Thankyou Lionel for giving me hope. I first saw the AQ kit in a hobbyshop in N.Bay ON back circa 1986-1993,was in a fully-loaded Gov't car at the time,cudnt purchase it. I love the movie,hav the VHS & book set. About 1994 i found one online,its sat unbuilt ever since. I was intimidated by the lack of instructions abt building,adding RC. In 2013 we had a basement flood & my Bogey&Hepburn IKEA dolls grew mould in the humidity. Its 2023 now, the kit sits in my livingroom with other intimidating kits DUMAS PT109, US ARMY74' ST TUG,GREAT LAKES FREIGHTER. I really shud learn to do more research before I buy kits. I'm a very inexperienced kit-builder,shud stick to preform ABS hulls or completed fibrglas hulls. Well, after seeing your post I opened the AQ kit for the first time in 28yrs,discovered a beautiful hull,& I'm not so reluctant to try figuring out the motor,battery, & steering needs. My kit includes the hardware pack so I hav prop,driveshaft,stuffing tube. Thankyou for giving me the prod that i needed!!

Hi. After many static ship models the African Queen was my first working RC model. Highly recommended. Easy to build, easy to fit RC and steers like a dream on the water. Looks good, see my Harbour for photos. I obtained two like size models to place on board plus many miniature tools. I made one or two extra items for authenticity (if you've seen the film). I couldn't find a correct sounding "Toot, Toot" so just fitted a horn sound. It also has a smoking stack; not very efficient but maybe a more modern one will be better. Just one tip, I would have painted the inside of the hull. Because it is plastic, although not transparent it does show light through the thin hull. I had a letter about the African Queen published in the December 2022 Model Boats magazine if you can get hold of a copy. Good luck and much pleasure I am sure if you decide to go ahead.

I have seen for sale the kit for the African Queen made by Billings. I am considering the boat as a future build. If anyone has built the boat can they give me any information or recommendations?

Thanks.