Well done that man, an innovative solution well executed. Have you considered a letter to Santa?

Harvey just come across your build blog I am a bit further on with mine, just doing some paint experiments at present.You comment about your ability level, judging by your approach to prep before gluing and your innovative solution to clamping that doesn't seem in doubt. any way there's enough builders on here that have experienced everything you will come across in this build, so if in doubt give them a shout. I've just signed up to your blog - never stop learning

Each modeler has different abilities and you should be proud of your achievements the paint job looks OK but you could easily improve the joint lines with some pinstripe tape a nice 2mm yellow would look good.

Steve, skills in abundance, really nice work both in metal and wood really nice.

On the cabin roof is the radio aerial, the kit supplies a base in white metal, but to accommodate my aerial design I decided to machine my own out of brass. I wanted the pole to be tapered and with it being only 2mm dia I found the easiest way was to support the piece in a wooden block at the same height as the Dremel laid flat on the bench. With the piece rotating, I used a smooth file and grades of wet & dry to taper down to 0.75 dia. Next I machined the 2mm end down to 1.5mm to accept the spring, this spring will be soldered to a lower piece which then goes through the base and into the cabin where it’s bolted in position. I decided to incorporate a spring to make sure it does not get accidently bent.
Soft soldering was chosen, as the silver solder would have tempered the spring. The result was really better than I could have imagined.

Loud Hailer
Another heavy item, first job hollow out with the Dremel and then fill with polystyrene and top with Milliput and sculpt the shape –result, the weight was halved. Next I made a frame in the same way as the one I did for the search light – (see search light)

All the cabin furniture has to be mounted on the roof which is curved! I found the best way was to use Milliput. The method was as follows,
1 Drill the hole for each item in the appropriate place
2 Make sure the fastening method for each piece will hold the piece upright (I tapped the hole 8BA)
3 Make a dividing piece from PTFE baking sheet circular for most items but oblong for the mast feet
4 Roughen the surface where the items contact the cabin roof
5 Place the divider on the items base
6 Mix a small amount of Milliput
7 Place a circular amount under each item
8 put some Vaseline on the securing bolt so it doesn’t stick
9 Pull the item down to the desired height and fasten in position then trim around the bases
10 When dry remove the item and the baking sheet, paint as required
11 sorry if this is common knowledge

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Talking of funny names SWANEE is quite good

Well Gary was true to his word and gave me a Microcosm Micro Scale M2B Twin Cylinder Marine Steam Engine, what a generous man and a true enthusiast for steam. He has a number of boats which are of excellent quality and a workshop which is second to none. Gary also made another gift which I hope to be able to let you see in time and yes its powered by steam.
Gary once again many thanks for your encouragement and generosity. I will be in touch by email please confirm your email address, you already have mine so drop me a note.

Reference ranking = credibility not all credible/talented modelers post very little and some supposedly credables post some surprising things to say he least, however its the content that matters and the sharing of experiences be they good or bad as you never stop learning.
And remember Stephen does all this fantastic work free of charge and there are an awful lot of member that don't contribute financially to help with the upkeep and development of this site but seem to have a lot to say.
Rant over

Don't despair Joe, be positive, how good is it?

A very impressive build, what will the power unit be?

Although I upload a PDF and it say DONE it doesn't appear in the right hand Photos/Files it just shows a square box then is not in the posted item

doen't appear to be loading ?

I am still having an issue when opening the site from google I get what you see in the attached pics.
the only way I can get in is by using the reply button on any email
Help Please

I'm having a problem when I first open the site the screen is not fully functional, non of the buttons work and the screen is as pics

Looks really good and even better in the flesh as it was at Ally Pally Exhibition👍

What more can I say that's not been said. A monumental task successfully completed
many thanks
Michael👍

Your correct 360 degrees does get you back to where you started, so fold a piece of brass sheet through 360 and you get what is in pic, a folded in half piece of brass.

The supplied mast is of white metal and although OK it has a number of minus points for me.
1- The mast does not lend its self to being hinged.
2- It really needs navigation light on top and the supplied casting is not suitable for this.
3- wiring needs to be hidden, not easy with the casting
4- 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

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Looks really good, but why did you decide not to put the plank joints in?

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On fibreglass you could use an etching primer which is a modified alkyd primer that produces a sound base coat on wood, steel, fiberglass, aluminum surfaces. but you should use an ordinary primer before the top coat. Halfords do a spray etch primer.

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Accidently deleted posts -
Response by JOHN on the 6th Mar 2019 Modify ✓ Like This Post ( 3 )
hi there
With regard the servo rudder linkages - I was advised that it is always best to use the 'push/pull method' of linkage - as this has two strong points in its favour.

The first problem it alleviates is - sometimes if on a single connection between rudder and servo and it is not set up quite right - a servo movement can force the rudder tiller arm to come back on itself under certain circumstances - i.e. when the distance from the centre of the servo to the outer hole on the servo arm isn't equal to the centre of the rudder post - to the centre of the linkage arm on the rudder.


The second problem - you can get an odd strain on the gearing in the servo, because on some models there is a fair bit of force on the rudder blade - whilst the model is in motion & turning to port or starboard. The way to think of this, you are riding a pushbike and holding the handlebars with one hand and you are trying to turn a sharp corner - think of how much strain and effort you have to put in. Now, if you have a double linkage to either side of the tiller arm from your servo - that strain now is balanced and is evening out the strain in the servo. Admittedly, this problem where you wear the servo out only happens on very rare occasions - but - as the old saying goes 'belts and braces/better be safe than sorry'.


John

Response by RNinMunich on the 6th Mar 2019 Modify ✓ Like This Post ( 1 )
In the wrong post but sensible stuff John.👍
Hadn't considered it before but it certainly makes sense to me that a dual linkage will help cancel the backlash from the rudder. And hence stop the servo motor having to fight it. That would reduce potential 'hunting' of the servo and also take the strain off the gearing.
Probably not a noticeable problem for short term rudder commands or in small, light models.
But could be in the heavyweights with big rudders I suppose. like Mike said (sort of); makes yer think!!
More power to yer servos Gents.
Cheers, Doug 😎
PS Dual linkage not possible in some situations, see pic of cramped space in my Sea Scout. Had to lay the servo on it's side.😲

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Two reasons for a double linkage, firstly with a single linkage the pressure exerted on the servo from the rudder during a L/H turn will put the linkage in tension, and when doing a R/H turn then the linkage will be in compression. is it possible this could have an effect on the electronic mechanism in the servo, not that I have any expertise in this area, however with two linkages this is equalled out.
Secondly, and the main reason, is that it may not be necessary, it may be overkill, but I like symmetry, and the servo arm has two arms maybe for a reason?
At the end of the day its personal preference and it’s good to foster debate and you may find a lot of the parts I make may not be necessary to most people but I enjoy engineering, wait while you see the mast!

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Nice work, can I offer a very simple but effective improvement to the Cowl Vents, just cut small circle of black card and stick it in the red area and it looks as if there is a hole to the interior, then just paint with a matt varnish. I did mine and I think they look good

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I always use panel wipes as a result of my experience with spaying kit cars, the same methodology applies even though the item is somewhat smaller and in a way its more important as the finished item often gets closer scrutiny.

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Just moved these two posts that were posted further down my blog by mistake as they are significant to the discussion and bring back the subject as I think its important as I would like to know if any others have a view. the photo is Johns

Response by JOHN on the 6th Mar 2019 Modify ✓ Like This Post ( 2 )
hi there
With regard the servo rudder linkages - I was advised that it is always best to use the 'push/pull method' of linkage - as this has two strong points in its favour.

The first problem it alleviates is - sometimes if on a single connection between rudder and servo and it is not set up quite right - a servo movement can force the rudder tiller arm to come back on itself under certain circumstances - i.e. when the distance from the centre of the servo to the outer hole on the servo arm isn't equal to the centre of the rudder post - to the centre of the linkage arm on the rudder.


The second problem - you can get an odd strain on the gearing in the servo, because on some models there is a fair bit of force on the rudder blade - whilst the model is in motion & turning to port or starboard. The way to think of this, you are riding a pushbike and holding the handlebars with one hand and you are trying to turn a sharp corner - think of how much strain and effort you have to put in. Now, if you have a double linkage to either side of the tiller arm from your servo - that strain now is balanced and is evening out the strain in the servo. Admittedly, this problem where you wear the servo out only happens on very rare occasions - but - as the old saying goes 'belts and braces/better be safe than sorry'.


John

Response by RNinMunich on the 6th Mar 2019 Modify ✓ Like This Post ( 1 )
In the wrong post but sensible stuff John.👍
Hadn't considered it before but it certainly makes sense to me that a dual linkage will help cancel the backlash from the rudder. And hence stop the servo motor having to fight it. That would reduce potential 'hunting' of the servo and also take the strain off the gearing.
Probably not a noticeable problem for short term rudder commands or in small, light models.
But could be in the heavyweights with big rudders I suppose. like Mike said (sort of); makes yer think!!
More power to yer servos Gents.
Cheers, Doug 😎
PS Dual linkage not possible in some situations, see pic of cramped space in my Sea Scout. Had to lay the servo on it's side.😲

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Two reasons for a double linkage, firstly with a single linkage the pressure exerted on the servo from the rudder during a L/H turn will put the linkage in tension, and when doing a R/H turn then the linkage will be in compression. is it possible this could have an effect on the electronic mechanism in the servo?, not that I have any expertise in this area, however with two linkages this is equalled out.
Secondly, and the main reason, is that it may not be necessary, it may be overkill, but I like symmetry, and the servo arm has two arms maybe for a reason?
At the end of the day it's personal preference and it’s good to foster debate and you may find a lot of the parts I make may not be necessary to most people but I enjoy engineering, wait while you see the mast!

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Servo mount
I have looked and better looked for a decent servo mount but could not find one that suited the position I wanted to put the servo, so I decide to make my own. I bought some aluminium channel, which would act as a platform and base for the standard servo. Space in terms of height is at a premium and so some material had to be removed from the keel area to make sure the servo arms did not catch on the underside floor of the rear deck. As the space tapers in height from stern>forward then the best position for the servo would be next to the forward bulkhead

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

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Rob I have just bought a miniature fan which runs on 5volt 30mm x 30mm x8mm £4:78 free post
Miniature 5V Cooling Fan for Raspberry Pi

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l13...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=Miniature+5V+Cooling+Fan+for+Raspberry+Pi+%28and+Other+Computers&_sacat=0

🔗

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Nicely constructed as usual

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