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    Forum
    New Smoke Generators
    HI to all, I hope everyone had a good Christmas... I have started a new line of smoke generators here In Australia, At the moment I have 2 sizes available and more on the drawing board. These new units will run on 12 volts and draw about 1 amp using oil based fluid. Two Sizes SG-1 80 x 45 x 50mm outlet 1/2" This unit Is design for the smaller craft or small spaces a neat little unit that performs great runs for 25mins on 1 fill of the tank (25mls) $65.00 SG-2 100 x 65 x 60mm outlet 1/2" Designed for the larger boats with a bigger tank and more powerful fan unit runs for 40min on 1 fill of the tank (35mls) $75.00 Both smoke generators can be connected directly to your power supply or to your motor for control of the fan speed ( Just need to make sure your speed controller can handle the extra power) you can set It up for 1 stack or 2 with 1/2" copper pipe fittings from your local Hardware shop.. Kit Includes : 1 x Smoke generator 1 x Smoke fluid (100mls) 1 x wire (300mm) 1 x nuts & washers Check out the short clip of the smoke generator SG-1 at youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3vpE0-ovlA or on my website www.modelboatsandfittings.com email: *Removed, PM Only - Admin*
    13 years ago by shane
    Forum
    1940
    chris craft
    My wife and I were in Gig Harbour, Washington State today where we were invited onboard by the owners of this beautiful boat. They told us, it is on the water most of the year in Seattle. The boat is varnished every two years. It requires continual care as the salt water is corrosive. Also seen was a nifty outboard; even the outboard motor cover is made of wood. A group of friends were seen enjoying a dockside luncheon. They said β€œPlease take our picture” Very nice inboard Runabout.
    6 years ago by Ronald
    Forum
    Book on Sailing Barges
    Chris, Thank for the information, I will look into that book. I started in RC Boating but building and racing several classes of sailboats, including several US1Meter class. Being a much better builder than skipper, I was drawn to schooners that many club members had. Got interested in working sailcraft due to the history and the slower, power of these craft. The Gaff Rigged Handbook by Jihn Leather is one of my favorite build guides. Yes, I really like Gaff Rigging. This book was great for lots of rigging details and sails... See photo example. Joe
    5 years ago by Joe727
    Media
    Electric Barbarella
    Ahoy Maties! it's been a long time since my last posting. Happy 2019! I just completed my new scratch-built boat "Electric Barbarella". I tried to recreate (with some liberties) one of my favorite boats of all time, the 30-footer
    chris craft
    Sportsman built during the 1970s. it measures 24 X 8.5 inches. it is powered with a 9.6 NiMH 4200 mAh battery "nunchuck" pack (like the one used for paintball guns), brushless motor attached to a 30A Mtroniks Hydra controller and a 30mm M4 3-bladed brass propeller. The hull (my own on-the-go design) was made out of Balsa wood which later I fiberglassed. For the superstructure I utilized 2mm ABS plastic sheet material. To my surprise the boat turned to be a very stable and forgiving platform. I really feel a very close connection to this vessel as it is my first own hull design.😁
    5 years ago by Krampus
    Media
    Wild thing
    Fully had made
    chris craft
    deep v racing boat evey think u.see is had made apart from engine and.the driver. She is.fully restored to her original self made in 1972. Have added a self bailing system and a new had made shaft with own greaser valve. Thanks hope u all enjoy
    6 years ago by Hybrid
    Forum
    Darby One Design hydro...
    Hi all, here's progress on the Darby One Design. Got these pics just before it started peeing down, so no Chris-Craft pics. Fitted a brushless outrunner I found in a box. Might work, might not... Home made prop shaft/tube, home made off-set rudder. Planked balsa top cover to keep weight down. 1/6th scale 26"long, 10" beam. Thick grey cellulose primer to act as a light filler for scratches, etc. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Bending thin plywood
    Gardener, I go out in the garden, where I have some large ex paint tins. I soak the ply in the water butt, then wedge it against the inside of the tin with a stick of bamboo, until the sun has dried it. By then it's nicely curved and can be glued to your frame members, you made while it was drying, out of 3mm ply. Make sure the top really IS dry and then weight down the structure while the glue is setting thoroughly. I've just made a long section of deck/hatch for my
    chris craft
    version of a Sea Hornet that way. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Found this on British Pathe newsreel footage, but what are they? The light coloured one appears to be a Darby but with no back cover and a flat transom. The others are, I think, Whippets. https://www.britishpathe.com/video/newnham-on-severn-aka-newnham-on-severn-hydroplane Also found a Pathe of a Darby I didn't know of called Bacchus, in colour! Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Hi folks, I've been filling in spaces in the Vincent epic with making deck fittings for the
    chris craft
    Special Runabout. I can't find or, probably, afford to get them nickel plated, so I will give the brass fittings to a chum who does casting of white metal, then I can a) get more than one of some and b) burnish them to look like chrome and then lacquer them. I'm assuming there might be a measure of interest in how these are done. I'm afraid I can't tell you how to do these without a lathe, because I've always had or had the use of, a lathe. They can be bought for a fraction of the price of a kit, off ebay. My No 1 son bought a lathe exactly like mine (a Peatol, which is same as the Taig), only on a huge base with a nice big motor, a tool rack to hold every supplied, additional tool they make for it and even the book on how to use it and make even more tools for it, virtually unused, for Β£200. Similar small lathes can be had for even less. It's the brass that costs these days! Anyway, the trick is to break down the shape to that which can be cut, turned or bent. You can do all those things, so all you need to be able to do is silver solder and soft solder. If you can't yet, learn, sharpish. Silver soldering has enabled to earn a living till I retired. It helped me bring up a family of 5, so it's clearly very useful. I won't describe it in boring detail as these days there's a Youtube for every damned thing if you can tolerate that ghastly delivery that so many of them have. I can't, so I'm happy to answer questions if anyone wants to be told straight what to do. Golden rules....make it totally clean with a Swiss file, have sufficient heat, use the right flux. In silver soldering, just sprinkle the powdered flux on, don't bother making a paste, it'll just fizz and shift your little parts. For this part, one of the various patterns of deck lights/flag pole holders that
    chris craft
    used, I started by turning the main shape of the bulbous bit to be rather like a thimble. I then cut gaps out of it in the vice with a junior hacksaw, so that it had three legs, oversized for now. Then make a teardrop shape out of 1/16th" sheet and cut a hole in it to match. Why the hole? Well, if this is to cast successfully, I don't need any undercuts or "hooks " in the mould so it has to be hollow. Also, I need to put the light lenses in after it's all finished as these units had riding or nav. lights in them. They also had a small jack staff in the top with a burgee or even a national ensign attached. To make the rather art nouveau-ish back end I made a cardboard pattern of what had to be cut from 1mm brass sheet to be folded, hammered a bit and rolled a bit to fit onto the back of the thimble section. I silver soldered the thimble on first, to make it easy to fit the back rolled and folded bit, which was itself then silver soldered on. After that, it's all down to filing to shape, then as you can see from the pencil lines, cut out the teardrop shaped holes in the back which leave a central spine shape. I would first drill a 3mm hole and then, with the piece in a vice use a dental burr in a minidrill and hand mill it out, but PLEASE make sure it can't slip or you could be the owner of a grooved thumb or worse. Finish with files and papers of various grades. More anon when I do the next bits, although you're already further on than I am! Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Just got white metal castings back of the
    chris craft
    fittings and very nice they are too. They have started to burnish up a treat and will polish well as Paul uses a good quality metal. Nice and hard. Now I have to make the light lenses. Also put the blue bottom on her at the weekend using my one and only pot of Plastikote enamel paint, not the acrylic muck they've turned over to and it went on through my spray gun as smooth as could be. Even my masking worked. Just waiting for a gold pin stripe tape for the boot topping now. The final bit will be masking the deck to paint the covering boards and king plank with the same blue. For those not lucky enough to have a wee pot of proper Plastikote in the paint cupboard, I also got a couple of tins of Rustoleum spray, only 5-25 a pot, enamel (of course) in a nice French blue and a rich cream. These colours will look good on my Darby One Design single stepper "WHO'S DARBY?". Very post War. I think the Oulton Broad One Design single stepper will be Burgundy and the Whippet One Design will be varnished mahogany. I know of no other classes of British stepped hydroplanes. These will all be 1/6th scale as they're all around 12-13 ft. long. I'll probably put the same motors in them eventually. The Darby is well advanced and has a Speed 400, but I may go brushless. Any suggestions for a cheap Brushless/ESC combo will be welcome for, say, 3S Li-Pos. it would be good to see these period boats all racing together. I also plan to make reverse clinker Singer cadet and a Percy See Bugatti engined boat for which I have plans. I'm hoping to get a response from the current keepers of Berylla II about measuring that, too, since it also uses a Lea Francis engine, like the Whippet.
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Help with a 4BA prop
    Hi all, just measure the shaft in my Chris-Craft and blowed if it ain't 4BA thread on a 3.5mm shaft. Can't change it as it's well buried in the hull, but I don't have any props with a 4BA thread. Does anyone have any spare 2 or three blade props of about 30-35mm diameter with a 4BA thread. I'm sure somebody must have one tucked away somewhere and I could always do a bit of modelmaking by way of a swappsy. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    I was just searching for a model car pattern I made months ago for some mods and I found all the lovely etchings I'd done years ago, pre computer, for Riva and Chris-Craft models. These two pics show two brass patterns for the Riva vents and two of the white metal cast vents, one polished about 20 years ago, one done just now, to show that a well burnished casting will stay looking chrome even without lacquer. Then the two
    chris craft
    tread plates I had the great, good forethought to draw when I found I had a bit of space on the Riva fret. They are perfect, as are the Chris-Craft side flashes and all the Riva badges, even though they were done from hand drawn artwork, proving that Vector images are NOT essential as the pootah people will tell you. I shall mount these two on the typically wedge shaped base and have them cast. I also found a FUEL engraved cap cover which will go on my Chris-Craft filler. it happens to be bang on size wise! I'm cock ahoop! I knew I had these, but had no idea where to start looking. Thanks Mel for getting me started on the search for your Tecno F2 car, but sorry, couldn't find that devil. I have made some more Vincent bits, been to son's to play on his new steering wheel and pedals racing game ( I managed a whole lap of the proper Silverstone in a Lotus 25!) and dined out with the lady wife. What a great day. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    A return to the hobby!
    Hi and welcome to the forum. Yup, SLEC are good guys. They're within a pleasant car toodle from me. I have a set of Crash Tender fittings from them since they bought out the Vintage Model Boat Company. Sea Commander is a lovely boat and all the Aerokits are good performers. I have several. Good to see another Chris-Craft builder on here. The world needs more woody fans! Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    I also enjoy restorations, Colin...just as much. Every challenge is different. This
    chris craft
    is a restoration of an Aerokits Sea Urchin that cost me all of 99p. on ebay! But then i thought it would be better made up as a single cockpit smaller runabout, hence the
    chris craft
    with the steeply tumblehomed stern. My son has an Aerokits PTB and my other son has a Sea Rover. I also have a Sea Urchin and a Veron Veronica yacht, so yes, I do like the restoration of old items. I have a pre War Marblehead in the loft too! I've never been interested in the big ships and service vessels. Only inshore sailing fishing boats and classic speedboats. If I can help you out with any info or techniques, let me know. I have a lot of books on woodies and years as a professional modelmaker to call upon. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Simply superb, you're right about the bits and classic speed boats, but in the model world I think there the best, our best seems likely to be the Fairey range of boats but although quite quick still rather blockish. I have deep respect for modellers who are able to produce such exquisite examples. My humble efforts give me great enjoyment as most of my work involves renovation of old forgotten models when my arthritis let's me. Cheers Colin.
    6 years ago by Colin H
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Colin, these are to fit in with my
    chris craft
    , which is roughly 1/8th scale, so they just look right. I don't have any dimensions as there are no
    chris craft
    Special Race Boats in Britain. Not that anyone would dare to question you anyway as nobody gives a toss about classic speedboats over here. We never had those types of boats. The Thames had one or two nice Brookes and slipper launches, but our attempts at speed were never as elegant as the Yanks and were all a bit boxy and unembelished and generally sat upon by authorities who didn't like speed, except at Windermere and Oulton Broad and they were mainly outboard powered with one or two exceptions in aluminium, and paint. Mahogany was strictly for furniture for the English. I will get all these bits cast and will have spares, so if you need any that are among my bits, just holler and I'll see what I can do. May have to charge for metal weight, but that's about it, as I will have to pay for that, even if I can get the bits squeezed in other peoples' moulds. I reckon you could use these on a 1/12th scale model without any doubt being caused. Most boats used two of those vents. A couple of cleats, a light/cum staff holder and screen supports, which I'm also doing but haven't got a picture of. That will comprise left and right, short and central, longer. The glass will slide in cast in grooves. A filler and steering wheel and instruments finish it off. Can't do a bow piece as they are all different and must fit the boat exactly. That's down to you and you can only foil that for the chrome look. Just wait till I have to do some of these! Ain't they gorgeous? Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Super job, I could do with a dozen in 1/12th scale what size would I need to make them, please can you post a sketch with sizes and your scale, I can rescale them. Cheers Colin.
    6 years ago by Colin H
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Here's the bear's claw vent. I got a piece of 1/8th" brass this morning and between chores managed to knock this up. The flange around the edge has to be removed. it only appears under the webs at the front. They are merely sawn and filed into the 1/8th", which is then soldered to a piece of the 0.8mm sheet and then filed up. Greatest care required to get the slight spine down the centre, which is hardly there on the real one, never mind the model. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Leaking Boat!
    NPJ, Dust isn't a problem until you come to refinishing. Do it all outside. I always spray outside and still do it up wind. Sprayed cellulose grey primer on my Crash Tender on Saturday and primer and off white enamel on my
    chris craft
    yesterday in a breeze, so stood upwind of it and all was well. Also rubbed down cellulose sanding sealer, dry. Dust just blew away. There's always a way round stuff. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Nah, I was being facetious, Doug. But thanks for the nice words. No heavier than brass and not a problem. Resin would be slightly lighter, but wouldn't be the right colour and would be very weak, especially the screen supports and cleats. As it happens, I do know someone who casts resin. He's doing the crew for the Crash Tender. I'm waiting for my son-in-law to come over and get up in the loft and sort through my boxes of stuff to see if the Supermarine is up there. My knees are not really up to climbing ladders and kneeling once up there, whereas he'd do it even if it hurt! Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Full size!? 😁 Respect!πŸ‘ From the look of your models I must agree thoughπŸ‘ Photographed out of any scale context who'd know they weren't the real McCoy? Cheers Doug 😎 BTW: Found that Supermarine yet? BTW2: Won't white metal be a bit on the heavy side? Can your chum do resin casting as well?
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Mine almost are, Doug . Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    An' if you want it to look like a real one - build a real one!😁😁
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    If you want it to look like metal, use metal. That alclad is OK, but still looks like paint to me and having to do it in black first (and that coat has to be perfect apparently) is too much of a faff for me. Hammer, as you can see from the response (or lack of it) taking more pictures (never easy for my shit camera) would hardly be warranted and the description says it all really. I have a few more to take, or rather the wife can take em with her Klevafone for me. Filler and cap, exhaust outlet and windscreen supports have been added. Just the bear paw vent to go when I get a bit of 1/8th" through the post. I have 1/8th", but it's that horrible yellow gooey stuff, so I've splashed out on a small bit of CZ120, hard brass. Also called leaded, silicon or engravers' brass. MUCH better to cut and shape. The equivalent for rod, strip and section is CZ 121, extruded. These will all be available to buy once my chum has cast them in white metal and then you just have to burnish with a crewel needle (darning) and you have chrome (lacquer to taste). Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Very good a few more photos of the forming would have been nice. I have seen brass covered in soft solder to make it shine, but not for me.
    6 years ago by hammer
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Is it a silver finish you want? or chrome finish, if chrome is what you want, try ALCLAD paints, saw them at Telford IPMS show last November, and decided to try some on a club 500, you have to spray the base coat of black, and then the candy silver over it, really gives it a chrome more than silver finish, I think you can get it on Ebay, not expensive and worth a goπŸ‘ Peter😊
    6 years ago by Rookysailor
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Leaf is a bit fragile. Bare Metal Foil is less so, but still a bit difficult to use, but Sellotape aluminium is good stuff, especially as it's self adhesive and the glue doesn't show, whereas foiling with thinner (Kit Kat wrapper) foils and leaf glue can show the glue if you're not careful. For something like a cutwater, Sellotape would be ideal as it isn't being asked to round anything too extreme, but yet it is tougher for that application. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Hi, I've used the silver and gold leaf from local cake making supplier, apparently used on wedding decorations but works on models as well. Cheers Colin.
    6 years ago by Colin H
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Interesting Mark, πŸ‘ I'll have a sniff round my local art supplies shop. Can get a variety of woods, profiles, stains, lacquer and resins an' such there as well! Cheers, Doug 😎
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    have used silver leaf before (not on a model )and it works very well on curved surfaces use gum arabic as a base and apply the siver with a soft brush ,silver and gold leaf are not as expensive as you would think and a little book goes a long way .Cheers Marky
    6 years ago by marky
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Thanks Martin, I'll look out for thatπŸ‘ 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 yetπŸ˜‰ I recently found on the Krick site some chrome "Racing Paint for Polycarbonate Body's" made by Ghiant Aerosols 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
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Best for our purposes, Doug, would be Sellotape aluminium tape. it's self adhesive and very malleable so can be persuaded round all sorts of shapes. I am currently foiling a 1/48th scale Airfix Lightning jet, my favourite Cold War jet. Yes, even I make up the occasional kit and it IS a belter. But silver paint won't do, so I use all sorts of cooking foil, turkey foil, Kit Kat wrappers, etc. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Now THAT'S an ideaπŸ‘ Never thought of covering (plating!?) with ally foil! Must give it a go. Doug 😎
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    These are going to be cast in white metal as near to pewter as damn it, so you can burnish them to a nice chrome finish. Then lacquer. I'll turn you some Perspex innards for the light and you can put some clear coloured paint over the Perspex. There's just the bow piece to go, but I can't have the cutwater cast, so that will have to be either aluminium or foil covered brass as it needs to be thin. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Platinum or white gold?😁😁😁 Seriously though folks!πŸ˜‰ I'm first in the queue for a set Martin πŸ‘ OK, I'll settle for rhodium😁
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Brass bashin'
    chris craft
    deck fittings...
    Here are the finished items. Off to the caster now. White metal next. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Martin's Taycol Conversion Boards
    Been brass bashing
    chris craft
    deck fittings while the Vincent Milliput is setting. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Response
    Chris-Craft Special Runabout
    The first brushed coat of primer, rubbed down and another coat sprayed, so I'm not wasting time rubbing down brush strokes. A little filling with one shot putty and a final fine paper rub down and we'll be on with the red enamel for the bottom colour. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Old Futaba servo wiring...
    Hi all, just finding gear to put in my Sea Hornet, aka
    chris craft
    Special Racer Runabout and I find a Futaba FD16 M servo which appears to be OK, but I have a nagging voice telling me that Futaba servos are wired differently? It has white, red, black in that order. Is that OK for plugging into a modern receiver? Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Mahogany in Scale
    Gents, just put the Sea Hornet in the build blog section, but whether it gets seen or not, I don't know. If the IC engine is an easy runner, Colin, run it on a water where the turds can't stop you. A navigable river or canal or just run the bugger till someone can prove (PROVE, mind) that you can't. Then just run it till the fuel runs out, reluctantly apologise and leave. BTW, I won't be showing video of this as I have no mobile phone beyond an emergency one that don't do pictures of any kind. I have a video camera somewhere that has dead batteries and a power pack, but where I sail there ain't no power! Doug, would the ED aerial be more like 27 meg if it was 6 foot long? I think it gets damned close to his ceiling if you try to put it up at home. So, chaps, Sea Hornet/Chris-Craft Special Runabout over on the Build blog section ifn you'm interested. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Response
    Chris-Craft Special Runabout
    I should, perhaps, have said that this hull with its shaft and tube, but nowt else cost me a grand 99 pence on ebay a couple of years back. You won't find anything worth having for 30 times that now! Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Blog
    Chris-Craft Special Runabout
    OK, you know and I know that this is an Aerokits Sea Hornet, BUT, with a little reworking, it becomes a very passable
    chris craft
    Special (sometimes Custom) Runabout. One cockpit, long engine deck. I think it suits the Sea Hornet shape and proportions very well. Generally, I think too much is expected to be going on with a basic Hornet and the deck furniture is too simplistic. Also, don't be tempted to call this one a barrel back They had one continuous curve right over the transom from chine to chine, whereas this hull and the Special Runabout had a break, albeit a small one at the deck level. Anyway, I redecked the Hornet with 1/16th" ply, leaving the engine hatch long. I also had to make a small hatch at the stern to service the tiller and its connection. Then I realised I would never be able to get to the two starboard screws that hold the steering servo in, so a wee hatch went in over them too. That will be held in with a small magnet and just popped up from inside the engine 'ole hatch. Because the hull needed filling and various repairs, I decided to paint it, but veneer plank the deck. many Chris-Crafts were painted and I think this one in a nice off-white with a varnished Mahogany and pear deck will look just the job with nickel plated deck furniture, made in brass and nickel silver and plated in nickel to look like chrome in scale. Chrome is a) difficult to get these days and b) too bright and garish on a model. The hull has been epoxied and rubbed down then brush panted heavily with cellulose primer surfacer. This rubs down a treat ready for a sprayed enamel top coat or three. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Mahogany in Scale
    Maybe I should write one, eh, Colin? For the scratchbuilders among us. A treatise on brass bashing and woodwork. Nobody would be interested. I've just epoxied my Sea Hornet, which I'm modifying as a
    chris craft
    Custom Runabout. One cockpit, big hatch. Cost me 99p off ebay a few years ago. I just had to scrape all the old red paint off it as it wanted to fall off anyway! Then a huge rub down, a wipe with cellulose thinner and a coat of epoxy applied with a square of styrene sheet because I couldn't find an old credit card on the quick, just as good though. Next, rub down and 2 coats of cellulose primer surfacer, then the top coats. This one is to be one of the painted CCs. There were quite a few. But the deck will be veneered in the correct style and varnished. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    Cheap motor for a quick fit, but what prop gents?...
    Hia ll, I want to fit a drill motor to the Chris-Craft (basically a modified Aerokits Sea Hornet). I want a quick fit, to use with my existing ESCs. I can get a motor for a fiver. I have a shaft, can make couplings, but what size prop would you suggest for such a motor and boat? I want to stay within around 20 Amps for the ESC's sake. I ask only that the boat lifts a bit. Most woodies were not actually that quick, they just looked it. Thanks for any advice. I can make almost anything, but have little or no experience of working models. Cheers, Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    So, why not woodies?...
    A valid point, Brian, but many woodies were painted. Chris-Craft red and whites for instance. But veneers can be used for the "planks" over plywood shapes. That's how I made my Riva models. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Response
    Dumas Chris-Craft Cobra
    Very nice job, luvly woodwork πŸ‘πŸ‘ At first I thought that was a swan sitting on the hatch in the first pic😲😁 Cheers, Doug 😎
    6 years ago by RNinMunich
    Media
    Dumas Chris-Craft Cobra
    Model is 28” long weighs 7lbs. Hull covered with 2 oz. fiberglass cloth deck covered with 3/4 oz. fiberglass cloth and resin finished with spar varnish. Power is MACK 5045 motor and 2 6 volt x 3000 nimh packs.
    6 years ago by Mikep
    Forum
    Inspiration for beautiful boat builders ;-)
    Not enough woodies in the model boat world. Just loads of kit built Dumas
    chris craft
    s and Amati Rivas with the Timossi Hydro (NOT Ferrari) thrown in. When you consider how many gorgeous woodies of every kind there are and have been that seems to say loud and clear that people won't/can't/don't make anything from scratch any more. Many woodies could be made by adapting the kits made by various companies or the plans sets sold by the Rowell family. Ditchburn, Minet-Shields, Peterborough, Hackercraft, Dodge,
    chris craft
    , Greavette, Gar Wood, Lyman, Century, Seabird, Richardson.....gentleman's racers, racers, runabouts, sedans, commuters, utilities. So many gorgeous chrome detailed varnished mahogany hot rods, yet so few are ever modelled. I have dozens of plans, so they are available. Very strange. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay
    Forum
    1940
    chris craft
    Are building a runabout or cabin cruiser as shown?
    6 years ago by Ronald
    Forum
    1940
    chris craft
    Chris-Craft runabouts were around 30 knots, especially that style, so a fair speed and would plane, whereas the craft in the picture would appear to be a cabin cruiser which would probably be around 12 knots at best and certainly not plane. Martin
    6 years ago by Westquay


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