Forum

Wordle of the Day?

Had a Captains mast at 1😀

2 hours ago by Cashrc

Forum

Wordle of the Day?

No need to reply to this one. Just creating a placeholder thread. I'll update everyone in time 👍 Stephen

1 year ago by fireboat

Forum

Brean Down/Somerset

“Bitsy” as we call her, poking around my neighbor’s deck. There is a large male across the Lake. I think she’s playing hard to get. 😉

2 hours ago by jumpugly

Forum

Brean Down/Somerset

Went for a walk 🚶‍♂️ with my brother in law this afternoon up to the top of Brean Down and then on to the Victorian fort/barrack remains. Came across this moth which later identification turned out to be a cinnabar moth. Thought it was rather nice 😀

9 hours ago by Doogle

Forum

Shapeways is gone!!!

Like for all other businesses, early business adopters often make the mistake of trying to make money and that is not the name of the game at that stage. What you want is gain market share and stay on top of the technology. I was in that game in the early 1990s with Internet Service Providers (ISP). The game is to have clients and have current hardware (that sometimes meant changing servers every nine months!), then you could try to make money and compete or get bought-out for your hw and clients pool. Cheers, a.

3 hours ago by Alain Pascal

Forum

Shapeways is gone!!!

In case no one heard, Shapeways is out of business. "Shapeways has ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy." I have mixed feelings about this. Pros: Shapeways has impacted model building in a positive way. It made parts available for those that needed something special. It gave the model building community an opportunity for designers to create objects (propellers, figures, guns, and much more) and have a store front on their site so they could reap some profit for their creations. Over the years I made about $600 US, but I kept my profit margin to about 10% while other would typically run 100-200% profit. Cons: Shapeways operation was expensive thus passing the cost for the parts was passed on to the customers. Their printing machines could run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Toss in skilled labor and materials, rent and other operating fees. Why? During the past two years I complained about the value of the parts produced. We are all used to paying say $40 US for a nice molded kit. To replicate that in 3D printing (for comparison purposes) the cost would be about three times as much. Add to this is China moving into the business. Here I can make a direct comparison. I had a printed circuit design business 25 years ago. When the design and production moved to the other side of the globe I had to shut down. There were 29 printed circuit production companies in the Tampa Bay area. I believe only one is still in business. Lastly, home 3D printer prices have remained stable while the quality and speed has risen significantly. In 2023 alone there was a massive jump in speed and accuracy in FDM printers for the home. Not only that, new, hi-tech materials are coming out often. I have been following 3D printers since the early 1990's,over 30 years. The first 3D printer I saw was printed full sized mock ups for missiles -rockets. Oops, my 3D printer just beeped, a new part just finished! Lew Florida 😎, USA❤️

1 day ago by LewZ

Blog

Update July 26, 2024

Slowly coming along. I have built the cabin roof, forward companion way / helm, cap rails, sliding doors port & stbd, boot stripe on, rub rails on and added the floor. Everything is loose fit still. Unfortunately, I have to work with the model I received to restore. Cabin was shot so that was a total new build, but the hull is actually from a "Vinyard 40 Model" and it has a lower freeboard and a narrower beam. I have done what I can to marry the two up to look like the Lake Union Dreamboat the actual boat is. see last photo.

5 hours ago by Brightwork

Blog

Turtle

I have the honour and privilege to embark on a restoration of a model of a boat which belonged to a family I have known since I was knee high to a grasshopper. She is the "Turtle", which has a very storied past. When I knew her she was plying the waters of the Southern Lakes of the Yukon. I believe she is a Lake Union Dreamboat designed by the Grandy Boat Co. in Seattle and built in 1929. I understand from her history that the "Turtle" may have actually been built with prison labour. Her specs are as follows (if she is indeed a Grady Dreamboat). LOA 38' 0" Beam 11' 6" Draft 3' 6" Designer: Grandy Boat Co. Gross Displacement: 12000 lbs. Number of Engines: 1 (model has twin screws) Engine Model: Lehman Fuel Type: Diesel Year Built: 1929 ( "Adelante's" Information shows her as built 1912. I believe this is an error as Grandy started building Dreamboats in 1926) The model I believe was built from the "Dumas" model boat plans for the 40' "Vinyard" (very last photos), and the cabin modified to reflect the "Grandy" plans. I have started with a photo of the "Turtle" on the Southern Lakes as I remember her. Then a photo of the only sister I know of her in Seattle, the "Nirvana". Following is a the photo of the model when she was stored in Edmonton earlier this year. Unfortunately as the following photos show, she floundered and was quite damaged. She arrived at my shipyard today, and I did a quick survey of her. Her wood is probably close to 50 years old now and quite delicate. She has the old mechanical speed control in her from "Dumas" as well as dated electronics. I have removed all I can so that I can start repairs and reinforce the hull. We will work our way up to superstructure and electrical later. I would like to honour her builder and keep his work intact as much as possible. I do think I will need to redo the transom on her however. I will save the old one if that is the case. The model is 28" LOA Stay tuned for more as we bring her back.

2 months ago by Brightwork

Forum

Shapeways is gone!!!

As I mentioned, there was a big change in FDM (filament) printers in late 2023. The jump was mainly speed - insanely fast! This was feasible by software as well as making the print head and mechanisms much lighter. My last one, not a year old, is at least four times the speed and more accurate than my previous two, about five years old. Lew Florida ⛱️, USA 🇺🇸

9 hours ago by LewZ

Response

Re: Some more work done

All the details are looking great! Barry

11 hours ago by BarryS

Forum

Edina Model Yacht Club annual "Parade of Boats"

Absolutely stunning, Dave. Lots of boats and people, much more than I've seen at any RC event here. Thanks for sharing the photos. Lew Florida ⛱️, USA 🇺🇸

13 hours ago by LewZ

Forum

Edina Model Yacht Club annual "Parade of Boats"

Our club had it's annual "Parade of Boats" yesterday (June 8). We had what might have been a record number of boats displayed and on the water. The event drew a large crowd of spectators. This year we have added a new feature, we have built 2 "Vac-U-Tug" boats and two control consoles that we are allowing youngsters (including some "young at heart" adults) to use during our events. The Vac-U-Tugs were a huge hit, and there was a line of children waiting to try their hand all day long. We gained 6 new members and 2 past members decided to rejoin during the event. The comments from the people who joined were on the order of "what great energy your club presents". I'm posting some pictures, and videos. YouTube only allows me to upload a few videos daily, so I will post more later. Dave B PS The cute blonde kids at the Vac-U-Tug consoles (with faces showing) are my grandkids, chosen not out of vanity ... rather to avoid posting somebody's kids on the internet w/o parental consent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhMNzdKF5v0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=193mieCcza0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VArOIiFChGg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iljWs8Pdmlw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id9McEzGg6o https://fb.watch/sDZ_w-QUN2/

2 months ago by DWBrinkman

Blog

Loganville owner has added a “Loft”

Pete Spencer added this exterior storage to his tugboat. I am now in the process of adding it to my model. Our library ModelSpace had a 3Dprinter where you or they will create things. I asked Michael to create the expanded metal needed for the storage rack. Michael said,” Here is the finished model; 4” x 6”, in black, with 2mm x 4mm diamonds extending right to the edge.”

14 hours ago by Ronald

Blog

Miss Jenna located in Mahone Bay, N.S

Mike Kelly owns the Miss Jenna, a Russel Brothers Ville Class tugboat built for use by the RCN for duty on the East and West coasts of Canada. It has an approximate LOA of 40', beam 10' and interestingly virtually no keel. The drawings found, show a visible keel beginning about in the middle. A 4 1/2" width and about 1 3/4" depth, which becomes increasingly more moving aft. http://www.russelbrothers.ca/xlisterville.html Bill Froelich, Houston, Texas, built a fine 40" 1"=1' scale model seen here. Bill and I have been in contact and have shared various ideas.

4 years ago by Ronald

Response

Re: Some more work done

Super workmanship and imagination to add the inner touches.

14 hours ago by Ronald

Forum

Edina Model Yacht Club annual "Parade of Boats"

What a great show Dave, thanks for posting that. Some stunning models there! (including some of yours by the looks of it) Fantastic spectator crowd at the lake as well !- wish we still had that sort of enthusiasm for models here. We used to get good crowds here for model plane and boat shows, and they were often incorporated in full sized boat shows, but not any more, as we don't have the facilities now. Unfortunately smart phones have stolen the young peoples' brains, so only us fossils left to build models. There is a 2 yearly model show held in a school hall in a tiny town up north about 40km, which I posted pics of a while back, but that's about it. Lots of lakes down south, but not much up here in the north, (unless you don't mind salt water). JB

15 hours ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Some more work done

Dang! That is super sharp looking Westwind!!!!!

15 hours ago by jumpugly

Blog

Modified Stiletto project

Starting to add the 'fruit' now, with the anchor winch, spotlight, inner removable blanking plate, (cabin floor), bow and stern fairleads anchor guide, dash and support bush for the cable drive inner. Anchor winch drum was made from a turned down large thumb tack. Fairleads and anchor guide were made in polyester resin, cast in moulds I had made previously, using a male hand made master to make an impression in modelling clay. Clay was baked till hard, impressions waxed and filled with resin, then popped out, filed and painted with chrome paint. Not perfect (depends how much you can be bothered filing with a needle file ) but cheap and can be mass produced. Still have a mould to make for some cleats. Spotlight was made from 2 piece pop on furniture screw cover. One side drilled for a brass tube, clear LED (from stripped down xmas tree lights) inserted with neg lead soldered to the brass tube and the pos lead fed out the back. One hole will be drilled in the cabin for the tube and a small one for the pos lead, then a neg wire is soldered to the brass tube inside the cabin. The clear plastic washer which usually goes under a screw ( which the cover normally pops over,) is used as the lens. They light up quite nicely. The internally stepped acetal bush was made for the cable drive to support the cable where it comes out of the brass tube. The removable cabin floor/blanking plate covers the area where the ESC and RX will go,- also the motor, so they can't be seen. It's covered with black 3mm felt. There are 2 pivoting legs so it can be fitted through the deck and mount on the side blocks. They are folded back when removing or installing the floor, then turned out to sit on the blocks. I just used available scrap to stiffen the ply floor,- didn't need to be fancy as it can't be seen, and didn't want to cut good stock as balsa is really expensive here, (I still have boxes of ply and balsa scraps from all my past planes and boats, - you can always find bits to join if you are short) I think most of us are the same. Dowels are levers to move the arms, as they are under the floor and hard to grab hold of with sausage fingers.😀 Dash was made from thin Formica with printed gauges which can be backlit. Still have a wheel to make. More to add yet. JB

15 hours ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Shapeways is gone!!!

Sorry to hear this. I’m MA all but one hobby shop has gone. I’m buying old kits n building them. On line mostly. The last hobby shop here was in Marlboro. The owner couldn’t get a buyer. I even tried but no bank would help. When he closed he gave me a few nice large kits n I bought others at his cost. We have one Rc store in FoxBoro and a plastic kit shop near there. When my kids were on tour with band in Europe n Australia I had them look for kits. I got a 3D printer from grandson as he had no interest anymore. Built parts with it for some ships. I tried an airplane but it took forever for a part to print. It is expensive n as you say China you cant compete with. It is sad the company is going away.

15 hours ago by Hhager2

Blog

Modified Stiletto project

Making a bit of a start on my stretched Stiletto (more a Stilapier) at the moment, as it had been put aside while I had a play with a surface drive to fit to it, if I could get one working (see under surface drive experiment, in forum). I've shelved that idea till I can find a suitable universal for it, and have decided to use a modified cable drive instead (see under 'converting a cable drive to a standard drive', in forum) I wanted to settle on the drive type before starting fully, to make installation easier. The Stiletto has been stretched to 38 1/2" by blowing the A4 sized drawings up to AO paper size. I've left out the usual internal locking structure so as to create more room and ease of access to the internals, instead, the whole cabin will lift off, rather than a few 'lids'. All the new positions have been worked out using top and bottom datum lines (pic 1). The deck camber has been changed but the deck sheer left in. A few other mods will be made as things progress. I started by cutting out the keel, breast hook and new ply bulkheads, then cut the centers out of the bulkheads notched them for the stringers and reinforced them. I made a new universal building jig (under model framing jig, in forum) to hold everything in place, (right side up and upside down), and set everything up on it. Glued all the bulkheads bar the transom to the keel, (keel has shaft tube slot previously built in by cutting the keel on the appropriate angle, separating the 2 pieces by a shaft tube diam, trenching 2 side plates to suit the shaft tube angle and diam, and gluing/clamping them on using the building jig to hold them flat and straight. I've made a cut-out for the motor in bulkhead 3, and bent the cable drive to suit. A motor mounting plate will be made later. Cable drive will have a V brace made to suit once the angle has been sorted for prop clearance etc. Getting hard to find some modelling supplies (namely spruce strips for stringers and balsa) now so there might be some slow patches in the building.

2 years ago by jbkiwi

Blog

Some more work done

In the past few weeks I've been picking away at the cabin and wheel house, I have done a lot of 3d printing for the interiors some my creation and some free downloads. I'm just about ready to put it all together.

16 hours ago by Westwind

Blog

Aeronaut Jonny

Hi all, I started a new build during Christmas and I'm just about ready to start painting the haul so I figured its a good time to get the build log going. I've had this kit for about a year now, purchased from Bauer in Germany along with with the recommended equipment including their Schottel Drive system. The plan is to have the two Schottel drives, a bow thruster, one working Anchor (possibly two in the future of off the same winch), a sound system, two working radars, working spot light with pivot in pitch and yaw, always on nav lights and interior lights, RC working main winch and manually operated bow and side winches, tow separate working fire monitors able to rotate individually, possibly a smoke generator and final an auto bilge system This comes to a total of 18 RC, unfortunately I only have 16 available so we will have to see what ends up in the ship🤔. So far I have the drives and bow thruster all fit and ready for assembly. I then built up the frame work and made the holes for the fire pumps and bilge. then had to build the lower deck house so I could fit the deck in the right place on the ship. Once the deck was dry fit I cut the scuppers then glued the deck down. I then set to work making the deck splash proof by installing and extending the kits coaming. I also add a drop floor under the aft hatch that I'm hoping will allow me to keep the water that gets on the deck from leaking down into the haul. Now I've got the Bulwark stanchions and handrails just about complete. I also started work on some of the deck items as I need the locations to work out some of the modifications I'm working through. I hope to start painting the haul soon, I'm going to try brush painting this ship as I was able to find some nice paints at an Art supply store and I don't have much access to a place to spray paint in the winter. I do think I will spray on the primer first and hope it helps absorbed some of the brush marks.

5 months ago by Westwind

Forum

Question of the Day?

@Rudy. Is the punt working on your nerves?

16 hours ago by Wcmbc

Forum

Question of the Day?

Hi All, Given that it's always popular in December (and I've now figured out a way to get multiple-choice quiz questions very easily), how many of you would enjoy a non-competition based fun question of the day, each day? In a similar way to December's one, it'll be on the home screen each day, with four possible answers to choose from. Maybe a rolling leader board and linked forum thread to discuss questions (but not reveal answers until the following day). I know we're talking about at least 365 nautical/shipping/maritime/sailing/boating quiz questions here! But I now believe its possible to put together with little effort 😉 perhaps useful to onboard a volunteer researcher mind, to double check questions and answers before they're made live. So if anyone would like to do that, let me know too. Thoughts on having a Question of the Day? Stephen

1 year ago by fireboat

Forum

Question of the Day?

Ok. So you made your punt. Now what? 😜

16 hours ago by Rudy-M

Response

Re: 2. Reine des Vents

Hello everyone! Thanks for your tip, Ronald! *** I have now ordered some braided nylon. As soon as a small time window is free, I will renew all the cables, maybe adjust the guides a bit. Last ride was awesome. Clear mountain lake, good visibility, everything was fine until the wind got stronger and my construction suffered. I learnt from this: strengthen it! We'll see. . . best regards Michel-C.

16 hours ago by Mike Stoney

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

Enjoy your build!

2 days ago by Ronald

Forum

Shapeways is gone!!!

Thanks for your post Lew. Sadly I was aware of the Shapeways disaster (pricing their way out of business) as many of the truly talented printers have been going solo and posting their wares on places like FB. "Holden8702," who has one of the largest, military and marine figure databases of them all is still is business. His FB page is below. ETSY has also become a landing destination for many (like Brian at MidWestRail) and have chosen to make this their chosen field and are continually expanding their offerings. So let's not give up the ship, as it were. 😉 Holden8702 as mentioned... https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=holden8702

18 hours ago by jumpugly

Forum

Wordle of the Day?

Been in "two" times already this morning, 😁

21 hours ago by Doogle

Forum

Wordle of the Day?

Had a snack in the galley at 3

1 day ago by Cashrc

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

100% with you on that Chum!

1 day ago by jumpugly

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

BTW, this will be a fine looking vessel when complete. If it were my build I would heavily weather it. Fish boats are not showroom clean. They are worked hard & IMHO should reflect it for authenticity.

1 day ago by Chum444

Blog

Start of upper deck

"Escaped into the garage for a bit more today. Bridge/wheelhouse starting to take shape, decking started to be laid on the top. Slow 🐌 progress

1 day ago by Doogle

Blog

Billing Calypso

Picked this up at our first scale meet of the season early April, too much going on at the moment, but eventually managed to start this evening. The kit is over 20yrs old, was started and then put on "hold" by the previous owner. Hull is already assembled as was the observation chamber which was situated at the bow. As this "lends " itself to being lit internally, I have removed the brass observation windows plus the one on the bow and then attached some clear acetate on the back of them to make this forward area watertight. The observation chamber now glued in place, spraying to be carried out once this is dry and the "windows " can then be reinstated. Going to be a long job but looking forward to the build.

2 months ago by Doogle

Forum

Question of the Day?

Trump better take care of his eye sight. He might not be able to wear glasses😎. He might say stuff like "I cannot see Kamala doing a better job of falling down a flight of steps than Biden did."

1 day ago by Rudy-M

Blog

Yard Sale Find

Took the Puffer for a little run today worked well. still more work waiting on railings from Harbor Models 2 weeks . Lighting & smoke maker 😭 Spoke to soon had a major water leak & it looks like my home made stuffing box & propeller shaft has a problem so it will need replacing with a store bought one.

1 day ago by GARTH

Blog

Yard Sale Find

Because I can't figure out how to download a video on this web site I just pause the video & photographed the image of my Yard Sale Find It was such a lovely Canada Day morning went to the pool & ran the model checked for leaks, balanced model with a little lead test O/K I did have a tiny leak which I think will be fixed up with a little hull paint.

26 days ago by GARTH

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

Ah yes Ronald, the old Maple Leaf Special! 😉

1 day ago by jumpugly

Forum

Question of the Day?

Crisis Trump can’t hold pencil in his ear 😂

1 day ago by Commodore-H

Forum

Centurion Model Boats

WCMBC I wish you a lot of success with your event👍

2 days ago by hermank

Forum

Question of the Day?

A process of elimination today. I must look him up and find out more.😉

2 days ago by flaxbybuck

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

Morning Ronald! The train was too pricey this year for us so next year when we have to go to another wedding in Los Angeles we’re going to use the train. My wife is a veteran of that cross-country mode of transportation. Truth be told I have a serious weakness for it myself! And you have seriously motivated me!

2 days ago by jumpugly

Event

Centurion Model Boats

The inaugural open day is free to join. A Skippers Meeting starts at 10am.

2 days ago by Wcmbc

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

A Naxos on Youutube https://youtu.be/yPWGsdjgIYo?si=crSCnHWXbV2QXQcQ

2 days ago by Dampfgerd

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

Dampfgerd!!! This is a huge help and quite a find thank you! I will see if I can get any odds and ends to help me along the way!!!! 👍

2 days ago by jumpugly

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

In my old rc flying days a short kit was plans and patterns with fiberglass odds and ends like spinners and wheel pants and maybe a nice canopy. They were always a test of wills. There were “cutters” who would charge a hefty buck to do your ribs and bulkheads. Now with laser print/cutting things are a bit more in reach. Well, maybe not as “in reach” as many of us would like. 😉

2 days ago by jumpugly

Response

Re: Naxos Laser sheets

Enjoy your trip and enjoy your build on your return 😁

2 days ago by Doogle

Forum

Wordle of the Day?

Found a marina in 3 😊

2 days ago by Doogle

Forum

Question of the Day?

Only one possible answer today, poor old Donald still has a poorly ear, "Nessie"was on holiday and the flying Dutchman came over on Eurostar - thankfully going home on Saturday 🤣

2 days ago by Doogle

Forum

Question of the Day?

Up till last year I was the IT Manager of a company that is one of the world leaders in the use of AI to predict cardiac problems. The company is an result of cardiac research at Oxford University. The process produces incredible and accurate results in seconds and has the support from many of the worlds most respected cardiac units. The cornerstone of AI is the process of “deep learning” to create the basis for it to deduce the results. The problem with this AI is that it’s training is flawed and incomplete and the results follow the old rule of “sh1t in = sh1t out” Regards Ed

2 days ago by EdW