Indholdsfortegnelse for December 2023 i Model Boats

Out and about The survival of this long-running annual event, this year held over the weekend of October 14/15, can perhaps be attributed to the fact that the show has sensibly moved with the times and evolved to encompass not just model boats but various other sectors of the wider modelling community. Organised by the Components Ship and the Fairhaven Model Boat Club, the show as once again hosted by the Norbreck Hotel in Blackpool. Accommodated in hotel’s two ballroom areas, the larger was given over to displays by both individuals and model boat clubs, several IPMS club stands and, of course, suppliers, with the smaller (comparatively speaking, as we’re still talking about a reasonably large space) featuring a model truck arena, crawlers, scenic railroad displays, a tank and AFV…

If, like me, you’re a Daphne du Maurier fan and familiar with her novel Frenchman’s Creek, you may, considering the title of this article, be expecting a pirate ship build. If so, sorry to disappoint. Despite having no actual association with the book, I just couldn’t resist adopting La Mouette (the Seagull) as the name for this particular build, based on Orion Mouldings’ superb fibreglass ‘wood effect’ river launch hull (see Photo 1). I was immediately excited about putting Orion’s hull to good use, because, as can be evidenced in my close-up (see Photo 2) the wood effect really is most convincing. Measuring 35 inches long, with a beam of 10 inches, I found this hull to be ideally suited to steam propulsion, but it could just as easily employ…

Over recent months we’ve looked at workshop set ups and how one can be put together, along with a couple of basic hand tool skills that are well worth developing. This was followed, last month, by an overview of the milling machine as a versatile and very useful machine tool to have to hand. This month, therefore, I want to round off the workshop topic by covering another machine tool that I find absolutely invaluable, and that is the power saw. It could be argued that power saws are mainly aimed at cutting wood and therefore do not merit being included in Boiler Room, but this is not necessarily the case. Most power saws can be fitted with a blade suitable for cutting non-ferrous and even ferrous metals, thereby making…

Signals Stress saving Christmas shopping Let’s face it, local shopping centres can get fairly chaotic during the festive season, so if you want to save yourself from the stress of all the hustle and bustle, not to mention the dreaded queues, why not check out the RNLI’s online shop at https://shoprnli.org. From the comfort of your own armchair, you’ll be able to select from a huge selection of cards, decorations, presents (including some really reasonably priced stocking fillers), etc, while at the same time knowing you’ll be giving the gift that keeps on giving by supporting the RNLI and helping save lives at sea. One for your letter to Santa? A specially packaged Christmas Edition of the Sparmax ARISM Mini Kit (Ref. C-AR-MINI-KIT-XMAS, suitable for beginners through to professional airbrush…

*An Excel Deluxe Ship Modellers Set, including: ■ K1 Light duty knife ■ K2 Medium duty knife ■ K5 Heavy duty knife ■ An awl ■ Pliers ■ A mitre box ■ Tweezers ■ A sanding block & wedge ■ A B490 saw blade ■ 4 x assorted gouges ■ 3 x assorted drills ■ 15 x assorted blades PLUS *A small hammer and angle *A stylish Mercantic insignia adorned blue beanie (otherwise reserved for the Crew Edition of the Billing Boats’ newly upgraded kit for the MS Mercantic (more on this kit in a future issue). HOW TO ENTER To be included in the draw, all you need to do is complete the entry form included on this page, cut it out (photocopies of the form will be acceptable…

This month, courtesy the kind folks at Airfix and Richard Leon PR, we’re able to offer you the chance to win a fabulous Gift Set (Ref. A50164A) from the Airfix RMS Titanic range. As well as the 1:700 scale plastic kit (consisting of 141 parts), also included within the box will be a tube of poly cement, acrylic paints, two brushes and easy to apply decals. Carrying an RRP (Recommended Retail Price) of £35.99, this kit is designated a Level 2 build and is therefore suitable for both intermediate modellers and confident/assisted beginners. Other options in the Airfix RMS Titanic range If you’re looking for gifts to encourage youngsters/newcomers to the hobby this Christmas, also included in the Airfix Titanic range is the 1:1000 scale, 74-part, RMS Titanic Starter Set…

Unless you’re a bit of a petrol head as well as a model ship/boat builder/restorer/collector, you may never have considered a treasure seeking expedition to one of the popular International Autojumbles held in the grounds of the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu in the New Forest, Hampshire (S042 7ZN). If not, however, perhaps you should – because, as I discovered when attending this year’s event in September, amidst all the automotive jumble you will find numerous model boats and ships (covering a wide range of thematic interests and scales, constructed from equally diverse materials and methods of build), along with all manner of nautical paraphernalia, to browse. While there are, of course, no guarantees of finding exactly what you’re looking for, the real thrill lies in the possibility of coming…

● OUR FREE LCVP 5 PULL-OUT PLAN Plus, the first instalment of a two-part build guide for this 1:16 scale Royal Navy landing craft model ● We report back from this year’s show in Telford ● THE BURNING ISSUE Pressurised liquid and gas burners compared PLUS A thematically varied selection of feature-length articles, all your favourite regular pages – including Your Models, Your Letters, news, reviews – and lots more (Please note: content may be subject to change) You will find more about the exciting content coming next, features of particular interest you may have missed in past editions and details of the very latest subscription offers on our website at www.modelboats.co.uk You can, of course, order you copy of the January 2024 issue, which goes on sale at all…

I believe that many model boat enthusiasts often think that one of the ultimate boats to build is a Mississippi steamboat. There are many kits on the market, both twin paddle and rear paddle boats. I searched and found this one by Mantua. It’s a really nice-looking model, with everything included in the kit you could ask for. But, me being me, I soon found myself wondering how I could make things even more interesting… Building the (1870) Mississippi steamboat Anyone who has built one of these kit boats will know how the hull cross members are created by a simple slotting system; effective and strong. Planking is usually the harder part but instructions are often given in the manual. Here is the way I proceeded to build the boat…

Flotsam & Jetsam Despite her short and ultimately tragic career, the SS Normandie can lay claim to being the greatest liner ever built. She was large and she was fast, taking the Blue Riband for the fastest Atlantic crossing on her maiden voyage; her design was innovative, even revolutionary; her interior appointments have never been surpassed; and she continues to influence designers today. Yet this French liner was never as popular with passengers as her contemporary rival the Queen Mary and was memorably described by the American writer John Maxtone-Graham as “unrealistic, impractical, uneconomical and magnificent”. Conception Work began on the new flagship for the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique, or CGT, line in January 1931 at the shipyard of Chantiers de Penhoet, Saint Nazaire, France under the designation T-6. By the…

Nancy L Following on from my feature on the build of the RNLI Waveney class lifeboat, the St. Patrick,I thought I would share a couple of photos of my second project, a 46” Mr. Darby, highly modified with my personal tug preferences into the fictitious Nancy L, owned by the NEL Company. My wife’s name is Nancy, and her initials are NEL. I weathered this based on a photo of the real life Atlantic Salvor (the renamed Mr. Darby). TIM LOGANEMAIL Loving this, Tim – and I am sure so is Nancy! Ed. Decades apart Like so many others, my modelling started with plastic kits, mainly aircraft, but I did make a model of the USS Constitution which I still have. My first venture into building boats to actually sail…