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    Graupner Commodore
    6 Posts Β· 7 Followers Β· 96 Photos Β· 50 Likes
    Began 12 months ago by
    Commander
    Canada
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    Latest Post 8 months ago by
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    πŸ“ Graupner Commodore
    12 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Brightwork ( Commander)
    ✧ 113 Views · 13 Likes · 5 Comments
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    Hi everyone... I will be getting this Graupner Commodore soon. I will be doing a complete restoration on her. I will strip her hull and repaint it. Redo running gear with twin rudders. Add led lighting, wood railings etc. Stay tuned. Photos are from the seller.

    πŸ’¬ Re: Graupner Commodore
    12 months ago by πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ flaxbybuck ( Commander)
    ✧ 92 Views · 2 Likes
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    The Commodore is a lovely looking craft and with careful finishing touches, eg. coach stripes, can look even better. A shame the existing stripes are poorly applied, but you will take care of that when you refinish the hull. Twin rudders (positioned behind each propellor) are a must.
    Good luck, and we look forward to seeing how you get on πŸ˜‰
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    πŸ’¬ Re: Graupner Commodore
    12 months ago by πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ jbkiwi ( Fleet Admiral)
    ✧ 104 Views · 9 Likes
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    Hi Bob, I sold mine about 40yrs ago and regretted it. I saw another one for sale in our local selling site about 15 yrs ago and should have bought it. I had other things to do at the time and didn't, and regretted not buying that one (before Lipos etc were readily available) Would have loved to modernise it. Only other one I've seen in NZ, (those kits were worth a kidney here back then)- could have even been my old one.

    I always thought they were modelled off a Constellation. Looking forward to see what you do with yours.

    JB
    πŸ’¬ Re: Graupner Commodore
    12 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Brightwork ( Commander)
    ✧ 112 Views · 7 Likes
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    Thanks jbkiwi .. I had one in beautiful condition and sold her over 20 years ago. I am in Canada, so she is hard to find without getting them from Europe and paying big bucks plus big shipping. I got lucky and found this one in Canada. If you look at my harbour you will see I have a lot of Chris Crafts. This model was really modeled after the 1967 -37' Chris Craft Roamer I believe.

    You did a very nice job on yours.
    πŸ’¬ Re: Graupner Commodore
    12 months ago by πŸ‡³πŸ‡Ώ jbkiwi ( Fleet Admiral)
    ✧ 104 Views · 7 Likes
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    Hi BW I did one in the 70s, nice model. They need more power, as the original set-up was slow, -( mine was the plan setup,- Nicad batteries, monoperm motors, Graupner speed controller, servo etc) Ideal these days for twin 28mm inrunners/outrunners. Shafts were nice,- used a couple of spares I kept from back then in my HSL, and some leftover curtains in another model. Very nice kit in its' day. A few guys on the site still have them.

    Last 2 pics are from the 1978 Graupner catalogue

    JB
    πŸ’¬ Re: Graupner Commodore
    12 months ago by πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Cashrc ( Vice Admiral)
    ✧ 101 Views · 1 Like
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    Keeping an eye on this, Commodores are cool!!
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    πŸ“ May 03 -2023
    11 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Brightwork ( Commander)
    ✧ 92 Views · 5 Likes · 1 Comment
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    First update . I will post a photo of each step I am doing in the best order I can. First photo is a close up of the fwd wheel house windows. If you look close you will see that the port frame is much thinner than the Stbd frame. That's what you get with a restoration...fixing previous builders mishaps. Even though this was built probably 50 plus years ago. So... I removed the cabin roof with a razor blade and then removed the fwd windows as well. I sanded the paint from them and then used the plans I have for the boat to cut new frames. (I will use the old ones as inside frames sandwiching the windows between them later.

    I also removed the aft cockpit flooring. I have already refloored it with mahogany for later install. I als removed the twin black fins from her bottom and the center rudder. I sanded the glue down smooth. I installed the twin rudders using old stock I had laying around for the rudders. I may upgrade them later. I cut new deck templates and will lay them over the old ones. That will give me a stronger deck.

    I puttied the cabin roofs with famowood and sanded them smooth just to start. I removed her running gear as well.

    Since she is so old and the plastic hull is not that strong anymore I will likely have her as a shelf queen. we will see. I did layer up some of her bottom with small thin pieces of plastic I hade to help reinforce her. Her rudder blocks inside will be resined later along with other areas I am repairing.

    When I came to the forward cabin windows with the sitting are built in I realized that it was not to scale. So I extended the cabin and sitting deck a bit. What was a challenge was the boat that this model is loosely modeled after (38' Chris Craft Roamer) has the side strip above the fwd sitting deck and the model is blow. The side stripe on the model is also very fat in comparison, so I modified the side indent stripes to look more realistic and elegant. You can see where I inserted a small thin piece to make it narrower.

    πŸ’¬ Re: May 03 -2023
    11 months ago by πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ flaxbybuck ( Commander)
    ✧ 79 Views · 1 Like
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    I'm so pleased to see you taking the trouble to correct errors made by the original builder. I know it is time consuming and can be quite frustrating ( I speak from experience) but worth it in the end. Other people looking at the finished model will have no idea of the amount of work you put into it, but you will know and feel gratified with the result.

    I hope the project goes well for you. Good luck πŸ˜‰
    πŸ“ May 28-2023
    10 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Brightwork ( Commander)
    ✧ 88 Views · 11 Likes · 1 Comment
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    Quick update... I levelled the deck and then laid the new deck over it. Then I applied resin to give it strength and keeps dents from bump ,etc showing up. Lots of work to get the wheelhouse windows in. Then added plastic reinforcements to hold the roof on later. Plans usually call for long square pieces of wood to join window frames to roof. This gives a cleaner look and I will be adding new window frames on the inside that will be varnished, etc. The windows will be sandwiched between the two. Painted the interior after I put in the rudder posts. Then gave the wheel house a coat of paint then sanded then another coat...few more to go. I added the aft rub rail that the actual boat has, but are not in the plans of the Graupner. I also found some old plastic struts laying around that I cut to fit and mounted them under the shafts for more realism. I put the first few pics to show where I am today and to grab your attention...lol

    πŸ’¬ Re: May 28-2023
    10 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Ronald ( Admiral)
    ✧ 79 Views · 0 Likes
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    Beautiful restoration work you have done!
    πŸ“ June 30 update
    9 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Brightwork ( Commander)
    ✧ 81 Views · 9 Likes · 1 Comment
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    Have the stripe on her. Rear cockpit floor just loosely set in place. Lots more to do..

    πŸ’¬ Re: June 30 update
    9 months ago by πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§ flaxbybuck ( Commander)
    ✧ 63 Views · 2 Likes
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    It's coming together now and starting to look super. I hope you manage to provide cockpit details and provide a skipper !πŸ˜‰
    πŸ“ July 16 update
    9 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Brightwork ( Commander)
    ✧ 66 Views · 7 Likes · 2 Comments
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    I have been doing other things but have managed to get some more progress on the Commodore. These photos show her as of today. Wait till the handrails, stern rails, mast, side windows, nav lights and so on go on. Lots of bling to go. Her aft cabin roof is just sitting on.

    πŸ’¬ Re: July 16 update
    9 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Brightwork ( Commander)
    ✧ 61 Views · 2 Likes
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    RNinMunich...that's a great party on board. Lot's of nice curves in that cockpit.
    πŸ’¬ Re: July 16 update
    9 months ago by πŸ‡©πŸ‡ͺ RNinMunich ( Fleet Admiral)
    ✧ 51 Views · 4 Likes
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    Good job BW, looks very smartπŸ‘
    Many thanks for the inspiration as to how to fit out the cockpit of my restored Sea Scout😊
    Cheers, Doug😎
    πŸ“ Update July 26
    8 months ago by πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Brightwork ( Commander)
    ✧ 52 Views · 5 Likes · 1 Comment
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    This is getting close... I made a mast and wired in the navigation lights etc. Any questions please ask. The aft cabin roof is resting in place as I have ordered a spotlight to install.

    πŸ’¬ Re: Update July 26
    8 months ago by πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Chum444 ( Midshipman)
    ✧ 32 Views · 1 Like
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    Looks outstanding! Do you anticipate getting some in-water photos in the near term? As I recall, the Roamer line of Chris Crafts was a plywood sheathed hull as opposed to the Chris’s higher priced planked hull. My memory here might be flawed since it’s been a long time since my teen years when I frequently took my boat to their Algonac, Michigan plant to get a look at their latest prototypes.
    Again, very pleasing to the eye!πŸ‘πŸ‘


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