Forum

decals

I use Paint Shop Pro to design my decals. If you want white or any light color in the decal you have to use white decal paper. This does not allow the background to show through, requiring some trimming if necessary. Black and dark colors you can use clear that also lets the background show through. Lew

51 minutes ago by LewZ

Forum

decals

I'm currently rebuilding a Matchbox/Revell corvette, cannibalising a damaged one for parts.What I don't have is a set of pennant numbers. Can any member sell me a set or tell me where I might get them?

3 days ago by billj

Response

Re: JUANITA STERN WHEELER

Amazing attention to detail! If I attempted something like that, you'd hear the screaming and cussing from Minnesota all the way down in Florida ...🤣 Very nice. Dave B

1 hour ago by DWBrinkman

Blog

Wavemaster mk6 version of hull

well after several versions of the bottom this layout we really skim across the surface no nose diving just need some dryish water to get the paint on

2 hours ago by Stephen T

Blog

Wave master boat

This is a classic wave master it was built in the fifty's a nd a internet buy I have stripped out the rc engine and its tanks now on the research stage there are a few issues rear end smack thats had a poor repair done and the spray rails do not fit well of its history I know nothing

4 months ago by Stephen T

Response

Re: JUANITA STERN WHEELER

Your attention to detail is Bar None! Trev

2 hours ago by pressonreguardless

Response

Re: JUANITA STERN WHEELER

Spot On Mate!! Trev

2 hours ago by pressonreguardless

Blog

JUANITA STERN WHEELER

Maybe I do a cup holder also. 😜 😎

2 hours ago by chugalone100

Blog

JUANITA STERN WHEELER

A good hello to all members. Now that I finished The Fireboat, I would like to add to the forum my favorite build, one you are all familiar with.Hello fellow members. The Juanita Stern Wheeler. This an amazing, high end kit that that when finished will be 40" LOA & should weigh under 10lbs ballasted. According to online sources the JUANITA was built in 1954 by O. F. Shearer & Sons at Cedar Grove, West Virginia. Another source on the internet says that the JUANITA has been "in operation since 1977." The present owner of the JUANITA is Tom Cook of Dunbar, West Virginia on the Kanawha River. I was lucky enough to be a part of the first clients that purchase the first run of this fantastic model and I got it for a very reasonable price. With that being said, I would like to show you guys a building log for this model but buy no means I will say that this is the best way to build the Juanita but this is how Im building it with my limited knowledge and the help of the instructions emailed to me by the designer. I also like to say that this kit does not have written instructions since this kit was produced in a rush job before kits had to be sent out; the only instructions is a PDF file containing drawings showing the main steps of building process, but the designer himself is very helpful in answering all of my emails about specific needed details in the build. So, lets get started. I will start by showing the real Juanita. 😎

10 days ago by chugalone100

Blog

JUANITA STERN WHEELER

LITTLE WHITE AND RED CHAIR I’m almost finished completing all the loose deck and sundeck fittings. One small detail that caught my attention on the real Juanita was a little white and red chair positioned in front of the main structure. Naturally, I had to build one. What I did not anticipate was that it would take an entire week—and several failed attempts consigned to the scrap bin—before I finally worked out the correct sequence for soldering such a tiny chair. The process required the use of multiple custom balsa jigs to maintain alignment and consistency during soldering. At this scale, alignment, heat control, and the order of assembly are absolutely critical. The slightest excess of solder or even minimal movement during heating becomes immediately apparent. My first attempt at painting was done with a brush, but it left very noticeable brush marks that were unacceptable at this scale. I ended up stripping the paint completely and refinishing the chairs using an airbrush. For the red detailing, careful masking was required—and yes, I had to use my jeweller’s glasses to see what I was doing. The final outcome, however, was well worth the extra effort. In many ways, it became a true shokunin experience — a lesson in patience, repetition, and craftsmanship, where improvement only comes through persistence and attention to the smallest details. Below is the photo sequence showing how I successfully soldered a 3/4" high chair using 1/16" brass rod. Hopefully, this sequence may help anyone attempting similar miniature brass fabrications. 😎

2 hours ago by chugalone100

Forum

HiTech Winch Drum

Seems strange that other builds just call for a sail winch, why should this one be any different? Found this photo from someones' build and you can see that the central ridge is in place. He mentions that it uses a loop system for operating the sails, is this what your instructions call for? It's a big model and the force from the sails will be large, which Hitec servo do you have as they do a bigger, more powerful one?

3 hours ago by ChrisF

Forum

HiTech Winch Drum

How can I remove the center of the Winch Pulley? I want a smooth drum with just the outside flanges.

2 days ago by Hsailer

Forum

Decent quality BRASS FITTINGS.

Try Deans Marine the are very good.

4 hours ago by DenisA

Forum

Decent quality BRASS FITTINGS.

Can anyone out there in the ether help me to find some decent quality brass fittings, as in fairleads and bollards for my current open launch. It would appear that all my current sources are no longer trading, and everything available appears to be plastic. If anyone out there can help me out I shall be forever grateful. Regards, Gary.

1 day ago by GaryLC

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Wolle, That sounds like quite a project! The Wotan may be a “small restoration” in your words, but that’s a big model to bring back to life. 😄 Please keep us informed throughout the restoration … I’d really enjoy seeing the progress and all the details along the way. Looking forward to it! 😎

4 hours ago by chugalone100

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Looking around, I’ve noticed that most of us have several kits waiting patiently in our closets. But I’m sure many of us also have that one special model we’re eager to start once the current project on the bench is finished. For me, that next project will be the Aeropiccola Susanna II, scale 1:34. Like many of our members, I hunted this out-of-production kit on eBay for months before finally securing this one for $150.00. The kit was produced by Aeropiccola, a historic Italian model manufacturer based in Turin (Torino), Italy. The company was especially known for its wooden ship kits, which were marketed worldwide during the mid-to-late 20th century. Although no longer active, Aeropiccola is still remembered fondly for its “Made in Italy” craftsmanship and the nostalgia associated with its kits. Aeropiccola ceased regular operations in the early 1990s. Its founder, Domenico Conte, passed away in 1990, and the family continued the business only briefly before closing the company. This one has been on my wish list for quite some time. Show me yours. 😎

2 days ago by chugalone100

Forum

Decent quality BRASS FITTINGS.

Hi Gary, Try these. Maybe something in your scale https://www.hobbies.co.uk/model-boats https://sussex-model-centre.co.uk/collections/boat-fittings https://sussex-model-centre.co.uk/collections/boat-fittings https://www.croppersmodels.co.uk/contents/en-uk/d51.html https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20303646385&gbraid=0AAAAADCl8Fe2XPCflKIdpDKe0h3MVllVW&gclid=Cj0KCQiAtfXMBhDzARIsAJ0jp3BAcvyB3D7FswhbvSE5RWYLJ3Wm0fzkTmBVBkQY5ZDBodP5FTGbcL0aAt5bEALw_wcB https://www.cap-maquettes.com/Ecubiers-maquettes-bateaux.html Might be something here. These are the ones I tend to use. Best wishes Tim

5 hours ago by tim morland

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Once I've finished the Britannia, I'll move on to the Wotan. A herring lugger. A small restoration.😁

5 hours ago by Wolle

Forum

Model exhibition in Goes NL

Hermank, Great show — absolutely brilliant. Many thanks for sharing the videos and photos from the R/C event. It’s much appreciated. For those of us who couldn’t be there, it’s the next best thing. 😎

6 hours ago by chugalone100

Forum

Model exhibition in Goes NL

Our club the 121 year old „koninklijke model yacht club antwerpen“ has 3 division Modelboats electric&steam driven Trains electric & steam driven Lorries All 3 participated at the dutch model exhibition. We have put 40meters of rail on which a train drove up and down with 4 children. During the weekend more than 2 000 children enjoyed the ride and some even more than once👍👍 One of our members is a oecranian woman who ran away from the war with her son. In the apartment she‘s renting she found a hull of a luxuory yacht. One of our members was so touched by her story an restored the yacht. The deck has 18 coatings of varnish. It was ready for the exhibtion so here it is

1 day ago by hermank

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Jumpugly this is a model for a lifetime!! it‘s a fantastic catch. I have been sailing this model with a 3.5 cc Taifun bison and it sails like a dream. I m still angry that i sold the boat but not the engine. I still have it completely re- done by a club member. I got tears in my eyes when i think about it. On top it is very hard overhere to sail this type of boats. Everything must be elctric

7 hours ago by hermank

Forum

Decent quality BRASS FITTINGS.

Hi GaryLC! Definitely try modelexpo.com fittings page. They now own and carry all the old Model Shipways parts. Hope this helps. 👍

7 hours ago by jumpugly

Response

Re: Port Area

Looking really good Mike. Looks like you beat us to the punch. Ours is still needs finishing up and painting. The weather here in Florida has not been too kind to us this year. Got so many things to do, hopefully your photos will motivate me to get moving on finishing up our docking system. Thanks for the good photos! Lew

7 hours ago by LewZ

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Very Nice, looking forward to your build! Trev

7 hours ago by pressonreguardless

Forum

KD Perkasa Class Drawings.

I am just finishing the slec perkassa,I did build the caldercraft perkassa many years ago powered by two 600s to a single prop and a bob esc ,I hope that this one goes as good as the original.May post photo's when finished.

7 hours ago by DenisA

Forum

KD Perkasa Class Drawings.

KD Perkasa. A few years ago, I was asked to drive a large scale Perkasa model on our club lake at Southport, it was powered by a pair of brushless motors and it drove very well. I was impressed enough to start looking for some detailed plans for these impressive craft and found an advert for a set online - but they were quite expensive. Anyway, I decide to go for it and ordered a set. they took some time to drive, but when they did finally arrive, I was very impressed by the amount of details - and the sheer size of the two sheets of detailed drawings. The drawings covered:- KD Perkassa . P150. KD Handalan. P151. KD Gempeta. P152. KD Pendekar. P153. After careful study, I decided that the level of details and the time that it would take to replicate it all, would make the time spent building by scratch built TID Tug somewhat insignificant, so I never used them. I will be passing these plans on the EdW and hope he has the stamina to take this build on. ........meanwhile, I will keep on building and restoring Classic Model Power Boats - much more suited to my skills set (or lack of them) and my need to get them finished and on the water a lot sooner! Bob.

2 days ago by zooma

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Hey Gang! I scored this ancient "bucket list" kit a few days ago. It's a 1962 23' Chris Craft Holiday by Graupner. I haven't done myself a favor in a while and took the plunge. I had to, it was listed for only an hour and 30 people were watching it an 10 had it in their carts. It's 1/7th scale and will build out to 34" overall. I hope to "museum scale" this one with correct and accurate trim, upholstery, dash, etc. We'll see. 👍😉

7 hours ago by jumpugly

Response

Re: Port Area

Good evening everyone, We are proud to announce that the christening took place to the complete satisfaction of all involved! I had to ask my friend to take off his cap! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 As you can see, a short prayer was said before the harbour was assembled. Now we just need to make a few small changes and add some additional covers, as well as the obligatory flagpole with a beautiful Swiss flag! At some point, films will be shot in the evening with the lighting, but it should be a little warmer and accompanied by bratwurst, bread, mustard and a beer. Yours, Michel-C. PS:My friend is such a cool bloke, he's up for anything. And . . . he's quite a bit older than me!

8 hours ago by Mike Stoney

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Perfect 🤩 😍

8 hours ago by Ronald

Response

Re: Modified Stiletto project, RE (another new ESC)

Hi do you know the name of these pieces made by SHG and where could i find them? I am looking for them for the Surfury. SHG doesn't exist anymore. Thanks for your help.

8 hours ago by nickchevatorevich

Forum

Sprite

Sprite Plus Prototype. I started to sand the end profiles of the deck edge chine rails and spray rails where they ended (and over-lapped slightly) onto the balsa wood laminated "nose cone". This was not quite as easy as I expected it to be, because I was a little wary about sanding a hardwood strip end when it was a glued on to a comparatively soft balsa wood nose. A couple of layers of masking tape were placed on the balsa wood so I could protect it from being touched by the Perma Grit sanding block. When the cutting edge touched the masking tape it made a distinctive sound to alert me that I was getting a bit too close for comfort. I think with a little bit of filler to complete the fairing-in of these chine strip ends it will look OK. While I was out in the workshop(shed), I cut and fitted the final small section of deck skinning to cover the last open area of the hull, so all the decking is now fitted. When the glue drys I can cut-off the selvage edge that I have left over transom so the hull will be ready to be prepped for final finishing. The length of the hull on this prototype has worked-out at being 30 5/8" overall. Bob.

9 hours ago by zooma

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Of course Ronald: Here it is. 😎

9 hours ago by chugalone100

Forum

Sprite

As Bob mentioned in another thread this model could form a good basis for a recovery boat with its blunt bow that should be quite easy to modify to form a claw of some sort and like him I'd like to have something like that in my fleet. It should also be quite easy to make the claw quickly removeable to use the model as originally intended. I don't have a lot of time at the moment but I have made a start on the drawings and they shouldn't take too long to complete. Whilst it's just the bulkheads and certain other parts that are required I always draw the plan and side elevation as well (which is where I've started) so that when printed off there is uniformity between all the parts and of course it can easily be resized as one would like and it may be a good idea to increase it in length a bit from 23" if it is used for recovery? I'll draw it as standard initially if someone wants to build it like that and then modify it for recovery and anything else that springs to mind. I'm already thinking of making the cabin and rear hatch as one piece but otherwise not straying too far away from the original design which would spoil the simplicity. Feel free to make any comments and observations and suggested changes as we go along. Chris

5 months ago by ChrisF

Forum

decals

Thanks - I'll give it a try

10 hours ago by billj

Forum

HiTech Winch Drum

I am building the Robbe Atlantis. The instructions/plans call for removal of the center divider of the sail-control servo-drum.

11 hours ago by Hsailer

Response

Re: Classic Model Power Boats

I think it got messy because his son, I think it was, got involved with supplying some drawings for a time and the likes of SLEC have obtained the rights to release and update some of the kits.

12 hours ago by ChrisF

Forum

OUR NEXT PROJECTS

Hey Chugalong, you need a flamboyant shirt to go along with your artwork and congas.

12 hours ago by Ronald

Response

Re: Classic Model Power Boats

Hi Chris, Strangely, I hadn't noticed the absence of LesRo on the Old Boats site. I would have thought that whoever owns the rights to LesRo now would be delighted to get any free form of promotion or advertising. Bob.

14 hours ago by zooma

Forum

Upcoming Projects

Low-cost option is a ZippKits SPRINGER tug from Florida. Complete for around US$100 or so, not a huge loss if something drastic happens Easy to assemble

14 hours ago by RodC

Forum

Upcoming Projects

I'm keeping the impetuous going with my Fairey Fisherman build and must return to my other Fairey builds to finish them but I'm also thinking I must make a start on some of my other planned projects. I like to have more than one build on the go and I recently stocked up on thicker ply for the keels etc. One of these is Scimitar, my water-jet project, for which I produced the drawings over 2 years ago and bought the water-jet well over a year ago. The hull is based on the excellent Rapier etc. hull. The other is my outboard project. After a long wait, I ordered it before Christmas, the outboard arrived a few weeks go. It's a big old lump and nicely made. Bigger than I wanted really, but there are very few on the market nowadays, unless you go for 3D printed, and the smaller TFL one is not really suitable for my needs. But I'm now in a bit of a quandary! I've drawn up a version of the Sprite Plus suitable for an outboard and at 30" that's around the ideal size I wanted and the size of the motor looks OK. But I was also thinking I fancied something with a more traditional and sleeker look and already having drawings produced for a Fisherman, again based on the Rapier hull, so I've modified those and called it Sports Fisherman. Not only for the outboard but I've also increased the size of the top part of the superstructure in height and length to balance the size of the outboard, I think it just about looks alright. But this a bit bigger at 35" over the Sprite Plus's 30". So, I think I'll build the Scimitar and the Sprite Plus for now, as the Sports Fisherman has the same hull as the Scimitar and the Sprite Plus is a quicker easier build, though the outboard has its own challenges. I can always build the Sports Fisherman later with another outboard or maybe traditional prop. Then again! 😀 Chris

3 days ago by ChrisF

Response

Re: Classic Model Power Boats

Yes, that was set up and maintained by Dodgy Geezer who posts on RC Groups. Note the lack of Lesro. I think that is because of copyright issues.

15 hours ago by ChrisF

Forum

Upcoming Projects

Those frames are a good idea as they are self-supporting when floating. For Sprite Plus one end could be made specifically to fit and could possible use magnets for when reversing or other quick release method. I won't use my outboard version for recovery but will probably do a quick no frills build for that purpose.

15 hours ago by ChrisF

Forum

Sprite

That's good to hear. As I said the bow is usually well clear of the water, unless going through a chop so job done.

15 hours ago by ChrisF

Response

Re: Port Area

Hello everyone, It's 11 a.m. This afternoon is the day of reckoning! I'll be back in touch this evening... or maybe not! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Michel-C.

16 hours ago by Mike Stoney

Forum

Upcoming Projects

HI All The hair bands across the rescue boat is to hold on different boats also if you have to use reverse. Harry

16 hours ago by canabus

Response

Re: Classic Model Power Boats

Hi Dave, I stumbled across this site when I was looking for any information about the Aerokits Starfish. Bob. http://oldboats.tk/Aerokits.html

16 hours ago by zooma

Forum

HiTech Winch Drum

Find a fellow with a 3d printer

16 hours ago by PeterN

Forum

Sprite

Sprite Plus Prototype. Morning Chris. I popped out to the workshop(shed) last night and looked at fitting some spray rails to the hull.....and revised my first thoughts. As long as they stop just before the balsa wood "nose cone" they would not have any severe curves to shape or worry about - so I bunged a pair on! When the glue has dried, the ends will need shaping etc, but fixing them with PVA was no problem at all. The brass tacks had their heads cut off and the shafts were then driven down into the spray rails to give a mechanical fixing to supplement the glue bond. Bob.

16 hours ago by zooma

Forum

Upcoming Projects

Floating Recovery Frames. Morning Harry, We have some of these floating frames in our club and they do work very well. Made from white PVC waste water tube they can be thrown into the water where they float and be engaged by a suitable power boat to gently push them into position to recover any boat that needs rescuing. These floating frames are not attached to the recovery craft. Both ends of the recovery frame are open V shaped so that any suitable craft can drive into the end of it and push it into position. A similar (but wider) open end on the other end of the frame can then be guided and pushed against the stranded boat to engage with it so it can be pushed back to the waters edge. Regular club meetings will usually have one of these available, but the lake is open every day so that is when a simple pusher craft could come in handy. I have some spare water tubing of the type used to make one of these, but they are a bit too big to carry in the car every trip so I have not made one yet. Next time I am at the club (on a regular club meeting time) I will picture one and add it here..........and maybe make use of the spare water pipe I have in my workshop (shed) and make a smaller one to see if it can work as well as the bigger ones do. Bob.

16 hours ago by zooma

Forum

Question of the Day?

Nearly went for the longest answer as it seemed to easy and thought thete was a catch Philuk👍

17 hours ago by PhilH