Model Expo has confirmed that production will soon begin on a new Midwest kit: the Fireboat, presented at a scale of 1/2" = 1 foot. To clarify, Model Expo has acquired the licensing rights from Midwest to produce all of their models. At the moment, they have 27 kits in production, with more on the way. I previously worked with Model Expo in customer service, answering model-building questions and handling replacement-part requests. Now, I am one of the model builders who assemble their prototypes—the models they intend to release to the public. With that being said, I invite all of you to follow along with this build. I introduced only a limited number of modifications—mostly to make the vessel more suitable for radio-control operation and to enhance its realism—while preserving the essential character of the original design. Many of you have probably built this classic kit before; however, this is my first time working with it. Please feel free to share your opinions and past experiences with this charming little model. History of the Fireboats This model represents a small fireboat equipped with twin monitors, a type of vessel historically stationed in nearly every major working harbor throughout the United States and abroad. Its configuration is based on a combination of plans and photographic references from several representative examples. Because of this, it serves as an accurate portrayal of the smaller fireboats—many of which are still in service in various ports today.

The Northern Bay lobster and sport fishing boats are built in Qgunquit, Maine. Known as Down East boats they are semi-displacement hulls. They are very good sea boats stable in heavy seas. Compared to semi-vee hulls common to many other sport fisherman boats in the U.S. the Down East hulls tend to be wet boats. As with everything else, boat design is always a compromise. 1&2 The inspiration 3&4 Beginning steps

Back in the 1960's when I made my first Classic Model Power Boat kit (an Aerokits Swordsman) almost everyone that ran model power boats chose to power them with a glow plug engine, occasionally a diesel engine, sometimes a petrol engine (in the bigger sized models), and only a few were powered by electric motors. My Swordsman was powered by a 6.5cc OS40 Marine glow engine, and later by a 10cc Merco 61 Twin-Plug glow engine. In those days, Classic Model Power Boats were probably at their most popular with lots of us building and running them in almost any stretch of water that could be found. Places that I run my first model boat included various locations on the River Avon, the local Avon and Kennet canal, in the open sea off Torquay and Exmouth, several different village ponds (!) and the occasional visit to Victoria Park in Bath where the boating lake was filled with the sights and sounds of various r/c power boats hammering around making lots of noise and exhaust smoke! These Classic Water-Cooled Model Engines have now been excluded from almost all waters where they were previously accepted, and most model boat clubs now actually ban their use. Electric motors are much cleaner and easier to use, and can easily produce more power too - but they lack the "soul" of these internal combustion engines - and this is something that I really miss. Part of the "operating procedure" included buying the correct grade of glow fuel (or diesel fuel) with the appropriate amount nitro content, making sure that your battery was charged enough to give a good bright glow when connected to the glow plug, remembering to pack the leather bootlace to start the engine with (electric starters came much later) and of course making sure that your radio equipment was working with fresh batteries too. The procedure needed to bring the motor to life became a classic "starting ceremony" that often intrigued the casual onlooker as the owner/operator enthusiastically gripped the model by whatever means was preferred (I used my knees) to stop it jumping upwards as the leather starting lace was rocked backwards and forwards until the motor spluttered into life - when the bootlace was rapidly withdrawn in a flourish leaving the motor running (hopefully in the right direction!) and ready for action. This was followed fairly quickly by the need to get the boat into the water before it overheated, when any final needle valve adjustment could be made (when the boat was in the water) before opening the throttle and seeing the model take-off and run until the fuel run out. Judging the running time available (the amount of fuel that was left after starting it) became quite an art - especially when running in the fast flowing river waters as a model with a "dead" engine could be swept away causing all kinds of "interesting" recovery problems! Anyone that had a small inflatable dingy became an instant friend and companion who was able to paddle after the stricken model and haul it onboard before paddling against the river flow to return it safely - often at a point some way further down-stream when the current was too strong to paddle against! After the model was run (and recovered) the model needed to have a good clean to wipe away any spilled fuel and to remove any exhaust "goo" - before removing the glow plug to turn the motor over and placing a few drops of oil into the bore and then turning the motor over to give a good coating of oil all around the inside of the engine. This after-run oiling procedure prevented the caster oil in the fuel from gumming-up the engine and the nitro content of any fuel that remained in the engine from eating into the chrome/nickel coating of the bore and the engine bearings! Diesel engine operators could sometimes be compared to "wizards" as they balanced the compression needed to start the engine with that needed for it to run cleanly - with the same need to adjust the carburettor once the boat was in the water. Compared with running an electric motor, these water-cooled model engines were hard work that could also be dirty and time consuming too - BUT - I really enjoyed the whole event - every time I took my Classic Model Power Boat out for a run it became a real occasion that plugging-in the battery on my current model boats can never compare with! This "blog" gives an opportunity for others like myself that really miss these nitro and diesel fuelled engines to reminisce and picture their Classic Model Power Boat Water-Cooled Glow and Diesel Engines. Bob.

Made the bilge keels from two laminations of mahogany sheet to get the correct thickness and then glued them in place. Once this was done I was able to return to the superstructure. Drilled the holes for the portholes and then glued the cabin sides in position. Made the forward cabin front window and glued in followed by that for the rear cabin. Bolted and screwed the upper support for the drop keel whilst I still had easy access. Really starting to take shape now but still a long way to go! Chris

Awaiting graphics to finish off THUNDER& METEOR so pulled this one off the shelf to resume the build. I’ll start at the beginning posting highlights so as not to take up too much time. Photo 1&2 One of the many real boats. These are iconic around Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, & other Atlantic bordering states. Photo 3 Starting the frame & keel.

The VMW Marlin Cabin Cruiser by Robbob Preface. At the time of writing, I’ve had the construction of this boat on ‘the back burner’ since July 2022. By then I had spent about two months on and off constructing the boat to a stage where I could consider applying a glassfibre cloth and epoxy finish to the hull. However I couldn’t spend any more time on the Marlin project as I had a more important project to undertake, which was to paint, decorate, refurbish and prepare our house for sale so that we could downsize and move to a new area now that our kids had all fled the nest. Fast forward to today (mid-April 2025) and it’s taken a while to get the new house and gardens into shape and settle in, with the emphasis on converting my internal garage into a great new workshop, I can finally pick up from where I left off. Introduction to the kit. This new model is the latest undertaking by Vintage Model Works, now famous for their very popular models of the RAF Crash Rescue Tender and Thames River Police Boat kits which are based on old Aerokits and Veron designs. The Marlin is a re-working of an original Veron design by the late Phil Smith in 1953. His son Colin Smith, who was also responsible for the re-design of the Thames River Police Boat, has made some changes to his father’s design to take advantage of more modern materials and production methods such as CNC and laser cutting. The photograph below is of a prototype built by Colin Smith to give you an idea of how the boat looks in finished form. And there is also a review of the Marlin that appeared in Model Maker magazine, November 1953. The size remains at 36” and it employs the same construction method as the original. The spacious cabins of the boat makes it very easy to accommodate all the latest control hardware required, not that the original was lacking in that area even when the radio systems used valves and large batteries and the propulsion was usually IC or a large electric motor. Even the pre-production sample the Vintage Model Works kit supplied to me is well presented with a full size drawing including a pictorial construction sequence and separate pages of building instructions. All the required materials are supplied in quality ply, balsa, strip-wood and dowel including clear plastic sheets for the windscreens, and various white metal deck fittings. The builder is of course required to supply their own adhesives and paint of choice, as well as the propulsion, drive train and radio control gear. In the latter respect I will likely restrict control to throttle and rudder and not add any lighting or other features. That has already been done magnificently by Mike Turpin. Construction. As with the Thames river police boat, another Veron design, construction starts with the assembly of a box structure onto which formers and bulkheads are attached to make the basic hull shape. I will be tackling this in the first part of my build blog which I hope you will enjoy following and I encourage you to ask questions, leave comments and hopefully some ‘likes’ as I make progress. Robbob.

Haven't built anything for a while due to lack of space (too many models) but the urge to build something was too great. After looking at many options, I decided to go with something 'easy' to build. I found some full size plans for an Australian MkI Moth which I'm building to a MKII (double chine) style. I'm building in foam and glass again to make things easier. It's 850mm long and 310 wide which is roughly 1/4 scale (original is 11 ft) Started by converting all the lofting measurements on the redrawn 1953 plan to metric and dividing them by 4 to get the scale. Next was creating the ply deck, then contact gluing onto it a piece of dense 50mm building polystyrene. This was then shaped with a surform file and the chines shaped afterwards using eyeometry. Then the 10mm deck foam was glued on so the deck sheer could be shaped. Next the cockpit foam was routered out, and basswood sides and inner transom piece epoxied in. After that, the ply outer transom piece and hardwood nose block was epoxied on. The centerboard case upper and lower ply braces were routered out (using the mill and a 1/2" slotting bit) large enough to accept the case sides, leaving enough room for the 6mm aluminium keel (can't use a centerboard for obvious reasons) which will have to have a bulb fitted. A rebate in the bottom of the hull was routered out for the lower c/board brace. These braces are needed to form part of a box structure with the floor and cockpit sides which the c/board can lever on. Once everything is eventually glassed in, it will make it very strong unit, so the foam will just be the shape surrounding the box, and not having any strain put on it. The ply deck will take the strain of the stays/mast. The cockpit floor was cut, and will be slotted the same as the braces, then the c/board case will be built. The mast on this is 1.486m tall, - sail is -luff -11.295, foot 609mm, so quite large for a small boat. The full sized boat is a lot of fun to sail, so this model will be interesting to sail. Unfortunately, without the human input required, and being a performance boat, it may assume the attributes of a submarine in a stiff breeze, - time and testing will tell. The basic mast was made from 12mm ally tube, boom from 10mm. Sail pattern was cut from art card to the plan. All laid out on the floor to get an idea of what it will look like. PDF is the history of the Moth. There were a number of versions round the world as it went along,- scow, international moth (dinghy type) and todays high speed foiling moth. Lots more to do yet JB 2025 world champs, off the Whangaparaoa peninsula, just up from where I live. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuLhJ-yRLmc https://australianclassicdinghynetwork.org/moth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWkd2e8apSI https://www.moth.asn.au/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAifFN0RJ0M

Kit Build bought from Krick. Formerly a Robbe Kit but now known as Romarin by Krick. 72cm length with a 600 motor ( eventually!)

Today was another part constructed. The motor mount is built, the propeller shaft and the propeller is installed need to wait till the glue sets and then I'll glue the motor in place.

I've bought the above kit to keep me busy during these dark dank winter months. Originally I had planned to build a 880mm (34.6") Bluebird of Chelsea plank on frame kit. It is a famous pleasure craft built for Sir Malcolm Campbell and took part in rescuing soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk under 'Operation Dynamo' in 1940. Unfortunately much to my bitter disappointment only the larger 52" version now is available which is too big for myself. I'm hoping some kit builder will make a kit of this craft at about 36" so in the meantime here goes with LISA M The kit has an ABS hull (a bonus for my hands these days!) and laser cut plywood parts. The kit also comes with an electric motor so all you need is a servo and speed control plus the usual R/C gear and battery. A set of English instructions were also provided which are a reasonable translation with the odd error here and there! I feel they could be a bit more specific in places so study the photos. The ABS hull comes with about 1 1/4" (about 300mm) extra height above the deck level which needs cutting down to be about 2mm above the temporary fitted deck level. This wasn't that easy but in the end I used a pair of tin snips to cut it which proved to be better than using a Stanley Knife. I have drilled and filed the holes in the ABS hull for the prop shaft tube and rudder tube. I've now assembled the deck coaming, motor mount, battery box and supports for the rudder tube. Next job is to waterproof the deck on both sides, and all the other assembled plywood parts. Having seen another blog, I've decided to strengthen the wood around the rudder tube by using an offcut from the wood provided for the boat stand. I will smooth the edges when the glue has set!

Hello all! Before my two week sojourn out to California starting tomorrow... Here she is, all 31 inches and 4.8 pounds of 3D printed 1/10th scale madness. And the questions are starting arise after more than a few hours spent in research. How to get her to plane even close to scale? 1) EDF? Probably not, actually I don't think even a 90mm fan, (which will, in fact, push a faomy jet) will ever get this boat to plane. 2) Prop? Maybe with dual 6s and a killer motor, monster cooling etc. But, nowhere near scale with a big prop hanging out the back. 3) Turbine? probably yes, but way out of my league in mechanicals and $$. There will be tons of head-scratching my quickly balding head on this experiment. This is going to go on the shelf for the long haul as my freighter needs finishing and the big Sterling Chris Craft Corvette is screaming at me. But, off to Cali for now...I will drop some pix from time to time of our travels. Best to all!

This boat was built in the 1990s from an unknown kit I know what it isn't it isn't a mount fleet models tug nor is mobile marine its a model of seaway a tug boat from the clyde its from a deceased friend on checking her out the old radio gear is us as is the speed controller lets hope this isn't a omen to the motor thats geared as I sort out ill post more on her