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Chris Craft Corvette
I rescued this badly damaged fuel soaked rotten wreck from the skip at the start of lockdown...and I am still working on it......now and again!
Every time I try to upload any pictures of my Corvette I get the message "invalid file".............but I will keep trying!
zooma
4 months ago
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3 Photos
6 Likes
Thunder Tiger AVANTI
This ARTR model has kept me βactiveβ at the lake when my restoration and rebuild projects have not been ready for me to sail.
I bought my orange coloured AVANTI (new) not long before lockdown and I was fortunate enough to pick up a nice used blue one very recently.
Spare parts donβt exist for these super little models so I am always looking for any discarded AVANTI models or spares to cannibalise so I can keep at least one of them running for as long as possible!
I added a couple of extra stickers to them to brighten them up a little and to identify them from other AVANTI models that are running locally.
zooma
6 months ago
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3 Photos
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LesRo Javelin p
This is an ex eBay purchase that I have restored to the level shown here.
It is a bit βredβ at the moment, but I was hoping to find someone who can laser cut some white lettering to run down the hull sides, the name on the transom and possibly a racing number on the deck to make it look a bit more like an off-shore racer.
zooma
6 months ago
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9 Photos
20 Likes
Aerokits Patrol Launch
When we got married and moved to live in Exmouth in 1971, our first βwinter lettingβ was just a few yards away from Exmouth Models!
I bought this new kit then, but moved house several times since then and have still not finished it
zooma
6 months ago
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11 Photos
8 Likes
TID Tug
My first scratch built model was a TID Tug.
I made the main superstructure from plastic card grafted onto a second-hand glass fibre hull that I had bought previously.
zooma
6 months ago
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5 Photos
5 Likes
Vic Smeed REMORA
I built my first REMORA from the free plans that came with my December 1964 Model Maker magazine.
That first model was given away over 20 years later in 1985 when we moved up to Lancashire from Devon.
At the same time I also gave away another Vic Smeed design that I built from plan - βSuzie Qβ.
The model shown here is the second Remora that I built more than 45 years later during the Covid lock-down !
I have yet to build another Suzie Q - but I do still have the original plans........so hopefully that will follow along later.
zooma
6 months ago
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2 Photos
8 Likes
Sea Commander from a pair of old cabin sides
A friend sent me some plywood shapes that he hoped were from a LesRo Stiletto so that I could work out what else was needed to make two sets of parts for us to build a new Stiletto each.
The delaminated cabin sides he included looked "familiar" (definitely not from a Stiletto!), so I cut some more wood and I am making them into a complete Sea Commander "look alike" !
zooma
6 months ago
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2 Photos
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LESRO Rapier
Here is my Lesro Rapier that was built in the 1960's by its original owner and was recovered (by myself) from a skip at the start of the Covid lock-down and restored.
zooma
6 months ago
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Members Blogs
3 Posts
1 Follower
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How many model boats are symmetrical.
Having built, restored, and bought quite a few old model boat kits over the years, I have always been surprised to find how non-symmetrical the bulkhead shapes are when checked.
Most of these old kits are βsaw cutβ and so some variation has to be expected - and I suspect that very few of us actually check the symmetry of the bulkheads before gluing them to the keel before assembling our latest projects?
zooma
9 months ago
2 Posts
7 Followers
15 Likes
LesRo Rapier.
When the first lock-down came along I dug out a couple of old wrecks that had been thrown away and had been saved from a skip some years previously, and this looked like a good time to see if they could be rescued. The first was a badly built and abandoned LesRo Rapier (shown here after the rebuild as my photos showing the full rebuilding sequence will not load).
The LiPo tray carries two large 2C 5600Mah LiPo cells, but only one is connected up at a time - the unused LiPo acts as ballast to keep the hull running straight, but makes for a nice quick change when the first one runs down
Any basic tools that I may need when I am "pond side" to change a prop or brushless motor are carried on small magnets in the rear compartment to save me forgetting to take them with me and this has proven to be very helpful!
zooma
9 months ago
Recent Posts
π Death of a member.
2 days ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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Please accept my most sincere condolences to you and your family Colin.
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π Kits for Fairey Marine Models.
8 days ago by
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Hi Chris,
Your comparison between a race horse (huntsman 31) and my description of a floating cottage (Swordsman 33) sums up the difference between these two models very well.
Although there is very little difference in length (2" on a 1/12 scale model or 2ft on a 12" to foot the model!) the Huntsman looks a LOT smaller.
Being able to see the two models alongside each shows just how much smaller the Huntsman 31 is than the much "bulkier" Swordsman.
Surprisingly (perhaps?) the Swordsman is an excellent performer on the water.........nothing like its "floating cottage" nick-name would suggest!
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π Kits for Fairey Marine Models.
9 days ago by
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There are also plans currently available for the 1/12 scale Huntsman 31 and the 1/12 scale Swordsman.
I have owned both the above models built from these plans, and it is interesting to see the comparative size of the Huntsman when placed alongside the Swordsman.
.......no surprise that they "nick-named" the much bigger Swordsman as "The Floating Cottage" - it dwarfed the smaller model.
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π New Zealand Trip
16 days ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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Brilliant pictures Chris.......got any more family members in NZ you can persuade to get married-off - so you can plan another trip? π
Bob.
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π Sea rover cabin cruiser
1 month ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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Great to see another Classic model power boat given a new life extension!
Well done - I hope you enjoy running it. π
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π Vic Smeed RTTL Vosper
2 months ago by
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The colour scheme of the RTTL that we had running in our club back in the early 1960's had a black hull with red undersides, grey superstructures with white cabin tops - just like the colours used on the Aerokits fire and rescue launches.
I have no idea what colour scheme's were used on these launches (in real life) over the years, but no doubt there would have been some changes.
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π Vic Smeed RTTL Vosper
2 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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We had one of these Vic Smeed RTTL launches in our local club back in the early 1960's and it was powered by a Gannet 15cc petrol motor. Not overly fast but it look really good and sounded nice too!
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π¬ Re: Modified Stiletto project
2 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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I will also be making a much modified Stilleo/Rapier as a future project - thanks to some excellent ideas provided by Chris
When I get all the templates drawn-up I will also cut a spare set of parts for Will (madwelshman) so that he can bung one together too! π
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π¬ Re: Lesro "Arrow"
2 months ago by
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Here is a picture of my LesRo Javelin - the Arrows big brother.
These hulls really work very well and can handle the Great British weather very well !
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π¬ Re: Lesro "Arrow"
2 months ago by
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I have the larger version of the Arrow - the LesRo Javelin (shares the same hull as the LesRo Rapier) and I bought a kit to make the smaller LesRo Arrow some time back - but I have not made it yet.
It's a shame that LesRo never re-kitted either the Rapier or its smaller brother/sister the Stiletto (share's the same hull as the Arrow).
They are all great "classic" r/c model power boats that perform well, and your Arrow looks really smart!!
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π Rustoleum Pain Can Nozzle Restoration
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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Good tips - and I like Colins idea of saving old nozzles after the cans are empty! (something I have done many times over the years!).
I sometimes drop the dirty rattle can nozzle into a small screw top jar (like an airbrush storage paint jar) part filled with thinners - and give it a good shake .
This agitates the clogged paint (after it has had time to soak) and can save risking any damage to the nozzle if you don't have the correct size drill bits to open them out accurately.
Soak - Shake - Repeat. This process can be repeated several times until the nozzle is clear and doing more than one nozzle at a time (if your jar is big enough) helps the agitation and can save time if you have more than one blocked nozzle.
Bob.
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π¬ Re: Chris Craft Corvette
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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I wanted to show the true rotten condition of the hull and superstructure before I started working on it as most who saw it agreed that it was most definitely not worth bothering with.
If it were not for the lock down I would not have considered trying to save it either !
These early pictures cannot be taken again - but they are stored safely on my iMac and can be sent by email to anyone that would like to see them - or is able to upload them for others to see.
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π¬ Re: Chris Craft Corvette
4 months ago by
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I am using an Apple Mac computer - 2012 model - so maybe not as up to date as it needs to be?
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π Chris Craft Corvette
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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I rescued this badly damaged fuel soaked rotten wreck from the skip at the start of lockdown...and I am still working on it......now and again!
Every time I try to upload any pictures of my Corvette I get the message "invalid file".............but I will keep trying!
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π¬ Re: Flying Christine2
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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A friend of mine has done a little research into the Flying Christine and believes that it would be possible to build all three variants of this well known craft from this one kit.
With some minor modifications this should be reasonably easy to achieve and would make an impressive trio.
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π Update on my Sterling Corvette
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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A friend of mine has done a little research into the Flying Christine and believes that it would be possible to build all three variants of this well known craft from this one kit.
With some minor modifications this should be reasonably easy to achieve and would make an impressive trio.
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π Update on my Sterling Corvette
4 months ago by
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My ex Sterling Kits Chris Craft Corvette is currently almost back in one rot-free lump, but it has taken so much time to get it this far, the comparatively simple matter of final finishing and detailing has not been given any recent attention.
I think it just "wore me out" :(
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π Update on my Sterling Corvette
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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I "rescued" the remains of a Sterling Kit Chris Craft Corvette from a skip at the start of the Covid lockdown.
My restoration involved removing a lot of rot and can be seen here
herehttps://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,64895.0.html |
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π¬ Re: Flying Christine2
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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I saw the original Flying Christine back in the very early 1960's during a fortnights (Junior) school visit to the island.
The original craft was painted in black and white only and proudly displayed the St Johns Ambulance logo on its hull sides.
I think the current Flying Christine is the third (similar sized) craft to bear the name.
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π¬ Re: Flying Christine2
4 months ago by
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I was lucky to see the original Flying Christine in Guernsey when it was first crewed by local hero Dan Blanchflower who used the craft to save several lives that would have been lost before St Johns Ambulance were able to commission her as a floating ambulance service.
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π Paint
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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It's getting a lot harder to find good oil based household paint, and my testing with various brands of the current "water based - easy clean" household paints has proven to be very disappointing.
Poor coverage and no long term resistance to immersion in water are my main complaints against these easy clean-up paints.
I restore classic r/c power boats -usually from the late '50's to the mid '70s - and I like to paint them by hand with brush paint to finish them in the traditional way with oil based gloss paints.
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π¬ Re: Hovercraft
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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Since my first comment I have been able to open your link and see the short hovercraft video Phil.
The model is described as a GRIFFON so I am guessing that I should be able to find out more about the model online - maybe there is a commercially available kit for it?
I will see what I can find out about building and running an r/c hovercraft.
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π¬ Re: Hovercraft
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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Do you have any more info about your hovercraft Phil?
Sadly, your link does not work for me, but I find hovercraft a fascinating subject and would like to learn more about them if I can.
Bob.
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π The resurrectionists and a bit of maths, mainly percentages!
4 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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I am pleased to know that you are feeling better now that you have "vented your spleen" Roy.
Now you can look forward to another wet weekend out with your model boat.π
Stay safe,
Bob.
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π Fairey Huntress
5 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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What adhesive did you use to glue your windows in with Chris?
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π Cooling for the ESC
5 months ago by
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Hi DG,
I run brushless motors with matching ESC's and I have always water cooled them both.
My brushless motors are mounted on alloy water-cooled motor mounts and both are fed from a single water scoop pick-up.
This may well be a hang-up from the 1960's when all my r/c boats were powered by ic engines, but the water-cooled alloy motor mounts are a more recent thing that I have only been doing over the last few years.
I always buy water-cooled ESC, but I also have some water-cooled base plates that I bought for use with a non-water cooled ESC. I have not used these yet, but it looks like a nice simple idea, although heat rises and the efficiency of cooling the underside of the ESC may not be a perfect solution.
It is nice to be able to check the water flow from the outlet when the boat passes by so I can see that the cooling system is working well.
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π One of the most useful bits of kit in my workshop
5 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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That looks like a really useful bit of kit EdW.
I make all of my stripping and triangular shaped strip on my bandsaw, but your miniature saw table will be able to cut smaller sections and to a much finer tolerance's.
.......and it will take up a lot less space too!
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π Came across this Fairey Swordsman
5 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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When fixing strakes (the underwater ribs on the bottom of the hull) to older hulls that I am refurbishing - or just adding them to hulls that never had them fitted before - I always mark the positions of them on the bottom of the hull first.
When I am happy with the positions, I scrape away the paint in a channel that is just a little wider than the strake that I am going to fit.
This gives a nice clean channel to fit the strake into and ensures the glue being used has some good clean wood to bond onto.
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π Came across this Fairey Swordsman
5 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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When fixing strakes, spray rails, or deck edge rails with "dry" (non soaked or steamed) wood it is important to navigate the bow curve very slowly, and to start working from the tip of the bow.
I have found that fixing the first 5-10mm at the bow end with extra thin superglue anchors the strake/rail in position firmly.
Then the next 5-10mm can be super-glued into position and when dry the next 5-10mm or so until the curved section of the bow is successfully navigated.
After that the sides are a lot easier to fix when longer sections can be glued into place, step at a time, but I still only work in short lengths or 20 - 30 mm or so and hold the strake/rail in place to the marks every time until it is firmly fixed in place.
Marking the position that the strake/rail is to fit against before starting to glue anything down is important.
I mark the position with small marks every 10 - 20 mm apart or so before I start any glueing so the strake/rail will always be glued in the correct position.
Tip:- I have found that a Biro gives a nice clear mark that is easier to work to and easier to see than a pencil mark.
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π Rttl2755 maiden voyage
6 months ago by
π¬π§ zooma (
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You have made a superb job of your RTTL, hope all goes well on your maiden voyage with her today π
Bob.
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