Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2023 i Model Boats

One of the things we actively pursue and promote is trying to attract more newcomers, particularly youngsters, into the hobby. To encourage this, I’m a great advocate of recommending a kit, both as a starting point and as a means of learning new skills, which can eventually be carried forward into more demanding projects. The beauty of kits is that, as they come with all the design in place, you can simply concentrate on the build, safe in the knowledge that, provided you follow all the instructions, there is every chance of a good outcome. So, when Billing Boats asked if someone would like to build and review its kit for the African Queen (see Photo 1), it seemed like an ideal opportunity to put my preaching into practice. At…

I’m a great advocate of checking out secondhand plant as a means of getting into the hobby of steam-powered radio-controlled boats. There are undoubtedly some very good buys out there, which, as long as you keep your wits about you, will serve you well for many years to come – the old Cheddar Puffin plant illustrated here (see Photo 1) being a great example. There are some caveats though. A plant may be showing its age a little, and there may well be one or two parts that need upgrading to meet requirements and keep it working reliably and efficiently. An item that frequently comes under such scrutiny is the safety valve. Whatever the arrangement, a safety valve will always incorporate a spring holding a valve against a seat. This…

Signals OUT AND ABOUT Deans Marine Open Days From 10am to 4pm on September 8, 9 and 10, Deans Marine will be hosting another of its popular annual fundraising events at its showroom in Farcet Fen, Peterborough (program your Satnav to PE7 3DH). Admission will be free of charge but, as all proceeds will be going local charities and the staff will be giving up their own free time to host the three-day affair, all contributions to the donation box at the venue’s entry will be gratefully accepted. Visitors will be treated to a first ‘up close and personal’ look at models built from the latest kits in Deans Marine’s range and, in many cases, be able to watch ‘on the water’ demonstrations of their performance. Visitors will be able…

Flotsam & Jetsam Harvey A. Adam was a naval architect involved with the testing of high-speed patrol craft during World War II. When peace returned, he started a company devoted to model boat products, an obvious passion of his. The first product, an 18-inch clinker-built sailing dinghy in kit form, appeared in early 1947 and sold to the tune of 20,000 copies to an appreciative public that had been starved of such products during the war years. He extended his range of products to include power boat kits, an electric motor and other accessories and in 1952 wrote and illustrated a highly regarded book containing detailed plans and information. His course seemed set for continuing growth and success, yet by 1953 his company had closed and the name of Adamcraft…

Paddle steamer project PART TWO Having last month covered the hull construction, mechanism and electronics, let’s now move on, starting with the fittings and above decks detailing. The overriding requirement here was to keep everything as light as possible so as to maintain stability once the boat was afloat; so, just as an example, aluminium tube was used instead of much weightier brass. “The overriding requirement here was to keep everything as light as possible so as to maintain stability once the boat was afloat” Bilsdale was a fairly simple vessel, so I knew the amount of scale fittings and detailing the model required was relatively modest. However, what I hadn’t bargained for was that the plan wasn’t always very specific and some fittings, such as the anchor, simply weren’t…

All hands on deck! Girl Katherine I am a long-time reader and subscriber to the magazine. In the recent May 2023 issue, there was an article under the heading of ‘Paul Freshney’s Model Boats’, which was written by Colin Bishop, and is a fitting tribute to the late former editor. Paul’s family had decided to sell 10 of his models, for new owners to enjoy and appreciate them, and Colin’s article provided the backstory to the models and Paul’s incredible modelling skills. His Royal Naval subjects were certainly above my skill level, but I had seen his model of the Cygnus 33 inshore trawler, many years ago, and this inspired me to build my own version, as I originally hail from a fishing port. My model is a modified version,…

Signals Q. Long term readers will no doubt already be familiar with Speedline Models, but for readers both old and new, can you tell us a little bit about the brand, its history and the reasons for the recent re-launch? A. I established Speedbird Models over 20 years ago now, and fairly quickly built up a great reputation for producing some really world class model kits, not least when it came to the range of RNLI lifeboats on offer. I ‘retired’ in 2019 to pursue my interest in Cyclekarting and in 2021 sold the business on to Tony Blakewell. Tony and I were already old friends. He’d been making all the fibreglass mouldings for nearly 15 years and worked out of a unit next to mine in Hinckley, Leicestershire. All…

Thrills and spillsPart one Welcome to Part 1 of a two-part guide to building a simple wooden boat into which a small 3.5cc powered IC glow engine can be installed. This will be based on the Keps 21 – an established outrigger boat built and designed by Niklas Edlund from Sweden, which is one of a number of plans that are free to download when visiting the NE-Stuff website (the following link will take you directly to the page in question: http://www.ne-stuff.net/2012/10/keps-t2-21-prestentation.html). Don’t worry if you don’t want, or aren’t ready for, a full-on racing machine as, once fitted with a sport 3.5cc engine, this will serve as a great introduction to running a circuit style boat. With a full-on racing engine, on the other hand, well, that’s a whole…

“I must have used literally dozens of these in my own home builds, just like everybody else experimenting with radio-controlled models back then” Right from the early post-war days of radio-control, transmitters and receivers plus their actuators (and, later on, their servos), whether home-built or commercially manufactured, required a multitude of electrical connectors. The very first sets made great use of items that were already on the market, thanks to domestic, battery-powered valve wireless receivers. As you can see from my pictures, the connectors used were simple yet surprisingly reliable items, made with crude tubular tinplated brass ‘pins’ riveted to ‘paxolin’ (SRBP – Synthetic Resin Bonded Paper) bases, sometimes enclosed in a pressed aluminium outer casing. Their intended use (in the early wireless business) was simply to allow set owners…