A particularly happy purchase of late was a can of custom mixed RAL 5009 Azure Blue, that the restoration team at the Bluebird Supporters Club advised me on. Thanks for the subsequent guidance Doug!
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You have an excellent band saw and a jig saw to do the “heavy hauling” with Chris, and your good selection of Proxxon mini-tools and hand tools gives you all you have needed to craft your excellent flotilla of mainly Fairey Marine model powerboats.

I made my first model boat from an Aerokits Swordsman kit in my fathers coal shed using only his very basic well worn hand tools that he acquired over the years from others cast-offs and government surplus stores after the war.

My father was a butcher and had very few woodworking tools as any time he had outside of work was spent on his vegetable garden, so gardening tools would have been more important for him to have.

The coal shed had no lights or power supply so indoor work could only be done during the daylight hours (it had a small window)and any close work was taken outside so it could be seen better.

The finished boat performed well and even competed in an off-shore race in a 6ft swell where it was battered but returned to harbour unscathed.

Many years later I now have my own shed with a power supply and electric nights to work in and an incomparable selection of good working tools that are all in full working condition.

I think we all learn to work with what we have, but most of us now own an excellent choice of hand tools and power tools to make our model boats with that some of our predecessors could only dream of owning.

My latest tool is a small (but heavy) miniature bench drill that (at a push) I could also use for very light milling work. I was making and restoring classic model boats for many years without it, but I really enjoy using it and I am happy to make space for it on my workbench.

I've been recently adding to my Proxxon tools. Firstly I bought wide and narrow belt sanders which I put to good use on my Fisherman hull and more recently I bought a right-angle drill and a polisher. I bought the polisher because someone on another forum used one sucessfully for sanding large radius curves as you can run it at low speeds to give more control. But also I can use it on my motorbikes and scooter where I have polished alloy!

Unlike some I don't have a workshop full of power tools but I have built up a few Proxxon tools over the years of building model boats. As well as those mentioned I also have their small drill press and Dremel type tool with a flexible drive which has been very useful, a small blow torch and a hot air gun which is great for heat shrinking cables. I might get a table saw and circular sander at some point but then think I've managed so far without them and are coming towards the end of models that I want to build. It can be so easy to buy tools for buying sake as I've been guilty of on occasions, certainly with my DIY tools.

My latest purchase is an original unbuilt vintage Aerokits Sea Commander kit.

The problem when buying a rare kit like this is knowing whether to build it or keep it safe for posterity.

My thoughts are to copy every part and build this “original “ model and keep the old 1950’s / early 1960’s kit complete and unmade for somebody else to have the same decision to make in the future.

Bob.
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