Innehållsförteckning för January 2024 från Model Boats

In last month’s news section, we flagged up a specially packaged Christmas Edition of the Sparmax ARISM Mini Kit (Ref. C-AR- MINI-KIT-XMAS). We’re sure it’s now a gift many of you are hoping to unwrap come the big day – just in case you don’t get lucky, though, this month, courtesy of the kind folks at the Airbrush Company, we’re offering you the chance to win yourself example. Suitable for beginners through to professional airbrush users, the kit includes: ■ A Sparmax ARISM Mini Red Compressor ■ A Sparmax MAX-3 Airbrush with 0.3mm nozzle and needle combination ■ A Sparmax Cleaning Pot with built in airbrush holder ■ Extra filters (x2) and extra airbrush holder (x1) ■ Plus, free gifts, including a Cleaning Brush Set, Airbrush Acrylic Colours (x2), Airbrush…

Mini plan build guide A few years ago, I became godfather to a friend’s daughter and since then I have been on the lookout for suitable birthday and Christmas presents for her. There are plenty of toys and games available but after a while I decided that I would like to make something for her and her sister – something that would be unique, hand-made and a bit more of a connection between us. But what to make? Well, my hobby is making and sailing model ships and boats, so I thought I would make them each a little boat – something nice and colourful for use in the paddling pool or the bath. This was to be a child’s toy, so it needed to be small enough for little…

Signals BUY THE BOOK The Life and Ship Models of Norman Ough January 2024 will see Alistair Roach’s The Life and Ship Models of Norman Ough (originally published in hardback format back in 2016 and now sold out) relaunched as a paperback by Seaforth Publishing. Part autobiography, part practical manual, the book not only documents how and why the late Norman Ough (1898-1965) came be widely regarded as the 20th century’s greatest warship modeller but also includes many of the articles he wrote for Model Maker magazine, his detailed line drawings (now kept in the Brunel Institute) and photographs of some his models held by various museums and at Mountbatten House. Ough’s reputation for outstanding craftsmanship did not escape the attention of the 1st Earl (Louis) Mountbatten, who commissioned him…

Watson class lifeboat build As I have been constructing my own fleet of 1:12 scale RNLI lifeboats, usually building from scratch, for some time now, when one of my fellow Warminster Model Boat Club members decided to clear out some of the abandoned projects in his workspace to free up some much-needed space he kindly offered me a fibreglass hull and superstructure for a Solent class lifeboat. Even though my build programme was not at all ready for such an addition, how could I resist? Consequently, I quickly had to make room in my own little workspace for this large hull – some 48 inches (1220mm) long and 13 inches (330mm) wide, sizeable superstructure, and two small but heavy cardboard boxes filled with white metal components. For a long time,…

Thanks to Peter Brown, former naval architect at Vosper Thornycroft, a set of modellers’ draughts has been prepared for the build of a 1:16 scale model of the current Royal Navy assault landing craft LCVP Mk.5 (Landing Craft Vehicle / Personnel Mk.5) and it is the use of these drawings that this two-part build feature will be focusing on (see Photo 1). Originally designed and built by VT (Vosper Thornycroft) Shipbuilders at Woolston, Southampton and with later ones by Babcock Marine, the LCVP Mk.5 entered service with the Royal Navy in 1996. Capable of transporting 35 fully equipped marines and three crew at approximately 25kts or one 105mm/ 155mm howitzer, a tracked snow cat and trailer can also be accommodated. Displacement is 24 tons, with a length 15.7m and a…

Steam Basics Pt. 148 Yet again this month’s instalment of Boiler Room was generated by a question that I received from a reader in New Zealand. He was having a play around with turbine propulsion and wanting advice on how much steam was necessary to drive such a unit. Interestingly, he explained he was using a Saito burner and boiler unit. I’ve had very little exposure to Saito units, so I decided to do some research and, more specifically, try to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of pressurised liquid burners when compared with gas burners. As luck would have it, a browse on a popular online auction site revealed a Saito boiler and burner unit was available and so a couple of offers went backwards and forwards before a mutually…

● PRINCESS VICTORIA Peter Binns chronicles his 1:18 scale build of this 1907 Cornish passenger steamer ● SMIT NEDERLAND Building Billing Boats’ 1:33 kit for R/C operation ● MONTURIOL’S MASTERPIECE The frequently overlooked but surprisingly successful early 19th century sub design 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 February 2024 issue, which goes on sale at all good newsagents from January…

All the leather aprons in Stalwart Crafts range are hand made from sustainably and ethically sourced raw materials. This month, courtesy of award-winning artisan leather goods specialist Stalwart Crafts, we’re delighted to be able to offer you the chance to win a truly superb prize: the ‘one size fits all’ Cross Strap Apron in Deluxe Leather, which usually retails at £205. Whether you’re a kit modeller, a scratch builder or a model engineer, the Cross Strap Deluxe will prove an invaluable addition to your workshop. Not only will it prevent products such as paints, solvents, etc, causing damage to your clothes, it will protect against any flying debris when chipping, chiselling, drilling, grinding, sanding and sawing wood, and, indeed, serve to shield you from heat and sparks while engaging in…

Fair winds & following seas When I first became interested in model boat building, I went to along to my local pond (in Sheffield) and asked those who were already sailing there about the hobby and how I should go about getting started. They recommended the Fairwind as a good starter yacht, and then let me get on with it, only answering questions as I came up with them. When it became obvious that sailing, as opposed to powered boats, was to be the course I would follow, they then opened up to me the world of scratch building and plans and, in the process, became my mentors. Amongst the lovely boats regularly on the water were two small yachts, both built and owned by a man called Bob, and…

Out and about Organised by the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) UK, Scale Model World is the largest event of its kind in Europe. The two-day (November 9/10) 2023 event was, as it has been in previous years, held in the three large halls of the Telford International Conference Centre, which is in the centre of Telford and very easy to get from the M54 and a host of other main A roads. As its organiser’s name suggests, the show’s original aim was to promote injection and resin moulded static modelling but, while that remain its core purpose, it has over the years evolved to also embrace models that are radio-controlled or have R/C potential. For those that like statistics, and to give some indication of just how big this…

Although it’s more than 20 years ago since its demise, I think the magazine’s older readers will remember when the Ostend-Dover Line was one of the most popular passenger services operating between the UK and the Continent. My father served as a purser for the company and mostly doing his duty on the last of its steamers, the Prince Charles. Ordered by the Belgian government in 1929 as part of a series of four fast ferries for cross-channel use, and completed in 1930, the Prince Charles (named for Prince Charles of Belgium) was requisitioned by the Royal Navy during World War II, during which she took part in the D-Day Landings at Omaha Beach. Then, when hostilities ceased, she resumed her civilian role until withdrawn from service in 1958 (sadly…