Considerable thought was given as to how I was going to make this 7ft long hull. As luck would have it I was given the opportunity to borrow a mould which was not the right format at the bow or the stern but I felt I could add a new bow shape and also make a curved stern. I think the mould was intended for a warship hull of some sort.I had obtained a comprehensive set of plans from Glasgow University Archives for £25. (A brilliant source for hard to get plans)
Photos show the hull mould and the modifications made to suit the model. The hull was made from fibreglass in the borrowed mould.
You will have to follow the blog to see what the model really looked like or go to the Photo Gallery or Boat Harbour.

The Bow and the stern now have the right shapes. Work could now start on hull strengthening inside with wooden formers. Decking was done in liteply and the laborious task of marking out the planking. This was done with a 4H pencil and later varnished. Some years ago I managed to purchase some anchor chain with the studs across the links just like the real thing and decided this model was worth using this. I have not been able to purchase any of this since. if anybody knows of a supplier of model chain with the studded links please let me know.

Photo 1 The geared motor drives for the paddles. These were taken from disused cassette juke boxes by Wurlitzer
Photo 2 The paddles were purchased as a kit from Waverley Models, not cheap but well made and the right scale.
Photo 3 The home made rudder ready for installation. To give a good thro' this was fitted with gears as shown.
Photo 4 the cowl vents on this model are very long and had to be homemade and cast in plasticine moulds with fibreglass resin strengthened with talcum powder. They were fitted to wooden dowels to give the length.

Construction of the paddle boxes. The IOM three legs plaque was carved in wood by a guy in the isle of Man for a nominal fee and I cast some more in fibreglass resin in a plasticine mould.
The paddle boxes were made from various thickness's of plasticard and wood veneer stuck to the outside so they didn't look like painted plastic.

1. Some of the deck detail and access to down under. Stanchions again from Display Models in Northumberland
2. Paddle motors in place and wired up. 12volt 7AH battery and fuse holder also on view.
3 The rudder servo in place. Close inspection you will see the gearing up of the rudder to provide a bigger rudder shift from the servo. Although this was not really necessary as individual control of the paddles made steering very good.
4. The Viper speed controllers.Also an added micro switch to control the home made smoke unit. Close inspection again yo will see the backs of the multi- port holes covered with hot-glue to provide waterproofing.

1. Stern View, these ships of this era were very ornate. The gilding on the model was made from cake doily's.
2. The bow section plenty of brass fittings and loads of portholes.
3. Another view of the stern showing more of the portholes and round and square. The square ones were made from slices of a square section of brass and sealed with translucent hot glue, to represent the glass and also provide waterproofing.
4. View of the bridge and paddle box. The wood panel detail was printed out from the computer using Open Office Draw program, which I tend to use a lot. This is a free down load and anybody who uses a PC will find this suite of programmes very useful.

More photos of various sections of the ship and the completed model.