Response

Re: Searchlight

Another nicely engineered feature Graham and a good combination of mechanics and electronics, (but not optics 😜 though). I'd say that she is really now 'fully loaded'. Robbob.

4 years ago by robbob

Forum

The BIG St.Albans Model Show

Hi all. I have (finally) made a video of our September 2019 Exhibition and put it on the StAlbansMES YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7O_gbZTMnXY I hope you all enjoy the video 😁 Robbob. Webmaster. St.Albans and District Model Engineering Society https://stalbansmes.com/

4 years ago by robbob

Forum

Aerials & Pacemakers

Martin ,it was an ancient TIG welder the size of a small but did the most incredible aluminium welds (or was that me🤣🤣) it was replaced in the late 80s when they rewired the workshop . The bookies shop was happy at least they could watch the horse racing without interference on the telly .

5 years ago by marky

Forum

LATEST SMOKER, E-CIG ELEMENT

This is the latest crack at a more compact easily made smoke unit using off the shelf (pretty much) items. I bought a top filling vape tank which arrived today and made an electrical connection base for it to start with. The base is industrial linen (formica,- or you could use hardwood) which is drilled and tapped to 4mm, and also counter bored to almost the thread diam of the bottom of the tank. The counter bore was tapped to 7mm but only to get the tank thread started, as this thread is very fine (7x.25?) and I doubt if you could easily find a tap to suit. Also the tank only has to screw in a small amount to hold it in place for the center electrode to contact (adjustable brass screw), and to trap the neg/pos wire which must contact the body. I made the center contact from a 4mm brass screw which is screwed in from the bottom till it contacts the center electrode (which is insulated from the stainless tank body) Under the head of this screw is the wire for the + (or -) -- also screw has a small piece of silicone tube on the inside over the screw to further insulate it ( don't want LiPo shorts!) and the other lead is under the body where it screws onto the base. I tried it on 2v an 2.5v and it works very well (air being fed in the top (where you normally suck from) and the vapor comes out the adjustable air slots (which are normally the intakes.) If you could make a collar around the intake area you could either direct the vapor into a collector, or reverse this (air through the collar) and have the vapor exiting the proper way through the mouthpiece (preferable). to make it simpler I am just going to enclose the whole thing, and have the air feed set up through the lid into the element and the exit (tube/tubes) through the top or side of the . This particular tank must be kept upright to avoid leaks but is small enough to strap to a bulkhead or similar. Have ordered another air pump which hopefully will be better than the previous disappointments! Yay another month to wait!!!😴 Looks promising so far though! JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

".......what about boring a 20mm hole in each section, pour plenty of the thin stuff in, swirl it around, pour the excess back into the and repeat for each cavity........" Some of the sections ARE 20mm in size. There may well be sections behind sections - to a depth of three or more. And having watertight sections is a useful safety feature when you have a thin balsa hull. On the whole, using a syringe makes the whole process much less messy and more manageable. Balsa is easy for a needle to pass through. Just remember not to inject with a solvent which dissolves the glue... 😭

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

DG, what about boring a 20mm hole in each section, pour plenty of the thin stuff in, swirl it around, pour the excess back into the and repeat for each cavity. They do it for house insulation (drill holes on the outside and fill with expanding foam) why not boats? You can always fill the holes later? (or just cover them with a carpet, matting etc)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Transport System for model boats

Hi Hillro I found a wheeled flight case which was a perfect fit for my RAF Crash Tender, £50 on eBay. Fits into the back of my estate car and is great for paved/tarmac surfaces and copes well over grass and uneven ground too. Lidl are about to sell a wheeled trolley for £17.99, looks like it could very useful for transporting boats 👍 https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/MiddleofLidl.htm?articleId=24157 Gonna get me one of them 😀 Robbob.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Re: The Instrument Panel.

Hi John. That's a good tip and well worth considering for the future👍👍. Thanks. Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Re: The Waterline/Boot Topping.

Hi Mike. IMHO it's much better stuff than the Trimline tape when you have to go over awkward shapes. How's the Crash Tender coming along?, I've not seen any updates recently. I suspect the Freeman 22 for the lad is taking a priority😀. Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Re: The Roof Spray Deflector.

Hi Mike. Well, the model isn't 100% finished yet, I have still to 'box in' the battery and power switch and most importantly do the 'Sea Trials'. So I have a few more blog updates to do yet. What's next?..........no idea🤔 I'm open to offers if someone wants a prototype built up and blogged 😉 Perhaps I'll take a break from model building for a short while and just enjoy playing with them 😁 Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Re: The Battery Box & Power Switch

Hi Martin. Yes, I've been looking at your Cottesmore blog.👍👍 I'm glad to hear that you've taken inspiration from my own solution to hiding switches. Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Re: The ladders

Hi Mike. You're making excellent progress and the removable tub is a good idea if you think you might be running in rough conditions. I've not had any water get in the rear well at all but then I'm usually running on smooth and calm water up to now. The disc sander is a great bit of kit....didn't know that IKEA sold them too 😉 Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

Blog

The Anchor

There’s no anchor supplied in the Vintage Model Works metal fittings kit and I thought it would be good to include one as an additional deck feature, again following the NMM model that I’m using as a reference. First I made the chain hawse pipe from some styrene tube by heating and bending it in a former and then selecting a small part of it that has the correct degree of bend. This was then fixed to a circular plasticard flange and the base drilled to take a small brass shackle pin that the chain will fix to. A 2mm brass nut secures this pin to the hawse pipe. A couple of brushed coats of gunmetal grey finishes the piece. The deck was drilled to take the shackle pin and this piece is screwed into the deck without any need for glue. The anchor is a Hall type anchor from Cornwall Model Boats and this needed a bit of fettling with files to improve the finish, it was then sprayed with grey etch primer and a couple of coats of satin lacquer. I drilled a 1mm hole through the bottom of the anchor for a retaining pin. The chain, also from CMB, if fixed to the shackle pin in the hawse pipe with a slightly larger link made from some brass wire. I made a retaining piece for the anchor to sit in that incorporates the anchors retaining pin, this is made from some scraps of obeche strip superglued together but I had to file a recess into it so that the anchor would sit correctly. This was finished with some antique pine stain and a lacquer finish and fixed down to the deck with a couple of 1mm threaded brass rivets and a dab of superglue for good measure. Another brass wire link connects the chain to the anchor and the short length on chain will be tacked down to the deck with a spot or two of glue. In retrospect the anchor and chain look very slightly too small in scale, the dimensions on the CMB site are a little misleading ☹️, but overall the piece looks quite good on the deck 😀

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Re: Window Frames

Hi glyn44, I always look for the simplest ways to do things. So in answer to your question I think this might help. I used some thin plastic from an old ice cream . Marked the frame shape. Drilled holes in the corners (to the required radius) Cut the centre out. Then sanded the outside corner radius. Then lined the inside of the frame with a strip of plastic slightly wider than the thickness of the frames. When completed,sand and paint to the required finish. Hope this helps. Photos are just for demonstration. Martin.

5 years ago by Martin555

Response

Re: Finished at last.....(but might change or add some things later!)

Congratulations Stuart, lovely looking boat 👍😀. I hope the 'sea trials' go well and look forward to seeing some pics of her on the water. Robbob.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Re: Painting the hull – Part 2. The hull colour

Hi Mouldbuilder. Thanks for following my blog 👍 Yes, I'm quite pleased with the paint finish myself, although things didn't go so well after I applied the'Trimline Tape' for the waterline and lacquered the hull 😠....more on that in a later update. Cheers. Robbob.

5 years ago by robbob

Response

Re: Painting the hull – Part 2. The hull colour

Hi Rolfman2000 (Dave) I only attend the Warwick show as a visitor so I won't be able to exhibit the boat there, it will have another public showing at my club exhibition in September though and it will be fully finished by then. I'm just adding the final detailing to the cabin and decks now. Hopefully a maiden voyage soon too 😁 Robbob.

5 years ago by robbob