Innehållsförteckning för January 2023 från Model Boats

Gunboat diplomacy Going back in time historically from JCS’s last release (the Operation Dynamo set) to just before World War II, we now have a 1:400 scale model of the Admiralty Yacht Enchantress. Originally Enchantress was intended to be constructed as the first of the new ‘Bittern’ class sloops, a general-purpose design which could readily be employed as convoy escort vessels in event of war. As the first ship of her class, initially she was to be named HMS Bittern, but during her construction she was reconfigured to serve as an admiralty yacht and renamed as the Enchantress. Despite her new designation, though, Enchantress was still fitted with armament. At first the plan had been to fit four 4.7in guns as her main armament, but to increase the space for…

Some of you may remember my review of Miniature Steam Models 3-inch Vertical Boiler Clyde Plant way back in 2012. Since then, MSM has continued to develop further engines and boilers and has recently sent me an example of its latest offering, the Economy Plant. This consists of a 2-inch vertical boiler on a common base with a gas tank, separator and Avon twin cylinder oscillating in-line engine. The entire plant is, therefore, self-contained and, if you use a simple drive device such as a pin-on-pin connection in the propeller shaft, all you need to do to lift it out is disconnect the linkage to the speed control valve and undo the base screws. This can be done in a matter of minutes. The base measures in at 90mm x…

Steam Basics Pt. 136 Some of you may remember the two new open steam launch builds that I described recently in Boiler Room, namely the German harbor launch in Boiler Room Pt. 122 (Nov 2021 issue) and Boiler Room Pt. 123 (Dec 2021 issue), and the Wide-A-Wake project in Boiler Rooms Pt. 129-132 (June 2022 and Sept 2022 issues). In both those projects one of the main aims was to produce a model that was, while not totally to scale, acceptable enough looking in terms of credibility. To this end, both models were weathered with a restrained approach, the aim being to give them each of them the appearance of a well-used and realistic steam-powered boat. These models have generated conversation both at the pond side and via communications as…

Letters can either be forwarded via email to editor@modelboats.co.uk or via post to Readers’ Letters, Mortons Media Group, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincs LN9 6JR Identifying Julie Further to Michael Bogley’s letter about the Vosper restoration of ‘Julie’ on page 68 of the December edition, I am sending you a photograph of the finished model from Vic Smeed’s 1979 book Model Ships. The text which accompanies the photograph reads: “One of the bigger kits available is this 52in (1320mm) Vosper Fast Patrol Boat for 10cc engines produced by the British firm of Veron”. I hope this helps Michael. TONY HADLEYEMAIL Gold! (Sorry, couldn’t resist, Tony). Unfortunately, however, as much as I’d have liked to reproduce the image you’ve kindly sent, I’ve had difficulty getting hold of the publisher in…

BUY THE BOOK Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk Anew book, penned by Buddy Levy and published by St Martin’s Press, is set to tell the harrowing true story of the ill-fated 1913 Canadian Arctic Expedition, the wooden-hulled brigantine Karluk, and, in particular, two men: the expedition’s leader, Vilhjalmur Stefansson, and the ship’s captain, Captain Bob Bartlett – now widely considered one of history’s greatest ever ice navigators. Recounting one of the most disastrous and audacious expeditions in polar history, Levy explains how six weeks into the voyage the Karluk became icebound; why Stefansson disembarked with five companions for what he claimed would be a 10-day caribou hunting trip, never to be seen again by most onboard; and how Captain…

Test Bench I am sure I’m not alone in being a modeller who has been putting together various types of models all my life and who has, over the years, accumulated a veritable stash of products. I certainly have a small drawer full of Humbrol enamel tinlets which I started to collect as a teenager, and it still surprises me today when I open one up and find the paint in just as good a condition as it was when the lid was last placed on the tin more than 40 years ago! Equally, therefore, I imagine I wasn’t the only one who, several months ago, was concerned to see the rash of postings on various online forums prophesising the end of the Humbrol enamel tinlet. This speculation was prompted…

The world’s last ocean sailing paddle steamer Waverley celebrated her Diamond Jubilee and 75th anniversary of service in June 2022, making a triumphant return to the River Thames after an absence of four years, caused the replacement of her boilers, the public health crisis and some mishaps along the way. Waverley was built as replacement for her older sister (also christened Waverley), a 1899 vintage vessel which served as a minesweeper during World War I and was sadly sunk in World War II’s ‘Operation Dynamo’, the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940. Waverley, therefore, proudly carries a brass plaque amidships in honour of her courageous predecessor. She was launched in the winter of 1946 from the shipyards of Glasgow, after which she entered into service…

This month our attention shifts firmly to the method and materials used for generating the complex geometric patterns seen on the Hamina class of missile corvette. Camouflage is divided into two distinctive types: either a disruptive pattern – which makes it harder to estimate speed or direction of a given vessel, or a concealment scheme – which allows a vessel to blend in with its operational environment. It may surprise you to learn the camouflage scheme that adorns vessels in the Hamina class and Tornio in particular, fall into the latter. The reason for this is that while the geometric shapes used might indicate a disruptive camouflage scheme, the colours used are all applicable to the environments in which these vessels operate, i.e., coastal inlets and bodies of water featuring…

Having covered the completion and testing of the steam plant and the marking out and cutting of the deck in Part 2, we now move on to the mechanical elements of the launch… Firstly, you will need to mark out and cut, from 9mm ply, a base measuring 190mm x 100mm x 9mm for the steam plant to sit on (see Photo 1). Having placed that base into your launch and sat your steam plant on it, fit your propellor tube such that it extends about 4mm beyond the keel (see Photo 2). Fit the universal joint to the engine output shaft. Adjust everything such that it is all in line (see Photo 3). My plywood base is located 350mm from the inside of the transom (see Photo 4). Check…

Flotsam & Jetsam About 75 years ago, the Drysdale Press began compiling plans related to the articles it ran in its magazines Model Cars and The Model Mechanic. Some early nautical examples included the river cruiser Dubarry and a series of air-sea rescue launches. When the two magazines were amalgamated in 1950 to form Model Maker the accumulation of plans continued apace, and a handbook had to be printed to make sense of them all. This combined the Model Maker plans with those of its sister magazine Aeromodeller and was emblazoned with the logo of a winged messenger delivering the latest plan by ‘return of service’. Over the decades the plan collection grew substantially, receiving a major boost in 1954 when Vic Smeed joined the staff of Model Maker,…

One moment, one morning I realise that the attached photo is probably not the usual image for ‘Your Models’ page, but I thought it may be of interest, nevertheless. It was taken at one of the recent weekly Sunday morning sailing sessions of the Kirklees Model Boat Club in Wilton Park Batley. Early in the day, the watery morning sun is quickly burning away the last remnants of the dawn mist. Club members are beginning to arrive and prepare their vessels for sailing, the first boat on the lake being a steam powered tug. There is not really much more to add, other than to say it epitomises the appeal of the hobby for me. CHRIS MEADKIRKLEES MBC You’ve got a really good eye for photography. This is an incredible…