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    Blog
    Constellation
    Made the framed
    glass
    portion of the skylight. They're hinged so I can get a finger inside to flip the power switch on or off. They're made from clear plastic from some packaging, basswood, and brass wire.
    6 years ago by Jerry Todd
    Blog
    H.M.S BRAVE BORDERER
    Thinking of a future project and decided upon another launch type vessel. My earlier Daman 4207 project gave an interesting model with good performance. The Brave class of FPBs (Fast Patrol Boats) caught my attention. Can remember the incredible performance they offered when entering service. Only two of the class were used by the RN, although variants were used by other navies. Have decided to use proprietary
    glass
    fibre hulls in future as they probably cost little more than building from scratch using wood and resin. They give a robust and watertight hull, but one which still requires thought to complete properly. There are several companies that offer a โ€œPerkasaโ€ hull, a Brave class derivative with an almost identical hull. From previous experience have decided to limit my models to 40โ€ long, larger vessels become difficult to transport and handle. After much research considered the hull offered by MTB Hulls in Gibraltar met my requirements best. The inquiry to MTBHulls was well handled; the quotation acceptable, so placed an order. Was pleasantly surprised at the shipping costs. From the UK these often approach the cost of the hull, but from Gibraltar they are much more reasonable. Delivery only took 7 days.
    6 years ago by Rowen
    Forum
    SEA COMANDER RE-FURB.
    Just started this re-furb ๐Ÿ˜ญ, I forgot about this boat, it was built in 1966 by my dad๐Ÿ‘. Been in my sisters loft since 1975 and was only found a few weeks ago when she moved house. so hope to add to my harbour as soon as its seaworthy.๐Ÿ‘ Biggest problem is the amount of fiber
    glass
    on the outside of the joints, old heavy duty stuff but seems to be coming away okay, will be coating hull in Ezicote and fine
    glass
    cloth. At least it makes up for the loss of dads old Sea Queen.๐Ÿ˜Š
    6 years ago by Colin H
    Response
    Re: MORE SMOKER STUFF
    Clean your
    glass
    es Martin ๐Ÿค“ ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ˜Ž
    4 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Age of steam
    Mate, I like your oscillating engine and your great video. I have been steaming for eons and am fascinated at the steam pressure gauge at the start registering pressure , though I cannot read the actual pressure gauge numbers and what seems a lot of condensate ( so what ) and after a short while the pressure gauge drops to near zero or thereabouts and stays there for the full run and yet your water gauge
    glass
    is so very FULL ( yippee) , such a good pump till it, the
    glass
    water gauge eventually shows it has not too much reservoiur water left for the run and the pressure gauge STILL shows near zero to indicate the end of the run , do you have a faulty pressure gauge ? Maybe the Mamoli tube should be inverted to the pressure gauge as you may have it filled with water? I do not know. On another matter, my club Webb identity picture shows my model 56 inch Cervia steam engined Tug which I replaced the Stuart 10 to the Stuart twin 5/8 bore and stroke same as yours ? I think, which may be their still selling 11mm or so bore and stroke (me, still imperial and not modern ). My little twin pushes the Cervia displacement 44lbs hull like a rocket , such power. In my latest model build I am struggling with a 46 inch long hull with a Stuart 10 twin AND it is the Kitchen rudder ( that is the struggle) which I have done several times. My mate who is "radio modern" says he will fix/train my transmitter 2.4 ghz on his computer my two rudder cup servos to do "mixing " like Ailerons to impart opposite throws so that the Kitchen cups will then turn such that "I have left and right rudder" in addition to normal opening and closing of the Kitchen rudder cups. I was not to impressed with the threaded screw tiller and the triangular wings mine is ALL brass to impart strength, as you have ALL on a base that imparts steering .I just found I lacked hull room for a swivelling base in my needing a beefy apparatus, as it weighs about 20 to 26 pounds at a guess, so far a lot of finishing still needed ,I love to build big, such is . Though I got off the track, your thoughts on the pressure gauge may be revealing to me ! Regards Lyle.
    5 years ago by Lyle
    Forum
    Night Watch
    "Singing
    glass
    es" Rooky๐Ÿค“๐Ÿ˜ฎ Must have been interesting, could you select your Playlist!?๐Ÿ˜‚ I only started wearing
    glass
    es at 48, typical effect of years of electronic engineering with ever smaller components. Dad (Electronics officer in the RAF) just said "Yep, you're right on schedule"! So no 'quick fix' available ๐Ÿ˜ญ Last straw came while spending 4 weeks in Rio making endless changes to the system drawings for a COMMS refit for the Brazilian Niteroi class frigates (Based on the Vosper Mk10). Had to do all the drawings on a titchy Toshiba laptop, ca 10" screen. After a couple of weeks started getting headaches and I had to go out and buy some reading
    glass
    es. Coupla years later came the varifocals๐Ÿค” Looking forward to your Patrol Report tomorrow for the NW Squadron Sub. Cheers, FLEET// ๐Ÿ˜Ž
    5 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Night Watch
    Admiralty original, checking online for Pussers, it only calls it 'Blue Label', for some obscure reason? Regarding opticians, wore
    glass
    es for 60 years, then couple of years ago, had cataracts done privately, NHS said I didn't need them, 'what do they know', now have 20-20 vision, and only need reading
    glass
    es, weird after so song with the specs.๐Ÿคฉ Cheers, Rooky
    5 years ago by Rookysailor
    Forum
    Fibre optic lighting
    I agree, not my best effort๐Ÿ˜”, but also my first attempt with 1mmยฒ LEDs. There had also been several false starts "ping"๐Ÿ˜ , and mods to the resistor values. Hence the jeweller's eye
    glass
    to check for shorts. When it all worked I didn't feel like risking a tidy up in case it then stopped! I've since learned to jack up the iron temp to 350ยฐC and work faster!! Main thing, it proved the circuit and current drain, ca 45mA. QED ๐Ÿ˜Š Gotta rush now - dinner invitation ๐Ÿ˜‹๐Ÿ˜‰ CU later ๐Ÿ˜Ž
    5 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Jersey City Tug
    Hi Peter, Nah, It was my idea to paint her another color! I just didn't like the fire engine red. That she's painted in! The Yellow I used I mixed. As it was a shade of yellow from a real Tug I worked on some 35 years ago! I can't wait to see how yours come out. Will you be painting her red? Peter, Where the prop shaft comes out. Reinforce that area by adding 1/8" plastic to the area! Then reinforce with the fiber
    glass
    tape!
    5 years ago by figtree7nts
    Response
    Re: 40'' Seaplane Tender, new build Z-3
    Re Thanks to modern technology and the skills of the model makers. Thanks martin but it's now down to two pairs of
    glass
    es and a head magnifier, + arthritis setting in doesn't help with the fine work. Was looking at some matchbox toys I 'hot-rodded' when I was about 11 and I remember using 1 hair from an artists brush to write on them and detail them (and you could read it clearly!)- no hope of doing that these days,- hands aren't quite as steady. I've said it before "old age sucks". JB
    5 years ago by jbkiwi
    Forum
    EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft
    You are right of course - in the UK you would also have to have a safe extractor/collector unit for the fumes/dust - however the US made table top models are self contained - BUT you only have a A3 sized bed whereas ours has an A1 and can take objects up to a foot high for engraving, plus a rotary attachment for
    glass
    es , bottles etc. The water cooler is a separate unit which now costs the better part of R10k. Better half had her aluminum tubed Universal 200 re-gassed (they run on CO2 at about 38kv - at 80w so minimal current) and that set her back about R80k some 22 years ago. Pyrex type
    glass
    tubes are only about R12k now however. You also keep the lid tightly closed unless you are an idiot - plus they all have a safety switch to shut the laser off if the lid is lifted (which I have seen bypassed). There is always some stray laser beam about and deflection off the bed which does not do one much good. Especially eyesight. So the machine has a thick dark yellow/orange perspex inset on the lid and you should wear safety type
    glass
    es the same coloration which act a bit like polarised lens. As a matter of interest ours ran for a year in the spare bedroom - with the extractor unit venting through a french door panel - would be severely frowned upon by 'elf & saveless'.
    5 years ago by redpmg
    Response
    Re: Veronica build. London sailing barge
    It all depends on the type of filler. If it's a wood filler, I do it first. After
    glass
    cloth and Eze-Kote, I then use knifing puty for minor marks and dents or modelling filler. Finally using high build filler primer before normal primer then the paint. Not forgetting all the rubbing down after each process. Main ingredient is patience. Cheers Colin.
    5 years ago by Colin H
    Response
    Re: Steam engine.
    Hi Stephen, and P on F verses Fibre-
    glass
    is a bit of a quandary, it is the sense of achievement factor completing a plank on frame hull, versus the time factor of installing a steam engine straight into a completed ready painted hull. As my present build has taken more than three years, because I opted to also rebuild a 1960s motorbike at the same time. I think the Fibre-
    glass
    hull is the right way to go as I do enjoy the steam engine installation, and that will be my starting point. I have a 9/16" bore twin slide valve in mind as a very efficient engine, as this is a 48" hull I hope I can manage the weight of the completed boat. Regards.
    5 years ago by GaryLC
    Directory
    (Life Boat) Taymar
    Model Slipway Taymar Lifeboat and just completed the
    glass
    fibre hull, deck and installing motors, bow thruster and rudder servo (Motor: Graupner 600 x2) (10/10). The deck was a bad fit into the hull and a battle to fix but with hour long epoxy and lots of sellotape pulling the hull against the deck I got there in the end
    6 years ago by Brianaro
    Blog
    Mast assembly
    The supplied mast is of white metal and although OK it has a number of minus points for me. 1- The mast does not lend its self to being hinged. 2- It really needs navigation light on top and the supplied casting is not suitable for this. 3- wiring needs to be hidden, not easy with the casting 4- itโ€™s quite heavy Having said all that itโ€™s ok if you donโ€™t want my wish list. So on with the manufacture of a replica, I chose brass as the preferred material because itโ€™s easy to silver and soft solder. The main legs are made from 6mm round tube, which I squeezed in my machine vice to an oval shape to look like the castings, each of the ends were then squeezed again at 90 degrees to allow then to join to the cross mid-section. I made some brass inserts for the hinged end from 2mm brass sheet, which are bent by 25 degrees to allow the hinge mechanism to sit at 90 degrees to the cabin roof, these are drilled and tapped 8BA. These pieces actually block the end of the oval tube and need to have a 2mm slot milled in them to allow the wires to exit the tube; these are soft soldered in place later. Two feet were made from two pieces of 2mm brass plate the base plate being slotted to accept the upright and finally silver soldered together. (A point here for silver soldering is to use as little solder as possible and allow it to flow with the heat around the joint this means that no filing is needed. I find itโ€™s also good practice to quench the part when nearly cool to break the
    glass
    like residue of the flux then just steel wool is required to clean the parts). The feet upstands were then drilled 8BA clearance and the base fixing holes drilled the same size. The cross mid-section is made from 1mm brass sheet and is bent through 360 degrees whilst placing a 6mm round bar in the centre to create a hole for the top mast. A small wooden former was used as the piece was pressed together in the machine vice, this was then silver soldered to give stability and then filed to shape. This piece has to accommodate the wires passing through, so again a 2mm slot is milled from each leg location to the centre to create passage up to the top mast. The top mast is just stock tubing which then has a turned top with four 5mm holes machined at 90 degrees to accommodate the LED. This is a 5mm Flat top wide angle LED this will direct the light out of the four holes. Finally the cross piece, again stock tube with small ball finials at each end soft soldered in place and tapped 10 BA for the pulley blocks. All pieces now made, itโ€™s time to assemble the parts using a combination of soft soldering and epoxy resin. The wire that I used was silicon sheaved, and when I soldered the legs to the mid-section and lower hinge piece I made sure there was enough wire to pull through to check if the process had damaged the wire, but it hadnโ€™t. So having soldered the LED, the top was epoxied to the upper tube and the tube epoxied to the mid-section. Finally the mid-section was filled using Milliput but first putting some Vaseline on the wires to avoid them being stuck should I ever have to rewire the unit. Next the cross beam was added and epoxied in place. The bottom of the legs looked plain compared with the cast version so I have made some thin gauge brass covers with mock bolts as per the original. The whole assembly was cleaned up ready for a first coat of etch primer, and white primer, followed later with a final coat of appliance white
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Blog
    Hull finishing touches
    The Huntsman Hull has now had the finishing touches applied...Sanding Sealer, Eze-Kote,
    glass
    fibre sheet and hull chine bars added. The inside of the hull has been given a good dollop of Eze-Kote to seal it and waterproof it so next job is to fit the prop tube and motor before the whole hull gets a coat of primer... I've only just realised, but the kit from SLEC does not contain any decking, so I need to sort out whether to just go for plain mahogany veneer or try to find teak decking which is laser cut to fit with plank marks....any help or advice here welcome for a novice! (I can't find anything suitable on the internet). ๐Ÿ˜ก
    5 years ago by StuartE
    Forum
    Painting over epoxy
    On fibre
    glass
    you could use an etching primer which is a modified alkyd primer that produces a sound base coat on wood, steel, fiber
    glass
    , aluminum surfaces. but you should use an ordinary primer before the top coat. Halfords do a spray etch primer.
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Response
    Basic hull construction completed
    Nice hard work, well done i now usually get a
    glass
    fibre hull if i can. Ive run mine with Irvine 40, and 2 different brushless, 2075 kva and 1150 motors and all performed well 3 or 4 cell lipos, go for the biggest capacity 5200`s as the weight is no problem and double your run time. Pic shows latest motor i think its 2900 kva ill try it out soon. I seem to use the Huntsman then take the motors out for other projects
    5 years ago by vortex
    Response
    Basic hull construction completed
    Hi Chris. Thanks for your feedback.....I thought so too, but I suppose its too late to change that now and we'll just have to see what it looks like after the
    glass
    fibre application. it probably won't affect performance, just the looks!๐Ÿ˜Ž It's my first attempt at a hull like this, so can only learn from the experience.
    5 years ago by StuartE
    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? ๐Ÿ˜‰ Next stage is to apply a couple of thin coats of sanding sealer and then onto covering with 35gsm lightweight
    glass
    fibre fabric and Eze-Kote to give the hull more strength and durability.
    5 years ago by StuartE
    Forum
    Planking
    Hi Dave, I was faced with the same question last year when renovating and restoring the hull of an ancient Billing Boats Fish Cutter 'Gina 2' that I had inherited. The Blog gives blow by blow account of how I stabilised and waterproofed the hull. https://model-boats.com/builds/view/43305?goto=43306 Otherwise Haverlock is quite right too๐Ÿ‘ I would have liked to have had a varnished wood finish but the original hull construction was so bad I had to fill it (after applying
    glass
    -fibre tissue to the inside) and the green filler gave it a tortoise shell effect!!๐Ÿ˜ฒ have fun. Cheers, Doug๐Ÿ˜Ž
    5 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Being Sociable.
    I have two steam boats, an Alexandra and a Tug which was destined for the bin, until my friend suggested that he may know someone who wanted it. I refurbished the boat and the steam plant went to Clevedon Steam who stripped it, reset the burner etc and added a few new bits,
    glass
    water gauge etc. The rudder is controlled by an electric motor, NOT a servo, so you have to return the motor to central after a manouevre, so you have to think well ahead of where you are, and where you want to be!!
    5 years ago by CaptainFlack
    Forum
    Painting white metal
    Hi Rogal, Whatever it is (wood, fibre
    glass
    , plastic, white or any other colour metal) PRIME IT! Primers are designed to give the top coat paints something to stick to. Otherwise they will scratch easily and flake off especially from smooth plastic or metallic surfaces etc. Enamel or acrylic? Your choice, just make sure both are the same basis otherwise you may get a nasty reaction when you apply the top coat๐Ÿ˜ฒ Acrylics are usually easier to use, don't pong, and the brushes can be cleaned in warm water๐Ÿ˜Š Happy painting, cheers, Doug ๐Ÿ˜Ž
    5 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    New to Forum
    A note on plumbers acid flux (Bakers fluid) yes it does work however don't leave any instruments/equipment you value in the vicinity of the soldering process because it will be as rusty as hell the day after. Other soldering activities soft and silver 1 cleanliness is paramount 2 correct solder and flux 3 temperature or your iron or gas torch 4 (soft) only apply solder when your work is at temperature 5 (silver) apply solder when your work is at temperature and just before make sure your solder is introduced to the flame and is fluxed . 4 finally use a minimal amount of solder it reduces number 5 5 clean the joint PS if silver soldering before the job has totally cooled quench it in cold water, this will make the flux easier to remove otherwise it hardens like
    glass
    . Good look
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    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 ๐Ÿ˜ก 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 โ€˜photos. This was unfortunate but I feel better for the confession ๐Ÿ™. 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 โ€˜shelfโ€™ 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 coats of gloss โ€˜Appliance Whiteโ€™ and two coats 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 โ€˜Antique Pineโ€™ stain. Next I will add some detail to the deck.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Response
    Building the Cabin. Part 1
    Hi rob I have just completed a similar job on a Freeman 22 cabin cruiser, a three sided structure with a couple of additional cross pieces made from bamboo at the deck level and finally
    glass
    ing the whole structure it finished as a very rigid cabin, however I appreciate you have more window apertures in yours which leaves little area for increasing strength between roof and the sides. having said all that I'm sure you will have produced a superb cabin to match the rest of the boat. all the best Michael
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Response
    San Pedro by Harbor Models!
    Oh, I forgot to mention. This will be my first attempt. At a fiber
    glass
    model! So, I will be learning and building. At the same time! There will be a lot of questions. Asked of the MBW members....!
    5 years ago by figtree7nts
    Forum
    1950s sea commander refurb.
    This old sea commander was built by my dad in the mid 50's. With the help of the wife, we have started to repair and rebuild, the wife stripped it down. Doug (RNmunich) is rebuilding my taycol supermarine ready to fit into it. So far we have relaminated some of the hull boards and cabin sides. Sealed some of the sprung joints with 2 pack epoxy. Once that's had 48 hours hardening time I will rub down and coat the hull in
    glass
    cloth and Eze-Kote. I have 1 problem, the main cabin roof is missing and I don't have any plans to remake, so if anyone can help me please let me know. Thanks for reading, watch for updates in the coming weeks. Cheers Colin.
    5 years ago by Colin H
    Forum
    1950s sea commander refurb.
    Thanks for all your comments and input. What i really need now is a copy of the templates sheet so that i can cut some new parts to replace some of the missing ones . I have ordered a new rudder, and new plexi
    glass
    for the windows. Already in hand is an Mtronics Viper marine 25 amp ESC. 12 volt 7ah battery, Futaba 27 or 40 Mhz RX. Futaba servo. Just awaiting the motor from Doug (RN in Munich). We are going to repaint the Hull in White, Cabin sides in Dark Blue, Cabin roofs in White. The decks will be left as my dad made them, just cleaned and a fresh coat of varnish. the inside of the hull is well sealed already with bitumen (original) which is still allright. Next stage start rubbing down the hull ready for the
    glass
    cloth and Ezekote resin. at least i can do this indoors in the warm, workshop too d*** cold. Thats all for today shipmates, more to come, Cheers Colin.
    5 years ago by Colin H
    Response
    Rubbing fenders, more epoxy & hatch coamings.
    Mike. If I have to apply any filler to the hull then it's not ready for
    glass
    ing, only once the surface is a perfect as I can make it would I apply the
    glass
    cloth and resin. With the sander I had to hot glue the 'captive nut' inside that locks the tilting table as it's not 'captive' by any stretch of the imagination ๐Ÿ˜ฒ. And I also removed the angle setting marker and re-applied it after setting a true 90 degree angle as it was a couple of degrees out. So after a little 'fettling', nothing that any competent person couldn't do, it works really well and accurately ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ‘
    5 years ago by robbob
    Response
    Rubbing fenders, more epoxy & hatch coamings.
    You cant beat elbow grease, there aren't any shortcuts to achieving a perfect paint finish. I thought it may be useful to other builders to mention something we discussed at AP and that is the fact that it wasn't good practice to use any filler after
    glass
    ing as this filling however thin or small will over time shrink at a different rate to that of the paint, making it visible as a "shrink line" albeit small. if you do find yourself in the position of requiring some minor filling you should try to use a material that is the same chemical make up as your paint eg if using cellulose then use cellulose putty for minor filling but do allow it to harden for a couple of weeks before final coat. Also the disc sander from Lidl is brilliant for the price, I did make a small modification by taking out some of the end float by fitting an additional washer/spacer
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Media
    Thames cruise barge
    total scratch built on fibre
    glass
    hull 127cm x24 cm,11 months to build 6volt system brushed motor,3blade 35mm brass prop.
    5 years ago by markiee
    Forum
    Fairmile D 1/24 Scale Build
    Sakibian, My friend Graham built his E-boat with a fibre
    glass
    hull but scratch-built everything else. He does magnificent detail work. For you to build this hull you first need to get the plans to the scale you want to build. 1/24 is good for these models. The cross sections are essential. You need to determine how many bulkhead frames you will require. You won't require as many as shown on their plan and photos - maybe less than half - as many as will enable you to support the stringers to give you a shape of the hull on to which you can fix the planking or skin. The frames you choose need to be at or very close to cross sections, so you can use them to mark and cut your frames. I use 5mm plywood. There is a photo of my Fairmile D frame earlier in this series of posts. One of my earliest posts on this website was a Youtube video with the E-boat and my Fairmile D in action with sound effects.
    5 years ago by reilly4
    Forum
    Fairmile D 1/24 Scale Build
    Hi Sakibian, The PT boat site now sells stuff too, but was originally a site where the author John Drain described how he was building his PT boat and then the E-boat. There are good plans and examples of how he has constructed these boats. My Fairmile D was made from plywood frames, pine stringers, planked and skinned with balsa and then fibre
    glass
    ed. it was a very interesting and difficult shape, but very satisfying once completed. it sails beautifully in the most difficult conditions. I have also included a few more pics of my friend's E-boat with the newer camouflage for further inspiration.
    5 years ago by reilly4
    Response
    Holy SMOKE !! Video, Tin Can Madness
    Hi Joe, When you click on the Media File icon have you ever noticed the [Download] button in the top left corner of the media window!!?? ๐Ÿ˜ฒ Click on that and you are given the choice to Open or Download the file ๐Ÿ˜‰ BTW: to answer your question above - No scale railway at all! I intend to use the loco smokers in RC conversions of 1/350 scale plastic navy ships, such as; HMSs Ark Royal, Colossus, King George Fifth, Prince of Wales, Exeter, and KMSs Bismarck and Graf Zeppelin. As well as RMS Titanic and my 1/128 HMS Belfast and Graf Spee. Two more perhaps for my Southampton tug. Have used them in the dim and distant past for my 1/72 scale RN destroyer. Built a little RC pulse decoder using CMOS chips followed by a transistor driver to switch a relay supplying the smoker coil. See pics of self etched decoder board. The other three outputs are for various lighting effects and destroyer 'Whoop whoop' siren. 30 years old now and still going ๐Ÿ˜Š The smokers work pretty well just using the capillary action of the thin
    glass
    feeder tubes. So no wick to come into contact with a a hot wire coil ๐Ÿ˜Š They were mounted on a bridge across the cap of a large spray can which I used as the oil tank. Exhaust used the chimney effect of a 10mm alu tube running up the funnel. I'm also still pondering how to turn the usual white steam/smoke black! Cheers, Doug ๐Ÿ˜Ž
    5 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Fairmile D 1/24 Scale Build
    The E-boat was built and belongs to a friend of mine - Graham Smithwick. it is a fibre
    glass
    hull and he has had it for a long time. There are plenty of resources on E-boats. This is a very good one. http://www.pt-boat.com/ I have also included some photos of his E-boat before the newer camouflage.
    5 years ago by reilly4
    Response
    glass
    fibre cloth & epoxy resin
    I have also coated my 46" RAF Crash Tender 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 fiber
    glass
    using modelling pins and 5 minute epoxy.
    5 years ago by ChrisR
    Directory
    (Other) Vosper RTTL
    Recently acquired fibre
    glass
    hull and plan. Build to take place in parallel with others on the bench over the next six months. (5/10)
    5 years ago by Welshsailor
    Forum
    HMS Campbeltown 1941, 1/96 scale
    He he! Got some new
    glass
    es just before Christmas Octman๐Ÿค“๐Ÿ˜ PS 'Sorry Captain Mainwairing' ๐Ÿ˜ฒ
    5 years ago by RNinMunich
    Forum
    Smoke generator
    The first time I ever made a smoke generator was in the 1960s at school - for flow visualisation in a wind tunnel I was building. There there was no shortage of power, so i used a 1/4"
    glass
    tube wrapped with asbestos and nichrome heating wire, and boiled paraffin in it - no wick. Loads of lovely white smoke once it was forced through a cooling fan - but it was oily and smelly, and not ideal for lab work.... Later when I built a Revell Bluebell corvette, I made a shallow perspex dish with the
    glass
    -fibre wick, and used the smoke fluid from a disco smoke-maker. That's essentially a glycol/water mix - much less smelly. Unless they add perfume.... I suspect that paraffin would be less smelly outdoors, though fire and an oily residue would be hazards. You should be able to get a bottle of glycol smoke/fog fluid for less than a fiver....
    5 years ago by DodgyGeezer
    Forum
    Smoke generator
    I made a smoke generator back in the 1990s, and used some nichrome from a broken hairdryer wrapped around a wick made from
    glass
    fibre insulation. That withstood the heat very well...
    5 years ago by DodgyGeezer
    Response
    glass
    fibre cloth & epoxy resin
    To those intending to
    glass
    a hull, take Robs advise I did and it works fine, it's tempting to load more resin on at the brushing in stage but DON'T
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Blog
    glass
    fibre cloth & epoxy resin
    I used
    glass
    fibre cloth and epoxy resin successfully when building my 46โ€ 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 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 โ€˜fastโ€™ 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 โ€˜slowโ€™ 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 โ€˜facesโ€™ to the hull and thus itโ€™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 itโ€™s essential to rub down each coat after curing. All the materials were bought from โ€˜Easy Compositesโ€™ https://www.easycomposites.co.uk
    5 years ago by robbob
    Response
    Sea Queen
    Roger.com, I am not so sure about being less detail on a Norfolk Broads Cruiser. I have a small 21ft fibre
    glass
    hulled boat in Potter Heigham on the Broads. But when you see the older wooden Broads Cruisers they have lots of detail especially the ones that get cared for as they should being wooden built. Some of them are so beautiful and well varnished polished brass, Chrome fittings and well groomed. if I could afford a wooden cruiser and be able to keep her in the fashion she should be kept then I would. But if I win the lottery then I will have one. Even the old wooden sailing yacht's are kept in wonderful condition and lots of detail brass etc.
    5 years ago by BOATSHED
    Response
    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
    glass
    ed 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 crash tender 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
    Response
    The bow blocks & outer keel
    Hi samc. I'm just writing the blog entry for the hull
    glass
    ing process and I'll detail the material and process, it's very much the same as the I did on my 46" RAF Crash Tender 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
    Blog
    The bow blocks & outer keel
    The bow of the boat has a compound curve and to create the shape a single block of hard balsa is supplied in the kit, although in my pre-production prototype this had to be formed by laminating some pieces of thick balsa together to the required size. Rather than laminating up a single block separately I did the laminating and glueing in situ on the hull to ensure a solid tight block, and after the glue had cured I set about shaping it. Initially I used a razor saw to roughly remove the surplus at the sides and bottom and then began the process of shaping it to the final form. My sanding plate proved invaluable for the final stages of making the block flush with the hull sides. The underside of the blocks were very carefully shaped with a combination of the sanding plate and abrasive paper around a series large round formers. I was careful not to just use abrasive paper over fingers as this can create grooves and unevenness in the soft balsa. I had already created a concave shape in the bulkhead former F1 and with the ply bottom skins in place it was relatively easy to extend the contour into the bow blocks being very careful to ensure symmetry on both sides. A line was drawn on the blocks that extended the curve of the hull strakes to define the shape. I also used the outer keel as a template throughout the shaping process to make sure that I was not removing too much material. it would be very easy to remove too much material so it pays to do this slowly and carefully, checking all the time for symmetry. Finally when I was happy with the shape I formed a slight flat on the blocks for the outer keel to sit on, using a back light helped greatly with this, and the whole hull was given a light sanding with a detail sander. The prototype kit was supplied with keel components made from thick balsa which would easily be damaged in use so I recreated this in thick ply laminations to the required thickness and shaped it so that it was completely flat and square on the inner edges and with a curved profile on its outer edges. The keel was checked for fit on the hull throughout so that only a minimum amount of filler would be required to blend it to the hull. It was fixed in place with epoxy adhesive and firmly pinned until it fully set and very little filler used to finish it. The kit, which is available now from VMW, includes a single piece bow block and ply keel parts as standard, which makes construction much quicker and easier. Iโ€™m glad that bit is over and Iโ€™m very pleased with the result. Next stage will be
    glass
    fibre cloth and epoxy resinโ€ฆ.
    5 years ago by robbob
    Forum
    Wood planking onto a fiber
    glass
    hull
    anything is possible however the level of difficulty and skill required will be dependant on the shape of the hull, pictures would be helpful (if not essential to give any comment as to the practicality of such a venture)
    5 years ago by mturpin013
    Forum
    Wood planking onto a fiber
    glass
    hull
    Hi chaps, a very happy new year to you all. I have been given a fiber
    glass
    hulled boat it has a nice wood deck and cabin. My question is. Is it or can the hull be planked to suit the deck planking. Jim Dogged.
    5 years ago by jimdogge
    Media
    Long Reef PT-50
    My father is currently building a 1/20 PT50 Rodriquez hydrofoil. it currently a plug mould with 2 fiber
    glass
    halves and a left over wooden plug.
    5 years ago by rcmodelboats


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