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The Vosper 46” RAF Kit By Vintage Model Works

Just a small introduction, I am a retired engineer, trained as a toolmaker and practiced this in various forms for 20 plus years before going into Lecturing in engineering for 13 years then finally working on development of NVQs and VRQs for an Engineering Awarding Body. As far as My model making experience I did a little as a youngster helping my dad to build the 36 inch and then doing some model aircraft but that was 50 years ago. I then became hooked on building a kit car which has occupied me for many years changing things and maintaining it as a recreational vehicle. This brings me up to date and instead of restoring a classic car I decided to get back to model making and this is the start of the 46 . So here we go Out of the box and the contents checked off, a minor anomaly on the parts numbering but soon sorted by VMW. I have spent some time in kitting out a new work station in what used to be my office until I retired. I now have two workshops one upstairs and one in the basement. How good is that? One of the of the first things was to construct a substantial building board that would give a perfectly flat base and a grid that could ensure bulkheads are square to the keel an parallel with each other also the same aspects in the vertical axis. I lined out the base board with parallel lines spaced at 25 mm and then from the centre-line at 90 degrees I marked the bulkhead positions.

6 years ago by mturpin013

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Norstar

HI all fellow boaters, Have just been given a Norstar 34" , Part built In early 1970's then left. seems to be all here In the box except for plans, so I'm asking If anyone has a copy they could let me have either on paper or emailed to me. Will cover any postage and copy charges you Incur. PM me with any offers. thanks Colin.

9 years ago by Colin H

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36'' Thames River Police Launch by Robbob

After the successful build of the ‘Vintage Model Works’ RAF Crash Rescue Tender I was asked by Mike Cummings of VMW if I would undertake to build a prototype of their new model with the aim of checking the construction method and the assembly instructions for accuracy before the kit is put into production. The model is a ‘Thames River Police Launch’ and is based on the original design by Phil Smith for the Veron company, this was a very popular model kit in the late 50’s and 60’s and sold for the princely sum of 43 shillings and tuppence, approximately £2.15 in today’s money but an equivalent cost of £48.50 in 1960. This design has been updated to accommodate electric propulsion and radio control by Colin Smith, the son of the original designer and it has been re-scaled to be 36” in length where the original was 24” which gives much more scope for detailing and provides more ‘hiding room’ for the drive, control systems and all the associated wiring. The kit produced by VMW uses the same construction techniques as the original and the materials are a combination of balsa and plywood both of which a laser and CNC cut for precision. The ply and balsa materials supplied are of very high quality as one would expect from VMW and all the stripwood for the chines, rubbing strakes and deck detailing is included, even the dowel required for the mast is in the box, very comprehensive! The kit also includes white metal fittings such as the fairleads and stanchions, and the searchlight and horns. The glazing for the windows comes in the kit too. The instruction sheet supplied is in need of revision as it is largely taken directly from the original as written by Phil Smith and some of the terminology needs updating, for instance the ply bottom and side skins are referred to as ‘strakes’ but I understand that a re-write of the instructions is in hand along with an updated plan showing the best positioning for the motor, prop-shaft, battery, ESC, receiver, rudder and servo. During construction I have added a few additional pieces of ply or balsa as reinforcement or supports and substituted some balsa parts for ply where I thought a stronger material would be better. I also added some hatches to give access to the wiring at the bow and the rudder & servo at the stern but largely I have not gone ‘off plan’ to any extent. The pictures show the model in it’s present state (Nov 2018) and is ready for painting and finishing.

6 years ago by robbob

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Enclosing the controls.

Lovely work you are doing there still. I have just been on the VMW site and found the kit but for some reason they do not show prices for the boats. They also only show the and the Police Boat. But when you go to the plane kits they show prices for them. I don't understand it.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Enclosing the controls.

From Boaty I am following your post with interest as I had been thinking about building a Police Launch in the near future. Models with aft cockpits can present issues when installing RC gear and I have experienced this when building an Aerokits Sea Scout and five years ago when restoring the . Simplest method is to install the servo horizontally and raise the cockpit floor but this can create problems in itself unless the floor is sealed around the edges to prevent water entering the compartment. The seat idea is a realistic method as it could be eliminate the problems that I mentioned above as well as providing easier access to the RC gear. Keep up the good work Boaty😁

5 years ago by boaty

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Servo Mount

The servo mount on my came from China, unfortunately I don't have the machinery or skills that Mike has. I found the single linkage to be more than adequate. reilly4. I note that your motors have fans attached (first 'photo), are they standard on those motors ?

5 years ago by robbob

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Cooling the motor - an experiment.

Mike. The motor in my barely gets warm so I think you should be fine. Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

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Cooling the motor - an experiment.

I considered doing this on the using the supplied aircraft prop adapter that the motor came with so Ill be interested to see how it performs.

5 years ago by mturpin013

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The motor cover.

I want to keep the motor cover as compact and in proportion as much as possible so I drew up a design to visualise it and get some practical working dimensions, it also needs to enclose the prop shaft and coupling, and the MT60 connection for the motor so there will not be very much free air space inside. Because of this the motor cover will need some ventilation as the brushless outrunner motor can’t be water cooled and I don’t want to fit a fan, so the side panels of the box will need some gauze covered slots so that any heat generated can escape, assisted (perhaps) by the rotation of the motors outer ‘rotor’ creating some air movement. I don’t intend to run this boat very fast so I’m hoping that the motor will not get too hot anyway🤞. I transferred the dimensions of the side panels from my drawings to some 1.5mm obeche panels and cut the side pieces to size and cut out the ventilation slots, some framing pieces and cross braces were fitted internally and the whole assembly glued and clamped together. Additional framing was added to support the part that covers the shaft and coupling and obeche panels applied to these. Some finishing details were applied around the base and the top to improve the appearance. The internal framing will later incorporate some small cylindrical neodymium magnets that will hold the motor enclosure down on the deck, I’ll fit these later when the deck floor has been fitted. The mesh is some of the stainless steel mesh that I had used in the water pickup tube on my RAF Crash Rescue Tender hoses, and this was cut to size and epoxied in place. The completed enclosure was finished with the same Teak stain as the rest of the boat. Next up will be an enclosure at the rear to conceal the control electronics.

5 years ago by robbob

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Cabin detail part 3 (instrument panels)

I have all the machines and more but I cannot do that. You have a real skill. I love your fixture ideas. One day I will try to machine some similar parts when I start my 46" RAF . I intend to use this build blog as my guide. Thanks for all of the in depth explanations of how you achieve such detail using every trick in the book and many that are yet to be written. I love reading this build. Really clever. 😊👍👍👍

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

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Sea Trials and mods.

I have just been watching your video again of your on the water. I do have a couple more questions, first is what motor is in her and second is she going full throttle on the water or not. Sorry to be nosey.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Vintage Model Works 46'' RAF

Thanks Rob, will do.

5 years ago by Boat660

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Vintage Model Works 46'' RAF

Hi Russell I assume that you are referring to bending the stringers and skins? There's no need to be worried, the ply skins respond very well to heating with a hot air gun (electric paint stripper) and the obeche stringers, if well steamed, bend fairly easily too. Scratch that itch and buy the kit, you won't regret it. Robbob.😁

5 years ago by robbob

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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 coats of teak water based stain and finished with a couple of coats of satin acrylic lacquer. It was great to meet you at Ally Pally on Saturday and compare notes on s, I hope you enjoyed your day out to London. Very Best. Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

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Motor, mount & prop-shaft.

That’s great, thanks for the link. I will go on there now and have a read. My Father will be looking to add a decent motor to his from Slec. We purchased it for him for Christmas. Good luck with the rest of the build. Simon

5 years ago by Sifi70

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LONDON MODEL ENGINEERING EXHIBITION

A good show and as the title suggested it was for model engineers rather than model boat builders, however this suited me and I was pleased to see Robbobs and his latest police boat, both of immaculate quality. If anybody wants a more model focussed show then try Doncaster

5 years ago by mturpin013

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Motor, mount & prop-shaft.

Thanks for your reply. I am more of a speed freak. I love the Vosper /MTB's style hulls as you can really push them to there limits, as I can also with the deep V huntsman style hulls. My Proboat Miss Geico catamaran I can run flat out even on turns. But am unsure about fitting an out runner, I have scaled down the to 28" and have just put in a small outrunner but very apprehensive of running her. This is because i'm unsure of overheating and catching fire. Silly rally as she is a fireboat. But as you have one in your with no problems, then I will finish her off and give her a run. Thanks for your help. I am watching this build as eagerly as I did your wonderful . I cannot wait to see the en result and some video of her on water. I'm sad I wasn't able to get along to the show this weekend.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Glassfibre cloth & epoxy resin

I have also coated my 46" RAF with fiber glass matting and used West Systems two part epoxy. i coated the entire hull in one piece apart from the transom. I left it for two days to harden off. it worked very well. I am fitting the rubbing strakes over the top of the fiberglass using modelling pins and 5 minute epoxy.

5 years ago by ChrisR

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36” RAF fire/ wanted

Wanted 36” RAF fire/ wanted kit or made.

5 years ago by Boat660

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Motor, mount & prop-shaft.

Excellent news 😁👍 No excuses now......get started on building that VMW . And don't forget to start a build blog too 😜

5 years ago by robbob

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Motor, mount & prop-shaft.

Did you buy the VMW directly from VMW or from a dealer at the W&W show ? Either way, I'm reasonably sure that if you contact Mike at VMW he'll sort you out with the missing bits. There's no reason to be dissappointed then, and the quality of the kit exceeded all my expectations and I bought my kit secondhand from an eBay seller but VMW gave me full after sales support just as they would have done if I'd bought it from them directly. If you don't ask...you don't get. Oh...and if your'e wondering, I have no commercial interest in VMW, they are just really nice guys 👍 Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

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Motor, mount & prop-shaft.

I have just visited their site again and they do not show much to do with the boats they have for sale. All I see is the 46" RAF and the Police Launch that just has a picture and no other information. They show no prices, I was also under the impression that they had several models in their list for sale. I do have the 46" I purchased at Wings'n'Wheels about three years ago. I din't find their site that informative other than for the . My kit doesn't even have the windows and decals that is says and shows in the descriptions. I'm very disappointed really. I will get round to building it one day though. As I will the 34" I bout back in 1994 from Aerokits.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Motor, mount & prop-shaft.

The prop-shaft, coupling and motor mount that I ordered from ModelBoatBits has arrived so it seems a good a good time to make up a supporting wedge for the mount to fix to. I do have a rigid brass motor alignment aid that I used when building the but do you think I can find it in the workshop?....nope! 😡 I expect it will turn up when I need it least! 🤞 Not wanting to waste time I used a length of heat shrink tubing over the motor coupling to make it as rigid as possible, a trick I had seen done elsewhere, and this enabled me to position the motor on its mount in the desired position and measure the angle that the mounting wedge needs to be made to. I used an offcut of beech that I had in the workshop which I cut to size and then shaped it on the rotary sander that I bought in Lidl, fantastic piece of kit !!. The wedge was then drilled to take the nylon motor mount and also the fixing screws that pass through the beech block, through the balsa base of the box and into the ply reinforcing plate that I put in during early construction of the hull. After cleaning up the hole through the keel the prop-shaft was keyed with some abrasive, smeared with some epoxy and then pushed through to mate with the motor coupling. I used the excess epoxy resin around the shaft inside the hull and used some packing tape to stop it running out when I inverted the hull to seal the lower end. A quick spin on the motor confirmed that the alignment was spot-on and the hull set aside while the epoxy set. The next step will be to plank the deck.

5 years ago by robbob

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Fitting the rubbing strakes.

With the couple of pictures you posted the other day, they looked so great I think it would be an insult if they declined the use of what you have built. Surely after seeing your that you built then they would know the type of finish you would add to the build. I'm looking forward to seeing the end product. Keep up the good work.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Fitting the rubbing strakes.

Rob, don't forget to bring the , star of the show me thinks!

5 years ago by mturpin013

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Sea Trials and mods.

Wow Robbob, I have just seen the video of your . She is amazing. Looks great on the water. I just love the way these hulls sit on the water. Virtually no roll at all, it's as if they are glued to the waters surface. The Aerokits was my very first boat back int 1959, it was my 9th birthday present and my father and I started to a build. But he wasn't happy about building the original kit straight outright. As our first ever build, he brought home broken down tea chests and orange boxes and he got me to draw round all the parts and he went on to cut each piece out with a nice new fretsaw. So as the first one went together and it seemed to go well then the Aerokits one followed on. He then bought me a ED Hunter 3.46cc Diesel engine for my Christmas present that year. I say he I should say my parents both bought them for me. Sadly I never got to have radio control in it. I was weird as we went on to build another five in all. One was given to my younger brother, his had a Taycol Standard in it, and I had the job of taking the accumulator to the local model shop to have it charged up as we never had a charger for it. I think they used to charge something like a shilling each time it was done. The other five that we built he actually gave away to friends and one even went to the milkman. I still have a 34 and a 46 inch still new in boxes. The 34" is an original that Was Released in 1994 by Aerokits on the 50th Anniversary and the 46" is a VMW kit. I have a 46" to refurbish and have scaled one down and built a 28" in Balsa wood. As well as a 46" PT 109 with a 26cc in her that also sits on the water the same way. Sorry to waffle on it just brings back old memories. I'll leave it there. I just love your Build such detail.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Cabin detail part 5 speed control & compass

What do you mean when you say you will inspect it for real this weekend. Where are you going to find a REAL RAF . I didn't think there were ANY left in existence. I have seen MTB 102 several times and spoken to the crew of that day and when I asked could I come on board to have a look around, they always decline saying sorry insurance will not cover us for that.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Glassfibre cloth & epoxy resin

I used glassfibre cloth and epoxy resin successfully when building my 46” RAF and I chose to do the same with the Police Boat. See: https://model-boats.com/builds/view/23951 for the blog. The application of the cloth and resin serves to strengthen the hull enormously and produces a completely watertight hull, and after additional coats of resin are applied and sanded between coats 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 coats 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

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Railings

I have made just a couple of bits for different models. As well as used it to make something for my granddaughters dolls house. But I keep a supply just in case I need it for the model boats and cars. This is the mast I first made from it on my 28" RAF . I shrunk the plan parts on a scanner and made it from 90% balsa. The water trial was a bit of a failure as the brass prop was too large and 4 bladed. I have since invested in 3 smaller ones 30, 25, and 20mm 3 bladed brass but not got around to another sea trial yet. Also as you can see she still needs to be finished with painting. I will get round to it one day.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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unnamed

If she is the 34" model then she's the Sea Commander, 46" is the Sea Queen. I have got both, picked them up from boot fairs, at least 4+ years ago, and sadly still awaiting refurb. I also have a 46" still waiting the same. As well as a 34" I bought back in 1994 as a 50 years anniversary kit and a 46" I got at wings and wheels about 3 years ago both in boxes waiting a full build from new. I have also still got my early 1970's Sea Hornet that also needs a refurb. Amongst other new and second hand models to get sorted out. I always say one day I will get round to it.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Cabin detail part 3 (instrument panels)

robbob, You had lots of things on your build that was machined and turned? Your build was amazing, I watched it with awe.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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The bow blocks & outer keel

Michael. I think the reason for the balsa block method is that you can really only bend ply in one plane effectively, to produce the bow shape of this boat would entail the ply being contorted in two planes, one concave and one convex, to form the compound curve and even with thin 1.5mm ply you just can't do that easily. The bow is just a convex bend. Thus the balsa block method becomes the only way to achieve the shape and to be honest it's not that difficult to do with care and patience.

5 years ago by robbob

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The bow blocks & outer keel

Missed this one yesterday! what a credit to your workmanship a brilliant job. Your decision to replace the keel with ply I think was a good one, balsa although it would be glassed would still not be as strong. Not seeing the boat in real life can I ask the question why they decided to use a block rather than curving the ply skins round as the is. Although skinning may be more difficult, the end profile is a given, but having to profile a balsa block I would suggest is more difficult. Any thoughts? not having done a balsa bow myself

5 years ago by mturpin013

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The bow blocks & outer keel

Hi samc. I'm just writing the blog entry for the hull glassing process and I'll detail the material and process, it's very much the same as the I did on my 46" RAF blog, see here: https://model-boats.com/builds/view/23951 Are you doing this on your hull or the decks, and what materials are you using ? I'm also using Zpoxy finishing resin on the Police Boat and that's going on OK without any problems. Robbob.

5 years ago by robbob

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Cabin detail part 3 (instrument panels)

Superbly detailed work Michael 👍 I'm beginning to wish I put some cabin detail into my now but I din't think I could match yours ! Great stuff ! Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

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Scale?

I have purchased a ROBBE 1:25 Working Fire Monitor to fit on my rebuild of a Keilcraft RAF Vosper . The plans for the boat state 3/4 to 1inch (1:16 scale). The ROBBE Fire Monitor was the closest size I could find, but when it arrived it appears to be grossly out of scale and looks far to big and out proportion to fit on my boat. Is it me or have ROBBE got the scale wrong. As an aside I am very disappointed with the poor quality of the monitor which does not match its £25 cost.

5 years ago by RobbieMcKennan

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aeronaut classic

I am also upgrading the prop shaft, I have purchased a 4mm shaft to use that has a decent outer casing. All other boats I have built the side chine rails have all bee 1/4 x1/4 inch rails. I am just so disappointed with some of the substandard use of certain parts. I just feel for the price they are cutting costs to up their profits on the boat. I have built a few of the older AeroKits like the RAF , Sea commander, Sea Queen and Sea Hornet as well as the Precedent Fairey Huntsman, and these all have a substantial set of side rail to fit and even the bulk head pieces are a much better thickness of ply. I would just not recommend the Aeronuat kits to anyone myself now. I was just going to fit a standard Gruapner speed 400 motor in but still unsure. I was thinking maybe a brushless may just be a bit overpowering her. but as I say still unsure, I may put in a brushless yet who knows. Keep us informed on here as to you progress I am keen to see your finished model. I suspect yours will be finished well before mine as I have shelved the build for now. Happy modelling.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

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Upper & Lower Chines

Hi Doug. All credit due to Phil Smith and his original design for that actually... Hi rolfman2000 I hope SWMBO is good to her word as I happen to know that the kit is now available to buy from Vintage Model Works 😊👍 I'm told the price is £185.00 + P&P and there's also an optional stand/carrying box which is CNC cut to the hull profile for an additional £10.00 That sounds a bit of a bargain too. Contact Mike Cummings at VMW for more information: http://www.vintagemodelworks.co.uk/ I'm hoping to have the boat in an advanced state of completion in time for the London Model Engineering Exhibition at 'Ally Pally' in January 2019. It will be on the St.Albans & District Model Engineering Society club stand alongside my RAF . Rob.

5 years ago by robbob

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Fire

What size? http://eezebilt.tk/RAF.html

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

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Fire

Has anyone got any free plans of the fire they would like to share as a download👍

5 years ago by bednall

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aeronaut classic

Hi Doug, Thanks for the links, just watch your YouTube clips and she runs lovely. I’ve seen that a lot of people have used those Turnigy motors so I might try one of them on my next build. I’ll read the blog over the next few days. What did you think if the kit as a whole to build, only asking as me and my sister have just purchased the Fire for our Father for Chrimbo. Thanks for all your tips, it’s much appreciated. I might try and get some clips of the classic over Gorleston pond today if the weather permits lol. Cheers 😉

5 years ago by Sifi70

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Assembling the keel & adding bulkhead formers.

Now Plank on frame really sets my imagination going, I have to say that i am a builder rather than a sailor and get immense pleasure from problem solving and just creating structures. I will be looking for a suitable subject after the which at the moment is taking some time with fiddly bits that don't seem to advance the the overall vision of the project so apologies for the lack of "blog" Any suggestions?

5 years ago by mturpin013

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36'' Thames River Police Launch by Robbob

Come on Rob give me a break I have nowhere near finished the yet and the Freeman cabin cruiser, not sure I can tell my good lady that this is the next project Ill give it a month or two The launch looks great I look forward to some detailed instructions to follow

6 years ago by mturpin013

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Vintage Model Works 46'' RAF

Here's the history bit so pay attention... Many years ago as a boy in the fifth year of my north London secondary school, circa 1971, our woodwork class was given the option to make something of our own choice. Having mastered the majority of joints, wood turning, finishing techniques and the making of table lamps, stools and bookshelves etc. this seemed a good idea, so myself and a fellow classmate and model making chum asked if we could construct a model boat. The teacher, on hearing that it was to be from a kit and not from scratch was a little surprised but agreed. So my friend and I jointly invested about 20 quid in an Aerokits 34.5 inch RAF from Blunts' model shop in Mill Hill (long since gone like many others) and we set about construction during lesson time and sometimes at break times. I recall we used "Cascamite" to glue it all together on the advice of the woodwork teacher because neither 'Scotch' glue nor PVA was suited to marine construction. Good progress was made over the course of our last year at school but it was never fully completed, only requiring painting, running gear and detailing. My friend decided that he needed to withdraw from the project as he was enrolling in a college away from home to study for a career in the merchant navy and I agreed to buy out his share and continue with the project. And so it was that I carried on with the painting and installing the running gear which consisted of a 1.5 cc marine diesel engine, water pickup, prop shaft and rudder and a MacGregor radio system with a stick for steering and a single button for speed control. The engine and radio came from Michael's Models in Finchley (also long gone) for £20 as my elder brother, who had started a Saturday job there, was able to get a staff discount for me. The diesel engine was noisy and smelly and a pig to start with a leather thong around the flywheel and I decided to abandon this means of propulsion (I foolishly ran it for slightly too long 'dry' and melted the soldering around the brass water jacket!). By now I had graduated from my part time job in Woolies to an engineering apprentice with Post Office Telephones and my new income of 20 quid per week could support my modelling and electronics hobbies after my contribution to the household for my keep. So off to the model shop to buy a Taycol Supermarine electric motor, two 12v volt lead acid batteries and a suitable charger. The diesel came out and was sold on Exchange & Mart and the mount and coupling re-made to accommodate the new Taycol motor. What an improvement that was! I can't remember now what speed controller or servo I used but whatever it was did the job, and it went like the clappers on Friary Park boating lake (also long since gone) even though the radio control system was a bit crude with the non-proportional steering and 'blip' throttle control. The boating took a back seat when I acquired my driving licence and my first car (a rusty old Cortina Mk 1) and I also got involved in sound recording for radio. I decided to sell the boat and bits for £60 through Exchange & Mart and bought an Akai 4000DS tape recorder and a 'Chilton' audio mixer, built a home studio and along with a good mate of mine started making radio commercials for the new commercial radio stations including London's Capital Radio. We even won a 'Campaign' advertising award for one of our efforts! And so after several years as a 'phone engineer I moved into professional recording for A/V and broadcast and then into TV production. Fast forward to today. Semi-retired with grand kids and with more free time on my hands I still had an interest in model making so in Jan 2016 went to the Model Engineer exhibition at nearby 'Ally Pally'. It was there that I saw an RAF just like the one I built all those years ago and got into conversation with the chap on the stand. This re-ignited my model making interests and I researched the hobby and that model in particular.

8 years ago by robbob

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Search light

It's a great shame that Maplins have gone, they were once a good source of electronic components but in later years turned into more of a 'toy shop' than an electronic hobbyists shop. The high power LED is nevertheless available from Hobbyking but the lense will prove more difficult to source now. Midas Components in Norfolk used to be an importer of the 'HJ-HPH2' lens and I also found this after a quick Google: https://www.tme.eu/gb/details/hj-hph2/lens/huey-jann-electronic/hph2/ The 'Peter Jones' mentioned could be the chap from the Dragons Den programme? I'm very flattered by Doug's epithet 'King of s' but it is undeserved and should be attributed to the likes of Paul Devlin (pmdevlin) and the late Peter Henshaw (HS93) both from whom I took great inspiration, (and stole lots of ideas from 😜). It is nevertheless very pleasing the the s still appeal to modellers who want to make them and detail them as much as Mike Turpin here.

6 years ago by robbob

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Search light

A small tip and word to the wise Michael, When I take shots for posting I first load 'em to the PC and view in full size before going any further. If there's anything wrong I can reshoot before carrying on, either with the assembly or the post. Doesn't always work out that way, depends on how carried away I am with the job in hand 😁 'The word' 😉If you can try to get the photos in proper relation to the horizontal and vertical. You're making some of us seasick! 🤐😱😲 Nevertheless, very nice work, Hat Off Sir 👍 The comment from Robbob (King of the s) is praise indeed. I once spent an entire afternoon reading his astounding build blog and picking up tips. I just got 'hooked' 😊 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

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just need cable (wire)...

No, not dioramas, Doug. Dioramas use forced (false?) perspective and therefore must be viewed from one point. I made a diorama of Shelseley Walsh hillclimb to show slot car models. it was quite effective. This is all new for me and I am gathering engine models (I hope) from various hot rod sources. it will save me time on building these. I have a Merlin coming from Holland and a few others from contacts. First model in this series will be Hornet II, the wonderful gar Wood Speedster which had an all aluminium deck and fin added and its Packard replaced by a Rolls-Royce Meteor, which was just a Merlin sans blower. interestingly, the Rover Meteorite was a V8 version of the meteor and fitted in pairs in the . Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Who's at the helm?

Your excuse to get the Mrs. involved, Steve. Get a dolls' house doll and redress him/her. 1/12th is a pain for non period figures. 1/8th ain't much better. I've redressed some 1/16th figures with Milliput to make four crew for my , but it took a while and you still need a base figure to save time. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

34'' RAF Windows

This was supposed to be a full and true restoration according to the blurb given on our trip, I thought at the time it looked a bit too blingy. But wow what a great trip, and a tribute to the people who served in her and the lives it saved. Cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Forum

34'' RAF Windows

Hi All Looking for set of windows for the 34" RAF ...have search the WWW but failed to find any...someone was making them a while back..does anyone know of a supplier. Thanks in advance Mike

6 years ago by Flying-Flea