Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2022 i Model Boats

New from old A few years ago, I was given an old but unused stand-off scale (approximately 1:35) model of one the Bird class vessels used by the Royal Navy back in the 1970s. Originally (almost 50 years ago) produced by JB Mouldings and marketed for the princely sum of £17.82, after many decades in storage some TLC was clearly going to be required. Because as a modeller I generally tend to focus on scratch-built larger type warship models built in smaller scales, though, and at that time I had other projects on the go, so I decide to simply set this project aside for a rainy day. Fast forward to 2021, however, and, after completing one major build and starting to consider another, I realised what I really wanted…

“While unforeseen problems, and even mistakes, are inevitable, however, correcting them doesn’t always mean you have to ‘scrap and start again” While unforeseen problems, and even mistakes, are inevitable, correcting them doesn’t always mean having to ‘scrap and start again’. When something doesn’t work out for me, I follow the process shown in Diagram 1. So, shared below are a few of my ‘fixes’ while building the Empress… Bridge front As mentioned, I used some surplus basswood to vacuum form the various curved superstructure fronts; Photo 1 being typical. I estimated that when I came to make the bridge front using the block, the front height would be 2mm less than scale. At the time, I felt that amount would not be noticeable. Not exactly a mistake, more a case…

ANNIEBEL At 75 years young, I’ve now been making model boats from decades, starting with card models in the mid-1950s and progressing to simple balsa boats powered by small electric motors in the late ‘50s, and on from there. Some time ago, a friend of mine, who is in his late 60s, asked if I would help him build a model of an early Chris Craft style cabin cruiser. It was an idea he had been toying with for a long while, but, he explained, he didn’t have the skills or the confidence to construct one using the traditional plank on frame method. So, after some thought, I, came up with a very simple method. As weight was not of serious concern, we used some 12mm thick pine lining boards…

IN MEMORY OF ROY WHITTON, SEPTEMBER 25, 1936 – JUNE 14, 2022 Tess Butler, Membership Secretary of the Balne Moor MBC has advised us that sadly, on June 14, 2022, the club sadly lost longstanding member Roy Whitton. Tess tells us: “Roy was always an active member and, despite his increasing years, could be relied upon whether it was a sailing day or a working party. He was also very knowledgeable and willing to help other members. “Roy began modelling with Wakefield Model Aircraft Society and the Huddersfield and Dewsbury Societies of Model Engineers. He became a regular competitor at MPBA regattas and won a number of events in both scale sailing and tug towing. “A model maker of some considerable skill, Roy produced many exquisite model boats, which graced…

Free Plan On many of the ponds and lakes on which we sail out model boats, radio-controlled submarines are still something. It’s not too difficult to see why this is; after all, it’s not unknown for some modellers to struggle to keep their creations afloat without the extra risk of deliberately making them dive underwater! Plus, if you want to do it properly, all the fancy stuff, such as depth controllers, levellers and ballast tanks, will cost you the preverbal ‘arm and leg’ in terms of time, effort or expenditure – perhaps even all three at the same time. However, if we set our sights on something a little less demanding then things don’t look so bad. This is where the ‘dynamic diving’ submarine model comes into its own, as…

As the world learns to wean itself off fossil fuels, solar energy is seen as an essential part of the renewable energy mix. The transition to renewables is well underway for static power generation but application to the field of transport presents greater challenges since a moving object has strict limitations on the amount of space and weight that can be dedicated to the capture or storage of energy for its own use. Sailing ships have of course made use of renewable energy for centuries, but here we will be looking at the application of solar energy to smaller vessels, including the miniature ones that take shape on our hobby workbenches. Basics Solar panels are made up of photovoltaic cells that convert some of the sunlight falling upon them into…

BOGNOR BOATING LAKE NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT Hotham Park in Bognor Regis is a well-tended public park, with mature trees, wilding spaces, and grassy areas for picnics. There’s a miniature railway giving rides through the park and there’s a really good children’s area, too. In the middle of this park is the boating lake, which is much underused and is crying out for the attendance of model boat enthusiasts. Currently the lake is used by pedalos at weekends during school term time and every day during school holidays. However, the pedalos are lifted out at 5pm. Almost adjacent to the lake is a thriving café, which stays open until 8pm during the summer and has toilets which the owner says boaters would be able to use. There are also two other…

Fast Electric The 2022 FE Nationals were held, as ever, at the Bridlington Model Boat Society water at Carnaby over the weekend of July 2/3, with Friday, July 1 being a practice day. Initially, due to financial pressures, we weren’t expecting a huge turnout, but registration had been encouraging and although one or two people didn’t turn up, we still ended up with 61 entries plus the two teams in Team Mono 1. The weather was fairly kind to us, with only one short downpour and a few drizzly episodes, none of which caused any problems with the racing, which went smoothly the whole weekend. MPBA AGM Before getting into the racing, I want to briefly cover the MPBA (Model Power Boat Association) AGM (Annual General Meeting), which was held…

“At first glance the construction seemed quite straightforward…” Devised as an attempt to win the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and thus also to provide publicity for Richard Branson’s fledging transatlantic airline, the Virgin Atlantic Challenger was a 65ft twin hull catamaran powered by two 2,000 hp engines. After departing New York in June 1985, skippered by European powerboat champion and F1 team sponsor Ted Toleman, she endured rough weather before hitting a submerged object 100 miles off the unofficial finishing line of the Bishops Rock lighthouse and sank. Thankfully, all of the nine crew onboard were rescued. Undaunted, the following year a second and more successful attempt was made with the more conventional Virgin Atlantic Challenger II, a 72ft mono hull, which completed the…

Steam basics Pt.132 Last month we finished off the main structural items of this build and ended up with the deck and cockpit in place, the two electronics packages complete and mounted, the steering gear hatch done, and the main plant items installed and manually tested. As with most projects of this type however, there was still a fair bit of work to do in terms of the final items of detailing and finishing before I could consider the project complete. Engine Some of you may remember in Boiler Room Pt. 127, featured the April 2022 edition of Model Boats Magazine, we looked at a new product from Denes Designs, namely an Electronic Engine Control Unit. The purpose of this unit is to combine the two functions of operating a…