Blog

Searchlight

The last gadget to be added to complete the Crash Tender refit is the searchlight. The body is made from a short piece of 15mm copper water pipe. A domed piece of copper soldered to one end closes off the body. The tube is just the right size to take a 1W LED and lens. The front cap was made from a ring of copper cut from a Yorkshire fitting which slides over the body of the light. Two small nuts (8BA) soldered 180 degrees apart on the circumference of the body provide mounting and pivot points. The body is mounted to a U shaped brass bracket which in turn is soldered to a brass tube. In addition to being able to rotate the searchlight, I wanted the challenge of making it elevate. A mechanism mounted under the wheelhouse roof provides both the rotation and elevation mechanics. A small servo provides the rotation function. Two plastic gears, salvaged from a defunct inkjet printer, couple the servo to the brass searchlight mounting tube. The gear ratio gives the searchlight a rotation of 270 degrees. To provide the elevation function, a pushrod passes through the centre of the searchlight mounting tube. As this pushrod is moved up and down, it adjusts the elevation of the light via a wire connected to an arm on one of the searchlight pivots. The pushrod is hollow and tapped with an M2 thread. A length of M2 studding threaded into the end of the pushrod is rotated by a small stepper motor. As the motor rotates the studding pushes or pulls on the pushrod, thus elevating the light. A small scratch built electronic module converts the demand from a receiver channel into step commends for the stepper motor. The motor was salvaged from an old floppy disk drive. The completed assembly was primed and then painted with Grey. The LED is driven from an RC switch and constant current source and is quite bright, even in full sunlight. Graham93

4 years ago by Graham93

Blog

Wheelhouse

Having completed the basic hull repaint, it was time to get on to some of the more interesting details. Many of the deck fittings, ventilators, Samson post, etc were sourced from the shop on this website. These plastic fittings were primed with a grey etch primer and then top coated with or Humbrol white enamel as appropriate. Being the 1/16th scale Crash Tender, I don't have the benefit of having a set of white metal fittings. I wasn't able to find many off the shelf fittings in 1/16th scale so decided to scratch build them instead. It makes the job more interesting, if a bit fiddly, ....... and very time consuming! The first task was to replace the fixed wheelhouse roof with a removeable one. This gives access to the interior of the wheelhouse for fitting lighting, new windows, and the searchlight servo. The window frames were cut from 1mm plasticard and painted silver. The mast was built from brass, including making the pulleys. A 5mm white LED is fitted to the top, with a little white painted brass cap to make it look the part. Rigging is 1.5mm elastic cord. I think this is a little thick and 1mm might look better. I still have to source the ensign to fly from the mast. There is a pulley in place ready for it. The port, starboard and wheelhouse roof navigation lights were all constructed using plasticard and fitted with 3mm LEDs. The aerial on the roof of the wheelhouse is made from brass based on the details given by Mike (mturpin013) in his blog. The boathooks were also scratchbuilt from brass. I thought they would look better than the white metal ones available on eBay. For the "shepherd's crook" hook, the brass rod was first tapered by filing and sanding before being bent to the appropriate shape. The other hook was formed by silver soldering a brass cross piece onto a tapered shaft. Both hooks were formed on the end of a long length of brass rod to make it easier to handle them. Once complete, a short section of rod behind the hook was turned down to 1mm dia to form a spigot for mounting on the poles. The poles were carved from mahogany. With all these details in place it is really beginning to look the part. Next up the rear deck.

5 years ago by Graham93