Response

Re: MORE SMOKER STUFF 2

its a great deal of experimentation you are doing JB - although its very interesting and you are very near succeeding is it not becoming a little more complex and possibly expensive ??? Being a real (forced) cheapskate cant favour things much where one is unable to scrounge up the bits from free sources like the dumps and waste bins or own collections of useful items - so have posted elsewhere a highly technical version from the archives which you might find of interest ............. Fits the specification for use with the old shaving s too............ Now if I can only get my tongue out of my cheek............ Seriously what about compressed air/gas forcing both water/smoke out through some sort of valve system ????? electro/mechanical always seems more simple & reliable than electronics. Maybe powered by one of those little gas tanks used for small steam plants. Clevedon Steam makes them as well as do a few others like Forest UK and MSM in Oz.........for valves I have a very simple design for a combined steam throttle/reverse somewhere which should work with both............

5 years ago by redpmg

Forum

Painting over epoxy

I have used several Halfords spray cans on boats over the recent years. In each case I have sanded the hull down to bare wood as the boats were vintage ones and did have coats of paint on them that could not be identified. Best to use thin applications of both primer then paint then build up on that after leaving 24 hours between each coat. Another good point is that Halfords also stock plastic primer in their paints range which is ideal if your boat has a polystyrene hull or you have plastic fittings. Boaty😎

5 years ago by boaty

Blog

Basic hull construction completed

This week has been about getting the basic hull construction completed and especially the tricky bow. This was done in three stages; the first group of pictures shows the four balsa blocks being roughly sanded to shape. The instructions were good here as they recommended the required curves be shaped using sandpaper wrapped around an can....This being achieved, the next stage was to fill all the gaps around the balsa blocks with P38 and sand back to smooth out the curves. The 3rd stage was to fully coat the entire hull with Balsa Lite fine surface filler and sand back to wood so that all the fine grain imperfections are filled. I'm very happy with the results, but now concerned that too much has been sanded off the bow to get those curves...What do you think? 😉 Next stage is to apply a couple of thin coats of sanding sealer and then onto covering with 35gsm lightweight glassfibre fabric and Eze-Kote to give the hull more strength and durability.

5 years ago by StuartE

Blog

Anteno 2 tug

Decided not to double plank as per kit instructions but skin the first planking with thin cloth 0.60 oz. Lot of rubbing down,now awaiting top coat Quick tip when using can or airbrush,use a large plastic storage container on its side as a spray booth.

5 years ago by Dick

Forum

U45 Tinplate Diving Clockwork Submarine

Ahoy Mateys, U45 11" long made from an old can,the donor clock for the motor was an old Westclox made in Scotland in the 60s, got it from Todmorden flea market for £2.00! This recycling lark can get expensive! mclaren clockwork submarines Cheers mactin.

6 years ago by mactin

Forum

Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

Thanks Martin, I'll look out for that👍 Yeah, the Lightning is cool, I had the 1/72 version back then. I recently bought the 1/24th kit of the Mosquito, another cool kite! It's a MONSTER and I haven't had the guts to start it yet😉 I recently found on the Krick site some chrome "Racing Paint for Polycarbonate Body's" made by Ghiant s in Belgium, branded 'RC Car'. Comes in two 150ml cans; chrome spray and a lacquer / fixer. Haven't tried it yet, will report when I have. Cheers, Doug

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

20th Scale ELCO 80ft PT boat part 1

Hi: I also use the (temporary bond) paper glue for plans...

6 years ago by Julio

Response

20th Scale ELCO 80ft PT boat part 1

Agree 'Steamgerd' 😉 I also find the paper glue very good. It doesn't soak and stretch the paper. Used it for the new cabin roof for my Sea Scout. The glue sticks can sometimes be a bit 'lumpy' if they are not absolutely brand new! 🤔 Above all, apply to the wood and not to the paper.👍 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Painting

Hi, do you guys use airbrush or cans for painting? Thinking in terms of a “plastic” grp hull etc. Thank you in advance.

6 years ago by Falmouth1729

Forum

Deck Colour

Evenin' George, any mid to dark green would do nicely. Suggest a satin / semi matt paint. Something like the Humbrol 131 or 195 in the attached chart. Of course it doesn't have to be the little Humbrol tins (unless you have an airbrush😉) but a similar colour in , maybe from Tamiya. Type depends on what was on it before!! To be on the safe side give it a couple of thin coats of grey primer first. Flat off with 600 wet & dry then apply the colour coats. E.g. acrylic. Where on earth, and when, can you sail up there in the frozen North!? 😲 Good luck, and have fun, cheers Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

HMS HOOD by Trumpeter

Hi Steve, with the 'reservoir' I mentioned I meant a 'smoke reservoir' or a sort of collector, i.e. a wider section of the updraught tube, bulbous or upside-down funnel, to concentrate the smoke and then 'chuff' it out with the fan. Seems the modern versions of the Graupner gennys are very different from the one I bought 20 years ago! Mine has a narrow glass tube underneath which dips into the cap oil tank and feeds the genny by capillary action. Means it last for ages (well all afternoon anyway😉) on a 'tank' full. As I understand it the maximum fill (0.8ml) of the new one lasts about 8 minutes at 6V / 300mA. I have some of the new ones now and see what you mean by 'charging' from above. But, how do you propose to fit it? if it's a tight flush fit in the tube won't you lose the updraught chimney effect cos it can't draw cold air in around the genny tube? Yep, the 24V put me off as well. Rooky mentioned using a voltage 'booster' (i.e. doubler) but these are notoriously inefficient and if you're running on 7.2 or 7.4 main batt .....!? Just my thoughts, must experiment with the new versions. BTW: my static bench tests back then were also quite impressive, stunk the kitchen out 😡, but out in the open air with a bit of breeze or under way at speed it didn't look quite the same 🤔 Be interesting to compare notes when we both have them operational! Re 'Morse message': had hoped that an ex navy guy like Ed could decode it 👍 Cheers Doug 😎 BTW: your funnel construction and painting looks terrific 👍

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

HMS HOOD by Trumpeter

Sorry for the digression Steve 🤔 Re your smoke generator - I hope you don't want to lay a smoke screen! Several years ago I fitted a Graupner smoke genny to my destroyer and hoped to feed both funnels with it. No way! 🤔 According to instructions I fitted it in a 10mm tube (alu) in the forward funnel, with the wick in a 'tank' made from a large cap, and fed it from the drive battery (12V SLA, 2 x 6V 7AH) via the Gear switch on the TX and a home made decoder / relay switch at the business end. First: it takes a little while to get 'steam up', second at best it produces whisps of smoke, and white so it looks more like steam. 🤔 Have experimented with 'additives', e.g. graphite, but have not yet achieved real black smoke. To increase volume when I refit the destroyer I have a second genny for the aft funnel and intend to build 'smoke reservoirs' under the funnel tube and drive it all with a 6v cooling fan from an old PC graphic card. The 'chimney effect' alone is not enough 🤔 I hope that in this way I can increase the volume so it looks a bit more realistic when 'getting steam up' or on 'Full Ahead Both'! (Give me all you've got Scotty!)😁 For various other 'mini model' projects, 1/350 Plastic Magic, I have acquired several mini smoke gennys from the model railway (1/87) department - experiments are on the To Do list😉 Cheers Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Spraying/hand painting

Hi Colin, isolator is available in form, its about £10 from specialist paint suppliers, plus all the filler, paper, stopper, thinners and masking tape. Mark

6 years ago by jarvo

Forum

Spraying/hand painting

Yes the answer is to use UPOL BARCOTE QUICK DRYING ISOLATOR. But costs about £26 a litre. But this will go over all types of paint and then allow you to paint without a reaction. It may be available in an . Please check it out as I find it saves hours of stropping on my old boats, my newest being about 1980, and oldest from 1918. Hope this helps, Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Forum

PT109 Refit

Built an italeri PT 109 about four years ago. Power is by a brushed 480 running on 2200 mha 7.4 Lipo. Drive is a single prop and it performs nicely at a scale speed but it can not be run flat out for too long as it will overheat and due to the excessive speed it can get slightly out of shape.. I used Humbrol Grass Green acrylic for the paint job with dull red from the waterline downwards. I built the model to its earlier spec with a life raft mounted on the bow in place of the later cannon which I believe was used for barge busting. Boaty

7 years ago by boaty

Forum

Finishing

Hi Martin, Bin round the Talisker ? 😉 @stwdv; ignore what comes next, go to the last paragraph 😎 The scale effect (as I understand it) has nothing or little to do with shine! It refers to lightening / fading the colour to fool the brain into thinking an object is further away than it is, and therefore think it is larger. Look at any landscape photo or 'in real', hills or forests further away look lighter or more grey than the green ones in the foreground. There are pros and cons to both as Dave says. Cellulose is history, except from some nitrated cellulose solvents. in the car restoring days of my youth I remember getting crinkling if I used cellulose thinners from a different manufacturer than the paint 😡 @stwdv: if you do it veeeery carefully in very very thin misted layers (barely wet) you CAN put put a different paint on others BUT you need flat of and prime the old paint first. Pay a bit more for your primer (universal types) and ensure that the coating is absolutely complete and totally dry and hardened. Some combinations work better than others. But essentially it is better not to mix and match. it's essenentially the thinners that does the damage, less is more sometimes! Try to avoid cheap s, paying a bit more avoids a lot of heartache and extra work, or throwing things in the bin 😡 They tend to have a fairly wide spread on the nozzles which wastes a lot of paint through over-spray. They also tend to be a bit thick and difficult to control the flow which can cause 'orange peeling or even runs and 'splodges' if the spray stutters. To counteract this one has to spray thinner; i.e. back off more from the object - which causes more over-spray. 🤔 The little spray cans made for modellers are much better than this in all respects than the cheap jumbo cans from the hardware store. Get a decent air brush for the big bits, then you can control the paint viscosity, flow and size and shape of the spray cone. takes a bit of practice but is worth it if you intend to build more models. But I suspect you wanted tips on the preparation! So let's cut to the chase😉 Sanding and filling are the buzz words. Checking the surface very lightly with your fingertips is much more sensitive and accurate than relying on your eyes. 🤓 When you think you got it right put on a THIN coat of primer (matched type to the finishing paint!) and you will soon see the spots you missed! So back to the filling and sanding. Use a very fine filler at this stage. Prime again and flat it off with 240 to 400 wet'ndry. Take off the residue with a damp sponge and dry!!! Go round this loop a few times and when eyes and finger tips agree you are ready for the finishing colour coats. Thin, let dry. Check for blemishes. Fix if necessary, flat off -> next coat. ALWAYS take note of paint can drying / hardening notes. Don't rush or you'll end up doing it again 😉 Hope this helps, bon chance mon ami 😎Doug PS my larger model (mostly warships!) I use resin based paints in half litre cans from the DIY shops and an airbrush. They are hard wearing, come in all colours (RAL codes) and finishes and are easy to mix and thin with turps or white spirit. They take the enamel for detailing with no problems. Snags: take longer to dry, but they are hard wearing and cheaper than millions of 14ml cans 👍

7 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Aeronaut Pilot Boat

Thanks Glyn. it is Halfords VW Brilliant Orange finished with Autoglym car polish. I used Halfors filler/primer to give a good base. Steve

7 years ago by cormorant

Forum

What Colour?

I have recently finished an Aeronaut Pilot Boat using a Halfords spray - VW Brilliant Orange, the colour recommended by a fellow modeller. It gave excellent results for a very modest price. I am now building a 49" Perkasa and am looking to use the same type of paint. Can anyone help with the corresponding shade of sea grey used on this type of boat please? Steve

7 years ago by cormorant

Forum

What Colour?

I thought I had better be the first to reply to my own post before you all realised what little research I had done beforehand! I have answered my own question. Searching the Halfords website I find that they do in fact make an "Sea Grey" which on further investigation has already been used on a Perkasa. They also supply a touch up bottle for detail on the deckhouse. As an old schoolfriend continually likes to remind me - "If all else fails, read the instructions!" How I rose to the dizzy heights of Commander I will never know. Steve

7 years ago by cormorant

Blog

The spray booth.

After considering all the H&S aspects and conducting my own risk assessment (seriously !) and writing a method statement 😉 I am building myself a spray booth. The base for the spray booth is a steel framed folding trestle table that I already had in the workshop and is of ideal dimensions for the job. The framework for the booth is regular 25mm x 38mm softwood from my local DIY store. No elaborate joints here at all, just a few screws and plastic corner blocks and a few bracing fillets to keep the frames square and rigid. The idea is that I will be able to remove/discard the cardboard panels from the top and sides to de-construct it and pack it away until it's required again. The cardboard is just fixed to the frame with a heavy duty staple gun. An MDF panel with a suitable sized hole was made to hold the fan unit in the 'roof' and the flexible ducting routed to the workshop (garage) door (wooden) and connected to an exhaust vent mounted through the door. The fan unit is a brushless bathroom ventilator wired to a simple switch on the side of the frame, it can move more than sufficient air volume quite safely in the presence of propellants and solvents from the s. I also fitted a 1metre LED strip-light to the same circuit to illuminate the interior. The finishing touch is an old shower curtain with a weighted hem that I had lying about to form the 'fourth wall'. it's suspended so that there's a 50mm air gap at the bottom for the air flow path. I bought a 3M 4521 Maintenance-Free Organic Vapour/Particulate Respirator for about £18 from Screwfix to wear whilst spraying. The mask filters are not replaceable so when I've finished all the painting it will be binned ! The mask is so exceptionally effective at filtering that I am able to stand at the booth and work INSIDE the booth with the curtain behind me to confine the vapours and dust and reduce the risk of dust etc. settling on the fresh paint. For those concerned for my health I can assure you that FOR ME this works perfectly safely and is very effective. So much so that there's no smell at all while spraying and I only get the slightest whiff of solvent smells in the workshop after removing the mask as all the nasty stuff is blasted out of the workshop from the enclosed booth. I expect some controversial opinions on this but in practice it is actually far safer than spraying paint in a confined area without any protection and ventilation at all, which is possibly what a lot of chaps (including me) have done or continue to do ! Now I can get some painting done...

7 years ago by robbob

Blog

DAMEN STAN 4207

The weather has turned colder and forstalled any temptations to spend valuable boat building time outdoors. Have now been able to focus on finishing the hull. This was done with the usual technique of rubbing down (both mechanical and manual) and then filling any depressions or defects with either wood filler or glaze putty. Then rubbing down again ' and again! After each completed rub sprayed the hull with paint, initially primer, then working up to colour and finally a clear matte to protect the decals and dull the earlier gloss finish. I prefer to use gloss for the intermediate coats as it reveals the surface defects clearly. The only problem encountered was with the opening stern gate, after much trial usage this began to get a 'chatter' during opeation. Dismantled and examined the micro servo and found that several small gear teeth had broken off. Attributed this to operating the gate by hand during the build. in future will only operate the gate under power. Whilst more time consuming this prevents any tendency for the linkage to go over centre and lock up, thus overloading and breaking the small gear teeth. The pictures show the hull finished up to deck level. There are no fittings installed. From now on anticipate the model completion will follow traditional lines, so will confine blog entries to those that either capture a milestone, or where something interesting or unusal has happened.

7 years ago by Rowen

Media

Paula 3

I have had my Paula III for quite a few years and she was beginning to look a bit jaded, so having just completed my Northlight Clyde Puffer and looking for something to do, thought that I might give Paula a makeover. Nearly all the additions I made to her were from spare parts left over from making other boats. A good strip and rub down and a couple of cans of (colours chosen by my wife when in Halfords) and 2 weeks later - makeover complete.

7 years ago by ads90

Forum

Paint for RAF Crash Tender.

Can anyone recommend a good mail order supplier for a colour mixed spray paint for the deck and cabin sides of a Vosper RAF crash tender. I believe the correct colour should be BS 381C Light Grey 631 preferably in a satin or semi gloss finish. Thanks. Robbob.

8 years ago by robbob

Forum

Paint for RAF Crash Tender.

See if any of these help you https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Mail order paint supplies&oq=Mail order paint supplies&aqs=chrome..69i57.31367j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 One a least should do good luck

8 years ago by onetenor

Forum

Aeronaut Pilot Boat

Builders discretion for the colours. I mentioned Volkswagen Orange which I had a look at earlier today. Looks a pretty good match to the pictures on the box so I have bought a couple of tins. I will be sanding the hull tomorrow and hopefully giving it a coat of grey primer. I will keep you updated.

8 years ago by cormorant

Forum

Aeronaut Pilot Boat

Morning Ed Hull construction complete. Could have been better as you can see from the pics, but with Milliput, fine-grade paper and patience I should be able to get a pretty good finish for painting. it is my first attempt at a plastic hull so I'm not too displeased. I must be more precise when fixing the panels. It has been suggested that 'Volkswagen Orange' may be appropriate for the hull which I can get from my car DIY store by the can. Much cheaper than the initial outlay for an airbrush, which I am also considering. The only thought I have had about painting the inside of the cabin, is that there is so much detail elsewhere, that it would be a shame to black it out. Have you ordered your kit? Steve

8 years ago by cormorant

Blog

RAF CRASH TENDER

Two years ago I totally restored an old Aerokits Crash Tender believed to have been originally built circa 1962. Results appeared to have been very good and I used Halfords Grey Acrylic Primer for the decks and cabin sides. However I have noticed that the finish on the deck has started to crack a little with some small blisters around where the deck joins the superstructure. I thought that by using acrylic with a whole model that was stripped down to bare wood this would not occur. I have heard some people say I should have used Car Plan acrylic but I have not seen a shop selling it for ages and the only other similar paint I know of is of course Humbrol Acrylic in cans that are readily available at the majority of model shops who sell plastic kits. Has anyone else come across this after painting their boat with Halfords Acrylic paint? Regards Boaty 😊

8 years ago by boaty

Forum

Lifeboats

I am building the Padstow Tamar Lifeboat and have noticed the paint below the waterline Is pinky antI foul paint. Has anybody got the paint specification, RAL number etc, so I can have a can made up John Stoker

10 years ago by jfstoker

Forum

Best clear coat / sealer

HI can anyone recommend a clear coat / sealer preferably based to go over Acrylics that have been air brushed onto a model as I am unsure what effect the water will have. Thanks for any advice

10 years ago by CraigRobotham

Blog

Getting closer...

Most of the painting completed and down to fitting out. The transom flap has been added - not hydraulically operated as in the real thing, but angle adjustable anyway. The transom shelf was originally made removeable - a ply back behind the balsa curvature allowing it to bolted on through the two stay anchor points. it was however bolted and glued in place because it would probably be used as a handle to pick the boat up out of the water... The exhaust flaps are fixed in the open position so at least the turbine exhausts will be open in operation. Some fiddly bits are now taking my time, like fixing a servo under the Bofors for rotation, and another, modified to continuously rotate, attached beneath the radar scanner. I purchased an electronic servo slowing device which was a disappointment since its operation was slow but jerky in one direction, then rapid on the return! Most unrealistic unless you were to apply it to a plane's undercarriage retract - which is what it was meant for. The continuously rotating radar can be slowed to a stop or speed adjusted simply by using the trim on its R C channel. Paint was simply cans from a hardware store, which unfortunately were only available in gloss. However, the same paint supplier sold satin finish clear acrylic spray in s too and his has done a good job.

10 years ago by Lauriem

Forum

Help on paint and varnish for model boat

Please could someone advise me on the best type of paint and varnish and primer I should use, either spay or air brush to spray my 40 year old sea commander. Many thanks Adrian

10 years ago by adrianjeffery53

Blog

Aerokits 46'' Fireboat twin screw brushless conversion

Humbrol metalcoat paint is real good, comes in a couple of colours, steel, aluminium etc, paint it on (I find works best) it looks dreadful and you panic, then you buff with a cloth, and it looks superb! I rubbed a bit hard with the towhook so the brass shows through a bit, to give weathered effect. I am no expert here, it was just trial and error, more by luck really! Plasticard base now looks like metal! 👍 and a bit of heatshrink for the handle. Using the bolts, the handle actually works, as the operator pushes down the hook goes to the pictured position, pull handle up, the hook pivots forward, so the cable can be put on. it means removing a bolt, and slackening the handle bolts, when the boat is running they might vibrate loose so for now everything is tight! 8 bolts holding it all on, bring it on tug boys!

11 years ago by pmdevlin

Blog

Aerokits 46'' Fireboat twin screw brushless conversion

That textured paint was from B & Q, it gives rough finish, and is just right. I masked off a thin strip around the hull, and any fitttings that where on, and painted with BS631 that I had mixed in an at a car paint suppliers Finally feels like we are getting somewhere, but still a long way to go 😯 All paintwork has been done with rattle cans, a big delay was caused by plasticote paint, I vowed I would not touch it again after numerous problems on my last build, I tried it again, and had a load of problems, I will never use it again! it was going all crazed no matter how I applied it, and how long it was between coats, I even emailed them! wasted a lot of money, and time 👎

11 years ago by pmdevlin

Forum

grey paint

Thanks for your help chaps. Rooky...wish I had used a in the first place, you live and learn. Colin... nice to hear from you again, hope your well and life is good for you. I think I might go down the root you suggested, I thought floor paint might have been to thick, I can get it from our local surplus store. thanks fellows Martin

11 years ago by gooner68

Response

Resin and Glass Cloth

HI Ian, Thanks for your comments, the use of Eze-Kote is far simpler than epoxy or polyester resin, as there is no odor so you wont upset the family if you need to work in your home, and at normal room temperature dries quite quickly. You can use almost any type of finishing fillers or filler primers on it or if your cloth is fine enough you can prime directly onto it. I've used Humbrol enamels and acrylics also car paints in s from Halfords, and had colours mixed at local car paint suppliers. I haven't had any problems with any so far, so good luck, use a glass cloth of 24gsm or less. Thanks Colin.

11 years ago by Colin H

Forum

RNLI colour

The standard colour, as previously mentioned, is VW bright orange. Available in at any motorist shop.

11 years ago by pastonperson

Forum

RNLI colour

I dont know the mixing ratio's for Humbrol, but VW brilliant orange is the closets you can get in both and as a touch in stick., both readily available from Halfords spray can shelf.

11 years ago by Gregg

Forum

Shaking s

HI Chris, Have same problems, I used an old electric fretsaw. I took blade out and replaced with a bit of flat metal mecano strip which I used re-usable tie-wraps to fix cans in place. I can now set up shaker to run while I do final prep. Thanks for your idea, Colin.

12 years ago by Colin H

Forum

Shaking s

Hi, As one with ageing elbow joints I've always had trouble shaking spray cans for the whole suggested 2 minutes. But have had a small brainwave, I have a reciprocating sabre saw and by taping the securely to a long blade have found the Ideal tool to do the job effortlessly for as long as I like. Paint mixed as never before ! There probably should be a health and safety warning here somewhere but you might like to try It. Regards Chris

12 years ago by chrislang

Response

On the water !

I have enjoyed reading the description of your ebay refurbishment. You really have made a good job of the paint and decal work and the action shots are great too- so thanks for sharing with us. By the way I was interested to read about Halford's appliance white as it seems difficult to get a really white car paint -shall store that one away for future reference. All the best...Ian

12 years ago by ianed57

Blog

priming the superstructure

Now that all the holes are cut and finished in the superstructure, its time now to apply its white primer coat. The grey primer was purely to make it easier to spot any blemishes in the mould and alsoits an easier colour to work with, when making alterations or repairs. White is too bright a colour to spot defects in. Firstly, the antI slip coating was applied to the roof and engine cover area. For these areas I used a sheet of emery cloth, 300 grit. I first cut a paper template to the roof shape, remembered to cut out a section for the roof number and then mixed an ample supply of epoxy resin, coated the back face of the emery with the glue then carefull placed on the roof, making sure to gently smooth all the air bubbles out. I then cut similar templates for the engien covers and hatch tops and glued them on too. yes, I do know there are s available to put this type of finish on, but being as this is a flat surface, its just as easy to do it this way and less messy having to do loads of masking off. Once the grit paper has had a coat of primer, then a couple of coats of top colour, the roughness smooths out a little, but leaves the antI slip effect visible. Don't what ever you do, use a hogh number grit paper, or once you have applied all the pain coats, it will be too smooth as you have filled all the gaps up with paint, be brave and use a low number grit! You will notice in the latter pics, the orange top coat has already been applied to the hatch openings, prior to them being masked off for the top coat to go on.

12 years ago by Gregg

Response

HULL PAINTING

The weather is not Important, I prefer to paint and dry the, er "more Important paint jobs" in a controlled atmosphere. So this I painted in my utility room. I first switched a heater on for half an hour, to"pre warm" the room, then switched it off during painting, to prevent "flash fire" risk of the vapour.then once fully painted, left the room with the heater swtiched on for about an hour, to allow the paint to "flow" and reduce the risk of "runs". After an hour, switched the heater off and removed the masking, whilst the paint is still soft. if you leathe masking till much later, you risk running the risk of peeling the paint off with the masking and having to start all over again.

12 years ago by Gregg

Blog

Painting the hull

After leaving the hull in primer for 4 days, sufficient time to allow the thinners in the material to evaporate. time to put the top coats on. I first masked off the upper hull and painted the white lower section using s [halfords appliance white], allowing time between coats for the surface to dry. I've learnt in the past, not to try and put a second [or third] coat on too quickly , or thats when the paint starts to "run", leaving you with another problem to deal with. The masking was left on for 24 hrs, then removed and the hull left to dry again for 3 days. I then masked off the lower hull and applied the blue upper colour [ford galaxy blue], applying 5 coats over the next few hours,allowing drying time between coats. Once the hull has its decals applied, I will then give it a couple of coats of clear laquer to help protect it, but not worth doing yet., just in case it gets scratched, then you have 2 different layers to replace.

12 years ago by Gregg

Forum

Fireboat

HI All I have been trying to complete a fire-boat that was started by a friend of the family, when he was a boy many years ago. He started it with his Dad, but never completed it. My father-in-law then took over, but unfortunately passed away soon after. Now it is up to me to finish it for them. I have found most things I need, using info from your site, but I'm having trouble finding a spray paint in battleship grey! There are plenty of grey paints for cars(real ones) but don't know which to choose. Also can I buy a 1/16 scale davit, or do I have to make one? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Mark. HI Mark, Pete D here Fireboat Funday organiser, the correct colour you require for the model is BS 631 grey, this is shown as the designated colour on the Vosper Thornycroft drawing, most shops that sell paint should be able to mix it for you even in . Regards, Pete.

13 years ago by Pete D

Response

Priming hull

HI Graham, the type of primer I am using is normal can, grey primer I bought from Halfords, I also use, Spray Filler primer (Yellow/orangie colour) also bought from Halfords which is much thicker and covers better than normal grey primer. I always start with a couple of light coats of grey primer and leave the paint to dry well, at least 2 or 3 days before I sand the hull again (With wet and dry 900 to 1000 grit), end up sanding off most of the excess paint when sanding to get that good smooth flat finish. After rubbing down all the Imperfections show up, if it's to bad I then give the hull a coat of the sanding filler primer perfect for filling any sunken areas that need building up, again allow a couple of days to dry and harden then rub down again. I am now at the stage of filling minor Imperfections with kniffing putty which is basically filler, allow that to dry well then rub down, That's where I'm at presently. The sander I used is a cheap detailed sander (A£15) I bought from B&Q with a diamond shaped head, I found it perfect for getting at difficult areas of the hull. inside the hull was a lot more difficult 90% was sanded by hand. Hope this helps, Graham. Gladly help if I can. Salv

14 years ago by sbambi

Response

On the water !

HI Kurt. Sorry, but this boat was already painted when I purchased it, so dont know what was used, but yes, halford paint is good enough, but for a bit more protection, try putting a couple of clear laquer coats over the top to protect from scratches, otherwise you could be forever touching up minor scuffs. I will be repainting the hull on this fireboat next year, once Ive had some fun out of it. I did not get to the fun day either, was working and these guys would not put anything on, on the saturday, so I stick to running on my own local pool, but would be good to see a few dusseldorfs together sometime, if you ever passing through the cannock/midlands area, let me know and your invited to the pool my club uses, but if I can help you with any teething problems or tips, feel free to get back to me, direct email is "*PM only - Admin*", Ive goit as many pics of the renovation work Ive done as well as the installation of the fire monitors, mine only swivel and fire water, could not be bothered to create too much mechanism for lift/lower too, they fire water better set at high angle anyway. best wishes. Steve.

14 years ago by Gregg

Forum

lifeboat

HI Matt Yes I have a Solent very similar to yours based on the Aerokits design. There are pictures in this sites photo gallery. I am also rebuilding a 1/12 scale Metcalf mouldings model of an Arun. The Joy and John Wade based at Yarmouth. I am documenting on the Boat Build Blogs part of this site. Work stalled at present as I ran into paint difficulties requiring a complete strip down of the hull. All my own fault - I used some primer that I had obtained from a show or car boot sale. it appears that over time s can deteriorate with the propellant affecting the paint. in future I will only buy from my regular supplier in Nantwich Market, Cheshire. He currently sells cans at A£2.50 so is much cheaper than elsewhere and I have never had any problems with his cans. I have provided detailed photos of my Solent to another member and will email these to you if required. I use a couple of Bhuler motors driving 55mm props using a large 12v SLA battery. As I hardly ever sail this model I use a Bobs board speed controller but the model would benefit from a 15amp ESC on each motor as this would aid turning. I have Improvised and use a microswitch activated by the rudder to stop the inner motor on full rudder, necessary because the large keel on the model overcomes the rudder. Two independant motors would allow you to stop or even reverse on motor when turning. Model Slipway do railings and other fitting in 1/12 scale at reasonable prices but there are other suppliers. I used 4mm brass tube for mine with holes drilled for the rails where I used brass chain. Please let me know if you would like to receive the pictures. Dave

14 years ago by Dave M

Blog

what a struggle

been a busy boy this last two weeks... trying to make this ancient bag of sh... look like something descent. it would have been so much easier to just build "a new one" but being a sadist I have stuck with it.... (why?) the new paint job has been a struggle to say the least, the black hull sides must be re-done, I used a brand of I havent used before (tetrosyl) and will not be using ever again! its slow to dry and the solvent in it just eats into the primer layers beneath, the sides look like I rubbed them down with 40 grit and put gloss black straight on top.. will wait till it has hardened off for two weeks and re-do the black. but hey.......... the green monster is starting to look like a fireboat David

14 years ago by dbninja

Blog

paint on!

wow.. nothing like finished, less than a week since it was in primer, but the layers of masking tape are off... decided on a classic simple scheme.. done with car-plan acrylic s, white, royal blue, bit of red to add some colour! almost everything is flatted down to a matt finish waiting for a couple of coats of clear laquer to add a shine, no seating or interior or glazing yet as everything was just placed loosely together to see what it will look like.... (who else does that? ... all of you I bet) the sea scout really was the "plain Jane" of the Aerokits range, am doing my best to turn it into something nice. this is a real-time blog so as I do a bit... I post it! the last photo is just a reminder of the A£20 ebay disaster this renovation started with!

14 years ago by dbninja

Media

bs631 grey paint, with that touch of green!

example of bs631 cellulose grey matt paint, application, details in the forum on "what colour" posts

16 years ago by pmdevlin