Forum

Spektrum, new, useless...

Five pounds will buy nothing now so it’s a bit silly comparing this. You could buy a bag of chips for 25p and a new bike for £25 but it all has no relevance. I’m sure you can get your own insurance but £3 a month is hardly expensive given the legal cover medical cover third party and public liability cover available. I never mentioned or yachts which are obviously slower. I don’t actually know any dedicated private model boat lakes where public have no access so there is always a risk. insurance is all about the risk. That’s what you cover. I bet pretty much the majority of model boaters have no insurance but that doesn’t mean it’s right. Planes are another matter and I believe anybody flying without insurance is reckless irrespective of how long he has been doing it. The risk is greater

6 years ago by pmdevlin

Forum

Spektrum, new, useless...

You're painting a worst case picture. I'm not against insurance as such, just the expensive nonsense after years of a very reasonable 5 pounds a year with MAP. Why couldn't whoever bought out MAP keep with the insurers. Things go up, sure, but 5 quid to 34? Where did that come from? I don't want to join a club, any club. Why can't I get insurance on my own account? it's stinks of a con to me. And as for insuring a model yacht or effectively a glorified toy boat, that's going too far. I don't do fast boats, not interested. And frankly, if Johnny has his hands in the water of a dedicated model boat pond, that's his parents look-out. if he puts his foot on the road in front of a cyclist he gets no protection. How did we ever manage to become enthusiasts in the good old days when we could sail anywhere and not worry about it? Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

Doug, what gave you the idea that I spent all that on my Spektrum DX5e? it cost me 45 quid from somewhere up North, brand new. The Rxs were, I thought, too much, so I got an Orange for 8 quid. I got the Spektrum because I was considering doing aircraft. 4 footers, scale, so not needing anything fancy, but costs of everything else stopped that. if they did a 2 function set cheap, I'd have had it. No chance selling the DX5e as it will have been superceded at least twice since I bought mine, probably at least once since I first removed it from its box! The Tx., isn't complicated. I was careful NOT to buy one that needed a degree in pooterism to operate. it's a toy boat fer Krissakes...go left, go right, speed up, slow down, stop, maybe go backuds, although my kind of real boats rarely do. I'd use my old REP single channel if some toad hadn't stole it. But it doesn't stand me in that much. This new Rx. which states DX5e compatibility is 7 quid. After that, if it don't work it will be back to the 27 meg. or nothing at all (much better exercise). As to the battery capacity thing, it is exactly the same to look at as the ones you linked me to, but, although it didn't say it didn't do Nixx, the fact is it doesn't. On the box is a row of x's where the facilities are shown under NiCd and NiMh. Sending it back would cost almost as much as the thing cost in the first place. in the unlikely event that I ever get any LiPos, it'll do for those. As to the NiMhs, I'll put them through a discharge recharge cycle on the imax thing according to what you and Haverlock have said. Then, just do the same when I've finished sailing. I use this stuff so rarely I suppose I should think again about whether to get any more stuff at all. is it possible to constantly cycle the batteries during the long winter fallow period? Should they be discharged by running a motor or can one trust the imax to do the job? Once again, thanks for your time, Doug. I do appreciate your efforts to help out the Luddite. BTW, when I bought the DX5e it really was the cheapest option, trust me! Now, I'd probably get one of those cheapies that are sold by the same outfit I bought my DX5e from, but they weren't around then. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Park lakes

I always smile when reading of problems with "Councils". Usually it's just some "jobsworth" in a (Parks)department with a personal attitude. We once had general lack of cooperation from one Parks Superintendent who had no time for those "Old Farts" with their . He was very unpopular and eventually moved on. Life at the pondside was greatly improved.

6 years ago by commodore

Response

ALL THE TOY SAILING BOATS

HI Les, the ones i have seen seem to be made by Star, from I think Birkenhead, don't know any more but you are right about the hours of enjoyment i have with mine!!! Mark

7 years ago by jarvo

Media

ALL THE TOY SAILING BOATS

Anyone know who made these glorious boats, particularly through the sixties and seventies. Countless hours with the children watching them sail round and round till the wind would act in their favour and bring them back to shore. Frequently though, had to wade in with my trousers rolled up to rescue them. Of course the crying would stop then.

7 years ago by Les-Forbes

Response

Perkasa MTB

Baking soda triggered some old memories, who else remembers the little plastic subs we used to get in Cornflakes boxes? 😉 I once toyed with the idea of making a bigger version, ca 10 -12 ". more important 'stuff' got in the way. Forgot all about it .... until now 😉 Yep, off the bat I could imagine a couple of ways of triggering them; there are loads of mini pressure switches on the market, or a simple diaphragm at one end of the can coupled to a micro switch or mechanical trigger. Adjustment would be very sensitive due to relatively small changes in water pressure in the first foot or so of wet stuff. Any deeper would be a waste of time, unless you only want to entertain the fish😲 Might also go off on the surface if the can hit the water diaphragm first😡 Whatever, lot of work (and expense?) for a one way trip🤔 Anyway, with my 1/72 scale DCs, approx. 12x5mm, I would need to resort to nano technology. But we should never stop dreaming! I've seen model patrol boats launching solid fuel missiles from the stern deck so 'Nothing is impossible' - that's maybe why I drive a Toyota😉 Cheers Doug 😎

7 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Crash Tender Shaft Tube Poistion

Hi Neil, yes, very similar. Could be regarded to as a first step before applying Eze-Kote to give it a harder, knock and almost everything else resistant surface. Hammerite then sticks to it like the proverbial to the blanket and you have a super clean 'engine compartment' dead easy to keep clean. 😊 80 quid for a brushless !!! Do you want it gold plated or what? My Propdrive 2830 cost less than 20 knicker from Hobbyking and was delivered almost before I ordered it! Just make sure it comes from the UK or EU (still!?🤔) warehouse and not USA or Global. otherwise you might get stuck for import tax 😡 For the motor mount / shaft alignment: no one said it was easy, but Nothing's Impossible', maybe that's why I drive Toyota!!😁 back end is determined by the diameter of the prop you want to fit, which in the case of brushless motor should be roughly the same diameter as the brushless (outrunner). in my case 28mm motor and 30mm prop. This defines how far you can lift the aft end of the shaft, leave at least 1cm between the prop tip and the hull! This reduces unwanted interaction between the vortex from the prop and the lamina flow along the hull, result; more forward thrust and better rudder effect. (Didn't spend 30 odd years talking to shipyards for nowt😉) If you have plan (or at least a sketch - take some measurements if you don't have one of these and make a sketch) of the keel and existing motor mount; project back from the newly determined exit point of the shaft. Check how far forward you need to go to be able to comfortably fit the motor mount with good alignment and purchase a shaft of appropriate length. Cut a wood block to fit around the keel as the basic mount and 'fiddle' with it until your motor and mounting (e.g. the Robbe / Romarin 400 mount) aligns with the shaft line. Alignment is checked by running the motor at a fixed low speed with an ammeter showing the current it draws. Shim the motor mount up / down, and shift slowly from side to side until the current reading is a minimum. Then glue and screw everything in place quick before anything moves! Takes almost longer to describe than to do😉 The coupling type shown in my photo is called a 'Steg' coupling here in Germany (don't know the English🤔) and available from Krick Modellbau, for various motor shaft / prop shaft diameters, here the link to their English page- http://www.krickshop.de/?shop=krick_e Part number for the 3.17mm (1/8") to 4.0mm version I used is 63902. part number for the motor mount I used for my 28mm brushless is 42117. Advantages (to me at least!) they are not as long as the traditional UJ and Cardan types, they are resilient but don't flop about like the UJ types so are much easier to fit and align. Cos they are shorter you can use 'em for mountings in confined spaces. And they don't make no noise!! 😉 One final tip (may not be so useful on hard plywood built boats!). When I had this problem with my destroyer I sharpened the end of an 8mm alu tube (same as the shaft tube dia) and used it to bore back from the hull exit to the last bulkhead before the motor mounts. the bulkheads though were 1/4" balsa! Nice and soft man 😉 Hope this helps more than confuses, but it all worked for me! Cheers and happy fiddling, Doug 😎

7 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

RC Boats in salt water

Hi Grandpa I agree with canabus, but may not have oiler points on the prop tube and to protect the shaft and bearings I suspect you would need to remove the shaft after each sail and run fresh water thro the prop tube to remove all the salt which will otherwise dry and crystalize. The salt crystals will then act similar to sandpaper and ruin the bearings, I know I speak from experience!😭 Once clean let the water drain then lube and spray as suggested. I do hope the boys are able to enjoy their models Regards Dave

7 years ago by Dave M

Event

TOYS FOR BOYS

TWO DAY EVENT on 12th and 13th SAT SUN August Toys for Boys is a varied selection of hobbies, model boats , R/C trucks,trams buses, die cast,tanks, soldiers, classic cars, Meccano,Tin Plate,planes etc etc. Held inside and outside at OLD CHRIST CHURCH Waterloo Road, Waterloo, Liverpool, L22 1RF Near Crosby Marine Lake and Anthony Gormley’s Iron Men. from 10 till 4pm admission only £2

7 years ago by MAXTON

Forum

How do I resolve my varnish problem?

Can't really add much to what Doug has said as he's covered the ground pretty well. I don't ever use paint stripper these days. I once used it to remove factory paint from a Matchbox toy when I was making a series of "Code 3" modified steam lorries. Very oddly the paint strippered ones refused to dry when sprayed with cellulose paint (yes, it was available then no probs.) if I sprayed over the factory paint it dried in minutes as cellulose will do. I hadn't had the problem before, but I certainly got it this time and I haven't wanted to use it since. On wood anyway, I wouldn't use anything liquid as it could always soak in and do who knows what damage. I would scrape the finish on your wood , but make sure you have read up on how to sharpen a cabinet scraper. The shiny ones are pigs to sharpen because they are stainless and you cannot get an edge on stainless. The best knives are NT stainless. As an ex clay modeller for the car industry, I can assure you that all slicks, which we called the thin flat scrapers, were spring steel. They had a nice gun blue finish, but would go rusty if you didn't look after them between contracts. Because you really need two hands to properly control a scraper you'll need to find a good way to hold the boat, but a sweet little job like that Sea Hornet will sit twixt your knees. Because you have all those fractures in a vertical way along the grain, keep your scraper in a diagonal way or it will pick up wood grain and damage the model. it may work if you work down the grain, perpendicular to the deck, so you are crossing the fissures in the varnish. I would suggest that if you want a varnish finish you will need to go over the wood with epoxy and possibly a light weight (1oz.) glass cloth. This will stop any tendency to split again. Surprisingly it does allow the grain to show still and after you have flattened the epoxy, you can then apply 2 or 3 coats, rubbed down in between as Doug says with a very fine paper, of a spar varnish. I have a no name tin which I am using on general stuff, from garden items to the spars of my "Vanity" model. When I did a model of a Rive Aquarama Special, I used an international Spar Varnish which has a slightly golden tinge. Now, the hard part. No boat I can ever think of had wood in a vertical lay on the hull. Ecen double or Riva's triple layer was diagonal, finishing with incredibly well selected horizontal layers. The Sea Hornet would be improved no end, I am sure with a layer of horizontal nature. What passes for mahogany these days is horrible stuff (and I would say that on your boat could even be teak, which should never be varnished), so I always used Steamed pear veneer, which has no figure and a very close grain. Sanding sealer, then stain with you idea of mahogany(from an orangey colour to a rich reddy brown), then spar varnish. DO NOT stain the wood/veneer, always stain the first coats of finish. Riva do that too! I want to know what makes you say the mahogany is the only stuff on the hull. The Sea Hornet has 1/16th" ply skins like all Aerokits, so why not yours? Personally, I think it would look best if you painted the hull and spent your efforts on doing a nice laid deck in Pear veneer and caulking. A gloss black hull and a laid, varnished deck look very tasty, like a Greavette gent's Racer. Pic attached. Cheers, Martin https://model-boats.com/media/np/s/200/1494407879

7 years ago by Westquay

Forum

VS-8 by 32nd Parallel

Hello to all; I've just tested the link and it works from my end. if you can't get it to work go to ebay, toys and hobbys, radio control vehicles and kits and then boats and ships. Should be able to locate it that way. I did reference with someone with interest in Germany and the shipping would work out to @ $70 U.S. I think this is the only one I've seen up for around 5+ years, and while it will take some dedicated work, definately will be a one of a kind RC model at yor local site.... Thanks for all the replys spunky52

7 years ago by kiss it

Response

outboard steam launch

The tablets are the same ones used in all MAMOD toys after they stopped using meths.Get them from DREAM STEAM under name MSS Mamod Solid Fuel Tablets. They are not liked by many as they are quite toxic in confined spaces so dont use them indoors!!! For small boats they are great as they weigh nothing and give good heat. Les Breame

7 years ago by lesliebreame

Forum

New Guy On Th e Block:-Introduction

Hi there join the ranks of the insane we are a (fairly) friendly bunch. A grown man playing with "shakes head" sorry I am almost 70 and can claim second childhood you can to!!!!! I hope you find what your looking for and enjoy a hobby that can exercise a mind as well as learning skills that don't involve a computer ( but I STILL want a 3d printer). We try to answer questions and seem not to get into flame wars. So kick back relax and HAVE FUN.

8 years ago by Haverlock

Response

Wilesco D52 Marine Steam Engine

Response by Boaty After my experience with the Wilesco D52 I agree that it is more of a toy than a serious means of propulsion for steam powered model boats. The boiler does appear to be the main problem and even though I have done some modifications to the firebox and enlarged the orifice from the boiler to the feed pipe there was no great increase in performance. As I have had no luck with either finding the plans or a used model of SS Activity I have put the project on hold. As I also collect model steam engines, mainly Mamod, I even had ideas about fixing the Wilesco to a larger metal base and keeping it as a static steam engine. 😀

8 years ago by boaty

Response

HMS Blake

Hi. Cheers for that,much appreciated. When I've finished her I'll put some pics on. She was scratchbuilt from the keel up by a shipbuilder in Scotland and won some awards before being passed on. Unfortunately the last owner suffered a stroke and subsequently decided to put his own work to her with a tar brush and additional weapons from stuck with resin!! I'm hoping to finish her in time for the annual Armed forces week down at our pond in Cleethorpes starting June24th if you're interested,she'll be accompanied by Hermes, Illustrious, intrepid, Andromeda and hopefully Norfolk(Gmd).

8 years ago by shippas69

Forum

Does anyone know. . . . . . . .

Dear All, As a child of tender years, way back In the early 1960's, I used to spend hours sailing my model yachts In a pond at "The Lake Grounds", Portishead nr Bristol. I had a number of solid wooden hulled yatchs but my very favourite was an ocean going yacht, made by Scalex and named "Sea Hawk". The yacht was made from plastic, had a black hull and brown upperworks. The cabin roof was painted white and there were 2 crew, both In yellow oilskins and sowesters. One was seated at the helm, the other amidships on the cabin roof. A feature which made this yacht stand out on the pond, was Its bright red suit of sails. The rudder was moveable and so a very rudamentry heading could be set, which would sometimes, slightly lengthen "the voyage!!!" The sheets could be lengthened/shortened on the jib and main, according to wind speeds on the day. Scalex was a subsidiary of Tri-ang and they made several different model boats, using clock work, battery and sails for propulsion. In the late 60's or very early 1970's, Scalex turned all their production over to making model racing cars, adopting the name "Scalextric." Do any of you chaps/ladies know of any photographs of these yachts or do you have any more Information about them? I have trawled the Internet for photos and Information without success. There Is plenty to find about other Scalex boats but nothing on the "Sea Hawk". I have even found vintage toy sites which have other scalex boats for sale but not a Sea Hawk. The yacht was only between 12" and 16" long but Its shape and detail placed It towards the top end of the, small pond yacht scale. If anyone has any Information It would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

9 years ago by Oldtimer

Event

TOYS for BOYS

"Toys for Boys" at Old Christ Church Waterloo Merseyside Saturday August 8th and Sunday August 9th. Lots of Model Boats and all sorts of displays of Toys for Boys Meccano, model trains, cars, trucks planes etc etc. Contact John West on 01519246143 Hoylake; Crosby; OWLs; Liverpool, model boat clubs attending.

10 years ago by MAXTON

Forum

Crash Tenders for sale on E-Bay

Just seen two ad for a kit and part completed Crash tenders. Can't find the Item numbers but they are In the Toys & Games/Radio Controlled/Boats and Hovercraft. One listed as: KeilKraft / Aerokits Vosper High Speed RAF Crash Rescue Tender kit - seem complete and Includes the original Yeoman casting fitting kit the other: VINTAGE VOSPER WOODEN MODEL BOAT RC RAF CRASH TENDER. Worth a look for all you Fireboat buffs!

10 years ago by Dave M

Forum

New Workshop

HI there folks, I am In the process of expanding my workshop Into Fort Perch Rock In New Brighton, no room at home for my new (secondhand) lathe, so I have aquires a room In the fort, good for me, more space, good for the owner of the fort, as his visitors can 'look at the Idiot making ' Here Is a photo of progress so far, bench erected, a surprisingly strong affair from Machine Mart, I just replaced the top and shelf with 18mm ply. Lathe Installed and leveled up. Todays job to build more bench space......

10 years ago by Nickthesteam

Event

TOYS FOR BOYS

"Toys for Boys" at Old Christ Church Waterloo Merseyside Saturday August 30th and Sunday August 31st. Lots of Model Boats and all sorts of displays of Toys for Boys Meccano, model trains, cars, trucks planes etc etc. Contact John West on 01519246143 Hoylake; Crosby; OWLs; Liverpool, model boat clubs attending.

10 years ago by MAXTON

Response

Old RTR Southampton Tug.

HI Jelly Baby Regarding crew figures, I used SIKU which are 1/32 they are German and good quality. SIKU do farming toys and the ones I use are the Tractor drivers. I have fitted them on the seats in the rear of the bridge. They are available from the UK via SIKUDIRECT.COM on the sites Page 3 4. Part No 7071 for a 6pcs @ £5.90 all inc or 0887 (2pcs) @£2.40 inc. I use them for other 1/32 boats as well. Hope this info will help. Regards Doug.

11 years ago by Doug

Blog

rivarama

Just some more photos. The boat is now finished and ready to run, but as always with these projects it is never finished, is it? I dare say next week/month it will be be slightly different (maybe Improved) we seem to titivate our toys forever, so from that point of view are they ever finished? Unfortunately at the moment the lake is still drained, so later in March will it be available for sailing and then I hope to get some video or stills of it on the water. I had a problem with one of the motors it was way-out of balance, due to I don't know what. I replaced shaft, bearings and in the end balanced the rotating case. I don't know the history of these motors but the other one ran as sweet as you would expect with no vibration throughout its range, this motor had a horrid vibration at 1/3 to 2/3 throttle, going up and down the range, the top end wasn't to smooth neither. I noticed that the magnets were not evenly spaced on the inside of the rotor so with some epoxy and a drill burr I managed to balance the thing using tye wraps and a springy piece of wood!! The mind boggles!!! I will show show photos how I did it but you can find all about it on U-Tube. I've had fun building this and a lot of support from readers on this blog and I take this opportunity to say thank you very much indeed for all your comments and advice, it has made this boat what it is because as a newcomer I didn't have to much of a clue about boats (this is my my second scratch build, and about my fifth boat altogether) so wait for the water to come back into the lake and I will sail it and give an update, Thanks again Brian

11 years ago by sharpy1071

Forum

Wiring for three motors

Stuart, Hi. I have a bit of info on something I worked out for a three-motor installation of my own on a 1/32 Perkasa. I definitely wanted three motors controlled individually so I purchased 3 ESCs. To control this for on-the-spot turning I purchased a Radio set which is a programmable Aircraft unit, a JR Propo Max-66. The set allows V-tail and Delta-wing mixing. The setup I chose was V-tail, which allows on the rudder setting for one motor forward and one back, so precision control is sorted. There is a switch which is programmable and allows the middle motor to be "cut-in" when operating all-forward together. Keep in mind, three ESCs and a programmable radio are pricey, but hey it's big boys toys so I say go for it if the budget allows. 😊 If you (or anyone) need more info please send me a private message. Regards Paul *Email address removed - See terms. Admin

14 years ago by Valheru01