Innehållsförteckning för June 2024 från Model Boats

This article focuses on the problems that many readers have when outfitting and operating their model boats. The subject was originally covered in a Construction Special issue of Model Boats way back in 2011 but, as the same queries still seem to regularly arise, I have now reworked that article, with a few updates included, for those of you who either missed the article first time around or are new to the hobby. I will be concentrating on scale type models, but the general principals can also be applied to other types. The driveline of a model boat is centred on the propeller shaft and the tube it rotates within. At one end the shaft is connected to the motor, while at the other is the propeller, which turns the…

Windermere steam ‘barge’ While recently chatting with Jerry Watson from Clevedon Steam about potential next projects, he suggested the Lake Windermere steam ‘barge’, the SS Raven, would be interesting scratch build. To be honest, I wasn’t particularly excited by the idea but rather than cause offence I decided to investigate further. “Historically, the Raven is of considerable significance; she the second oldest ship on the Lloyd’s Register, but the oldest with her original machinery” The Raven is, as far as I’m aware, currently still on dry land awaiting restoration, something that has been put on hold while her owners seek additional funding (as is so often the case with costly projects such as this), and, as there are only a few photographs of the vessel in her original working condition,…

LCT 7074 80 years ago, on June 6, 1944, the Allies executed Operation Overload off Normandy, France, that saw the D-Day amphibious landings against German occupied territory in Europe. An armada of ships was necessary to transport all the equipment and personnel necessary, including tank landing ships. One of these, LCT7074, the last surviving landing craft tank Mk III from that invasion, is the subject of this article. Today she is preserved and on display at the National Maritime Museum of the Royal Navy, at Portsmouth in the UK. Built by R&W Hawthorn, Leslie & Company and was launched on March 30, 1944, she measured 59 meters in length and had a beam of 12 meters. Her first load of tanks consisted of seven Stuart V M3A3 scouting tanks from…

EXPLORE FOR FREE New VR tour of Cutty Sark If you’ve always fancied visiting the Cutty Sark but haven’t been able to make the trip to Greenwich, a new immersive VR (Virtual Reality) experience is now allowing members of the public to step back in time and explore the legendary ship on their digital devices. Working from state-of-the-art 360 degree photos, 3D scanning and drone photography to accurately replicate the ship in 3D, the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and Smartify (the arts and heritage app) have digitally recreated the iconic 19th century vessel on behalf of Royal Museums Greenwich and created a spectacular VR tour, this including items from the wider Cutty Sark collection which are not typically on view to the public. The project was made…

Mini plan This model is based on those small ferries used where there is a need to move people, vehicles, and goods across rivers too wide or too deep to wade and yet a bridge would be too difficult or costly to build. It has a simple construction and can easily be modified to suit individual tastes and ideas. It’s been designed to a notional scale between 1:30 and 1:40, with a length of about 60 cm (24 inches), and an intended weighed of approximately 4.5 kg (10lb). “It was time to get logical about how to power and steer this model…” Starting point The motivation to build a model can often come from unexpected sources. In this case, it was the chance sighting of such a ferry while searching…

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 Hudson Sound advice sought I am building a Deans Marine Hudson Sound steam collier. At the moment I am about three quarters of the way through the build but am wondering if anyone reading can help out with some clarification/further info on the ‘Tilbury Lights’ that are positioned on the starboard side on the top of the bridge (these lights are shown when entering the Thames by Tilbury). Does each collier have its own dedicated set of lights? The four colours shown in the book The Steam Collier Fleets are blue and white, aft, and red and white, fore). In a couple of photos…

A kit for the skilled PART ONE Before starting this build review, let’s first take a look at history of the magnificent British warship on which Billing Boats has based this highly detailed kit… Although the Napoleonic wars ended in 1815, there remained a significant distrust of the French. At the time, naval vessels were traditional ‘wooden walls’: wooden-hulled sailing vessels armed with batteries of cannon firing round-shot. But from about 1850 an arms race was triggered by the introduction of new technology. Steam propulsion was beginning to make its presence felt, and experiments were being conducted on the effectiveness of armour-plate against incoming shot. New guns were being developed which fired explosive shells instead of round-shot. Steam power was well established by this time. The Admiralty, in conjunction with…

Some time ago I acquired an old Stuart Turner Henley hull from a friend who had purchased it on eBay, and this is the story of its restoration/rebuild. But first, a little history… During the 1920s and 30s there were three fairly large companies manufacturing model steamboats: Bowman, Bassett Lowke and Stuart Turner. Both Bowman and Bassett Lowke made a similar model steam launch to the Henley. The Bowman ‘Snipe’ which was 23-inches long and cost £1-2s-6d, which equates, if you’re too young to remember pre-decimal days, to the princely sum of £1.121/2p. The Bassett Lowke ‘Dixie’ was 21-inches long, and slightly more costly, at £1-5s-0d – £1.25p in today’s money. The Stuart Turner Henley was 24-inches long and a lot more expensive, at 2 guineas/£2-2s-0d, or £2.40p. What did…

In this month’s instalment of Boiler Room I will be wandering off the beaten track at little in order to point out how many of the tools and techniques employed in the building and maintaining of steam plant can be just as useful for ‘mixed media modelling’ purposes. For those not familiar with the term, ‘mixed media modelling’ refers simply to the materials we are modelling with. For example, during the 1960s, 99% of model aircraft construction involved gluing pieces of balsa wood together, while in the 1970s the plastic kits that started to really become popular were almost exclusively made from injection-moulded polystyrene plastic: these would be considered ‘single media’ kits. Nowadays, of course, many kits include a variety of building materials and components, such as a fibreglass hull,…

● FREE PULL-OUT PLAN & BUILD GUIDE For Shandau, an exquisite 1:24 scale gentleman’s motor yacht ● WIN A PRE-PRODUCTION SAMPLE KIT For Carli, Billing Boats’ neewly updated 1:60 scale outrigger trawler ● ATHENE The Greek fishing boat scratch build perfect for summer sailing sessions 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 July 2024 issue, which goes on sale at all…