Blog

The well deck floor & sides.

The ‘box’ of the prototype I’m building is made of balsa wood, later production models are produced in ply and have the planking lines laser etched on the floor panels, and as balsa doesn’t take stain particularly well I have used separate obeche panels to line the box internally that can be finished with the Teak stain that I’m using. This does, however, mean that I can apply the deck lines using a black indelible marker pen and incorporate some detail lines around the motor housing. I started by cutting and shaping two obeche panels that join along the centre line of the deck and fit neatly around the motor mount and prop-shaft, then I used some tracing paper over the panels to make a test pattern for the planking lines. When I was happy with the layout of the lines I first applied two coat of Teak stain to the panels, and when that was dry I used a .8mm pen to mark the deck lines, the ink takes a while to dry fully and I found it all too easy to smudge some lines 😡 which had to be very quickly taken off with a dampened cotton bud and re-applied. After 24 hours the ink had fully dried and was impervious to smudging and resistant to removal by any means (except a solvent). The floor panels were then glued down to the balsa floor with an even spread of aliphatic glue and weighted down over all of the area as there was a tendency for the panels to curl and lift. Each side panel was made in one piece and then separated into two parts to make the fitting easier, the join will be covered with a vertical detail strip, and they were also stained before being glued and clamped in place. No lining detail was applied to the side panels as I’ll do this with other surface applied pieces later but only in the area outside of the cabin. All the panels were given a couple of of satin lacquer to enhance and protect the finish.

5 years ago by robbob

Forum

Planking

To make the hull water tight I use a product called z-poxy it's a 2 part product mixed in hardener and resin of the same amounts and I use a layer of fibber cloth and them the z-poxy smooth as best you can about 30 min. time to use and then let harden over night at least 24 hours and them you can sand and finish with filler if needed or some more of z-poxy sanding after each coat. Rick

5 years ago by Newby7

Forum

Painting over epoxy

I have used several Halfords Aerosol 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 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

Painting the hull – Part 1 primer & anti fouling.

There’s no putting it off any longer, I need to start painting the hull before I do any more on the boat so the hull was given a final rub down with a fine abrasive and then the deck and gunwales carefully masked off. I used some panel wipe to thoroughly de-grease all the surfaces and then put the hull in the ‘spray booth’ on my turntable and applied two of Halfords grey primer. I left this for a couple of days to dry and harden off before setting it on my bench. The next stage involves levelling the hull fore and aft and side to side so that the waterline can be established. Fortunately the well deck floor is meant to be perfectly level when the boat is afloat and at rest and this is the datum I used to level to using a couple of spirit levels. The rough waterline points were measured off the plan and transferred to the hull to be used as approximate starting points for the waterline. For my previous build I bought a self-levelling laser to indicate the waterline so this was brought out for the same purpose. The laser level was placed on another workbench a couple of metres away and gradually raised with packing pieces until the projected line agreed with the rough position marks I’d made on the hull and then finely adjusted until the line was correct and pencil marks made at intervals along the projected line. The process was repeated for the other side of the hull and then also marked across the stern, fortunately the stern line and bow markings joined up accurately confirming that the levelling was spot on. Good quality low tack masking tape was then applied all around the hull and the area above the line masked off with a couple of layers of newspaper. The exposed hull was then keyed with a fine Scotchbrite type pad and cleaned off with panel wipe before two of Halfords red oxide primer applied as the anti-fouling.

5 years ago by robbob

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 aerosol 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 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

Detailing the deck.

Some obeche coaming strips were added to the insides of the well deck and a piece was added at the rear which notches into the side coamings, this required shaping to the curvature of the deck so I wound some masking tape around a pencil to the required diameter and marked a line on the coaming to sand the profile down to. This piece won’t be fixed in place until I have added some internal detail in the rear of the well deck. Some thin strip was fitted along the sides of the deck which form part of the ‘treads’ that run the length of the cabin sides, these were glued and pinned in place after the edges and ends were rounded. At this point I applied some ‘Antique Pine’ stain to the bulwarks, rubbing fenders and deck strips. The position of the treads that run along the deck for the length of the cabin sides were marked by taking a measurement from the plan and transferring this to the deck strips. The tread angle from the plan was determined to be 68 degrees using a digital angle finder (another little bargain find in Lidl for less than a tenner 👍👍) and position marks pencilled on the deck. I chose to mark and apply these treads as per the model that is in the National Maritime Museum which I’m following to recreate my version of the Police Launch. These ‘photos have been very helpful in detailing this model. They can be seen here: https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/67590.html I used some temporary spacer strips along the cabin sides and deck strips and then cut and shaped each tread individually to fit in the desired positions, all the treads were fixed using a couple of dots of superglue making sure that no glue got onto the deck surface as CA and aliphatic glue does affect the way the obeche accepts the wood stain as I discovered when I did some ‘colour tests’ earlier. The whole deck was then given a very light rub down with a fine abrasive pad before the first of several of ‘Teak’ stain was applied. The contrasting colours of the Antique Pine and Teak stain works well on this model and is in keeping with the wood colours of the NMM model that I’m using as a reference. EDIT…..I have just noticed that the digital angle finder and digital callipers are back on sale at Lidl on 3rd of March for £9.99 each…….still a bargain 😁👍 https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/MiddleofLidl.htm?articleId=20539

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Painting

I must admit that the painting process is not my favourite. it takes so long and time is always at a premium due to work commitments. I rush it a bit so that the build can continue. I fitted all of the windows into the deck structure and covered them with the low tack film. I then primed, two , painted, two followed by two of lacquer. I am quite pleased with the results even though it is not perfect. I decided not to fit the deck until all of the electronics, including the ESC, battery and receiver had been installed. This is because one of the big problems with this model is the lack of room to work in once the deck is in place. Another problem I encountered was the fitting of the tiller cranks onto the rudders. if the instructions are followed, it is almost impossible the adjust or remove them once the deck has been fitted. I solved the problem by reversing the cranks and bending the connecting wire to miss a bulkhead support. The screws can now be reached from the deck opening. I have now completed the majority of the painting and have started to assemble the remaining parts. Currently I am doing the wiring of the lighting and making a couple of circuit boards. There are a lot of wires involved so to reduce the amount I have decided to us e a common negative. (Cannot remember what this is called right now). There are still a lot of wires and they are mostly coming out from the cabin structure. I have decided to introduce some nine pin connectors to make cabin removal a lot easier. This is quite a big job and will take a little while. I really enjoy this bit. The results add that little bit of extra satisfaction when it all works as it should.🤓 The top search light assembly came as a bit of a surprise. it is manufactured from nickel silver plate and requires soldering together. Even though I am a precision engineer, I have not soldered a box since I was at school. Once I stopped burning my fingers with the heat, I quite enjoyed the assembly even though it would have been useful to have an extra hand and took the best part of today to complete.😤 I can honestly say that I have enjoyed most of this build and even though earlier on I was thinking to avoid Aero-naut models in the future, I have changed my mind. They are very cleverly designed. I expect to complete this model some time in March. That would be the first for me to complete in recent times even though I have two others on the go and one new one in its box ready for a Summer start.😊

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Blog

Building the Cabin. Part 2

Before the front window panels can be added to the cabin structure they need to be shaped to follow the curvature of the front deck as much as possible and then glued together with a reinforcing strip on the back of the joint. Unfortunately I made an error 😡 when shaping and jointing the parts and had to make some new panels from some thin ply that I had to hand using the old panels as a template, hence the roughly cut window apertures in the ‘photos. This was unfortunate but I feel better for the confession 🙏. The new window panel was then glued and pinned to the front of the cabin assembly and left to dry while in the meantime I used my hot air gun to heat and bend the roof panel to the correct curvature. The roof panel was then pinned and glued in place on the cabin framework and when dry was trimmed with a small plane and the front window panel trimmed down to the roof profile. I added some additional framing and bracing pieces at the base of the front window panels and a ‘shelf’ which will form part of the dashboard inside the cabin. I also added some extra framing and an end panel at the rear of the roof and a thin square bead was fitted around the base of the cabin sides and front to improve the appearance where the cabin meets the deck. Before adding further detail to the cabin I used some Z-Poxy finishing resin on the roof panel to strengthen it and provide a better surface for the paint finish which comprised of one coat of white primer, two of gloss ‘Appliance White’ and two of gloss lacquer, all with a thorough rub down between. When all the paint had dried and hardened I gave the exterior of the cabin a first coat of ‘Antique Pine’ stain. Next I will add some detail to the deck.

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Rubbing fenders, more epoxy & hatch coamings.

With all of the deck planking fitted I can now fix the rubbing fenders to the hull where the deck meets the hull sides. These are made from 6.5mm x 5mm obeche strip steamed and bent to shape and fixed with 30 minute epoxy, unfortunately the strips are not quite long enough to do this in one piece even with the rear rubbing fender in place at the stern so a join has to be made which I hope won’t be too conspicuous. The fender tapers in height from bow to stern and the piece that runs across the stern was made from 5mm x 5mm obeche. All the fenders were ‘pilot drilled’ for the pins that held them in place while the glue set. The complete hull was then given a further two of epoxy resin with a rub down between and a final ‘polish’ with 240 grit paper used wet. The resulting finish is perfectly smooth and ready for paint. The front and rear hatches were fitted with the coamings that will hold the hatches in place. The rotary disk sander that I bought from Lidl is certainly proving to be very useful in shaping small parts at this stage of the construction. I note that it’s back on sale now (Feb 2019) so if you have the opportunity and £30 ….go buy yourself one! The next stage will be to assemble the cabin.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

The deck planking.

Hi Mike. I chose to use .8mm black plasticard after doing a test pieces with it and comparing it with another using card and I found the plasticard far easier to cut and fix, and it trims very neatly with a sharp chisel. No special primer required at all, the obeche strip is stained with several of teak water based stain and finished with a couple of of satin acrylic lacquer. It was great to meet you at Ally Pally on Saturday and compare notes on Crash Tenders, I hope you enjoyed your day out to London. Very Best. Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Fitting the rubbing strakes.

Before I can apply the final of epoxy on the hull I need to fit the two rubbing strakes. I started with the bottom rubbing strake which runs along the chine where the side skins and bottom skins meet. The strakes meet the external keel at the bow and also extend across the stern. I used a length of square section of obeche which needed a gentle curve towards the bow, rather than steam the wood I soaked it in water for a few minutes to soften it and then used a heat gun while bending the strip gently to the required curve. When the wood had cooled and dried the bend was set I did a test fit and drilled very fine holes through the strip so that the modelling pins I use to hold the piece in place would not split the wood. A 30 minute epoxy was used to fit the strakes on both sides of the hull and stern. Above this bottom strake is a second rubbing strake and this also meets the keel at the bow and runs across the stern, I used a broader and thinner obeche strip for this and it was prepared and fixed in the same way. The final pieces to fit will be the gunwales which run around the hull where the sides meet the deck but I will not fit them until I have planked the deck.

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

Glassfibre cloth & epoxy resin

I used glassfibre cloth and epoxy resin successfully when building my 46” RAF Crash Tender and I chose to do the same with the Police Boat. See: https://model-boats.com/builds/view/23951 for the Crash Tender blog. The application of the cloth and resin serves to strengthen the hull enormously and produces a completely watertight hull, and after additional of resin are applied and sanded between resulting in a surface that is absolutely smooth and the perfect substrate for the subsequent paint process. With the benefit of my previous experience and greater confidence working with these materials I used a ‘fast’ hardener with the resin which gives a working time of 30 minutes and a much shorter curing time where previously I had used a 90 minute ‘slow’ hardener. The basic process is to cut the cloth roughly to shape with a good margin of overlap and then use masking tape along one edge so that after the resin has been brushed onto the hull the cloth can just be lifted over onto the resin. I then lightly brush the cloth into the resin and push the cloth into any tight angles, without any further resin on the brush, until the weave of the cloth is filled and there are no air pockets and the cloth is completely flat. At this point DO NO MORE as the resin will start to harden and any more fiddling with it will cause the cloth to lift and bubble, less is definitely more in this instance. The resin should cure completely overnight and can be trimmed with a sharp blade. I tend to cover a hull in five stages, as there are five ‘faces’ to the hull and thus it’s a five day process for me, this may be time consuming but I think the results are worth the effort. I will brush on two further of resin when the rubbing strakes and gunwales have been added, this will completely fill the weave of the cloth to create a nice flat surface but it’s essential to rub down each coat after curing. All the materials were bought from ‘Easy Composites’ https://www.easycomposites.co.uk

5 years ago by robbob

Forum

riva

Given that the inner core of the riva is some sort of plastic (onto which the planks are laid and glued), and given that the one shown has some 15 of clear epoxy and varnish, it is quite well sealed. And stable in our experience. I should have mentioned that you may be carving out space for the electronics and motors as well. (I say "may" because it has been a few years, and my memory is not photographic...)

5 years ago by bustedknuckles

Response

Excelsior

Hi Joe, In answer to your queries, Hull was built in the bread and butter system using deal sealed inside and out with of yacht varnish and painted using acrylic. Subsequent models of Wherries and Chinese Junks were plank on frame using 1/8” balsa strips sealed with resin,varnish inside and out, with again acrylic paint. Balsa easier to work with to gain experience - reasonable effectiveness both in carvel and clinker planking. All the best and good sailing. Gascoigne

5 years ago by Gascoigne

Blog

Rear deck continued

The rear deck has a few features that need to be done to finish the deck. 1) The hatch part needs the magnets putting in to hold it in place, which requires the deck to be milled out to accept the magnets. Having milled the recess out in both the base and the hatch in four places the magnets can be epoxied in the base. Now these have been set in place the upper magnets can be placed on top of the base magnets to get the correct orientation and glued in place, but I made sure to place some silicon baking paper between the magnets so they don’t accidently get stuck together (with epoxy). 2) The handles and recess to lift the decks out have to be milled out. Using a 2 mm slot drill I cut a 10mm x 5mm 1.5 mm deep recess in 4 places. Each recess has two holes drilled in the corners to accept the brass handles which will be epoxied in later 3) There are two drains at the rear of the deck. These were made from a machined piece of tube, which had vee groves milled in one end to accept a 1.5 mm brass rod in each, which were then soldered in place. After some cleaning up of the excess solder the underside was filled in using epoxy resin coloured black (with Graphite) to simulate a dark hole. The ends were then machined flat, polished, and finally epoxied into the deck. 4) Finally the foam tanks need to be secured, once again using round magnets this time , they are sunk into the deck and similarly the opposing magnets are sunk into the base of each foam tank, this gives a real sturdy fastening the tanks jump into position as soon as they are placed near their position. 5) The deck has had a number of clear lacquer during manufacture so now for a couple of final .

5 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

Pretend deck planking

Hi I use popular ply for construction and decking it is much lighter than birch but is much stronger than light ply . The decking is a light straw colour and of very close uniform grain one coat of danish oil 'can be applied with a soft brush if you are worried about rags washed out with turps use dividers to measure plank widths use biro for curved planks use a wheeled block device as per the yacht books to follow deck edge apply several of oil burnish with fine Scotchbrite Cheers Ian

5 years ago by TOWN3810

Forum

Pretend deck planking

PLEASE TRY BIRO PEN AFTER SEALING WITH DANISH OIL THEN FURTHER OF OIL TO FINSH

5 years ago by TOWN3810

Blog

Tow hook assembly

The white metal fitting has an awful lot of detail on it but lacks definition so some time spent on filling the body to better define the components. The anchor part has six hex dummy bolts cast into the base but I intend to drill these out and then use 8BA brass bolts to secure it to the woodwork. Looking at pictures of the assembly it is obvious that there is a handle arrangement missing so I made this from a piece of brass wire and epoxied in place. The two parts have a linkage to fasten them together so again using brass wire and a piece of scrap tube a linkage was made and holes drilled and tapped to secure the assembly. Finally, a couple of of primer followed by a “Gun Metal” finish and the items are finished. A pleasing result, however taking some time to do, now for the circular running rail, and supporting posts to complete this unit.

5 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

Vanishing

Hi All Hot weather, so two of sealer and two of matt vanish. Deck finished and onto the wheelhouse. Canabus

5 years ago by canabus

Blog

Deck Planking

Hi All Finished the deck, so a few of wood sealer and matt vanish in the next week. Canabus

5 years ago by canabus

Response

aeronaut classic

Thankyou, I varnished it seven times and flattened between . I’m sure yours will come out fine, just take your time. My Dad has the Diva, he fitted a Brusless inrunner and that runs lovely. They are all great models in that range. I’m going to build another, just can’t decide which one lol

5 years ago by Sifi70

Media

new oscar

no longer available from Harbor models given to me by Norm Rusinow oar propelled East Dory

6 years ago by woody

Media

more money than sense

last pictures l posted l painted the wave princess l changed my mind and decided to go for some planking on the decks and cabin roofs l have also done a little bit of tarting up using some brass welding rod and brass tube l am quite pleased with the out come so far. these piccys are about a month old now so she has had a god rub down and given six of clear varnish. l will post more piccys when l have installed the windows and frames.

6 years ago by jimdogge

Response

Spraying Again.......

Mornin' Peter, Red primer can be a good match for some anti-fouling paints. If you are happy with the colour - fine. BUT!! Seal the primer paint with several thin of matt or silk clear varnish for the reasons mentioned to Neville above! Primer is porous!! Flatten the primer with 1000 / 1500 wet n dry until your fingertips tell you the surface is good. Apply the varnish in several thin , flattening lightly with 2000 / 3000 w&d between , until you have a good sealed surface. The varnish (or lacquer) will also give some extra protection against knocks and bangs 😊 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Pretend deck planking

Hi I seal first one coat of Danish Oil then i use Biro pen and finish with several of oil The Biro does not fade over time but it does if varnish is used Cheers Ian T

6 years ago by TOWN3810

Response

Spraying Again.......

Hi Neville, Check out my Sea Scout 'Jessica' renovation blog for how to achieve good paint finish! 'Wet n dry' is the ONLY way to go. Right from the priming stage. it stops the 'riding' you describe and the generation of flying dust which is anathema to any paint or varnish finish, but you do have to clean and re-wet the paper and the object you are sanding from time to time!!! Any mistakes at that stage will carry through to the top and still be visible 😡 Don't quite understand how you created 'mouths'. I'm wondering if you sprayed too close and/or too heavy!? Your apparently exorbitant paint consumption seems to hint at this🤔 For the record; I started with 240 on the primer/filler for my Sea Scout and worked up through 400, 600, 1000, and 2000 and 3000 for the final top and deck varnish. All 'Wet', with a few drops of liquid soap added at the top coat stages, i.e. from the 1000 stage. At the end I polish with a mild cutting polish 'Anti hologram' they call it here, from the auto industry. Tedious I agree and a generous dollop of patience is required (the 'Secret ingredient' I have often mentioned here 😉 But when you see the result it warms the cockles and makes it all worthwhile.😊 Happy spraying, cheers, Doug 😎 BTW; for the blue on my Sea Scout hull I used a 400ml rattle can for several (more than three in the end) and there's still some left ! BTW2; For masking I use Tamiya tape for nice crisp edges. Fill in behind that with 'normal' fine masking tape and newspaper.

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Spraying Again.......

Hi there, the filler primer used on a car would normally cover a front wing with 3, so going by your Hull size it was about the right amount, 300ml primer would normally have given 2 so again about right. Although I usually try doing very light mist with 20 minutes between not allowing the paint to harden between allows the paint to bond better. When rubbing down between top I prefer to use 1200 wet and dry, wet in frequently, and the final rub down with 2500 wet and dry before finally polishing. This is my preferred method, but other methods will still work. Cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Blog

Spraying Again.......

Well had a break of a few weeks, now back on the job. So now have a Red Oxide boat rather than Yellow one……………… Although these next stages are a bit ‘ samey’, I have learnt a few things as it happens. For example, I had put three of the Halfords filler/primer on a couple of days before I had a break. Now when I left it all looked dry, well covered and ‘solid’. When I came back to it some weeks later the longer drying period had shown up some gaps. Well not gaps actually but ‘mouths’ where tissue I had overlapped had pulled apart slightly. interesting, easily fixed with some 240 grit sanding, showing that the drying period is longer than it would appear. At least for filler/primer which is a much thicker substance than just spray paint. With the sanding, I had not appreciated the difference between the grades say from 240 upwards (or is it downwards) as my experience was with doorframes and floorboards. For the stage I am at, 240 and 400 seem very effective and leave a good surface. What I did find was how important dust becomes……………… The sandpaper rides on it (the powdery dust) and so becomes much less effective and I found brushing with a thin 2 inch brush worked well, using the vacuum cleaner to clear up later. I did try blowing it off with the heat gun but that put the dust up in the air too much. it is my intention to try ‘wet and dry’ approach for later and looking for a better answer when it comes to finishing . Another interesting discovery was coverage per rattle can. It may be my ‘beginner’ technique, but it seems to take a lot of paint. On this size of boat hull, 44inches (112cm) by 14 inches (36 cm), it took a 500ml rattle can of yellow filler/primer for three . For two of the red primer it took the whole of a 300ml can. Also discovered, using these ‘rattle cans’ for the first time, that the primer on its own comes out differently to the filler primer. This unsettled me for a minute or so but appreciate may be due to the different density so will be aware next time. Another issue that became obvious was…………..I must improve my ‘masking off’ ! So that is it so far. Next stage is - going to buy a couple more cans for the finishing , do a bath test, mark the white line point, more sanding down and then start applying the finishing . Any helpful comments will be much appreciated. NPJ

6 years ago by NPJ

Forum

Painting

Ah! I thought Fairey might prove the exception to the planking rule. Well, it'll look nice, that's for sure. Paint. I always use enamel and my local auto paint shop will make me 1/4 litre tins up, of HMG, which lasts a long time from a small spray gun. Failing that, Rustoleum do some lovely rattle cans in a range of colours that spray very well and are only just over a fiver a tin. One tin would do you if you're careful. I've just given my Darby One Design its second coat of blue after a rub down and I'm happy with that. Dries very quickly, but is a nice gloss. it is a bit thin, so be very careful how you spray. Better to do two than one thick one. But really, if you can get it, HMG is the best bar none. Worth hunting for. Paint, alas, just ain't cheap anymore. Would that we could get tins of Valspar or Japlac, eh? The proper original stuff. Plastikote was a good paint when it was an enamel, now it's acrylic water based muck. No coverage and reacts with itself, let alone owt else. I would be inclined, btw, to do that curved deck in veneer, so all your mistakes will be made before it goes on the boat. in which case, once the planks are made and fit bang on, go up the edges with a black marker pen. it will look like caulking when all is done. Good luck, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Painting

Dilute the stain before use and apply thinly.You can use additional if needed but you can't take it off if it's too dark.👍

6 years ago by onetenor

Forum

Painting

If you intend to stain the wood don't use sanding sealer first as the name suggests it seals so your stain won't take. as for simulated planking I suggest you sand the deck as smooth as possible (down to 1000 grit paper) and the using a scalpel type blade score the deck lines, but be careful as any slip will show on the final deck. After scoring the lines use a stain to rub over the deck and immediately remove the excess with a cloth, the stain will have more effect in the scores thus showing deck lines. When dry remove any excess with white spirit and leave to thoroughly dry, then sand again. This should leave you with a planked deck look which can now be sealed followed by of lacquer - Halfords do a clear lacquer. I suggest you try on a piece of scrap ply first. good luck

6 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

Paints

Hmm! Let's 'Cut to the chase'! First; I've never been on a ship, naval or civil, and I've been on a few during my 30 odd year career designing COMMS systems for ships, mostly naval, that used gloss paints OR matt paints. Matt paint, whether for scale or full size, rapidly shows the wear marks where folks tread or grab or where we habitually grab it on models. This rapidly creates a shiny effect, like the seat of your favourite, most comfortable and ancient trousers (which the Missus probably wanted to throw out years ago but you are fighting a REARguard action) 😁 During WW2 the emphasis was on reducing the reflectivity of paints on warships. Gloss on a ship / boat MAY not look any different from satin or matt at a distance BUT; it will reflect sunlight and flash which attracts attention and betrays the presence of the vessel. Furthermore gloss shows the wear and tear marks much sooner than satin. Whether matt paints were available or not in those days I don't know, but even if they were I don't think they would have been used after the initial durability tests on board. Having seen the paint part numbers, all BS381C xxx, specified on the Thornycroft 'blueprints' that Martin sent me, I would say that the paint colours you need Morkullen are RN Light Weatherworks grey BS381C 676 = Colour M01 RN Dark Admiralty grey BS381C 632 = Colour M16 RN Light Admiralty grey BS381C 697= Colour M23 See page 3 of the colour chart, see attached colour charts from Sovereign Hobbies for their Colour paints, which have been derived from original Admiralty paint chips.. Colour are enamel. If you prefer acrylic try Life Colour set CS33 Royal Navy WW2 Set 1. See page 6 of attached Life Colour catalogue. Happy painting, don't forget to post pics / vids of the results👍 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS have a look at the recent HMS Campbeltown 1/96 thread for further detail of the recent discussion on WW2 RN paints. BTW; if I feel after painting that the finish is still too glossy I give it a blast of Lord Nelson satin, or in extreme cases, matt clear varnish. Otherwise I agree with Reilly's comments👍

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Paints

I am a bit stuck as to what type of paints to use on my Thornycroft MTB. Do I use gloss or matt? What type of paint is suggested Acrylic, emulsion, etc? Who can supply - say - 250ml of any recommended paint as I will probably need to apply at least two . I have already applied sanding sealer and undercoat and now need finishing paints. One for under hull and t'other for topsides. Any suggestions for a supplier would be greatly appreciated.

6 years ago by Morkullen

Forum

Paints

I use Satin enamels as they are more durable than Matt finishes, especially on the hulls, but still go over them with clear matt enamel for realism. The 'scale' appearance is the consideration. From a distance a real boat even if finished with a gloss marine enamel would not look glossy. A WW2 boat such as an MTB would definitely have a Matt finish, and always 2 . Working models get scuffed in use.

6 years ago by reilly4

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Hi Doug So glad I went for Western Approaches colours (thanks for the suggestion).First couple of applied and I think it's starting to look pretty good, but as you know, I good at blowing my own trumpet. Got to decide where to put the coticene - I'm told that it is where there is any footfall. Any thoughts? Sorry about the quality of the picture. Steve

6 years ago by cormorant

Forum

Where's our mate?...

Hi peter, 'Deck Blue' changed a few times over the years, there are lighter and darker shades depending on the theatre of operations and if detection from the air was paramount or not. Later in the war, when the axis air forces were largely destroyed and the allies had overwhelming air superiority the emphasis moved to the vertical surfaces to confuse subs and the few remaining surface ships the axis had. Then the emphasis switched back to the horizontal surfaces when the Kamikaze attacks developed. So probably the lighter Pacific variant is what you need for USS Kid at the end of the war. You are lucky that Kidd has been preserved as a museum ship in her 'end of war' state 👍 if you Google USS Kidd I'm sure you'll find the museum site with more colour pics. Also, the display on different web sites will depend on many variables, for instance:- How the sample was photographed; white balance, colour balance, lighting; intensity and type - Kelvin temperature etc. How the photos are digitally interpreted and integrated in the web site. The times of 'The camera never lies' are unfortunately long over! Added to that is how your PC or Dumbphone/tablet displays the web site, similar problems;- Type of display, colour / contrast / brilliance settings etc etc. Power saving settings can affect these! If I were you I would use the Measure 22 scheme as shown on the colour pic and described on the Wiki page. That's apparently what the USN went back to when the kamikaze attacks started. Your basic choice is enamel = Colour , or Acrylic = LifeColor 😉 Personally, I would go for the 1944 dazzle scheme cos it's more interesting and unusual, but then I'm just NUTS! 😁 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS Hofbrauhaus is for the tourists! I've been there maybe three times in 38 years? Once on my very first visit to Munich in 1980, then, after I started working here in 1985, only with customers who insisted on going there. Too loud and expensive, there are many better, less touristic, ones in Munich. Prost allseits! PPS haven't been to the Oktoberfest for years for similar reasons! 30 years ago it was still fun, but not now 🤔

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Where's our mate?...

Evenin' Peter, Thanks 😉 Not quite 100% yet but getting there. Fit enough to answer your question I think, mainly cos I just bought a bunch of RN and USN paints meself😁 First off, have a shufti at this link, it details all 'Measures' up to # 23 near the end of the Pacific war. There's also a colour pic of USS Kidd wearing Measure 22 which was used on Destroyer Escorts (DE) at the time. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/World_War_II_ship_camouflage_measures_of_the_United_States_Navy In 1944 it was replaced by a Dazzle pattern on the Fletchers, Measure 32, similar to RN Western Approaches pattern, until 1945 when they reverted to Measure 22 but with the revised Haze Gray. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/World_War_II_US_Navy_dazzle_camouflage_measures_31,_32_and_33:_destroyers I also attach attach a colour chart from Sovereign Hobbies who took over the White Ensign Colour range of navy enamel paints. Have a look at page 6. They are made by Snyder & Short from authentic Navy Paint Chips apparently. I just bought a bunch of them in RN colours for my 'Plastic Magic' conversions. Get 'em here- https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/collections/colour-sea/american If you prefer acrylic have a look at the LifeColor Sets # CS24 and CS25 'US Navy WWII'. Chart and catalogue attached. get here for instance- https://www.waylandgames.co.uk/lifecolor-paint-sets/43947-us-navy-wwii-set-1 Happy painting, cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

1/24 crew figures

The figures I am looking for are for a Perkasa 1/24 scale MTB who usually wore white polo necked sweaters and duffle . they are very hard to find.

6 years ago by epmbcmember

Forum

St Canute Planking Help?

I agree with Doug. But the ezepoxy and glass cloth s necessary for strength. I have made the top cowling of my Darby stepped hydro of balsa to save top ham,per, but despite of sanding sealer the knocks keep coming and spoiling the surface, so you will need the epoxy/glass combo to get a good finish. And, of course St. Canute is a steel plated ship anyway, so you need a good hard surface to get a decant paint finish that won't show every tap and knock. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Hi Steve, I'll see what i can do. No promises as the range of Acrylics is somewhat more limited as far as Naval colours goes. One way out is to buy some Naval Paint Chips from Snyder & Short. http://www.shipcamouflage.com/royal_navy1.htm These are taken from the original chips of admiralty paints used to mix the Colour enamel colours. Enables mixing to suit from more basic 'standard' colours. Bit of 'mix it and see' involved. Testors acrylics may be a better bet. They do some Naval colours. Also recommended by the HMS Hood Association. For instance; this would be good for hull and upperworks https://www.hobbylinc.com/testors-model-master-507-c-light-gray-r-n-1:2-oz-hobby-and-model-acrylic-paint-4870 This for the decks? https://www.hobbylinc.com/testors-model-master-light-sea-gray-fs36307-1:2-oz-hobby-and-model-acrylic-paint-4759 There are also some excellent tips on painting scale warships here😉 http://www.hmshood.com/hoodtoday/models/tips/hoodpaint.htm I've just been studying this for my 1/350 Hood, and just ordered a batch of suitable Colour to paint her 'As Sunk' 😭 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Just had a look at the colours you suggest on the Colour chart and they would fit the bill. Looking at the Life Colour charts I can't see anything that's close. My ideal would be acrylics and I see you have a conversion chart for Tamiya, which I believe are acrylic. Can you convert M23 and RN06 please? Thanks. Steve

6 years ago by cormorant

Forum

HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale

Hi John, Attached is the old Colour Naval Paints chart form White ensign Models. it's based on original navy Paint Chips apparently. Of course precisely how the colours look on your device will depend on the settings of the display! But it gives you a comparison of the colours. Here's a brief history of Cambletown, ex Buchanan D131 if you want to build the USN version. https://www.wikiwand.com/en/HMS_Campbeltown_(I42) From this it can be seen the she operated either in the Western Approaches or on the West Africa convoy routes. So I think that Medium grey (RN02) is a bit dark, more suited to North Atlantic convoy duty perhaps? I would go for Light grey RN03 or M23 Light Admiralty grey for the hull and upperworks with Medium greenish grey RN06 for the decks. If you want to go 'Cammo pattern' the Western Approaches colours for this are also in the chart. The colour paints are now sold by Sovereign Hobbies https://www.sovereignhobbies.co.uk/collections/colour-sea/british I just bought a batch from their German dealer; NNT Modell 😊 Some may not be available (Discontinued) but we can probably find near equivalents; I have several 'conversion charts' for Revell, Humbrol, Tamiya etc. My dealer still had a few tins of a Discontinued colour so it's worth asking😉 Have fun, cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Sadolin

Hi Gardener, Don't know the Sadolin stuff, I use Billing Boats stains meself, BUT whatever you use, esp on balsa, apply a coupla of sealer first. Then at least one or two of clear satin varnish; e.g. from Lord Nelson range from Holland. THEN AND ONLY then, apply your stain til you get the depth of colour you want. After that seal with matt, satin or gloss varnish / lacquer according to taste😉 That's the way I did my Sea Scout 'Jessica' renovation, see blog on this site for results!!! Coupla sample pics attached. The whole process is described in the Blog. Otherwise the balsa will soak up all your stain and still not look right 🤔 A 'preserver' as such is not normally necessary if the wood is properly treated inside and out; sealer, stain, varnish etc! Or just EzeKote resin inside. Stain no needed inside of course. Good luck and above all have fun with your endeavours. 👍 Keep us 'up to date' ('on the running' as my German friends would say; 'auf den Laufenden'!) 😁 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS I like Danish Blue meself 😁😁 On the other hand; I wouldn't have used balsa for speedboat deck in the first place. I use a close grained marine ply 0,8 or 1.0mm. Takes the stain better and looks more realistic. Balsa is too coarse grained for stain and varnish on scale speedboats. Thick coat of paint ... OK. On the cabin roof and after deck (which I had to renew) I used 1.5mm mahogany veneer. If I had to do it again I would use a close grained 0.8mm marine ply (birch or pear) and cherry stain (also Billing) as I used on 'Jessica's deck.

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

lastest progress

Hi All here is the last on the schenllboot S100 I have been able to finish the paint work on the hull and she is now ready for final of varnish and full reinstallation of the RC equipment , still a bit nervous about that, part of the installation instructions are indicating the red wires on two of the esc,s need to be cut , I think this is the switch wire so the you only need one switch to active the other motors . I will look in to that before cutting

6 years ago by teejay

Blog

Life Rings

The white metal fittings supplied with the kit are somewhat lacking in detail and some are overweight to say the least. I decided to produce some life rings to my specification I had tried to find suitable replacements on the web without success. So how to produce the ring part. I first tried with plywood but the finish achievable was not acceptable (can be seen in the pictures) so I then decided to use Bamboo (Ikea phone stand) for those who have followed from the start the same material as the grating on the foam tanks. First I cut some rough circles out of 10mm bamboo sheet and drilled a 10mm hole so it can be mounted on a 10mm screw mandrel. This allows the piece to machined on one side and then reversed and machined on the other side. The tool I used was ground with a 22 mm radius to produce the shape on one side of the ring and then when reversed and machined again the tool actually “parts off” the ring on the inner diameter leaving the ring free on the now remaining peg, the finish on the bamboo was good enough without any further sanding. The next step was to put a slot in the OD at 90degree intervals to hold the “rope” in position while the rope is bound in four places. The easiest way was to make a jig to hold the ring and to keep the rope in place while it’s glued into ring, it can then be removed and bound in four places each turn being super glued to keep it in place. Next job is to give a coat of sanding sealer that stiffens the rope and seals the wood. The rings are theoretically held to the cabin roof with clamp type brackets so again to ensure consistency I machined a piece with a suitable profile. I then cut radial slices to create individual brackets. The rings will actually be fastened to the cabin roof with 2 x 8BA bolts this is to enable them to be removed for painting of both the ring and the roof. At a later painting stage, I will be giving them two of grey primer and three of white, then hand painting the rope loops with red paint. The finished rings are much lighter and hopefully look more realistic.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Mornin' Pete (it is in Germany anyway!) I agree, there are lots of details and 'standard equipment' missing from the basic model. You can see the winch and Life Raft canister in one of the photos of the original I posted above. Re Mast wiring; don't fiddle about putting a divider in the mast. it'll just get in the way. Attached is a pic of my modified mast. I used a 0.5mm brass wire on the right-hand side for the earth return. Wire is better than rod cos it's flexible (can be pushed into the corner). I glued it in with gel Gluper Sue WHEN all connections were soldered and tested. The LEDs are standard domed lens types. I ground the tops flat and painted the tops with several of matt black until it was opaque. After testing I closed off the mast with some plasticard and fitted ladder rungs made of copper wire. I also added the missing antenna cables to the bottom of the VHF IMM antennas, 0.5mm brass wire. (Some time I'll also fit the missing GPS antenna and anemometer.) Then painted the mast matt black. I then turned my attention to the searchlight and red/green NAV lights. First I stripped the wheelhouse roof and painted it white as in the original. On my model it was grey🤔 Then I drilled out the searchlight to accept a 5mm Bright White LED. You won't have to do this cos you have a later version with lights, mine had none 😭 Then had to paint the searchlight with several of matt black. Otherwise it just glowed all round! Pics show construction stages and finished lighting effect. All wires inside the wheelhouse roof I super glued to the ceiling and ran them down inside the funnels (stacks to you guys across the pond!😉) ready for connection to a switch board in the hull. While I was at it I rubbed the false Southampton name off the cabin using a 1000 grit Tamiya sponge and am preparing inkjet printed decals with the correct Wyeforce name and logo. Have fun getting all lit up Pete,😁 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS Attached some pics showing the original 'Southampton' 😉 and making obvious what's missing on the model 🤔

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Bit of a problem.............

Evenin' Neville, For God's Sake (Whoever he may be) put the wire brush back in the drawer and save it for cleaning engine blocks😲 Use a heat gun and a scraper to get the paint off without destroying the wood. Like I had to do with my Gina 2 fish cutter and PTB hulls. Much less dust than trying to sand / wire-brush the paint off. That way will take you a month of Sundays anyway. The sand the hull flat and cover it with two layers of fibreglass tissue and resin. I used EzeKote, no mixing, no smell, sets in about 20 minutes and brushes wash out in warm water. 😊 Apply a final coat of resin. Sand flat and prime. The pics show these three stages for the cutter and the PTB. If the crack is bad reinforce it on the inside with a couple of layers of tissue and resin. Then give the whole inside of the boat two of resin. Take out anything that stops you getting down to the underwater hull and keel joints. That should fix your leak once and for all, strengthen the boat to help prevent any further hull damage if you hit something underway and give you a good base for the final colour . Bon chance!👍 Now back to fixing the prop shaft in my cutter.😉 Cheers, Doug 😎 Oh, and by the way - 'DON'T PAY THE FERRYMAN'!

6 years ago by RNinMunich

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 of cellulose primer surfacer, then the top . 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

Billing Boats St Canute Update

Looks good but yes sand till flush and seal 3/4 sanding between. Then the same with lacquer or varnish. Good look with the hull.👍

6 years ago by onetenor

Forum

Leaking Boat!

Looks like delamination, if water is getting in between the ply layers it will follow any gaps and porosity and could come out anywhere. I've had similar problems on my vintage restorations. The only thing to do is clean and repair any external damage then I would cover ultra fine glass cloth and Eze-Kote with at least 3 and rubbed down between . This should cure your problem and also strengthen the Hull.

6 years ago by Colin H