Innehållsförteckning för November 2023 från Model Boats

Type 42 destroyer restoration I run a dance band, a 15-piece big band in the Glen-Miller style, and we rehearse in the premises of a Sea Cadet unit, TS Saumarez in Teddington. It’s a nice big hall featuring a fair few large windows, and, as you might expect, there are plenty of ship models displayed on the window ledges, ranging from home-made sorts up to very nicely made and cased warships. Just behind where I usually sit, there had, for as long as I can remember (and I’ve been going there for 30-odd years!) been a very large (77 inches x 8 1/2 inches) Batch 1 Type 42 destroyer in almost solid wood, and it had always struck me as a bit of an oddball. Considering its size and weight…

Starting in about 1962 the first tentative attempts at truly proportional control systems, both analogue and digital, began to emerge on either side of the Atlantic. Much valuable work was done in the USA, often propelled in one way or another by those who had worked on the fringes of the American space programme or for one of NASA’s contractors, thereby gaining exposure to the very latest electronic engineering techniques of the era, principle among these being the rapidly advancing application of the then revolutionary semiconductor ‘transistor’ – a device that was to eventually change our world. The first few proportionals, staggering advances in control capability though they were when compared with vibrating reed control, were very expensive, as well as being bulky, calling for large models with powerful engines…

Signals OBITUARY John Maxwell Hemmens We are sad to report that John Hemmens, whose model steam engines many of you will be familiar with, passed away in the early hours of September 5, 2023. John started his original business in the early 1970s as a cottage industry from his garden shed, later moving manufacture to a Nissen hut on a World War II aerodrome near the village of Brieghton, East Yorkshire, where he went on to employ around 30 staff. It was not long, though, before the business had outgrown this building, so in the early ‘80s it was relocated to a 5000 sq. ft unit in Thorganby, York, which became known as the ‘Steam Gallery’. During this manufacturing period John produced of over 20 different models, including replicas of…

Controlling the sails of a model sailing boat is all about pulling lines, to manipulate sails. On yachts it’s simple: pulling ‘in’ and letting ‘out’ ‘sheets’. On a square-rigger it’s more complicated: pulling ‘in’ one side, as you let ‘out’ the other side of ‘braces’. All these lines have to pass up, through decks, in order to reach the sails. The braces pass either side of a mast and the sheet in front of it and, when that’s all you have to contend with, it’s relatively simple. But what if you had to deal with both braces and sheets on one mast? Could you so arrange matters that the lines didn’t interfere with one another? What would sailing a model of a vessel where square sails and fore and afters…

Steam Basics Pt. 146 I was having a general ‘potter’ in the workshop the other day when it occurred to me that we have never had a look at the milling machine in any sort of depth in Boiler Room. Since purchasing mine many years ago I wouldn’t say it’s been used as frequently as many of my other machine tools, but I do know I would be lost without it. I think milling machines are viewed by many as specialist, and not necessary for the majority of modelling tasks, so of no great interest. While my intention is not to persuade anyone otherwise, I do think a brief overview of the subject is in order. When I was at college a milling machine was not really heard of. Flat…

All hands on deck! African Queen I was very pleased to see Richard Simpson’s review of Billing Boats’ African Queen, as I have been working on the Queen for almost two years now. After a long period of not building any models, this has been a challenging new start for me, and so I concur that the kit is not best suited to absolute beginners. I’ve integrated some special functions, which in themselves proved tricky due to the restricted construction space I have available to work within. My boat now incorporates an audio unit that will follow the electric motor’s speed and simulate the sound of a full-sized engine and a steam whistle. I’ve also equipped her with a steam generator and gas lantern with a flickering LED. The rudder…

She’s everything. He’s just Ken! I’ve always had an interest in steam, ever since my trainspotting days, my Mamod toy steam engine and my enthusiasm for model railways. More recently, however, I have also rekindled my interest in model boat building with Rosemary, the slipper launch (see the March 2023 issue of Model Boats and the Amphicar (featured in the March and July 2023 respectively). Why not, it therefore occurred to me, combine my interest in steam and model boats with a steam launch. My choice is usually to scratch build as it takes longer and is less expensive, therefore offers more modelling time per £££s spent; I should probably explain my Yorkshire roots (‘Ow much?!). Also, the beauty of a freelance model it that it gives the opportunity to…

Free pull-out plan “I wanted my model to incorporate a Kort nozzle for steering, something many vessels of this type use to increase manoeuvrability” The Model Boats Winter Special 2019 (see Photo 1) featured a free plan for a freelance pusher tug called Boston Lock, which reminded me of the gravel pit tugs that operated close to my home back in the 1950s and ‘60s. These were the more conventional tow tugs, but all had tall cabs (like Boston Lock) which made them appear top heavy. The design of Boston Lock was fairly basic, so, as suggested in the build description, I enhanced the design and increased the size to make it suitable for a 1:12 scale figure, resulting in a model with overall length of 580 mm and…

Flotsam & Jetsam It’s been a while since I shared details of my latest acquisitions, so for those of you who share my fascination with the history of the hobby, here goes… Vintage outboard motors Fuji 061 outboard The Japanese Fuji company made a couple of different models of I.C. powered outboards in the 1960s based around its model aircraft engines, and an example of the Fuji 061 has come my way. It has an air-cooled .061cu. in. or 1c.c. engine driving a two-bladed propeller of about 25mm diameter via a flex drive shaft that resides within the nicely die-cast leg unit, which can be opened for servicing. Wrapping around the crankcase of the motor and partly enclosing the flywheel and starting pulley is the fuel tank; this example lacks…

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 A seductive proposition Having in the past subscribed to the magazine off and on over the years, while recovering from surgery last autumn I once again took out a subscription. I have never been a lover of fast skimmer boats or speed boats as such, so in the September 2023 issue I was surprised to find myself being seduced by Clark Salisbury’s Lake Skimmer. I completely understand why Clark believes it is possibly the most beautiful model boat he has ever designed, as it’s the most beautiful skimmer boat I’ve ever seen. Although I don’t know if I will ever actually build a model…