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!

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

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.

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

When I first posted a thread under ... a dreamproject.. I didn't realize it was the wrong forum category. So here is my built blog. I will spare you the original introduction as I have made progress which and most of you are already familiar with my project. The hull was built merging 2 methods on a simple keel plate from plywood, bow and stern structure bread and butter and hull in between 3mm planks on frame. The entire main deck is intended to be removable with a drainage irrigation system of plastic corner moulding (from a building supplier) along top of hull and flush at poop and back deck structure. The deck is made of 1/4" plywood skeletal structure incorporating midship deckhouse. Hull glassed with lightest cloth available after 2 coats 2-epoxy sealer and paint primer followed by final coat except top (above waterline) grey will be applied once I have finished doing any necessary adjustments. There have been a lot of them since I realized many inaccuracies in dims etc. I wasn't happy with. Here are photos in the progress (some may have already been posted in the original post. More a bit later next week.

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.

Another RC hobby? I'm already into RC scale model boats (since the early 1970's) and RC armor (since 2015) I am branching out to RC scale vehicles (but not too many). Notice the word scale in each of these three segments of RC hobbies. This topic is for a RC semi tractor and lowboy trailer being converted from an inexpensive toy. It is already in 1/16 scale and should be compatible with my Springer ("truckable") tugs and Armor (tanks, etc.). I plan to use it at both Model Boat and Armor meets. This first segment involves the selections I have made and my plan to make the necessary modifications to the toy. I bought two ERTL about three years ago with the intent to convert them into RC. I paid about $70 (US) for the pair of them on sale. They are currently in the $70-80 range (each). They look good enough to use although not to exact scale. The project goal is to keep the cost down and have a fun functional vehicle. Why buy two units? When done, I will be using parts from the second vehicle for the first, like wheels for extra axles and other parts. Right now I am working on the semi-tractor. The new unit will have another axle, this one to lift by RC. It will also have the extra sleeper cabin and other accessories. I am planning to make the "gooseneck" (the part that connects to the trailer) RC controlled. Unfortunately the model's lowboy trailer suffers problems like the real trailers do. Too close to the ground. I will need to elevate the trailer sufficiently so it will not get stuck. I do not have to contend with railroad tracks which makes the vehicles good targets for fast moving trains. The latest: This evening I am cementing the chassis frame together. I had to print it in five pieces due to the limitations of my 3D printer. There will be rectangular steel tubing epoxied inside the frame for extra strength. Lew

Easier to form lower skins than I thought, laminating from the 32thou helped a lot.

I saw this little jetboat on Aliexpress and wondered what it might take to get it properly running. After seeing some breakdown videos on jetboats and modifying my Proboat PBR, I decided to give it a try. It's a decent 1s powered brushless jetboat but it lacks a decent control system and reverse. I gutted the control system and added a small 1s brushless esc/receiver unit for a micro plane. The reverse is controlled by a 9g servo, and the bucket is scaled down from a file meant for the Proboat PBR. It's run off a logical switch within Edgetx. When reverse throttle is applied the motor runs forward and the bucket drops automatically. I might change it to a 2s system and it still needs detailing and lights. I'm thinking about repainting it in Canadian Coast Guard markings

Started the Runabout. Using my Lion Miter trimmer to cut the planks, and my block plane to trim to the chine. Then a sanding block for the final fit.

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.