Have been making steady progress on the KOH. I was fortunate to make contact with the son of the builder of the full sized King of Hearts, he happened to have some photos of the boat in the 1950s and 1960s as well as a great memory for the detail.

The name plates, Blakes plaques and the bow playing card had all faded, so new ones were 3D printed. The printers have played a large role in this restoration, as you’ll see over the next couple of updates.

The fenders on the original model were of the wrong type and were too modern. The proper ones should be hemp covered with painted canvas, the replacements have a 3D printed core wrapped with painted cotton from what I’m hoping is a surplus pillow case.

The original mud weight (Broads cruisers use these instead of an anchor as the bottom is thick mud) was just a cut down fishing weight of the wrong size. The replacement is 3D printed filled with lead shot.

Collected this one last week, it came from the Ron Wem collection - have a look at his site as he made loads of amazing boats. I also bought the Aquataur A600 and the mould for the Broom 30 Hull. Sadly, Ron died early this year so his family are moving on a number of his boats.

KoH is a very decent representation of 1950s Norfolk Broads Cruiser. The model was built about 25 years ago and needs some updating, the interior requires finishing. Have already replaced the motor and ESC as the motor started smoking when tested. Model is 1:12 and is 43” long.

As with the full sized boat the wheelhouse roof slides back and the windscreen folds down to get under the low bridges of the Norfolk Broads.

Here she is in her just collected state, will update as progress is made.

https://www.ronsboats.co.uk/my-models