the model, but as it turned out it did fit without any problem. The plan was to use a printed circuit board on which to mount the esc, as this would be helpful to connect the four pairs of motor wires to the single esc output and also
connect the battery supply plus a switch to the input side. The board was made from a piece of copper laminate, machined on the copper side to form the tracking. Photo 11 shows the connections of the receiver, LiPo battery and the esc with all four motors being tested.
A plan was drawn to show how all the component parts of the control system would fit into the hull. Although the motor testing was done using a small LiPo batter y, in practice six AA size 2900mAh NiMH batteries would be used and Photo 12 shows the final central internal layout inside the hull. Having decided to do this, and as the motors run from a maximum of three volts, a voltage regulator would be required, but I should also mention that the superstructure would have cabin and navigation lights, so the simple schematic electrical diagram for all of this is shown in Photo 13. The four propeller shafts were individually aligned and their entry holes drilled into the base of the one piece hull and the plastic rudder tube drilled out and a brass version inserted and bonded into place. The bulkheads were temporarily fitted and marked as to where the motor shafts should be and they were then removed and drilled to
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accept the motor fixings. The propeller shafts, couplings and motors were then finally assembled into the hull and set up, and when satisfactory alignment was achieved, the motor bulkheads were bonded into position. Once these were fully-set, the propshaft running tubes were bonded into position in the hull using Milliput Plastic Epoxy. The assembled motors and propshafts can be seen in Photos 14 and 15.
Hull bulkheads and dividers The next step was to make up the bulkhead and divider arrangement as indicated earlier (please see photo 12 again) and this was created from 1.5mm thick plasticard (styrene). First, the full-width bulkheads were made to fit the hull at their particular fitting points then the rest of the assembly was made up and glued together, including the bulkheads,
Model Boats November 2013
all as a sub-assembly on the bench. When the glued assembly was thoroughly dry it was sanded down and trimmed to fit snugly inside the hull and once a satisfactory fit had been achieved, it was bonded into place, the servo mounting platform made up to suit the micro-servo, and the complete assembly screwed down into place across the two bulkheads. One requirement was to be able to remove the aft deck area to gain access to the rudder and its linkage, so the inside top edge of the whole hull was lined with strips of plasticard to create a ledge. This gave the main deck a larger area to which it could be bonded and it also enabled the aft deck to have a surface for screw attachments. With all this now fitted and glued in the hull, the electronics could be installed. The six AA size rechargeable batteries were connected together to produce two ‘torpedo style’ sets of three. Small strips of copper foil were soldered to the terminals of each set of three batteries and long lengths of thin silicone wire coupled the two sets together and a connection to the regulator PCB. Each set of three batteries was placed along opposing sides of the hull. The regulator, receiver and esc were all wired together and placed in their respective compartments within the hull.
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When the electronic switch for the lighting was tested, it was found not to work on 3.3 volts. This was due to the output switching transistor whose specification indicated that it required at least 4.5 volts. On investigation. I found a small switching transistor, 2N700, that would operate down to 3.3 volts, but this particular transistor would only switch up to 200mA and with the quantity of LED’s expected to be used in the superstructure, this amperage would be insufficient. Therefore, this particular electronic switch would have to be used to drive a relay, which in turn would switch on/off the LED lighting in the superstructure, but at a higher current. So, a relay PCB was duly designed, which would also contain the series resistors for the LED’s. This relay board was made and tested and would be fitted into the base of the superstructure later. A picture of the completed wired hull is shown in Photo 16, where you can also see the wide deck edge stringers for the removable quarter deck section and those for the fixed main deck.
Decks The next step was to modify and fit these. As it was intended to cover the decks with simulated wood planking, it was necessary to machine (or sand) away all the detail moulding on these decks.
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Painting
Prior to doing this, each plastic deck was scanned to copy their profiles and the existing deck detail for future reference. Having done this, most of the plastic deck detail was machined (sanded) away, just leaving the circular mouldings on the fore and aft decks that indicated the positions of the main turret barbettes, Photo 17. The aft deck then had a 2mm high edge piece glued to the inside of the superstructure opening to hopefully prevent water ingress. Once the glue was dry, this deck was placed into position on the hull and held in place using masking tape. The top edge of the deck was marked where the securing screws should be positioned and these points drilled through the deck into the deck edge stringers. These holes were then tapped 12BA. The complete deck was later repositioned on the hull and screwed down using 12BA washers and cheese head screws. Okay, not perfect, but practical! The main forward deck section was also modified in a similar way by having a 2mm high edge glued to the inside of the superstructure opening. Once dry, a small slot was cut just above the front of the opening to fit the power control switch, Photo 18. This main deck section was then further sanded around its underside edges to aid adhesion, glue applied and the whole thing placed onto the hull and held in position with masking tape and weights. Once the glue was fully cured, the deck was sanded around its edges until they matched the hull’s top edge profile.
The hull was now ready for final finishing and as it had been rubbed down with fairly coarse sandpaper, it was given three coats of Eze-Kote. This is a single coat laminating/finishing resin and although milky white in appearance it does dr y clear and hard. Once the third coat was dr y, the hull was sanded using wet and dr y paper until a blemish free finish was obtained. The deck openings were covered and the complete hull spray painted with Halfords grey primer, repeated three times until the desired finish was achieved, this colour being a reasonable approximation to warship grey. The upper part of the hull was then masked to leave the section below the waterline which was sprayed with two coats of Halfords Red Oxide primer. All the masking was then removed and after a couple of days to let the paint fully harden, it was masked again leaving a small gap for the waterline which was now hand painted matt black. Once the masking was finally removed, the complete hull was sprayed with clear enamel satin varnish providing a nice overall finish and a seal for the colour coats, Photo 19.
Wood decks The decks had previously been scanned, so these were printed at 1:1 ratio as copies of the fore and aft decks, trimmed to size and they
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became the templates for cutting out the simulated wood decking which had been purchased from White Ensign Models in self-adhesive sheet form. Once cut out, these pieces were offered up to the plastic sub-decks, trimmed to fit around the deck openings and barbettes, and then applied. So now, HMS Hood had good representations of her wooden deck areas. From the original scans of the decks there was sufficient detail to now make the two pairs of breakwaters, bollards, deck lockers and capstans etc., all of which which were bonded into position on the imitation wood deck. The anchors were trimmed at their bases, painted black, glued and screwed (12BA) to the side of the hull, and finally anchor chains were added, Photo 20.
Superstructure The first deck level of the superstructure was scanned in the same way as the main decks, this being because an image of this deck would be required as part of it would also be covered by imitation wood planking. Small holes were drilled in the vertical sides of the superstructure for portholes. The windows for the rangefinder platform and the bridge were also made, first by cutting a 2mm slot in the respective parts for the windows and then slotting in and bonding some 2mm thick Perspex sheet for the glazing. Once the glue was dry, the surplus external Perspex was sanded away with wet and dry paper to match the outer profile of the parts, Photo 21.
Illumination All the LED’s for illumination were to be surface mount type 0804 (this means that they measure 0.08 inches x 0.04 inches) and single strand wires (0.007 inch dia.) were soldered to each side of their bodies, Photo 22. A cut-out was machined in the aft area of the base superstructure that gave open access to the inner workings of the ship. A small box
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section was then made, that fitted behind this cut-out into which an LED had been fitted to illuminate this area, Photo 23. To get illumination as close to the portholes as possible so that light would shine out, small internal bulkheads were made on which the LED’s were mounted and these were placed behind the areas in which the portholes had been drilled in the superstructure, Photo 24. The stern light would normally be fitted at the rear of the ship, but this would mean an extra pair of wires being routed through the hull to the relay control PCB. A bit of modeller’s licence was therefore used to make up a housing with an LED that would fit on an elevated deck area behind the aft rangefinder, Photo 25. An LED was also glued to the back edge of each of the Perspex windows that had been fitted to the forward main control tower and bridge, the wires being run down the support girders to the inside of the superstructure. The area around the base of the bridge control tower was modified as it was found that it had a deck missing. This was made with two small housings underneath for port and starboard navigation lights, Photo 26.
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plastic magic
Finishing off The scan of the superstructure deck previously taken was now printed out at a 1:1 ratio and used as a template to cut the self-adhesive wood planking to the required shape, in the same way as for the main decks. This was offered up to the superstructure and trimmed to the final shape before being finally positioned. The superstructure and its fittings were now painted with the Halfords aerosol grey primer as for the hull, sealed with satin clear varnish and finally assembled. The relay PCB was fitted below the funnel base and conning tower section and all the LED lights had their wires routed and connected to the relay board that also housed the series resistors for them, Photo 27. Portholes were glazed using thin strips of clear plastic sheet glued to the inside outer vertical faces of the superstructure using aeromodeller’s clear canopy glue. The mainmast (aft) was assembled including its associated crane with thin single strand wire for the hoist ropes, which was painted before being glued into position, as in Photo 28. Please note in this picture the self-adhesive planked deck, which really is quite realistic and on which there are two steam pinnaces besides other ship’s boats. Two of the larger examples of boat in the kit were modified by machining their decks level and then having a cabin, pulpit and funnel added to them from small pieces of plasticard. Any remaining fittings were then prepared, painted and assembled into the model. Finally the rigging was added; nothing too clever, it being just a few strands of black cotton between the masts to product the right effect and Photo 29 is of HMS Hood ready for sea!
Model Boats November 2013
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www.modelboats.co.uk
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plastic magic
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On the water and conclusion The on the water pictures were taken by Dave Thompson, a fellow member of Luton and District MBC. The model looks good on the water, Photo 30, and okay, it is not suitable for a windy or rough day at the pond, but it is a nice
convenient size, conveys the ‘majesty’ of a battle cruiser and has been an interesting and rewarding challenge to build, particularly having four driven propshafts and numerous LED’s. There are numerous unbuilt and often discontinued kits to found at car boot sales
and on Bring & Buy stalls. Many of these have potential to be converted into radio control models and will give as much pleasure as purchasing a traditional, but far more expensive, model boat kit. So, keep an eye open for bargains! l
Supplier data
HMS Hood kit: Electric motors: Speed controller: Batteries: Micro-servo: Eze-Kote:
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Lindberg, from Bring & Buy stall Precision Microdrives Component Shop (previously ACTion R/C Electronics) Component Shop Steve Webb Models Deluxe Materials
www.modelboats.co.uk
Model Boats November 2013
Newly Translated! Text and photos by Donald Dressel
NEW
From the newly restored Navy Model Room of The Netherlands national treasure, the Rijksmuseum.
N
ewly translated from the Dutch version, Ab Hoving takes you through the modeling exhibits in the newly restored Navy Model Room of The Netherlands national treasure, the Rijksmuseum. Ab spent 29 years as head model maker and restorer of this collection and he has picked some of his favorites to show in text and over 350 color photos. Come and see the treasures selected for you from one of the world’s great maritime historians and model maker.
F E AT U R E S 246 pages 350+ color photos Cloth bound
$68 Shipping $9 US / $18 Canada $25 all other locations Order by phone or online.
Dust jacket Large 8x10 format
SeaWatchBooks, llc
• 19 Sea Watch Place, Florence, OR 97439 • [email protected]
PHONE:
541-997-4439 FAX: 541-997-1282
SEAWATCHBOOKS.COM
history
Right: Pre-war issues of Ships and Ship Models all looked like this. Far right: The revived magazine, August 1948 issue.
Flotsam
&Jetsam
JOHN PARKER delves into the archives
8: Ships and Ship Models
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he London-based publishers, Percival Marshall and Company Limited, became well known for their wide range of technical and hobby publications, including the long-running Model Engineer magazine founded in 1898 (now published by MyTimeMedia). Their monthly magazine ‘Ships and Ship Models’ was described as, ‘A Magazine for all Lovers of Ships and the Sea’, and working back from the volume and issue numbers in my collection suggests that the first edition appeared in September 1931. At the time there was little in the way of regular reading available to marine modellers, with Hutchinson’s Marine Models providing perhaps the only competition. Much of the content initially came in the form of marine articles transferred from Model Engineer and the magazine adopted a small format of 230mm x 150mm with around 32 pages. Apart from the issue number and date, the cover never changed from month to month and featured a line drawing of a square-rigged sailing ship. Advertising was limited to the remaining inside and back panels of the cover, with Bassett-Lowke Limited being one of the regulars. Many of the issues that I possess, include a loose single page supplement in the form of a ship photo or line work drawing. The content consists mainly of historical articles on traditional sailing ships, developments in merchant and naval shipping and sketchbook notes on making details for models. For example, the September 1935 issue describes a visit to the barque
Ships and Ship Models. The decorative early masthead.
Masthead of the renamed magazine.
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www.modelboats.co.uk
Model Boats November 2013
history
Far left: Radio control contributor F C Judd pictured at the Round Pond, Kensington, on the cover of the March 1952 issue. Left: A fine model tug on the revised cover style of the November 1953 issue – mind that cigarette ash! Below: The final issue, December 1956.
Olivebank, the story of the first crossing of the Atlantic by steamship, an exhibition of marine paintings and general shipping news, with only a few pages on modelling. The price was six pence (equivalent to around £1.35 today) with an annual subscription costing seven shillings and sixpence. The magazine continued in this way until April 1940, when it ceased publication in the face of wartime paper shortages. Its revival came in January 1948, with Edward Bowness as the editor and a change of name to Model Ships and Power Boats. These early post-war issues, published at a time when paper restrictions were still in force, are some of the smallest and most insubstantial monthly magazines I have ever come across. They were the same cover size as their pre-war counterparts, but have a page count of just 16, with just the last of these now given over to advertising. The paper is so thin that scanning the masthead tends to reveal not just the reverse side of that page, but the front of the following page as well, the complete magazine weighing in at just 22 grams! Despite the space restrictions, the modelling content was increased and each issue had its own black and white photographic cover image. The numbering began again with the January 1948 issue as Vol. 1, No. 1. With some signs of post-war recovery underway, the magazine increased its size to 247mm x 184mm in March 1950, accompanied by a doubling of the price to one shilling. Due to wartime inflation, this didn’t represent much of a real increase over the original price, and is equivalent to around £1.40 today. The page count was now 20 and drawings could at last be reproduced at a size that made them useable. The first radio control articles began to appear around this time, with basic theory and practical working circuits being described. Edgar T. Westbury was a regular contributor with the series ‘Model Power Boat Topics’ and Norman Ough was working away on his series of British warship drawings with HMS Dido (February 1953 issue), HMS Daring (September 1953), HMS Sheffield (June 1954), HMS Marvel (February and March 1955), L Class submarine (June 1955), E Class submarine (September
Model Boats November 2013
1955), O Class submarine (November 1955) and HMS Hedingham Castle (February 1956). There were setbacks and the April 1951 issue carried a warning that, ‘The increasing difficulties of paper supplies may, in the near future, force us to limit the distribution of Model Ships and Power Boats’. Presumably this was due to the Korean War, which also put nonferrous metals in short supply, or was it just a ploy to encourage readers to subscribe? The next major change came in January 1954, when the title of the magazine changed from Model Ships and Power Boats (incorporating Ships and Ship Models) to Ships and Ship Models (incorporating Model Ships and Power Boats)! With some marine topics being carried in Model Engineer, it was never really clear where the magazine’s coverage began or ended, and the reversion to the original pre-war title was most likely an attempt to re-position the magazine in the marketplace. Hydroplanes and speed models would now be confined to Model Engineer, whilst there would be more full-size shipping news and seafaring stories. The competition was hotting-up by now following the launch of Model Maker (Model Boats’ predecessor), which included marine models. Once again the price doubled, this time to two shillings, (today’s equivalent is £2.20) with the pain eased a little by an increase in the page count to 40, though it crept back to 32 once the dust had settled. The end was to come just two years later. In the December 1956 issue it was announced that the magazine would be incorporated into Model Engineer. Some pages were devoted to showing ship lovers how many of their topics had been covered by Model Engineer over the previous six months and to convince them that their interests would be provided for, but why not take the marine subjects from Model Engineer and combine them with those of Ships and Ship Models to produce a comprehensive marine and modelling magazine? The reason was revealed in a retrospective by editor Edward Bowness: ‘There is no commercial angle to ship modelling such as there is with railway and aircraft modelling and we could not continue in the limited circulation of a specialist magazine without a reasonable revenue from advertising’.
www.modelboats.co.uk
It’s a shame they couldn’t hold out a little longer, for the commercial angle to marine modelling was about to enter a growth phase, with a wide range of kits, engines, radio control equipment, electric motors and fittings soon to be produced by enterprising manufacturers, all of whom needed to advertise their wares. I am sure readers were not convinced that a few pages in Model Engineer would serve their needs and the long history of one magazine ‘incorporating’ another inevitably meant that the lesser title soon disappeared without trace. It was left to Model Maker to take up the slack on its way to becoming Model Boats and the magazine you are reading now. l
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S. A. Agulhas
GALLERY
By Fraser Gray
S
. A. Agulhas is a South African ice-strengthened training ship and former polar research vessel. She was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Shimonoseki, Japan, in 1978 and was used to service the three South African National Antarctic Programme research bases of Gough Island, Marion Island in the Southern Ocean and SANAE IV in Antarctica, as well as various research voyages. S. A. Agulhas retired from the Antarctic service in April 2012 when a replacement vessel, S. A. Agulhas II, was commissioned. The first S. A. Agulhas was then transferred to the South African Maritime Safety Authority as a training ship and she was photographed in late-2012 in the Pool of London when she was embarking the Antarctica Winter Crossing Expedition led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes in support of the charity ‘Seeing is Believing’. All information from the public domain
Principal particulars Laid down: 1977 Launched: 20 September 1977 Completed: January 1978 Class & type: LRS Ice Class 1 Tonnage: 6123 tons Displacement: 1837 tons Length: 111.95 metres (367.3 feet) Beam: 18.05 metres (59.2 feet) Draught: 6 metres (20 feet) Installed power: 4,476kW (6,002hp) Propulsion: Two Mirrlees Blackstone KMR6 Speed: 12.5kt Range: 15000 nautical miles Endurance: 90 days Max. complement: 138 Normal crew: 40 Aircraft carried: Maximum of two
kit review
Mr. Ben PHIL PARKER builds Mr. Tom, a Vintage Model Boat Company kit 1
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his company produces a range of boat kits that resemble those that were popular in the 1960’s, but use the latest laser cutting technology to make life easier for builders who no longer have to mark and cut out the parts themselves. Mr. Tom is one of the smaller models in the product range, being just 16 inches long. Whilst looking for a model boat that could be quickly charged and chucked in the car for a sail if the weather looked promising, I snapped one up at the 2012 International Model Boat Show. By the way and just in case you are wondering, although the kit is called Mr. Tom, my model is called Mr. Ben after the farm cat who lives at our boat club and often comes down to watch us sail. For £50 you get a bag containing all the wooden parts required, Photo 1, to which the modeller has to add a motor, propshaft, propeller, r/c, speed controller and steering servo. Clear plastic sheet is included for glazing.
Construction
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www.modelboats.co.uk
As mentioned, all the parts are pre-cut from some very good quality plywood. Tiny retaining tabs are left in the fret and these are cut through with a sharp knife, Photo 2. Working from both sides was required as the wood is surprisingly hard, but once released, any remaining tab pieces could be sanded away. It’s wise to release parts only when required to avoid confusion or losing something. I know someone who ignored this and managed to misplace a couple of important keel bits, so be warned.
Model Boats November 2013
kit review
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One of the advantages of this kit is that assembly doesn’t require a building board, Photo 3, and the parts slot together without the need to ease any of the joints. Waterproof PVA was used as adhesive, but superglue also works for those who are in a hurry. Plenty of clamps and care taken to keep everything square do matter, but you pretty quickly have something that looks like a model boat, Photo 4, so a great incentive to keep going. I felt it would be a good idea to fit the drivetrain while there was plenty of access without those pesky hull side and bottom skins in the way. Step One involved breaking away a strip of wood where the propshaft tube will go, Photo 5. Wiggling it around with a small pair of pliers quickly broke the tiny tabs and inside the cabin there is plenty of space for a brushed 380/400 type of motor, Photo 6. As it turned out, the motor you see here proved inadequate in this model with the 35mm propeller, so was replaced after first sea trials. The propshaft tube was fixed in place with epoxy glue, but since finishing the model, an oiler tube has been added to it. The top of the propshaft tube is below the waterline and so some moisture found its way into the hull during the first sea trials. Mind you, if I had filled the tube with a suitable grease before completing the model that would have stopped the problem before it started! The battery, which is a 7.2v sub-C pack, was now test fitted. It slides under the cabin floor and protrudes into the cabin , but sits in-line with the motor. Since no fixing is provided in the kit, I made a little tray up out of scrap plywood to stop it moving about. If you fancy something faster, fellow Knightcote MBC member Derek Nelson has fitted a small brushless motor into his version of the same kit, Photo 7. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t like boats sinking, so I like to fill spare space in the model with polystyrene foam. The sides of the hull are hollow so they were packed with the stuff, as was the bow section, Photo 8.
Hopefully I’ll never get to test its effectiveness, but better safe than sorry is a good motto. Long thin sheets of ply are used to skin the hull. It’s reasonably flexible, but an hour in the bath, Photo 9, weighted down with a handy bottle of domestic smelly stuff made a difference. Clever people will make card templates before cutting these wood skins. I wish I had, as trying to trim soggy ply to an ‘interesting’ hull shape isn’t my idea of fun. Holding the wood while the PVA dried was however made a lot easier by using some
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Model Boats November 2013
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www.modelboats.co.uk
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kit review
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rather neat planking clamps, Photo 10. These are screwed through the ply into the stringers. Once the glue has set hard, you unscrew them again and fill the resulting hole with a bit of PVA glue mixed with sawdust. If the wood is hard, drilling a pilot hole with a 1mm drill isn’t a bad idea prior to using these rather neat clamps. These are one of the few model boat specific tools that I own, and they have proved invaluable and were obtained from a trader at a model show. The hull was given three coats of sanding sealer, Photo 11, and the model was then dropped in the bath (with water in it!) to see if it floated. With just the motor it sat pretty high, but the battery brought the stern down a bit. Adding a 2.4Ghz receiver and Mtroniks Viper 15 electronic speed controller to the motor compartment made the bows a little heavier. As the speed controller was fitted to one side of the
cabin, some lead weights were required on the other side to balance the model. A micro servo just fitted in the stern compartment, Photo 12, and is more than adequate for this model. There is a removable hatch over it for access to the rudder linkage.
Painting Nothing exotic here as after the sanding sealer, the model was painted with Humbrol enamels except for the deck which received a couple of coats of Ronseal clear varnish. The lettering is from BECC vinyl sheets and several coats of Humbrol satin varnish then sealed everything nicely. Finally, the window clear glazing was epoxied in place. The hidden benefit of epoxy adhesive is that if it goes where you don’t want it to, it can be wiped away with a damp cloth since it doesn’t actually ‘attack’ the clear plastic.
On the water
First tests weren’t encouraging! Although the model sailed well enough, I’d not set the drivetrain up very well, so it was very noisy. Worse, the motor heated up enough to generate smoke, burning smells and melt its rear bearing! So, it was clearly not up to the job. A replacement by a Speed 400 type of motor and a bit of fiddling to make sure the drivetrain ran smoothly, solved that part of the problem. The 30mm three bladed plastic propeller that I installed also had problems, as one blade was noticeably twisted differently to the others. Some re-bending with finger pressure helped, but a brass replacement was in order. Also, some of the excessive operating noise was traced to the propeller occasionally catching the rudder, but trimming the rudder blade very slightly sorted this problem. After these adjustments, the model now performed as you would expect, Photo 13. It can run at full power safely which produces an interesting wave motion along its side. The hull is quite tubby, being of 6 inches beam, so is quite stable and I didn’t fit the spray rails along the chine line as I didn’t like the look of them, but that’s just me! Top speed is more than adequate for this sort of model and it’s a very pleasant craft to operate. Astern movement is somewhat less impressive, so I wouldn’t enter it in steering competitions when the first prize is a Rolex watch, but then that’s not what the model was built for. Derek Nelson’s brushless motor version has a lot more poke and if you need outright speed, I’d certainly recommend going down that route.
Conclusion This is a fantastic value kit for the money, All the parts fit together very well and the only difficult part is fitting the hull skins. Make a template from a redundant cereal packet so you can cut the wood roughly to size before fitting, and the task will be much simplified. Two more kits from the same manufacturer have now appeared in the workshop which gives you an idea of how pleased I was with the Mr. Tom kit. The model now lives in a handy storage box and should the sun look like making an appearance, it can be charged and ready for the day whilst I’m eating breakfast. l
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Kit details
Mr. Tom - price £49.95 + p/p Vintage Model Boat Company Winterdyne Spilsby Road Eastville Lincolnshire PE22 8JR. Website: www.vintagemodelboats.com Tel: 44 (0)1205 270373
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www.modelboats.co.uk
Model Boats November 2013
1907-2011 1907-2011 1907-2013
www.modelengineershow.co.uk
13th – 15th December 2013 • Sandown Park Racecourse
VISIT THE WORLDS LONGEST RUNNING
MODEL ENGINEERING SHOW World class competition SMEE lectures and workshops (Free to all visitors. Tips, tricks, advice for beginners and problems solved!) Clubs & Societies Railway, traction engines, stationary steam models, boats and planes
STUNNING DISPLAYS LOCOMOTIVES, ROAD STEAM, HOROLOGY, I/C ENGINES, MACHINE TOOLS, CLUB STANDS, MODEL RAILWAYS & MUCH MORE...
Patronised by the UK’s BEST model engineers. EARLY BIRD TICKETS PRICE PER DAY Adult
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£4.00
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Family (based on 2 adults & 2 children) £21.00 Save 12% *Children under 5 years FOC
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Deadline for early bird tickets is 29th November 2013, tickets will be dispatched 2 weeks prior to the event
To help you get the best from The Model Engineer Exhibition These notes are written purely for guidance. Full information is contained in the Competitors’ Information booklet which is sent to every entrant as part of the information package. If you have an item and are unsure as to the Class into which it should be entered, leave that section blank and we will take care of it. The Judges have the right to move any competition exhibit into another class if they feel that by doing so its chances of gaining higher marks or a more appropriate award are improved.
I
f the item is offered as a Loan exhibit please indicate this by writing Loan on the form in the box identifying the Class. Loan models are not judged but carry all other privileges associated with competition entries. Part built models are particularly welcome in the Loan Section; visitors like to see work in progress, and entry does not preclude the item being entered in competition when completed. The classes listed below are those associated with mainstream model engineering.
Club exhibits
Where a club is exhibiting, each model should be entered on a separate entry form and clearly identified as a club exhibit by entering Loan/Club in the class section box. This ensures that we have a full record of all models on display during the show and facilitates matters of administration and insurance.
Additional forms
If you do not wish to deface your copy of the magazine we are happy to receive photocopies of the entry form, one for each model. We will be pleased to send out extra forms if required, so if you know of a modeller who is not a reader of one of our magazines but who you think may wish to participate, please advise them to contact our Exhibitions Office, or simply photocopy the entry form for them. The success of the show depends largely on the number of models on display. Your work could well be the stimulus which inspires someone else to start in the hobby. There can be no doubt that this event is our showcase on the world of modelling in all its aspects. Every modelling discipline needs more and more participants, and it is by displaying not only the crème-de-la-crème, but also examples of work of a more achieveable standard, that people are encouraged to join into the wonderful world of modelling, in whatever aspect. We look forward to seeing a sample of your work at the show!
Engineering Section
A1 Hot air engines. A2 General engineering models (including stationary and marine engines). A3 Internal combustion engines. A4 Mechanical propelled road vehicles (including tractors). A5 Tools and workshop appliances. A6 Horological, scientific and optical apparatus. A7 General engineering exhibits – not covered by the above
Railway Section
B1 Working steam locomotives 1” scale and over. B2 Working steam locomotives under 1” scale. B3 Locomotives of any scale, experimental, freelance or based on any published design and not necessarily replicas of full size prototypes, intended for track duties. B4 Scratchbuilt model locomotives of any scale, not covered by classes B1, B2, B3, including working models of non-steam, electrically or clockwork powered steam prototypes. B5 Scratchbuilt model locomotives gauge 1 (10mm scale) and under. B6 Kitbuilt model locomotives gauge 1 (10mm scale)and under. B7 Scratchbuilt rolling stock, gauge 1 (10mm scale) and under. B8 Kitbuilt rolling stock, gauge 1 (10mm scale) and under. B9 Passenger or goods rolling stock, above 1” scale. B10 Passenger or goods rolling stock, under 1” scale. B11 Railway buildings and lineside accessories to any recognised model railway scale. B12 Tramway vehicles. B-K1 Working steam locomotives built from a kit. B-K2 Working locomotives other than steam powered. (Any model locomotive in class B-K1 and 2, built from a commercial kit, entered into these classes will not be judged in the medal classes but can receive commended certificates and an award from a trade supplier).
Marine Models
C1 Working scale models of powered vessels (from any period). Scale 1:1 to 1:48 C2 Working scale models of powered vessels (from any period). Scale 1:49 to 1:384 C3 Non-working scale models (from any period). Scale 1:1 to 1:48 C4 Non-working scale models (from any period). Scale 1:49 to 1:384 C5 Sailing ships and oared vessels of any period – working. C6 Sailing ships and oared vessels of any period – nonworking. C7 Non-scale powered functional models including hydroplanes. C8 Miniatures. Length of hull not to exceed 15in for 1:32 scale, 12in for 1:25 scale, 10in for 1:16 scale; 9in for 1:8 scale. No limit for smaller scales. C9 For any model boat built from a commercial kit. Before acceptance in this class the kit must have been readily available for at least 3 months prior to the opening date of the exhibition and at least 20 kits must have been sold either by mail order or through the retail trade.
Scale Aircraft Section
D1 Scale radio control flying models D2 Scale flying control-line and free flight D3 Scale non-flying models, including kit and scratch-built D4 Scale flying radio controlled helicopters
Model Horse Drawn Vehicle Section
G1 Carriages & other sprung vehicles. (Omnibuses, trade vans etc.) Wagons, carts and farm implements. Caravans.
Junior Section
J1 For any type of model, mechanical or engineering work, by an under 14 year old. J2 For any type of model, mechanical or engineering work, by an under 16 year old. J3 For any type of model, mechanical or engineering work, by an under 18 year old. All entries will be judged for standard of craftsmanship, regardless of the modelling discipline, i.e. a boat will not be competing against a military figure. Providing a model attains sufficient marks it will be awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal.
Model Vehicle Section
K1 Non-working cars, including small commercial vehicles (e.g. Ford Transit) all scales down to 1/42. K2 Non-working trucks, articulated tractor and trailer units, plus other large commercial vehicles based on truck-type chassis, all scales down to 1/42. K3 Non-working motor bikes, including push bikes, all scales down to 1/42. K4 Non-working emergency vehicles, fire, police and ambulance, all scales down to 1/42. K5 Non-working vehicles including small commercial vehicles (e.g. Ford Transit,) scale from 1/43 or smaller. K6 Any available body shells including Concours, in any scale or material, to be judged on appearance only. K7 Functional model cars/vehicles which must be able to move under their own power of any type. Can be either free-running, tethered, radio controlled or slot car, but must represent a reasonable full size replica.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH CHALLENGE TROPHY Rules and Particulars
1. The Duke of Edinburgh Challenge Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Championship Award at the Model Engineer Exhibition. 2. The trophy remains at all times the property of MyTimeMedia Ltd.
3. The name of the winner and the date of the year in which the award is made will be engraved on the trophy, which may remain, at the discretion of MyTimeMedia Ltd., in his/her possession until required for renovation and display at the following Model Engineer Exhibition. 4. Any piece of model engineering work will be eligible for this Championship Award after it has been awarded, at The Model Engineer Exhibition, a Gold or Silver medal by MyTimeMedia Ltd 5. A model may be entered more than one year but if the model wins it will be permanently retired. 6. Entry shall be free. Competitors must state on the entry form: (a) That exhibits are their own bona-fide work. (b) Any parts or kits which were purchased or were not the outcome of their own work. (c) That the model has not been structurally altered since winning the qualifying award. 7. MyTimeMedia Ltd. may at their sole discretion vary the conditions of entry without notice.
COMPETITION RULES
1. Each entry shall be made separately on the official form and every question must be answered. 2. Competition Application Forms must be received by the stated closing date. LATE ENTRIES WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE ORGANISERS. 3. Competitors must state on their form the following: (a) Insured value of their model. (b) The exhibit is their own work and property. (c) Parts or kits purchased. (d) Parts not the outcome of their own work. (e) The origin of the design, in the case of a model that has been made by more than one person. NOTE: Entry in the competition can only be made by one of the parties and only their work will be eligible for judging. 4. Models will be insured for the period during which they are in the custody of MyTimeMedia Ltd. 5. A junior shall mean a person under 18 years of age on December 31st in the year of entry. 6. Past Gold and Silver medal award winners at any of the exhibitions promoted by MyTimeMedia Ltd. are eligible to re-enter their model for the ‘Duke of Edinburgh Challenge Trophy’. Past winners at any of the exhibitions promoted by MyTimeMedia Ltd. will not be eligible for re-entry into the competition unless it has been substantially altered in any way. 7. MyTimeMedia Ltd reserve the right to: (a) Transfer an entry to a more appropriate class. (b) Describe and photograph any models entered for competition or display and to make use of any such photographs and descriptions in any way they may think fit. (c) Refuse any entry or model on arrival at the exhibition and shall not be required to furnish a reason for doing so. 8. Entry into the competition sections is not permitted by: (a) Professional model makers. (b) Anyone who has a financial interest in the direct supply of materials and designs to the public. NOTE: If unsure, please contact the Competition organisers prior to the show. 9. The judges’ decision is final. All awards are at the discretion of the judges and no correspondence regarding the awards will be entered into. 10. Exhibitors must present their model receipt for all models collected at the end of the exhibition and sign as retrieved. 11. The signed release for each model must be presented to security staff when leaving the exhibition complex with display model(s) after the close of the exhibition. IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE MAKE COPIES, INCLUDING PHOTOGRAPHS, OF ALL INFORMATION RELATING TO YOUR MODEL, AS MyTimeMedia Ltd WILL NOT ACCEPT LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS.
CLOSING DATE 29th NOVEMBER 2013
The Model Engineer exhibition 13-15 December 2013 ENTRY NO.
Please return completed form to: Mr Mike Law, 12 Maple Drive, Elkesley, Retford, Notts DN22 8AX
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Value of Model (MyTimeMedia Ltd will not insure the model unless a realistic value is entered) £ _______________________ I have read the rules and conditions of entry and confirm the information is correct to my knowledge and I accept the conditions of entry. Signature ___________________________________________ Information about entries included on or with this form may appear in MyTimeMedia Ltd publications and on our websites. Other than entrants name, no personal information will be published. Mail Order Protection - By supplying your email/ address/ telephone/ mobile number you agree to receive communications via email/ telephone/ post from MyTimeMedia Ltd and other relevant 3rd parties. Please tick here if you DO NOT wish to receive communications from MyTimeMedia Ltd: Email ❑ Phone ❑ Post ❑ or other relevant 3rd parties: Email ❑ Phone ❑ Post ❑
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MB-magazine
billowing sails
Scale Sail Part 7: Making a Ship’s Boat DAVE PETTS’ Mini-Series draws to a close
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ost sailing ships would have carried at least one boat of some sort and this was definitely the case with HMS Bounty. The problem is that there isn’t much ready made that is suitable. Some vac-formed hulls are available, plus a few GRP mouldings, but they are never the right size for your own particular project. In the case of HMS Bounty, the ship’s launch is 6 inches long in model form, so how to make it easily? You will have heard of the ‘upside down’ cake, so I will now describe the ‘inside out’ boat method. I imagine that someone else has used it previously in a variation of the method described here, but it is new to me.
‘Inside Out’ method 1) Cut out and stick to card the top and side profile templates from your plan, Photo 1. At the top of this picture you can also see the thwarts marked and cut out of cardboard initially. 2) Draw the outline of the top and side templates on to what is to become a wood plug, Photo 2. Balsa wood is easy to work with and for this project is as good as anything else. Then trim way the unwanted portions on the port and starboard halves of the plug. Both these relatively crude plugs will then need to
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billowing sails
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4 be sanded to shape. Hold them together to ensure that both their sanded outsides look ‘pretty much’ identical. As the completed model will be deck mounted it doesn’t need to be 100% perfectly symmetrical, but it looks much better if it is. If you have a good Mark One Eyeball, then that will probably be sufficient to get its symmetr y right. 3) The keel which should be slightly larger than the plug, can then be cut from thin plywood, including notches to receive the hull ribs, Photo 3 (Note the blank matching piece on the side of the half-balsa plug to keep the keel in place). All the components of the basic plug are now as shown in Photo 4. The concept should now be clear, in that the hull will be planked over the balsa plug former which should with a bit of luck come away easily from the ribs and planking. Pieces of shaped baking paper laid over the balsa plug are the means of preventing the ribs and planks sticking to the plug. The ribs are 3/32 inch wide strips of 1/16 inch thick ply wood bent to shape over the plug and these were positioned before planking commenced, so now for the clever bit! The separate top shaped piece had four toothpick locating ‘pins’ which locate it into holes in the top of the hull plug. The trick is to glue the ribs ONLY to the keel piece and this false deck. Blobs of superglue are more than adequate. Thus, the idea is that once planked, the false deck can be cut away, the hull former parts removed and we should then have a nice shaped hollow planked hull with its ribs. Planking commences from the bottom upwards and many will need to be tapered fore and aft, Photo 5. They are glued to the ribs only, but any glue seepage should be controlled by the baking paper protective membrane. The wood used? Well you can use plywood, or thin teak or mahogany stripwood from a number of suppliers. It will almost certainly be necessary to steam or soak the planks, to get them to take the curves without splitting or breaking. The lower hull planks can be easily held in place with a few clamps but as the process nears the gunnels, rubber bands around the whole thing are perhaps the most effective clamping device as can be seen in Photo 6. 4) The hull can now be removed from the plug, assuming you have not been over-diligent with the superglue as in Photos 7 and 8, where it has also just had a thinned coat of varnish to help seal it all. 5) The gunnel (the capping strip around the top edge of the hull) is easily made by drawing an outline on to card with the hull inverted,
Model Boats November 2013
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6
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billowing sails thing is the whole model (HMS Bounty in this case) looks right on the water and performs well, but it is not necessarily 100% perfect in every detail as after all it is to be a practical working model.
to make a nice parallel curved strip and then remove the waste wood. It might be best to chain drill this line rather than try to cut it as one slip of the knife will mean you have to start again! Photo 10 then shows how the gunnel piece was attached to the top of the hull. Please note that the cross braces serve two purposes. First they keep the gunnel piece flat and level on the top of the hull and second, with rubber bands they create an effective clamping device whilst the glue sets. 6) Photo 11 shows the almost complete boat with its seats, mast, boom, gaff spar and rudder. Mind you, some further trimming of the seats was necessary before it was declared ready for a 3000 mile voyage across the Pacific under the command of Captain Bligh! Some water and beef kegs will be added in due course as well. Okay, maybe not an exhibition standard model, but remember this is ‘Scale Sail’ and the important
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Conclusion This concludes the initial Seven Parts of Scale Sail. I hope you have found some encouragement from them and all being well I shall return to these pages with more on the subject of Scale Sail in the not too distant future. This is an interesting and challenging sector of our hobby that nicely marries conventional scale modelling together with actual ‘sailing’ when getting the most out of your model under the motive power of the wind and also working with wood more often than not, to build the model in the first place. Enjoy your hobby - Dave l
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10 then transferring the shape to a piece of 1/16 inch mahogany sheet or similar, Photo 9, and cutting it out. Ensure you mark which side is the underneath as it almost certainly will only match the hull properly one way. Referring to your drawing (and pictures of such boats on HMS Victory perhaps?), draw the inside line of the gunnel
readers’ models
Broom Models RON WEM’S fleet
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he pictures show five of Ron’s Broom models on his garden pond. All the full sized boats are based on the Aqua-fibre AF 30 hull, hence the hulls are all the same in their basic shape.
The green model boat Skipper has a balsa plank on frame hull produced to the builder’s plan kindly supplied by Martin Broom. A mould was made from this hull whilst it was on
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the jig to produce GRP hulls for the other four models. The mahogany topped model is of a boat he hired on the Norfolk Broads in the 1970’s.
The model with a light blue cabin is an Ocean 30 five berth cruiser from the same era. Dino III (white cabin) and Golden Dawn (yellow cabin) are both models of privately owned twin engined Broom 30’s which are based on the Rivers Cam and Thames respectively.
www.modelboats.co.uk
All the models are 1:12 scale and the superstructures have been copied from photographs and the Blake’s hire brochures, as no plans are currently available. Radio control is 2.4GHz and the motors are mostly 550 types on 7.2v with Electronize speed controllers. The rest of Ron’s fleet is on his website: www.ronsboats.co.uk.
Model Boats November 2013
...launch yourself Friday 8th to Sunday 10th November 2013 10am – 4pm daily
Last admission 1 hour before closing.
MODEL BOATS AT THEIR BEST Warwickshire Exhibition Centre Fosse Way, Nr Leamington Spa, CV31 1XN On Junction of A425/B4455
FREE PARKING
Over 600 models on display - from the age of sail to the present day. View the models taking to the water on the large indoor pool
BUY ANY 2 SHIPCRAFT BOOKS FOR £20!* Buy the latest kits and accessories from the leading specialist suppliers. On Sunday enjoy a poignant and nostalgic rendition of songs from the 1940s wartime era by the poolside. Ticket prices
*PLUS £4 POSTAGE, EXCLUDES SHIPCRAFT SPECIALS
Buy your books online today at: www.seaforthpublishing.com Or Telephone: 01226 734222 (Quote: MB1113) ALSO AVAILABLE IN WATERSTONES AND MANY OTHER HIGH STREET BOOKSHOPS
Maritime book proposals are always welcome: [email protected]
Adult Senior Child (5-14) Family 1 Family 2
Discount
Full price
By 31st October 2013
By 4th November 2013 or on the day
£8.00 £7.00 £4.00 £12.00 £20.00
£9.00 £8.00 £5.00 £14.00 £23.00
Meet the clubs Talk with the modellers AVOID THE QUEUES: BOOK YOUR DISCOUNTED TICKETS TODAY
Visit our website or call us on 01926 614101 Organised by Meridienne Exhibitions Ltd
#IMBS
special feature
Finless Model Barges
The external shape of the hull is constructed in a traditional bread and butter fashion.
The planks are separated and the nails removed!
PETER WHITEHEAD’s unique approach with his non-radio controlled models
D Below: The planks are now all glued together and weighted.
uring the 1970’s I was a model boat enthusiast, but since then have only sailed models occasionally, but now being semi-retired, I can sail my models along the Herne Bay foreshore much more often. I don’t usually go to the town’s model boating pond, but by making small models that can be boxed and easily transported, I hope to visit the pondside more frequently in the future
The centre parts of the planks are cut away, except the bottom of course!
Above: The glued, shaped and hollowed out, fifteen inch long hull.
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www.modelboats.co.uk
Model Boats November 2013
special feature
A skeg needs to be slotted into the bottom of the hull.
The kitchen sink was as good a place as any to conduct stability tests.
There are 3 internal hull access hatches. This picture also shows the Kelsey Ballast’.
The one piece deck was glued to the hull, suitably weighted.
Simple vertical coaming edges were added to the deck. Here the strips of ballast (mimicking a Kelsey hull strengthener) are moved around to see what effect they have.
Above: Bowsprit and winch. Below: Masts and leeboards are added.
Bulwarks and other fittings are added.
and may even be able to join the local club, something which a travelling occupation has largely prevented until now. I wanted to build a Thames Barge that was small enough for cycle or bus travel, and although nearly all those that race at the local pond have deep fin keels and rudder extensions, I did not want to have to fit these to mine.
Model Boats November 2013
Fifteen inch long freesailing model barge
These sequential pictures show the building of a 15 inch long barge model, it’s stability tests and first sea trials. It free-sailed well, but I found that it took a long time to rig and set up and it’s box would have been too big to fit into my cycling pack.
www.modelboats.co.uk
special feature
Above left: A close-up of the port leeboard and its fittings. Above right: Foredeck detail. Below: Almost complete!
Above: It still just about fits in the sink! Right: Sails made and rigged, so ready to go!
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special feature
Top: Free sailing on the local pond. Above: A bit more risky, but the model behaved itself.
An even smaller sailing barge! I saw a picture of a delightful little river barge on the internet, stumpy rigged, and decided to copy it in semi-scale. I used
exactly the same building processes as already shown for the 15 inch barge for this little 12.5 inch barge and its more simple rig and gear is much more easily prepared.
Above: This 12.5 inch free-sailing barge model fits into an easy to carry box. Right: Rigged and ready to sail!
Model Boats November 2013
www.modelboats.co.uk
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special feature
Genuine sea trials! Below: A bit more wind……
Conclusion
As you can see, these little models free-sail well, with only a lead Kelsey (a strip of lead mimicking the structural hull strengthening timber of the same name) inside the hull, with simple leeboards. When sailing along the foreshore at low-water, the model can ‘scrape’ over shoals as its leeboard is knocked up and neither model has ever been knocked down (capsized). We have large tidal ‘flashes’ here, which are exposed at low tide and free-sailing a simple model in them is great fun, because the sheets, rudder stops and leeboard can be set for a particular course and then you watch and hope that you did everything correctly for a ‘straight-run’. There are many shoals to avoid, and where the set-up was not exactly right, the ‘will-it-won’t-it’ factor can cause much amusement. Obviously it’s necessary to wear thighboots for this kind of model boating, but I
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could not have as much fun if I had fitted a fin keel and rudder extension to this model, because it would not be able to sail through the shallows, much the same as for which real barges were designed, and although I recognise the necessity for radio control in most locations, foreshore sailing can definitely be non-radio controlled and many of us have perhaps lost the joy of watching a little model sail itself perfectly. Some r/c sailing barge modellers don’t accept that a barge model can sail without fin and rudder extensions, but a tiny (yet quite heavy) bread and butter hull with only lead strip ballast, shows that it can be done. Obviously r/c model barge races can only be won with fins and deep rudders, but the models don’t really sail quite like proper barges, nor need true sailing barge knowledge to operate, something which would increase the r/c interest enormously.
www.modelboats.co.uk
Wondering whether there is enough distance to get enough way on; to be able to ‘make a board’ without missing stays and going into ‘irons’ are the attractions of a true scale model in all respects, and if in ‘irons’, how to make a stern-board so as to regain control and turn the hull yet again. That is barge sailing for you! To be able to add ballast until the hull is fully laden would also open up other new parameters and I’m sure that some modellers have already done this, but it would be great if even more tried the concept. After use on the sea, the whole model should be washed in slightly soapy water, but if you live in an unmade road with a few big deep puddles, these barges can be sailed in them as well, but sadly I don’t have a picture of these to show you as the current warm weather has dried them all out, at least down here in Kent. Next time perhaps……. l
Model Boats November 2013
steam basics
Boiler Room Part Thirty Five: Servo Considerations
RICHARD SIMPSON’s series on model steam plants
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his month we are going to get back to looking at our steam plant and consider a question that strangely enough I have been asked about a few times in reader correspondence, and that is the problem regarding how you connect servos to your steam plant. To be honest, it is one of those things that you tend to take for granted, however as with most things, the more you think about it the more there actually is to it, so I thought I would make it a subject for this Boiler Room column. There are really only a couple of significant considerations, but both can ultimately lead to a reduction in servo life and/or reliability and increase the risk of you ending up with a boat sat in the middle of the pond with the boiler happily burning away, the safety valve blowing off the excess steam and you sat there hoping that the gas runs out before the water does! It is a requirement of the new Green Book Boiler Regulations to consider the ramifications of just such an occurrence, so it is always good to see that rules are actually based on sound principles.
In this Borkum installation, the Cheddar oscillator can easily be arranged to be controlled by a single servo with both the servo arm and the control valve arm operating in the same plane. This ensures the minimum side thrust on the linkages and the longest life of the system. If you arrange the servos to be easily hidden by such structures as tool boxes or wooden chests, the servo and the linkages can be easily accessed by simply lifting the box off.
Alignment This is the first main consideration and the one thing that I come across more than anything that modellers do not get as good as they could. The arc that the servo arm generates as it moves should be aligned with the arc that the steam regulating valve, or reversing gear lever, traverses. It sounds straightforward, but perhaps is not so easy to explain, so the way I think about it is like this: The arc that the servo arm generates can be replaced by a flat disc, represented by a coin, the diameter of which is twice the effective length of the servo arm. The arc that the control valve generates as it moves can also be considered as a disc that again can be represented by a coin of a diameter twice the radius of the lever’s effective length. Now place these two coins on a flat table and there you have it, the relationship between the two must be flat on the table. They can be anywhere on the table, but they cannot be with one higher than the other and
Above left: In an internally fitted steam installation, you may well need to fit the servos in a tailor made servo tray. Here are two servos, one for rudder control and one for engine control, both of which are arranged to be in alignment with their respective linkages. Putting the servos together on a tray can be a neat arrangement and careful initial design of the plant will help to make this easy. Above right: This particular tray is designed to be removable. Undoing the nuts allows the tray to drop away and come free of the brass ferrules which hold the front end. This enables maximum accessibility to the servo(s) and associated linkage(s) for future maintenance.
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www.modelboats.co.uk
Model Boats November 2013
steam basics
A classic example of how it can go wrong on a controllable pitch propeller. This may initially look fine, but the servo arm is putting a significant amount of side thrust on the operating lever. This will lead to unnecessary wear and a sloppy control linkage.
they cannot be at an angle. As long as they are both flat, we have an understanding of how the servo must be connected to the control lever. Taking this to the next step, we now lay a straight edge, such as a rule, on the table and move it towards the two coins so it touches them both across their circumference edges. Where the rule touches the two coins should be where the linkage is connected to the servo arm at one end and the control valve lever at the other. This basic principle is very important, so as to eliminate any side thrust on the valve, which will lead to either excessive wear or leakage if it is a face-to-face valve or the valve passing steam if it is a drum type valve. In the case of reversing linkages it also eliminates side-thrust on all the pins and sliding faces. To achieve this alignment may require you to rotate the servo body, reverse its operation or even mount it somewhere that is far from convenient, but the benefits to the control valve or reversing lever are the most important factor here. The servo may well have to be mounted in a box disguised as a tool chest or locker and may require a linkage longer than is ideal, but it is still worth striving for perfect alignment. If you must consider using a bell crank to get the transmission around an obstacle, then the relationship remains the same and you now effectively have three coins on the table, with all the same considerations still applicable.
Heat and moisture Electronics tend not to work too well in proximity to either heat or moisture, so the more you do to separate a servo from both, then the better. Remember that no matter how much insulation you use, all it will ever do is to slow down the transfer of heat as this will not stop it. Consequently you are only slowing down the process of heating up the servo, so it really is better to keep it away from the boiler as practically as possible. Moisture can be sealed against, but having a rotating output shaft means that there will always be that possibility of moisture entering the servo casing and causing problems, particularly as models are often left after use with moisture on such items and the servo output shafts which will inevitably corrode, even if they are of stainless steel. Apart from the two main points made here, I would also consider the running of connecting cables and try to keep the servo
Model Boats November 2013
cables away from any power cables, which shouldn’t be a challenge in a steam powered model anyway, and also try to avoid long servo cables with extensions. This introduces more unnecessary connections that can also succumb to the effects of moisture, but the increased resistance of the cables might then even come into the equation. Consequently, the mounting of the servos should also take into consideration the placement of the receiver and the receiver power supply, all of which are best kept away from the effects of moisture and heat.
Linkages The final thing I would add as a thought, is what we are going to use as linkages. I always use threaded stainless rod with snap-shut stainless steel clevises on either end. These make the linkages infinitely adjustable and there is no concern regarding deformation under the effects of heat, as well as providing a strong and reliable linkage. I use 2mm rods and then thread the ends with a die nut held in a lathe to ensure a consistent thread. The rod and 2mm threaded clevises are readily available from radio control model aircraft suppliers as aeromodellers tend to be rather keen on having good quality linkages! I’m not a great fan of the snap-on brass ball connectors in a plastic bearing housing as these tend to wear, particularly with constant removal and can soften with heat. So before I get a deluge of mail saying how impossible it is to achieve the considerations I have described here, these are the ‘ideal’ and may well have to be compromised. However you need to be aware of what you are exposing your servos or steam valve gear to if you do compromise these things. To me the relationship of the two coins is a key point to remember and must be achieved to prevent future unreliable operation of steam
www.modelboats.co.uk
regulating valves and reversing gear as a result of unnecessary wear or steam leakage. The other points made here can perhaps be slightly more open to compromise. Also consider the use of the model, as if you are only going to use it a couple of times a year, does an increase in wear on the valve faces represent a real problem over the life of the model? To me though, if you are building a steam plant, one of the biggest satisfactions is not just getting it all looking as good as possible and working properly when out on the water, but also making everything as top class as it can be, incorporating the best model engineering techniques and practices. l
Slide valve engines will usually require two servos, one for reversing and one for speed control. The same principles apply to both servos, however almost certainly both could well end up in entirely different locations in the model boat.
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around the clubs
The Fleetwood model boating lake - boooootiful!
Vintage Model Power Boat Weekend DAVE WOOLEY goes to Fleetwood
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his event was a ‘retro’ weekend for all of us who remember r/c model boating from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. Back to the present though, and on a superb June 2013 day it was great to see these different types of
model from that period all laid out in the summer sun and one could have turned the clock back 40 years or so! Brian Carruthers of the Vintage MPBC and a Fleetwood MY&PBC member was my host for the day
and first up was the clubhouse which was full of models from the pre-digital age. Yes, not all were in running order, but there was plenty to see. A fair number were genuinely vintage and others had been built from current reintroduced kits and plans. The Vintage Model Boat Company supported the event with their range of wooden laser-cut kits including the Wavemaster 25, a model that was always a favourite of mine.
On the water I attended only on the Sunday, although this was a two day event. One of the main events on this day was a parade of Aerokits Sea Queen models, and it was really quite spectacular. Many were fitted with i.c. engines, and a course was provided which most went around in a clockwise direction! The brushless motor powered Wavemaster’s and Sea Urchin performed really well, notwithstanding the 22cc Olsen & Rice powered 57 inch long Swordsman being out on the lake at the same time, this being a boat that is now 54 years old! The skippers of two vintage power boats, an MFA Spearfish and a Vic Smeed Remora, decided to re-enact a Pairs Race, these being the norm’ in the 1960’s. The Spearfish won by a whisker with Tony Bollard collecting the well-deserved Best Performance Trophy. However, Peter Desoer’s MDS 28 powered Remora also showed its pedigree, it being a Vic Smeed design that influenced the future shape of speed steering boats in Europe as well as the UK. Having said that, the fastest model on the day was an MFA Piranha with an outdrive and if you blinked, then you missed it!
Right: The pre-cut parts for this Wavemaster 25 kit were being sold for just £65 by the Vintage Model Boat Company. Inset: A Sea Queen at speed.
Conclusion Attending such an event was a pleasure and I would like to thank all those from the Vintage MPBC and Fleetwood MBC for their hospitality. There is certainly a resurgence of interest in vintage and retro model boating, that is supported by the trade. There is also a huge range of plans from the likes of Vic Smeed and Phillip Connolly (and others) from MyHobbyStore if you wish to build a model totally from scratch and from wood! For more information, The Vintage MPBC website is : http://froggyt996.wix.com/vintage-modelpower-boat/home-page l
Brian Carruthers’ superb Veron police launch.
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Model Boats November 2013
around the clubs
Left: Electric and i.c. powered Sea Queen’s racing together. Mr. Merco is the 10cc glow motor powered boat in front. Below: Not strictly vintage, but this Sea Commander/Sea Queen look-a-like was most certainly in the right style for the weekend.
Some of the vintage models on display. In the foreground is a Waverider and behind that an Aerokits Sea Rover.
This is a 57 inch long Swordsman that was built by Alan Shaw and it is now 54 years old.
The brushless motor powered Sea Urchin performs really well. It also has an unusual crew!
Vic Smeed’s classic Remora.
A brushless motor looks insignificant in a Sea Urchin.
Vic Smeed’s classic Remora has a modern MDS 28 glow engine.
Model Boats November 2013
www.modelboats.co.uk
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Overall view of the event at Wilton Park and the pond side.
around the clubs
Kirklees MBC Annual Gala Day 2013 Event report from Wilton Park by RICHARD SIMPSON
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ast year, my club was amongst the many unfortunate organisations that had one of it’s major annual events postponed by the atrocious weather of the 2012 Summer so there was a lot of pressure on this year’s event long before we even got to it. However, as we approached the 14th July, it was becoming apparent that the forecast was a dramatic improvement over last year’s disaster as preparations were being put into place for the big day. As usual, our own home
preparations began the day before with the house full of the wonderful smell of baking and myself getting the car loaded up with the necessary gear needed to take along to Wilton Park.
On the day This always starts very early for the club members, with as many as possible getting to the park so they could get the gazebos assembled, the tea tent put into operation, the
model boating areas suitably fenced off and the obstacles placed on the pond, all ready for the day’s activities. This was the first year that the new harbour had been used that had been created by the club’s members. It proved to be extremely flexible and a huge improvement over the old unit and is a credit to all those involved in its creation. It was good to see so many visiting clubs supporting us, including those from Teesside, Vicar Water, CADMA (Doncaster), Bridlington, Mutual, The BMES, Sheffield, Goole, Balne Moor, St. Helens, Leeds & Bradford and York, as well as trade support from Deans Marine, Mobile Marine Models, Model Boat Bits, Scale Hobbies, Skelmersdale Scale Flags & Ensigns and Leeds Large Scale Models. There were also many individual representatives from other clubs, but suffice to say it was good to get together with old friends again and catch up on what has been happening since the last meeting. All credit to the trade stands and the visiting clubs for the time and effort they all put into events such as this, which all go to make it such a successful day. So, with the weather as glorious as it was, this year everyone had the opportunity to sit back, relax and enjoy the day’s activities.
Sail Past
The day starts early with the gazebos being assembled. First up has to be the tea tent, otherwise nothing else will get done! Where would we be without our supporting ladies?
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The Kirklees MBC Gala Day now has a tradition which is the Sail Past at two o’clock in the afternoon, when as many models as possible assemble on the pond and put on a display for the public and 2013 was probably one of the largest gatherings of model boats that has ever been seen on the water at Wilton Park, with a total of forty two boats being counted at one point! It certainly provided a spectacle and in the process may even have tempted one or two newcomers
Model Boats November 2013
Inset: Kirklees MBC PR man Stan Reffin (on the right) giving the Dennis Smart Award for the best Kirklees Model, that was built by Baden Buckle.
around the clubs
The completed harbour on the 14th July.
A good attendance by the trade gave everyone the opportunity to buy those essential bits and bobs and it also gave the traders a chance to display their latest wares and this is Mobile Marine Models with Bryan Ward in the green shirt in the centre behind the counter.
With all the tables set up, it was time to load them with the models. A great selection from Kirklees MBC members of all types of boat imaginable were laid out for everyone to enjoy, as well as all those from the visiting clubs.
into the hobby, which is what we all want. The Sail Past notably included steam models, which was particularly pleasing to see as it demonstrated that steam and electric models can all co-exist for such a spectacle. The afternoon’s schedule also included the presentation of trophies to the various winners and finally one of the most highly regarded raffles in the model boat world was drawn by Stan Reffin. He puts a huge amount of time into the collection of raffle prizes throughout the year and 2013 was no exception with a very large number of extremely worthwhile prizes being donated.
I must not forget to mention the all important tea tent and its band of hard working volunteers, without whom it would have been a ver y thirsty and hungr y day.
After the 2012 weather disaster, this year’s 2013 event went a long way to redress the balance, so fingers crossed for more of the same in 2014. Kirklees MBC have an up to date website: www.kirkleesmodelboatclub.org.uk, or simply turn up at Wilton Park, Bradford Road, Batley WF17 8JH, on any Sunday morning or Wednesday afternoon. l
Below: Always good to see steam models at events such as this, but this particular one was a real pleasure as it had been beautifully put together and worked perfectly on the water.
Conclusion So at the end of the day, the club had put on great show promoting the hobby to the general public in Wilton Park and the traders were happy to have had the opportunity to show off their wares. An event such as this had no entr y fee and no parking charges, so it goes to show what can be achieved by an active club with the drive and initiative amongst its membership to make such days successful.
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readers’ models
RNLI Severn lifeboat PHILIP BELLAMY modifies this ready to run lifeboat model
T
Below: First task is to cut-away parts of the hull to create propshaft tunnels.
hese 1:20 scale 46cm long models of the RNLI Severn lifeboat have been around for some years and are sold in different guises, but basically are a simple ready to run r/c model boat that is currently listed at £55 on the Antics Models website: www. anticsonline.co.uk, at the time of writing as well as elsewhere. It is powered by twin jet double blaster motors, with the steering electronically managed from the transmitter. Hull construction is basic and is quite toy like, with the deck and cabin being removable as a one piece item from the hull and a rather poor rubber seal between them. The initial trials, ex-box, were not successful as one motor seized solid and the basic 27MHz r/c system proved to be quite short range.
Dismantling First, the model was weighed complete with batteries etc. and the waterline marked on the hull so that there was a starting reference point. Then the model was stripped down, initially by removing all the fastening screws for the deck and wheelhouse. Some of these screws had already started to rust, so they were later replaced with stainless 3 x 10mm types. Next all the electrical gear and motors was removed and only the on/off switch was retained. The hull and what remained was now reweighed and clearly the difference was what could be built into the ‘new’ model.
New driveline Twin motors driven from one speed controller and twin rudders was the plan of action, so plastic from the propeller tunnels in the hull’s bottom had to be removed and pieces suitably cut-away and shaped from
Shaped pieces of plastic were cut from plumbing tube and used for the new tunnels.
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standard plastic 27mm tube which was fitted into the resulting orifices. The new propshafts are 2mm stainless steel and their tubes are 4mm dia. fitted with press fit bronze bearings at each end. The propellers are 4-bladed from the Prop Shop, Ref. No. 871, left and right handed. The rudders were initially more or less scale, being plainly shaped of 0.5mm brass sheet with 2.5mm brass rod for their posts. There were then made Mk. 2 versions with the corners being cut off so as to clear the propeller tunnels, but after further on the water trials, a Mk. 3 version evolved that was deeper. The propshafts are just 50mm apart, aligning with the tunnels and the rudder posts directly in line with the propellers. The motor mount is aluminium angle with a simple fastening plate, each motor having just two M2 screws to clamp it in place. To mount this unit into the hull, a plastic cross member was made which incorporated an aluminium plate underneath it, fitted with four stainless steel hank bushes on its underside. The motor mounting was then fastened to this cross beam with four stainless socket head screws into the supporting aluminium plate. One of the advantages of using socket head screws is that a ball ended Allen key driver can be used. Dummy rigid couplings were made from brass rod, bored and reamed to size for both the motor and the propeller shafts, to replace the actual flexible joints and these ensured correct alignment of the drivelines. The rudder servo is mounted on the starboard side, as near to the transom as possible, on a bracket made from styrene sheet and it was found necessary to extend the top plate forward of the deck fastening spigot, hence the clearance hole. The link to
Model Boats November 2013
readers’ models
Above: The finished and painted new stern area. The rudders, in practice, had to have their front top corners angled to clear the hull at extremes of lateral movement.
Above: From the top, are a rudder post tube and then the Mk.1 to Mk.3 rudders.
The electronics are in a covered box inside the hull, accessed via the new opening in the deck.
the rudders is from the servo arm to the port rudder so as to give a reasonable length of arm. The length of the arm is adjustable and the connecting arm between the two rudders is now from 1mm GRP sheet for strength rather than the styrene strip as initially installed during the conversion. Two new Graupner Type 280 No. 6328 motors were wired in parallel so that one ran clockwise and the other anti-clockwise. The electronic speed controller (esc) is homemade with solid state for the outputs and no changeover relays, so as to keep the weight down. The receiver is a Jeti 5 Plus, even though only two channels are needed. To install the esc and receiver, the same built-in box was used that contained the original electronics and its lid was fastened with the original four screws. This more or less provides splash-proof protection for the electronics.
Access Rather than having a totally removable deck, which leaked anyway, a 120 x 80mm hole was cut in the central deck section and a coaming created. The original wheelhouse and cabin is now a push-fit over this coaming. The railings fore and aft of the cabin also help to hold the superstructure in place.
Finishing off A new battery space was created to avoid fouling the motors and steering gear. With care it was possible to make this all more or less watertight. The original aerial tube is still
used in conjunction with the wire aerial of the new receiver. Feeding flexible aerials through tubes can be a pain and an easy solution is solder (or superglue) the tip of the flexible aerial to a piece of thin brass rod that can then be easily fed through the tube.
Trials These were initially with a six cell 7.2v 1100mA NiCd battery fitted into the small tray between the propshaft tubes and the transom. Performance at slow speeds was satisfactory, but at full speed the bows tended to lift too much making the stern squat in the water and for a distinctly wet stern deck area. In a model I prefer to see the hull rise equally fore and aft so a change had to be made, and this would also make the boat dryer at the stern.
The interior as initially rebuilt.
Model Boats November 2013
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Above: Here you can see that the battery pack has been split and moved forward to be in front of the motors.
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The final configuration of having three transom trim tabs.
Wow, does it go, and it all started out as a £55 ready to run model!
The six cell NiCd battery was split in half so there were now two three cell packs, joined by cable. These were then placed more or less amidships alongside the electronics box. While there was some improvement, the model still tended to squat too much at the stern when at full speed, so a 0.8mm brass sheet trim tab was stuck to the hull, just under the transom, with double sided Scotch tape. This basically solved the problem and the tape did its job, at least initially! Another problem did arise, and that was that at slow speeds the boat was very controllable, but flat-out there was virtually no steering capability at all, hence the Mk. 3 rudders as mentioned earlier. Also, it was found that the Scotch tape was not ideal for more than a few
practice runs, so the central trim tab was bolted in place, with the bolt holes suitably sealed and additional side trim plates were also subsequentially fitted, finally resulting in a quite decently performing model.
Conclusion This RNLI ready to run Severn Lifeboat is available in the retail market for prices ranging from £55 upwards as mentioned in the introduction. Although not wonderful when purchased ‘off the shelf’, it can be readily modified to a more practical working model using bits and pieces that we perhaps all have sitting in our workshops and it makes for a nice handy-sized model for running on exhibition temporary ponds and the like. l
The syringe supplied with ink cartridge refill packs can be used for grease application.
Mooring Post GLYNN GUEST with some more advice and tips for modellers 68
Double Economy! My printer was running low on ink and I usually just buy a replacement ink cartridge. This time I was a little shocked at the prices asked and thought that it was worth trying the cheaper option of buying a cartridge refill pack. I had previously avoided this method due to people’s tales of the mess and poor results but figured it was worth a try. In fact, the process of refilling a printer cartridge was not too difficult and only
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minor ink stains were made. The syringe supplied to inject the ink into cartridge did however catch my ‘modeller’s eye’. It is going to be needed for a couple more cartridge refills, but after that it’s going in my modelling tool box. The needle it is supplied with, makes it ideal for adding small spots of grease wherever they might be required on a model. This ought to be easier, to say nothing of being cleaner, than my current efforts with a large tin of grease. l
Model Boats November 2013
crows nest
Bench test
Model Boats looks at new products
ATTENTION - MANUFACTURERS & DISTRIBUTORS l These pages are open to you - your shop window to bring to the attention of our thousands of readers, new products - kits, books, videos, engines, R/C gear, motors, anything that could be of interest to model boat builders. Send your information initially to Model Boats Test Bench, PO Box 9890, Brentwood, CM14 9EF - or ring the Editor on 01277 849927 for more details. You cannot afford to miss this opportunity!
Silvestris - What’s in the box!
Silvestris performs well enough on the water.
Silvestris Revell, best known for their plastic static kits are now producing ready to run models. Silvestris was recently received in the Editor’s office and is model that is suitable for a bit of fun or perhaps to introduce youngsters to the hobby. It is based on the full size boat made by Silvestris Aquamotive who are based in the Netherlands and the model is 470mm long by 135mm beam. It is nicely detailed and well finished, with removable seats and engine cover. These give access to the 480ER watercooled motor, battery compartment, radio receiver (which incorporates the speed controller) and rudder servo. Each of the covers is held in place by small concealed magnets. The supplied radio is of a two channel pistol grip transmitter type and uses the 2.4GHz frequency. Adjustments for trim and reversing the functions are located ether side of the steering wheel with the throttle trigger controlling the speed proportionally, both forward and reverse. According to the instructions, the supplied charger should charge the 7.2v 1200mAH NiMH battery in three hours giving a running time of around 5 to 10 minutes. A laser cut wooden stand is provided in kit form and clips together easily. As this is a ready to run model, the only addition you will need to get on the water are four AA size batteries for the transmitter. The whole model is supplied in a windowed box with a carry handle and this could be used to transport the boat to the pond. On the water performance of Silvestris was really quite realistic. Not a super fast ‘leaping out of the water speed’, but a lovely plume from the stern with the bows lifting gently out of the water. Running time was as indicated, with a full 10 minutes at maximum speed before the performance dropped off, indicating it was time to bring her in. UK price is around £130, but check on the internet and with specialist retailers for special offers, as at the time of writing it was being sold by an internet shop for £6.19, but admittedly with 27Mhz r/c! Review by John Elliott
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Message in a Model Stories from the Navy Model Room of the Rijksmuseum
HMS Belfast - Cruiser 1939
Written by Ab Hoving. Hardback, 246 pages, 280 x 230mm, over 350 photographs, in colour ISBN: 978-09837532-6-1, Published by SeaWatchBooks, LLC, 19 Sea Watch Place, Florence, OR 97439, USA. Website: www.seawatchbooks.com, e-mail: [email protected], tel: (541) 997 4439. This book is only available from the publisher. Price: $68 plus $9 shipping & handling US, $18 Canada, $25 all other countries. In 1889, the Dutch Department of Defence donated some 1400 models and other maritime artefacts from its collection to the Rijksmuseum, which four years earlier, had moved into its new prominent location on the Stadhouderskade in Amsterdam. In the late 1920’s, the collection, apart from a few prominent pieces, was placed into storage. However, even in storage the preservation of ship models requires daily attention. Many objects were never made to last centuries and have proved extremely vulnerable. Thanks to 23 years of dedicated work by model maker and conservator Ab Hoving, this special collection can now be seen once again in the museum. This book by Ab Hoving, which has been translated by Paul Fontenoy from the Dutch version that was published last year, using design and layout by Ab’s son Emiel Hoving, has been faithfully reproduced in the USA to coincide with this year’s re-opening of the Navy Model Room after the total renovation of the Rijksmuseum which has taken nearly ten years to complete at a cost of over €375 Million (£320 Million/$450 Million). Ab Hoving has selected over fifty subjects out of the hundreds in the museum to feature in this fascinating book, which is well presented and lavishly illustrated in full colour, from models of Dutch East Indiamen and men o’ war to cannons, anchors, propellers, paddle wheels, masts, early steam ships, docks, wharves and lighthouses from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, which were submitted to the Navy Board for consideration. Some of them, despite being ingenious and beautifully made, didn’t make the grade, but all of them tell us stories about shipbuilding, wars, trade and epic journeys, as well as technology, innovation, invention, heroism and talent. This truly remarkable book is essential reading for historians, enthusiasts and ship modellers with an interest in this period of Dutch naval and maritime history. If you can’t get to Amsterdam and see the models themselves in the Navy Model Room at the Rijksmuseum, then this is the next best thing! Book Review by John Deamer
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Written by Richard Johnstone-Bryden. Softback, 128 pages, 246 x 175mm, over 240 photographs (mostly in colour), illustrations, drawings and diagrams. ISBN: 978-1-84832-155-7. Price (RRP) £14.99 Published by Seaforth Publishing, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Limited, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, tel: 01226 734222, website: www.seaforthpublishing.com. Available direct from the publisher or through the usual retail outlets. Built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and launched in March 1938, HMS Belfast was commissioned into the Royal Navy in August 1939. With a standard displacement of 11550 tons, a main armament of twelve 6 inch guns and a top speed of 32 knots, the 613 feet (loa) HMS Belfast, together with her ill-fated sister ship HMS Edinburgh, were among the largest cruisers ever built for the Royal Navy. HMS Belfast’s eventful naval career included the capture of the German liner Cap Norte in October 1939, involvement in the Arctic Convoys in 1942, the sinking of the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst in 1943 in the Battle of the North Cape and the D-Day landings in 1944. Post-WW2, after peace keeping duties in the Far East between 1945 and 1950 she was assigned to an Anglo-American task force that blockaded ports in the Korean War 1950 to 1952. After an extensive refit and modernisation, between1956 and 1959, she served with the home fleet until 1963 when she finally paid-off into the reserve. At that time, her fate hung in the balance. However, she was a’ lucky ship’ as after all she had survived WW2 and was still in good condition. She was eventually saved from the scrap man’s blowtorch in 1971 and is now preserved in the Pool of London. HMS Belfast is Britain’s largest historic ship and one of the capital’s top tourist attractions with approximately 250000 visitors every year. In this new, highly illustrated book, the author, maritime historian and photographer Richard Johnstone-Bryden, tells the story of HMS Belfast from 1936 when her keel was laid to the present day. Using beautiful colour photographs he takes the reader on a visual tour of ship, even showing us some of the inaccessible areas that the public normally wouldn’t get to see. This is a ‘must-have’ work for maritime historians and enthusiasts, as well as an essential reference book for ship modellers who are building, or contemplating building, a model of this iconic warship. It’s interesting to note that 2013, marks three significant anniversaries for HMS Belfast; the 75th anniversary of her launch in 1938 (17th March), the 50th anniversary of her final voyage as an operational warship in 1963 (24th August) and the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the North Cape in 1943 (26th December). Recommended! Book Review by John Deamer
Model Boats November 2013
crows nest
MODEL BOATS MARKETPLACE FREE READERS’ ADVERTISEMENTS Selling or buying? You can place a FREE readers’ advertisement here. Simply fill in the coupon printed on the next page and send it to us at Model Boats, Marketplace Free Readers’ Advertisements, P.O. Box 9890, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 9EF
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MODEL SLIPWAY Loyal class tender, scale 1:24, partially assembled, £50. Buyer collects. K. Satterthwaite, tel: 01923 269714 (Kings Langley, Hertfordshire).
RMS Queen Elizabeth
Written by Andrew Britton. Softback, 120 pages, 250 x 227mm, over 200 photographs mostly in colour, ISBN: 978-0-7524-7951-4. Price (RRP) £19.99. Published by The History Press Ltd. 160 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4SD, tel: 01235 465500, website: www.thehistorypress.co.uk. Available direct from the publisher or through the usual retail outlets. This colourful history, the latest in the ‘Classic Liners’ series, tells the story of Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, who along with her running mate Queen Mary, successfully worked the transatlantic route from Southampton to New York via Cherbourg for much of the twentieth century, the British answer to the German and French superliners. She was launched in September 1938, the largest passenger liner built at the time and remained so for many years. Her maiden voyage to New York was made in secret in March 1939 just before the outbreak of the Second World War, on the orders of the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. She remained docked in New York until November 1939 when she sailed for Singapore, where RMS Queen Elizabeth was extensively converted to His Majesties Troopship Queen Elizabeth for the duration of the war, when she carried more than 750000 troops and sailed over 500000 miles. After the war, with her lavish internal fittings replaced and the hull repainted in Cunard livery, she returned to plying the Atlantic route with RMS Queen Mary, until the jet age changed the world again and she retired in 1968, after which she was sold to a Hong Kong businessman with plans to convert her into a floating university. But it was not to be, and she capsized in a mysterious fire in Hong Kong harbour in 1972, a bizarre and unbecoming end for one of Cunard’s most faithful servants. In this book RMS Queen Elizabeth, the publication of which coincides with the 75th anniversary of her launch, the author and maritime historian Andrew Britton, presents us with a wealth of unpublished photographic material and ephemera from his own personal collection to tell the story of this historic liner, including rare wartime views, shots of her ‘grey ghost’ paintwork, unique behind-thescenes photographs, from-the-air shots, interior views and a wide selection of menus, logs books, timetables, tickets and even the ship’s original purchase receipt. This superb book offers both maritime enthusiasts and ship modellers a captivating trip through the history of this great liner. Book Review by John Deamer
S.S. Normandie Written by William H. Miller. Softback, 96 pages, 250 x 225mm, over 160 black & white and colour photographs and illustrations. ISBN: 978-0-7524-8808-0. Published by The History Press Ltd. 160 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4SD, tel: 01235 465500, website: www.thehistorypress.co.uk. Price (RRP)
Model Boats November 2013
£19.99. Available direct from the publisher or through the usual retail outlets. In the world of ocean liners, those built for the French Line, Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (CGT), were the epitome of style and panache, and the S.S. Normandie was perhaps the pinnacle of this. Her construction began at the Chantirers de Penhoet shipyard in St Nazaire on the Loire in 1931 and she was launched in October 1932. At 82799 tons (GRT), 1028 feet (LOA), with a top speed of 30 knots the quadruple screw ship was the world’s largest, longest, fastest and certainly the best fed vessel of her time, serving four hundred first class passengers the finest food imaginable in a lavishly furnished dining room over three hundred feet long and three decks high. With her outstanding exterior appearance, largely due to her finely shaped hydrodynamic hull, long high superstructure and rounded bridge front, together with her sumptuous Art-Deco interior design, she made her maiden voyage on the 29th May 1935 arriving in New York harbour at Pier 88, a terminal built especially for her, on the 3rd June. With a record average speed of 29.92 knots and top speed of 31.37 knots she had captured the Blue Riband. Three months later the R.M.S. Queen Mary took the honour, only to lose it back to the S.S. Normandie the next year. In 1938 R.M.S. Queen Mary won it again! During the next four years she worked the North Atlantic route carrying passengers, including the rich and famous, between America and Europe. In August 1939 as the threat of war in Europe intensified, she was laid-up at Pier 88 in New York, but she would never sail again. Seized by the US Navy and renamed USS Lafayette in December 1941, she was destroyed by fire two months later while being converted into a troopship. Flooded by tons of water poured into her upper decks, she rolled over and sank at her berth, lying on her side in the mud. After an enormous salvage operation which involved cutting away her entire superstructure, she was raised and scrapped in 1946 and 1947. Fortunately, because the ship was being converted for wartime use when she was destroyed, much of her furniture, fittings and artworks had been removed from the ship and survives to this day. This book in the ‘Classic Liners’ series by William H. Miller, ‘Mr. Ocean Liner’, an acknowledged world expert in his field having written over 80 books on passenger ships, in which he tells us the story of the S.S. Normandie, bringing together an unrivalled collection of images, including previously unpublished photographs, many from his own collection and it truly evokes the glamour of one of the most beloved ocean liners of the era. This is a must-read for ship modellers, historians and enthusiasts alike, or anyone with an interest in passenger liners from this period of maritime history. Book Review by John Deamer
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TWO MFA 850 TORPEDO motors and mounts. Unused, £30 the pair, plus p/p. Mike Gunn, tel: 01509 881438 (Loughborough, Leicestershire). CALDERCRAFT HMS DIANA, part built. Also Sergal Cutty Sark kit, unboxed. Offers please. R. Bostick, tel: 02085 053914 (Woodford Green, N.E. London). HMS ZULU & HMS AMBERLEY. Both r/c and working perfectly. Owner is losing sight. Any reasonable offer. Laurence Tomlin, tel: 01344 451920 (Bracknell, Berks.). DUBARRY Thornycroft cabin cruiser, 28ins, all wood, good detail, removable hatches, nav. lights & r/c, £250. Pete Hollingsworth, tel: 01273 584178 (East Sussex). TUG. Completely refurbished, 29 inches long, 8 inches wide, needs Tx & Rx, £50. No time to complete. Peter Walters, tel: 07778 585363 (Hailsham, East Sussex). FREE HMS BOUNTY DELGARDO KIT. Frame and deck built, but planking and masts etc. to do. For collection, but can deliver locally. Roger Cornwall, tel: 01883 624572 (Warlingham, East Surrey). TRAWLER THORNWICK BAY, 58 inches long, includes all radio gear, lights, well made. Offers, or swap for tug. Also, large diorama with quay, buildings, cars, wagons etc. Can send pictures. Ivor Warren, tel; 07888 766644 (Barry, Vale of Glamorgan). TWO GRAUPNER SPEED 700BB turbo 9.6v, both used & good runners, £35 for the pair, plus p/p. Also, LiPo 14.8v 3000 battery, only charged once, £25 plus p/p. Willie Crowther, tel: 01274 878916 or 07974 597861 (West Yorkshire). JJC OLD SMOKEY Mk.II. New, never used, £40 plus p/p. Mike Hopper, tel: 01702 205594 (Hockley, Essex). GRAUPNER PARAT KIT, partly built, fittings kit, 2 x Voith Schneider drives, 2 x 12v 7AH SLA batteries, 12v fire monitor pump, winch servo (monitor platform), rubber tyres (fendering). Cost new £672, asking £450, no splits. Dave Milbourn, tel: 01159 607951 (Nottingham). GRAUPER PREMIUM LINE BISMARCK. Camouflage paint scheme, with ACTion R/C electronics, battery, motor mixers, rotating turrets, 2.4GHz, etc., £850. Delivery at cost. Christopher Wild, tel: 01745 854377 (Prestatyn, N. Wales). SOVEREIGN OF THE SEA, by Deagostini. All weekly issues up to Week 51. Best price please and buyer collects. Ian Inglis, tel: 01253 731020 (Lytham, Lancs.). BILLINGS NORDKAP trawler complete, ready to run, with battery, speed control, 2 channel r/c, figures, lights, good condition. £200 ono. John Wilson, tel: 01254 433660 (Lancashire). THAMES BARGE, built 2012 with GRP hull, 60ins overall length, includes bowsprit & removable keel. Ready to sail with 27Mhz r/c & batteries. Excellent condition, buyer collects. Denis Coe, tel: 01206 525232 (Colchester, Essex). ROBBE FUTABA F14 Tx 4 channel, plus two linear proportional channels with instruction manual. Sensible offers please. Mick O’Connell, tel: 07880 892414 (Otley, Leeds). SNOWBERRY Flower Class corvette, r/c, motor & smoke, £185 ono. Also large Moorcock tug, working radar, smoke and rudder servo, but no r/c or esc, £250 ono. P.D. Dyer, tel: 01202 690130 or 07971 808066 (Wimborne, Dorset).
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RUSSIAN SOVREMENNY DESTROYER, 1:96 scale, 95% complete scratch build project, 62 inches long, 2 MFA 12v geared motors, 2 Electronize esc’s, 6ch 2.4GHz Futaba receiver, 24v smoke unit, KA27 helicopter. £600. B. M. Chapman, tel: 01732 844689 (West Malling, Kent). WW2 LANDNG CRAFT with 40MHz r/c, plus Launch with working lights from MB plans, batteries etc. and Maplin 4/6/12v charger for £175. Buyer must collect, photos available, genuine sale. Mr. B. Shelford, tel: 01795 876760 (Sheerness, Kent).
Wants
MODEL BOAT magazines December 1966 to September 1967 to photocopy or buy or ‘Simple Model Yachts’ by Vic Smeed please. I am building Starlet so need construction advice etc. David Britten, tel: 01923 265612 or 07768 810367 (Abbots Langley). AFRICAN QUEEN. Can anyone help with a copy of the review of this Billings kit that was in RCMB some years ago please, around 1988? Reasonable costs met. Michael Barton, tel: 01454 773641 (Winterbourne, Bristol).
GRP hulls suitable for the plans listed below are available once again: MM1275: Revive MM609: Brave Borderer MM826: St Louis Belle MM567: Cervia
MM909: Top Sail Schooner MM962: Grand Banks Schooner MM1448: Liverpool lifeboat MM1482: Kingston Peridot
Our plans, hulls, and material packs are available to order online: www.myhobbystore.com Or by phone UK: +44 (0)844 848 8822 US: 1-(877)230 2998 10am to 4pm - Monday to Friday
BILLINGS SEA KING, unfinished. Help, is anyone able to complete it please? It has been in family for over 30 years. John Whiter, tel: 07767 615029 (East Sussex).
PROXXON FET TABLE SAW. Complete, working in good condition please. Keith Harris, tel: 01708 440280 (Hornchurch, Essex).
ROBBE SMARGD yacht hull only, as I have new sails etc., or a complete boat considered. E. Marston, tel: 01284 810016 (Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk).
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MB Vol 63 No 756
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BMPRS News Website: www.bmprs.co.uk
A busy pit area at Kingsbury.
Obituary - Stewart Rae: 03/06/1955 to 02/09/2013 It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of Stewart (AKA Scoop), who passed away with his family beside him on the 2nd September whilst this issue was in its final design process. Stewart had successfully battled illness for some month’s now, but there had recently been a number of unexpected setbacks. Stewart was co-founder of BMPRS (British Model PowerBoat Racing Society) and he worked tirelessly to promote that organisation, and the hobby, that raced offshore style model i.c. boats in the Midlands of the UK. He wrote
regularly for Model Boats and indeed this BMPRS report is the second from last that he has penned. He was extremely conscientious and efficient in his work for MB, the BMPRS and the hobby as a whole, and will be sadly missed by his fellow enthusiasts in offshore model power boat racing and by all who knew him. On behalf of the readers of Model Boats, I extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife Jackie and family at this sad time. Paul Freshney Editor of Model Boats
STEWART RAE (SCOOP) with a report from Kingsbury
W
ell it seems time is passing by so quickly at the moment and having missed the October issue due to illness and one thing and another, we are back on track in this November issue with the help of Mark Wild and my daughter Madelyn to bring you the latest news from the water’s edge of BMPRS meetings.
Kingsbury - 2nd June The weather was fine with a very light wind making this day just perfect for those who attended, and what an attendance! We had a total of 37 entries running in all the classes on the day, so one of the best turnouts in our history and here’s how the day went. The Officer of the Day (OOD) was Malcolm Pratt with Robin Butler as assistant OOD, with his wife Sue and daughter Sally as lap scorers assisted by Madelyn Reid and local club members, Raj Patel and Pat Spencer, as usual in the rescue boat. The OOD announced that the rescue boat would only collect one stopped boat at a time, which was a change from the normal procedure of a number of boats being collected in one go if circumstances warranted it. Malcolm had planned an early start to the day, but as it so happened the racing did not begin until 1030hrs. The order of racing was: AA, A, B, C, D classes and the two new for 2013, catamaran classes T1 and T2. There were to be two heats in each class with morning and afternoon sessions.
Above: AA44: Mike Barnes’ AA Class Sea Spirit. Below: Catamaran racing! These boats are not as manoeuverable as mono-hulls, but boy, do they shift!
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Model Boats November 2013
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A classic high speed picture! Mark Beesley’s Aeromarine XXX with a 15cc CMB 91RS nitro engine.
A72: Junior member Boyd Elson with his AMPS F1. Although a tunnel hull, it can run in the normal A Class.
AA class
This saw eight competitors with two Sea Spirit II’s, three Challenger 43’s, a Cavalier, an LRB and a BMR Proto 26, these boats using engines from the Hyper, MDS, MACH, CMB, OPS, OS and Picco ranges. So in other words, a good cross section of different hulls and engines. Robin Butler’s Sea Spirit II grabbed 78 laps from the two heats which were 20 minutes each in length with a two minute mill time (the time spent on the water just before the race commences), for an overall easy class win. Sixty-one laps took Mike Barnes to second place with his MDS powered Sea Spirit II. Mark Beesley’s OS outboard powered Cavalier took the final place on the podium with 45 laps. Graham Stanley’s LRB hull, Picco 21 powered, popped in a 10 plus 32 laps totalling 42 for fourth spot. Ian Searle’s Challenger 43 Pro, powered by an OPS 21, took 32 laps for fifth, his total score letting him down with zero laps in the second heat when his steering failed. Sha Simon’s MACH powered Black Magic Racing Proto 26 had just three laps in the morning and required some tuning, but in the afternoon session she managed another 20 laps, so ended up sixth. An OPS 21 Challenger 43 Pro gave Andy Rennie seventh spot with 7 laps from the morning session only, as his rudder servo also failed terminally, so nothing for him from the afternoon session. Likewise, Dave Clay’s CMB 21 powered Challenger 43 Pro was another boat with a DNS (Did Not
A55: Craig Dickson’s A class winning Crusader is powered by an ASP 46 engine.
Start) in Heat Two when his boat ended up in the bushes just after launch! And why? Yes, another rudder servo failure!
A class Running away with the top place in this class with very consistent two heat scores of 51 and 54 laps was Craig Dickson and his SC46 powered Crusader III. In second place, another Crusader III powered by an ASP46, was junior member Kian Searle clocking up a respectable total of 84 laps over the two heats. Another junior member, Luke Bramwell, popped in 58 laps for third spot with his SC40 powered Sea Spirit. Fifty-three laps gave Kurt Cave’s Cougar MDS 40 powered the fourth place. Dave Clay’s Crusader III ASP46 did 50 laps in Heat One, enough to claim fifth spot, but he was let down in Heat Two when the driveshaft broke before the boat even got going. Sixth place went to Danny Bell with his ASP46 Challenger 43 Pro on 41 laps after a couple of retuning stops at the pits. Another broken driveshaft stopped nine year old junior member Boyd Elson from scoring more than eight laps for seventh spot with his ASP46 powered AMPS F1. The hulls for these are available from his father Darren Boyd, who can be contacted via the BMPRS website. Finally, tuning problems gave Sally Butler’s Irvine 40 powered Cavalier eighth place from her Heat One score of only 6 laps, engine con-rod failure later in the day ending her racing in this class.
A2: Danny Bell’s Challenger. These boats with smaller i.c. engines can be as much fun to race as the larger craft.
A128: The BMPRS junior members are doing very well. This is Kian Searle’s A class, second placed, Crusader.
Above left: AA127: Ian Searle’s OPS 21 powered Challenger 43. These are the smallest boats raced by the BMPRS. Above right: Sha Simon is one of our lady racers and this is her AA Class boat.
Model Boats November 2013
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Above: B9 & B11: Malcolm Pratt and Andrew Rennie in close racing! Below: Kurt Cave’s Sigma is catching Andy Uttley’s Phantom.
B class Only five boats were racing in this nitro class, including a Warhawk, Challenger 48 Pro, Apache 50, Magnum and a White Pointer (listed as unknown), all powered by CMB 67’s or a solitary Webra 61 engine. Eight-five laps put Andy Rennie’s Warhawk CMB67 in top place followed by Garry Dickson’s Challenger 48 Pro with the Webra 61 taking 79 laps from the two heats. Malcolm Pratt’s Apache 50 CMB 67 ran a 41 and 30 for third place. Mark Beesley’s Australian designed and built White Pointer is powered by an ASP 61 and was fourth after a count back decision of 41.1 laps, not bad considering he had a DNS in Heat Two. Sally Butler’s count back score of 41.4 gave her CMB 67 powered Magnum the fifth place
C22: Andy Uttley’s CMB nitro 15cc engine powered Arrow showing the way in its class!
C class With only three boats entered, everyone was guaranteed a podium place, that is assuming they completed at least one lap! Ian Searle had a good couple of runs and popped in 92 laps from his two heats for first place. Mark Beesley’s Aeromarine (AM) XXX powered by a CMB 91 RS scored 87 laps and second spot. Third was taken by Andy Uttley’s Arrow 57 powered by a CMB 91 RS with an unlucky for some, 13 laps score, after a collision in Heat Two bent his rudder making the boat un-steerable, retirement being the only sensible course of action.
C127: Ian Searle’s 15cc engine powered Apache.
D4: A spot of advertising here on Mike Barnes’ Gizmo petrol engine powered Patriot.
D80: Paul Woolacott is a fairly recent new BMPRS member and is already showing the others the way home!
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Model Boats November 2013
propwash D class
Ten boats were racing in this popular petrol engine powered class, generally using two stroke Zenoah’s in standard (stock) or modified (tuned) versions. Capacity can vary from 23 to 26cc and fine tuning can take them into the low 30 cubic centimetre volume capacity. These engines run on leaded or super unleaded fuel, with an average 16:1 petrol/oil mixture. The hulls are about 54 inches in length and are available from several suppliers as are the engines, these being stock or tuned, and quite a few of the competitors do their own engine tuning rather than using the services of a professional tuner. On the water today was an Apache, two Patriots, a Phantom 145, three Sigma’s, a Lancer 55, a Miami 55 and a Titan. The engines included stock and tuned Zenoah’s, with some being named after the engine tuning service, such as ALRO, Gizmo Arrow, Zen and QD. A consistent 78 and 76 laps found Paul Woolacott’s ALRO 29 powered Apache romp home in first place. Kevin Alcock’s total of 136 laps found his Gizmo 30 powered Patriot in second. Third place went to another Patriot with a Gizmo 28.5 engine and 134 laps, driven by Mike Barnes from the Manchester area. A bit further back in fourth place was a Phantom 145 powered by Andy Uttley’s own Arrow 31, a well built and tuned motor. Andy can also be contacted via the BMPRS website for these engines. Malcolm Pratt’s Zen 30.5 Sigma took fifth spot and another Sigma was sixth powered by a self-tuned KRC 29 from Black Magic Racing, AKA Kurt Cave. Garry Dickson drove his Zen 31 powered Miami 55 to seventh place and eighth was Mark Wild from Manchester. Last but not least, Darren Elson’s Titan Zen 29.5 and Mick Jones’ Lancer 55 QD Pioneer both scored just one lap each in Heat One and a DNS in Heat Two, which was most unusual for them.
T1 catamaran class Kurt Cave was the only entry with his Thunder Tiger GPL tunnel hull, powered by a T/T 21 outboard, so he was not exactly stretched to win the class!
T2 catamaran class A much better turnout here and Garry Dickson’s beautifully tuned out Navicraft Thunderbolt running with a stock Sikk 25 two stroke took an easy win returning to the pits with 65 laps from his two quick heats. Paul Woolacott’s ALRO 28 Powered Cyclone wasn’t that far behind on 57 laps and Kurt Cave’s Conquest 43 with a KRC 29 tuned motor on board took third spot. Malcolm Pratt’s Aeromarine catamaran ran 25 laps in total, with time spend in both heats tuning its CMB 91 RS Nitro motor for fourth place. Darren Elson claimed fifth place with Thunderbolt needing tuning and a DNS in Heat Two. Mark Wild’s Avenger achieved eight laps in Heat One, but also had a DNS in Heat Two due yet again, to a rudder servo failure!
Conclusion This day at the races was unusually long, even allowing for the high entry, and the committee are looking at ways of ensuring the furthest travelled competitors don’t set out in the dark and also get home in the dark in the future! We are grateful to clubs allowing us to race on their waters and the support they give to the BMPRS. Clearly, on this occasion we were not as efficient as usual in our organisation and will make sure in future that the event runs more smoothly, the main problem here being
Model Boats November 2013
the time gaps between races and the slightly slower than usual rescue service, but that was not the fault of the guys in the rescue boat. Anyway, the racing was good, the turnout excellent, and Kingsbury Water Park as usual did their very best to make us very welcome. We thank the dedicated rescue boat crew and the lap scorers in particular, because without them we would not have a race day. On the subject of water facilities to race on, the BMPRS would always like to hear of potential new racing venues and as a society we will input as much as necessary to support the host venue and club. Well that’s it for now, and next month we are back at our second race meeting of this year at Branston Water Park. Cheers, Scoop and Mark (Acknowledgement: The pictures from Kingsbury Water Park were all taken by Judith Beesley)
l
Garry Dickson’s Catamaran Class T2 winning Navicraft powered by a SIKK 25cc engine. Looking at the picture, it could almost be a full-size racing machine.
BMPRS Results: Kingsbury, June 2013 Name AA class 1st Robin Butler 2nd Mike Barnes 3rd Mark Beesley 4th Graham Stanley 5th Ian Searle 6th Sha Simon 7th Andy Rennie 8th Dave Clay
Number
Hull
Engine
Heat 1
Heat 2
Total
10 4 176 29 127 60 11 42
Sea Spirit 2 Sea Spirit Cavalier LRB Challenger 43 BRM Proto 26 Challenger 43 Challenger 43
Hyper 21 MDS 28 OS 21OB Picco 21 OPS 21 MACH 26 OS 21 CMB 21
41 18 34 10 32 3 7 3
37 43 11 32 0 20 0 0
78 61 45 42 32 23 7 3
55 128 83 7 42 2 72 12
Crusader 3 Crusader 3 Sea Spirit Cougar Crusader 3 Challenger 43 AMPS F1 Cavalier
SC 46 ASP 46 SC 40 MDS 40 ASP 46 ASP 46 ASP 46 Irvine 40
51 30 34 25 50 22 8 6
54 54 24 28 0 19 0 0
105 84 58 53 50 41 8 6
Warhawk Challenger 48 Apache 50 Unknown Magnum
CMB 67 Webra 61 CMB 67 ASP 61 CMB 67
33 40 41 41 35
52 39 30 1 6
85 79 71 41.1* 41.4*
127 176 22
Makara AM XXX Arrow 57
CMB 90 CMB 91 CMB 91
42 33 13
50 54 0
92 87 13
80 75 4 22 9 7 44 5 73 59
Apache Patriot Patriot Phantom 145 Sigma Sigma Miami 55 Sigma Titan Lancer 55
ALRO 29 Gizmo 30 Gizmo 28.5 Arrow 31 Zen 30.5 KRC 29 Zenoah 31 Arrow 26 Zen 29.5 QD Pioneer
78 71 81 60 78 42 63 28 1 1
76** 65 53 68 41 46 12 23 0 0
149 136 134 128 119 88 75 51 1 1
Catamaran Class T1 1st Kurt Cave
7
GPL Tunnel
T/Tiger 21 O/B
1
0
1
Catamaran Class T2 1st Garry Dickson 2nd Paul Woolacott 3rd Kurt Cave 4th Malcolm Pratt 5th Darren Elson 6th Mark Wild
44 80 7 9 73 5
Navicraft Cyclone Conquest 43 Aeromarine Thunderbolt Avenger
Sikk 25 ALRO 28 KRC 29 CMB 91 RS RCMK 29.5 Arrow 26
31 26 4 12 12 8
34 31 38 13 0 0
65 57 42 25 12 8
A class 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
Craig Dickson Kian Searle (J) L. Bramwell (J) Kurt Cave Dave Clay Danny Bell Boyd Elson (J) Sally Butler
B class 1st Andy Rennie 11 2nd Garry Dickson 44 3rd Malcolm Pratt 9 4th Mark Beesley 176 5th Sally Butler 12 *Position determined by lap count back C class 1st Ian Searle 2nd Mark Beesley 3rd Andy Uttley D class 1st Paul Woolacott 2nd Kevin Alcock 3rd Mike Barnes 4th Andy Uttley 5th Malcolm Pratt 6th Kurt Cave 7th Garry Dickson 8th Mark Wild 9th= Darren Elson 9th= Mick Jones ** Five lap penalty
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November 2013
HMS Hood 1:400 scale Lindberg kit converted to radio control
£4.35
Mr. Ben
Vintage Models kit reviewed
Finless Free sailing model barges!
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Vol.63 Issue 756: November 2013
Published by MyTimeMedia Ltd Hadlow House, 9 High Street, Green Street Green, Orpington, Kent BR6 6BG Phone: 0844 412 2262 From outside UK: +44 (0) 1689 869 840 www.modelboats.co.uk
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BACK ISSUES & BINDERS
contents Regulars 6 COMPASS 360
General items, what’s on, comment and Woodbridge MBC
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EDITORIAL
Editor: Paul Freshney PO BOX 9890, Brentwood, CM14 9EF Email: [email protected]
PRODUCTION
Design Manager: Siobhan Nolan Designer: Richard Dyer Illustrator: Grahame Chambers Retouching Manager: Brian Vickers Ad Production: Robin Gray
60 BOILER ROOM
Richard Simpson discusses servos and their use in steam powered models
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24 RANGE FINDER
Dave Wooley’s Worldwide Review of Warships and Warship Modelling includes Part One of a two part feature about the 2013 National Warship Weekend and Part 28 of his HMS Daring project
John Parker looks at ‘Ships and Ship Models’
66 READERS’ MODELS
A much modified ready to run Severn lifeboat is featured
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70 TEST BENCH
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72 READERS’ FREE CLASSIFIEDS
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42 GALLERY
Fraser Gray presents S.A. Agulhas
50 SCALE SAIL
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The Vintage Model Boat Weekend and Kirklees MBC Annual Gala Event are featured
40 FLOTSAM & JETSAM
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MODEL BOATS, ISSN 0140-2910, is published 13 times per year (twice in August) by MYTIMEMEDIA LTD, c/o USACAN Media Corp. at 123A Distribution Way Building H-1, Suite 104, Plattsburgh, NY 12901. Periodicals postage paid at Plattsburgh, N.Y. POSTMASTER: send address changes to MODEL BOATS, c/o Express Mag, P.O. BOX 2769, Plattsburgh, N.Y., U.S.A. 12901- 0239.
62 AROUND THE CLUBS
Dave Petts demonstrates an easy method of making a ship’s boat
74 BMPR NEWS
Stewart Rae reports from Kingsbury
Special features
44 MR BEN!
Phil Parker builds and reviews the Vintage Models Mr. Tom
54 FINLESS MODEL BARGES 10 JOHN H AMOS - PART TWO
Peter Whitehead’s unique approach to the hobby with his small non-radio controlled sailing models
Phil Button completes his project by installing a steam engine
Bow piece
T 18 CAPTAIN’S BOAT
John Martin describes the Admiralty Fast Motor Boat model he built for his grandsons
AGIC ! M C I T S A L P 32 HMS HOOD
Tony Dalton converts the 1:400 scale Lindberg kit to full radio control
Model Boats November 2013
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his issue has 84 pages and includes Part Two of the John H Amos article by Phil Button, where he installs a steam engine in this paddle tug based on a Graupner kit. Tony Dalton returns to these pages with his conversion of the 1:400 Lindberg kit of HMS Hood to full operational and practical radio control, a remarkable achievement considering the size of the model. Peter Whitehead is a new contributor and he enjoys building and sailing small barges without radio control, very often on the sea, near his home in Kent. Finless Model Barges is the first of a number of superb articles he has submitted and it demonstrates that much enjoyment can be had without radio control with small models (that can be carried on a bicycle) and which can cope with real waves on the open sea. Phil Parker has built the Vintage Model Boat Company Mr. Tom kit, which he has named Mr. Ben. This is small traditionally built wood model that should appeal to ‘retro’ enthusiasts or indeed simply as a fun and quick build model to operate when the mood so takes you. John Martin has taken Vic Smeed’s 21 inch Moonmist (MM610, price £12.50 from MyHobbyStore) plan, and built a ‘Captain’s Boat’ based on it, for his grandchildren and very happy they are too, as the pictures show! We also have all our usual regular articles including club reports for a Vintage Model Boat Weekend and the Kirklees MBC Annual Gala Event. I hope there is something for everyone in this issue who has a passion for model boating and please don’t forget to visit our website and active forum. In addition, Model Boats is now on Twitter and Facebook for those readers who use social media. Paul Freshney - Editor
5
Obituary - Frank Mew
signals
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of Frank who died aged 87 at his home in Scotland on 31st August 2013. Frank was a chairman of the Blackpool and Fylde Model Boat Club for a number of years and was instrumental in starting the club. He was also responsible for arranging the first Blackpool Tower Model Boat Show in 1997 and organised several regattas at Fairhaven Lake. He was an avid supporter of the RNLI and organised a donation to them from the takings at our annual shows and was a very keen modeller, enjoying his weekly sailing sessions at Fairhaven Lake. You could be sure that he was to be seen, no matter what the weather, with either one of his boats, a submarine or raising a laugh with his remote control duck. As he approached his later years he moved to Scotland to be near his family. Frank will be greatly missed by all his friends at Blackpool and Fylde Model Boat Club and at the various shows and events he supported in the past. It was a privilege and a pleasure to have counted him as a friend. Ray Scrivens - September 2013.
COMPASS 360 EDITORIAL CONTACT - Paul Freshney You can reach the Editor, Paul Freshney, on 01277 849927. The editorial postal address is: Model Boats, PO Box 9890, Brentwood, CM14 9EF. The email is [email protected]
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Model Engineer Exhibition Elsewhere in this issue are the entry forms and advertisement for this event, being held in December at Sandown Park, Esher, Surrey. The competition classes are judged to international standards, so if a model achieves a medal winning score, then it receives a medal regardless of how many others in the same class achieve a similar score. Previous notable marine models have been Colin Vass’ HMS Warspite and Alex McFayden’s HMS Vanguard and G3 battlecruiser, so the event attracts the best models not only in engineering, but in other categories well. Advance tickets can be purchased and there is a website: www.modelengineershow.co.uk.
International Model Boat Show 2013 A final reminder that this is being held from Friday 8th to Sunday 10th November 2013 at the War wickshire Exhibition Centre, near Leamington Spa, CV31 1XN. There are 31 confirmed clubs, societies and demonstrations attending this exhibition, including five new clubs, with some of the finest marine models on show. Visitors will also have the opportunity to purchase whatever they need from the vast range of products offered by the comprehensive selection of over 20 specialist suppliers. The show opens at 10am on each day. As the only three day marine modelling exhibition dedicated to all aspects of marine modelling this is an event not to be missed. Advance tickets are available until 31st October via the website: www. modelboatshow.co.uk, or tel: 01926 614101. Social media users can follow all the latest news and updates by following @MeridienneEx (#IMBS) on Twitter or via Meridienne Exhibition’s Facebook page.
Navy Model Gallery of the Rijksmuseum In April 2013, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam reopened its doors to the public after major renovation works. The national museum of the Netherlands, world-renowned for its Rembrandts and Vermeers, also houses a fine collection of ship models from the 17th to 19th centuries. The origins of the collection lie within the Department of the Navy that maintained a Model Room from 1817 until the 1880’s to store the increasing number of technical scale models it produced and obtained. Between 1883 and 1889 the collection, by then numbering more than 1600 objects, was transferred to the Rijksmuseum where it was on display until the 1920’s. After that most items went into permanent storage and only some of its highlights remained. With the reopening of the museum, 250 models from the naval collection are back on public display again in a dedicated museum gallery. The Model Room of the Department of the Navy was first and foremost a technical collection, but where the British Admiralty had a long tradition in the use of both plans and models of ships, it was not until
Fleet Air Arm Museum This museum now has a Naval Air Power in the 21st Century exhibition to present the story of the development of the two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and their impressive capabilities for the 21st Century. This new permanent exhibition features films showing the unique ‘building block’ construction process together with interactive displays allowing the user to manoeuvre aircraft on a flight deck and take off! In addition, there is a reminder of the Autumn Model Show at the museum on Saturday 26th October. Although primarily for model aircraft, there is much of relevance to model enthusiasts, not least the FAA aircraft. The event is supported by Airfix who will run a ‘Make and Paint’ workshop with prizes given to the best made workshop models. The Model Show will open at 1000hrs and normal admission prices apply and there is no additional cost for the show. Tickets can be purchased online from: www.fleetairarm.com. The FAA Museum is at: RNAS Yeovilton, Ilchester, Somerset, BA22 8HT, UK. Sat’ Nav’ Ref: BA22 8HW, tel: +44 (0) 1935 840565.
the middle of the 18th Century that the making of ship models of Dutch warships became common practice. Right from the beginning, the Navy Model Room also doubled as an historical and naval art collection as older objects that referred to the glorious maritime past of the Dutch Republic were acquired and added to the already rapidly expanding collection of technical models. The new Ship Model Gallery of the Rijksmuseum is a cross-section of what the collection as a whole has to offer. The centre-piece of the new presentation is the display of rigged models from the 17th to 19th century, while wall-mounted display cases feature various themes like the construction of ships, decoration, armaments, life on board, the introduction of steam power and armour plating. A sample of the large collection of half-block models is shown, as are models associated with non-naval tasks of the Department including models of lighthouses and buoys, semaphores, lifeboats, dredgers and icebreakers. The Rijksmuseum is at: Museumstraat 1, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and is open daily from 0900 to 1700hrs, website: www.rijksmuseum.nl.
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Woodbridge Regatta 2013 PHIL BUTTON reports
S
unday 14th July 2013 saw the Woodbridge MBC taking part in the annual Woodbridge Regatta by putting on a static display of their models and having a range of boats in action on the water at the boating lake in Woodbridge, Suffolk. Taking heed of the frightful weather at the 2012 regatta, the static display this year was under cover inside a club building and covered a wide range of models, including yachts, electric boats and steamers and even a 1920’s LePage electric outboard motor in full working order. The pictures give an overview of the models on display and also the way that one modeller brought no fewer than eleven boats in a Fiat Panda!
Cup yacht ‘Columbia II’, the property of the club chairman Bernard Chambers. Unfortunately, she was not actually sailed on the day as the lake was rather crowded and she needs a lot of sea room. As the builder and owner of Queen Alexandra, I was kept very busy explaining to people how she worked and demonstrating her machinery, but still found time to teach a couple of youngsters how to ‘drive’ one of my electric boats. The club also had their trainer boat in use on a simple steering course for other learners. The sun shone for the entire day, so we did not get soaked, as in 2012 and a thoroughly good time was had by all.
The Woodbridge Regatta
The normal programme covers yacht racing on Saturdays and Wednesday morning ‘anything goes’ sailings, details of which may be found on the website: www.woodbridgemodelboatclub.org.uk. The boating lake can be accessed from The Avenue at Woodbridge in Suffolk. Parking is available in the local authority ‘Pay and Display’ car park and the lake is across the railway line to the right. A location map is also provided on the website. Visitors are most welcome as are prospective new members. l
The water activities covered a show of close racing between r/c yachts, together with the sailing of a wide range of other radio controlled and free sailing models. The largest model on the day was a six foot long live steamer, ‘Queen Alexandra’ (see November 2012 edition of Model Boats), and the smallest was a nine inch converted 1:108 scale Revell plastic kit of a harbour tug. Among the yachts present in the display was a superb restoration of a model Americas
Top: The Woodbridge MBC models were under cover this year. Left: A 1920’s LePage electric outboard motor.
The club
This just shows what you can get into a Fiat Panda - 11 models in all! Left: The beautifully restored Columbia.
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This 100 page Special Issue has a Free Plan and building instructions for Scudder and also includes a full Kit Review; a Feature Plan project by John Parker and Technical Advice articles from our resident experts See more about what’s in Model Boats magazine month-to-month in forthcoming issues and see some of the articles you may have missed from past issues and subscription offers on our website: www.modelboats.co.uk We have a great range of subscription packages that you can choose from, including our new Print + Digital package which give subscribers 13 issues a year with 6 free plans, 13 digital editions to download and keep PLUS access to an Online Archive dating all the way back to January 2007. Don’t forget! The November issue will be published on 25th October 2013 price £4.95 – don’t miss it! Order your copy now! Or better still why not make it your first copy in a year’s subscription to Model Boats magazine? See our subscription offer on Page 16 in this issue…
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Model 17 Tremorvah Barton Tregolls Road, Truro Cornwall, TR1 1NN Mail order Only. Sorry no callers Phone line open Mon-Fri 9am- 1pm
www.model-dockyard.com U.K Delivery Boat Kits or Hull & Plan sets Add £9.00 Orders with unclut lengths of timber £9.00 Orders with 1/2 cut lengths of timber £6.00 Other items value up to £50 Add £5.00 Other items over £50 Add £9.00 Orders over £190 Free Delivery Free delivery does not apply to shipments weighing over 2 kilos, being sent to the Channel Islands or Northern Ireland, Scottish Islands, Scillies, or IOM. Delivery here will be charged at cost.
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We ship Worldwide too All prices correct at time of going to press but we reserve the right to supply at the prices ruling at the time of order despatch. E&OE
Amati Kits £46.93 £77.57 £77.57 £105.14 £174.59 £87.78 £155.95 £122.50 £509.57 £83.69 £259.95
Victory Models Kits Lady Nelson Cutter. 1:64 scale 530mm Granado. Bomb Ketch 1756 1:64 800mm HMS Fly. Swan Class Sloop. 1:64 800mm HMS Vanguard. 74 gun 3rd rate 1:72 1171mm HMS Pegasus Swan class sloop 1:64 800mm Mercury: 20 gun Brig 1820. 1:64 scale 860mm
£117.95 £261.95 £289.95 £684.95 £344.95 £354.95
Mamoli Kits Friesland 80 gun 2 Decker 1:75 775mm Mary Royal Yacht 1:54 scale 483mm Golden Hind 1:53 scale 496mm La Gloire 34 gun Frigate 1:90 840mm Hunter 12 gun Cutter 1797 1:72 440mm Rattlesnake Privateer 1779 1:64 697mm H.M.A.V Bounty 1787 1:64 610mm CSS Alabama. 1:120 694mm
£492.14 £179.18 £184.58 £287.18 £134.76 £222.62 £215.76 £206.92
Panart Kits H.M.S. Victory Nelson Flagship 1:78 1300mm Between Decks Gun Section 1:23 250mm sq. Open Whaler 1850 1:16 scale 615mm HMS Victory bow section1:78 scale San Felipe Spanish 3 Decker 1:75 960mm Armed Naval Pinnace 1800 Scale 1:16 620mm Royal Caroline 1749 Royal Yacht 1:47 830mm
HMS Sheffield 1:200 full hull £28.54 HMS Abdiel Light Cruiser 1;200 scale 635mm £28.54 HMS Repulse. Battleship 1:300 scale 806mm £27.53 Iowa 1:400 US Battleship 1942 680mm £26.52 HMS Dreadnought 1:200 £26.50 HMS Cambeltown 1;200 scale 470mm £25.95 Normandie French Liner 1:400 scale £25.95 Yamato. Japanese Battleship 1:400 scale 685mm £23.95 Grosdeutschland Superbattleship 1:400 £23.44
Hull and Plan Sets
Tel UK: 01872 261755 Tel Int: +44 1872 261755
Dutch Royal Yacht in Bottle 1:300 95mm Egyptian Ship Sahure Dynasty 350mm Greek Bireme 480 BC 560mm Viking Ship Oseberg 1:50 440mm Mayflower 1620 1:60 scale 650mm Chinese Junk Scale 1:100 400mm Xebec.1753 720mm 1:60 New Bedford Whaleboat 1:16 550mm Riva Aquarama. With Transmission kit Endeavour J Class. Wood Hull 1:80 480mm Endeavour J Class 1:35 scale 1130mm
Dockyard
£395.10 £99.00 £139.50 £179.95 £670.00 £139.50 £269.95
Caldercraft Display Kits Diana 38 Heavy Frigate 1794 1:64 1180mm £472.45 Cruiser.1797. 18 Gun Brig 1:67 scale 850mm £206.98 Snake 1797 18 Gun Sloop 1:67 scale 910mm £206.98 Mary Rose. Tudor warship 1510. 735mm 1:80 £260.98 Agamemnon 1781. 64 gun ship 1300mm £661.45 Endeavour. Bark 1768. 1:64 scale 725mm £245.65 Bounty. 1789. 1:64 scale 660mm £202.45 Sherbourne. 8 Gun R.N Cutter 1763. 500mm £75.55 HM Yacht Chatham 1741 1:64 scale 530mm £89.96 HM Mortar Vessel Convulsion. 1804 1:64 530mm£96.71 Victory 1781. Nelson's flagship 1:72 1385mm £746.98 Granado. Bomb Ketch 1756 1:64 scale 785mm £220.48 HM Brig Badger 1778 1:64 scale 600mm £177.12 HM Schooner Pickle 1778 1:64 scale 565mm £130.46
Caldercraft R/C Kits Joffre. 1916 Tyne Tug. £251.95 Imara. Twin Screw Berthing Tug £458.95 Resolve. Twin Screw Admiralty Tug £508.95 Amaranth. Motor Fifie £120.95 Milford star. Post war East Coast side trawler £228.95 Marie Felling single screw steam tug £395.95 North Light. Steam Clyde Puffer £251.95 SS Talacre. Single hatch Steam Coaster £251.95 H.M.T Sir Kay Round Table Class Minesweeper £294.95
Card Models SD14 general cargo ship 1:70 2133mm. £295.00 USS Missouri. 1:200 scale £61.24 GPM SMS Seydlitz 1:200 scale 1010mm £56.95 Queen Mary 2, 863mm 1:400 scale £53.06 Prince of Wales Battleship 1:200 scale £51.95 USS Lexington Aircraft carrier 1:200 scale £51.04 Tirpitz 1:200 scale Full hull 1260mm £49.99 Bismarck 1:200 scale Full hull 1250mm £48.98 Revenge 1588 600mm 1:96 scale £47.95 HMS Mercury 6th rate frigate 1779 1:96 scaler £44.95 Admiral Hipper, cruiser 1935 1:200 scale £40.81 HMS Enterprise 28 gun Frigate 1:96 scale £40.80 Graf Spee. Full hulled model at 1:200 scale £30.60 Lexington. American Brig 1:96 scale £30.59 HMS Endeavour. Captains Cook's Bark 1:96 £30.59 Santa Maria & Nina £30.59 H.M.S. Invincible. Battlecruiser 1907 1:250 £28.54
Victoria Steam Launch 1:12 scale 762mm £40.45 Pilot 40 . Pilot boat 698mm £50.45 Bluebird Of Chelsea . 1:24 scale 654mm £46.95 Forceful Paddle Tug Hull only. 1:48 1003mm £51.49 Guardsman Customs launch 1:32 scale 571mm £37.45 Burutu & Bajima Tug 1:50scale 768mm £47.45 Tyne Life Boat 1:12 scale 787mm £46.49 Smit Nederland Hull 558mm £42.45 Liverpool Lifeboat l 905mm 1:12 scale £91.50 RMAS Moorhen Hull 1:43 scale 740mm £51.45 Cervia, Thames Tug 1:48 scale 711mm £71.50 Brave Borderer 1:32 scale 914mm £86.50 HMS Warspite. Queen Elizabeth class £127.66 H.M.S. Devonshire. Cruiser 1504mm £96.00 H.M.S. Liverpool. Town class1409mm £96.31 H.M.S. Hood. Battlecruiser 2057mm £137.87 H.M.S. Repulse. Battleship 1879mm £137.06
Deans Marine Kits 25ft Motor Boat 1:12 scale 690mm Compass Rose. Corvette1:96 673mm H.M.S. Solebay.Destroyer 1945 1210mm Robert E Peary Liberty Ship 1384mm MGB77. 71.6ft BPB 1:24 920mm 73ft Vosper Type 1 1:24 scale 965mm Bronnington. minesweeper 1:100 465mm MTB 488. B.P.C. 71.6 MTB 1:24 920mm RAF Crash Tender 1:24 scale 610mm Steam Yacht Medea 1904. 1:48 870mm Tradition. Seine net trawler 870mm 1:24 H.M.S. Cossack Destroyer 1938 1200mm
£175.95 £177.65 £306.33 £336.97 £243.01 £252.20 £107.18 £272.63 £113.31 £139.86 £360.92 £272.63
Plastic Kits Trumpeter Bismarck 1:200 scale £225.99 Italeri MTB77 72.5ft Vosper 1:35 632mm £99.99 Heller Le Soleil Royal 1:100 scale £149.95 Trumpeter USS Arizona 1941 1:200 £163.99 Trumpeter HMS Belfast 1942 1:200 £69.95 Trumpeter HMS Dreadnought 1907 1:350 £37.99 Academy Titanic 1:400 Ltd Edition £99.95 Revell Titanic 1:400 £51.05 Revell Flower Class Corvette 1:72 £119.00 Trumpeter HMS Repulse 1941 1:350 £100.06 Heller HMS Victory 1:100 scale £149.99 Trumpeter Queen Elizabeth 1:350 £69.99 Trumpeter USS Alabama 1:350 £79.99 Trumpeter HMS Hood (1941) 1:350 £91.89 Lindberg Sea Witch. Clipper 1:96 838mm £149.95 Lindberg PT 109 MTB 1:32 scale 749mm £149.95 LindbergBlue Devil Destroyer 1:125 910mm £99.95 Lindberg Air Force Rescue Boat 1:72 330mm £34.95 Lindberg Tuna Clipper 1:60 scale 368mm £49.95 Lindberg Atlantic Fishing Trawler 1:90 457mm £49.95 Lindberg Coast Guard Tug Boat 1:72 304mm £34.95 Academy HMS Warspite, Premium Edition £79.95 Revell Gato Class Submarine 1:72 £72.36 Trumpeter Admiral Hipper 1941 1:350 £69.95 Trumpeter Prinz Eugen 1945 1:350 £61.23 Airfix HMS Illustrious 1:350 £51.05 Trumpeter Graf Spee 1:350 £51.04 Trumpeter Jeremiah O'Brien Liberty Ship £32.99 Trumpeter JohnBrown liberty ship 1:350 £30.62 Tamiya Yamato 1:350 scale £270.95 Tamiya HMS King George V 1:350 £49.99 Tamiya HMS Prince of Wales 1:350 £49.99 Tamiya Bismarck 1:350 717mm £61.99 Tamiya Tirptz 1:350 717mm £58.50 Academy Tirpitz 1:350 £28.00 Academy Graf Spee 1:350 £28.00
Plastic Kit Upgrades Lionroar HMS Repulse Super detail 1:350 £98.57 Lionroar Arizona Super detail set 1:350 £74.18 1:350-1:400 Naval Ship Decals £7.19 1:350 Bismarck and Tirpitz detail sheets £45.95 1:350 KG5 & Prince of Wales detail sheets £49.95 1:350 Naval Figures sheet of 100 £4.95 1:350 Various ladders. £6.20 1:350 Quad Bofors and Oerlikon details £8.75 1:350 Doors, Hatches, & Life rings £6.20 1:350: 5,000 scale feet of U.S. Navy railing £20.55 1:350: Arizona Details sheets £43.97 1:350 WWII Liberty Ship Etched detail £43.99 1:350 Hood detail sheets £49.99 1:350 Hood extra detail sheet £25.83 1:350: Alabama Details sheets £49.99 1:350: USS San Francisco Details sheets £49.99 1:350 Repulse detail sheets £49.99 Wooden deck for HMS Hood 1:350 scale £36.50 Wooden deck for Graf Spee1:350 scale £32.30 Wooden deck for HMS Repulse 1:350 scale £34.80 Wooden deck for Prinz Eugen 1:350 scale £34.80 Wooden deck for Tirpitz 1:350 scale £34.80 Wooden deck for Admiral Hipper 1:350 scale £34.80 DX Wooden deck & Railing for Bismarck 1:350 £37.99 Wooden deck for Bismarck 1:350 scale £31.50 Wooden deck for Tirpitz 1:350 scale £31.50 Wooden deck for KG5 1:350 scale £33.20 Wooden deck for Price of Wales 1:350 scale £33.20 DX Wooden deck & Railing for Warspite 1:350 £53.80 DX Wooden deck & Railing for Bismarck 1:200 £149.40 This is just a selection from Gold Medal, MK1 Design, Master and Eduard.
Quaycraft Boats 1:48 Scale 27ft Royal Navy Clinker Whaler 1:48 Scale 16ft Royal Navy 16 Clinker dinghy 1:32 Scale 16ft Clinker Ship s Lifeboat 1:96 Scale 25ft Motor cutter 1:96 Scale 27ft Whaler 85mm 1:96 26ft Lifeboat double ended 83mm 1:72 Motor cutter 2 cabins 109mm 1:48 scale. 22ft Lifeboat. double ended 1:32 Scale 14ft Clinker Dinghy 1:24 Scale 14ft Clinker Dinghy 1:48 Scale 18ft Clinker Lifeboat 1:72 Scale 16ft Clinker dinghy, 1:48 Scale 24ft Clinker Ship s Lifeboat
£19.91 £8.87 £16.32 £7.68 £7.31 £10.31 £19.08 £12.71 £14.15 £16.55 £11.27 £7.79 £16.32
1:72 27ft Clinker whaler 115mm £17.03 1:96 Scale 20ft Motor boat £6.47 1:48 Scale 20ft Motor cutter 130mm £18.95 1:48 Scale 25ft Motor cutter 162mm £30.72 1:48 Scale 20ft transom sterned clinker lifeboat £12.23 This is just a selection of over 100 boats in various scales
R/C Boat Plans H.M.S Cossack Tribal class destroyer 38" £12.50 Lorraine: A really elegant 54in. motor yacht £17.50 Vosper R.T.T.L: 1:24 68ft. Vosper Rescue and Target Towing Launch £12.50 St Louis Belle 1:64 Mississippi stern-wheeler £12.50 T.B.D Cruiser Leader: 1:144 32in. Scout class £12.50 200 Series RAF Seaplane Tender: 1:12 950mm £12.50 Brave Borderer: A 36in Vosper patrol boat £12.50 H.M.S Ark Royal : 1:192 WW2 aircraft carrier £12.50 MFV Admiralty Trawler 1:40 scale 710mm £12.50 Enterprise: Northumbrian Coble 1:12 685mm £12.50 Tyne class Lifeboat 31in. 1:12 scale £12.50 HMS Kite: Ant Class Flatiron Gunboat 1:32 £12.50 H.M.S Kent : 1:96 scale early cruiser 58" £17.50 Miranda Edwardian steam Launch 42in £12.50 Valerie Anne Thames barge. 1120mm £16.85 Orca (Jaws) fishing boat featured in the film. £11.23 Boston Fury 1:48th 1960 East Coast Trawler £16.85 Fairey Huntsman:1:8 scale 1066mm £12.50 TID Tug The wartime tug 890mm . £11.23 Princess of the Lake Cruise Launch £11.23 HMS Inflexible Dreadnought 1890s.1100mm £16.85 Waverley paddle steamer 1365mm, £16.85 Tina Jane A 45ft stern trawler 560mm £11.23 Altair Auxillary gaff rigged schooner 1200mm £33.19 Rhum Islands Class Ferry, 500mm £9.19
John Lambert Plans The Royal Navy’s Standard 14 Ft Sailing Dinghy £14.10 Vosper 72ft 6in MTBs Nos 73-98 £14.10 71 ft 6 Inch British Power Boat. MTB 467 £37.86 The Quadruple 21in QR Mark VIII Torpedo Tubes £14.10 The 16 Ft Admiralty Pattern Trawler Boat £14.10 The Royal Navy's standard 27 Ft Whaler £37.86 Flower Class Corvette. HMS Nasturtium £14.10 United States Navy 2Omm Oerlikon. £14.10 The Twin 2Omm Oerlikon on Post War Mark 12 £14.10 The 3 Pdr Hotchkiss Gun £14.10
Harold Underhill Plans Cutty Sark Clipper Ship 698mm Marie Sophie of Falmouth 1033mm Lady of Avenel. Wood. 850mm 74-Gun Two-Decker (Circa 1813 1422mm Lady Daphne Thames Sailing Barge812mm 12-Gun Brig-of-War. Lines, 1187mm Cunard Liner Servia, 1:192 scale 850mm 40-Gun Frigate (Circa 1790 831mm Valerian. Brixham Trawler 1069mm. Diesel Ring Net Fishing Boat 615mm Three Brothers. Rye Fishing Smack. 797mm
£29.54 £44.41 £33.30 £77.71 £29.54 £55.51 £33.30 £66.61 £49.23 £29.53 £29.54
Static Display Kit Plans Chinese Junk, construction plans. £11.24 Sovereign of the Seas, plans 1:78 1100mm £27.10 HMS Fly Plan set £26.50 Lady Nelson Cutter Plan Set £9.80 HMS Bounty, construction plans £21.71 French Xebec construction plans £11.24 Vikingship, Osjberg, construction plans. £11.24 Titanic Plans set £49.89 Endeavour J Class Plans set £25.28 Cutty Sark, construction plans, Scale 1:78. £31.00 La Couronne, construction plans, Scale 1:98. £28.50 Santa Maria, construction plans, Scale 1:50. £14.95 French Xebec, construction plans, Scale 1:49. £14.85 Thermopylae, construction plans, Scale 1:124. £14.85 Mississippi Stern Wheeler plan 1:50 1050mm £34.95 Pinta. construction plans 1:50 570mm £14.85 Friesland (1:75) Drawings & Instructions £47.73 H.M.S. Victory (1:90) Drawings & Instructions £64.09 Yacht Mary (1:54) Drawings & Instructions £32.73 Golden Hind (1:53) Drawings & Instructions £32.73 Rattlesnake (1:64) Drawings & Instructions £46.36 Royal Louis (1:90) Drawings & Instructions £62.73 This is just a selection of over 1000 plans available
R/C Equipment Hitec Optic 6 (2.4 GHz) combo £124.99 Viper Marine 75 £115.00 Hitec Optic 5 channel (2.4 GHz) combo £89.95 Mtroniks G2 Hydra15 combo £59.99 Hi Tech Zebra 4 Channel £56.12 Viper Marine 40 £53.22 Planet 5 Transmitter and Receiver Set £51.99 Hi Tech Ranger 2 Channel £49.95 FR30HX 30amp speed controller £47.14 Viper Marine SUB 10 6-12v £42.99 Viper Marine SUB 8 4.8-9.6v £42.50 Viper SSR 25amp Speed controller £39.99 15HVR 15amp speed controller £37.69 Viper Marine 25 £34.99 Viper Marine 25 Mirror £34.20 FR12VR 12amp speed controller BEC £33.86 Hi Tech Mega Arm Sail Winch 19.8kg/cm £30.99 Proportional Drum Sail Winch £30.63 Viper Marine 20 £28.99 Viper Marine 15 £22.99 Viper Micro Marine 10 £22.99 Viper Marine 15 Plug Play £22.99 Programmable mixing module £20.34 Waterproof mixing module (w-tail) £17.80 Waterproof mixing module £15.70 Mtroniks EP Multi charger £12.14 1300ma receiver nicad battery square £5.61 1300ma receiver nicad battery flat £5.61 Switch harness with charging lead £4.70 Full range of R/C installation equipment available
Miniature Steam Clyde Horiz Ready Assembled Steam Plant Clyde Vertical Ready Assembled Steam Plant Clyde Horizontal Self Assembly Steam Plant Clyde Vertical Self Assembly Steam Plant 4 inch Horizontal Boiler 3in Horizontal Boiler 3in Vertical Boiler Clyde Fully Assembled Clyde Fully Machined Kit for Self Assembly Tyne Vertical Self Assembly Engine Boiler Feed Pump 3/8"" Assembled" Refillable Gas Tank
£949.95 £949.95 £849.95 £849.95 £649.99 £575.99 £575.99 £444.00 £312.00 £199.50 £119.95 £94.99
"ertical Refillable Gas Tank (1-1/2"" Dia) Ceramic Burner: for 3in boiler Vertical Refillable Gas Tank (1-1/4"" Dia) Exhaust Oil Trap (1-1/4”) Horizontal Boiler Mounting Tray Refillable Gas Tank Adaptor (Long) Refillable Gas Tank Adaptor (Standard)
£84.99 £74.99 £64.99 £49.98 £39.95 £24.99 £21.99
Sound Modules Petrol/Diesel Engine with Horn Machine Gun Steam Engine Sound Whooper Fog Horn Ship Klaxon Sub Sonar Ping Sub Dive Alarm Air Horns Large Ship Horn Large Ship Steam Whistle Old Steam Whistle Tug Boat Air Horn Mtroniks Diesel Canal Boat Mtroniks Multicylinder Diesel
£43.40 £35.73 £43.40 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £35.73 £59.99 £59.99
Motors Genesis Hydra50 combo Brushless Genesis Hydra30 combo Brushless Genesis Hydra15 combo Brushless Schottel drive unit 70mm dia prop Schottel drive unit Schottel drive unit 50mm dia prop Rudder-propeller drive: Schottel drive unit 40mm dia prop Deans Marine Navy Geared Maxi 6v MICRO T 05: Electric motor Rudder-propeller drive Adaptor: 6v Geared motor 3 rpm Robbe Navy geared motor EF 76 - 6v Speed 600 BB Turbo 12v Micro geared motor 50:1 Micro geared motor 150:1 Micro geared motor 300:1 EL653/16 low drain motor Deans Marine Kestrel 4.8 to 12volts 543/12 low drain motor for large props Speed 480 Motor 7.2v Deans Marine Kondor Deans Marine Kondor 2 543-24 low drain motor Deans Kyte Motor EL653/33 low drain motor Mabuchi Low Drain 545 Mabuchi 540 Mabuchi 480 motor 4.8 to 8.4v Mabuchi 400 Electronize 365/14 low drain
£25.29 £34.22 £34.32 £39.74 £39.74 £23.49 £25.29 £30.71
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Modelling Tools Mantua 12v Electric Fret saw 12v Mini Compressor Mantua Spar Lathe. 12V Mantua 12v Electric Planer Amati heavy duty Building cradle Building Slip Mantua 4 speed mains transformer Deluxe Modellers Tool Chest Amati Electric Plank Bender Rope Walk kit Strip Clamp. Dremel MultiVise Master Cut. Bench Vice. Swann-Morton ACM Tool Set Planet, special work bench 20 piece twist drill set .3 to 1.6mm Amati Pin Pusher De-Luxe Pin Pusher Waterline marking tool A3 cutting mat Pounce Tool with 4 wheels Assorted grade Sanding Sticks (5) Shroud Making Jig Zona Fine Kerf Universal Razor Saw 32tpi Zona Medium Kerf Razor Saw 24tpi Zona Fine Kerf Universal Razor Saw 42tpi Zona Fine Kerf Universal Razor Saw 24tpi Zona Ultra Thin Kerf Razor Saw 52tpi Zona Ultra Thin Kerf Razor Saw 32tpi 8 piece twist drill set .5 to 2.0mm Rigging Tool Archimedean Hand Drill Pin Vice with collets for .01 to 3.0mm drill bits K&S Tube cutter Set of 3 G-Clamps with Magnetic Base Wooden Clamping Pegs (3) Miniature hand plane
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THE MODEL DOCKYARD CATALOGUE Our non illustrated catalogue contains a brief description and principal dimensions of over 12,000 product items that are available from our extensive range aimed and the the scale modeller. these include both static and R/C Kits, Plastic kits and upgrade parets; the largest range of boats fittings to be found anywhere, building materials, boat plans, boat hulls, props, couplings, motors, propshafts etc etc. Whether you interest lies in working radio control, display period ships or static kits, our catalogue has everything you will need, £1.00 plus £5.00 for UK Delivery
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Paddle Tug John H. Amos Part Two
PHIL BUTTON converts the Graupner Glasgow kit to steam propulsion
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n Part One, I described the process of converting a fully-built Graupner Glasgow kit into a model of the paddle tug John H. Amos and its maiden voyage on a temporary electric power plant. Photos 1 and 2 show the original ship and the completed model just in case you have forgotten. This second part of the article will cover the design, construction, installation and testing of the steam plant and the radio control system for the model.
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Design and construction As mentioned in the opening remarks of Part One, the intention was to fit the model with a steam plant of some description and a great deal of work would be needed to arrive at the design of a suitable engine and boiler. Obviously, any small steam engine is going to run too fast to directly drive paddle wheels, so some form of gear reduction will be required.
1 To begin with, I had to calculate the scale speed of the model (as detailed in Part One) and a paddle wheel speed of around 200 to 250rpm was determined. From experience, I knew that an engine of a size appropriate for this model would run at around 1600rpm on ‘no-load’, so that set the overall gear reduction from engine to paddle shaft in the region of 6 to 1. There was a set of brass gears in stock that would give a reduction of 3.2 to 1 and also there was a set of plastic sprockets and chain with a ratio of 2 to 1. So, using gears and chain together would give an overall reduction of 6.4 to 1, close enough to giving 250rpm at the paddles on no load. I wanted to have full radio control of all functions including speed control, ahead/astern control and steering. Steering is easy - one radio channel with a servo and linkage as for any other type of boat. Full engine control is a different matter as it is dependent on the type of engine selected and could require either one or two radio channels. The simplest engine type was selected, this being a twin oscillating steam engine. This
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can easily be reversed by changing the direction of steam flow to the engine when the inlet becomes the exhaust and vice versa and the engine goes the other way. The plan was to use a rotary valve to control the direction of steam flow to the engine. With careful attention to the design of it, it rotary valve can also be used for speed control in both directions which would require the use of a single radio channel only (on similar lines to using an electronic speed controller in an electric boat), but I decided to control the speed with a regulator valve in the main steam line from the boiler. This meant a basic four channel radio set-up of rudder, regulator (speed control), ahead/astern control and an optional steam whistle. I always fit a radio controlled steam whistle to my boats as it fascinates children and adults alike. As a minimum, the engine would need two cylinders with the two cranks set at 90 degrees to each other. Why? Well, for reliable speed control and reversing you need to be certain that if the engine stops, it is capable of restarting. If a single cylinder
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engine is used and it comes to a stop at top or bottom dead centre (as Murphy’s Law will ensure that it always does!), the engine will not restart unless it is given a flick in the appropriate direction which is not practicable in mid-lake! A twin cylinder engine with cranks set at 90 degrees will always be capable of restarting, since if one cylinder is at top or bottom dead centre, the other is at mid-stroke and will impart the necessary ‘flick’ to get the engine going again. A proprietary steam plant could have been used as a great variety are now available to purchase, but I elected to design and build my own. Over the years I have acquired a well-equipped model engineering workshop, so building steam engines is not a problem.
Design My engine designs are produced on the domestic computer PC using a drawing package called DrawPlus from Serif Software in Nottingham. It is not really intended for use as a CAD package, but it seems to work okay, at least for me. I have tried both AutoCAD and TurboCAD software and failed dismally at learning how to drive them, hence my preference for DrawPlus. Having determined the basic engine parameters, the next stage is to make basic sketches of the parts needed for the engine and try to fit them together into an assembly sketch on the computer. Once all the parts
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seem to go together, more or less correctly on-screen, detailed and dimensioned drawings for each part can be produced for use in the workshop. The detail drawings are produced to scale and the parts can then be built up into a general assembly drawing of the engine, Photo 3, but please note that this assembly drawing is not entirely accurate or complete, as I never actually finally finished it. The final design however was for a twin cylinder, double acting, oscillating steam engine of 10mm bore and 11mm stroke. The engine has two cylinders, one on each side of a fabricated U-shaped baseplate, with the flywheel and primary gear reduction mounted between the side plates. The primary gear layshaft (above the crankshaft) carries the sprocket for the final chain drive to the paddle shaft and runs in miniature ball bearing races in an attempt to minimise friction. Having finalised the engine design, the next step was to come up with a suitable boiler design to supply it with steam. The first step in deciding on a boiler size is to calculate the required heating surface. I use a formula based on the cubic capacity of the engine found in a reprint of the 1920 Percival Marshall book ‘Machinery for Model Steamers’. This might be wildly inaccurate, but it seems to work okay for me which is all that matters. Other design details needed to be produced, included stress calculations for all parts of the boiler based on the thickness and
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overall dimensions of the copper sheet and tube used in construction. Since commercially available tube was to be used for the boiler shell and fire tube, their thicknesses were constrained by what was readily available. In the final analysis, the boiler came out as having a maximum safe working pressure of 35psi (applying a factor of safety of 12 in the calculations). This was acceptable, since the likely maximum pressure envisaged with the engine to be used was around 15 to 20psi, based on previous experience. Photo 4 shows the side elevation and a section of the boiler design. The ring of spikes through the bottom of the boiler is there to increase the heating surface as they project into both the firebox and the water. Owing to the appearance of the spikes, this type of boiler is often called a ‘hedgehog boiler’. The boiler was to be gas fired using a ceramic burner of my own design that eventually took me around three years to perfect on previous models. Gas is supplied from a commercial threaded gas canister (GoGas, Taymar, or similar), as normally used with DIY blowtorches. The valve from one of these DIY torches is used to control the flow of gas to the burner as the purchase of a blowtorch from a local DIY store usually includes the valve and a gas canister and this works out much cheaper than the purpose-made valves available in the marketplace. Only minor modifications are needed to adapt the blowtorch valve to its new use. These include, cutting off the burner tube and then threading the exposed pipe end to take the gas pipe connection, Photo 5 is of the gas bottle and control valve installed in the bow compartment of the model. As an added bonus, the sawn off burner can usually be saved for possible future use and contains a useful gas jet.
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Building the engine To provide a detailed description of the construction of the engine would require a series of articles and would most likely only appeal to readers of Model Engineer magazine. Suffice to say, the engine took around two months to build (when fitted in around other things) and required the services of my Chester MF42B multi-function machine tool as lathe, milling machine and pillar drill, together with a range of hand tools, files, taps, dies, etc. I try to make as much as possible myself, only buying standard nuts and bolts and Viton O-rings. Materials used in construction were
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mild steel, brass, phosphor bronze, stainless steel and copper. An indication of the work involved in constructing the engine can be gained from the photographs. To give a scale to the pictures, the overall size of the completed engine is approximately 3 inches high (to the top of the drive gear) by 4 inches long and 3.5 inches wide. Please keep in mind when viewing the pictures that I do not claim to be the world’s best machinist! Photo 6 is of the engine baseplate during construction. Photo 7 shows the baseplate after silver soldering the bushes for the crankshaft and layshaft bearings (temporarily held in place by threaded rods). The ‘burnt offering’ look was removed by ‘pickling’ the whole unit in a citric acid solution.
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Photo 8 is of the completed engine, now fitted with cylinders, connecting rods, crankshaft and flywheel, primary gear reduction, pipework and reversing valve. On completion of construction, the engine was run-in on air using a small air compressor and checked for proper operation of the reversing valve and the regulator valve. Then the completed engine unit was bolted to a removable brass machinery tray (later changed to aluminium to save weight), which was also arranged to carry the boiler.
Building the boiler I will give some details of boiler making, as this is probably not familiar to many model boat builders. Most of the boiler was constructed from commercially available copper tube and sheet, with phosphor bronze for the bushes and brass for inlet clack (non-return valve), steam outlet fittings and safety valve. The safety valve contains a stainless steel ball and a spring to hold it onto the valve seat. As steam pressure in the boiler rises, the ball is lifted off the seat against the spring loading and steam is vented to reduce the pressure. The safety valve is roughly set using compressed air and finally adjusted to the correct working pressure during steam tests on boiler completion. Some parts of the boiler have to be made to a particular shape, such as the endplates. Hammering annealed copper sheet around a hardwood former creates these. The hardwood former was turned on the lathe to a finished diameter equal to the internal diameter of the boiler shell tube, minus twice the material thickness of the endplates so that the finished endplates should be a close fit inside the boiler tube shell. The greatest virtue required when making any boiler is patience. When copper is worked (i.e. ‘bashed’ into a shape it would rather not be), it hardens and then no longer bends to your will. The only way to tell when this has happened is by how it feels under the hammer. This is difficult to explain in words, but easily learned by experience. The copper part then has to be annealed (softened) by removing it from the former, heating it to red hot and allowing it to cool naturally, then cleaning the scale off it before replacing it on the former and continuing with the shaping. This softening process may need repeating several times in order to form a boiler endplate. Photos 9 & 10 show a copper blank for a boiler endplate and the hardwood former with a finished endplate. The hole in the centre of the finished endplate was carefully drilled out and bored to size in the
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lathe, whilst the endplate was still on the wooden former after finally persuading it into the correct shape. Obviously two endplates are needed, so this process has to be repeated to make the second. The lower endplate was marked out and drilled for the ‘hedgehog’ spikes. These spikes were cut from bronze rod and are there to increase the boiler heating surface. The top endplate was marked out and drilled for the bushes for the safety valve, pressure gauge and steam outlet pipe. Photos 11 & 12 show some finished endplates that are actually for a different boiler, but the same principles apply. Boiler bushes were turned from phosphor bronze bar, then drilled and tapped with the thread required. The boiler shell was cut from a length of commercially available 63.5mm (2.5 inch) o.d. copper tube and the ends trued up in the lathe to make them square. This has to be done with a great deal of care to avoid the cutting tool digging in, otherwise the tube either gets bent and/or thrown at the lathe operator. The sides of the shell were then drilled for the bushes for the clack valve and water level gauge. A length of 22mm (7/8 inch) copper tube was cut to
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After the hydraulic pressure test, the boiler was given a coat of heat resistant black paint and completed by adding the boiler fittings. These are a water level gauge and clack valve, safety valve and steam outlets for the engine and pressure gauge. A layer of teak planks was added around the boiler shell as insulation, fixed in place by polished brass strips and then varnished, Photo 16.
The burner
form the flue and the ends trued up in the lathe and once again, very, very, carefully! Photo 13 shows all the parts of a similar boiler prior to assembly. Bit of a change now with Photo 14 which shows the boiler shell and bushes and the two endplates complete with bushes and spikes after silver soldering. The areas to be silver soldered have to be coated with a liquid flux (required to prevent oxidation of the surfaces and to help the solder to flow into the joints), then the whole lot is heated to red heat in a firebrick hearth using a DIY type of gas blowtorch and the silver solder applied around all joints. Once the solder has run all around these joints, the job is done. As you can see, on completion of silver soldering, the parts take on the appearance of ‘burnt offerings’ owing to the formation of an oxide layer and excess flux. This oxide layer is removed by a process called ‘pickling’ whereby the parts are placed in a dilute acid (sometimes sulphuric acid, but I prefer citric acid as it is a little safer) and then washed clean with water. The completed boiler endplates were fitted into the boiler shell, together with the flue pipe and the boiler bushes, all treated with flux and then silver soldered as explained earlier, but using a much bigger gas torch, as the DIY type cannot provide enough heat. After ‘pickling’ the completed boiler and flushing it clean with water, it has to be pressure tested to ensure that it has no leaks and is safe to use. Safety dictates that this pressure test is carried out hydraulically using water, as a boiler failure is not as
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catastrophic with water as it would be for testing with either air or steam. I would stress here that I am able to test my own boilers, but other’s will need a properly certified boiler tester with the right equipment to issue a Test Certificate. Being a member of an engineering club or the Model Power Boat Association, will usually give you ready access to such an individual.
After a great deal of experimentation with all sorts of burner set-ups which were mostly not successful, I have finally arrived at a design for a ceramic gas burner that works, using commercially available ceramic plaque and gas jets as in Photo 17. This is one of the reasons why commercial boilers are popular, in that hopefully the manufacturer has arrived at a design of burner that matches the boiler heating requirement, rather than something ‘generic’ that will probably be okay, which of course is not the same thing.
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Hydraulic test To carry out this, all except two of the boiler bushes were plugged and a non-return valve fitted to one of the open ones. The boiler was filled completely with water and a pressure gauge fitted to the second open bush. A hand pump with its inlet piped to a water supply was connected to the non-return valve on the boiler and the pump operated until the pressure gauge showed twice the boiler safe working pressure as in Photo 15. Any leaks become readily apparent and will require the boiler to be drained and repaired. If there are no leaks, the pressure gauge reading will remain steady and the pressure should be left on for a time. The boiler then has to be checked to ensure that it has not deformed whilst under pressure, as any deformation implies that the boiler is not safe to use. The test pressure gauge needs to be certified as giving true reasons, hence a certificate (if required) needs to be issued by a certified tester with certified equipment.
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Assembly and steam test The boiler, burner, oil interceptor, engine, steam manifold complete with regulator/lubricator (for the engine) and whistle with its valve were finally all bolted to the machinery plate and given a full steam test before fitting inside the hull, Photo 18. The blue painted pipework at the left hand end was for a proposed boiler feed pump installation that had to be removed later to save weight. The lubricator (the green painted cylinder between the boiler and the engine) provides the engine with a measured volume of steam oil to lubricate the cylinders and this oil leaves the engine in the exhaust. The oil interceptor (the copper tank at the right hand end) is a simple vessel set up to catch the oil in the exhaust to prevent it being thrown all over the model and the model boating lake. Also, before anyone panics, the main steam lines are not insulated with asbestos as it is merely string, painted with white emulsion. The pipework between the engine exhaust
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19 and the oil interceptor comprises silicone rubber flexible tubing as there is very little residual pressure at this point and the pipes need to be easily disconnected to drain steam oil and condensed water from the interceptor.
Steam test This was used initially to set and check the operation of the safety valve against the boiler pressure gauge. With the engine stop valve closed so that there was no steam outlet from the boiler, other than through the safety valve, the burner was lit and steam pressure raised towards the 20psi required for setting the safety valve. If the safety valve opened before that pressure was attained, the valve adjuster could be screwed down to increase the pressure setting. Similarly, if the valve was not open at 20psi, then the valve adjuster could be slackened off to reduce the pressure setting. Once the safety valve pressure was correctly set, the burner was left at maximum to check that the safety valve was limiting the maximum boiler pressure to no more than 10% above its 20psi setting. As a general safety requirement for any live steamer at each sailing, a check should always be made for correct operation of the safety valve before allowing the model to steam away, since it is not unknown for these small valves to stick closed with potentially disastrous results. At the very least, a boiler explosion will destroy your pride and joy, but is also quite capable of maiming or even killing bystanders. So, think of the safety of others and yourself, something that Richard Simpson has regularly expounded on in these pages. After setting the safety valve, the reversing valve was set to the ‘ahead’ position, the regulator was opened and the engine turned over (initially by hand) to warm the cylinders and expel any water from condensed steam. Then the engine was allowed to run on steam for the first time and checked for correct operation of the regulator and reversing valve. The first engine run showed up all sorts of minor steam leaks in the engine
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glands, valves and pipework and notes were made of these for later rectification. The machinery plate was designed to fit inside the plywood baseplate that had been supplied with the Graupner Glasgow kit and was insulated from it using a layer of 2mm thick ceramic insulation material, as after all it would not be a good idea to scorch the plywood and perhaps melt the plastic hull! Photo 19 shows the machinery plate installed in the hull and ready to go and as you can see, it’s a very snug fit.
Radio control installation The temporary electric drive installation as described in Part One had been removed to make space for the steam plant. Items removed included the 27MHz receiver, drive motor and gear train, batteries and electronic speed controller. The receiver on/off switch and its LED, together with the rudder servo were left in place for reuse with the intended Spektrum 2.4Ghz equipment. Whilst waiting for delivery, a spare Futaba 2.4GHz receiver was fitted (for testing purposes) to the equipment plate under the after companionway and a micro-servo installed next to it to operate the whistle valve in the machinery compartment via a steel rod with a plastic clevis at the servo end and a metal clevis at the hot end. Photo 20 shows the revised installation before adding the steel rod. As there did not seem to be much space in the after radio compartment, the 4.8v NiMH AA size of receiver battery was installed in the forecastle with the gas bottle and valve. An extension cable had to be added, carried on small hooks underneath the side deck, to reach the receiver. Photo 21 shows a trial installation of the battery pack and the horseshoe shaped wooden bulkhead provides support for the gas bottle. For similar space reasons, and also on the basis that the control rod runs were easier, the regulator and ahead/astern servos were also installed in the gas bottle section, extension leads being required for these as well. These servos are standard size, fitted in styrene mounts and connected via steel rods that are actually salvaged bicycle spokes, with a ball joint at the servo end and a metal clevis at the hot end, once again. Photos 22 and 23 are of the old, but still perfectly serviceable, Sanwa servos in their clear styrene mounts.
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Maiden voyage on steam power
After setting up and running-in of the steam plant on the bench, careful programming of the radio control equipment and setting/testing of all its functions, it was off to the boating lake at Sheringham on a cold November day for the maiden voyage on steam power. This voyage actually took place in almost ideal conditions, with a very light breeze and virtually no swell on the water, which is somewhat rare at Sheringham as the pond is on the cliff top by the sea. Out of the car at the lake, fill the boiler, fill the lubricator, install a new gas canister and get ready to go. Checks with the model in the water with a full boiler showed that she floated a lot lower than the scale waterline, but not dangerously so. This was of course because the steam plant is a lot heavier than the previous electric installation. Leaning the model over to each side and letting go gave a rough check of stability and fortunately it recovered, indicating that stability was OK. Next, turn on the gas and light the burner at the boiler flue. Whilst waiting for steam pressure, apply oil around the engine and make a check of all radio control functions. Once the boiler was producing some steam, although not yet at full pressure, the regulator was partially opened and the engine turned over by hand (using a paddle wheel to pull it round) to warm the cylinders and to expel condensed steam to the oil interceptor. With the normal working pressure of 15psi showing on the gauge, the engine was ready to go, but we had to wait for the safety valve to lift at 20si to check for safe correct operation. Only after the safety valve check (making sure bystanders are not crouched over the model), the model was put in the water and sailed for the first time in steam. A short video of part of this steam maiden voyage is available on YouTube by entering my user name ‘philbutton01’ in the search box and scrolling down until you find ‘John H Amos’. With the reversing valve set to ‘ahead’, the regulator was opened and the model moved off at a very slow speed and the engine gave the distinct impression that it was struggling somewhat, but the steering behaved perfectly. Speed control via the regulator worked reasonably well and the next test was to try going astern. This also worked perfectly and she also steered well whilst going astern, but unfortunately the model looked totally wrong owing to how deep she sat in the water and this struck me as a possible reason for the
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engine having a hard time, owing to the depth to which the paddle wheels were immersed. This was fixed prior to the next sailing by replacing the brass machinery plate by one from aluminium and removing the boiler feed pump and its associated pipework and water tanks to make the model float much higher in the water. The performance after these modifications was transformed, proving that the depth of paddle wheel immersion really does matter.
Practicalities Although the gas canister holds sufficient gas for around 45 minutes sailing, the model now has to be brought back after 15 minutes in order to refill the boiler with water. The timer facility built in to the Spektrum transmitter comes in very useful for this, otherwise one usually forgets all about the operating time lapse once the model is on the water. An additional problem also raised its head during this voyage. The model was returning to me at the side of the pond with the wind astern, giving off a strong smell of burning wood! A lady nearby said, ‘Is it supposed to smell like that?’ The response was, ‘No, I think its on fire’! It turned out that gas flames were coming out of some ventilation holes made in the bottom of the boiler firebox and scorching the boiler lagging. This was fixed before the next outing by simply blocking the air holes which had no discernible effect on boiler operation. Photos 24 and 25 show John H. Amos’ on the water for her maiden voyage on steam at the Sheringham boating lake and you can see that it is a little bit low in the water.
Conclusion The Graupner Glasgow kit is a great starting point for modification into virtually any other paddle tug and is also eminently suitable for live steam power, providing that you think it all out carefully before starting the project. I have had much pleasure, together with some headaches, converting the model into John H. Amos and then sailing it. I had doubts initially about installing a steam plant in a moulded plastic hull, although Graupner do sell a steam plant for it, as thoughts of a disastrous meltdown came to mind. I have to say that thus far, these fears have not come to pass. However, I did have some trouble early on in the sailings with scorching of the inside of the superstructure that was traced to gas flames coming out of air holes in the boiler firebox, so the insides
of the superstructure are now lined with litho plate (thin aluminium sheet) in the hope of reflecting the heat away. As with all of my live steamers, John H. Amos has a mind of her own and does not always do what I want. It has caused much frustration when refusing to steam (usually when there is an audience), but has also had good days. With all the trips to the lake, rebuilding and refitting she has kept me well occupied and has finally turned out to be a most satisfying model, being fun to sail and always attracting attention at the lake. Two of the most frequently asked questions at the lake are: ‘Is it actually pushed along by the paddle wheels, or have you got a propeller under there?’ and ‘How do you get that realistic steam effect out of the funnel’? I think that last comment says it all……… (Editor’s note: Phil is qualified to test his boilers, but for insurance purposes a test certificate by a third party is normally required by the MPBA and other organisations) l
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Captain’s Boat JOHN MARTIN describes the Admiralty Fast Motor Boat model he built for his grandsons ollowing the success of building my firstt m radio control model, HMS Sheffield, from free plans in Model Boats, (see Model ght Boats September 2013), to be sailed by my eight oat year old grandsons, they asked for another boat so they could both sail models together. Keeping the naval theme, I decided to build a model of a ship’s motor launch, as carried on warships for transporting the captain, officerss d and VIP’s to and from the ship when anchored off-shore, or between ships at sea. ee I wanted a model that could be built in three to four weeks before the boy’s next visit, however I could not find a suitable simple plan. I wanted something similar to Vic Smeed’s 21 inch Moonmist (MM610, price £12.50 from MyHobbyStore), a very successful streamlined motorboat that has been built in high numbers and then it occurred to me that this plan could be suitably modified into something that would do very nicely. I did find a small image of a standard Admiralty Pattern 25 foot Fast Motor Boat (FMB), often used as the ‘Captain’s Boat’, which had a general arrangement profile and deck level plan and this provided the general launch shape and profile I was seeking, but did not give any detail of the hull form.
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Developing the plan From my shipbuilding background, I know that most ships are a variation of a previous ship. Ship’s hulls are often modified versions of a proven hull, with their superstructures designed to suit the operational requirements of the vessel. As mentioned earlier, Moonmist is the basis of this hull form and the model construction used the image of the FMB as guidance for the profile, cabins, and deck arrangements.
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vertical, causing minimum change to the aft hull lines. The bulkhead positions and construction methods for Moonmist were all retained. The modified stem is not an accurate ‘blunt nose’ as used on the RN launch, however it has an acceptable look as the basis for the project and being close to the proven Moonmist hull design, it should still have similar sailing qualities was my reasoning. From the small image of the FMB, I designed a cabin arrangement that would be clearly recognised as a ‘Captain’s Boat’ from its unique two cabins and forward coxswain position layout. Having modified the stem, I used the new bottom and the deck lines to determine the width of top and bottom of the bulkheads and transom, using the profile to obtain the height and the centre stem bulkhead size. Photo 1 Plans modified from Moonmist to achieve desired look.
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Moonmist is a sporty boat with a distinct sloping stem and angled transom, whereas the FMB has a fuller hull form forward, an almost straight stem and a vertical transom. So, the stem on the Moonmist plan was modified to a shallow angle by filling out the lines forward a little whilst retaining a hull shape that could be built with sheet sides. This changed the shape of the flat bottom, but retained the deck edge shape. The transom of Moonmist was changed to
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special feature Hull and superstructure Typical of many simplified models, the flat bottom, two bulkheads, stem piece and transom provided a simple shape that enabled a hull to be built in just a couple of hours from sheet balsawood. The hull was then coated in a standard brush-on resin and fine fibreglass cloth applied followed by a second coat of resin. The deck cabins are also simple in form with straight fronts, sides and roofs, easily constructed from balsawood sheet. The cabin window openings were cut out and clear plastic glazing cut for the windows. All the wood surfaces, including the inside of the hull, were also coated with resin. For access to the radio control equipment, motor and batteries, a hatch was created along the centre of the main deck and a removable deck section built to fit over this opening. The two main cabins and the coxswain’s steering position were built onto this removable deck. The result is a very simple model with the look of a Captain’s Boat, but with easy access to the operational items inside the hull. Modifying a proven design to obtain the desired look worked well and with a little thought and care,
this can be achieved with many other plans, whatever the ability or experience of the modeller.
Propulsion, steering and radio control Research on Moonmist recommended a 385 motor as the correct propulsion unit for this hull, so a motor, complete with mount and an electronic speed controller were purchased. As I wanted both my models to sail simultaneously when my two grandsons visit us, I used a cheap secondhand 40Mhz two channel radio system for this model and HMS
Photo 2 Moonmist basic structure is retained.
Sheffield of course uses 2.4Ghz. A seven-inch M4 (4mm threaded) propshaft was chosen, together with a flexible coupling and 30mm three bladed plastic propeller. Shaft alignment was straightforward, being just a simple hole in the bottom of the boat with a groove gouged out until a suitable shallow angle was obtained for the propshaft. Once alignment was set, the propshaft tube was secured to the hull with epoxy adhesive. A commercial rudder was purchased and a standard rudder servo is used to control steering with a single wire linkage arrangement. The internal layout is classic, with the motor
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Photo 3 A straighter stem and vertical transom produce the traditional form of a ship’s motor boat.
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Photo 4 The cabins each have simple straight fronts, sides and roofs. Photo 5 The cabins are fixed to removable one piece hatch. Photo 6 A commercial rudder, M4 (4mm) propshaft and 30mm propeller are used.
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Photo 7 The motor, battery and rudder servo are positioned along the centreline.
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forward, battery amidships and rudder servo aft, all along the centerline hopefully producing a well-trimmed boat. The battery pack is 7.2v of 2600mAh capacity and is of a stubby shape to suit the available space above the propshaft tube between the motor and rudder servo. Compartments were constructed to house the speed controller and receiver, port and starboard, midway between the battery and the motor to minimize interference, and also keeping their wires away from the rotating propshaft/motor coupling.
Photo 8 The overlay added to the forward deck.
Photo 10 The completed model - a general view, but still minus the fittings.
Finishing All the wood surfaces of the boat had been coated with brush-on resin, but the upper deck was stained before coating with it so as to look like a wooden deck! The superstructure was painted white and the hull blue, with enamels, both the chosen colours being those often used on such craft carried on warships.
Photo 9 The completed model, but still awaiting fittings.
10 9 limited to just enough to give an impression of a Captain’s Boat’ and take away the blandness of the basic model. Then, on their next visit, it was off to the lake again with the family for a sailing session as depicted here in the photographs. The boys had (and still do) a wonderful time sailing the models together, their taking turns with HMS Sheffield and the Captain’s Boat. Only battery endurance gets them to come away from the lake! Below: Sam brings the Captain’s Boat to shore, with HMS Sheffield standing by.
First sailing The model was initially launched and tested on our local model boating lake and it sailed well. The recommended 385 motor is more than adequate for the model size, as it moves at reasonable speed even when against a strong wind and choppy water. The model was very stable on its turns and ran well in a straight line, not being affected by the swell waves blowing across the lake in the wind. However, the model did look a little ‘bow down’ when sailing against the waves. Lead sheet, as sold to make fishing weights, has subsequently been added as ballast in the rudder compartment aft, which ensures the bow stays ‘up’ in most wind and wave conditions.
Further sailing by the grandsons Once proven after these initial trials, detail was added with a couple of lifebelts carved from balsa on the cabin roof, a couple of ‘horns’ also on the main cabin roof and two stubby masts with a line strung between them. Detail is
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Above: The model trimmed out well with no list on initial testing.
Conclusion
gave the desired ‘stand-off’ appearance, without compromising on performance. The Moonmist model sails so well that I have now decided that it could be the basis for several models. With a good hull performance, and all of the operational gear purchased, installed and working well, it seems an unnecessary expense to re-build and re-equip another hull just to have a different model type. So, I plan to
The modified Moonmist hull with its straightened stem and square transom has a traditional and acceptable look for many ship and boat types. It was selected as the basis for the model after reading it was a very good performer and had been successfully built by numerous modellers over many years. These simple modifications to the Moonmist plan
investigate building alternative topsides on a removable deck to fit the ‘Captain’s Boat’ deck main hatch, perhaps a fishing boat, lifeboat or tug for example. Perhaps readers will be interested to see how using alternative topsides works and I will let Model Boats know in due course.
Above: Leaving the jetty on first trial sailing.
All photographs taken by author and his wife
Above: Me and my grandsons sailing the models!
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Model Boats November 2013
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warship scale
Range
Above: Glasgow Richmond MBC go to a lot of trouble to make their warship event a success. Photo 1. The dock area is large enough to enable four or five models to manoeuvre within it, whilst the rest of the lake has various features to test steering skill or just to sail around.
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DAVE WOOLEY with his Worldwide Review of Warships and Warship Modelling organised by the Scottish Model Warship Association and the Glasgow Richmond MBC. The facilities are second to none with a large clubhouse and a really efficient and cheerful café, plus the usual personal facilities and most important of all, a very nice large pond! This year there were a number of modellers attending from the Belgian club of MBV Hofstade. This group may be familiar to readers through their extraordinary diorama of the D-Day landings which is a regular feature at the Intermodellbau Show in Dortmund each April. It was the 30 or so models used in this static display that were brought by them to Glasgow.
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The event
Photo 2. The Belgium D-Day group brought along many of their working models which included this attack transport, a floating dock and tugs.
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W
elcome once again to our regular sortie into the world of fighting ships and this month we have Part One of a two part feature about the 2013 National Warship Weekend in Glasgow, plus Part 28 of the HMS Daring project and instead of the usual Mystery picture teaser, there is ‘Tools for the Job’.
National Warship Weekend
Now in its sixth year and for the last three it has been at Richmond Park in Glasgow, this is now firmly in the calendar as one of the best attended model warship events in the UK. Richmond Park is within easy distance of Glasgow City Centre and only five minutes from junction 1A on the M74. The event is
There is no fixed format or timetable for how the two days progress, a gathering of like minded enthusiasts being the name of the game. Having said that, there was a competition for static models (i.e. on the stand) and on the water, but entry is not obligatory. A large dock area was provided and for this year a minefield which attracted more than just the models, Photo 1. Part of the D-Day theme brought along by the Belgian modellers, were the pontoons and one of these was used to good effect, alongside the attack transport Montrose. Two 1:96 scale tugs manoeuvred the models to enable stores of timber to be offloaded, Photos 2 and 3.
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Photo 3. The floating dock was manoeuvred alongside the attack transport for off-loading timber.
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Photo 7. HMCS Athabaskan is an attractive Canadian destroyer, semi-scratch built by Steve Huston. Photo 8. The Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto.
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David Jack’s model of the heavy flak Seibel ferry has been featured before, but I think Photo 4 is well worth including, if only because of the angle from which it is taken. USS Wolverine first appeared, but unfinished, at the 2009 National Warship Weekend. Douglas Kinloch from the Edinburgh MBC now brought along his completed 1:144 scale model of this WW2 paddle wheel propelled carrier pilot training ship. She was converted from the side wheeler Seeandbee and operated on Lake Michigan from 1943 until 1945. Together with her sister ship USS Sable, she possessed no hangar and was slow. The model is 100% scratch built and is shown here with Wildcat and Hellcat fighters on her flight deck, Photo 5. Basic US Navy pilot training was carried out on these aircraft carriers on the US Great Lakes and it is said that there are numerous examples of WW2 aircraft littering the lake bottoms! Gary Mills is building a semi-scratch model of the armed trawler The Three Kings FY918, based on a Mountfleet Models Britannia hull.
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This model can be seen here in the background of Photo 6 and it makes an interesting comparison with Osprey in the foreground. This is a really interesting conversion with more details and pictures to follow next month.
Canadian warship models Many models at this event are to a scale of 1:72 and the model of the Iroquois class destroyer HMCS Athabaskan was but one example. This is a new project by Steve
Huston of the Scottish Model Warship Association and is almost complete but for some radar arrays and is based on a GRP hull and drawings provided by Jonathan Evans of Canada. Having recently been aboard HMCS Iroquois, this makes for an interesting model, Photo 7. Also from Steve Huston, was this 1:72 scale HMCS Toronto, a Halifax class frigate, Photo 8. Drawings and hull and fittings were supplied by Jonathan Evans once again, email: [email protected].
Photo 4. David Jack sailed his superb Seibel ferry. Photo 5. USS Wolverine is a paddle wheel driven US Navy Great Lakes training aircraft carrier.
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Photo 6. In the background is the incomplete armed trawler The Three Kings FY918, based on a Mountfleet Models hull and in the foreground is an example from the classic Mountfleet Models armed drifter kit, Osprey.
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warship scale
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Photo 9. A 1:96 scale HMS Lord Nelson built by David Hamilton of Edinburgh MBC.
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14 Photo 10. This is a scratch built model of a Leichte Schnellboote (small torpedo boat) that was carried on the German surface raider Michel during WW2.
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Photo 14. In the Pacific during WW2, special paint schemes were used to reduce a vessels’ visibility when seen from the air.
HMS Lord Nelson
Not all models are of modern warships as this 1:96 scale pre-dreadnought battleship HMS Lord Nelson, Photo 9, built by David Hamilton of the Edinburgh MBC, clearly demonstrates. This is a particularly well-detailed model with a ‘distinctive’ presence on the water. Its 1:96 scale hull is available from Fleetscale, website: www.fleetscale. com, and normally retails for around £115.
Kriegsmarine small attack craft
David Jack is a prolific builder of German coastal force vessels, many of which are unusual and unheard of until David appears with his latest model. On this occasion it was a model of a Leichte Schnellboot (small torpedo boat) that was carried on the German surface raider Michel during WW2, Photo 10.
Other models Photo 11. A short forecastle Flower class corvette HMCS Agassiz built by John Macalister.
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At Richmond Park was this very nice all scratch built model of the short forecastle Flower class corvette HMCS Agassiz, built by
John Macalister, Photo 11. Hospital ship models are rare and Photo 12 is of one from the Belgian modellers and it is based on a Deans Marine hull and fittings. Rex Hunt is well known for his model of HMS Hermes as of 1982 and he had travelled from Norwich. This was the first time I have had the opportunity to photograph the model ‘at sea’, and what a magnificent sight it was, Photo 13! Rex has spent some years building this model and to also reach this level of authenticity on the water is a real achievement. The next picture is of a WW2 Fletcher class destroyer, Photo 14, and although this model has no pennant number, the colour scheme is the distinctive US Navy Measure 21 (or Navy Blue System) when all the vertical surfaces of the hull and upperworks were painted Navy Blue 5-N. This model is based on the Deans Marine 1:96 scale Fletcher class kit and was, once again, brought along by our Belgian friends. The Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided missile frigates make for an interesting project. Having recently visited
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Photo 12. The Belgian D-Day Group showed what can be done using a Deans Marine hull and fittings for this hospital ship. Photo 13. Rex Hunt has produced not just a very well researched Falklands period HMS Hermes, but it is a stunningly realistic model when on the water.
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one of the type, I was pleased to see that there were no less than two 1:72 scale models at this event, one of which was USS McClusky FFG-41, Photo 15. Scales and types of vessels varied, but certain models caught my eye and I was intrigued by this USN sub chaser, SC 1441, Photo 16. The original was 136ft long, built at Harbour Boat Company Terminal Island in California and entered service in April 1944. Another new model was the four stack (funnel) USS Aaron Ward being built by Stewart Lachie. He is probably best known to readers as the builder of a 1:72 scale KM Bismarck featured in the review of the 2010 Warship Weekend. The USS Aaron Ward is all scratch built to a scale of 1:72. I note that this four stacker is not listed in Silverstone’s US Warships of WW2, therefore I assume that it must be one of the 50 lend-lease destroyers transferred to the Royal Navy in 1940 and this is confirmed by reference to ‘A Dictionary of Ships of the Royal Navy of the Second World War’ by John Young. USS Aaron Ward was built at Bath Iron Works, launched in 1919 and on transfer was renamed HMS Castleton. Often referred to as the Flush Deck Class, these warships were real workhorses and were converted to perform many different roles, including minelaying and high speed transports. According to Arnold Hague’s excellent book ‘The Towns’, the ship’s bell of Aaron Ward was handed over in 1950 to the town of Castleton Vermont as a gesture of appreciation, Photo 17.
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And to end this month? Not all the models were large, and here is an American harbour tug helping HMS Edinburgh, no doubt on a courtesy visit to the USA, Photo 18! To finish off this Part One, here is a picture of two NATO warships in company on the water, Photo 19. These last two pictures perhaps show what the event is all about, that is to say, enthusiasts showing their models and sailing together in a convivial atmosphere - what more could you want? In the December issue of MB, there will be a detailed review of the models on display highlighting a number of current unusual model projects.
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1:72 scale HMS Daring Type 45 destroyer - Part 28
VLS housing and liferafts When building any model there are two primary sources of information, namely plans and photographs and sometimes these can be in conflict. This not because they’re in any way deficient, but it’s more a lack of precise knowledge at the time the drawings are
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Photo 15. The 1:72 scale Oliver Perry class USS McClusky FFG-41, makes for a fine, stable model. Photo 16, The sub chaser SC1441 - a nice subject and a bit different from the norm’. Photo 17. These old WW1 destroyers proved their worth in both US Navy and RN service in WW2. This particular 1:72 scale example of USS Aaron Ward is still being superbly built by Stewart Lachie and he has I believe even conducted trials on Loch Lomond! Photo 18. Tugs come in all shapes and sizes! Photo 19. Sailing as a team: The stretched Type 42 destroyer HMS York D98 in company with HMCS Toronto.
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Model Boats November 2013
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warship scale
Photo 20. Each side of the VLS housing on HMS Daring is different. This is a view of the starboard face. Photo 21. The forward facing slope of the VLS housing and this shows how the middle access panel is slightly smaller than the outer two. Photo 22. The VLS housing was sanded smooth externally with 1mm thickness styrene sheet in preparation for re-siting the access panels. Photo 23. At the top of this picture are the shaped 0.5mm litho plate access panels and in the lower half are some of the fittings. Photo 24. Each panel is fixed into place using a cyanoacrylate metal adhesive. Photo 25. Photographs were used to precisely locate the new panels on the VLS housing.
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prepared or if the pictures were taken in a different time frame. Fleetscale supply a well-moulded VLS (Vertical Launch System) housing and it is excellent and its surface features conform to the drawing. However, when referencing pictures there is a conflict, as the large panels surrounding three of its sides are different to those on the drawing and on the moulding, so what to do? The answer was to sand away the detail on the front and the port and starboard side sloping faces, and then cover all these surfaces with 1mm styrene sheet. This course of action had the penalty of increasing the overall length and width of the housing slightly, but it allowed each of the large panels to be reset as per the pictures. This was not one of those pedantic whims, but a real problem of having conformity to HMS Daring as she actually was at the time of my photographs.
Identifying the problem Both the moulding and drawing show three similar size panels on both port and starboard
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faces, but pictures reveal that on the starboard side, Photo 20, there are only two, whilst to port there are three, with the smaller of the three nearest the bridge, whilst the forward face, Photo 21, shows that there is a distinct gap between each panel with the centre panel being of a reduced width. With this information, work could begin on redefining the VLS housing moulding. First, and whilst referencing the pictures, the size and position of the panels were drawn on the freshly styrene laminated sides. The location of the electrical boxes, lighting, speakers and other fittings could be left until the basic changes had been made, Photo 22.
Making and fitting the panels Each panel is flush with the outer surface and on the moulding (as supplied) these are shown as distinct raised surfaces. I opted to repeat this (which is not strictly correct), but using thin litho plate as this will show the panel to best effect without giving the
impression of too much depth and of course it’s easier to fit the panel to the surface rather that etch the panel into the styrene surface laminate. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the entire VLS housing reduces slightly in height along its length from the back to the front, so this affects the shape of both port and starboard panels as they run parallel with the upper and lower edges. Templates were made which made preparing the final litho plate cut pieces much less problematic, Photo 23. With the panels cut and shaped, these could now be glued into place starting with the forward face of the housing and for this I used cyanoacrylate ‘metal’ adhesive. This is an excellent glue for bonding small sections of litho plate, but care is needed as once in position there is very little time to make adjustments, Photo 24. Next came the two starboard side panels and please note how the top of each panel remains parallel with the top and lower edges of the housing, Photo 25.
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Photo 26. To port, there are three panels with the smallest one towards the rear of the housing.
The port side panelling, Photo 26, is as already mentioned, positioned differently. The three new panels were now be fitted to the port side of the VLS housing, Photo 27.
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Fittings Once the revised panels were in place, the various electrical boxes etc. could be fitted, On the starboard face of the VLS housing, there are (as already mentioned) two panels with the space nearest the bridge occupied by some electrical fittings. These were made from an assortment of Evergreen styrene box section, with nickel silver and/or brass wire, creating the cable conduits, Photo 28. On the front face, there are oval shaped inspection hatches and bulkhead lights, together with two speaker units and a control box, Photo 29. With the port, starboard and forward faces prepared, attention could shift to the rear face. Here it became obvious it was necessary to clad this surface in the same way as the others, so the vents and openings could be adjusted to match those in the photographs, Photo 30. With the VLS housing now virtually complete, attention could shift to the racks supporting the liferaft containers.
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Liferaft stowage racks HMS Daring, at time of her commissioning, carried eight stowage racks for single liferaft containers mounted along the main deck inside of the bulwarks and a further two dual container storage racks sited either side of the hangar front. These are basically quite simple as locking pins retaining the relevant section of bulwark can be removed, thus allowing it to drop down and the liferaft container to be released over the side. The stowage racks are of a steel fabricated framework and the liferaft container itself rests on two lengths of timber which in turn are fitted to right angle flange pieces. Each length of timber is shaped to conform to the circumference of the container, Photo 31. Like all modern liferaft containers, they can be manually released or operate using a hydrostatic valve which is just visible at the rear of the device. The steel frames forming the stowage racks are permanently fixed to the deck.
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Making the stowage racks This is a straightforward task and all eight were made in about two hours. The basic design was sketched and the five main parts cut from 1mm styrene sheet. These parts consisted of the base 15mm x 12mm, and the sides, each having a section removed with the inboard ends sloping outwards from the base. The back support is a U-shaped vertical section and the front piece was cut to a depth that allowed the flange piece to seat inboard and flush with each side, Photo 32. With the basic unit prepared, the top flange piece and box section styrene strip to form the timber support for the container, were cut to size for all eight racks (of which only seven are shown here), Photo 33. The flange piece is fitted inboard and flush with the top edge, now leaving only the
Photo 27. The three panels on the port side of the VLS housing are fixed into place. Photo 28. Using 0.31mm nickel silver wire from Albion Alloys, this forms the electrical conduits for the various boxes on the blank section of the starboard face of the VLS housing. Photo 29. The various bulkhead fittings are being added. Photo 30. The after face of the VLS housing has an assortment of inspection hatches, panels, vent grills and a ladder. Photo 31. Inboard of the bulwarks are eight liferaft containers mounted on fixed chutes/frames. Photo 32. The basic mounting frames can be made using just five parts. Photo 33. Using the same method, all eight chutes can be assembled.
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Photo 34. Styrene strip was used to make the Inside flange pieces. Photo 35. Styrene box section strip is used to form the timber seating for the container and was then shaped to form a semi-circular cutout in which the container rests.
Photo 36. About Easter 2013 and nearly all the construction work is complete. Photo 37. Albion Alloys now retail this Flexible Detail Sanding Kit. Photo 38. The Flexible Detail Sanding Kit will be very handy for lots of good and practical reasons.
styrene box section container support to be fitted, Photo 34. This box section is fitted to the top of the flange piece and was adjusted to coincide with the edge of the outer rings surrounding the container, thus allowing the container to seat nicely on it all. In Photo 35, (where we once again have all eight racks!), it’s worth noting that the third frame along the front row has already been sanded to match the circumference of the container in very much the same way as the original.
Progress to date It has been many months since I showed a full hull picture and this Photo 36 is one of the few pictures where much of the superstructure has been fitted. During the construction period, it is rare to have so much of the model in place, even temporarily, as many of the completed parts are stored ‘off the model’ for their own protection. This picture is not truly up to date, but does give an impression of progress as of Easter 2013. The remaining descriptive parts of this project will concentrate on painting the model and its final assembly, including signage and markings with many new items from BECC Flags.
Tools for the job? Many readers will be familiar with the name of Albion Alloys and their extensive range of precision tube, wire and section in brass, copper and alloy. They also market precision abrasives and suitable tools especially designed for the model maker, so I’m going to take a look at one of these products, namely a fully waterproof flexible detailing sanding kit. As some will know through the pages of this magazine, I have been
keen to promote the use of simple self-designed tools to function as ‘little helpers’ that extend one’s capability to sand into places other conventional tool do not reach or just to make the task easier. Albion Alloys have recently produced such a sanding device that most certainly helps the model maker. Basically, the new sander kit consists of a rubber applicator/holder, 50mm by 15mm wide, that is rounded at each end and comes complete with a selection of self-abrasive pads. Removal of the self-adhesive protection means the abrasive can be stuck to the underside of the applicator. It can be used wet or dry and the abrasive pads vary from 800 grade very fine to very coarse. In short, the Albion Alloys sanding device works really well on both small and large items, dry or wet. The kit retails at around £7.50 and can be obtained via selected model shops or: www.emodels.co.uk.
Answer to the October MB Mystery Picture
The clue was: Could this be one of the largest radio controlled ships ever built? As Mystery Pictures go, it was a relatively easy one because of its very distinctive appearance and the ship’s links with the rise of the German Navy prior to WW1. It was of course SMS Zahringen. With the 100th Anniversary of the start of the First World War coming in August 2014, there will no doubt be a considerable amount of discussion as to the reasons for the conflict. There is still a debate amongst historians as to the ‘whys and wherefores’, but many agree that naked naval ambition was a driving force at that time. It was the desire of Kaiser Wilhelm II and Alfred Von Tirpitz Secretary of State for the German Navy, from1892 to create a navy that was strong enough to match that of the Royal Navy. Before 1900, the Royal Navy was the largest in the world and Tirpitz saw that the growing industrial might of Germany could provide a challenge to it and by implication, challenge Great Britain’s imperial position. From 1898 onwards, laws were passed that set in train not just the development direction of the then Imperial German Navy (Kaiserliche Marine) but would lead inevitably towards conflict with Great Britain. The Wittelsbach class of battleships were the first to be ordered under the new naval strategy with the third of the class being SMS Zahringen, laid down in 1899 at the Friedrich
Krupp Germaniawerft (often just called Germaniawerft, ‘Germania shipyard’) which was a German shipbuilding company located in the harbour at Kiel. Completion was on 25th October 1902 and by the standards of the day these ships were at a disadvantage when compared to RN pre-dreadnoughts particularly in their main armament of 4 x 240mm and the secondary battery of 18 x 150mm guns. Displacing 12798 tons and having three propshafts and six boilers, the engines developed around 15000hp which gave a top end speed of 18 knots, similar in performance to one of the RN Formidable class battleships of that time. The pace of technological change was so rapid that before 1914 SMS Zahringen was considered obsolete as were many of the pre-dreadnought battleships of both Great Britain and Germany, so SMS Zahringen was then use for training and later as a target ship. After the end of WW1, Germany was restricted in the number of warships she could have, so in 1926 the Reichsmarine (Imperial Navy - the German Navy during the Weimar Republic and first two years of Nazi Germany), converted the now hulked SMS Zahringen into one of the first radio controlled target ships.
References and acknowledgements
Naval colour schemes Fletcher class destroyers ref: Naval Camouflage 1914 to 1945 by David Williams, pages 168 to 170. Sub chaser SC1441 ref: US Warships of WW2, Paul H. Silverstone, page 254. USS Aaron Ward/HMS Castleton ref: The Towns by Arnold Hague, pages 39 and 40 and A Dictionary of Ships of the Royal Navy, page 51. SMS Zahringen ref: Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1860 to 1905, page 248. German Naval Laws ref: The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea, page 871. My continuing thanks to the Commanding Officer and Ship’s Company of HMS Daring for their help and valued assistance during my visits. My thanks to the organisers and members of the Scottish Model Warship Association and Glasgow Richmond MBC for their hospitality when making my visit to the National Warship Weekend. l
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plastic magic
HMS Hood PLASTIC MAGIC !
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exploded. The subsequent loss of HMS Hood had a profound effect on the British people and Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered the Royal Navy to ‘Sink the Bismarck’, which was duly fulfilled on 26/27th May 1941.
The model
TONY DALTON converts the 1:400 scale Lindberg kit to radio control
H
MS Hood, Photo 1, was the last battle cruiser built for the Royal Navy and was commissioned in 1920. She was named after the well known 18th century Admiral Samuel Hood (1st Viscount Hood). HMS Hood operated in WW2 and was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. She was one of four Admiral-class battle cruisers ordered in mid-1916 and her design, although drastically revised after the Battle of Jutland and improved whilst under construction, had serious limitations. For this reason she was the only ship of her class to be completed. HMS Hood was involved in a number of showing the flag exercises between her commissioning in 1920 and the outbreak of WW2 in 1939, as well as training exercises in the Mediterranean and a circumnavigation of the globe with the Special Service Squadron in 1923 and 1924. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, HMS Hood was officially assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet
until she had to return to Britain in 1939 for an overhaul, as by this time advances in naval gunnery had reduced HMS Hood’s usefulness. She was scheduled to undergo a major refit in 1941 to correct these issues, but the outbreak of WW2 in September 1939 forced the ship to continue in service without the proposed upgrades. When war with Germany was declared, HMS Hood was operating in the area around Iceland, and she spent the next few months between Iceland and the Norwegian Sea hunting for German commerce raiders and blockade runners. After a brief overhaul of her propulsion system, she sailed as flagship of Force H, and participated in the destruction of the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir. Relieved as flagship of Force H, HMS Hood was dispatched to Scapa Flow, and operated in the area as a convoy escort and later as a defence against a potential German invasion fleet. In May 1941, she and the battleship HMS Prince of Wales were ordered to intercept the German battleship KM Bismarck which was en-route to the Atlantic where she was to attack convoys. On 24th May 1941, early in the Battle of the Denmark Strait, HMS Hood was struck by several German shells which
This HMS Hood plastic kit was purchased at the 2010 St. Albans Model Engineering Exhibition and as like all things, it seemed like a good idea at the time! After a few weeks sitting on the shelf (the kit not me!), I decided to take a closer look. Checking the internet for information about the kit resulted in finding a number of very scathing reviews suggesting that it lacked a lot of detail, so being extremely disappointed the kit went back onto the shelf. It was some three years later, having built the 1:700 scale Bismarck (MB May 2013) that the urge to do something with it came about again. The good thing about the model is its size, as at 1:400 scale the finished model is about 28 inches (71cm) long, so is large enough to be sailed on the Luton & District MBC lake on reasonably calm days. The kit as supplied in the box is shown in Photo 2. All the parts were checked to confirm that they were present and correct and in fact it appeared that there were actually more than was required. The entire kit as supplied is shown in Photo 3. It is a fairly simple kit and to enhance its appearance I planned to add a ‘wooden’ deck, radio controlled internal cabin and navigation lights using small surface mount LED’s, plus of course powering ALL four propellers using four small motors controlled by a single electronic speed controller (esc).
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Some experiments were carried out using a small motor that was to hand by making up a small shaft and running tube, including one of the kit supplied HMS Hood propellers. This was mounted as an assembly complete with motor into a test jig, Photo 4. Applying 3.6 volts of power to the motor and immersing the propeller in some water, I then measured the current, which was greater than the motor’s published performance limits. Browsing the Precision Microdrives website to see which suitable motors they had available, I selected a type that I thought would be suitable and ordered four of them. On receipt of the motors, one was assembled into the test jig again and powered-up. It proved to be satisfactory, the maximum current now being well within the published specification. Next, attention turned to the hull and on inspection, I noticed that there was a provision for a single propeller shaft on the centreline of the hull, Photo 5, and on checking the instructions, there was indeed no reference to this particular feature. In fact there were quite a few parts that looked as if they were intended to be used to make the model into a child’s floating toy, so these were discarded and the project continued as intended. However, before all of that, a decent stand was required. This was made out of some scrap bits of fibre board (MDF) and softwood strips, the edges mating to the hull being lined with green felt, Photo 6. When inspecting the hull, there did not appear to be a bulges on the outside of the hull where the armour belts would have been, so this was corrected by making two shaped spacer pieces out of foam board as in Photo 7. These were bonded to the sides of the hull, epoxy filler added to the edges and when cured, profiled to the hull as in Photo 8. The rudder and propeller shafts I manufactured myself, the plastic kit rudder also being discarded. The four propeller shafts and running tubes together with four flexible couplings and modification of the outer propeller shaft supports are as follows: Propshafts: 1.2mm dia. Silver steel threaded M1.2 at each end. Propellers: The plastic kit propellers were drilled and tapped M1.2 then screwed to the propeller shaft ends and bonded. Running tubes: 2.4mm dia. x 1.6 i.d. brass tube bushed at both ends then drilled 1.2mm to suit the propeller shafts.
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Shaft bearing supports: Existing supports bushed with 1.5mm brass tubing and drilled out 1.2mm to suit the propeller shafts.
Rudder down tube: 4mm dia. brass tubing (3mm i.d.) 18mm long. All these completed and assembled items are shown in Photo 9.
Flex-couplings: Plastic tubing with brass bushes inserted at both ends. One bush drilled and tapped M1.2 at one end and the other bush plane drilled 1.0mm at its motor end to suit.
Power and propulsion
Rudder blade: 0.8mm thick brass sheet profiled to size. The plastic rudder discarded was discarded. Rudder shaft: 3mm dia. brass bar slotted at one end to suit the rudder blade and tapped M2.5 at the other end to suit the tiller arm.
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First, the kit of parts for the Action R/C Electronics speed controller (esc) were assembled, Photo 10. It had been purchased in component form as this is cheaper, but also because I was not convinced that when fully
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assembled and boxed that it would fit inside the hull of the model, but as it turned out it did fit without any problem. The plan was to use a printed circuit board on which to mount the esc, as this would be helpful to connect the four pairs of motor wires to the single esc output and also
connect the battery supply plus a switch to the input side. The board was made from a piece of copper laminate, machined on the copper side to form the tracking. Photo 11 shows the connections of the receiver, LiPo battery and the esc with all four motors being tested.
A plan was drawn to show how all the component parts of the control system would fit into the hull. Although the motor testing was done using a small LiPo batter y, in practice six AA size 2900mAh NiMH batteries would be used and Photo 12 shows the final central internal layout inside the hull. Having decided to do this, and as the motors run from a maximum of three volts, a voltage regulator would be required, but I should also mention that the superstructure would have cabin and navigation lights, so the simple schematic electrical diagram for all of this is shown in Photo 13. The four propeller shafts were individually aligned and their entry holes drilled into the base of the one piece hull and the plastic rudder tube drilled out and a brass version inserted and bonded into place. The bulkheads were temporarily fitted and marked as to where the motor shafts should be and they were then removed and drilled to
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Model Boats November 2013
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accept the motor fixings. The propeller shafts, couplings and motors were then finally assembled into the hull and set up, and when satisfactory alignment was achieved, the motor bulkheads were bonded into position. Once these were fully-set, the propshaft running tubes were bonded into position in the hull using Milliput Plastic Epoxy. The assembled motors and propshafts can be seen in Photos 14 and 15.
Hull bulkheads and dividers The next step was to make up the bulkhead and divider arrangement as indicated earlier (please see photo 12 again) and this was created from 1.5mm thick plasticard (styrene). First, the full-width bulkheads were made to fit the hull at their particular fitting points then the rest of the assembly was made up and glued together, including the bulkheads,
Model Boats November 2013
all as a sub-assembly on the bench. When the glued assembly was thoroughly dry it was sanded down and trimmed to fit snugly inside the hull and once a satisfactory fit had been achieved, it was bonded into place, the servo mounting platform made up to suit the micro-servo, and the complete assembly screwed down into place across the two bulkheads. One requirement was to be able to remove the aft deck area to gain access to the rudder and its linkage, so the inside top edge of the whole hull was lined with strips of plasticard to create a ledge. This gave the main deck a larger area to which it could be bonded and it also enabled the aft deck to have a surface for screw attachments. With all this now fitted and glued in the hull, the electronics could be installed. The six AA size rechargeable batteries were connected together to produce two ‘torpedo style’ sets of three. Small strips of copper foil were soldered to the terminals of each set of three batteries and long lengths of thin silicone wire coupled the two sets together and a connection to the regulator PCB. Each set of three batteries was placed along opposing sides of the hull. The regulator, receiver and esc were all wired together and placed in their respective compartments within the hull.
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When the electronic switch for the lighting was tested, it was found not to work on 3.3 volts. This was due to the output switching transistor whose specification indicated that it required at least 4.5 volts. On investigation. I found a small switching transistor, 2N700, that would operate down to 3.3 volts, but this particular transistor would only switch up to 200mA and with the quantity of LED’s expected to be used in the superstructure, this amperage would be insufficient. Therefore, this particular electronic switch would have to be used to drive a relay, which in turn would switch on/off the LED lighting in the superstructure, but at a higher current. So, a relay PCB was duly designed, which would also contain the series resistors for the LED’s. This relay board was made and tested and would be fitted into the base of the superstructure later. A picture of the completed wired hull is shown in Photo 16, where you can also see the wide deck edge stringers for the removable quarter deck section and those for the fixed main deck.
Decks The next step was to modify and fit these. As it was intended to cover the decks with simulated wood planking, it was necessary to machine (or sand) away all the detail moulding on these decks.
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Painting
Prior to doing this, each plastic deck was scanned to copy their profiles and the existing deck detail for future reference. Having done this, most of the plastic deck detail was machined (sanded) away, just leaving the circular mouldings on the fore and aft decks that indicated the positions of the main turret barbettes, Photo 17. The aft deck then had a 2mm high edge piece glued to the inside of the superstructure opening to hopefully prevent water ingress. Once the glue was dry, this deck was placed into position on the hull and held in place using masking tape. The top edge of the deck was marked where the securing screws should be positioned and these points drilled through the deck into the deck edge stringers. These holes were then tapped 12BA. The complete deck was later repositioned on the hull and screwed down using 12BA washers and cheese head screws. Okay, not perfect, but practical! The main forward deck section was also modified in a similar way by having a 2mm high edge glued to the inside of the superstructure opening. Once dry, a small slot was cut just above the front of the opening to fit the power control switch, Photo 18. This main deck section was then further sanded around its underside edges to aid adhesion, glue applied and the whole thing placed onto the hull and held in position with masking tape and weights. Once the glue was fully cured, the deck was sanded around its edges until they matched the hull’s top edge profile.
The hull was now ready for final finishing and as it had been rubbed down with fairly coarse sandpaper, it was given three coats of Eze-Kote. This is a single coat laminating/finishing resin and although milky white in appearance it does dr y clear and hard. Once the third coat was dr y, the hull was sanded using wet and dr y paper until a blemish free finish was obtained. The deck openings were covered and the complete hull spray painted with Halfords grey primer, repeated three times until the desired finish was achieved, this colour being a reasonable approximation to warship grey. The upper part of the hull was then masked to leave the section below the waterline which was sprayed with two coats of Halfords Red Oxide primer. All the masking was then removed and after a couple of days to let the paint fully harden, it was masked again leaving a small gap for the waterline which was now hand painted matt black. Once the masking was finally removed, the complete hull was sprayed with clear enamel satin varnish providing a nice overall finish and a seal for the colour coats, Photo 19.
Wood decks The decks had previously been scanned, so these were printed at 1:1 ratio as copies of the fore and aft decks, trimmed to size and they
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became the templates for cutting out the simulated wood decking which had been purchased from White Ensign Models in self-adhesive sheet form. Once cut out, these pieces were offered up to the plastic sub-decks, trimmed to fit around the deck openings and barbettes, and then applied. So now, HMS Hood had good representations of her wooden deck areas. From the original scans of the decks there was sufficient detail to now make the two pairs of breakwaters, bollards, deck lockers and capstans etc., all of which which were bonded into position on the imitation wood deck. The anchors were trimmed at their bases, painted black, glued and screwed (12BA) to the side of the hull, and finally anchor chains were added, Photo 20.
Superstructure The first deck level of the superstructure was scanned in the same way as the main decks, this being because an image of this deck would be required as part of it would also be covered by imitation wood planking. Small holes were drilled in the vertical sides of the superstructure for portholes. The windows for the rangefinder platform and the bridge were also made, first by cutting a 2mm slot in the respective parts for the windows and then slotting in and bonding some 2mm thick Perspex sheet for the glazing. Once the glue was dry, the surplus external Perspex was sanded away with wet and dry paper to match the outer profile of the parts, Photo 21.
Illumination All the LED’s for illumination were to be surface mount type 0804 (this means that they measure 0.08 inches x 0.04 inches) and single strand wires (0.007 inch dia.) were soldered to each side of their bodies, Photo 22. A cut-out was machined in the aft area of the base superstructure that gave open access to the inner workings of the ship. A small box
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section was then made, that fitted behind this cut-out into which an LED had been fitted to illuminate this area, Photo 23. To get illumination as close to the portholes as possible so that light would shine out, small internal bulkheads were made on which the LED’s were mounted and these were placed behind the areas in which the portholes had been drilled in the superstructure, Photo 24. The stern light would normally be fitted at the rear of the ship, but this would mean an extra pair of wires being routed through the hull to the relay control PCB. A bit of modeller’s licence was therefore used to make up a housing with an LED that would fit on an elevated deck area behind the aft rangefinder, Photo 25. An LED was also glued to the back edge of each of the Perspex windows that had been fitted to the forward main control tower and bridge, the wires being run down the support girders to the inside of the superstructure. The area around the base of the bridge control tower was modified as it was found that it had a deck missing. This was made with two small housings underneath for port and starboard navigation lights, Photo 26.
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Finishing off The scan of the superstructure deck previously taken was now printed out at a 1:1 ratio and used as a template to cut the self-adhesive wood planking to the required shape, in the same way as for the main decks. This was offered up to the superstructure and trimmed to the final shape before being finally positioned. The superstructure and its fittings were now painted with the Halfords aerosol grey primer as for the hull, sealed with satin clear varnish and finally assembled. The relay PCB was fitted below the funnel base and conning tower section and all the LED lights had their wires routed and connected to the relay board that also housed the series resistors for them, Photo 27. Portholes were glazed using thin strips of clear plastic sheet glued to the inside outer vertical faces of the superstructure using aeromodeller’s clear canopy glue. The mainmast (aft) was assembled including its associated crane with thin single strand wire for the hoist ropes, which was painted before being glued into position, as in Photo 28. Please note in this picture the self-adhesive planked deck, which really is quite realistic and on which there are two steam pinnaces besides other ship’s boats. Two of the larger examples of boat in the kit were modified by machining their decks level and then having a cabin, pulpit and funnel added to them from small pieces of plasticard. Any remaining fittings were then prepared, painted and assembled into the model. Finally the rigging was added; nothing too clever, it being just a few strands of black cotton between the masts to product the right effect and Photo 29 is of HMS Hood ready for sea!
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On the water and conclusion The on the water pictures were taken by Dave Thompson, a fellow member of Luton and District MBC. The model looks good on the water, Photo 30, and okay, it is not suitable for a windy or rough day at the pond, but it is a nice
convenient size, conveys the ‘majesty’ of a battle cruiser and has been an interesting and rewarding challenge to build, particularly having four driven propshafts and numerous LED’s. There are numerous unbuilt and often discontinued kits to found at car boot sales
and on Bring & Buy stalls. Many of these have potential to be converted into radio control models and will give as much pleasure as purchasing a traditional, but far more expensive, model boat kit. So, keep an eye open for bargains! l
Supplier data
HMS Hood kit: Electric motors: Speed controller: Batteries: Micro-servo: Eze-Kote:
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Lindberg, from Bring & Buy stall Precision Microdrives Component Shop (previously ACTion R/C Electronics) Component Shop Steve Webb Models Deluxe Materials
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Model Boats November 2013
Newly Translated! Text and photos by Donald Dressel
NEW
From the newly restored Navy Model Room of The Netherlands national treasure, the Rijksmuseum.
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ewly translated from the Dutch version, Ab Hoving takes you through the modeling exhibits in the newly restored Navy Model Room of The Netherlands national treasure, the Rijksmuseum. Ab spent 29 years as head model maker and restorer of this collection and he has picked some of his favorites to show in text and over 350 color photos. Come and see the treasures selected for you from one of the world’s great maritime historians and model maker.
F E AT U R E S 246 pages 350+ color photos Cloth bound
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Dust jacket Large 8x10 format
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history
Right: Pre-war issues of Ships and Ship Models all looked like this. Far right: The revived magazine, August 1948 issue.
Flotsam
&Jetsam
JOHN PARKER delves into the archives
8: Ships and Ship Models
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he London-based publishers, Percival Marshall and Company Limited, became well known for their wide range of technical and hobby publications, including the long-running Model Engineer magazine founded in 1898 (now published by MyTimeMedia). Their monthly magazine ‘Ships and Ship Models’ was described as, ‘A Magazine for all Lovers of Ships and the Sea’, and working back from the volume and issue numbers in my collection suggests that the first edition appeared in September 1931. At the time there was little in the way of regular reading available to marine modellers, with Hutchinson’s Marine Models providing perhaps the only competition. Much of the content initially came in the form of marine articles transferred from Model Engineer and the magazine adopted a small format of 230mm x 150mm with around 32 pages. Apart from the issue number and date, the cover never changed from month to month and featured a line drawing of a square-rigged sailing ship. Advertising was limited to the remaining inside and back panels of the cover, with Bassett-Lowke Limited being one of the regulars. Many of the issues that I possess, include a loose single page supplement in the form of a ship photo or line work drawing. The content consists mainly of historical articles on traditional sailing ships, developments in merchant and naval shipping and sketchbook notes on making details for models. For example, the September 1935 issue describes a visit to the barque
Ships and Ship Models. The decorative early masthead.
Masthead of the renamed magazine.
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www.modelboats.co.uk
Model Boats November 2013
history
Far left: Radio control contributor F C Judd pictured at the Round Pond, Kensington, on the cover of the March 1952 issue. Left: A fine model tug on the revised cover style of the November 1953 issue – mind that cigarette ash! Below: The final issue, December 1956.
Olivebank, the story of the first crossing of the Atlantic by steamship, an exhibition of marine paintings and general shipping news, with only a few pages on modelling. The price was six pence (equivalent to around £1.35 today) with an annual subscription costing seven shillings and sixpence. The magazine continued in this way until April 1940, when it ceased publication in the face of wartime paper shortages. Its revival came in January 1948, with Edward Bowness as the editor and a change of name to Model Ships and Power Boats. These early post-war issues, published at a time when paper restrictions were still in force, are some of the smallest and most insubstantial monthly magazines I have ever come across. They were the same cover size as their pre-war counterparts, but have a page count of just 16, with just the last of these now given over to advertising. The paper is so thin that scanning the masthead tends to reveal not just the reverse side of that page, but the front of the following page as well, the complete magazine weighing in at just 22 grams! Despite the space restrictions, the modelling content was increased and each issue had its own black and white photographic cover image. The numbering began again with the January 1948 issue as Vol. 1, No. 1. With some signs of post-war recovery underway, the magazine increased its size to 247mm x 184mm in March 1950, accompanied by a doubling of the price to one shilling. Due to wartime inflation, this didn’t represent much of a real increase over the original price, and is equivalent to around £1.40 today. The page count was now 20 and drawings could at last be reproduced at a size that made them useable. The first radio control articles began to appear around this time, with basic theory and practical working circuits being described. Edgar T. Westbury was a regular contributor with the series ‘Model Power Boat Topics’ and Norman Ough was working away on his series of British warship drawings with HMS Dido (February 1953 issue), HMS Daring (September 1953), HMS Sheffield (June 1954), HMS Marvel (February and March 1955), L Class submarine (June 1955), E Class submarine (September
Model Boats November 2013
1955), O Class submarine (November 1955) and HMS Hedingham Castle (February 1956). There were setbacks and the April 1951 issue carried a warning that, ‘The increasing difficulties of paper supplies may, in the near future, force us to limit the distribution of Model Ships and Power Boats’. Presumably this was due to the Korean War, which also put nonferrous metals in short supply, or was it just a ploy to encourage readers to subscribe? The next major change came in January 1954, when the title of the magazine changed from Model Ships and Power Boats (incorporating Ships and Ship Models) to Ships and Ship Models (incorporating Model Ships and Power Boats)! With some marine topics being carried in Model Engineer, it was never really clear where the magazine’s coverage began or ended, and the reversion to the original pre-war title was most likely an attempt to re-position the magazine in the marketplace. Hydroplanes and speed models would now be confined to Model Engineer, whilst there would be more full-size shipping news and seafaring stories. The competition was hotting-up by now following the launch of Model Maker (Model Boats’ predecessor), which included marine models. Once again the price doubled, this time to two shillings, (today’s equivalent is £2.20) with the pain eased a little by an increase in the page count to 40, though it crept back to 32 once the dust had settled. The end was to come just two years later. In the December 1956 issue it was announced that the magazine would be incorporated into Model Engineer. Some pages were devoted to showing ship lovers how many of their topics had been covered by Model Engineer over the previous six months and to convince them that their interests would be provided for, but why not take the marine subjects from Model Engineer and combine them with those of Ships and Ship Models to produce a comprehensive marine and modelling magazine? The reason was revealed in a retrospective by editor Edward Bowness: ‘There is no commercial angle to ship modelling such as there is with railway and aircraft modelling and we could not continue in the limited circulation of a specialist magazine without a reasonable revenue from advertising’.
www.modelboats.co.uk
It’s a shame they couldn’t hold out a little longer, for the commercial angle to marine modelling was about to enter a growth phase, with a wide range of kits, engines, radio control equipment, electric motors and fittings soon to be produced by enterprising manufacturers, all of whom needed to advertise their wares. I am sure readers were not convinced that a few pages in Model Engineer would serve their needs and the long history of one magazine ‘incorporating’ another inevitably meant that the lesser title soon disappeared without trace. It was left to Model Maker to take up the slack on its way to becoming Model Boats and the magazine you are reading now. l
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S. A. Agulhas
GALLERY
By Fraser Gray
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. A. Agulhas is a South African ice-strengthened training ship and former polar research vessel. She was built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries in Shimonoseki, Japan, in 1978 and was used to service the three South African National Antarctic Programme research bases of Gough Island, Marion Island in the Southern Ocean and SANAE IV in Antarctica, as well as various research voyages. S. A. Agulhas retired from the Antarctic service in April 2012 when a replacement vessel, S. A. Agulhas II, was commissioned. The first S. A. Agulhas was then transferred to the South African Maritime Safety Authority as a training ship and she was photographed in late-2012 in the Pool of London when she was embarking the Antarctica Winter Crossing Expedition led by Sir Ranulph Fiennes in support of the charity ‘Seeing is Believing’. All information from the public domain
Principal particulars Laid down: 1977 Launched: 20 September 1977 Completed: January 1978 Class & type: LRS Ice Class 1 Tonnage: 6123 tons Displacement: 1837 tons Length: 111.95 metres (367.3 feet) Beam: 18.05 metres (59.2 feet) Draught: 6 metres (20 feet) Installed power: 4,476kW (6,002hp) Propulsion: Two Mirrlees Blackstone KMR6 Speed: 12.5kt Range: 15000 nautical miles Endurance: 90 days Max. complement: 138 Normal crew: 40 Aircraft carried: Maximum of two
kit review
Mr. Ben PHIL PARKER builds Mr. Tom, a Vintage Model Boat Company kit 1
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his company produces a range of boat kits that resemble those that were popular in the 1960’s, but use the latest laser cutting technology to make life easier for builders who no longer have to mark and cut out the parts themselves. Mr. Tom is one of the smaller models in the product range, being just 16 inches long. Whilst looking for a model boat that could be quickly charged and chucked in the car for a sail if the weather looked promising, I snapped one up at the 2012 International Model Boat Show. By the way and just in case you are wondering, although the kit is called Mr. Tom, my model is called Mr. Ben after the farm cat who lives at our boat club and often comes down to watch us sail. For £50 you get a bag containing all the wooden parts required, Photo 1, to which the modeller has to add a motor, propshaft, propeller, r/c, speed controller and steering servo. Clear plastic sheet is included for glazing.
Construction
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www.modelboats.co.uk
As mentioned, all the parts are pre-cut from some very good quality plywood. Tiny retaining tabs are left in the fret and these are cut through with a sharp knife, Photo 2. Working from both sides was required as the wood is surprisingly hard, but once released, any remaining tab pieces could be sanded away. It’s wise to release parts only when required to avoid confusion or losing something. I know someone who ignored this and managed to misplace a couple of important keel bits, so be warned.
Model Boats November 2013
kit review
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One of the advantages of this kit is that assembly doesn’t require a building board, Photo 3, and the parts slot together without the need to ease any of the joints. Waterproof PVA was used as adhesive, but superglue also works for those who are in a hurry. Plenty of clamps and care taken to keep everything square do matter, but you pretty quickly have something that looks like a model boat, Photo 4, so a great incentive to keep going. I felt it would be a good idea to fit the drivetrain while there was plenty of access without those pesky hull side and bottom skins in the way. Step One involved breaking away a strip of wood where the propshaft tube will go, Photo 5. Wiggling it around with a small pair of pliers quickly broke the tiny tabs and inside the cabin there is plenty of space for a brushed 380/400 type of motor, Photo 6. As it turned out, the motor you see here proved inadequate in this model with the 35mm propeller, so was replaced after first sea trials. The propshaft tube was fixed in place with epoxy glue, but since finishing the model, an oiler tube has been added to it. The top of the propshaft tube is below the waterline and so some moisture found its way into the hull during the first sea trials. Mind you, if I had filled the tube with a suitable grease before completing the model that would have stopped the problem before it started! The battery, which is a 7.2v sub-C pack, was now test fitted. It slides under the cabin floor and protrudes into the cabin , but sits in-line with the motor. Since no fixing is provided in the kit, I made a little tray up out of scrap plywood to stop it moving about. If you fancy something faster, fellow Knightcote MBC member Derek Nelson has fitted a small brushless motor into his version of the same kit, Photo 7. Maybe it’s me, but I don’t like boats sinking, so I like to fill spare space in the model with polystyrene foam. The sides of the hull are hollow so they were packed with the stuff, as was the bow section, Photo 8.
Hopefully I’ll never get to test its effectiveness, but better safe than sorry is a good motto. Long thin sheets of ply are used to skin the hull. It’s reasonably flexible, but an hour in the bath, Photo 9, weighted down with a handy bottle of domestic smelly stuff made a difference. Clever people will make card templates before cutting these wood skins. I wish I had, as trying to trim soggy ply to an ‘interesting’ hull shape isn’t my idea of fun. Holding the wood while the PVA dried was however made a lot easier by using some
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Model Boats November 2013
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kit review
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rather neat planking clamps, Photo 10. These are screwed through the ply into the stringers. Once the glue has set hard, you unscrew them again and fill the resulting hole with a bit of PVA glue mixed with sawdust. If the wood is hard, drilling a pilot hole with a 1mm drill isn’t a bad idea prior to using these rather neat clamps. These are one of the few model boat specific tools that I own, and they have proved invaluable and were obtained from a trader at a model show. The hull was given three coats of sanding sealer, Photo 11, and the model was then dropped in the bath (with water in it!) to see if it floated. With just the motor it sat pretty high, but the battery brought the stern down a bit. Adding a 2.4Ghz receiver and Mtroniks Viper 15 electronic speed controller to the motor compartment made the bows a little heavier. As the speed controller was fitted to one side of the
cabin, some lead weights were required on the other side to balance the model. A micro servo just fitted in the stern compartment, Photo 12, and is more than adequate for this model. There is a removable hatch over it for access to the rudder linkage.
Painting Nothing exotic here as after the sanding sealer, the model was painted with Humbrol enamels except for the deck which received a couple of coats of Ronseal clear varnish. The lettering is from BECC vinyl sheets and several coats of Humbrol satin varnish then sealed everything nicely. Finally, the window clear glazing was epoxied in place. The hidden benefit of epoxy adhesive is that if it goes where you don’t want it to, it can be wiped away with a damp cloth since it doesn’t actually ‘attack’ the clear plastic.
On the water
First tests weren’t encouraging! Although the model sailed well enough, I’d not set the drivetrain up very well, so it was very noisy. Worse, the motor heated up enough to generate smoke, burning smells and melt its rear bearing! So, it was clearly not up to the job. A replacement by a Speed 400 type of motor and a bit of fiddling to make sure the drivetrain ran smoothly, solved that part of the problem. The 30mm three bladed plastic propeller that I installed also had problems, as one blade was noticeably twisted differently to the others. Some re-bending with finger pressure helped, but a brass replacement was in order. Also, some of the excessive operating noise was traced to the propeller occasionally catching the rudder, but trimming the rudder blade very slightly sorted this problem. After these adjustments, the model now performed as you would expect, Photo 13. It can run at full power safely which produces an interesting wave motion along its side. The hull is quite tubby, being of 6 inches beam, so is quite stable and I didn’t fit the spray rails along the chine line as I didn’t like the look of them, but that’s just me! Top speed is more than adequate for this sort of model and it’s a very pleasant craft to operate. Astern movement is somewhat less impressive, so I wouldn’t enter it in steering competitions when the first prize is a Rolex watch, but then that’s not what the model was built for. Derek Nelson’s brushless motor version has a lot more poke and if you need outright speed, I’d certainly recommend going down that route.
Conclusion This is a fantastic value kit for the money, All the parts fit together very well and the only difficult part is fitting the hull skins. Make a template from a redundant cereal packet so you can cut the wood roughly to size before fitting, and the task will be much simplified. Two more kits from the same manufacturer have now appeared in the workshop which gives you an idea of how pleased I was with the Mr. Tom kit. The model now lives in a handy storage box and should the sun look like making an appearance, it can be charged and ready for the day whilst I’m eating breakfast. l
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Kit details
Mr. Tom - price £49.95 + p/p Vintage Model Boat Company Winterdyne Spilsby Road Eastville Lincolnshire PE22 8JR. Website: www.vintagemodelboats.com Tel: 44 (0)1205 270373
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Model Boats November 2013
1907-2011 1907-2011 1907-2013
www.modelengineershow.co.uk
13th – 15th December 2013 • Sandown Park Racecourse
VISIT THE WORLDS LONGEST RUNNING
MODEL ENGINEERING SHOW World class competition SMEE lectures and workshops (Free to all visitors. Tips, tricks, advice for beginners and problems solved!) Clubs & Societies Railway, traction engines, stationary steam models, boats and planes
STUNNING DISPLAYS LOCOMOTIVES, ROAD STEAM, HOROLOGY, I/C ENGINES, MACHINE TOOLS, CLUB STANDS, MODEL RAILWAYS & MUCH MORE...
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£7.00
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£4.00
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Family (based on 2 adults & 2 children) £21.00 Save 12% *Children under 5 years FOC
0844 848 8822
www.modelengineershow.co.uk
Deadline for early bird tickets is 29th November 2013, tickets will be dispatched 2 weeks prior to the event
To help you get the best from The Model Engineer Exhibition These notes are written purely for guidance. Full information is contained in the Competitors’ Information booklet which is sent to every entrant as part of the information package. If you have an item and are unsure as to the Class into which it should be entered, leave that section blank and we will take care of it. The Judges have the right to move any competition exhibit into another class if they feel that by doing so its chances of gaining higher marks or a more appropriate award are improved.
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f the item is offered as a Loan exhibit please indicate this by writing Loan on the form in the box identifying the Class. Loan models are not judged but carry all other privileges associated with competition entries. Part built models are particularly welcome in the Loan Section; visitors like to see work in progress, and entry does not preclude the item being entered in competition when completed. The classes listed below are those associated with mainstream model engineering.
Club exhibits
Where a club is exhibiting, each model should be entered on a separate entry form and clearly identified as a club exhibit by entering Loan/Club in the class section box. This ensures that we have a full record of all models on display during the show and facilitates matters of administration and insurance.
Additional forms
If you do not wish to deface your copy of the magazine we are happy to receive photocopies of the entry form, one for each model. We will be pleased to send out extra forms if required, so if you know of a modeller who is not a reader of one of our magazines but who you think may wish to participate, please advise them to contact our Exhibitions Office, or simply photocopy the entry form for them. The success of the show depends largely on the number of models on display. Your work could well be the stimulus which inspires someone else to start in the hobby. There can be no doubt that this event is our showcase on the world of modelling in all its aspects. Every modelling discipline needs more and more participants, and it is by displaying not only the crème-de-la-crème, but also examples of work of a more achieveable standard, that people are encouraged to join into the wonderful world of modelling, in whatever aspect. We look forward to seeing a sample of your work at the show!
Engineering Section
A1 Hot air engines. A2 General engineering models (including stationary and marine engines). A3 Internal combustion engines. A4 Mechanical propelled road vehicles (including tractors). A5 Tools and workshop appliances. A6 Horological, scientific and optical apparatus. A7 General engineering exhibits – not covered by the above
Railway Section
B1 Working steam locomotives 1” scale and over. B2 Working steam locomotives under 1” scale. B3 Locomotives of any scale, experimental, freelance or based on any published design and not necessarily replicas of full size prototypes, intended for track duties. B4 Scratchbuilt model locomotives of any scale, not covered by classes B1, B2, B3, including working models of non-steam, electrically or clockwork powered steam prototypes. B5 Scratchbuilt model locomotives gauge 1 (10mm scale) and under. B6 Kitbuilt model locomotives gauge 1 (10mm scale)and under. B7 Scratchbuilt rolling stock, gauge 1 (10mm scale) and under. B8 Kitbuilt rolling stock, gauge 1 (10mm scale) and under. B9 Passenger or goods rolling stock, above 1” scale. B10 Passenger or goods rolling stock, under 1” scale. B11 Railway buildings and lineside accessories to any recognised model railway scale. B12 Tramway vehicles. B-K1 Working steam locomotives built from a kit. B-K2 Working locomotives other than steam powered. (Any model locomotive in class B-K1 and 2, built from a commercial kit, entered into these classes will not be judged in the medal classes but can receive commended certificates and an award from a trade supplier).
Marine Models
C1 Working scale models of powered vessels (from any period). Scale 1:1 to 1:48 C2 Working scale models of powered vessels (from any period). Scale 1:49 to 1:384 C3 Non-working scale models (from any period). Scale 1:1 to 1:48 C4 Non-working scale models (from any period). Scale 1:49 to 1:384 C5 Sailing ships and oared vessels of any period – working. C6 Sailing ships and oared vessels of any period – nonworking. C7 Non-scale powered functional models including hydroplanes. C8 Miniatures. Length of hull not to exceed 15in for 1:32 scale, 12in for 1:25 scale, 10in for 1:16 scale; 9in for 1:8 scale. No limit for smaller scales. C9 For any model boat built from a commercial kit. Before acceptance in this class the kit must have been readily available for at least 3 months prior to the opening date of the exhibition and at least 20 kits must have been sold either by mail order or through the retail trade.
Scale Aircraft Section
D1 Scale radio control flying models D2 Scale flying control-line and free flight D3 Scale non-flying models, including kit and scratch-built D4 Scale flying radio controlled helicopters
Model Horse Drawn Vehicle Section
G1 Carriages & other sprung vehicles. (Omnibuses, trade vans etc.) Wagons, carts and farm implements. Caravans.
Junior Section
J1 For any type of model, mechanical or engineering work, by an under 14 year old. J2 For any type of model, mechanical or engineering work, by an under 16 year old. J3 For any type of model, mechanical or engineering work, by an under 18 year old. All entries will be judged for standard of craftsmanship, regardless of the modelling discipline, i.e. a boat will not be competing against a military figure. Providing a model attains sufficient marks it will be awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal.
Model Vehicle Section
K1 Non-working cars, including small commercial vehicles (e.g. Ford Transit) all scales down to 1/42. K2 Non-working trucks, articulated tractor and trailer units, plus other large commercial vehicles based on truck-type chassis, all scales down to 1/42. K3 Non-working motor bikes, including push bikes, all scales down to 1/42. K4 Non-working emergency vehicles, fire, police and ambulance, all scales down to 1/42. K5 Non-working vehicles including small commercial vehicles (e.g. Ford Transit,) scale from 1/43 or smaller. K6 Any available body shells including Concours, in any scale or material, to be judged on appearance only. K7 Functional model cars/vehicles which must be able to move under their own power of any type. Can be either free-running, tethered, radio controlled or slot car, but must represent a reasonable full size replica.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH CHALLENGE TROPHY Rules and Particulars
1. The Duke of Edinburgh Challenge Trophy is awarded to the winner of the Championship Award at the Model Engineer Exhibition. 2. The trophy remains at all times the property of MyTimeMedia Ltd.
3. The name of the winner and the date of the year in which the award is made will be engraved on the trophy, which may remain, at the discretion of MyTimeMedia Ltd., in his/her possession until required for renovation and display at the following Model Engineer Exhibition. 4. Any piece of model engineering work will be eligible for this Championship Award after it has been awarded, at The Model Engineer Exhibition, a Gold or Silver medal by MyTimeMedia Ltd 5. A model may be entered more than one year but if the model wins it will be permanently retired. 6. Entry shall be free. Competitors must state on the entry form: (a) That exhibits are their own bona-fide work. (b) Any parts or kits which were purchased or were not the outcome of their own work. (c) That the model has not been structurally altered since winning the qualifying award. 7. MyTimeMedia Ltd. may at their sole discretion vary the conditions of entry without notice.
COMPETITION RULES
1. Each entry shall be made separately on the official form and every question must be answered. 2. Competition Application Forms must be received by the stated closing date. LATE ENTRIES WILL ONLY BE ACCEPTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE ORGANISERS. 3. Competitors must state on their form the following: (a) Insured value of their model. (b) The exhibit is their own work and property. (c) Parts or kits purchased. (d) Parts not the outcome of their own work. (e) The origin of the design, in the case of a model that has been made by more than one person. NOTE: Entry in the competition can only be made by one of the parties and only their work will be eligible for judging. 4. Models will be insured for the period during which they are in the custody of MyTimeMedia Ltd. 5. A junior shall mean a person under 18 years of age on December 31st in the year of entry. 6. Past Gold and Silver medal award winners at any of the exhibitions promoted by MyTimeMedia Ltd. are eligible to re-enter their model for the ‘Duke of Edinburgh Challenge Trophy’. Past winners at any of the exhibitions promoted by MyTimeMedia Ltd. will not be eligible for re-entry into the competition unless it has been substantially altered in any way. 7. MyTimeMedia Ltd reserve the right to: (a) Transfer an entry to a more appropriate class. (b) Describe and photograph any models entered for competition or display and to make use of any such photographs and descriptions in any way they may think fit. (c) Refuse any entry or model on arrival at the exhibition and shall not be required to furnish a reason for doing so. 8. Entry into the competition sections is not permitted by: (a) Professional model makers. (b) Anyone who has a financial interest in the direct supply of materials and designs to the public. NOTE: If unsure, please contact the Competition organisers prior to the show. 9. The judges’ decision is final. All awards are at the discretion of the judges and no correspondence regarding the awards will be entered into. 10. Exhibitors must present their model receipt for all models collected at the end of the exhibition and sign as retrieved. 11. The signed release for each model must be presented to security staff when leaving the exhibition complex with display model(s) after the close of the exhibition. IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE MAKE COPIES, INCLUDING PHOTOGRAPHS, OF ALL INFORMATION RELATING TO YOUR MODEL, AS MyTimeMedia Ltd WILL NOT ACCEPT LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS.
CLOSING DATE 29th NOVEMBER 2013
The Model Engineer exhibition 13-15 December 2013 ENTRY NO.
Please return completed form to: Mr Mike Law, 12 Maple Drive, Elkesley, Retford, Notts DN22 8AX
OFFICE USE ONLY
CLASS
ENTRY FORM - COMPETITION & LOAN MODELS
ENTRY NO.
PERSONAL DETAILS (Please print) Surname _________________________________________________ Forename(s) _________________________________________________ Age ___________ Address _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________ Post Code ________________ Email __________________________________________________________________ Home Tel No _______________________________________________________ Daytime Tel No _________________________________________________________ Model Club or Association ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ How many years have you been a modeller? ________________________________
MODEL DETAILS – PLEASE TICK BOX IF MODEL IS FOR LOAN
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Entry Class (competition entries only) ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Model Title (to be used for catalogue and display card) _________________________________________________________________________________________ Model Description (to be used for catalogue and display card) __________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Model Scale ___________________ Length ____________________ Width ____________________ Height ____________________ Weight ____________________ Type of construction _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Parts not made by you and commercial items _________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please supply a photograph of the finished model for insurance purposes. Are you supplying Judges Notes? Yes
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No ❑
Value of Model (MyTimeMedia Ltd will not insure the model unless a realistic value is entered) £ _______________________ I have read the rules and conditions of entry and confirm the information is correct to my knowledge and I accept the conditions of entry. Signature ___________________________________________ Information about entries included on or with this form may appear in MyTimeMedia Ltd publications and on our websites. Other than entrants name, no personal information will be published. Mail Order Protection - By supplying your email/ address/ telephone/ mobile number you agree to receive communications via email/ telephone/ post from MyTimeMedia Ltd and other relevant 3rd parties. Please tick here if you DO NOT wish to receive communications from MyTimeMedia Ltd: Email ❑ Phone ❑ Post ❑ or other relevant 3rd parties: Email ❑ Phone ❑ Post ❑
Photocopies of this form are acceptable N.B. Please make a copy of this form and any photographs enclosed for your own reference. Please note that MyTimeMedia Ltd will not accept liability for any loss of documents or photographs submitted with this form.
MB-magazine
billowing sails
Scale Sail Part 7: Making a Ship’s Boat DAVE PETTS’ Mini-Series draws to a close
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ost sailing ships would have carried at least one boat of some sort and this was definitely the case with HMS Bounty. The problem is that there isn’t much ready made that is suitable. Some vac-formed hulls are available, plus a few GRP mouldings, but they are never the right size for your own particular project. In the case of HMS Bounty, the ship’s launch is 6 inches long in model form, so how to make it easily? You will have heard of the ‘upside down’ cake, so I will now describe the ‘inside out’ boat method. I imagine that someone else has used it previously in a variation of the method described here, but it is new to me.
‘Inside Out’ method 1) Cut out and stick to card the top and side profile templates from your plan, Photo 1. At the top of this picture you can also see the thwarts marked and cut out of cardboard initially. 2) Draw the outline of the top and side templates on to what is to become a wood plug, Photo 2. Balsa wood is easy to work with and for this project is as good as anything else. Then trim way the unwanted portions on the port and starboard halves of the plug. Both these relatively crude plugs will then need to
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4 be sanded to shape. Hold them together to ensure that both their sanded outsides look ‘pretty much’ identical. As the completed model will be deck mounted it doesn’t need to be 100% perfectly symmetrical, but it looks much better if it is. If you have a good Mark One Eyeball, then that will probably be sufficient to get its symmetr y right. 3) The keel which should be slightly larger than the plug, can then be cut from thin plywood, including notches to receive the hull ribs, Photo 3 (Note the blank matching piece on the side of the half-balsa plug to keep the keel in place). All the components of the basic plug are now as shown in Photo 4. The concept should now be clear, in that the hull will be planked over the balsa plug former which should with a bit of luck come away easily from the ribs and planking. Pieces of shaped baking paper laid over the balsa plug are the means of preventing the ribs and planks sticking to the plug. The ribs are 3/32 inch wide strips of 1/16 inch thick ply wood bent to shape over the plug and these were positioned before planking commenced, so now for the clever bit! The separate top shaped piece had four toothpick locating ‘pins’ which locate it into holes in the top of the hull plug. The trick is to glue the ribs ONLY to the keel piece and this false deck. Blobs of superglue are more than adequate. Thus, the idea is that once planked, the false deck can be cut away, the hull former parts removed and we should then have a nice shaped hollow planked hull with its ribs. Planking commences from the bottom upwards and many will need to be tapered fore and aft, Photo 5. They are glued to the ribs only, but any glue seepage should be controlled by the baking paper protective membrane. The wood used? Well you can use plywood, or thin teak or mahogany stripwood from a number of suppliers. It will almost certainly be necessary to steam or soak the planks, to get them to take the curves without splitting or breaking. The lower hull planks can be easily held in place with a few clamps but as the process nears the gunnels, rubber bands around the whole thing are perhaps the most effective clamping device as can be seen in Photo 6. 4) The hull can now be removed from the plug, assuming you have not been over-diligent with the superglue as in Photos 7 and 8, where it has also just had a thinned coat of varnish to help seal it all. 5) The gunnel (the capping strip around the top edge of the hull) is easily made by drawing an outline on to card with the hull inverted,
Model Boats November 2013
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billowing sails thing is the whole model (HMS Bounty in this case) looks right on the water and performs well, but it is not necessarily 100% perfect in every detail as after all it is to be a practical working model.
to make a nice parallel curved strip and then remove the waste wood. It might be best to chain drill this line rather than try to cut it as one slip of the knife will mean you have to start again! Photo 10 then shows how the gunnel piece was attached to the top of the hull. Please note that the cross braces serve two purposes. First they keep the gunnel piece flat and level on the top of the hull and second, with rubber bands they create an effective clamping device whilst the glue sets. 6) Photo 11 shows the almost complete boat with its seats, mast, boom, gaff spar and rudder. Mind you, some further trimming of the seats was necessary before it was declared ready for a 3000 mile voyage across the Pacific under the command of Captain Bligh! Some water and beef kegs will be added in due course as well. Okay, maybe not an exhibition standard model, but remember this is ‘Scale Sail’ and the important
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Conclusion This concludes the initial Seven Parts of Scale Sail. I hope you have found some encouragement from them and all being well I shall return to these pages with more on the subject of Scale Sail in the not too distant future. This is an interesting and challenging sector of our hobby that nicely marries conventional scale modelling together with actual ‘sailing’ when getting the most out of your model under the motive power of the wind and also working with wood more often than not, to build the model in the first place. Enjoy your hobby - Dave l
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10 then transferring the shape to a piece of 1/16 inch mahogany sheet or similar, Photo 9, and cutting it out. Ensure you mark which side is the underneath as it almost certainly will only match the hull properly one way. Referring to your drawing (and pictures of such boats on HMS Victory perhaps?), draw the inside line of the gunnel
readers’ models
Broom Models RON WEM’S fleet
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he pictures show five of Ron’s Broom models on his garden pond. All the full sized boats are based on the Aqua-fibre AF 30 hull, hence the hulls are all the same in their basic shape.
The green model boat Skipper has a balsa plank on frame hull produced to the builder’s plan kindly supplied by Martin Broom. A mould was made from this hull whilst it was on
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the jig to produce GRP hulls for the other four models. The mahogany topped model is of a boat he hired on the Norfolk Broads in the 1970’s.
The model with a light blue cabin is an Ocean 30 five berth cruiser from the same era. Dino III (white cabin) and Golden Dawn (yellow cabin) are both models of privately owned twin engined Broom 30’s which are based on the Rivers Cam and Thames respectively.
www.modelboats.co.uk
All the models are 1:12 scale and the superstructures have been copied from photographs and the Blake’s hire brochures, as no plans are currently available. Radio control is 2.4GHz and the motors are mostly 550 types on 7.2v with Electronize speed controllers. The rest of Ron’s fleet is on his website: www.ronsboats.co.uk.
Model Boats November 2013
...launch yourself Friday 8th to Sunday 10th November 2013 10am – 4pm daily
Last admission 1 hour before closing.
MODEL BOATS AT THEIR BEST Warwickshire Exhibition Centre Fosse Way, Nr Leamington Spa, CV31 1XN On Junction of A425/B4455
FREE PARKING
Over 600 models on display - from the age of sail to the present day. View the models taking to the water on the large indoor pool
BUY ANY 2 SHIPCRAFT BOOKS FOR £20!* Buy the latest kits and accessories from the leading specialist suppliers. On Sunday enjoy a poignant and nostalgic rendition of songs from the 1940s wartime era by the poolside. Ticket prices
*PLUS £4 POSTAGE, EXCLUDES SHIPCRAFT SPECIALS
Buy your books online today at: www.seaforthpublishing.com Or Telephone: 01226 734222 (Quote: MB1113) ALSO AVAILABLE IN WATERSTONES AND MANY OTHER HIGH STREET BOOKSHOPS
Maritime book proposals are always welcome: [email protected]
Adult Senior Child (5-14) Family 1 Family 2
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By 31st October 2013
By 4th November 2013 or on the day
£8.00 £7.00 £4.00 £12.00 £20.00
£9.00 £8.00 £5.00 £14.00 £23.00
Meet the clubs Talk with the modellers AVOID THE QUEUES: BOOK YOUR DISCOUNTED TICKETS TODAY
Visit our website or call us on 01926 614101 Organised by Meridienne Exhibitions Ltd
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special feature
Finless Model Barges
The external shape of the hull is constructed in a traditional bread and butter fashion.
The planks are separated and the nails removed!
PETER WHITEHEAD’s unique approach with his non-radio controlled models
D Below: The planks are now all glued together and weighted.
uring the 1970’s I was a model boat enthusiast, but since then have only sailed models occasionally, but now being semi-retired, I can sail my models along the Herne Bay foreshore much more often. I don’t usually go to the town’s model boating pond, but by making small models that can be boxed and easily transported, I hope to visit the pondside more frequently in the future
The centre parts of the planks are cut away, except the bottom of course!
Above: The glued, shaped and hollowed out, fifteen inch long hull.
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Model Boats November 2013
special feature
A skeg needs to be slotted into the bottom of the hull.
The kitchen sink was as good a place as any to conduct stability tests.
There are 3 internal hull access hatches. This picture also shows the Kelsey Ballast’.
The one piece deck was glued to the hull, suitably weighted.
Simple vertical coaming edges were added to the deck. Here the strips of ballast (mimicking a Kelsey hull strengthener) are moved around to see what effect they have.
Above: Bowsprit and winch. Below: Masts and leeboards are added.
Bulwarks and other fittings are added.
and may even be able to join the local club, something which a travelling occupation has largely prevented until now. I wanted to build a Thames Barge that was small enough for cycle or bus travel, and although nearly all those that race at the local pond have deep fin keels and rudder extensions, I did not want to have to fit these to mine.
Model Boats November 2013
Fifteen inch long freesailing model barge
These sequential pictures show the building of a 15 inch long barge model, it’s stability tests and first sea trials. It free-sailed well, but I found that it took a long time to rig and set up and it’s box would have been too big to fit into my cycling pack.
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special feature
Above left: A close-up of the port leeboard and its fittings. Above right: Foredeck detail. Below: Almost complete!
Above: It still just about fits in the sink! Right: Sails made and rigged, so ready to go!
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special feature
Top: Free sailing on the local pond. Above: A bit more risky, but the model behaved itself.
An even smaller sailing barge! I saw a picture of a delightful little river barge on the internet, stumpy rigged, and decided to copy it in semi-scale. I used
exactly the same building processes as already shown for the 15 inch barge for this little 12.5 inch barge and its more simple rig and gear is much more easily prepared.
Above: This 12.5 inch free-sailing barge model fits into an easy to carry box. Right: Rigged and ready to sail!
Model Boats November 2013
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special feature
Genuine sea trials! Below: A bit more wind……
Conclusion
As you can see, these little models free-sail well, with only a lead Kelsey (a strip of lead mimicking the structural hull strengthening timber of the same name) inside the hull, with simple leeboards. When sailing along the foreshore at low-water, the model can ‘scrape’ over shoals as its leeboard is knocked up and neither model has ever been knocked down (capsized). We have large tidal ‘flashes’ here, which are exposed at low tide and free-sailing a simple model in them is great fun, because the sheets, rudder stops and leeboard can be set for a particular course and then you watch and hope that you did everything correctly for a ‘straight-run’. There are many shoals to avoid, and where the set-up was not exactly right, the ‘will-it-won’t-it’ factor can cause much amusement. Obviously it’s necessary to wear thighboots for this kind of model boating, but I
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could not have as much fun if I had fitted a fin keel and rudder extension to this model, because it would not be able to sail through the shallows, much the same as for which real barges were designed, and although I recognise the necessity for radio control in most locations, foreshore sailing can definitely be non-radio controlled and many of us have perhaps lost the joy of watching a little model sail itself perfectly. Some r/c sailing barge modellers don’t accept that a barge model can sail without fin and rudder extensions, but a tiny (yet quite heavy) bread and butter hull with only lead strip ballast, shows that it can be done. Obviously r/c model barge races can only be won with fins and deep rudders, but the models don’t really sail quite like proper barges, nor need true sailing barge knowledge to operate, something which would increase the r/c interest enormously.
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Wondering whether there is enough distance to get enough way on; to be able to ‘make a board’ without missing stays and going into ‘irons’ are the attractions of a true scale model in all respects, and if in ‘irons’, how to make a stern-board so as to regain control and turn the hull yet again. That is barge sailing for you! To be able to add ballast until the hull is fully laden would also open up other new parameters and I’m sure that some modellers have already done this, but it would be great if even more tried the concept. After use on the sea, the whole model should be washed in slightly soapy water, but if you live in an unmade road with a few big deep puddles, these barges can be sailed in them as well, but sadly I don’t have a picture of these to show you as the current warm weather has dried them all out, at least down here in Kent. Next time perhaps……. l
Model Boats November 2013
steam basics
Boiler Room Part Thirty Five: Servo Considerations
RICHARD SIMPSON’s series on model steam plants
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his month we are going to get back to looking at our steam plant and consider a question that strangely enough I have been asked about a few times in reader correspondence, and that is the problem regarding how you connect servos to your steam plant. To be honest, it is one of those things that you tend to take for granted, however as with most things, the more you think about it the more there actually is to it, so I thought I would make it a subject for this Boiler Room column. There are really only a couple of significant considerations, but both can ultimately lead to a reduction in servo life and/or reliability and increase the risk of you ending up with a boat sat in the middle of the pond with the boiler happily burning away, the safety valve blowing off the excess steam and you sat there hoping that the gas runs out before the water does! It is a requirement of the new Green Book Boiler Regulations to consider the ramifications of just such an occurrence, so it is always good to see that rules are actually based on sound principles.
In this Borkum installation, the Cheddar oscillator can easily be arranged to be controlled by a single servo with both the servo arm and the control valve arm operating in the same plane. This ensures the minimum side thrust on the linkages and the longest life of the system. If you arrange the servos to be easily hidden by such structures as tool boxes or wooden chests, the servo and the linkages can be easily accessed by simply lifting the box off.
Alignment This is the first main consideration and the one thing that I come across more than anything that modellers do not get as good as they could. The arc that the servo arm generates as it moves should be aligned with the arc that the steam regulating valve, or reversing gear lever, traverses. It sounds straightforward, but perhaps is not so easy to explain, so the way I think about it is like this: The arc that the servo arm generates can be replaced by a flat disc, represented by a coin, the diameter of which is twice the effective length of the servo arm. The arc that the control valve generates as it moves can also be considered as a disc that again can be represented by a coin of a diameter twice the radius of the lever’s effective length. Now place these two coins on a flat table and there you have it, the relationship between the two must be flat on the table. They can be anywhere on the table, but they cannot be with one higher than the other and
Above left: In an internally fitted steam installation, you may well need to fit the servos in a tailor made servo tray. Here are two servos, one for rudder control and one for engine control, both of which are arranged to be in alignment with their respective linkages. Putting the servos together on a tray can be a neat arrangement and careful initial design of the plant will help to make this easy. Above right: This particular tray is designed to be removable. Undoing the nuts allows the tray to drop away and come free of the brass ferrules which hold the front end. This enables maximum accessibility to the servo(s) and associated linkage(s) for future maintenance.
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Model Boats November 2013
steam basics
A classic example of how it can go wrong on a controllable pitch propeller. This may initially look fine, but the servo arm is putting a significant amount of side thrust on the operating lever. This will lead to unnecessary wear and a sloppy control linkage.
they cannot be at an angle. As long as they are both flat, we have an understanding of how the servo must be connected to the control lever. Taking this to the next step, we now lay a straight edge, such as a rule, on the table and move it towards the two coins so it touches them both across their circumference edges. Where the rule touches the two coins should be where the linkage is connected to the servo arm at one end and the control valve lever at the other. This basic principle is very important, so as to eliminate any side thrust on the valve, which will lead to either excessive wear or leakage if it is a face-to-face valve or the valve passing steam if it is a drum type valve. In the case of reversing linkages it also eliminates side-thrust on all the pins and sliding faces. To achieve this alignment may require you to rotate the servo body, reverse its operation or even mount it somewhere that is far from convenient, but the benefits to the control valve or reversing lever are the most important factor here. The servo may well have to be mounted in a box disguised as a tool chest or locker and may require a linkage longer than is ideal, but it is still worth striving for perfect alignment. If you must consider using a bell crank to get the transmission around an obstacle, then the relationship remains the same and you now effectively have three coins on the table, with all the same considerations still applicable.
Heat and moisture Electronics tend not to work too well in proximity to either heat or moisture, so the more you do to separate a servo from both, then the better. Remember that no matter how much insulation you use, all it will ever do is to slow down the transfer of heat as this will not stop it. Consequently you are only slowing down the process of heating up the servo, so it really is better to keep it away from the boiler as practically as possible. Moisture can be sealed against, but having a rotating output shaft means that there will always be that possibility of moisture entering the servo casing and causing problems, particularly as models are often left after use with moisture on such items and the servo output shafts which will inevitably corrode, even if they are of stainless steel. Apart from the two main points made here, I would also consider the running of connecting cables and try to keep the servo
Model Boats November 2013
cables away from any power cables, which shouldn’t be a challenge in a steam powered model anyway, and also try to avoid long servo cables with extensions. This introduces more unnecessary connections that can also succumb to the effects of moisture, but the increased resistance of the cables might then even come into the equation. Consequently, the mounting of the servos should also take into consideration the placement of the receiver and the receiver power supply, all of which are best kept away from the effects of moisture and heat.
Linkages The final thing I would add as a thought, is what we are going to use as linkages. I always use threaded stainless rod with snap-shut stainless steel clevises on either end. These make the linkages infinitely adjustable and there is no concern regarding deformation under the effects of heat, as well as providing a strong and reliable linkage. I use 2mm rods and then thread the ends with a die nut held in a lathe to ensure a consistent thread. The rod and 2mm threaded clevises are readily available from radio control model aircraft suppliers as aeromodellers tend to be rather keen on having good quality linkages! I’m not a great fan of the snap-on brass ball connectors in a plastic bearing housing as these tend to wear, particularly with constant removal and can soften with heat. So before I get a deluge of mail saying how impossible it is to achieve the considerations I have described here, these are the ‘ideal’ and may well have to be compromised. However you need to be aware of what you are exposing your servos or steam valve gear to if you do compromise these things. To me the relationship of the two coins is a key point to remember and must be achieved to prevent future unreliable operation of steam
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regulating valves and reversing gear as a result of unnecessary wear or steam leakage. The other points made here can perhaps be slightly more open to compromise. Also consider the use of the model, as if you are only going to use it a couple of times a year, does an increase in wear on the valve faces represent a real problem over the life of the model? To me though, if you are building a steam plant, one of the biggest satisfactions is not just getting it all looking as good as possible and working properly when out on the water, but also making everything as top class as it can be, incorporating the best model engineering techniques and practices. l
Slide valve engines will usually require two servos, one for reversing and one for speed control. The same principles apply to both servos, however almost certainly both could well end up in entirely different locations in the model boat.
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around the clubs
The Fleetwood model boating lake - boooootiful!
Vintage Model Power Boat Weekend DAVE WOOLEY goes to Fleetwood
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his event was a ‘retro’ weekend for all of us who remember r/c model boating from the 1950’s to the 1970’s. Back to the present though, and on a superb June 2013 day it was great to see these different types of
model from that period all laid out in the summer sun and one could have turned the clock back 40 years or so! Brian Carruthers of the Vintage MPBC and a Fleetwood MY&PBC member was my host for the day
and first up was the clubhouse which was full of models from the pre-digital age. Yes, not all were in running order, but there was plenty to see. A fair number were genuinely vintage and others had been built from current reintroduced kits and plans. The Vintage Model Boat Company supported the event with their range of wooden laser-cut kits including the Wavemaster 25, a model that was always a favourite of mine.
On the water I attended only on the Sunday, although this was a two day event. One of the main events on this day was a parade of Aerokits Sea Queen models, and it was really quite spectacular. Many were fitted with i.c. engines, and a course was provided which most went around in a clockwise direction! The brushless motor powered Wavemaster’s and Sea Urchin performed really well, notwithstanding the 22cc Olsen & Rice powered 57 inch long Swordsman being out on the lake at the same time, this being a boat that is now 54 years old! The skippers of two vintage power boats, an MFA Spearfish and a Vic Smeed Remora, decided to re-enact a Pairs Race, these being the norm’ in the 1960’s. The Spearfish won by a whisker with Tony Bollard collecting the well-deserved Best Performance Trophy. However, Peter Desoer’s MDS 28 powered Remora also showed its pedigree, it being a Vic Smeed design that influenced the future shape of speed steering boats in Europe as well as the UK. Having said that, the fastest model on the day was an MFA Piranha with an outdrive and if you blinked, then you missed it!
Right: The pre-cut parts for this Wavemaster 25 kit were being sold for just £65 by the Vintage Model Boat Company. Inset: A Sea Queen at speed.
Conclusion Attending such an event was a pleasure and I would like to thank all those from the Vintage MPBC and Fleetwood MBC for their hospitality. There is certainly a resurgence of interest in vintage and retro model boating, that is supported by the trade. There is also a huge range of plans from the likes of Vic Smeed and Phillip Connolly (and others) from MyHobbyStore if you wish to build a model totally from scratch and from wood! For more information, The Vintage MPBC website is : http://froggyt996.wix.com/vintage-modelpower-boat/home-page l
Brian Carruthers’ superb Veron police launch.
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Model Boats November 2013
around the clubs
Left: Electric and i.c. powered Sea Queen’s racing together. Mr. Merco is the 10cc glow motor powered boat in front. Below: Not strictly vintage, but this Sea Commander/Sea Queen look-a-like was most certainly in the right style for the weekend.
Some of the vintage models on display. In the foreground is a Waverider and behind that an Aerokits Sea Rover.
This is a 57 inch long Swordsman that was built by Alan Shaw and it is now 54 years old.
The brushless motor powered Sea Urchin performs really well. It also has an unusual crew!
Vic Smeed’s classic Remora.
A brushless motor looks insignificant in a Sea Urchin.
Vic Smeed’s classic Remora has a modern MDS 28 glow engine.
Model Boats November 2013
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Overall view of the event at Wilton Park and the pond side.
around the clubs
Kirklees MBC Annual Gala Day 2013 Event report from Wilton Park by RICHARD SIMPSON
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ast year, my club was amongst the many unfortunate organisations that had one of it’s major annual events postponed by the atrocious weather of the 2012 Summer so there was a lot of pressure on this year’s event long before we even got to it. However, as we approached the 14th July, it was becoming apparent that the forecast was a dramatic improvement over last year’s disaster as preparations were being put into place for the big day. As usual, our own home
preparations began the day before with the house full of the wonderful smell of baking and myself getting the car loaded up with the necessary gear needed to take along to Wilton Park.
On the day This always starts very early for the club members, with as many as possible getting to the park so they could get the gazebos assembled, the tea tent put into operation, the
model boating areas suitably fenced off and the obstacles placed on the pond, all ready for the day’s activities. This was the first year that the new harbour had been used that had been created by the club’s members. It proved to be extremely flexible and a huge improvement over the old unit and is a credit to all those involved in its creation. It was good to see so many visiting clubs supporting us, including those from Teesside, Vicar Water, CADMA (Doncaster), Bridlington, Mutual, The BMES, Sheffield, Goole, Balne Moor, St. Helens, Leeds & Bradford and York, as well as trade support from Deans Marine, Mobile Marine Models, Model Boat Bits, Scale Hobbies, Skelmersdale Scale Flags & Ensigns and Leeds Large Scale Models. There were also many individual representatives from other clubs, but suffice to say it was good to get together with old friends again and catch up on what has been happening since the last meeting. All credit to the trade stands and the visiting clubs for the time and effort they all put into events such as this, which all go to make it such a successful day. So, with the weather as glorious as it was, this year everyone had the opportunity to sit back, relax and enjoy the day’s activities.
Sail Past
The day starts early with the gazebos being assembled. First up has to be the tea tent, otherwise nothing else will get done! Where would we be without our supporting ladies?
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The Kirklees MBC Gala Day now has a tradition which is the Sail Past at two o’clock in the afternoon, when as many models as possible assemble on the pond and put on a display for the public and 2013 was probably one of the largest gatherings of model boats that has ever been seen on the water at Wilton Park, with a total of forty two boats being counted at one point! It certainly provided a spectacle and in the process may even have tempted one or two newcomers
Model Boats November 2013
Inset: Kirklees MBC PR man Stan Reffin (on the right) giving the Dennis Smart Award for the best Kirklees Model, that was built by Baden Buckle.
around the clubs
The completed harbour on the 14th July.
A good attendance by the trade gave everyone the opportunity to buy those essential bits and bobs and it also gave the traders a chance to display their latest wares and this is Mobile Marine Models with Bryan Ward in the green shirt in the centre behind the counter.
With all the tables set up, it was time to load them with the models. A great selection from Kirklees MBC members of all types of boat imaginable were laid out for everyone to enjoy, as well as all those from the visiting clubs.
into the hobby, which is what we all want. The Sail Past notably included steam models, which was particularly pleasing to see as it demonstrated that steam and electric models can all co-exist for such a spectacle. The afternoon’s schedule also included the presentation of trophies to the various winners and finally one of the most highly regarded raffles in the model boat world was drawn by Stan Reffin. He puts a huge amount of time into the collection of raffle prizes throughout the year and 2013 was no exception with a very large number of extremely worthwhile prizes being donated.
I must not forget to mention the all important tea tent and its band of hard working volunteers, without whom it would have been a ver y thirsty and hungr y day.
After the 2012 weather disaster, this year’s 2013 event went a long way to redress the balance, so fingers crossed for more of the same in 2014. Kirklees MBC have an up to date website: www.kirkleesmodelboatclub.org.uk, or simply turn up at Wilton Park, Bradford Road, Batley WF17 8JH, on any Sunday morning or Wednesday afternoon. l
Below: Always good to see steam models at events such as this, but this particular one was a real pleasure as it had been beautifully put together and worked perfectly on the water.
Conclusion So at the end of the day, the club had put on great show promoting the hobby to the general public in Wilton Park and the traders were happy to have had the opportunity to show off their wares. An event such as this had no entr y fee and no parking charges, so it goes to show what can be achieved by an active club with the drive and initiative amongst its membership to make such days successful.
Model Boats November 2013
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readers’ models
RNLI Severn lifeboat PHILIP BELLAMY modifies this ready to run lifeboat model
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Below: First task is to cut-away parts of the hull to create propshaft tunnels.
hese 1:20 scale 46cm long models of the RNLI Severn lifeboat have been around for some years and are sold in different guises, but basically are a simple ready to run r/c model boat that is currently listed at £55 on the Antics Models website: www. anticsonline.co.uk, at the time of writing as well as elsewhere. It is powered by twin jet double blaster motors, with the steering electronically managed from the transmitter. Hull construction is basic and is quite toy like, with the deck and cabin being removable as a one piece item from the hull and a rather poor rubber seal between them. The initial trials, ex-box, were not successful as one motor seized solid and the basic 27MHz r/c system proved to be quite short range.
Dismantling First, the model was weighed complete with batteries etc. and the waterline marked on the hull so that there was a starting reference point. Then the model was stripped down, initially by removing all the fastening screws for the deck and wheelhouse. Some of these screws had already started to rust, so they were later replaced with stainless 3 x 10mm types. Next all the electrical gear and motors was removed and only the on/off switch was retained. The hull and what remained was now reweighed and clearly the difference was what could be built into the ‘new’ model.
New driveline Twin motors driven from one speed controller and twin rudders was the plan of action, so plastic from the propeller tunnels in the hull’s bottom had to be removed and pieces suitably cut-away and shaped from
Shaped pieces of plastic were cut from plumbing tube and used for the new tunnels.
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standard plastic 27mm tube which was fitted into the resulting orifices. The new propshafts are 2mm stainless steel and their tubes are 4mm dia. fitted with press fit bronze bearings at each end. The propellers are 4-bladed from the Prop Shop, Ref. No. 871, left and right handed. The rudders were initially more or less scale, being plainly shaped of 0.5mm brass sheet with 2.5mm brass rod for their posts. There were then made Mk. 2 versions with the corners being cut off so as to clear the propeller tunnels, but after further on the water trials, a Mk. 3 version evolved that was deeper. The propshafts are just 50mm apart, aligning with the tunnels and the rudder posts directly in line with the propellers. The motor mount is aluminium angle with a simple fastening plate, each motor having just two M2 screws to clamp it in place. To mount this unit into the hull, a plastic cross member was made which incorporated an aluminium plate underneath it, fitted with four stainless steel hank bushes on its underside. The motor mounting was then fastened to this cross beam with four stainless socket head screws into the supporting aluminium plate. One of the advantages of using socket head screws is that a ball ended Allen key driver can be used. Dummy rigid couplings were made from brass rod, bored and reamed to size for both the motor and the propeller shafts, to replace the actual flexible joints and these ensured correct alignment of the drivelines. The rudder servo is mounted on the starboard side, as near to the transom as possible, on a bracket made from styrene sheet and it was found necessary to extend the top plate forward of the deck fastening spigot, hence the clearance hole. The link to
Model Boats November 2013
readers’ models
Above: The finished and painted new stern area. The rudders, in practice, had to have their front top corners angled to clear the hull at extremes of lateral movement.
Above: From the top, are a rudder post tube and then the Mk.1 to Mk.3 rudders.
The electronics are in a covered box inside the hull, accessed via the new opening in the deck.
the rudders is from the servo arm to the port rudder so as to give a reasonable length of arm. The length of the arm is adjustable and the connecting arm between the two rudders is now from 1mm GRP sheet for strength rather than the styrene strip as initially installed during the conversion. Two new Graupner Type 280 No. 6328 motors were wired in parallel so that one ran clockwise and the other anti-clockwise. The electronic speed controller (esc) is homemade with solid state for the outputs and no changeover relays, so as to keep the weight down. The receiver is a Jeti 5 Plus, even though only two channels are needed. To install the esc and receiver, the same built-in box was used that contained the original electronics and its lid was fastened with the original four screws. This more or less provides splash-proof protection for the electronics.
Access Rather than having a totally removable deck, which leaked anyway, a 120 x 80mm hole was cut in the central deck section and a coaming created. The original wheelhouse and cabin is now a push-fit over this coaming. The railings fore and aft of the cabin also help to hold the superstructure in place.
Finishing off A new battery space was created to avoid fouling the motors and steering gear. With care it was possible to make this all more or less watertight. The original aerial tube is still
used in conjunction with the wire aerial of the new receiver. Feeding flexible aerials through tubes can be a pain and an easy solution is solder (or superglue) the tip of the flexible aerial to a piece of thin brass rod that can then be easily fed through the tube.
Trials These were initially with a six cell 7.2v 1100mA NiCd battery fitted into the small tray between the propshaft tubes and the transom. Performance at slow speeds was satisfactory, but at full speed the bows tended to lift too much making the stern squat in the water and for a distinctly wet stern deck area. In a model I prefer to see the hull rise equally fore and aft so a change had to be made, and this would also make the boat dryer at the stern.
The interior as initially rebuilt.
Model Boats November 2013
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Above: Here you can see that the battery pack has been split and moved forward to be in front of the motors.
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The final configuration of having three transom trim tabs.
Wow, does it go, and it all started out as a £55 ready to run model!
The six cell NiCd battery was split in half so there were now two three cell packs, joined by cable. These were then placed more or less amidships alongside the electronics box. While there was some improvement, the model still tended to squat too much at the stern when at full speed, so a 0.8mm brass sheet trim tab was stuck to the hull, just under the transom, with double sided Scotch tape. This basically solved the problem and the tape did its job, at least initially! Another problem did arise, and that was that at slow speeds the boat was very controllable, but flat-out there was virtually no steering capability at all, hence the Mk. 3 rudders as mentioned earlier. Also, it was found that the Scotch tape was not ideal for more than a few
practice runs, so the central trim tab was bolted in place, with the bolt holes suitably sealed and additional side trim plates were also subsequentially fitted, finally resulting in a quite decently performing model.
Conclusion This RNLI ready to run Severn Lifeboat is available in the retail market for prices ranging from £55 upwards as mentioned in the introduction. Although not wonderful when purchased ‘off the shelf’, it can be readily modified to a more practical working model using bits and pieces that we perhaps all have sitting in our workshops and it makes for a nice handy-sized model for running on exhibition temporary ponds and the like. l
The syringe supplied with ink cartridge refill packs can be used for grease application.
Mooring Post GLYNN GUEST with some more advice and tips for modellers 68
Double Economy! My printer was running low on ink and I usually just buy a replacement ink cartridge. This time I was a little shocked at the prices asked and thought that it was worth trying the cheaper option of buying a cartridge refill pack. I had previously avoided this method due to people’s tales of the mess and poor results but figured it was worth a try. In fact, the process of refilling a printer cartridge was not too difficult and only
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minor ink stains were made. The syringe supplied to inject the ink into cartridge did however catch my ‘modeller’s eye’. It is going to be needed for a couple more cartridge refills, but after that it’s going in my modelling tool box. The needle it is supplied with, makes it ideal for adding small spots of grease wherever they might be required on a model. This ought to be easier, to say nothing of being cleaner, than my current efforts with a large tin of grease. l
Model Boats November 2013
crows nest
Bench test
Model Boats looks at new products
ATTENTION - MANUFACTURERS & DISTRIBUTORS l These pages are open to you - your shop window to bring to the attention of our thousands of readers, new products - kits, books, videos, engines, R/C gear, motors, anything that could be of interest to model boat builders. Send your information initially to Model Boats Test Bench, PO Box 9890, Brentwood, CM14 9EF - or ring the Editor on 01277 849927 for more details. You cannot afford to miss this opportunity!
Silvestris - What’s in the box!
Silvestris performs well enough on the water.
Silvestris Revell, best known for their plastic static kits are now producing ready to run models. Silvestris was recently received in the Editor’s office and is model that is suitable for a bit of fun or perhaps to introduce youngsters to the hobby. It is based on the full size boat made by Silvestris Aquamotive who are based in the Netherlands and the model is 470mm long by 135mm beam. It is nicely detailed and well finished, with removable seats and engine cover. These give access to the 480ER watercooled motor, battery compartment, radio receiver (which incorporates the speed controller) and rudder servo. Each of the covers is held in place by small concealed magnets. The supplied radio is of a two channel pistol grip transmitter type and uses the 2.4GHz frequency. Adjustments for trim and reversing the functions are located ether side of the steering wheel with the throttle trigger controlling the speed proportionally, both forward and reverse. According to the instructions, the supplied charger should charge the 7.2v 1200mAH NiMH battery in three hours giving a running time of around 5 to 10 minutes. A laser cut wooden stand is provided in kit form and clips together easily. As this is a ready to run model, the only addition you will need to get on the water are four AA size batteries for the transmitter. The whole model is supplied in a windowed box with a carry handle and this could be used to transport the boat to the pond. On the water performance of Silvestris was really quite realistic. Not a super fast ‘leaping out of the water speed’, but a lovely plume from the stern with the bows lifting gently out of the water. Running time was as indicated, with a full 10 minutes at maximum speed before the performance dropped off, indicating it was time to bring her in. UK price is around £130, but check on the internet and with specialist retailers for special offers, as at the time of writing it was being sold by an internet shop for £6.19, but admittedly with 27Mhz r/c! Review by John Elliott
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Message in a Model Stories from the Navy Model Room of the Rijksmuseum
HMS Belfast - Cruiser 1939
Written by Ab Hoving. Hardback, 246 pages, 280 x 230mm, over 350 photographs, in colour ISBN: 978-09837532-6-1, Published by SeaWatchBooks, LLC, 19 Sea Watch Place, Florence, OR 97439, USA. Website: www.seawatchbooks.com, e-mail: [email protected], tel: (541) 997 4439. This book is only available from the publisher. Price: $68 plus $9 shipping & handling US, $18 Canada, $25 all other countries. In 1889, the Dutch Department of Defence donated some 1400 models and other maritime artefacts from its collection to the Rijksmuseum, which four years earlier, had moved into its new prominent location on the Stadhouderskade in Amsterdam. In the late 1920’s, the collection, apart from a few prominent pieces, was placed into storage. However, even in storage the preservation of ship models requires daily attention. Many objects were never made to last centuries and have proved extremely vulnerable. Thanks to 23 years of dedicated work by model maker and conservator Ab Hoving, this special collection can now be seen once again in the museum. This book by Ab Hoving, which has been translated by Paul Fontenoy from the Dutch version that was published last year, using design and layout by Ab’s son Emiel Hoving, has been faithfully reproduced in the USA to coincide with this year’s re-opening of the Navy Model Room after the total renovation of the Rijksmuseum which has taken nearly ten years to complete at a cost of over €375 Million (£320 Million/$450 Million). Ab Hoving has selected over fifty subjects out of the hundreds in the museum to feature in this fascinating book, which is well presented and lavishly illustrated in full colour, from models of Dutch East Indiamen and men o’ war to cannons, anchors, propellers, paddle wheels, masts, early steam ships, docks, wharves and lighthouses from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries, which were submitted to the Navy Board for consideration. Some of them, despite being ingenious and beautifully made, didn’t make the grade, but all of them tell us stories about shipbuilding, wars, trade and epic journeys, as well as technology, innovation, invention, heroism and talent. This truly remarkable book is essential reading for historians, enthusiasts and ship modellers with an interest in this period of Dutch naval and maritime history. If you can’t get to Amsterdam and see the models themselves in the Navy Model Room at the Rijksmuseum, then this is the next best thing! Book Review by John Deamer
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Written by Richard Johnstone-Bryden. Softback, 128 pages, 246 x 175mm, over 240 photographs (mostly in colour), illustrations, drawings and diagrams. ISBN: 978-1-84832-155-7. Price (RRP) £14.99 Published by Seaforth Publishing, an imprint of Pen & Sword Books Limited, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, S70 2AS, tel: 01226 734222, website: www.seaforthpublishing.com. Available direct from the publisher or through the usual retail outlets. Built by Harland & Wolff in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and launched in March 1938, HMS Belfast was commissioned into the Royal Navy in August 1939. With a standard displacement of 11550 tons, a main armament of twelve 6 inch guns and a top speed of 32 knots, the 613 feet (loa) HMS Belfast, together with her ill-fated sister ship HMS Edinburgh, were among the largest cruisers ever built for the Royal Navy. HMS Belfast’s eventful naval career included the capture of the German liner Cap Norte in October 1939, involvement in the Arctic Convoys in 1942, the sinking of the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst in 1943 in the Battle of the North Cape and the D-Day landings in 1944. Post-WW2, after peace keeping duties in the Far East between 1945 and 1950 she was assigned to an Anglo-American task force that blockaded ports in the Korean War 1950 to 1952. After an extensive refit and modernisation, between1956 and 1959, she served with the home fleet until 1963 when she finally paid-off into the reserve. At that time, her fate hung in the balance. However, she was a’ lucky ship’ as after all she had survived WW2 and was still in good condition. She was eventually saved from the scrap man’s blowtorch in 1971 and is now preserved in the Pool of London. HMS Belfast is Britain’s largest historic ship and one of the capital’s top tourist attractions with approximately 250000 visitors every year. In this new, highly illustrated book, the author, maritime historian and photographer Richard Johnstone-Bryden, tells the story of HMS Belfast from 1936 when her keel was laid to the present day. Using beautiful colour photographs he takes the reader on a visual tour of ship, even showing us some of the inaccessible areas that the public normally wouldn’t get to see. This is a ‘must-have’ work for maritime historians and enthusiasts, as well as an essential reference book for ship modellers who are building, or contemplating building, a model of this iconic warship. It’s interesting to note that 2013, marks three significant anniversaries for HMS Belfast; the 75th anniversary of her launch in 1938 (17th March), the 50th anniversary of her final voyage as an operational warship in 1963 (24th August) and the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the North Cape in 1943 (26th December). Recommended! Book Review by John Deamer
Model Boats November 2013
crows nest
MODEL BOATS MARKETPLACE FREE READERS’ ADVERTISEMENTS Selling or buying? You can place a FREE readers’ advertisement here. Simply fill in the coupon printed on the next page and send it to us at Model Boats, Marketplace Free Readers’ Advertisements, P.O. Box 9890, Brentwood, Essex, CM14 9EF
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MODEL SLIPWAY Loyal class tender, scale 1:24, partially assembled, £50. Buyer collects. K. Satterthwaite, tel: 01923 269714 (Kings Langley, Hertfordshire).
RMS Queen Elizabeth
Written by Andrew Britton. Softback, 120 pages, 250 x 227mm, over 200 photographs mostly in colour, ISBN: 978-0-7524-7951-4. Price (RRP) £19.99. Published by The History Press Ltd. 160 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4SD, tel: 01235 465500, website: www.thehistorypress.co.uk. Available direct from the publisher or through the usual retail outlets. This colourful history, the latest in the ‘Classic Liners’ series, tells the story of Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth, who along with her running mate Queen Mary, successfully worked the transatlantic route from Southampton to New York via Cherbourg for much of the twentieth century, the British answer to the German and French superliners. She was launched in September 1938, the largest passenger liner built at the time and remained so for many years. Her maiden voyage to New York was made in secret in March 1939 just before the outbreak of the Second World War, on the orders of the then First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill. She remained docked in New York until November 1939 when she sailed for Singapore, where RMS Queen Elizabeth was extensively converted to His Majesties Troopship Queen Elizabeth for the duration of the war, when she carried more than 750000 troops and sailed over 500000 miles. After the war, with her lavish internal fittings replaced and the hull repainted in Cunard livery, she returned to plying the Atlantic route with RMS Queen Mary, until the jet age changed the world again and she retired in 1968, after which she was sold to a Hong Kong businessman with plans to convert her into a floating university. But it was not to be, and she capsized in a mysterious fire in Hong Kong harbour in 1972, a bizarre and unbecoming end for one of Cunard’s most faithful servants. In this book RMS Queen Elizabeth, the publication of which coincides with the 75th anniversary of her launch, the author and maritime historian Andrew Britton, presents us with a wealth of unpublished photographic material and ephemera from his own personal collection to tell the story of this historic liner, including rare wartime views, shots of her ‘grey ghost’ paintwork, unique behind-thescenes photographs, from-the-air shots, interior views and a wide selection of menus, logs books, timetables, tickets and even the ship’s original purchase receipt. This superb book offers both maritime enthusiasts and ship modellers a captivating trip through the history of this great liner. Book Review by John Deamer
S.S. Normandie Written by William H. Miller. Softback, 96 pages, 250 x 225mm, over 160 black & white and colour photographs and illustrations. ISBN: 978-0-7524-8808-0. Published by The History Press Ltd. 160 Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4SD, tel: 01235 465500, website: www.thehistorypress.co.uk. Price (RRP)
Model Boats November 2013
£19.99. Available direct from the publisher or through the usual retail outlets. In the world of ocean liners, those built for the French Line, Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (CGT), were the epitome of style and panache, and the S.S. Normandie was perhaps the pinnacle of this. Her construction began at the Chantirers de Penhoet shipyard in St Nazaire on the Loire in 1931 and she was launched in October 1932. At 82799 tons (GRT), 1028 feet (LOA), with a top speed of 30 knots the quadruple screw ship was the world’s largest, longest, fastest and certainly the best fed vessel of her time, serving four hundred first class passengers the finest food imaginable in a lavishly furnished dining room over three hundred feet long and three decks high. With her outstanding exterior appearance, largely due to her finely shaped hydrodynamic hull, long high superstructure and rounded bridge front, together with her sumptuous Art-Deco interior design, she made her maiden voyage on the 29th May 1935 arriving in New York harbour at Pier 88, a terminal built especially for her, on the 3rd June. With a record average speed of 29.92 knots and top speed of 31.37 knots she had captured the Blue Riband. Three months later the R.M.S. Queen Mary took the honour, only to lose it back to the S.S. Normandie the next year. In 1938 R.M.S. Queen Mary won it again! During the next four years she worked the North Atlantic route carrying passengers, including the rich and famous, between America and Europe. In August 1939 as the threat of war in Europe intensified, she was laid-up at Pier 88 in New York, but she would never sail again. Seized by the US Navy and renamed USS Lafayette in December 1941, she was destroyed by fire two months later while being converted into a troopship. Flooded by tons of water poured into her upper decks, she rolled over and sank at her berth, lying on her side in the mud. After an enormous salvage operation which involved cutting away her entire superstructure, she was raised and scrapped in 1946 and 1947. Fortunately, because the ship was being converted for wartime use when she was destroyed, much of her furniture, fittings and artworks had been removed from the ship and survives to this day. This book in the ‘Classic Liners’ series by William H. Miller, ‘Mr. Ocean Liner’, an acknowledged world expert in his field having written over 80 books on passenger ships, in which he tells us the story of the S.S. Normandie, bringing together an unrivalled collection of images, including previously unpublished photographs, many from his own collection and it truly evokes the glamour of one of the most beloved ocean liners of the era. This is a must-read for ship modellers, historians and enthusiasts alike, or anyone with an interest in passenger liners from this period of maritime history. Book Review by John Deamer
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TWO MFA 850 TORPEDO motors and mounts. Unused, £30 the pair, plus p/p. Mike Gunn, tel: 01509 881438 (Loughborough, Leicestershire). CALDERCRAFT HMS DIANA, part built. Also Sergal Cutty Sark kit, unboxed. Offers please. R. Bostick, tel: 02085 053914 (Woodford Green, N.E. London). HMS ZULU & HMS AMBERLEY. Both r/c and working perfectly. Owner is losing sight. Any reasonable offer. Laurence Tomlin, tel: 01344 451920 (Bracknell, Berks.). DUBARRY Thornycroft cabin cruiser, 28ins, all wood, good detail, removable hatches, nav. lights & r/c, £250. Pete Hollingsworth, tel: 01273 584178 (East Sussex). TUG. Completely refurbished, 29 inches long, 8 inches wide, needs Tx & Rx, £50. No time to complete. Peter Walters, tel: 07778 585363 (Hailsham, East Sussex). FREE HMS BOUNTY DELGARDO KIT. Frame and deck built, but planking and masts etc. to do. For collection, but can deliver locally. Roger Cornwall, tel: 01883 624572 (Warlingham, East Surrey). TRAWLER THORNWICK BAY, 58 inches long, includes all radio gear, lights, well made. Offers, or swap for tug. Also, large diorama with quay, buildings, cars, wagons etc. Can send pictures. Ivor Warren, tel; 07888 766644 (Barry, Vale of Glamorgan). TWO GRAUPNER SPEED 700BB turbo 9.6v, both used & good runners, £35 for the pair, plus p/p. Also, LiPo 14.8v 3000 battery, only charged once, £25 plus p/p. Willie Crowther, tel: 01274 878916 or 07974 597861 (West Yorkshire). JJC OLD SMOKEY Mk.II. New, never used, £40 plus p/p. Mike Hopper, tel: 01702 205594 (Hockley, Essex). GRAUPNER PARAT KIT, partly built, fittings kit, 2 x Voith Schneider drives, 2 x 12v 7AH SLA batteries, 12v fire monitor pump, winch servo (monitor platform), rubber tyres (fendering). Cost new £672, asking £450, no splits. Dave Milbourn, tel: 01159 607951 (Nottingham). GRAUPER PREMIUM LINE BISMARCK. Camouflage paint scheme, with ACTion R/C electronics, battery, motor mixers, rotating turrets, 2.4GHz, etc., £850. Delivery at cost. Christopher Wild, tel: 01745 854377 (Prestatyn, N. Wales). SOVEREIGN OF THE SEA, by Deagostini. All weekly issues up to Week 51. Best price please and buyer collects. Ian Inglis, tel: 01253 731020 (Lytham, Lancs.). BILLINGS NORDKAP trawler complete, ready to run, with battery, speed control, 2 channel r/c, figures, lights, good condition. £200 ono. John Wilson, tel: 01254 433660 (Lancashire). THAMES BARGE, built 2012 with GRP hull, 60ins overall length, includes bowsprit & removable keel. Ready to sail with 27Mhz r/c & batteries. Excellent condition, buyer collects. Denis Coe, tel: 01206 525232 (Colchester, Essex). ROBBE FUTABA F14 Tx 4 channel, plus two linear proportional channels with instruction manual. Sensible offers please. Mick O’Connell, tel: 07880 892414 (Otley, Leeds). SNOWBERRY Flower Class corvette, r/c, motor & smoke, £185 ono. Also large Moorcock tug, working radar, smoke and rudder servo, but no r/c or esc, £250 ono. P.D. Dyer, tel: 01202 690130 or 07971 808066 (Wimborne, Dorset).
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RUSSIAN SOVREMENNY DESTROYER, 1:96 scale, 95% complete scratch build project, 62 inches long, 2 MFA 12v geared motors, 2 Electronize esc’s, 6ch 2.4GHz Futaba receiver, 24v smoke unit, KA27 helicopter. £600. B. M. Chapman, tel: 01732 844689 (West Malling, Kent). WW2 LANDNG CRAFT with 40MHz r/c, plus Launch with working lights from MB plans, batteries etc. and Maplin 4/6/12v charger for £175. Buyer must collect, photos available, genuine sale. Mr. B. Shelford, tel: 01795 876760 (Sheerness, Kent).
Wants
MODEL BOAT magazines December 1966 to September 1967 to photocopy or buy or ‘Simple Model Yachts’ by Vic Smeed please. I am building Starlet so need construction advice etc. David Britten, tel: 01923 265612 or 07768 810367 (Abbots Langley). AFRICAN QUEEN. Can anyone help with a copy of the review of this Billings kit that was in RCMB some years ago please, around 1988? Reasonable costs met. Michael Barton, tel: 01454 773641 (Winterbourne, Bristol).
GRP hulls suitable for the plans listed below are available once again: MM1275: Revive MM609: Brave Borderer MM826: St Louis Belle MM567: Cervia
MM909: Top Sail Schooner MM962: Grand Banks Schooner MM1448: Liverpool lifeboat MM1482: Kingston Peridot
Our plans, hulls, and material packs are available to order online: www.myhobbystore.com Or by phone UK: +44 (0)844 848 8822 US: 1-(877)230 2998 10am to 4pm - Monday to Friday
BILLINGS SEA KING, unfinished. Help, is anyone able to complete it please? It has been in family for over 30 years. John Whiter, tel: 07767 615029 (East Sussex).
PROXXON FET TABLE SAW. Complete, working in good condition please. Keith Harris, tel: 01708 440280 (Hornchurch, Essex).
ROBBE SMARGD yacht hull only, as I have new sails etc., or a complete boat considered. E. Marston, tel: 01284 810016 (Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk).
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MB Vol 63 No 756
CONQUEST DROVE, FARCET, PETERBOROUGH, PE7 3DH 01733 244166 www.deansmarine.co.uk
2013 full colour catalogues Deans Marine £6.00 Raboesch £4..00 RB Fittings £2..00 Albion + deluxe £3..00 postage each Or all 5 for £12..50 incl p&p u k
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Laser cut kit
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We stock a wide range of scale model ship card kits for you to build including: Scale 1:200 - Full Hull HMS Prince of Wales...£51.95 HMS Matabele..............£25.95 USS Missouri................£59.95 Graf Spee.......................£29.95 Tirpitz............................£48.95
L..C.M. 6
scale 1/24
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Admiral Hipper............£45.95 SMS Seydlitz.................£56.95 Scale 1:400 - Waterline HMS King George V....£12.95 HMS Ajax......................£11.95 HMS Exeter...................£11.95 HMS Sheffield...............£10.95 HMS Belfast..................£11.95 HMS Roberts..................£8.95
Raider Atlantis..............£18.95 Normandie.....................£25.95 RMS Mauretania..........£18.95 Send your order with cheque/PO/credit card details to Marcle Models (MB5), Turnagain, Finch Lane, Amersham, Bucks. HP7 9NE, England Tel/fax 01494-765910 (24 hrs.) www.marcle.co.uk Prices include worldwide P&P - overseas airmail surcharge £7 per order. Send £4.50 (overseas £6.50 surface, £8.00 airmail) for our illustrated catalogue. *14-day “NO QUIBBLE” MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE (*if returned in a saleable condition) Book “Card Modelling Basic & Advanced Techniques” - £16.95, Overseas surface mail£20.95, airmail £23.95
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BMPRS News Website: www.bmprs.co.uk
A busy pit area at Kingsbury.
Obituary - Stewart Rae: 03/06/1955 to 02/09/2013 It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of Stewart (AKA Scoop), who passed away with his family beside him on the 2nd September whilst this issue was in its final design process. Stewart had successfully battled illness for some month’s now, but there had recently been a number of unexpected setbacks. Stewart was co-founder of BMPRS (British Model PowerBoat Racing Society) and he worked tirelessly to promote that organisation, and the hobby, that raced offshore style model i.c. boats in the Midlands of the UK. He wrote
regularly for Model Boats and indeed this BMPRS report is the second from last that he has penned. He was extremely conscientious and efficient in his work for MB, the BMPRS and the hobby as a whole, and will be sadly missed by his fellow enthusiasts in offshore model power boat racing and by all who knew him. On behalf of the readers of Model Boats, I extend our heartfelt sympathy to his wife Jackie and family at this sad time. Paul Freshney Editor of Model Boats
STEWART RAE (SCOOP) with a report from Kingsbury
W
ell it seems time is passing by so quickly at the moment and having missed the October issue due to illness and one thing and another, we are back on track in this November issue with the help of Mark Wild and my daughter Madelyn to bring you the latest news from the water’s edge of BMPRS meetings.
Kingsbury - 2nd June The weather was fine with a very light wind making this day just perfect for those who attended, and what an attendance! We had a total of 37 entries running in all the classes on the day, so one of the best turnouts in our history and here’s how the day went. The Officer of the Day (OOD) was Malcolm Pratt with Robin Butler as assistant OOD, with his wife Sue and daughter Sally as lap scorers assisted by Madelyn Reid and local club members, Raj Patel and Pat Spencer, as usual in the rescue boat. The OOD announced that the rescue boat would only collect one stopped boat at a time, which was a change from the normal procedure of a number of boats being collected in one go if circumstances warranted it. Malcolm had planned an early start to the day, but as it so happened the racing did not begin until 1030hrs. The order of racing was: AA, A, B, C, D classes and the two new for 2013, catamaran classes T1 and T2. There were to be two heats in each class with morning and afternoon sessions.
Above: AA44: Mike Barnes’ AA Class Sea Spirit. Below: Catamaran racing! These boats are not as manoeuverable as mono-hulls, but boy, do they shift!
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Model Boats November 2013
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A classic high speed picture! Mark Beesley’s Aeromarine XXX with a 15cc CMB 91RS nitro engine.
A72: Junior member Boyd Elson with his AMPS F1. Although a tunnel hull, it can run in the normal A Class.
AA class
This saw eight competitors with two Sea Spirit II’s, three Challenger 43’s, a Cavalier, an LRB and a BMR Proto 26, these boats using engines from the Hyper, MDS, MACH, CMB, OPS, OS and Picco ranges. So in other words, a good cross section of different hulls and engines. Robin Butler’s Sea Spirit II grabbed 78 laps from the two heats which were 20 minutes each in length with a two minute mill time (the time spent on the water just before the race commences), for an overall easy class win. Sixty-one laps took Mike Barnes to second place with his MDS powered Sea Spirit II. Mark Beesley’s OS outboard powered Cavalier took the final place on the podium with 45 laps. Graham Stanley’s LRB hull, Picco 21 powered, popped in a 10 plus 32 laps totalling 42 for fourth spot. Ian Searle’s Challenger 43 Pro, powered by an OPS 21, took 32 laps for fifth, his total score letting him down with zero laps in the second heat when his steering failed. Sha Simon’s MACH powered Black Magic Racing Proto 26 had just three laps in the morning and required some tuning, but in the afternoon session she managed another 20 laps, so ended up sixth. An OPS 21 Challenger 43 Pro gave Andy Rennie seventh spot with 7 laps from the morning session only, as his rudder servo also failed terminally, so nothing for him from the afternoon session. Likewise, Dave Clay’s CMB 21 powered Challenger 43 Pro was another boat with a DNS (Did Not
A55: Craig Dickson’s A class winning Crusader is powered by an ASP 46 engine.
Start) in Heat Two when his boat ended up in the bushes just after launch! And why? Yes, another rudder servo failure!
A class Running away with the top place in this class with very consistent two heat scores of 51 and 54 laps was Craig Dickson and his SC46 powered Crusader III. In second place, another Crusader III powered by an ASP46, was junior member Kian Searle clocking up a respectable total of 84 laps over the two heats. Another junior member, Luke Bramwell, popped in 58 laps for third spot with his SC40 powered Sea Spirit. Fifty-three laps gave Kurt Cave’s Cougar MDS 40 powered the fourth place. Dave Clay’s Crusader III ASP46 did 50 laps in Heat One, enough to claim fifth spot, but he was let down in Heat Two when the driveshaft broke before the boat even got going. Sixth place went to Danny Bell with his ASP46 Challenger 43 Pro on 41 laps after a couple of retuning stops at the pits. Another broken driveshaft stopped nine year old junior member Boyd Elson from scoring more than eight laps for seventh spot with his ASP46 powered AMPS F1. The hulls for these are available from his father Darren Boyd, who can be contacted via the BMPRS website. Finally, tuning problems gave Sally Butler’s Irvine 40 powered Cavalier eighth place from her Heat One score of only 6 laps, engine con-rod failure later in the day ending her racing in this class.
A2: Danny Bell’s Challenger. These boats with smaller i.c. engines can be as much fun to race as the larger craft.
A128: The BMPRS junior members are doing very well. This is Kian Searle’s A class, second placed, Crusader.
Above left: AA127: Ian Searle’s OPS 21 powered Challenger 43. These are the smallest boats raced by the BMPRS. Above right: Sha Simon is one of our lady racers and this is her AA Class boat.
Model Boats November 2013
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propwash
Above: B9 & B11: Malcolm Pratt and Andrew Rennie in close racing! Below: Kurt Cave’s Sigma is catching Andy Uttley’s Phantom.
B class Only five boats were racing in this nitro class, including a Warhawk, Challenger 48 Pro, Apache 50, Magnum and a White Pointer (listed as unknown), all powered by CMB 67’s or a solitary Webra 61 engine. Eight-five laps put Andy Rennie’s Warhawk CMB67 in top place followed by Garry Dickson’s Challenger 48 Pro with the Webra 61 taking 79 laps from the two heats. Malcolm Pratt’s Apache 50 CMB 67 ran a 41 and 30 for third place. Mark Beesley’s Australian designed and built White Pointer is powered by an ASP 61 and was fourth after a count back decision of 41.1 laps, not bad considering he had a DNS in Heat Two. Sally Butler’s count back score of 41.4 gave her CMB 67 powered Magnum the fifth place
C22: Andy Uttley’s CMB nitro 15cc engine powered Arrow showing the way in its class!
C class With only three boats entered, everyone was guaranteed a podium place, that is assuming they completed at least one lap! Ian Searle had a good couple of runs and popped in 92 laps from his two heats for first place. Mark Beesley’s Aeromarine (AM) XXX powered by a CMB 91 RS scored 87 laps and second spot. Third was taken by Andy Uttley’s Arrow 57 powered by a CMB 91 RS with an unlucky for some, 13 laps score, after a collision in Heat Two bent his rudder making the boat un-steerable, retirement being the only sensible course of action.
C127: Ian Searle’s 15cc engine powered Apache.
D4: A spot of advertising here on Mike Barnes’ Gizmo petrol engine powered Patriot.
D80: Paul Woolacott is a fairly recent new BMPRS member and is already showing the others the way home!
76
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Model Boats November 2013
propwash D class
Ten boats were racing in this popular petrol engine powered class, generally using two stroke Zenoah’s in standard (stock) or modified (tuned) versions. Capacity can vary from 23 to 26cc and fine tuning can take them into the low 30 cubic centimetre volume capacity. These engines run on leaded or super unleaded fuel, with an average 16:1 petrol/oil mixture. The hulls are about 54 inches in length and are available from several suppliers as are the engines, these being stock or tuned, and quite a few of the competitors do their own engine tuning rather than using the services of a professional tuner. On the water today was an Apache, two Patriots, a Phantom 145, three Sigma’s, a Lancer 55, a Miami 55 and a Titan. The engines included stock and tuned Zenoah’s, with some being named after the engine tuning service, such as ALRO, Gizmo Arrow, Zen and QD. A consistent 78 and 76 laps found Paul Woolacott’s ALRO 29 powered Apache romp home in first place. Kevin Alcock’s total of 136 laps found his Gizmo 30 powered Patriot in second. Third place went to another Patriot with a Gizmo 28.5 engine and 134 laps, driven by Mike Barnes from the Manchester area. A bit further back in fourth place was a Phantom 145 powered by Andy Uttley’s own Arrow 31, a well built and tuned motor. Andy can also be contacted via the BMPRS website for these engines. Malcolm Pratt’s Zen 30.5 Sigma took fifth spot and another Sigma was sixth powered by a self-tuned KRC 29 from Black Magic Racing, AKA Kurt Cave. Garry Dickson drove his Zen 31 powered Miami 55 to seventh place and eighth was Mark Wild from Manchester. Last but not least, Darren Elson’s Titan Zen 29.5 and Mick Jones’ Lancer 55 QD Pioneer both scored just one lap each in Heat One and a DNS in Heat Two, which was most unusual for them.
T1 catamaran class Kurt Cave was the only entry with his Thunder Tiger GPL tunnel hull, powered by a T/T 21 outboard, so he was not exactly stretched to win the class!
T2 catamaran class A much better turnout here and Garry Dickson’s beautifully tuned out Navicraft Thunderbolt running with a stock Sikk 25 two stroke took an easy win returning to the pits with 65 laps from his two quick heats. Paul Woolacott’s ALRO 28 Powered Cyclone wasn’t that far behind on 57 laps and Kurt Cave’s Conquest 43 with a KRC 29 tuned motor on board took third spot. Malcolm Pratt’s Aeromarine catamaran ran 25 laps in total, with time spend in both heats tuning its CMB 91 RS Nitro motor for fourth place. Darren Elson claimed fifth place with Thunderbolt needing tuning and a DNS in Heat Two. Mark Wild’s Avenger achieved eight laps in Heat One, but also had a DNS in Heat Two due yet again, to a rudder servo failure!
Conclusion This day at the races was unusually long, even allowing for the high entry, and the committee are looking at ways of ensuring the furthest travelled competitors don’t set out in the dark and also get home in the dark in the future! We are grateful to clubs allowing us to race on their waters and the support they give to the BMPRS. Clearly, on this occasion we were not as efficient as usual in our organisation and will make sure in future that the event runs more smoothly, the main problem here being
Model Boats November 2013
the time gaps between races and the slightly slower than usual rescue service, but that was not the fault of the guys in the rescue boat. Anyway, the racing was good, the turnout excellent, and Kingsbury Water Park as usual did their very best to make us very welcome. We thank the dedicated rescue boat crew and the lap scorers in particular, because without them we would not have a race day. On the subject of water facilities to race on, the BMPRS would always like to hear of potential new racing venues and as a society we will input as much as necessary to support the host venue and club. Well that’s it for now, and next month we are back at our second race meeting of this year at Branston Water Park. Cheers, Scoop and Mark (Acknowledgement: The pictures from Kingsbury Water Park were all taken by Judith Beesley)
l
Garry Dickson’s Catamaran Class T2 winning Navicraft powered by a SIKK 25cc engine. Looking at the picture, it could almost be a full-size racing machine.
BMPRS Results: Kingsbury, June 2013 Name AA class 1st Robin Butler 2nd Mike Barnes 3rd Mark Beesley 4th Graham Stanley 5th Ian Searle 6th Sha Simon 7th Andy Rennie 8th Dave Clay
Number
Hull
Engine
Heat 1
Heat 2
Total
10 4 176 29 127 60 11 42
Sea Spirit 2 Sea Spirit Cavalier LRB Challenger 43 BRM Proto 26 Challenger 43 Challenger 43
Hyper 21 MDS 28 OS 21OB Picco 21 OPS 21 MACH 26 OS 21 CMB 21
41 18 34 10 32 3 7 3
37 43 11 32 0 20 0 0
78 61 45 42 32 23 7 3
55 128 83 7 42 2 72 12
Crusader 3 Crusader 3 Sea Spirit Cougar Crusader 3 Challenger 43 AMPS F1 Cavalier
SC 46 ASP 46 SC 40 MDS 40 ASP 46 ASP 46 ASP 46 Irvine 40
51 30 34 25 50 22 8 6
54 54 24 28 0 19 0 0
105 84 58 53 50 41 8 6
Warhawk Challenger 48 Apache 50 Unknown Magnum
CMB 67 Webra 61 CMB 67 ASP 61 CMB 67
33 40 41 41 35
52 39 30 1 6
85 79 71 41.1* 41.4*
127 176 22
Makara AM XXX Arrow 57
CMB 90 CMB 91 CMB 91
42 33 13
50 54 0
92 87 13
80 75 4 22 9 7 44 5 73 59
Apache Patriot Patriot Phantom 145 Sigma Sigma Miami 55 Sigma Titan Lancer 55
ALRO 29 Gizmo 30 Gizmo 28.5 Arrow 31 Zen 30.5 KRC 29 Zenoah 31 Arrow 26 Zen 29.5 QD Pioneer
78 71 81 60 78 42 63 28 1 1
76** 65 53 68 41 46 12 23 0 0
149 136 134 128 119 88 75 51 1 1
Catamaran Class T1 1st Kurt Cave
7
GPL Tunnel
T/Tiger 21 O/B
1
0
1
Catamaran Class T2 1st Garry Dickson 2nd Paul Woolacott 3rd Kurt Cave 4th Malcolm Pratt 5th Darren Elson 6th Mark Wild
44 80 7 9 73 5
Navicraft Cyclone Conquest 43 Aeromarine Thunderbolt Avenger
Sikk 25 ALRO 28 KRC 29 CMB 91 RS RCMK 29.5 Arrow 26
31 26 4 12 12 8
34 31 38 13 0 0
65 57 42 25 12 8
A class 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th
Craig Dickson Kian Searle (J) L. Bramwell (J) Kurt Cave Dave Clay Danny Bell Boyd Elson (J) Sally Butler
B class 1st Andy Rennie 11 2nd Garry Dickson 44 3rd Malcolm Pratt 9 4th Mark Beesley 176 5th Sally Butler 12 *Position determined by lap count back C class 1st Ian Searle 2nd Mark Beesley 3rd Andy Uttley D class 1st Paul Woolacott 2nd Kevin Alcock 3rd Mike Barnes 4th Andy Uttley 5th Malcolm Pratt 6th Kurt Cave 7th Garry Dickson 8th Mark Wild 9th= Darren Elson 9th= Mick Jones ** Five lap penalty
www.modelboats.co.uk
77
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Model Boats November 2013
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