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Flying Scotsman. Iron paddle tug

This is a scratch build using plans from Brown,Son &Ferguson Ltd. plans come on three A1 which include hull profiles, plan and elevation views, and details of two types of paddles. A straight forward one and paddles fitted which an excentric mechanism. The latter is supposed to be the most efficient with the paddles turned to maintain max area to the water. While researching found this web site with more detail. However the text is in German but it has loads of detailed drawings in PDF format. http://www.john-tom.com/RcShip/Strongbow%20Paddle%20Steamer/StrongbowPlansComplete.pdf Research showed that lots of these tugs were built in the late 1800, using the same design. My build was named because it was one of the last built for a Glasgow shipping company. Taken from tynetugs web site Name: FLYING SCOTSMAN Launched: 12/09/1898 Completed: 1898 Builder: JP Rennoldson & Sons, South Shields Yard Number: 188 Dimensions: 177grt, 29nrt, 118.0 x 20.1 x 10.1ft Engines: SL1cyl (38.25 x 56ins), 90nhp, 400ihp Engines By: JP Rennoldson & Sons, South Shields Propulsion: Paddle Construction: Iron Reg Number: 108767 History: 1898 Clyde Shipping Co Ltd; registered at Glasgow 13/05/1948 Christopher & Richard Jennings, London; renamed CAMBRIAN 16/01/1951 Broken up Comments: Last paddle tug built for the Clyde Shipping Co 1898: Cost £4650 25/08/1939 to 16/10/1939: On War Department service 13/05/1948: Sold for conversion to a yacht. Subsequently abandoned at Oban 16/01/1951: Arrived at Troon for breaking up

5 years ago by Hillro

Blog

40'' Seaplane Tender, new build

Just started a 40" model of a 41'6" seaplane tender. I have been wanting to do one for years and now that my 36" 100 series 64ft HSL is done I was getting itchy fingers. Started with drawings from the 1976 Model Boats mag (part of the series on ASRs they did back then) which show frame shapes and positions, and enlarged them to 40" (A-O paper after rearranging the images on the A4 primary enlargement used as printing 'pattern' to enable max size on A-O. ) I did the same with the HSL and with a bit of fiddling got all the frames to line up nicely to shape. You have to be a bit inventive building this way regarding framing material etc, but it's possible if you have previous building experience. I found with these particular drawings that the frames were not drawn with identical profiles (left and right sides) so I had to create 1 side and flip it for the opposite side. I also had to create an extra frame between 2+3 as there was no real support for the stringers without it. The front top deck frame is cut from 3mm ply, as are the frames,-(ply is from packaging of a big Toyota Landcruiser axle recall which was done during my time at Toyota, which is 3 ply, very light, and perfect for this type of job, and not to mention, free!) I borrowed this frame method from the old 60s Vic Smeed MTB plan and it makes a good strong bow section to work with (used it on the HSL also.) Ply longerons are run through from transom to F2 with hardwood stiffening between transom and F4. Chine, gunwale and mid stringers are 4mmx2mm Beech, bottom stringers are 3x3 beech with mid stringer doubled. I may have to put extra stringers in the sides but that will depend on how the planks lie in the flares. planking will be 1.5mm balsa as the flares are quite pronounced especially in the bow area, and you just can't get to go round the compound curves. Hull will be glassed and faired when finished and sealed with thin resin inside once everything is ready. Cabin is reasonably easy but takes a bit of working out and fiddling with due to lack of any plan, but it seems to be working out reasonably with the use of photos etc. The model is going to be a representation of a tender which was imported privately in the 50s by a doctor in the Milford sounds area here in the South Island of NZ, to enable him to visit patients, due to there being water access only in many of the remote areas. I have modified the drawings to represent this boat, which included changing the mast and removing the rear oval port and replacing it with a small round port, (not sure why this was changed, maybe an interior modification made the large port unnecessary ?) The boat ended up in Auckland at some stage and was owned by a family not far from my place for a number of years (pic is on the hard at our local yacht club in the 70s, - colour pic is from a friends super 8 movie taken from his boat, on an outing together with Jaguars owner 60s/70s). It is now apparently back in the South Island being restored. The model will use brushed 540 motors with twin ESCs etc but still a way off yet. I have to work out a way to make the cabin removable either with or without the rear cockpit, but more likely it will be a 2 piece job. It's a bit of a make it up as you go project. Model Boats frames boat Landcruiser motors ESCs 👍 Like 💬 Comment 🗣️ Share 5

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Blog

Deck planking

Decided to fit planking instead of the printed , and also planked the forecastle entrance. This is held in position with two magnets at each end as I require access to anchor winch. After glueing down the planking with half mill spacing I then coated the gaps with dark wood filler and when dry sanded off to give the caulking effect between planks. Then finished with a satin varnish. Have glued down deck and fitted the bulkhead fillets also most of the fittings on main deck and fore deck.

4 years ago by Elsrickle

Forum

WEE NIP

The other green/yellow nip is a clear and I think heavy duty cellophane that we buy from florists. It cost us around 2 to 3 Aud. The are a little short so we have to angle the sail pattern and tape the rest on from what is left over. I made the mistake with mine of having my cut at the bottom instead of the peak of the sail. The other bloke got clear film and some spray paint and painted it. Some fell off leaving the result ss in the photos. We just use standard double sided tape to stick down.

5 years ago by peterd

Blog

Gun, Decks and Capping Strips

Having suddenly remembered that my wife is dragging me off for two weeks in Mauritius next Tuesday, I thought I had better update things. Construction of the windlass was very satisfying so I thought I would jump the gun (sorry!) and build the 12 pounder. Another annoying incorrect part number for the gun platform (399 read 361), but the remainder of the mini build went OK. The suggested use of scrap 0.8mm ply as a spacer ensured parallel planking on the gun deck platform and again, the white metal parts required very little fettling. Instructions say to fix the stanchions in place, then thread the 0.2mm railing wire. I think it would be easier to thread the wire onto the stanchions and then glue them into place. I also found that the vague instruction to leave a gap in the railings on the 'left rear side' for the ladder, required fine tuning to avoid the bottom of the ladder coming up against a cowl vent. Shouldn't have jumped the gun! Next job was to glue the ply capping rails around the top of the hull. I used superglue which gave a quick fix, together with the usual stuck fingers. However, once sanded and painted the end result was very pleasing. Supplied are of 'screen printed' deck overlays, which are detailed with planking etc. Instructions say that these decks can be lightly stained, which I initially decided to do. Not a good move! Even a light staining masks a lot of detail. Luckily, I only messed up the foredeck, so a trip to Jotika for a replacement. A chat with John (Jotika) resulted in leaving the decks unstained, which will later be clear lacquered. It seems that the decks were originally screen printed giving much 'heavier' detail which would take a stain. However, the current decks are laser etched so the planking isn't as heavily defined. (More about that later). Ok, I have been ordered to start packing my case, so more in a few weeks.

5 years ago by cormorant

Blog

Deck Fittings

Have decided rather than the follow the instruction to build each section. I am going to build most of the deck fittings before going further in the build. Some of the instruction are a bit vague and the drawing is not to scale, it will be easier to place items if already assembled. Have also made the small steps for access to superstructure from the deck as the drawing does not show any. Made with some old railing wire and plastic card chequered plate. Saw them on an old photo of the Sir Lancelot which was of the same class. Have fitted smoke generator in funnel and also fitted 2mm studs on base of funnel for better fixing to superstructure. The funnel is made from plastic drain pipe same diameter as the styrene pieces. The loudspeaker box will be fitted in the stern below the wooden slats where the ships boat sits this one is for the steam sound generator. As I didn’t like the printed for fish pond and hatches have made them from strips of walnut and lime wood the same with the trawl boards. Fishpond will also be used as battery cover and front hatch will be the removable cover for the power on/off switch, the superstructure hatch is the cover over the steam whistle loudspeaker which will be fitted in the superstructure.

5 years ago by Elsrickle

Blog

Deck line in place!

The Deck line is now drawn all along the hull! My last three kits were by Dumas Models! There instructions were very well written! Having built my last three tugs. By Dumas of course! Has given me more knowledge. On what to do with a more advanced kit! In this Billing Boats kit. You better know your way around the build! Or have a lot on questions! Next I have to steam her Bow and Stern. Supports which are of 2mm thick ply! Having tried to steam her supports. I have found that the ply delaminates! Which is a problem! But, I have surplus wood at the ready! See, it's the bow and stern area. That use plywood ! So, what I'm going to do is. Use 1/4 inch dowel Square of course! Cut about 1/4" pieces times X! To go around her Bow and stern area! This will also solve. The delamination problem I encounted!

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

Re: '' Constructing the box''

Hi again, just thought I’d show a few pics of my build as it nears completion if I may? It’s been a thoroughly enjoyable build thus far and looking forward to getting her on the water in the next couple of weeks. Just a few more details to make and add, a bit more varnish and good to go! I did build some lead into the hull fore, aft and sides under the hull box and between the outer , guesstimated The weight and after a bath ballast test, it’s about spot on. Most of the details are scratch built including the anchor made from bits of plasticard, anchor chain is just 20p of cheap necklace from a charity shop. All instrument dials, throttle quadrant again scratch built from plasticard with instrument gauges from a freebie given out in RCM&E a few years ago! However, I have and I hope you don’t mind, used a lot of the ideas in your build which I have read front to back so many times to gleam hints and tips.

5 years ago by Skydive130

Blog

Bulkheads and motor fit.

And it was all going so well! If all else fails, read the instructions and look carefully at the drawings. Having removed deck camber beams, mid deck bulkheads and longitudinal stringers from the CNC , I glued the assembly together and taped it to a flat surface to dry, as per the instructions. However, as you can see from the two magnified sections in picture 1, the deck camber beams and stringers are not flush. I only became aware of this after glueing the assembly into the hull and trying to dry fit the aft deck. Once again, the trusty Dremel with cutting disc attached came into its own and I managed to rectify the problem - not without difficulty. Before glueing the bulkhead assembly into place I fitted the motors. As I have already mentioned, with the propshafts parallel to the hull, there is very little clearance for the motors. However, with the offset shafts on the 2.5:1 540 geared motors, this was not a problem. I used vac formed plastic 'cradle' motor mounts and standard universal couplings. I am now a great believer in using proprietary silicone sealant to fix the motors onto the mounts. This not only cushions vibration but allows tweaking of the final line up, which I do by eye. Before the sealant sets, I run the motors and further tweak to get as little vibration as possible. See pic 4. With motors in place it was time to fix the bulkhead assembly into the hull. Instructions suggest using slow cure epoxy, but I used Gorilla glue, which does the job just as well, without the trouble of mixing. Included in the bulkhead assembly is the servo tray for the rudder and with that connected and the power plant -two 12v 7ah lead acid batteries - in place, sea trials were fast approaching.

5 years ago by cormorant

Forum

Construction of a smoker

Thanks for your advice Steve, have already bought the wooden decks and upgrade on the armament,plus countless etch brass , for more detail, I'm expecting things to break off, as it happens with many of my boats I sail, with detail work on them.😐 cheers, Peter

5 years ago by Rookysailor

Forum

Night Watch

Apart from curtailing our patrols this last few days, the bad weather has stopped the construction of our storage facility by the Alice Construction Company. Everything was planned, the bituminous corrugated for the roof were on order. They arrived as promised, but they delivered the wrong ridge pieces and did not have the right ones in stock. All that week was lovely roofing weather but nothing could be started, then. the following Monday, the right pieces arrive. And it has poured with rain ever since. Maybe one day, it will stop. Nerys

5 years ago by Nerys

Response

Re: RAF high speed rescue launch 2642

The only Walton boat seems to be a seaplane tender from an article by John Pritchard in the April 89 issue of Model Boats. Not sure if the plan is still available - MM1432 (3 ) There is a mention that No 338 (a picture is included) rescued 25 aircrew. The shots of the plan are very small in the article - not sure if they would be usable. Let me know via pm if you would like a copy of the article

5 years ago by redpmg

Response

Re: Not at all amused!

I'd be more inclined to first contact the supplier / manufacturer and check if a build manual accidentally got left out. I'm assuming that (like my Deans Marine HMS Manxman kit) all plastic parts for the superstructure etc are either precut of printed on the together with an individual part number. At the same time I would check the web for build blogs from folks who have gone before! Generally - "A picture tells a thousand words!". Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: Ocean Going Tug: Atlantic

Hi Commodore Sir, I'm not volunteering but I do have some experience of moving boats from the third floor. However, in my case it was real boats, not models. At the time, forty years ago, I lived in an upstairs maisonette, essentially third floor. I needed a tender for the 43ft Cat Schooner I was building (In a boatyard!). My lounge wasn't very big, but I decided I could just about build an 8ft praam dinghy in it. Luckily the lounge was at the end of a straight run to the front door. I designed it to be built from 3 of 8 x 4 ply and the actual build could be done in two evenings, not including painting. And so it happened. To get her out, I enlisted a friend to help. We carried her on her side to the balcony walkway outside the front door, lowered her down onto the pavement. Put her on top of the car., and that was it. She was such a pleasant dinghy to row or scull, that I soon built a new improved version complete with centreboard, rudder and sail. She sailed beautifully. Hope you are as successful. Nerys

5 years ago by Nerys

Forum

Work with Balsa wood

Hi All, Really surprised at all this "too short" only 18" stuff😮 I buy my balsa supplies from Krick here in DE. https://www.krickshop.de/e-vendo.php?shop=krick_e&SessionId=&a=re_search&SearchStr=searchfield_technic_0%3Abalsaholz&select=brand%3DKRICK Can still get 1m lengths of and profiles. 😊 Get a stock in chaps and chapesses, before Boris Yellow Hammer mucks everything up!☹️ Snag is no local shops where you can "taste and try". So far so good though with Krick. If it's a bit soft I harden it with diluted EzeKote like Colin👍 Surely SLEC etc must also have decent lengths? (Not what Alice might be thinking Nerys 😮 keep her under control! 😉) Cheers, Doug 😎 PS Our posts crossed DG, thanks for the SLEC confirmation👍)

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Work with Balsa wood

"....The trick is to feel how the plank likes to lay around a flare with the least stress, and go with that angle if poss...." Indeed. Woodworking's a skill, like riding a bicycle. You get to feel what the grain will let you do, and make use of the way it will move. You can see simple examples on other EeZeBilt plans, where items requiring extensive bending, like the transom of the Beaver tug, are required to be cut across the grain. ................ I remember back to the dawn of time, when there were still beam engines pumping water, the summers were blazing, the winters were white, 64k was as much core memory as anyone could possibly need and when you bought balsa from the model shop the density was uniform throughout. 😍 Nowadays machinery controls are non-intuitive graphics, any weather change is the subject of emergency alerts from the Met Office, you have gigabytes in a smart phone but no ability to control what goes where and when you buy balsa off the net it has bands of differing consistency along each sheet... 🤑

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Work with Balsa wood

If you are bending things like stringers, chine spray rails etc soak the part you want to bend in a trough (if you have one- wallpapering trough is good) of boiling water for about 4-5 mins, -remove and bend around screws/panel pins set to the radius on a flat board and weight down till dry (long enough pins will let you stack a number of pieces). If you are bending sheet balsa, the softer the better, (across the grain and with it, careful bending across,- snaps easily if too firm or thick) This will also depend on how tight a radius you need, ( if only gradual- like a clinker dinghy) you might get away with firm balsa. 2mmx 10mm wide strips will follow a curve nicely. For a bow with a flare you will need to plank (vert or angled)with soft to med balsa strips (10mmx 2mm or thereabouts)- gives you room to sand and fair. The trick is to feel how the plank likes to lay around a flare with the least stress, and go with that angle if poss. If the hull past the flare is flatish you can use whole to speed things up. For the truest shape, complete planking gives the best result (although a bit time consuming and a bit more sanding involved). JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Workshop

Used 5mm Acrylic (perspex) for my large sliding deck windows and it has been there for around 9 years without too much deterioration (faces Nth with full sun). I never touched it with any polish and just washed it with a hose on the outside, and it's stayed good all this time (pretty much self cleaning). Will scratch if you rub it with a cloth before removing dust though. Cost me about $600 for the 2 . Didn't want glass there as was too heavy and dangerous if it broke in the high winds we get here at times, (Acrylic flexes)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: clyde puffer

"That's how my free flight glider started out, 3 of 36x4x1/4", " So Doug are you saying that you started out 3 to the wind. LOL! Martin555.

5 years ago by Martin555

Response

Re: clyde puffer

"2 of 100x1mx4mm balsa" 100m balsa!😮 Wow! you must have ended up with wings bigger'n a 747 (75m) 😁 Nice job JB👍 That's how my free flight glider started out, 3 of 36x4x1/4", ca 2m wingspan. Caught a thermal on it's maiden flight on Hemswell Cliff and disappeared heading roughly North East😭 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: clyde puffer

Believe it or not, this started out with 2 of 100x1mx4mm balsa, planned/modified as I went, and it flew perfectly (gets near the ton in a slight dive) first time out. Wingspan 48" , 3548 1200kv, 4s 40c LiPo. Just used good old fashion eyeometry (and good luck.)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Workshop

Martin you wont believe what I bought most of the stuff for mostly at a Lymington boot sale on various occasions - very near Setley Pond - my clubs home waters - 2 cased Mini Drills (one with small variable speed transformer) cost all of two quid, self powered Jigsaw as new for a fiver with large VS transformer also fiver. Many of veneer at two quid. 100 odd tins of various enamels a fiver and so on - Victory Fireboat a fiver - too many to list...........

5 years ago by redpmg

Forum

Plans for Mississippi paddle Steamer

Hi Nod, Welcome aboard 😊 You can buy a set (10 ) here, ain't cheap though 🤔 https://www.modelerscentral.com/plans/mantua-ship-plans/ship-model-plans-mississippi/ But probably worth it to get a €473 kit right! https://www.modelerscentral.com/ship-model-kits/mantua/mississippi-river-steamboat/ Good luck, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

All the hard work would have now been done, if I had got the waterjets and had finished designing the stern. We will have to wait for that, as well as a delivery of balsa... But I have a couple of spare of balsa and a few final parts, so I can give you a short sample of how things will go on from here while the machine is cutting them. We want to cut parts out of a 4"x36" balsa sheet so I draw up the boundaries, and fit the parts in at appropriate places (fig36). The sheet is oriented vertically, because that's how my CNC machine wants to see it, and the top right corner is positioned at 0:0, so I know where my origin is. Then I remove all the lines that I don't need to cut. Because I have lined up the long straight edges with the edge of the balsa, I don't need to cut along them. I don't need to cut the boundary lines either - so I have a rather odd drawing for final cutting as at fig37. From now on we don't need to look at any more drawings. I save just the bits I want to cut as a .DXF file - which is a standard CAD drawing format. Then I take this file and input it to a free software package called 'DXF2Gcode'. Which, you will not be surprised to hear, outputs instructions for cutting those lines in G Code, which is a standard language for controlling cutting tools. The language looks like this - my comments in brackets: G90 (Absolute programming) G21 (units in millimeters) G17 (We are working in the XY plane) G40 (Cancel automatic tool radius compensation.) G49 (Cancel tool length compensation.) G28 (go to the pre-programmed Zero position directly over the balsa sheet) G92 x0y0z0 (Set this position to Origin Zero. All distances will now be measured from here) G0 Z -10.000 (drop the cutting tool to height -10mm - just above the balsa) (*** LAYER: Layer1 ***) (* SHAPE Nr: 2 *) G0 X +0.000 Y -68.551 (go to the first place to start cutting) F60 (set the feed rate to 60) G1 Z -15.400 (drop the cutting tool through the z axis to height -15.4 - this cuts almost completely through the balsa, leaving just a thin web underneath to hold the part in place) G1 X -25.258 Y -68.525 (Move the cutting tool along the x,y axis to cut the first line) G1 X -25.255 Y -65.350 (Move the cutting tool along the x,y axis to cut the second line line) G1 X +0.000 Y -65.350 (Move the cutting tool along the x,y axis to cut the third line) G1 Z -10.000 (raise the cutting tool along the z axis out of the balsa) You can easily learn the basic commands - but you don't need to as DXF2Gcode just creates a working cutting file for you. Next, you put some balsa in the machine, turn it on and send the G Code commands to it. This is done with another free software package called 'G Code Sender'. The names are quite descriptive! I enclose some photos of what happens next, and a 'media file' (video) which, as you know, you download by clicking on it, and then clicking on the miniature little blue square on the top left of the screen. As you can see, there is very little dust with a thin cutting tool, and the sound from a 12v motor running at 10v is low. This was recorded with a camera within a foot of the cutting tool... After that, it's just an evening of taking the parts out of the balsa , assembling them and gluing up...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

Now we are on the home straight! We have a drawing, a reasonable structure, and we can start pulling out the detail. It's at this stage that I usually confuse myself completely, since I will make numerous slight alterations to put bulkheads and formers in better positions for several reasons - internal layout, better strength and balance.... and I end up with several dozen slightly different hull designs, each of which are slightly incompatible with numerous slightly different bulkheads, and I then lose track of which parts go with which others... However, here are some examples of the output from this stage. The superstructure base(fig32) is going to have to be made from parts as I mentioned earlier. The bulkheads (fig33) can now all be drawn with their slots and tabs, ready for assembling into the classic egg-box on the sub-deck (fig34). The front formers and the keel are taken off the drawing, again with tabs drawn (fig35)... There will be quite a number of other parts to be drawn and made - the transom and other flat sections of the stern, the triangular bulkheads under the subdeck, the trapezoid plates which go to make up the funnel and mast, and other details like the anchor well. Almost all of these parts will be uninteresting rectangles with dimensions taken off the drawing, so I am not going to list them all down here. The full set of parts, however, will be needed when it comes to the cutting stage, because we will be trying to get as little wastage as possible from the balsa, and sneaking little triangular formers into all available gaps on the . I will take a bit of a break now, because I need to get the water-jets delivered before doing the final stern design - and I am running short of balsa, so I will need more of that! I may cut a few parts on a sheet of 1/8" inch as an illustration. To do this you simply arrange the parts you want into a 4"x36" rectangle, load the cutter with a 4"x35" balsa sheet and send a file describing the parts to the cutter over a USB link. We will cover the software used and the stages of converting the drawing file to cutting instructions at that point...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

A little aside now, for the superstructure. We can now draw a bit more detail on the superstructure, and shift it onto the hull to check how large an access cavity we have. If it looks too small we can always use part of the deck, but this looks as if it should be big enough. See fig27. I still don't know how I will hold it on - magnets perhaps, with a locating dowel? Then we start measuring in just the same way as we did the bulkheads - base and height. This will give us the angles at which the superstructure walls are placed - most boats have these vertically upwards! Fig28 shows the cross-sections of the superstructure at 4 places, where the joints are. Now we have a base shape and a top shape - we can draw these in as fig29. The vertical lines mark where the walls change their angle - these have to be in line top and bottom. How easy to check with a CAD package! Imagine the superstructure base and top - held apart by those cross-sections. measuring on the diagonal line gives us the shape and size of the which will be needed to cover it. Here they are drawn as fig30. Finally, we have the roof with the bridge wings, and the upper roof of the bridge proper. They are drawn out as fig31, and immediately you can see that they are too big to be made from a 4" wide sheet of balsa. We may need to add parts on - or make them from plasticard? The base is also too big for a single sheet - that will need building in parts... I still need to think about the actual construction, but now I have the shapes I can work out how they will be assembled and attached to the hull...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Response

Re: What filler?

Hello Colin, the bow and stern are each made up from 7x 19mm thick balsa sections sandwiched together, glued and dowelled to the main hull, which is made up from 3x 3/8 . The sanding is going well however i just want to make the finish a little better. Not looking for a 'as new' overall finish as it was a working barge so i guess that it was knocked around a bit in its time! regards chris

5 years ago by oscartrain

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

We just need to draw the superstructure and bulkheads, and then we can start estimating how much balsa will be needed. Next, arrange the lines to fit on the with minimum wastage, and point the output at a CNC machine. Then all you have to do is glue it together and paint...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

EeZeBilts From Keil Kraft

For a simpler hull I would have done all the hard work now - for this one I might need to go back and start from the beginning if I find it doesn't work..... But anyway, here is the next instalment. From the plan and elevation views (fig20) I can take all the data about where the cross, and where tabs may need to be put in. These are then marked and the egg-box structure (fig21) is just taken away. Easy to do this with a drawing package! So we are left with cutting lines for the top deck (fig22), the sides of the internal box (fig23) and the sub-deck (fig24). The decks are made with two balsa to obtain the width. I have included a rear bulkhead (fig25) and a front former (fig26) to illustrate where these will go. Note that we now have much of the hull shape, and we haven't even specified the keel (which will need a few more tab cutouts from the sub-deck). For eezebilts the keel is often made in two parts - above the sub-deck and below. I am expecting assembly to follow this route: 1 - add bulkheads and box sides to subdeck. 2 - when glued, add front formers and keel top, and bend bow up. 3 - when glued, turn over and add keel bottom and bottom formers. Since the keel is not relied upon to add a lot of strength, it could just be a single sheet of 1/8" balsa. But I note that Martin used multiple of plasticard to build his keel, and am wondering whether two bits of 1/8" should be glued together... Another thing we do at this point is check that the measurements of any large items don't exceed the maximum size of a sheet of balsa. And we can do a bit of thinking about where each item will come from - slight size adjustments might mean that we have less wastage when it comes to cutting... P.S. - actually, two pairs of centre tabs are not going to be needed, since those bulkheads will just be connected straight to the outside of the box and there need be no internal division. It's slips like this that make me end up putting out incorrect plans... 😭

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Transport System for model boats

Yes - you use washers. Just one needed at the rear, because a pop rivet already has a rim. This is a common technique. Pick a light rivet and it won't compress the plastic much. For the handle bolts I use a little 4mm spacer, as the web page shows. I use these for EeZeBilts, which are typically light - but the biggest one I have carries nearly 20kg, with spare batteries and radio and everything inside. A kid can sit on them - indeed, I have done so on occasions. You use the 4mm thickness, but if you really want to use them as seats you would probably be better off with 6mm. Of course, if you wish you can build a wooden frame inside if you want to carry something really heavy. What I like is the cost. You can get 5 of 8ftx4ft on ebay for less than £50 - that's £10 per sheet with free delivery. If you go to your nearest stockist (look for 'twinflute') and carry them away they will probably be £5 per sheet. And you can typically get 4 boxes out of a sheet. The cost of a strap handle and some clasps is minimal (a few quid on ebay), so you are looking at a custom-sized box for a fiver or less. Means that you can box ALL your boats at low cost, and then stack them away under beds or out in the shed. I must have a dozen or so of these piled on top of each other... and they are very light, so you are not carrying any extra weight apart from the boat... Incidentally, I've standardised on these toggle clips - they seem to work the best... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Case-Box-Stainless-Steel-Spring-Loaded-Toggle-Latch-Catch-Clip-6pcs-Y6U9/323801617239?hash=item4b64149357:g:3S0AAOSwhMJc004r

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

46'' RAF Crash Tender

John B Not sure if this clip helps you or not, what ever it is worth a look. If there is not room for that, even if you lengthened the centre shaft to bring the outboard motors nearer the centre line. Then what about this thought. UK supplier Cornwall Model Boats and others do gear packs. If you can get 1:1 gear sets. mount between two perspex with suitable bearings to form a dropped drive line with input and out put on the same side. Make two units and mount on port and starboard shafts with the motors aft, over the shafts. If you are short of width angle the gear sets inwards at the top to bring the motors closer. Then just mount the centre motor direct on the end of the centre shaft in the conventional way, With a bit of luck and good model engineering all three motors will be accessible through the same aperture. Just a thought for you. It of course could be totally wrong too!

5 years ago by ikseno99

Forum

Where are they?

Spent at least three hours searching for for the orbital sander today - still not found - but discovered unused detail sander in a very odd place (under the kitchen sink) - used that - does a better job on our hardwood trophy plaques. Bought from Woolworths just before they closed down on sale for next to nothing - sad........ Best one ex managed - lost her car keys - turned up a day later in the freezer section of the fridge......... the remote a bit iffy after that.

5 years ago by redpmg

Forum

Pond Weed

Thanks for posting about pond weed control. Biological Control .. best seems to be Grass Carp reported to eat the weeds, we are still investigating. Chemical Control... not allowed to use herbicide as our pond is linked to the River Itchen. However we do use Barley straw extract to control algae. Mechanical Control ... motorised cutters etc are far to expensive and you still have to rake up the cut weeds. In the end throwing a rake out or placed behind roots by guy in a boat and pulling it in is the best solution for us, so far. one in the boat, two each with a rake and barrow. we cut and collected barrow fulls. We continue to use Pond Dye (see biofix and dyofix.co.uk) other shading can be obtained by planting willow trees. Weighted black polythene for 6 months at a time has been suggested as has solar powered fountain or air pumping air bubbles as this reduces infestations and oxygenates the water. Regards, Tall Paul.

5 years ago by Tall Paul

Forum

Martin Westquay's Piper Cub ;-)

Hi Doug - are those printwood in the kit ? Must be a very old one

5 years ago by redpmg

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

"....I am sure that you will end up with a lot of customers when see these...." While it is, of course, quite reasonable to charge for materials and time, I am looking forward to a future where the base patterns for a model boat kit will be available for free off the Web. You can download a lot of free patterns already, but I haven't seen anything I would call a 'real boat kit'. CNC cutters and 3-D printers are already available at most schools, and local councils now operate 'MakerSpace' workshops where this kit is made available to the public. Hobbyist designers could turn out the cutting files - all a modeller would need to do would be to buy the of wood and feed them into the machine to have a kit coming out the other side. Not too sure how to do fibreglass hulls, though...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Blog

40'' Seaplane Tender, new build K

Deck is now on and trimmed and chine spray rails and gunwale rubbing strip are on. Will be making the toe rails next and a few tweaks here and there, and inside edge of deck trimming to balsa facings (to be fixed) before undercoating. Cabin is a work in progress and still to be 'fitted'to deck ( whole sandpaper strapped down tight to deck, and cabin placed on top and sanded fore and aft till a good fit) Cabin will fit over an internal coaming/upstand to keep water out. Spray rails and rubbing strip are hard balsa toughened with cyno (toe rails will be the same) Glue for decks was West System 105 resin with 404 powder additive (magic stuff, most widely used epoxy for full sized boats in NZ.)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Motor identification.

Wow - that's a bit of a wide requirement! I assume you are having difficulty finding some data? Are we talking I/C motors or electric here? Brushed or brushless? .... If the item has ANY markings you can usually look it up on the Web - though you may need to translate from Chinese. The big companies are easy enough to get English data from, but smaller ones may pose a problem. Recently I had to photograph the characters on a box of hydrometers, get that automatically translated from, I assume, Simplified Chinese, look up the company name in Latin characters, download instruction with likely pictures attached and then translate those.... A lot of things, including electric motors, are now made in China as 'clones' - that is, as copies of an original design, often sourced from the West, perhaps with a few modifications. Such items often come with very little info from the manufacturer, and may be made as a short run with a 'one-off' badge on them. Under these circumstances the only way you will get information is to have enough experience in the field to be able to recognise the item as being a copy of a known item and work from there. Often specialist forums have people who can help you here...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Hintsand tips - Decals made easy

If anyone is looking for a cheap easy way to make any decals of photos name plates, designs etc, here is an idea you might find useful. I use a waterslide decal paper on which you can print anything you design, draw etc on your inkjet printer. I buy this paper from a company in Australia for around $30 NZ for 10 A4 . You can buy clear or white. What you do is just print your design, photo, text etc onto the paper (plastic waterslide coated), let the ink dry, spray with either a clear lacquer or Helmar clear (the best), allow to dry, trim,soak in warm water as usual and apply. This material is quite tough and will not tear easily and you can spray lacquer over it to seal it on the model. It is a similar stuff as sold by Testors in a kit but is a lot more cost effective. I've included some examples of decals I've made for my boats and planes . For small decals you can cut a small piece a bit bigger than your design, print your picture on A4 to see where it will come on the page, sellotape the piece of decal paper over the print, (tape horizontally top and bottom) put the page back in the printer with the same orientation as is was, and print onto your decal. This saves wasting a whole sheet of decal paper which cannot be re used. If you find a nice clear sharp design it will come out nicely on the decal

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Hintsand tips - Decals made easy

Is that 321 new P for 20 (assuming it's not just for 1) if so not too bad, about the same as mine from Aussie.

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Hintsand tips - Decals made easy

Hi C-H, had a look at that site thanks, and they don't do too bad a job by the looks of it. I still prefer to do my own as for $30 I can make hundreds of decals (depending on size) from 10 A4 . Looks like they do pretty much the same thing as I can do but just on sticky backed vinyl. They still need to be sealed as well by the looks of it to water / fuel proof them. Some of my planes fly at up to 100 MPH so these decals once sealed hang on pretty well as do the ones on the boats. As I mentioned previously about having to wait, Callies say up to a month for a custom decal ? Also, as they mentioned, the better the pic you send them the better the result, which is what I said earlier, doing it the way I do. Either way, if it works, you make it yourself or have someone do it, its how the model looks in the end that counts.

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: 40'' Seaplane Tender, new build F

Thanks Martin, I find that if your framing is ok, and you use medium balsa (plank grain lengthways, you seem to come out with a much truer shape to f/glass than trying to torture of balsa or ply round corners, (pretty much do it the same as a 100% boat and you can't go too far wrong) Managed to bring the chine down at the bow using filler (which took the most time) I'll re-do the frame patterns to fix this problem and do a few other dimension changes and frame positions in case anyone else might want to have a crack at this boat, once I've sorted everything out. I'll try and do it so I can email 100% frame outlines etc plus a bit of info to enable anyone with a bit of modelling skill to knock up a hull. As I said before, I'm making this up as I go along so it won't be perfect, but at least it should be a reasonable 'stand off' (long way off) scale model.😂 Glassing is the fun easy bit! (check out my last 100% big glassing job on my 12ft 70s racing dinghy) I enjoy glassing, as it means you are sealing in all the hard work you've put in to building, repairing, restoring etc and it's going to be there for years to come.

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

AERKITS SOLENT LIFEBOAT

Hi, I have found this on the net. Send an email to the engineering secretary at the RNLI as they sell a set for the Solent (three @ approx £6 a sheet including postage. mailto:louise_chapman@rnli.org.uk Louise is always ready and willing to help modelers in any way she can. The RNLI needs all the help and funds it can get to continue its great work at sea. Hope this helps. Martin.

5 years ago by Martin555

Forum

Joining ply hull sides

Hi there, Somewhere - in the UK - you can purchase 8 ft x 4ft of 2 mm birch plywood. I know because I bought some for a model shop in Whitburn, Tyne and Wear a while ago - they cut if from an 8ft x 4ft for me - but the problem in now the shop in Whitburn has now closed down. I have been doing a bit of web search and I have come across this link but it seems it will only sell to the industry. If you contact them they may be able to let you know who they supply too. https://www.specialisedpanels.co.uk/birch-plywood.html Or they may even sell it to you - good luck. When I was joining plywoods on real boats we used to feather them (taper them) but you wont be able to do that with 2mm thick ply. So, as suggested above, may be the best option. John

5 years ago by JOHN

Forum

Hints and Tips.

Mate, too many years in salt water . Tips? the secret? I really paint all my wood models so thoroughly and make internal wood coamings inside of the superstructures and actually hose down first thing at home with a soft hose stream to wash off salt. Most of my hulls and decks when the model is finished have been "painted" local hardware paint or sprayed with fibreglass resin thinned down about 50% or so on paint varnished wood ( even polyurethane 50% thinned ) of which BOTH are so clear and some models over 30/35 ( i/c and steam ) years are still impervious to attack and a bit bullet proof and every so often I do a clean down with say a household (any brand will do) kitchen bench type of cleaner, supermarket spray mist cleaner , you know the ones that smell so fresh and clean that they kill ONLY 99% of all germs and baddies ( what a crock ) and I then take the model/ bits onto the grass still smelling so fresh (UGH) and gently wash away the germs and baddies and just sun dry for a bit and put back in the shed for another day. I am so petty, I also save up the dry cleaning flimsy plastic and cut the sides so I have a long sheet to drape over each model till the next run the sawdust of other shed jobs does NOT get on the model. I fold the off with the dust side to the inner fold , hoping I do not forget which side is which ( I think I am getting OLDER )before I check out the model (radio test, fuel ok , just lightly SINGER oil carburettor shaft , rudder post prop shaft bits , check the glow plug works, inline fuel filter is clean , AND AND leave my engine settings alone year after year AND try to exactly mix the same fuel blend over and over by careful measure but you can slop a tad more oil in as *Oil is CHEAPER than steel , if a bit rich then one click on the needle yet my mates rib me as I leave it *ALONE ). I always check, ALWAYS on the day BEFORE next days run and avoid things that go wrong at the pond side , ( you know the guy who glitches and bleats it was going so well last time ) as I am in OPEN waters I do not chance fails. Regards and good boating Lyle from Oz.

5 years ago by Lyle

Forum

Look for a simple balsa build

"........I have found that most old hand drawn plans are inaccurate......." I bow to your experience, of course! My rather more limited exposure to vintage model plans is that they are indeed inaccurate. Your points are all true, and on top of that wood and paper can shrink and warp over the years. I handled that on the initial EeZeBilts by providing a copy of the die-cut as well as the 'improved' cutting lines, which were 'what I thought the designer meant'. It was still hard to be sure that I had got things right, because manual cutting from plans introduces more errors - but now that I have a cutting machine that source of errors should be minimised. I originally thought that PDF format was a good one to use for distribution, since it was meant to be a 'facsimile image' - but I didn't realise that people can set their printers up to do all sorts of default formatting, which can alter sizes...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Ah well, grandmothers and eggs... 😌 Still, I did say that the collet was cheaper than 1 grubscrew - not 100... I found that mine worked first time, so you probably won't need the platform. You seem better equipped than I am for the rest of it 😉 I can, however, report that holding balsa sheet in this way is very effective. It is a sheet of ply bolted to the base, with another sheet of ply 4" wide on top. The sides have hard balsa edges rising about 1/4 inch above the ply, which are held in with a spruce strip. A 4" sheet of yellow correx is there to provide a soft base for under cutting. If I cut outside the workpiece the cutter just goes through the balsa sides, so no damage done. 4" or 100mm of balsa drop into the 1/8th recess on top, and are held by the side balsa, which is slightly sprung inwards. If necessary they can be packed around the edges, but the recess is sized to hold them tightly. They are firmly held against the cutter, do not move at all, and the workpiece can be removed and replaced precisely in the same position if necessary. If you want you can put a weight on top of the sheet during cutting to hold it perfectly flat, and move it when the cutter is going to go over it.

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

CNC boat kits...?

Having successfully used the machine to make the workholding support for the wood , I started on the final leg - getting the machine to actually produce parts for a model boat. It's just going to be used for EeZeBilt balsa parts initially, until I understand a bit more about cutting tools and feed rates. I'm not using a 'professional' spindle motor (which can cost well north of £100), but just an old model boat motor with a cheap Chinese chuck and milling head. You can see a couple of examples in the pictures below. The first material I tried to cut was cardboard. I wanted something really weak, because the cutting tools are very narrow, and I did not know how much sideways force they would take. Turned out fine, though. Further pictures show the first attempt at cutting balsa sheet, a whole sheet of 1/8 balsa being cut, and a couple of parts which have just been cut. Points to make: 1 - you need a high RPM from the cutting motor if you want a fast feed speed. Boat motors work, but a high speed brushless would be better. As it is the edges of the balsa are a bit ragged... 2 - Probably the best way to keep all the parts in the balsa sheet is not to use tabs, but just to cut 90% of the way through. I left about 5 thou on the balsa part, which meant it stayed in place but could easily be pushed out... 3 - you need a soft surface under the balsa sheet in case you do cut deeper by mistake. I thought of felt but that gets caught up in the blade too easily. You could use another balsa sheet, but I used a bit of Correx. Depron would be fine... So there we are. I have now cut a complete kit out of balsa and will start to make it up. I can recommend this machine if you want to just sit and have a beer while all the hard work of cutting parts is done for you...!

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Blog

Hull Paint job complete

So.... Patience is not one of my strong points and paint spraying is definately not. I don't have the facilities or the right equipment to create a first class excellent paint job, so this part of the build was always going to be a challeng and it proved to be right. the first primer layer went on great and it looked good, followed by a layer of brilliant appliance white from a large can from my local Halfords.....all looked perfect. Then came the masking and application of the Capri Blue hull and pinstriping at deck level. Well, this didn't go great as I couldn't get the hull line correct as it shows on real life Huntsmans or the instruction sheet. In addition, the Frog tape I used, lifted in places over the hull stringers and was a real mess......it had to come off! A re-application of primer and white gloss coat followed, and with more patience than I thought I had, managed to mask up again for the Blue Hull. I learnt from the first mistake and made sure that the stirngers were masked on all sides first, then added a solid masking strip all the way down the hull. Although not perfect the results can be see here in the pictures. I decided that I'd add a couple of layers of Halfords clear laquer to finish of the paint job to create a tough, clear, glossy finish, but before this decided to name the boat by using lettraset. Here I learnt a second and third valuable lesson.....make sure the paint is completely dry first and also don't spray too much laquer in one place......it makes the paint run into the laquer!!! The results can be seen on the bow. Oh well, I tried my best and not going to re-do it now. So, Rosalie hull is now painted and its time to do the decking. For this I am going to use thin of mahogany. They were not provided as part of the kit so had to appeal to SLEC who kindly sent me two of mahogany for this purpose. Thank you SLEC for being understanding that a "Kit" should contain all that's necessary to build it and not have to go and find more pieces to buy. Judge the paint job for yourself and don't be tooo critical as its only my second boat build.😋

5 years ago by StuartE

Forum

Transmitter Mode 2

Newbie question. I am going to buy a FlySky FS-i6 and want a spring loaded throttle on left and spring loaded rudder on right. Do I get this if I buy mode 2. ie will it be spring loaded. Chose this brand as I understand it and use it on my sailboat. My sailboat transmitter is not spring loaded on left as it pulls the on and is then left alone.

5 years ago by juskiddin

Forum

Display cases

Hi Just been sourcing an array of display cabinet impossible cost ,can be more than the model. So dug arround in my old data from a few years ago and found laminating ! Basically using A3 laminator run the sheet through once soft let cool and floppy run a second time it when cool is harder put through 3rd time when cool it’s harder and clearer almost like glass ? ( you MUST lay on flat surface each time or will distort) Hope this helps Dave

5 years ago by Ravydave52