All the glazing on the cabin is fixed except for the forward windows on each side which are on runners for the crew to slide open.

The glazing supplied in the kit for these sliding windows is 1mm Perspex so I made some runners by laminating two strips of 1.5mm obeche strip, one of which was shaped beforehand to be narrower and thus forming a rebate for the window to run in. The upper and lower runners for each side were made in this way.

All the runners were then given a couple of coats of Teak stain before they were epoxied to the cabin sides, a temporary window template was used to get the spacing and positioning correct during this stage. A vertical piece was also made, with a rebate too, as an end stop which was also fixed in place.

The template was then used to produce the actual windows which both have a handle glued to the outer rear edge with canopy glue and both run very well but with sufficient friction in the runners to hold them in although I will fit a removable retaining pin at the ends of the runners to prevent them from sliding out completely 😠.

The two white metal navigation lights supplied in the kit were painted with some metallic silver acrylic and the lenses painted red and green, these fix onto some obeche pieces fashioned and formed to complete the lights, then both were Teak stained and epoxied to the top window runners.

In part 2 I will tackle the handrails for the cabin roof 😁.

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'Tis fixed.....👍😀

Hi Dave.
Would be great to see you at our show, details on the attached PDF.
Robbob.

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See attached.
Rob.

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Hi Stephen.
Good to see the the bold text has now been replaced by a much more subtle underscore,
it makes for a much more pleasant reading experience now.
Thanks.
Rob.
PS. I still don't like the 'Hobby Land' website thumbnail 🤕, what was wrong with the old one ?......I suspect that the web hosting service has this as a default ☹️
KUTGW as Doug (the acronym man) says.😉

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Hi Rolfman2000 (Dave)
I only attend the Warwick show as a visitor so I won't be able to exhibit the boat there, it will have another public showing at my club exhibition in September though and it will be fully finished by then. I'm just adding the final detailing to the cabin and decks now.
Hopefully a maiden voyage soon too 😁
Robbob.

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Good Morning Stephen.
Thanks for fixing the 'dissappearing pictures' bug, the ones in my last blog entry have all re-appeared 👍
One thing that does irritate me are the emboldened words in posts and blog entries, I can't really see the point of them👎.
Otherwise....All Good 😁.
Robbob.

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Time to make a decision on what colour the hull should be…🤔
The instructions say ‘Navy Blue’ but that just doesn’t look right, just too light.
In the ‘photos of the splendid model in the National Maritime museum the hull appears to be black while in the colour video clips on YouTube it appears dark, possibly black, but in keeping with the ‘boys in blue’ nature of the vessel I think a very dark blue would be more appropriate. I have seen this on some other Thames Police Launch models that I have admired and it looks ‘right’ so to speak.

Just to convince myself I generated a ‘colour palette’ in Photoshop to make a direct comparison between black and a couple of deep blues that looked like possible candidates.
I used the RAL co-ordinates of the two blues in question to generate the colours and decided on RAL 5004 as the favourite and then ordered a couple of 400ml rattle cans from a custom paint supplier, I chose a satin finish rather than full gloss.
They arrived a few days later and I did a spray test on a scrap piece of board with the anti-fouling below with a white waterline between and was very pleased with my choice.

The red oxide was carefully masked off and the area to be painted cleaned off with some panel wipe on a clean paper towel, then into the spray booth for the first light coat. This painting was done during a very cold spell in early January 2019 and I took the precaution of taking the boat indoors the night before to keep it warm and also pre-heat the workshop before bringing it out, I also used my hot air gun to gently warm the hull prior to spraying and then again after the first coat was applied.

I’d like to think that this helped the process and prevented the seasonal temperature and humidity levels causing any adverse effects on the finish. The second coat was applied about 20 minutes later and the solvents flashed off by the heat gun again. I’ll add that the heat gun was used at a distance of about two feet and the booth is fan vented to outside and…. ‘I am that masked man’.

Back on the bench and with the masking removed the paint finish looks very satisfactory to me, I just need to apply the white ‘Trimline Tape’ for the watermark to finish the hull before spraying with a couple of coats of satin lacquer.

Then it will be ready for it’s first showing at the London model show at Ally Pally on the St. Albans Model Engineering Society stand alongside my RAF Crash Tender.

More on that ‘Trimline Tape’ later……🤕

https://stalbansmes.com/

🔗

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Hi Stephen.
I just posted a reply on your 'Sneak Peek' thread.....perhaps it's better if moved to this one....
Well done again...
Cheers
Rob.

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Hi Stephen.
Congratulations on the successful transition to the 'new look' website.
After a quick stooge around the site my first impressions a very good.
I'm viewing on my tablet at the moment and everything seems to work ok on that, and I'll try it out on my mobile and desktop computer soon.
I have a build blog update to add later today so it will be good to see if that has changed much.
Well done ( can't find the thumbs up emoticon??).
Rob.

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Hi Mike.
I chose to leave them out because they didn't look quite right in a 'random' pattern and too contrived in a 'regular' pattern, and besides, I didn't have any joints in the main deck and that looks perfectly ok to me.
Rob.

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The ‘box’ of the prototype I’m building is made of balsa wood, later production models are produced in ply and have the planking lines laser etched on the floor panels, and as balsa doesn’t take stain particularly well I have used separate obeche panels to line the box internally that can be finished with the Teak stain that I’m using.

This does, however, mean that I can apply the deck lines using a black indelible marker pen and incorporate some detail lines around the motor housing.

I started by cutting and shaping two obeche panels that join along the centre line of the deck and fit neatly around the motor mount and prop-shaft, then I used some tracing paper over the panels to make a test pattern for the planking lines.

When I was happy with the layout of the lines I first applied two coat of Teak stain to the panels, and when that was dry I used a .8mm pen to mark the deck lines, the ink takes a while to dry fully and I found it all too easy to smudge some lines 😡 which had to be very quickly taken off with a dampened cotton bud and re-applied.

After 24 hours the ink had fully dried and was impervious to smudging and resistant to removal by any means (except a solvent).

The floor panels were then glued down to the balsa floor with an even spread of aliphatic glue and weighted down over all of the area as there was a tendency for the panels to curl and lift.

Each side panel was made in one piece and then separated into two parts to make the fitting easier, the join will be covered with a vertical detail strip, and they were also stained before being glued and clamped in place. No lining detail was applied to the side panels as I’ll do this with other surface applied pieces later but only in the area outside of the cabin.

All the panels were given a couple of coats of satin lacquer to enhance and protect the finish.

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Doesn't everybody use panel wipe ??.....
.....Actually.....I didn't until I got some grease or silicone on a surface to be painted and it was the devil's 👿 job to get it off so that the paint didn't react....lesson learned 😁.
I use it all the time now 👍
Robbob

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There’s no putting it off any longer, I need to start painting the hull before I do any more on the boat so the hull was given a final rub down with a fine abrasive and then the deck and gunwales carefully masked off.
I used some panel wipe to thoroughly de-grease all the surfaces and then put the hull in the ‘spray booth’ on my turntable and applied two coats of Halfords grey primer. I left this for a couple of days to dry and harden off before setting it on my bench.

The next stage involves levelling the hull fore and aft and side to side so that the waterline can be established. Fortunately the well deck floor is meant to be perfectly level when the boat is afloat and at rest and this is the datum I used to level to using a couple of spirit levels.
The rough waterline points were measured off the plan and transferred to the hull to be used as approximate starting points for the waterline.

For my previous build I bought a self-levelling laser to indicate the waterline so this was brought out for the same purpose.
The laser level was placed on another workbench a couple of metres away and gradually raised with packing pieces until the projected line agreed with the rough position marks I’d made on the hull and then finely adjusted until the line was correct and pencil marks made at intervals along the projected line.

The process was repeated for the other side of the hull and then also marked across the stern, fortunately the stern line and bow markings joined up accurately confirming that the levelling was spot on.
Good quality low tack masking tape was then applied all around the hull and the area above the line masked off with a couple of layers of newspaper.

The exposed hull was then keyed with a fine Scotchbrite type pad and cleaned off with panel wipe before two coats of Halfords red oxide primer applied as the anti-fouling.

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I've spent a few bob with SLEC up to now, I get all of my modelling timber supplies from them, excellent range of hardwood and softwood, very good prices and next day delivery....what's not to like 👍

Rover P4, a beautiful car and well worth restoring too.

Just remember to compliment your wife on the excellent condition of her chassis and low running costs now and again 😜.
She might be happy for you spend more on boats then 😁.
Rob.

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I’m grateful to mturpin013 for commenting that he considered using the propeller adaptor supplied with the Turnigy motor as it prompted me to retrieve mine from the box and adapt it to secure the fan on the end of the motor.

I cut off the threaded shaft from the prop adaptor and the end was ground flat and then I placed it on the end of the motor stub and used a scriber through the bolt holes to mark the positions on the flange of the fan.

The fan was then removed and the holes drilled through and opened up to 3mm and then it was a simple matter to put the fan back on the motor and attach the new piece to the motor using the three 2.5mm cap head screws which are supplied with the prop adaptor.

I think this is a far better ‘engineering’ solution to securing the fan to the rotor than a spot of CA.

Because the addition of the fan was so straightforward and effective I have decided to implement it on the model anyway so I cut an opening through the end panel of the motor cover and put some stainless steel mesh over that to finish it.

The motor is now connected to the ESC and I have done some tests with the motor running and I’m delighted to report that there’s a very healthy airflow through the motor cover 😁👍.

It turns out that my modification is not unique at all and credit is due to reilly4 who did something similar to the twin motors on one of his boats long before I came up with the idea. He posted a ‘photo of his boat when replying to mturpin013 on the subject of servo mounts.

Take a look at the motors in his picture!

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Hi Doug.
The SLEC version of the Police launch is similar in design but it's only 26" in length, they bought up the Vintage Model Boat Company a while ago so that's possibly a reason for the confusion as the names are quite similar.

The Vintage Model Works version has been re-designed by Colin Smith, the son of the original designer Phil Smith, and has be re-scaled to a full 36" in length and thus is more able to accommodate modern running gear, and has the potential for much more detailing as I have done on my build.

Hi Boatshed.
The boat is nearing completion and looking pretty ship shape now 😁.
I'm unsure why the VMW boat kits are not priced on their website either 🤔 and I would encourage you to contact Mike Cummings to find out more about the VMW range.
All the best guys.
Rob.

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Hi Boaty.
Thank you for you compliments, I'm pleased you're enjoying my build blog 😁.
The VMW kit has been developed really well and does credit to the original designer so definitely put one on your 'to-do' list.

The kit is now available from VMW: http://www.vintagemodelworks.co.uk/?page_id=18

The servo in mine is actually in a rear compartment that I formed and involves a bit of 'keyhole surgery' to work within but it means that the servo and all the operational running gear is very neatly hidden away, another benefit of the re-scaled version of this boat 👍.

PS. Note the relocated antenna !

Robbob.

http://www.vintagemodelworks.co.uk/?page_id=18

🔗

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Hi Alan.
You are correct, I had tucked that leg of the aerial alongside the ESC and probably would have used that position but I'll take your advice and move it away as far as practical. I'll put it in a thin plastic tube at the front of the enclosure so it will be correctly distanced as you rightly suggest.
I had not considered that any nasty RFI from the ESC (or any other acronyms 😉) would be an issue with 2.4G kit.
The other leg of the aerial is passed through a hole in the side wall of the well deck into the hull cavity and extends forward, it's also above the waterline too so that should be OK. The aerial wires will be at 90 degrees to each other which I know is desirable too.

BTW. I have developed the fan cooling of the motor a bit more so I'll post an update on that soon 😁.

Thanks 👍👍.
Rob.

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I dunno how they do it either!, and I think that some, if not all their tools, are made in Germany and not cheap far east tat.

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Hi Pete.
Not a problem 😁
I bought a selection of the 'T' pins on eBay:
Put this into the search field on eBay:
NICKEL-PLATED-HARD-STEEL-T-PINS-T-PIN-T-HEAD-MACRAME-MODELLING-CRAFT-3-Sizes

Use this search for the ball head pins:
Map Pins 50 Large 8mm Head For indicator, Cork and Notice Boards

Cheers.
Rob.

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The original boat had a wide and deep seat at the back of the well deck and this is an ideal place to conceal the fuse, ESC and receiver.
I started by setting out the components and marking an area sufficiently big enough to accommodate them all with room for the associated wiring and plumbing (water cooling for the ESC).

A framework of obeche strip was formed on the floor and sides in such a way that the top and front panels of the cover would be flush with the frame, the side frames were also built out so that the cover would be narrow enough to clear the coamings on the sides of the well deck.
The rear panels and floor of the enclosure are 1.5mm obeche panels, the rear one with cut-outs for the wiring to come through, both were given a coat of Teak stain before being glued in place.
The cover ‘seat’ was made from a framework of obeche strip and panels with bracing pieces at each end to add rigidity and it fits neatly into the frame, some finishing detail was also added to this.
This was also given a first coat of Teak stain.
The cover will be held in place with small neodymium magnets.

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Hi reilly4.
Thanks for your response.
I didn't think it was a standard feature, it does seem to work though and I did note your water cooled motor mounts too.
Hi Mike.
Sorry to hi-jack your thread 😉.

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The servo mount on my Crash Tender came from China, unfortunately I don't have the machinery or skills that Mike has.
I found the single linkage to be more than adequate.

reilly4.
I note that your motors have fans attached (first 'photo), are they standard on those motors ?

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I'm curious to know why you opted for the 'push - pull' arrangement for the linkages?.
Nice piece of metalwork, and polished to a mirror finish too...dazzling 😎
Rob.

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Hi Stuart.
Progressing well but don't rush it!
Mistakes are easy to make and harder to fix so I spend more time planning to do something than doing it 😁.
Robbob.

I do like the Huntsman, maybe I'll build one myself one day.
Following your blog with interest.
Robbob.

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Mike.
The motor in my crash tender barely gets warm so I think you should be fine.
Rob.

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Whilst I don’t think I’m going to need to cool the motor it got me thinking that it may be a useful experiment to see if the ‘Stick A Fan Blade On The End Of The Rotor’ idea would actually work 🤔
So while waiting for some glue to set on another part of the build I decided to rummage through the junk PC bits box and find an old fan of a suitable size, and I did indeed have on that would fit the bill 😀.

I broke away the outer fan casing to release the motor and blades and then set about separating the fan blade, which proved fairly simple.

The fan blade has an overall diameter of 45mm which is ideal and there’s a moulded-in centre mark so I used a step cutter to open up a hole to 10mm and then a tapered hand reamer to carefully open up the hole to about 11mm which is the diameter of the end bearing stub on the rotor.

The fan was then pushed onto this motor stub until it seated flush on the wide and end of the rotor can and is a very tight friction fit so it doesn’t need any more than that to hold it.

I don’t have a dial gauge but I can tell by eye that the fan is perfectly centred and true and so it shouldn’t cause an imbalance 🤞.

The motor turns clockwise when viewed at the fan end which means that the fan would be pulling air through the side vents , through the stator and around the rotor and would need to exhaust through a new panel cut into the end of the motor enclosure.

The existing motor enclosure still fits perfectly over the motor and its fan and wouldn’t need any other modification than the extra opening and mesh.

So in theory this arrangement will give forced ventilation and cooling of the motor in the event that there is a heat problem.

In practice I’ve yet to wire up the motor to the ESC so I have not been able to run a proper test to check it actually works but I’m pretty confident of it.

This motor cooling arrangement could prove useful to others when faced with a similar situation which I why I decided to conduct the experiment...... and validate my theory.

Just keep your fingers away from the fan blades…..😨

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Hi Mike.
A 5v supply would be easier to derive for that fan, but recent informed opinion says it should not need forced cooling though, and I tend to agree.
Cheers.
Rob.

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