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36'' Thames River Police Launch by Robbob

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

6 years ago by robbob

Response

Anteno 2 tug

I feel I have to comment on your Anteo Tug, that has to be one of the neatest planked hulls I have seen in a while, and the paint job on the hull is quite incredible, wow. I built this kit back in the 1970s and it definitely is and was really good value for money, none of your rubbish, near enough everything was brass and good quality. I opted for the authentic look and fitted a steam plant into the hull, not an easy job to cut down and strengthen all those ribs, but worth it in the end. Enjoy your hobby.Regards.Gary.

5 years ago by GaryLC

Blog

Mast assembly

The supplied mast is of 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- it’s quite heavy Having said all that it’s ok if you don’t want my wish list. So on with the manufacture of a replica, I chose brass as the preferred material because it’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 it’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, it’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 hadn’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

Forum

Painting

Thanks to you all that's cleared that up for me,your explanations are clear and now I know what to do. I will post photos as I proceed. Thanks once again for your time.Roger

5 years ago by Rogal118

Forum

Painting

Good evening Can someone advise me on the correct method to paint fittings, the fittings I have, had been painted several times,so I have scrapped the layers off down to bare metal,do I have to prime or can I brush paint straight on. Which is best enamel or acrylic. Thanks Roger

5 years ago by Rogal118

Forum

Painting

I found the enamel over acrylic comment interesting I have never had a reaction between acrylic and enamel paints. The only reaction I have seen ( to my chagrin) was cellulose over enamel ( do not do it EVER) enamel over cellulose is fine. Acrylic not using powerful solvents tends to be safe over anything and once "set" pretty resistant to the solvents in enamel paint. However when it comes to a painting sequence I have actually used cellulose ( clear shrinking dope) followed by enamel for base colour then acrylic for details.

5 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

Painting

Hi Roger, Metal fittings of any kind and figures can be painted with either Humbrol type paint (enamel) or Acrylic paint,both will need their own primer, but remember😱. you can paint enamel over acrylic, but not the other way (acrylic over enamel). Most of the fittings I get in my Deans Marine warships are and resin, I use Halfords plastic primer (grey or white) then use acrylic paint from various company's to finish off. Hope this is of some help to you.😊 cheers Peter👍

5 years ago by Rookysailor

Forum

Painting

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 coat😲 Acrylics are usually easier to use, don't pong, and the brushes can be cleaned in warm water😊 Happy painting, cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Motor, mount & prop-shaft.

I have looked at the bag of fittings and I do not even have the mast it shows. Trouble is I bought it so long ago now at the show, didn't get a receipt when I paid for it so I cannot exactly do anything now. Too long ago.

5 years ago by BOATSHED

Forum

Propshaft Lubrication

I use White Lithium Grease in my stuffing tubes and on both plastic and metal gears. I build my own stuffing tubes for my 3/16" shafts using bronze bushings from the local hardware store. They insert into about a 3/8" brass tube thereby giving a reservoir for the grease. Does not seem to breakdown at all, has a nice viscosity, does not damage plastics and I have read will tolerate high heat. Local auto parts store sell it for about $6 in a tube that lasts me for years. Just my experience..... Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Blog

Tow hook assembly

The fitting has an awful lot of detail on it but lacks definition so some time spent on filling the body to better define the components. The anchor part has six hex dummy bolts cast into the base but I intend to drill these out and then use 8BA brass bolts to secure it to the woodwork. Looking at pictures of the assembly it is obvious that there is a handle arrangement missing so I made this from a piece of brass wire and epoxied in place. The two parts have a linkage to fasten them together so again using brass wire and a piece of scrap tube a linkage was made and holes drilled and tapped to secure the assembly. Finally, a couple of coats of primer followed by a “Gun Metal” finish and the items are finished. A pleasing result, however taking some time to do, now for the circular running rail, and supporting posts to complete this unit.

5 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

The wheelhouse navigation light.

This is a small item but very visible on the wheelhouse and since the standard for this item has been set I have to follow suit. So first of all get some 3mm blue LEDs ordered and then it’s on with preparing the body. I used by hand as suggested a series of drills increasing in diameter until 3.1 dia was reached but only 2/3 down the length from the front the smaller hole (1.5mm) was bored right through for the wires to exit. Arrival of the LEDs, first check the LED using my power supply, just over 3 volts seems to illuminate to the correct level. Next was to remove the shoulder on its plastic casing so the whole body does not exceed 3mm over its length and lightly abrade the outside to give a diffused light. Next cut the LED legs to 2mm from the plastic casing noting which is positive, next prepare the wires. I used Futaba servo wire cable 22awg which is very flexible and with the white signal wire stripped off leaving a red and black wire. These were tinned and cropped to 2mm and then quickly soldered to the appropriate terminal. Next check the LED still works! first hurdle over, I now needed to check the that when the LED goes into the body it doesn’t short out so checking the diameter over the widest part which is over the soldered terminals this was 0.1 below 3mm. I decided that shrink sleeve was too thick so I mixed some epoxy resin and coated all around the terminals, this proved to be satisfactory in both non-conductivity and dimensionally. Now the final test, using some aliphatic wood glue I slid the LED into the body whilst it was illuminated as it was a tight push fit, bingo it’s still lit – leave to set. I used aliphatic glue, as it would be easier to remove should I ever have to change the LED. The body still needs painting white but this will be done with all the other fittings at a later stage.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Response

36'' Thames River Police Launch by Robbob

Rookeysailor. The kit is, I understand, due for release by Vintage Model Works any time now. I think that they are awaiting some of the fittings from the manufacturer that are included in the kit. RE: price, probably best to contact Mike Cummings at VMW to confirm the above and the pricing. rolfman2000. I'm afraid you'll still need to carve the bow, but I bet you can get a better result than uncle Cyril now! I hope you enjoy my blog. Robbob.

6 years ago by robbob

Forum

Cleaning sails, toy yachts, etc....

I just got a lovely old Star SY 3 yacht and needed to clean some filthy sails. My wife suggested Vanish and blow me down with a genoa, it's working. A generally mid to dark grey (I believe oil based) grubbiness has all but disappeared and I should be able to re-rig them with some new off white 1.3mm string from Caldercraft fittings at Cornwall Model Boats. I can make new styrene bowsies and any metal hooks and loops. I've scraped the mast and bowsprit fittings of rust until they look shiny again, repaired a broken mast and repainted the green edging which had been a bit knocked about. I love doing these restorations more than making new stuff! Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Cleaning sails, toy yachts, etc....

I think Hydrogen Peroxide is the active ingredient in Vanish and the like. it is regarded as "The Safe Bleach" in the cleaning products industry. it remains active on cleaned surfaces for up to 72 hrs.Hypochlorite types only for as long as you can smell them. it is safe to use on just about any surface or fabric and mixed with a small amount of say washing up liquid it will clean body fats from baths and showers and other fats from cookers and work surfaces. Also removes mould etc. it produces no toxic fumes and is safe on the skin. I worked for a company called Environmental Chemicals who were devoted to safer cleansing alternatives. You would be amazed at it's effect on a previously washed bread board. I won't list all they made but the one with the HP in it was very popular with industry and the public. I could identify most of their chemicals used by smell and Hydrogen Peroxide was one. Well not so much a smell but it's action on my nasal passages. Likewise with gas fire and boiler fumes. A very handy thing to have when I was plumbing/gas fitting. Anyway back to the point. You can bleach your sails safely with it as often as you like to make them as white (or_ grey) as you like. it also shifts grime from painted/varnished wood and metals. A mention was made by someone (Westie ?)of metal masts etc on a star Yacht. I thought all Star yachts had all wooden masts and spars. I knew the Denyes.Jean-Jacques in particular and was allowed into the hallowed halls once or twice but didn't see everything. I was told that after the war wood was in short supply and old mangle rollers that were made with apple wood were sought and used . I am waiting to get back on my feet to restore the two yachts I was given for my two boys at that time.Around '67/68. Only the smaller unnamed ones. I don't know what no they are. I've already made a mast for one but all metal fittings will need cutting out afresh and new suits of sails acquired. Regarding sails. Handkerchiefs are too fine a material to allow recovery in a blow down. They don't allow the water out so keep the yacht flat. Anyone know of an alternative solution? Sorry to go on but I hope this diatribe has been helpful to someone.👍

6 years ago by onetenor

Blog

Search light

A working search light seems to be expected on this craft so here goes. Based on Robs build I purchased the lens and the LED from Maplin’s which seemed to fit the bill. The only piece that will be used is the main body that is supplied as a fitting, the rest will be replaced by a brass construction, as the rest of the parts are not substantial enough to support a working unit. First, I need some 3/16 half round brass bar, the easiest way is to machine my own cutting just less than half the diameter away. The half-round bar was annealed before bending round a suitable mandrel to a half circle. I then soldered an 8BA nut on each leg to act as the swivel bearing. Next, I machined the body’s internal bore to suit the lens body and skimmed the outer rim and face, finally bore out a small recess that locates the lens in place. The two pivot holes need to be drilled and tapped 8BA, and then a drilled hole in the rear wall for the wires to exit. As the light is to be both working and rotating the base has is to be made with a centre spindle that connects to a micro servo under the roof. The connecting devise was a bit of a headache trying to make it fit in a relatively small space; I used the supplied servo arm with four legs (shortened) and then machined a mating part with pins that located in the arm that is attached to the body above deck. The LED was modified to fit in the body as it has a heat sink which was too big; as others have found cutting it down didn’t affect the heat dissipation when fixed in the body, this was fixed using a small amount of Milliput. Having already machined the outer flange on the body I turned up a brass-flanged ring to push fit on the body this has to have the TRI form guard added. I made this from a central pinion with three holes drilled to accept the bent brass nails; these were soft soldered in position. The TRI form was then located on top of the brass flange and again soft soldered in position At this point all the components will have to be dismantled for final finishing before being painting.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

Cabin roof hatches

Rear cabin hatches I have decided to make these two roof hatches detachable (not working) purely to ease the painting and rubbing down process. The hatches on the rear cabin are supplied in pieces to be glued together, so to make them detachable I drilled a hole through the base of each and glued an 8BA screw in place, these can then be secured after final painting to the roof. The hatch also has a dummy-hinged lid and small hinges are supplied, however they do need some attention, such as drilling all the holes and trimming the edges. Here we go again, time for a jig! Repartition can be achieved with the simplest of jigs; all I used was coffee stirrers pinned to a block of wood and one as a locking device. The jig was then placed under the milling machine and the first hole centred, drilled and then the next hinge is placed in the jig and drilled and so on, move to the next hole until all holes are drilled. Before fitting the hinges there needs to be a separation line for the lid and hinge plate so a scored line about halfway through the ply. The hinges are fitted with epoxy and brass pins through all the fixing holes. Mid cabin hatch This is a single hatch, again a square of ply is supplied, but this is improved by adding sides, which can locate on runners, again the runners are not supplied. This hatch is also attached with a single screw epoxied into the top and a nut, after final painting. Forward cabin hatch Again, a single hatch and dealt with in the same way as the mid hatch.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Blog

Life Rings

The fittings supplied with the kit are somewhat lacking in detail and some are overweight to say the least. I decided to produce some life rings to my specification I had tried to find suitable replacements on the web without success. So how to produce the ring part. I first tried with plywood but the finish achievable was not acceptable (can be seen in the pictures) so I then decided to use Bamboo (Ikea phone stand) for those who have followed from the start the same material as the grating on the foam tanks. First I cut some rough circles out of 10mm bamboo sheet and drilled a 10mm hole so it can be mounted on a 10mm screw mandrel. This allows the piece to machined on one side and then reversed and machined on the other side. The tool I used was ground with a 22 mm radius to produce the shape on one side of the ring and then when reversed and machined again the tool actually “parts off” the ring on the inner diameter leaving the ring free on the now remaining peg, the finish on the bamboo was good enough without any further sanding. The next step was to put a slot in the OD at 90degree intervals to hold the “rope” in position while the rope is bound in four places. The easiest way was to make a jig to hold the ring and to keep the rope in place while it’s glued into ring, it can then be removed and bound in four places each turn being super glued to keep it in place. Next job is to give a coat of sanding sealer that stiffens the rope and seals the wood. The rings are theoretically held to the cabin roof with clamp type brackets so again to ensure consistency I machined a piece with a suitable profile. I then cut radial slices to create individual brackets. The rings will actually be fastened to the cabin roof with 2 x 8BA bolts this is to enable them to be removed for painting of both the ring and the roof. At a later painting stage, I will be giving them two coats of grey primer and three coats of white, then hand painting the rope loops with red paint. The finished rings are much lighter and hopefully look more realistic.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

Hi folks, I've been filling in spaces in the Vincent epic with making deck fittings for the Chris Craft Special Runabout. I can't find or, probably, afford to get them nickel plated, so I will give the brass fittings to a chum who does casting of , then I can a) get more than one of some and b) burnish them to look like chrome and then lacquer them. I'm assuming there might be a measure of interest in how these are done. I'm afraid I can't tell you how to do these without a lathe, because I've always had or had the use of, a lathe. They can be bought for a fraction of the price of a kit, off ebay. My No 1 son bought a lathe exactly like mine (a Peatol, which is same as the Taig), only on a huge base with a nice big motor, a tool rack to hold every supplied, additional tool they make for it and even the book on how to use it and make even more tools for it, virtually unused, for £200. Similar small lathes can be had for even less. It's the brass that costs these days! Anyway, the trick is to break down the shape to that which can be cut, turned or bent. You can do all those things, so all you need to be able to do is silver solder and soft solder. If you can't yet, learn, sharpish. Silver soldering has enabled to earn a living till I retired. It helped me bring up a family of 5, so it's clearly very useful. I won't describe it in boring detail as these days there's a Youtube for every damned thing if you can tolerate that ghastly delivery that so many of them have. I can't, so I'm happy to answer questions if anyone wants to be told straight what to do. Golden rules....make it totally clean with a Swiss file, have sufficient heat, use the right flux. In silver soldering, just sprinkle the powdered flux on, don't bother making a paste, it'll just fizz and shift your little parts. For this part, one of the various patterns of deck lights/flag pole holders that Chris Craft used, I started by turning the main shape of the bulbous bit to be rather like a thimble. I then cut gaps out of it in the vice with a junior hacksaw, so that it had three legs, oversized for now. Then make a teardrop shape out of 1/16th" sheet and cut a hole in it to match. Why the hole? Well, if this is to cast successfully, I don't need any undercuts or "hooks " in the mould so it has to be hollow. Also, I need to put the light lenses in after it's all finished as these units had riding or nav. lights in them. They also had a small jack staff in the top with a burgee or even a national ensign attached. To make the rather art nouveau-ish back end I made a cardboard pattern of what had to be cut from 1mm brass sheet to be folded, hammered a bit and rolled a bit to fit onto the back of the thimble section. I silver soldered the thimble on first, to make it easy to fit the back rolled and folded bit, which was itself then silver soldered on. After that, it's all down to filing to shape, then as you can see from the pencil lines, cut out the teardrop shaped holes in the back which leave a central spine shape. I would first drill a 3mm hole and then, with the piece in a vice use a dental burr in a minidrill and hand mill it out, but PLEASE make sure it can't slip or you could be the owner of a grooved thumb or worse. Finish with files and papers of various grades. More anon when I do the next bits, although you're already further on than I am! Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

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Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

Just got castings back of the Chris Craft fittings and very nice they are too. They have started to burnish up a treat and will polish well as Paul uses a good quality metal. Nice and hard. Now I have to make the light lenses. Also put the blue bottom on her at the weekend using my one and only pot of Plastikote enamel paint, not the acrylic muck they've turned over to and it went on through my spray gun as smooth as could be. Even my masking worked. Just waiting for a gold pin stripe tape for the boot topping now. The final bit will be masking the deck to paint the covering boards and king plank with the same blue. For those not lucky enough to have a wee pot of proper Plastikote in the paint cupboard, I also got a couple of tins of Rustoleum spray, only 5-25 a pot, enamel (of course) in a nice French blue and a rich cream. These colours will look good on my Darby One Design single stepper "WHO'S DARBY?". Very post War. I think the Oulton Broad One Design single stepper will be Burgundy and the Whippet One Design will be varnished mahogany. I know of no other classes of British stepped hydroplanes. These will all be 1/6th scale as they're all around 12-13 ft. long. I'll probably put the same motors in them eventually. The Darby is well advanced and has a Speed 400, but I may go brushless. Any suggestions for a cheap Brushless/ESC combo will be welcome for, say, 3S Li-Pos. it would be good to see these period boats all racing together. I also plan to make reverse clinker Singer cadet and a Percy See Bugatti engined boat for which I have plans. I'm hoping to get a response from the current keepers of Berylla II about measuring that, too, since it also uses a Lea Francis engine, like the Whippet.

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

1/16th scale Fire Boat decals

That's done. My chum is casting resin crew members as we speak and I have some binoculars in . Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

I was just searching for a model car pattern I made months ago for some mods and I found all the lovely etchings I'd done years ago, pre computer, for Riva and Chris-Craft models. These two pics show two brass patterns for the Riva vents and two of the cast vents, one polished about 20 years ago, one done just now, to show that a well burnished casting will stay looking chrome even without lacquer. Then the two Chris Craft tread plates I had the great, good forethought to draw when I found I had a bit of space on the Riva fret. They are perfect, as are the Chris-Craft side flashes and all the Riva badges, even though they were done from hand drawn artwork, proving that Vector images are NOT essential as the pootah people will tell you. I shall mount these two on the typically wedge shaped base and have them cast. I also found a FUEL engraved cap cover which will go on my Chris-Craft filler. it happens to be bang on size wise! I'm cock ahoop! I knew I had these, but had no idea where to start looking. Thanks Mel for getting me started on the search for your Tecno F2 car, but sorry, couldn't find that devil. I have made some more Vincent bits, been to son's to play on his new steering wheel and pedals racing game ( I managed a whole lap of the proper Silverstone in a Lotus 25!) and dined out with the lady wife. What a great day. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

If you want it to look like metal, use metal. That alclad is OK, but still looks like paint to me and having to do it in black first (and that coat has to be perfect apparently) is too much of a faff for me. Hammer, as you can see from the response (or lack of it) taking more pictures (never easy for my shit camera) would hardly be warranted and the description says it all really. I have a few more to take, or rather the wife can take em with her Klevafone for me. Filler and cap, exhaust outlet and windscreen supports have been added. Just the bear paw vent to go when I get a bit of 1/8th" through the post. I have 1/8th", but it's that horrible yellow gooey stuff, so I've splashed out on a small bit of CZ120, hard brass. Also called leaded, silicon or engravers' brass. MUCH better to cut and shape. The equivalent for rod, strip and section is CZ 121, extruded. These will all be available to buy once my chum has cast them in and then you just have to burnish with a crewel needle (darning) and you have chrome (lacquer to taste). Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

These are going to be cast in as near to pewter as damn it, so you can burnish them to a nice chrome finish. Then lacquer. I'll turn you some Perspex innards for the light and you can put some clear coloured paint over the Perspex. There's just the bow piece to go, but I can't have the cutwater cast, so that will have to be either aluminium or foil covered brass as it needs to be thin. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Brass bashin' Chris Craft deck fittings...

Here are the finished items. Off to the caster now. next. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Response

Deans Robert E. Perry Libertyship

Hi I inherited one of theses kit's some years back, when I had a word with Ron he said that it must have been one of his early kit's as it said I need to put bulkheads in to stiffen up the hull. The one that I have has a off set rudder ie the top half of the rudder is just off central, was this to stop any torque from the single prop? I look forward to your build blog as in time I am hoping to get mine finished and will name her "Jack McCann" as that is the name of my late friend.

6 years ago by Fred

Forum

46Firefloat Mk2 paint

SLEC seem like a decent outfit to me. if they are happy to send you only what you're missing that's excellent. I might make the master of the davit and hook available as a casting. I have a friendly caster literally round the corner to me! I'll put news of products on here. Happy to help. BTW, one of our members here did a superb job on the 46" version and used a textured paint from Halfords. I've not had the inclination to follow it up yet in this damned heat, but will do as soon as it cools down a bit. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

46Firefloat Mk2 paint

Unless described as flat, paint was more often a brighter satin than matt and rarely actual gloss. White will always have been an off white as the components of paints were such that it was not possible to get a really bright white. I know that for a fact as my grandad always made his own and until PEP in the mid 60s (Plastic Emulsion Paint) there was no such thing as brilliant or appliance white. Unfortunately getting an decent off white is not easy these days since Plastikote went acrylic and their previously excellent paints started eating themselves on recoating. I now use enamels exclusively. They are densely pigmented, flexible and modern enamels dry pretty quickly. I am using a black enamel primer on my Crash Tender, which I will then spray with black "gloss" from the same range, which, once thinned with white spirit, will dry a little less than glossy. I still don't have a matt brick red for the undersides, but it can be made matt-ish with a careful rub down with 1000 grit wet and dry used wet and soapy, but be careful not to sand through, so very lightly does it, even 1000 grit can cut well when new. Decks were said to be Cerrux Light Deck Grey, anti-slip, which means a textured surface. That would be darker looking due to the surface texture's way with the light. The cabin sides were described as "smooth", i.e. same as the decks but not anti-slip. The roofs? Well, on Vosper's drawing "white" is crossed through and "Grey" written in. But, some pics do look white, the best pics look darker by a whisker than the sides and the roofs are clearly textured as they show evidence, as do the decks, of filth which will sit in the texture. You choose. NOBODY has yet given us chapter and verse. The fact is, an already very handsome boat looks so very pretty with white roofs. But they too should be off white if you can get it! Good luck. Fittings, btw can be had from SLEC in Watton in . Basically the old Yeoman fittings, masters now owned by IP Engineering who bought them to cast when they owned Vintage Model Boat Company. Now they've sold that to SLEC, but I don't think SLEC have casting facilities, so probably cast by Ivor still. I have just had a set for my birthday and they're excellent. They do need careful cleaning up as in mould lines need to be filed/scraped/sanded to a decent finish and then given good primered surface. No hook though, but it does include nav and riding lights. This site also has masts for sale in plastic, but I made my own in brass as I will the hook and davit. I have also just had a set of crew figures cast from my patterns and they will be available soon...a driver(Helm), a boss with binoculars and a lazy slob laying around in the after cockpit. Needs a roll-up to finish his look. No idea of price yet as don't know how much rubber to mould or resin to cast for a set. Yes, 1/16th scale. All this to finish a model I had 55 years ago! But I reckon it deserves it. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Spektrum, new, useless...

In the War on nuts, Doug, I declare you beyond help! I cut them on the narrow boat with an Olfa cutter in the end. He didn't notice the tiny pin prick in the middle of each lens. I have some canopy glue, but I haven't used it yet. is it any different really, from say MicroKlear? Got most of my Crash Tender fittings cleaned up while Chris watched her mama Mia on the telly. Being from old moulds they needed a fair bit of filing and sanding, but we got there. Some only need a slight scrape with a knife. Very hard , which hardly makes your fingers discolour so I'm guessing lead free. You even get two resin navigation lights. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Spektrum, new, useless...

Yep, he done good, did the Naval man in Munchen. I'm in his debt and if I use the TX to fly I promise I'll insure myself, but I ain't joinin' a club unless the local one is as cheap as someone recently suggested. And the only decal on my wings will be the SMAE, if I have to hand paint it! Now...back to boats. Tis my birthday and my dear bride bought me a set of the old Yeoman fittings for my Crash Tender, so now the kids have departed I will have a wee clean up of them. Then, a Chicken Achar from the new indian restaurant. A bonus is that she also bought me a pack of 20 beautifully made turned brass portholes, glazed, that I've just realised will fit the Crash Tender wheelhouse. Result...I HATE glazing portholes. I did 9 on a scratchbuilt canal boat and it drove me nuts. 4 down, 16 to put back in storage, the last of Modelling Timbers' stock of them and the manufacturer no longer does em. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Blog

54 year old Crash Tender

I would like first to say that this is NOT a restoration. It has always been mine and followed me around all those years, been used extensively on Oyster beds on the Essex coast and Valentine's Park in Ilford, Essex...even the great Victoria Park, of which my Granddad was a founder member. It has eaten its way through lantern batteries out of number which my Dad, who was in the business could magic from thin air. There was always a nook in the boot of the Triumph Town and Country saloon and then the Austin Westminster for another new lantern battery, which the Taycol would destroy in about 20 intermittent minutes of left, centre, right, centre from the REP single channel gear. How I wish I still had that, but it was stolen. The REP, that is, the Taycol remains, restored and cleaned and like new again waiting to go back in the boat. I finally decided I should finish it. My wife bought me a set of fittings by Yeoman out of IP Engineering, so I have no excuse. Not that I need one. It has suffered a bit over that half a century, losing odd panels, but they are easily remade and replaced. First, I had to clean out the insides of the detritus and loft life of decades. Vacuuming, scraping with a pointy thing and brushing with a stiff brush, followed by more vacuuming using a clever attachment that my dear wife thought might be useful and it was, being at least a dozen stiff, but small diameter tubes poking out of the end of a nozzle. It both pokes and nudges the old dirt and dust and sucks it away. After that the old thin mahogany deck planks, my friend thought to add in the late 60s were removed and saved where salvageable as I quite like them for trim on other boats. The deck was rather brutalised with a coarse rasp and any loose nails punched back in flush or slightly below. Then some way too old, but still good, epoxy (WEST) was used to slar all over the decks and most of the insides, even some of the cabin sides. That will be finished before dark today. I can hardly believe the epoxy still works, but it does, perfectly and so is pressed into use. In this warm weather it set very quickly. I did my usual trick of squeegeeing it on into the grain with an old credit card or Gummi, which is a sample block of silicon. Styrene will also do. I use some spare 2mm stuff I was given (that guy at IP Engineering again). The roofs had already been corrected the other evening and heavily cellulose sanding sealed. The forward cabin removeable roof was unwarped by having a tight fitting diagonal piece of pear pressed in under the top skin and glued. The new hatch on that roof was made and the shape of the roof and hatch runners changed slightly, as per drawings from this site. Here are pics. of the work today. The above resinning, the remade cabin panels a new wheelhouse bulkhead and the tow hook base panel, finally a new aft cockpit rear coaming which it never had but should have. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Blog

Another great summer day!

Today is another great summer day! So, I took to spraying the Handrails and Davits. The handrails that go around the cabin aft. Need to be made up and sprayed as well! The Life rings that come with the kit. Are made of . I figure for now spray them orange. And put white ribbons every 90 degree's! Kind of make them look like life rings!

6 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

Crash Tender davit info...

Hi Martin. I have a drawing that shows the davit but not in very much detail 🤔. It is designed to be swapped between attachment points on both port or starboard sides ( hence 'portable' davit) and when not required it is stowed in the centre deck with the ends locating in some sort of retaining points on the deck and then (presumably) secured to the wall of the cabin. I added some detail to the casting that came with my Vintage Model Works kit and also modified it to swivel on a removable fixing bracket. See my build blog for more detail on how I made mine. https://model-boats.com/builds/view/23951 Good luck with the restoration. Robbob.

6 years ago by robbob

Forum

Fire boat

Kevin, having just got hold of a SLEC fittings kit for a birthday present from my dear wife I can confirm that in fact they are not in plastic, but . All of them. There are no instructions or parts list. They are the old Yeoman fittings kit, a set of which I was promised by Ivan of IP Engineering as I was involved with his works for a while as a pattern maker and he showed me all the original patterns for what I assume is what SLEC now sell, as Ivan flogged off all his Vintage Model Boat Company rights to them. Chances are he is now just casting fittings sets to SLEC as they don't have casting facilities at their place in Watton. I had an original Mersey Marine set with my Crash Tender for my 11th Christmas, but it was stolen and they no longer exist alas. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

At last, as step nearer to completion for the Crash tender...

Hi all, well having been disappointed by the non arrival of the wherry GRP hull as an early birthday present, my dear bride has agreed to let me send off to SLEC for a set of Crash Tender fittings. I was going to get them in from Ivan at ipengineering, who had them and all the Rowell kits, but he darts from one thing to another and next thing I know is he's flogged it all to SLEC, so I have a set of 1/16th fittings coming to replace the long stolen set of Ripmax Mersey Marine fittings I got with the Crash Tender when I was 11. I had a new brother arriving at the time and would be chucked out of my boxroom, so Dad went nuts and got me the whole kit and caboodle from a new exciting R/C and boat shop in Collier Row, Romford for my 11th Christmas. Alas, the REP single channel R/C set has also been stolen, but the boat and its Taycol Supermarine are here still and now might even finally get finished. As a 12 year old I used the model in an unfinished state on Essex oyster beds for years after, using up lantern batteries like they were growing on trees by the River Roach. Going left, centre,right,centre, but I was having a whale of a time. I shall put an old set of early propo. in it, 27 meg, of course, so stay off green frequency if you don't mind. I was thinking it should be finished as a 60s model, but I can't resist the lure of detailing it now we have all the info thanks to this website, so rather than finding space for 2 of them I'll detail this one after all. The wherry will have to wait. Oh and that brother? He's due here in an hour having come over for a tour of the old country from his life in Australia with his 22 year old son! And he's going back with some old model boat plans from Gary Griswold and The Rudder, which I have amassed, so the tradition continues. I will work on the nephew! Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Amati chrome plated ships wheel - Help!

Hi all just a piece of general knowledge is use in a lot of products in model making and jewellery where some my experience and patternmaking, in patternmaking we used to use tin lead, and of course this was changed and another alloy replaced lead, so the stuff you get now has various denseness, the model stuff tends to be soft and melts at low temp, as the stuff used in jewellery is a bit higher melting temp but not by much.my point is that both are sometimes plated and are sold as silver plate or chrome , fact the jewellery plate is normally rhodium. if you by Celtic jewellery it will be rhodium and suspect that the wheel my be the same, and it does not like the heat of soldering and does turn to mush.

6 years ago by teejay

Forum

Amati chrome plated ships wheel - Help!

Hi Black Dog, yep, had already found it, also tried the Amati site. Not very illuminating 🤔 Weight indicates more likely brass than white / 'muck' metal 😉 Nevertheless I would not solder it as it would be difficult to do without spoiling the shiny chrome finish. I would use the photo etch super glue and to hold the bits the so called 'Helping Hand', see pics. I wouldn't use plasticine, the oil in it might interfere with the adhesion! You're right, the wheel does look like it's from a Ford Pop 😉 My Dad had one too, the 'sit up and beg' model in the fifties, PYK421. Funny the things you remember ain' it!? Happy sticking, don't get too 'stuck up', cheers Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Amati chrome plated ships wheel - Help!

Very likely teejay! When gets hot enough it just goes 'Ploop' and all you have left is a Blob 😡 Of course if they are 'quality' they may well be chromed brass. If in doubt I would use the super glue specially developed for photo etch. Would help though if we had some pics of the parts, and maybe info about the source / manufacturer to see if we can find out what it's made of. cheers Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Amati chrome plated ships wheel - Help!

Hi black dog please don't use solder , it may be chrome plate over if so you could lose it as you over heat the , bad experience in the past.

6 years ago by teejay

Blog

Union Jack and Flag Staff!

I've placed the Union jack and the Flag staff. In place just to see what they'll look like! Yes, I know eventually I have to start painting the model! The base of the union jack is made of . Drilling it was a challenge! Cut my finger in the process! it's a bit sore. Good thing I got a tetnus shot six month's ago! Note: Use a vise to hold the base of the union jack!

6 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

Fire boat

Hi Kevin. Welcome to the forum. A resin fittings kit for the 1:16 (34.5 inch) fireboat is available from SLEC: http://www.slecuk.com/balsa-wood/Crash-Tender-Fiting-Kit-PR802A.html They are made from styrene and are consequently won't add too much additional weight. There is also a fitting kit available from Model Slipway: http://www.modelslipway.com/fittings/crashtender/crash%20tender%20fittings.htm This set looks more comprehensive and will add a bit more weight but will be much sturdier. Not forgetting the range of 1:16 fittings available from the 'Model Shop' on this site.👍 I hope that's helpful. Robbob.

6 years ago by robbob

Response

Bondo the keel!

Mornin' Ed, Not surprised that this is your last Dumas kit🤔 I recently bought the Deans Marine kit of HMS Manxman, a WW2 fast cruiser / minelayer, 1:96 53". it has a superb fibreglass hull that I can't fault and hundreds of cast resin, brass and bits n pieces 😲 On the other hand the drawing supplied is a bit limited, but no sweat as I have several detail photos of the original anyway😉 Rather that way round than like Dumas! Attached are a few pics from the build instructions (there are hundreds on a CD). Good luck with the rest of your build👍 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Thurl pin rack

Hi all I have just spoken to Brian at Mobile Marine and he advised the term was based on a very old English name for belaying pins. Basically its a wooden plank with holes for the belaying pins and fastened in a raised position to the deck. The shrouds are wrapped in a figure of eight round the belaying pins which in an emergency can be knocked out to release. They are used on the davit fixings, not the mast. I have small hooks on the shrouds to the bulwarks and on the fore mast fitting. My model requires the top cabin to be removable so I have made a fixing out of wire that can be quickly released from the fitting on both sides.

6 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Thurl pin rack

Hi Alan I dont know if you have read this http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,7930.0.html the other link to a write up on Lady T is this one http://www.thercmodelboatforum.com/t134-my-lady-t?highlight=lady+t I hope the links works, they are by Footski. yes I have read that some of MMM parts do need a lot of work to make them look good, Dave M on this site has also done the Lady "T" I have uploaded a photo of the label from the inside of my Lady "T", as you can see I have had her for some time now and I have only just started to lay out the internal parts. Fred

6 years ago by Fred

Forum

Thurl pin rack

Thanks for the reply Fred. I have looked on MMM site and found the Thurl pin rack made in , can't say that it appeals to me, so I am going to make my own. It's nice of you and Doug to take an interest and I appreciate it, it's a very nice model but there is a lot of work involved in the woodwork and making of the bits. Thanks again Alan

6 years ago by AlanP

Blog

Decks removed

Now that the decks are removed I was then able to see how all the running gear was placed and fixed, I was in luck as the original builder had use a 300 type motor x 2 and had not gone down the servo motor route, I removed all the running gear alone with the electrics that was in place, I now turned my attention to the shafts, as they were fixed in place I felt that it would do more damage to remove them and replace them with new, it is a shame that the prop's are plastic I just may well look at replacing them at a later date. I now looked at the rudders and as they are of I felt that they would be O.K.

6 years ago by Fred

Blog

TRENT LIFE BOAT

Been on hold for awhile while working on Al Khubar. Time to finish it you may have seen it at Haydock (OWLS). Running gear and electrics all working and has been sailed no leaks, Deck railings and all the bits need doing along with a coat of paint to the deck. Superstructure and Fly Bridge need fittings and painting. Lots to keep me going for a while. More to come as I progress.

6 years ago by dragon

Forum

Huntsman fittings kit.

yep that's the one I was looking at !!!! still undecided if it really work £18 but I wanted to see what you get again. So I could price single items up or just scratch build the easy bits and just but the castings. Many thanks again all.

7 years ago by Novagsi0

Blog

CORDENE

After a slight pause (6 months since last post 😱) have finally found some time between family and work commitments to push things forward a bit. A bit short on workspace at the moment as garage and office is chocca (Hi Dad - when we move house can you look after some stuff for us...?) so have spent some time practicing battery charging, and setting all the electrics and basic R/C controls up on a little test rig. The blue support for the prop drive shaft is a bit of a clip-on folder binder strip I stole. The shaft is held perfectly. I'll keep this in reserve as a possible means of mounting things in the hull, when the time comes. I have a 2000mAh Nimh battery powering a 10A Deans marine ESC. The receiver is a Devolution Devo RX1002, the servo an Align DS520 (both salvaged from my foray in to the lunacy that is R/C helicopters). The motor is a Deans marine KYTE. Just messing with the prop for now, will obviously use the nice shiny brass one I bought on the proper build.

7 years ago by ThatSinkingFeeling

Response

The electrics, drive & radio

Hi Rob, Many thanks for the info on the filling points, I did get a set of fittings from Mike at VMW, but did not get an info sheet as to where they go,Mike kindly supplied me with many information sheets though, now I see yours, I will amend my Fireboat, but still not as perfect as yours,excellent workmanship.

7 years ago by Rookysailor