MASINE modellin\ INTERNATIONAL — \ REVIEW | F i a \ \ j v i ' ONE METRE RTR 7 IVa Te). RIVER THAMES TUG PLANGENT | SSM VIANA | M.T. ARLIN i ‘ | FREE TO ENTER | 4 Ve} st RSF: ee COMPETITION _|| =‘Graupner Bismarek Battleship, Call For Best Price Unit 2C & 2D Cherwell Business Centre (Part of Station Field Industrial Estate) Rowles Way, Kidlington, OX5 1LA www.howesmodels.co.uk Fast mail order - Overseas postage at cost Receivers FM-AM-2.4¢hz Tech 20h e499 {AR62006 Ch? 40h 852-0 4R3000 30h 2.4Chz Waker Resisark Marine Receiver £5150 ARSOO 5Ch 24h £6.00 R600 6CH 2 AGHZ £38.00 Planet Micro4CH Receiver 1399 Paget RPMs 1CH Hard case 41799 Plant 6CH Recener £1399 Radio Link 6CH Receiver 1500 ‘iaaba R200 4CH 24Gta RX 483.00 ‘taba S17FS 7Ch 240hz RX £68.99 Futaba 2h Am 27h £200 “Asses 2eh Aen 7ehz £18.00 Hitec? 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Groupner Speed 500 6367 BBVZ7.20 Same size as 6¢ ‘Wa Price Wer 514 Now £7.49 FUTABAsn6s TORQUE. 24 HITEC 325 BALLRACE £1099 So 200 MIM 430 ZEDRATMITEC 188 Mg Feather 28 POWERHDO Mero 400 STANDARD BALLRACED £750 HITEC 785 HB SAIL WINCH UTA S82 SAIL ARM WITH i2eM LONG ARMIESH5 lrutaba. serincuuves ‘4 SERVOS, CRYSTALS, NICAD SERVOS BATTERY & CHARGER Chargers New Range Of Mains Chargerst pera, Pek etn £2499 ‘oo 60068 Coleen, Dad Samp ouput charger Peak deteton on Beth uns 09. Eos XLS ra Charge te LstonLb Peco Le integrated ing prt mains or 12 peraion £5150 UNIVERSAL SMART CHARGER Mains fast charger for CAN 49-i0 ewolapea detection Only £22.00 “le hres aap om £999 Hi Toraue Serve Tig Torque, ir Allrande Was £29.99 Only £15.00 pace caresBillings Kits - New Stocks ‘Sitios HOWES MODELS nem LARGER STOCK-LOWER PRICES 75 ae Open Monday-Saturday 9.00-17.00 Billings Special This Month HMS Victory ‘You wil benefit rom special offers and clearance lines frst ‘Also Ema of brand new items wil bese to you fast. ‘You do not need ta order on-line to benefit from the offers. st reghter! ‘Registration takes only «couple of minutest Pus once you have joined you only have to give us your postcode and card details ‘when ordering by phone Electric Motors Receiver & ce ns Transmitter Packs » RRP 359.99 Now £274.99 Sosroursass senaigcris alegoana- Sian Sie (yionoemeDNSommCW}etINm | CRALENERSPEED GOD E299 NUOMANFLATOR SQUARE #525 Thunder Tiger Fishing Boats Complete With2 Chane Ratio Sys: tem, ESC, Batery & Charger Majestic, Kingfisher, Lobenaster & Catherine. All Appear 600mm Long Low Price Now £162.99 Hobby Engine Atlante Tug ‘MFA TORPEDO Son«36@ SR Ta Sips Deed Tog Beat Comes Comet {PRDMAH Fist o Sear 5.75 MFA TORPEDO SS0E3¢@ re ull Facto Cgel Prope NYLON MOUNTS ‘Gonples Wan Batery& Charger 10OMAH FLAT or TRI £60, engi Sn Wi on igh 2 MBMAH Pht or Ti Only 1.75 FORSW SIZE MOTORS 210 : "RRP £18999 COOLING COM FOR 540-400 eee rca Now Just £149.99 MOTORS £4 Huge Range OFGraspner Motors Now 7 HOWES BARGAIN BOATS TaSache ae "neg Faeroe rsery | XG-6 Race-Spec FM 40 Miz Radio a Charger fa tte [Vale Our Webi & 00 These 16 moc mamary bisphae 2peeertonal cern rd one teat nr craved cori +_§ Large 1 barr convict [aoa thes fas Now Only £34.99 Rotary Winch Sal Conta ull Length 80/900/1000rnm RC System use Futaba cna L// speciat otter: Marlin Cruiser Vacht LARGE RANGE OF THE RVI 48950 ERP Prices From £118.00 Length 60mm, with 'BRASS PROPS 348 BLADE 19 ae |Proportional Radio Control | iq NYLON PROPS 2 BLADE nat Enea NEW ‘Now Only £84.99 ‘BRASS SHAFTS Mé 4 = Micro mt [BRASS RUDDERS SIM. YACHT KITS Magic! ~ ry Ae 7 3 Robbe Comtesse £142.99 cae Extension Leads Robbe Windstar £205.00 [ agen All For Futabaitee Robbe Smaragd £322.00 / erates suVo HEAD 300mm1.00 Robbe Adands £41000 race Channel EXTN LEAD 2S0mm4i 2Seach ES Robbe Valdivia £505.00 FMRadio. EXTN LEAD Som £1 50 esch Ran ee LEAD 100mm £1.99 each fess ae MRP Voyager 215499 ‘Was £49.99 BEC RED BOTH ENDS £1.99 ‘TrTiger Victoria £107.50 Now Only 220.09 oe en 6l ag Receascvies ‘tigen 22599 ee sarreny gon smn Seine ‘asm 2 CH Set oly £2.00. oe Dx6i 2.4GHZ. “TaMIYA TPE EL PA ors WIREELP Pham ststat Radio Set. AOSD Ta te includes 6 Channel ‘DEANSPLUGS £1.00 SPEED 4007.20 area, In] Jets ec a: im oSitipaue toa Tred Overt SB] Range Receiver sorencuu. caren ox-nun ‘iasroe” ‘The Model Boaters Chote. agama | Serr, USB] nominee. LARGE £475 HU AGRTLIROLS. cose New Castle Tug Canbennsie seaport SILICONE WIRE BLACK nifD ere | Limaited special offer Satie eae i Each cy 150, ar Spektrum Dxse sa une'setts toto PAcK B cane DXS: Cannon. Ready 2 Run oy Easy to U Length 600mm @) AA Pencells e tocatee $ ch |Was £79.99 Now Only £39.99 ‘2100mah NIMH come pre Receiver. ged Only £1503 only £89.99 inmehmamneoeal ARTR 1:35 Scale Tug Boat | ARSO0 24Ghz Spare 1000mah Tasged Length #10mm x Height 450mm. Receiver Rechargeable Battery. omy £16.00 ‘Only 50p Each RRP c1e0.00 Our Price 254 sunv 2011 CONTENTS JULY 2011 — ISSUE 292 COVER STORY AquaCraf's new attractive ATR racing yacht Vela should prove popular to the new sailing enthusiast and being one ‘metro long is of a size that could be very competitive. Even though its listed as a one metre yacht you should check with the MYA measurements that it qualifies for the recognised 10M class. The yacht is complete with al the equipment to ‘get sailing very quickly including a 2.4 GHe radio and the interesting point is thatthe radio receiver does not require an ‘external aerial! The only work for the modeller isto assemble the stand, insert the batteries and wait fr a favourable wind. Regulars 5 MESSAGE FROM THE BRIDGE The editor introduces this month's edition 6 MASTHEAD Martime news and views 7 ‘VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE Shipping seen in the Solent 8 DIARY DATES “Maritime events for the next month 10 AIRWAVES Alan Senior examines the effect of propellors and current drain for scale models and answers some readers! electrical and radio related questions 14 WATERLINES Kelvin Holmes continues with the P&O story ‘weww.marinemodelmagazine.com 16 SCALE SCENE lan Willams completes his look at anchors and chains 20 PLASTIC KIT SCENE Robin Trott finds some new plastic kts of interest to the martime modeller 24 SAIL FREE ‘Guest contrbutor Chris Spalding deserbes how he built his super> Vanquish RGSS 30 STEAM SCENE Chris Saunders continues building his steam engine, this month connecting the bole pipe work 50 VINTAGE MOTOR SHED John Parker continues bis series this month on Eimic Sprite and Thrust-Pak motors 52 MEETING POINT Reports of maritime events held over the past few months. 68 CHANDLERY Now hardware and books recently released Features 33 PS COMPTON CASTLE ‘Comparing the present full sized version ofthis retired paddle steamer and the model version 34 MT ARLIN Feview of this new tug from Mobile Marine Models 37 WORD SEARCH This month's free to enter competition 38 TS PLANGENT Free Plan ofa River Thames tug 42 XCRAFT CClve Haliwell describes these rather secretive craft ‘used in WAN 46 SWIFT Tony James shares his experiences of the full size craft ‘and his model VELA ONE METRE RTR YACHT Fick Eyrich reviews this new and attractive AquaCraft racing yachtMESSAGE FROM THE BRIDGE GREETINGS ALL! In the UK we are atthe height of summer and as we have had 2 very unseasonal dry spring, let's hope the lack of rain wll not affect any of our saiing watere! Another problem from lots of sunshine s weed growth, which can affect some waters very badly. 'm not sure if this problem occurs in other countries who traditionally have more sunshine than here in Bighty. Without standing on the toes or stealing the thunder of MIMI regular contrbutor Alon Senior, | was rather shocked the other day when speaking to a young model fer who was genuinely unaware that the 35 MHz band is legal allocated to arraft only. He had used ‘and was aware of mary of his friends using 35 MHz for ground. based models. Naturally this is a major safety iesue for aircraft and ‘8 practice which should stop immediately. | understand that this only ‘applies to the UK and other countries have different ower frequency bands but the relatively new 2.4 GHz band is almost universal inal counties idea for taking on holiday, but check any regulations frst PRODUCTION MANAGER DESIGN TEAM dees Set, Alex Masha ad ‘Shun Sporkes MARKETING ASSISTANT Hslon Palen 01684 se6e0 Era marking trpit com ‘ADVERTISING SALES Enal evertsingBvaplet com modelling wremanoua. Bare Stevens PO BOX 38 Seperate, B84 SAO vi Spang. Alon Snir. Give Sounders, Gee Hata abn Tt Kahn les Flck Eyre, Toy dams, on Wh Capt Pee ny mes Potinge John Paka & Fay Von der Lancer MANAGING DIRECTOR Tony Steporeen OPERATIONS DIRECTOR To Steeraon ‘Sone Leason 01684588617 Eira adeopy tape com NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTION Seynou Dtrbuten Lt ‘ozone 234000 TepetPubeatons Lied ‘ADVERTISING COPY CONTROL HOBBY TRADE DISTRIBUTION EDITORIALCONTACT (© MMI generally publishes commissioned ‘articles, but wil consider other contributions including news items and factual articles. tis important that contact is made with the editor before any material is writen, as dugcation cof tems may result in articles being rejected Prospective contributors can emal or write fora copy of the MMI Notes for Contributors via Traplet Publications Lt ‘ay other Editorial queries can be made by telephone to 01749 Barrie Stevens 347172 during normal ofce hours. Perhaps we should encourage any newcomers to our martime hobby to.use 2.4 GHz unless you wish to control a model submarine under water, the costs of many 2.4 GHz sets are similar f not cheaper than the conventional crystal controled 27 or 40 MHz sets. ‘This month our Free Plan ofthe River Thames tug, Plangent should be of interest to the growing band of tug modellers Continuing the theme of tugs this month we also have a superb fist prize of the new vac-formed tug kit MT Asli and two D Class lighter kis for 2nd and 3rd prizes kindly donated by Mobile Marine Models in our free to enter Summer Word Search competion, don't forget that you can enter the competition by post OR ema ook forward to seeing MMI readers at any of the shows we vii, the next val be the Weymouth Intemational Martime Modelling Festival over the weekend Sth and 10th July. Keep sailing and model making, Barrie Stevens There i a small prize forthe reader who can sive the most information on this model and where and when it was seen. You can send ‘your entries via the editor details below. Do not forget to include your contact details, ive. name and address. Us DISTRIBUTION 6178. Canpagy.E 61826, USA Te 217 388 2970, Fo (001) 217 351 4135, Era ves@bapitcom AUSTRALIAN DISTRIBUTION Trapt Pubictns& Hoes, POBox 801, Engen, Tek 02) 9520 0033 Fa 02) 9920 092 Era: salesOplet como SOUTH AFRICAN DISTRIBUTION P.O. Box 1067, Outshoom, 062, South Aten Tala 027 44 272 S070 Era souhtca@aplet com PUBLISHED BY Tle Publestone Lente, Trelet Houre Pandagon Close, Wid 1G Engin Tel oraee Seesoo SUBSCRIPTIONS 1 Yor subscription prices: Uc ea? a0 ewope te 40 Wiokdwise £7180 USA Canada US $107.88 2 Yours subsription pres: Gx'co4 a0 Ewope £150.80, Woke £182 80 USA Canada US $218.76 BACK ISSUES uc es05/u8 $8.20 (der Hotine: ot 684 S88509 nine Oring: weap. com 2011 Taplet Pubteabons Ute, Alvight ecered 5 SUL 201) www marinemodelmagazine.comMASTHEAD MARITIME NEWS AND VIEWS OF INTEREST TO MODELLERS MODEL BOAT CONVENTION MOVE VENUE ‘Due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances this event, which has previously been held at Birchwood Park will be moving seven mies away to Haydock Park Racecourse. The new venue has easy access from the M6 junction 23 and is well signposted with plenty of parking, Full deta ofthe event ~ Theme: Cargo Vessels, Haydock Racecourse, Newton Le Willows. Merseyside WA2 OHO. 27th/28th August. 10 am to 5 pm. £3.50 for Adults, £1.50 for chidren under 16. Tad stands, children’s activities Contact: Mrs Jean Barlow, Tek 01492 §83433, Mob: 07789 348817. Ema jean@barlowa99.fsnet.co.uk or Barlow777@ btinternet.com Website Endurance in lee (© SPRI University of Cambridge) NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM CORNWALL (FALMOUTH) [New exhibition for 2011 On Thin lo! Proneers of Polar Exploration. The exhibition explores the North and South Poles as well as Including an interactive Base Camp. Also over the school holidays. there's @ range of marvellous ‘ake and take’ inspired by the Arctic ‘and the Antarctic. Developed in partnership with the Polar Museum in. Cambedge, the Martioxe Museum's new six month exhibition takes visitors to sub-zero as they journey around three dedicated galeries called North, South and Base Camp: gving a cling insight into Britain's polar hentage, At the end of the 19th century, Antarctica = beckoned to explorers: it was the earth's last great terra incognita, The quest to reach the South Pole was spurred by @ potent mixture ‘of personal ambition, national glory and scientific endeavour. Captain Fobert Falcon Scott sad in his cary at the South Pole on 17th January 1912: "Great God! This is an awful place and temible enough for us to have laboured to it wthout the reward of pronty.” Beaten to the South Pole by Norwegian rival Roald Amundsen, Scot's party perished on their return jouney in March 1912. 4 ah Wee ast ci 6 suny 2011 www.marinemodelmagazine.com ‘The new exhibition features an histori colection of artefacts from the tragic Terra Nova expedition of 1910-13 including Scott's ‘snow goggles, a compass, pony snow shoes, man-hauling hamess, journal walet and letters. For further detalls vist : THE NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM'S SAMMY OFER WING OPENS 14TH JULY 2011 This July the National Maritime Museum will open the Sammy Ofer Wing, a transformative £35m capital project which sets a new 5 strategic direction forthe Museum. Opening 1th July 2011, the £ £35m wing is the largest development in the National Martine Museum's histor and a catalyst for the organisation to change Completely the way it presents its galleries, exhibitions and events. This major new project has been made possible through a generous donation of £20m from intemational shipping magnate and philenthropist Sammy Ofer and an award of &Sm from the Hertage Lottery Fund (HLF. ‘The project includes a special exhibitions gallery, allowing the Museum to stage a full programme of temporary shows; a permanent gallery, \Veyagers. introducing the story of Brian and the sea: ‘a restaurant and café wath views over Greenwich Park ‘and a state-of-the-art brary ‘and archive bringing much (of the Museum's wos: renowned archive on ste for the frst tie. The bulding gives the Museum a new main ‘entrance from Greenwich Park. enhancing ite ‘connections with the park the Royal Observatory, and the rest ofthe Maritime ‘Groenwich World Heritage Site. The new wing gives the Museum an opportunity to focus on the stories of adventure, discovery, tragedy, courage and disaster that make it distinctive, leaving visitors witha richer understanding of Britain's E mantime heritage. For more information vist i SAD Loss tis with great sadness that | have to report the sudden death of the Dover MBA Chairman Mr Maurice Job. Maurice had been the (Club Chairman for nearly § years, during ths time he could always 5 be relied upon for support and to lead the club forward during the many events that we held. He was also the Club Treasurer ‘and Club 500 representative for the Dover MBA. Maurice was a true modeller, starting as young boy he built model boats from 5 plane and constructed them in traditional materials; it was always ‘a delight to see his cabin cruiser that had been bult 50 years ago, iil running at our regatlas. He will be sadly missed by al members ‘of our club and by many other modellers in our region of Kent who knew him and have benefited from his experience, By Alan Poole £ @over MBA)VIEW FROM aisle BRIDGE nd the the largest T ‘number U Sreeeean eres cura leisure craft a ° 3f Wight. Many modellers ae inspired to build m ing a picture of them, Hopefully we can bring the reader pictures of shipping in the Solent to maybe inspice them to build a model of afl size vessel. We are indebted to Wightlnk for giving permission for these pictures to Images taken by Captain P. Anthony it Bahamas flagged. Né by Getty Maritime Inc by Northem Marine Management, and opera shuttle tanker and the bowloading of crude oil froma Her buat by Asti pancles S.A, AES) 0 5 055 tons, Her Loa @ beam of 37 metres and a maximum Portsmouth in ba Hampstead Seen departing Old Portsmouth’s ynber on 20th January 2011 after ‘embarking a Southampton Pilot, is ABP's (Associated British Ports) owned and operated Pilot Vessel Hampstead, OF 16 metres in length and with a breadth of 4 metre capable of a maximum speed of eround 25 knot 11s seen here outbound for the Nab pilot boarding area where she and transfer vessel inbound for ether Southampton or F four VT Halmatic Ne 1, the other three being Hamwic Famptive 1m the Br Some ete eee eesDIARY DATES ‘WHAT'S ON, WHERE AND WHEN? Event Dates for your Diary Ifyou know of any confirmed Maritime related events and you ‘would tke us to include them please let us know either by email _mmi@treplet.com or post to The MMI Editor, PO Box 4220, ‘Shepton Mallet BAd 940. We need the Date, Venue, Organiser/ who to contact and crucially an Emai/Webeite address and/or a telephone number. a post code would be useful for Sat Navs ‘A ull listing of events forthe year can be found on www.marinemodelmagazine.com/diarydates JULY 1103 Scottish Traditional Boat Festival The Scottish Traditional Boat Festiva will be held in Portsoy on the coast of the Moray Fith in Aberdeenshire. The Festiva will host almost 100 tradtional saling and fishing craft, and about 20 St Ayes skis. For more information visit wow. scottishtraditionalboatfestiva.org.uk sux 2/9 Tuskar Marine Modellers, Model Boat Exhibition Rosslare, Co. Wexford, Republic of Ireland. Contact Brian Boyce, (00353 53 91 33417 sua 'SWAMBC Open Fast Electric Championship Fi 4 Hosted by Yeowl & District MBC Ltd, Sutton Bingham Reservoir, Yeoul For futher details Email: Russellchilcott@ao, ‘conor the Website: www. swambe.webeden.co.uk aura ‘Model Thames Sailing Barge Match ‘The Model Pond, Esplanade Park, Maldon, Essex. 10 am start For further information contact: Mrs B Watts, 18 Croseways, S, (Croydon, Surrey CR2 8UL. Or the AMBO/MTSBC website wow modelbarge.info sua Scale Sail In & Model Thames Sailing Barge Match Hove Model Yacht Club, Hove Lagoon, Hove, W. Sussex. 10.am start. Contact: Mrs B Watts, 18 Crossways, 8. Croydon, Surrey CR28IL. Or the AMBO/MTSEC website wwmmodelbarge.info sua Fiesta Yachts ‘Manufacturers Trophy’ Race Hove Lagoon, Seafront, Hove BNS 4LX. 10 am—3 pm. (Sign in 9.30 am, Briefing 9.45 am). Open to all Fiesta Yachts (must comply with Fiesta spec and weight rules). Enley £3.00. Parking in Magnet Car Park with voucher from us. Contact Les Baker, Hove Lagoon MYC, Tel: 01273 264592, Ema: les.wendy@ntlworld.com sua ‘Scale Steering Open Competition including MPBA. Qualifies Balne Moor MBC, Kingfisher Pond. Start 10,30 am. Refreshments. Contact Peter Newton (Sec), 01977 791825 su 9/10 Weymouth International Maritime Modelling Festival ‘Both days the Model Thames Sailing Barge Match on Radipole Lake, O.M.R.A. Racing from the pier. Trade stands and large model boat exhibition inthe Pavilion Ocean loom. Portable pond outside the Pavilion, children’s workshop ete. For further deals visit worw.visitweymouth.co.uk or call 01305 785747 8 Suny 2011 www.marinemodelmagazine.com JULY 9/10 ‘Model Thames Sailing Barge Match Radipole Lake, Weymouth, Dorset. Event starts 10 am, MTSBC Barge Match start 10.30. In association with SWAMBG and the Weymouth international Marime Model Festival. Contact: Richard Chesney, 49 South Avenue, Thorpe Lea, Egham. Surrey TW20 BHO. Or the AMBO/MTSBC website worm modelbarge.info suLy 9/10 Combined Model Show, Mid-Wales Airport, Welshpool. SY21 886 ‘An allembracing model show, boats, planes, raiways, trucks, tiggers, aircraft, model engineering and lve steam. Hands on ‘experiences, techniques and demonstrations. Proceeds wil support the Mid-Wales Air Ambulance. Contact Jan Naajkens, 01938 811969 www.welshpoolairandmodelshow.co.uk or Monty Siddons (Mid wales MBC), 01938 §230 Ema: montysiddons@hotmailcom guy 9/10 The 4th National Warship Weekend 2011 ‘The National Warship Weekend will again be held at Queens Park Glasgow, Home of Glasgow South Ship Modellers Society, from 11 ‘am both days. The event is open to all miltary related vessels. For ‘more information contact Coli Miler: colinmiller!980@02.c0.1k suLy 9/10 RNLI Open Weekend, RNLI HQ Poole: Come and gee how the RNL eaves lives 24 hours a day. Join us for exciting displays, demonstrations and lots of fun for children Discover what it takes to train our crews and ifeguards, and how we design and equip our lifeboats. For further details vst ‘wow. rnl.org.uk or telephone 08451226900 to be held at: West ‘Quay Fload, Poole, Dorset, UK BH1S 1HZ JULY 10 Dolphin Model Boat Club Free Sailing Lifeboat Charity Day Orpington, just off of Kent Road by the A224 Cray Avenue BAS 4, Start 10.00. Contact via email: dolphinmodelboatclub@live.co.uk for the website: www. dolphinmodelboatelub.com or Margaret, Tl 01689 634896 suLx 10 Waterline Ship Enthusiasts Meoting Theale Vilage Hal (near Reading); Tel Dave on 02392 352383 or Email dave.wileacks@ntlworld.com sux 10 Tuskar Marine Modellers, Kilmore Quay Model Boat Exhibition Kilmore Quay. Co. Wexford, Republic of Ireland. Contact Murt Cloney, 00383 53 91 35672 uy 10 Kirklees Model Boat Club Open Day Wion Park, Batley WFI7 8JH. General fun day, tug towing, yacht racing, state and on the water displays, trade support, large raf, visiting clubs, free parking, refreshments avaiable. Contact Stan Reffin via Kirklees Mode! Boat Club website or on 0113 2675790 JULY 10 ‘Model Thames Sailing Barge Match Brightingsea MBC, Promenade Way, Brightingsea, Essex. For further information contact: Mr P Mortimer, 46 Beardsley Drive, (Chelmsford, Essex CM! 6GO. Tel: 01245 469405. Or the AMBO/ MTSBC website wwwmodelbarge.info suwy 397 Bury Metro Marine Modelling Society, Warship Day Incorporating Chanty Day in aid of Help the Heroes. ClarencePark, Bury BIOGNG. Bring and buy sale boat bits only please). Refreshments, todets, car park. Enquiries to Graham 07930863778 su 17 ‘Southport Model Boat Club Open Day At the Jubille Pond, Rotten Row, Southport PRB 262, 10 am {0.4 pm, Light refreshments avaiable, Contact: 01704870927, 07976251627, Email lesthurgeson@hotmailco.uk au 17 Electra Fast Electric Race Venue Round 5 - Beale Park, Reading. Berkshire. Contact: Mark Shipman, Electra Secretary, Public Relations Officer and Webmaster. Tel 01865 617484, Mobile: 07919851344 or the Electra website: wow electrafying.com sux 17 Luton & District Model Boat Club Open Day Wardown Park, Luton from 10 am. Back to Back steering, Course Driving Skils, Tug Towing, Free Salling. The lub have a go’ boats willbe avalable. A types of models will be on display, Sorry, no UC. For more details see www.lutonmadelboat co.uk guy 24 ‘Model Thames Sailing Barge Match CChantsy Model Club, Bluewater Retail Park, Dartford, Kent, 10am start. Contact: Mrs B Watts. 18 Crossways, S. Croydon, Surrey CR2IL. Or the AMBO/MTSBC website www modelbarge.info sux 24 Knightcote Model Boat Club, (5 miles J12 M40) Sail in Day To celebrate 100 years of MYA from 11 am — 4 pm, All day racing, Footies. Micro Magic, Scale, upto one metre. Prize for overall ‘winner. Contact Derek Nelson on 01926 640045 sux 24 Broomfield Model Boat Club (based in North London) Open Day The pond is located in Broomfield Park, Aldermans Hil, Palmers Green, North London N13 4PT. 10 am to.4 pm. The pond is a Victorian model yacht pond with a depth of between 13" to 23" in various places, all types of model boats are welcome, Somry no I/C. Contact Paul Chicott, Emal: ifeboatpaulGlive.co.uk sue 24 ‘SWAMBC Open Scale Stooring Fd § Hosted by Shepton Mallet Drifters MEC, Collett Park Lake, Shepton Malet. For further details Tl: 07747 600748, Ema ‘maknight9@hotmail.com or the Website: wuw.swambe.webeden.co.uk uy 24 Edinburgh MBC Submarine Day Expect Submarines ofall shapes and sizes. Surface craft (targets) ‘also weleome! Invereth Pond, 12 noon start, Website: wwwedinburghmodelbeatelub.org.uk Ema: ‘secretary @edinburghmodelboatclub.org.uk Tel 0131 581 4637 sux 24 Tug Towing, Teams of three tugs, saling single tug, two tug and three tug courses. Balne Moor MBC, Kingfisher Pond. Stat 10.90 am. Refreshments. Contact Peter Newton (Sec), 01977 791825 sue 3 Waterline Ship Collectors Meeting Welton Vilage Hall (Ryland Road, Welton LN2 SLU, near Lincoln Tel Tim on 01522 524672 or Emal: convoy@photrek.co.uk suLy 31 Dolphin Model Boat Club Free Sailing Regatta Orpington, ust off of Kent Road by the A224 Cray Avenue BRS 4. Start 10,00. Contact via Email: dolphinmodelboatelubGlive. co.uk or the website: wan. dolphinmodelboatelub.com or contact, Margaret. Tel: 01689 834898 sow 31 Electra Fast Electric Race Venue Round 6 - Elmbridge Lake, Elmbridge, Surrey. Contact: Mark ‘Shipman, Electra Secretary, Public Relations Officer and Webmaster. Te 01865 617484, Mobile: 07919851344 or the Electra website: wwm.electrafying.com August 677 Southend Model Power Boat Clu Festival of Model Boating 2011" Inckides "The Model Sipway Club 500 Interlub Trophy’ ‘Southchurch Park, between Southend and Thorpe Bay. Start 10,30 am. Seale, Sai Fast Electric ete. no I/C. Contact our Chairman Terry Moffat for further information on 01702 463450. Website: www. smpbe.co.uk Broomfield MPBC, Broomfield Park, N. London. 10 am stat. For further information contact: Mrs B Watts, 18 Crossways, S, Croydon, Surrey CR2 Bul. Or the AMEO/MTSBC website ww.modelbarge.info aucust 7 ‘SWAMBC Open Scale Stooring Fd 6 hosted by Clevedon & District MBC, The Marine Lake, Sea Front, Clevedon, For further details Tel: 07747 600748, Ema ‘maknight®@hotmail.com or the Website: www. swambe.webeden.co.uk august 14 Bury Metro Marine Modelling Society, Tug Day ‘Clarence Park Bury 8!9 6NG. Leamers and experts welcome, tug tows avaiable, bring and buy sale (boat bits only please). Refreshments, tlle, car park. Enquiries to Graham, 07930863778 august 14 'SWAMBC Open Fast Electric Championship. Ra 5 hosted by The City of Plymouth MBC, Millbrook Lake, Near Plymouth. For futher details Email: Russellchilcott@aol.com or the Website: www.swambe webeden.co.uk aucust 21 Dolphin Model Boat Club Free Sailing Regatta Orpington. just off of Kent Road by the A224 Cray Avenue BRS 4, Start 10,00. Contact via ema: dolphinmodelboatelub@ live.co.uk or the website: www.dolphinmodelboatclub.com or contact Margaret, Tel: 01689 834896 august 21 Horne Bay Festival Regatta Heme Bay Memorial Park Lake, 10 am to 4 pm. Free saling, Club 500 racing, displays and much, much more. Further details from ‘Alan Shelton (Sec), Tel: 01227 366871. Ema: alanshelton@ talktalk.net Website: www heronmodelboatelub.org.uk Baine Moor MBC, Kingfisher Pond. Start 10.30 am. Refreshments. Contact John Polltt, 01977 645696 MIME www.marinemedelmagazine.com JULY 2011 9AIRWAVES ALAN LOOKS AT THE EFFECT OF PROPELLERS AND CURRENT DRAIN FOR SCALE MODELS AND ANSWERS SOME READERS’ QUESTIONS JER GHEATENTAN arwaves@taialinet he selection of a motor for a model is one of the more difficult choices and isthe subject of many ofthe questions that | get from readers. This month | discuss motor selection and in particular the effect ofthe propeller diameter on the motor current. Also some MMI readers have been sending me ‘some great pictures of their models and so | am featuring a few of them this month, ELECTRIC MOTOR SELECTION ‘Selecting @ motor for a model is one of the more dificult tasks ‘and this is made more difficult by the increasingly large range of ‘motors available which have less than adequate descriptions, Model motors that visually look very similar can have very different characteristics, one may be low rewing and suitable for driving a larger propeller in a model tug and another very high rewing for a small propeller in a high speed model. In cases where a low revving motor cannot be found then gearboxes or toothed belt drive reduction can be employed so that the motor can drive a larger more efficient propeller. The model usually dictates the propeller size to an extent and with the exception of model tugs the propeller is often larger than tue scale to get the performance needed. As a general pointer to motor size for brushed DC motors, the motor case diameter should be larger than the diameter ofthe propeller ‘Specialist model motor suppliers such as Deans Marine and Model Motors Direct are a good place to start when looking for ‘2 motor for a particular application, as these suppliers are famiiar with modellers’ needs and are keen to help. Members of model clubs have often been through the motor selection process many times so its always worth seeking out your local model club Where you are sure to get useful and friendly advice MOTOR CURRENT VERSUS PROPELLER DIAMETER oador Philip Bellamy wrote to me in sponse to the February 2011 Airwaves article where | showed a graph ofthe effect of propeller diameter on the electrical current drawn from a motor. Philp pointed out thatthe graph line appeared to be a straight line and that it would be expected to be a curve. Philp is quite right and when the graph is extended itis indeed a curve. have included the extended graph this month and have highlighted the short section of the curve, which was included in the February Airwaves in red. In the case ofthe graph shown the tests were performed in that useful test tank that most homes have - the domestic bathtub! The motor used was an efficient brushless type wath an idle current of around 0.3 Amps when no propeller is fited. The propellers are all plastic 3-blade types of very similar appearance {and pitch. Cleary cifferent designs of propeller also affect the current, for example the number of blades, the shape of the blades and the pitch It might be expected that the current required by a motor when driving a propeller would vary indirect proportion to the diameter, £0 for example doubling the chameter ofa propeller wil double the current required. Examination of the graph shows that this is definitely not the case. Looking at the graph we can see that @ propeller of 30 mm diameter inthis particular test set-up would 10 suv 2011 www.marinemodelmagazine.com © water ‘pumped' by the propeller © draw about 1.1 Amps, we need to take away the motor idle 5 current of 0.3 Amps to get the effective load the propeller is putting on the motor, i.e, 1.1 ~0.3 = 0.8 Amps, Now looking at, the graph again we see that a propeller of the same design with double the diameter consumes about 6.5 Amps, Le. 6.2 Amps © when the motor idle current is subtracted. Clearly this is a large Increase in current of 6.2/0.8 = 7.75 times! To understand why there is such a large current increase we need to look at the geometry ofthe propeller. ‘The two basic characteristics of a propeller, apart from shape ‘and blade count, ae the diameter and the pitch. The diameter 's usually quoted in millmetres or inches and the pitch as a ratio ofthe diameter, The pitch, when converted to a distance ‘measurement, is the distance the propeller would move through the water if di not slip. Iti ike the pitch of a thread on a screw © or bolt, i the bolt is screwed in one turn then it moves inwards a distance equal tothe pitch. In water of course the propeller ‘sips’ ‘and only moves through the water a proportion of the pitch. An * example of a propeller specification is 35 mm x 1; in this case the pitch is | times the diameter sa the pitch is 36 mm. The pitch is ‘specified in this way so that it is easier to compare propellers, ‘So why does doubling the propeller diameter cause the current | to increase neatly eight times? I would point out at this stage that «am not an expert in the hydrodynamics of propellers and that Extended graph of current versus propeller diameter Current (a) Diameter (mm) © Extended graph of propeller current diameter current ‘consumption The propeller diameter and pitch affect the cylindrical volume of‘what follows is probably an oversimplification ofthe problem but it appears to match with the results in the test set-up and to my logic makes sense. ‘OK. so this is my theory based on my logical engineering eewpoint.. the cylindrical volume of the water ‘pumped’ by each rotation is going to be proportional to a circle of area calculated from the propeller diameter multiplied by the pitch converted to the same measurement units as the diameter. As an example | am ‘ing to work with centimetres to keep the numbers smal, take ‘83 cm x1 propeller, the pitch in om is 1 times the diameter = 3 em. To simplify the calculation ofthe pumped volume ratio of two propellers further I do not need to bother with the complication Of using the equation for a cylindrical vlume instead I can simply ‘multiply the ‘diameter by the diameter by the pitch in erm.” Thus for the 3 em x 1 propeller this calculation is 3x 3 x3 gives ‘volume of 27 units. Now we do the sum for a propeller oF twice the size n this case 6 em x 1. Now the calculated volume is 6 x6x6 = 216. Remember that doubling the propeller diameter caused nearly an eight times increase in current, $0 how much ‘more volume does the larger propeller pump? The answer is 216 divided by 27, which again is 8! So this appears to be a general rule, the currents proportional tothe ratio of the water pumped, this seems to make perfect sense to me, iFeight mes as much water is being moved then it wil take eight times as much effort. ‘So how can we apply this ‘theory’ to smaller dameter Increases? We can use a simple equation where ‘Dis the ciameter of the large propeller and isthe diameter of the ‘smaller propeller. The current increase wil then be D xD xD divided by dx d xd, ie. D cubed, divided by d cubed. So, if you have measured the current for one propeller you can calculate the ‘approximate current that would be needed by another of the same type without needing to buy one fist to testi and find the current Increase Is too large. Lot's see if this works for a propeller diameter change from 40 ‘mm G@ cm) to 50 mm (5 om), the current change is calculated to be 6x5 x 5/4 x4 x4), Le, 1.95 ties the current. Looking at the ‘graph the 40 mm propeller consumes 2.3 Amps, subtracting the idle current gives 2 Amps. Now we multiply this by 1.95 and add (0.3 A, we get 4.2 A which compared well with the graph value! If there are any marine engineers reading this then | would be pleased to hear from you on this matter! FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE Geoffrey Field from Sydney, Australia emailed me with a {question some time ago asking whether | knew of any frequency channel management software and | published his request in ‘Airwaves. Though I could not help him atthe time he has kindly Informed me that he has found some software that's being developed. Geoffrey says: “Several years ago | contacted you with regard to software for managing frequencies suitable for a regatta. By chance I have ‘managed to find the following software at the following website ‘called Regie Radio: www.ploumen.be Thave emailed the author and hope to have the software ‘modified to be able to be used for boating or be given access to the source for modifications. Ihave played with it and hope to have this working for a major regatta in two weeks’ time (www. ‘stgmbe.org.au) The website stil has some work fo be done but not bad for @ few days work) Unfortunately there is not much documentation with this program 20 Iwill have to write the procedures as | go for use. With some fine-tuning this program could be an essential item of any regatta with regard to frequency management.” 2.4 GHZ RECEIVER ANTENNA ORIENTATION Jack Gaston emailed me with a question “Ihave found your Airwaves articles most useful. It is exactly the sort of help that many of us find invaluable. | wonder if can ask for your advice. As a boat modeller myself, I have been trying to encourage my grandson to take an interest. We have built a couple of boats together and he is now embarking ‘on a ‘Springer’ doing more of the work himself. His level of tenthusiasm is such that he was keen to buy his own radho system and for flexbiity we chose the Planet TS after reading your ‘account in Airwaves. The radio works well, and having several extra channels is very appealing from my grandson's point of view. Just one question if Ce ee weww.marinemodelmagazine.com SURLY 2011 1 1may —we have the receiver mounted quite high above deck level Inside the Plastcard superstructure. The instruction book shows the receiver and aerial mounted horizontally but then mentions thatthe antenna should be perpendicular (that's vertical where | ‘come from). If you could clany that point it would be a great help. Please find attached a couple of pictures, ane showing the two ‘boys with two of their home bult boats. The punt is being towed by my Wyelorce. The ‘duck’ was the frst radko controled boat! built for my grandchildren Itis great to get feedback from readers so that I can judge ‘whether | am pitching the content level correctly to keep folk interested. have included two ofthe pictures Jack provided in this issue of Airwaves. I's great to hear about the success of your frandson, | find the practical ells I leamt as a youngster bulding ‘models have served me well throughout my career in electronics and engineering ‘The receiver antenna positon and orientation is fine. The transmitter antenna isthe one that should be pointing roughly vertical when the transmitter is held at the normal operating angle. ‘The worst orientation is with the transmitter aerial pointing straight ‘Steve Craven-Jones' motherboard, which he can move between models 12 suny 2011 wnwmarinemodelmagazine.com ‘at the model Theoretically you would ‘et slightly beter range with the receiver antenna Pointing upwards too but in practice the benefit is small at the 2.4 GHz frequencies. So for ‘convenience I tend to ‘mount my receivers with the antenna horizontal Jacl ry Peet een ee A MOTHER BOARD ‘APPROACH Steve Craven-Jones sent me an email on a neat way of making it easier to transfer a ‘complex electronics set up between models “I thought I would send ‘you 2 couple of photos ‘of my ‘Mother Board’ as [call it. [followed your advice | received fn the wiring of the LED switches, and when | connected to a 6 V and 12 V power supply ficked on both main switches, all the indicator LEDs on the ACTion Electronic gear powered up and all the functions of the Tx worked first time (1am quite used to a pop and lots of smoke, but ACTion supplied a detailed custom made wiring dagram). | have a mult-cylinder chesel engine. ship's hor, ‘and seagulls. Last night | spoke to Dave at ACTion and was told that Ihave anything up to eight sounds on the P100 Noisy Thing, 0 Iwill have a play later (sorry Dave, i all else falls read the instructions) The idea ofthis board ie that when I build my next model, lean Just transfer all the electronics in one go, by just unplugging the Various components, ike ights, engines, speakers. tis rather 9 large board but Slpways ‘Our Lass" is huge, and my boats seem to get bigger not smaller CONTACTING THE AUTHOR Ifyou have any questions or have any useful advice that I can pass on to other modellers through this Airwaves column | am ‘always pleased to hear them and wil try to help. My email address {i atthe head of the article or you can contact me via the editor. The underside of Steve Craven-Jones' mother boardSECURE ON-LINE SHOPPING Te Coon’ www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk ‘GULL ROCK, TREKNOW, TINTAGEL, PL34 OEP TEL: 01840770406 2 BMiATHORDERIONTY, FREE UK SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER £190 Mores WE CARRY IN STOCK ONE OF THE LARGEST RANGES OF ILLING BOATS, RADIOCONTROLAND StanicoIseLAY eoaTiTsin (MSL La aL Seca © COREL GRAUPNER, [A VAST SELECTION OF FITTINGS, HARDWARE, RC Pac ‘SYSTEMS, BUILDING MATERIALS, TOOLS AND PLANS. a SECURE ONUNE SHOPPING ANO WoRLOWiDe Ma (Meath tik ‘ORDER SERVICE oot 0900 Lett crszas Rneieransoerempemnenes Includes a high quality double sided, plated through printed circuit a pre-programmed "chip" and every ‘component needed down to solder, ‘case and the last nut and washer. | * All you need supply isa few basic tools ‘and the skill (o use a small soldering ion, 's for rugged performance." £43.65 — FRISHVR-AN Parts Kit Please nots. We are happy to give advice by the old fashioned telephone but on ve ae eee nly anawer the simplest queios by em Inver 12 amp. FR12X/VR Speed Controllers A cost effective replacement for @ oe seeds 0 ing. Jat uta at any ack postion Toss Power Mi se Aon itching = for “aT. Ns Qi m8) £20.95 £31.35 Gontlon 40 sap. card Fag * 200 amp. motor stall rating > "Autoset” neutral at any stick position + Speed range adjustment to match neutral * Double MOSFETs giving 150 amp. (480 amp. peak) rating® + Low loss Power MOSFET switching {23 mill-ohm) + Size: 73 mm (ex. mounting) x81 mm x 22 ma FXA0HX-AN. (40 amp. 6 to 24 volt) Motors We offer a smal range of ators specially chosen for vee in model boats In aon we prowde a leafet win Rll deta showing you what Euent 6 expect wih the battery ang propeller YOU Intend to use. (ASK fr your ee copy) Motor Type 653-33 (Fast patrol etc.) High Power Medium Speed, 6 to 8V BY, Power 70W, max. prop. 40 mm ®v, Power 1100, max. prop. 35mm Motor Type 653-16 (Fast patrol etc.) High Power Medium Speed, 6 to 12V BV, Power 20W, max prop. 65.00 1, Power 700, tax. prop. 40 mm Motor Type 543-24 (Modem scale) We rogret ta he orginal 849-238 no longer manutackred ands epaced by = pecly wound 49-2¢ wih sr speed Sd ratings. Medium speed, 6 to 12V Motor Type 543-12 (Traditional scale) Very low drain, 6 to 12V Vv, Power 7W, max. prop. 65 mm 12V, Power 180, max prop. 40 mm Motor Type 365-14 (Small scale) Very low drain, 6 to 12V BV, | Power 2W, 1, Power 1, £1475 imax. prop. 40 mm max prop. 30 mm max. prop. $5 mm max prop. 30 mm ‘Order direct please quote ref MM O7) or atk for our ree brochures, Mal, telophone & intornet orders accopted with VISA, MasterCard, SOLO or Maestro. Cheques payable to Elecronize Dasign Prices are fully incisive of postage etc an apply fr UK and export to any ‘court. There are no "add on” costs. Export orders are despatched by ar mai at no era charge Payment may be by Pounds Slang cheque or VISA MasterCard forasy curency evenange iy we need more information bout your model and what your preferences ae. Alltoo often thre isn'ta imple anewor and 2 discunsion is needed to arr atthe bost solution for Your ease. ‘Who are we? Wel we're nat a “cowboy” company. we ve made speed controler for 10 years and earned an enviable reputation fx qualty and performance We're @ “mal famly run business wii he benefit of many years experiance in aera and aiorve elactranes and we cary those hgh standards of enginecring and qushty nin our speed contoters. Our aim lst achieve the ight Dalanos 0! perermance.relabily qualty ané ost So ou” contoare wil never be “smal ana enead” Chowne you can be aasured that the clans we make or honest and accrate and Fee of meaningless jargon or exaggeration, ELECTRONIZE DESIGN MCC un ee Me kes i ICEL) RRS eeTrafalgar Fe a DF — CELE) ot Rs Includes paint, brushes aR te eT oS Ieee eke a Pree ee er Ree LL ‘The Sea Harrier FA2 served wtih great distinction ea uO Oe eae oy gen ees Se PREC LSS rf ecu Cen Peet irk ee pen eee) Ser erate orate (@ marnised version of Concorde’), giving her a top speed n pera ee eee er pies opener ere ere CM WWW. 2iFf1X.COM and al good retail stockists Jjoin the AIRFDPLASTIC KIT SCENE ROBIN TAKES A LOOK AT SOME MORE NEW PLASTIC KITS his month Ihave a varied selection of newly released T items from several manufacturers from diferent parts of the world, REVELL ‘Another three new additions have been added to the Revell range this month: they are from three completely diferent time periods. German Destroyer 2-38 (Narvik Class) Model No.: 05106 Seale: 1/700 Length: 17.4 om Pats: 66 ‘The 2.38 was one of the many Nanik Class destroyers used to creat effect by the German Navy during the Second World War. This class of destroyer was heavly armed with 150 mm guns and torpedo tubes, and had a top speed of 38 knots. One of the Z-38's first operations was escort for the German battleship Schamhorst, she was in action continuously through the War, her final operations were inthe Baltic as an escort forthe withdrawing German forces. Aer the German surrender she fellinto British hands and was reactivated by the Royal Navy and renamed HMS Nonsuch. This, | awoll detaled waterline model that wal go well wth the other 1/700 scale models that are availabe from Revell and many other ‘manufacturers. DG2RS Hermann Marwede Model No.: 05812 Scale: 1/200 Length: 23.0 om f Pate: 78 — ‘The Hermann Marwede isthe largest ocean-going rescue ship ‘ever to enter service in Germany and is one of the most moder hips of tend in the world. She entered eervice during the ‘summer of 2003 and is stationed at the North Sea lsland of Helgoland. It has a top speed of 25 knots and a range of 3926 km. The ship boasts a crane, inshore rescue boat, refighting| ‘appliances, helicopter landing plato and even a small onboard hospital. Used by the DGzRS (German Lifeboat Institution its work 's completely fnanced by chontable donations, The model has many authentic detals such as: detaed two part hull, engraved decking, handrails, detailed superstructure, radar ‘mast searchlights, three water cannons, crane, detailed inshore craft, helcopter landing platform and an extensive decal set. 20 suw 11 www.marinemodelmagazine.com Spanish Galleon Model No.: 05899 ‘Scale; 1/450 Length: 14.0 em Height: 8.7 cm Posts: 19 This is a lovely litle model of a galleon that was in use during the ‘second half ofthe 16th century. They were heaviy armed and were powered by oars as well as sal; her slender hull gave her a good ‘speed. Many of this type of cra were used by the Spanish Armada for the i-fated invasion of England, ‘The model has: textured sas, decorative stern castle, side oars ‘and authentic lags. The few parts make this an easy to buld model (of an unusual saling craft Further details can be found at: www.revellde/en DRAGON MODELS USS Buchanen DD-484/USS Lansdowne DD-486 Model No.: 7089 Scale: 1/700 Length: 15.1 em This set ie from the Dragon Models smart kt range and Contains two complete models, fone can be built as afl bull model the other a watering ‘model. These two destroyers were both from the Gleaves class and entered ‘service with the US Navy inthe ‘pring of 1942. USS Lansdowne at first saw action in the Atlantic ‘against U-Boats TEEN and then wastransferred tothe Pace where they both were heavily involved in ‘campaigns such as Guadalcanal, Luzon and lwo Jia just to name ‘few. They were present atthe end of the War for the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on the 2nd September 1945, These two models are very wel detaled using the latest side moulding technology. Here are some ofthe details: detailed hull ‘and superstructure, photo-etched parts, optional gun barels wth ‘or without blast bags, hollowed out ends of gun barrels, quintuple torpedo launcher, 40 mm twin mounted ant-aircraft guns, detaled whale boats and davis, CYBER-HOBBY (PART OF DRAGON MODELS) USS Coronado LCS-4 Model No,: 7108 1/700 8.2m Length: This new model has been released before the actual ship is even stoned, that date Is due to be May 2012 s0 Cyber Hobby ‘are quick of the mark with this one, The Coronado fs the second ship inthe Independence-class of ioral Combat Ships. The model (oF USS Independence LCS-2 (model No.7092) was released by (Cyber Hobby in 2010. But this new mode! isnot just the same mo. dings and in different packaging: the kit has many new m different parts. e 2 few ofthe details: waterline or full hull option, detailed upper hull and superstructure, deck hanger door can be modelled ‘open or closed, two MQ8 fire vehicle, MH-536 Sea Dragon helicopter, many etched parts, full snbly end painting guide rotary winged unmanned aerial docal set and a sixpage es Detail www. dragon-models.com these two models can be found a: TRUMPETER RN Roma Italian Navy Battleship Litorio Class) 1943, Model No.: 05777 Length: 34.3 om Pants: 440 The Floma was the largest and most powerful battleship bul by Italy. She was commissioned in June 1942 and joined the 9th Naval Division at Taranto. Her career was very brie, in September 1943 while on-route to Malta after the Italian capitulation she was attacked by German aircraft and sunk using a new powerful type of ‘uided missile developed for use against heauly armoured targe (Of her crew of 1849 only 596 survived. Her career lasted only 15 jonths and 8 participated inno combat missions Sraal Mb A TT IIII 2224 This cane] fret comes rs oor ‘Judging by the images of the parts this wil bul into a very wel detailed model; Waterine or ful hull, slide-moulded upper and lower pl sections ‘grain patterned decks, two ROSS aircraft, three E2000 airorat and photo-etched fret. 13 sprues of finely detailed ports, wll detailed wood Details ofthis model and all Trumpeter kts can be found at: wectrumpeterchina.com guy 2011 21LIONROAR ‘This company from China is one ofthe foremost manufacturers of s that are avaiable for modellers to incr parade parts a the deta oftheir models, here are two oftheir latest releases. ror WWII US Navy Battleship USS Arizona BB-39 Upgrade Set for tho Trumpeter Kit. Super Detail Conversion Set ‘Set No.: LAS 3504 Seale: 1/350 Contains: Etched, brass and resin parts This is an excellent upgrade set that contains replacement tured brass main gun barrels ond resin blast covers, Brass barrels are ‘aso included for the secondary and antiaircraft guns. The bridge replaced by etched brass parts as her fitings| a model with ‘and lookout tower sides ar nandralls, ladders and many mor Trumpater model in well as 2 and fixtures. This wal tur th The catapult and crane aro tused on the Arizona model miniature models on their own WWII German Navy Heavy Cruiser Prinz Eugen Upgrade Set for Kit. Super Detail Conversion Set Scale: 1/350 Contains: Etched, brass and resin parts ‘This uporade set contains a wealth of detailed parts to enable the modeller to produce the ultimate model of the Trumpeter Prinz Eugen. As with most LionFloar sete this one contains tured brass dary and most ofthe anti-rat ‘un barrels for the main, seco ‘uns, Also inclided in the set are replacement watertight doors, ee ee Por 22 su www marinemadelmagazine.com There are hundreds of etched parts to enhance the detail Detailed upgrade of the forward section and Weboats, just t some of the that aco handrail, ralings, ora mentic way etched and resin part Details ofall LionRoar upgrade sets and accessory par found on the Airbrushes Company Ltd website (they are the UK strbutors): wwwairbrushes.com FINE WATERLINE ‘This company many probably have never heard of before, | ame across their website and found that they produce some ‘unusuel littl 1/700 scale resin models. | know | have called ut they are actualy a group of modellers who them a company | have extended their love for the hobby by producing models th ‘would not normally be produced by other manufacturers. They are basically a cottage industry the models are cast in resin but as they ‘admit the quality of the moulding isnot the same as the well k professionally produced models, but they are at fraction oft price. There are several sets that they produce: the kits contain just the basic resin hull and superstructure together with plastic tube for funnels and small piece of Plasticard for those that need it. Al the fine detail parts you add yourself either by scratch-bulding or purchasing separately from other suppers from a ist of pats given n the Fine Waterine website. The site also gives the assembly instructions for the models; on the site you wil find lots of modeling tips, ph twho are members of the group. ogrephs and information from other modellers This is the kind of detail that can be achieved using the parte recommended by Fine Waterline. (mage courtesy Fine Waterline) ‘As a small company the turnaround for orders can be slow £0 ‘bear this in mind when ordering. Some of the money raised from the selling of the kits goes back into funding the group but the most of what they do raise goes to chanty, mainly the NL! in the ey started they have raised a total of £1000 f them he models are all 1/700 scale and coaster to destroyers and sloops with more planned, most have a limited Several of the packs are called nd range from tugs nun of approximately fity se Dunkirk ite ships, which gives you an idea of some of ther subjects, They are mainly British Royal Navy from WWI period to— ed BRISTOL MODEL 2 ENGINEERING AND . Sma. ia HOBBIES EXHIBITION 4 AUGUST 19", 20" & 217 ee tne LEISURE CENTRE—THORNBURY BRISTOL - BS35 31 All these are in the Fine Waterline models Tugs & Herbour FRI 10a - 6PM SAT 104m - Seu SUN 10am - Pm omnes ‘ADULT £8.50 SENIOR £8.00 JUNIOR £3.50 FAMILY £20.00 (2+3) 3 DAY AND ADVANGE TICKETS ALSO AVAILABLE__SEE WEBSITE MACHINE TOOLS AND WORKSHOP EQUIPMENT | Jif I think the detail ofthe moulding is very reasonable ‘more modern by Mike MeCabe a wellknown med Waterine Group: the Pack 3,1 models ve | THE Z 17 SOUTH WEST 7 wiv 4 SHOW 4 BOATING POOL, i MARINE TRADERS cocat clues AND EXHIBITS S > NEAR Mays INTERCHANGE ‘modeling waterine models in scale hhave been going for about four years and have seventy members, membership is free just cont 5 MILES FROM MS JUNCTIONS 14 OR 16 FREE PARKING 'FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE. ‘www-bristolmodelengineers.co.uk OR CALL 0117 967 5878 Yon (@ mee Wee) acasreeto eer nears ‘A diorama using some ofthe Tog & Harbour set models images courtesy of Fine Waterline) www.marinemodelmagazine.com JULY 2011 23SAIL FREE GUEST CONTRIBUTOR TO SAIL FREE CHRIS SPALDING DESCRIBES HOW HE BUILT HIS. SUPERB VANQUISH RG65 STAN Tushingham sal his at Rotherham and after several months thinking about it | decided that I would go ahead and build one. The features that made the class of boat attractive to me are © Small enough to be easly transportable but large enough to sal propery © Lots of freedom to try diferent ideas @ Low construction cost. It should be possible to bud a boat, with FC and three rigs for less than £200, l became attracted to the RGSS class after watching John ‘As with al classes there are problems, and the problems I foresaw are: © The small size wil maybe make it un-salable in rough water and on windy days {© Nobody else has one so there willbe no racing and it wil be alficlt to judge performance ‘THE RULES The class is a development class with few restrictions. The main (governing rues are (© The hl i 65 cm long ‘The masthead can be up to 110 cm from the deck (© The sai area can be up to 2250 em? and you are only allowed three ngs Within these restrictions you can do pretty much as you want 1.6 you can have: carbon hulls, carbon spars, ewing rige and deep fin, ‘The complete rules can be found by following this Ink: wiew:r965.com/portal/eglas. php idioma=en Side elevation of completed boat 24 suny 2011 www marinemadelmagazine.com SELECTION OF DESIGN ‘Twas more interested in experimenting with different rigs than ‘uying diferent hull designs and wanted to get saling quickly s0 dcided to buy a fibreglass hull and complete this boat mysol There are however lots of cifferent freely avaiable designs here: http://rg65 free.r/start php The hul that | decided to get was ‘an AGES version ofa Vanquish from www.resails.com Fsals 's based in Thailand and the service they offers very good. Only seven days after the boat and fin was ordered it had been posted tome, It was abit of @ gamble placing an order with them because | had no idea ofthe quality oftheir construction or even the performance ofthe boat but as | was eager to get stared | placed ‘an order. The Vanquish 65 does however appear to be sailed with ‘some success in Germany and is said to be a good heavy weather ‘boat. There are several other supplies in Europe who can supply boats but as far ae 'm aware there is only PU Sails in the UK, There are some sailors from Rotherham developing an AGES in Conjunction with Dave Creed which | believe is going to be a simple to build Vac formed boat bult around a central nib. This would have bbaen my preference but in July 2010 it was on hold due to Dave boing inundated with requests for lintels folowing the success of this design atthe Nationals. CONSTRUCTION ‘When the boat arrived it was well packaged. On opening the bull looked well moulded and weighed only 65 g, The fin was @ different story however. It was thick, short and not a good profile This was disappointing and meant that | needed to either make a fin of my own or buy one. To bud the rest of the components in the hull decided to use § mm Depron foam sheet, This is available from my local model shop in a varity of sheet sizes. It isa ight, tiff material, which is easy to cut wth a craft knife and can be ‘lued with epoxy and is very easy to sand. The problem with this, material s that itis nat very punch resistant and you could easily push your finger through it. Ths is not ideal fr a boat that wal bo sailed with and inevitably rammed by IMs, To imprave this characteristic | decided to try epoxy bonding some fibreglass cloth to the surface, This s quit dificult because it tends to de-laminate but it dramatically improves the punch resistance and stifness. The best result I found were to roughen the surface of the Depron withOverview of completed deck, note mast hole forward sheet attachment and hateh access A side view of the hull fin, rudder and ballast course sandpaper, cover liberally wth epony resin and carefully lay ‘one layer of 165 g/m pain or tll weave cloth over the surface ‘and smooth out any surface bubbles. Apply more resin then lay some Mylar film over the surface and work all the resin to the edges using a flat edge. This gives a very smooth sheet, which can be painted. I the surface is not going to be displayed it would be better to use peel ply instead of Mylar because it would leave finish which could easily be bonded to, CONSTRUCTION PROCESS “To complete the boat and get saling | folowed the process below. Fit a Depron fibreglass stern to the hil. When making any part ‘such as the stern deck or central bulkhead which is symmeticl about a centre line l always make a pattem out of stif card which ‘can be folded on ts centre line to ensure symmetry. The stem was bonded into the hull with eposy thickened with micro fibres. NNoxt fitted § mm x 10 mm Depron gunwales. Using along ruler as a guide a 10 mim stip of Depron can easily be cut. Ths is bonded to the hull using &:minute epoxy and is ightly clamped so that tis slightly higher than the side ofthe boat Itis now possible to float the boat and ind the postion ofthe keel ‘and fin. The hull can be put into a fll bath with the keel inside the hull and the position ofthe fn found. llso put the sell and rudder ‘servos and the battery inthe hll to see if ths altered how the boat satin the water but surprisingly it had very ttle effect. One problem "had doing this was thatthe boat leaked ikea sieve | suspect that this Is because | ordered the hull without any gel coat and there was insufficient epoxy to fil the voids between the strands inthe las fibre. The leaking was so bad that the hull sank completely in less than @ minute. This problem was overcome by covering the hull in parcel tape, which remained on forthe rest ofthe construction to protect the surface finish from scratches and stray epoxy. Although this leaking may appear disastrous | was not overly concerned because the hull was going to be painted and later on and during the construction the inside ofthe hull was lightly painted with epoxy. ‘Making a strong, ight fin with 2 good profle is quite an involved task. But | enjoy making fins and find it satisfying. There are ‘commercial fins available and | belive that Dave Creed makes fone which no doubt wil be very well made and good value. The ‘2erofol that | chose was the NACAQ00G profile. | decided to have a poral fin because they are easier to make with a chord of 50 mm. |.chose a 60 mm chord because this appears to be common for this class of boat. This meant thatthe fin needed to be 4 mm thick, This appears to be stghtly thinner than some of the commercial fins availabe, The fin was moulded following the ‘Moulding Foils process described inthis article The fin was lid up with one layer of 200 g/m’ plain weave carbon, fibre doth and two layers of 320 g/m unidirectional carbon fibre tape on each side. The inner void was filed with an epoxy micro balloon mix. am quite happy with the fin because itis straight and strong and although itis abit heavier and abit thicker at 4.5 mm than | would ike I decided to use it because this is an area where ‘excess weight Is not too crcl, The rudder was made out of two pieces of 0.75 mm ply which were glued together around 4 mm x 2 ‘mim strip to give an approximation of an aerofoil. This was sanded {and a 4 mm stainless steel rudderpost was glued in before the hole rudder was skinned in 200 g/m carbon fibre and sanded smooth ‘To make the fin box the top half ofthe fin was covered in petroleum jelly before being wrapped in several layers of cling fim, (Once this is done wetted out fibreglass cloth is wrapped round the fin and the whole lot put into a vac bag and alowed to cure. This ‘makes a very good fn box, shich fis the fin exactly ‘Once the fin and fin box were made a hole was cut in the hull to-accept it. Ths Is a very hard task to do well and patience ee Bo... SIR a The radio gear is set lower than the deck, and include digital rudder servo and lever arm winch Ball raced mast tube and open hatch to access batteries and on/ off plug www.marinemodelmagazine.com JULY 2011 25Close-up photo of top wing rig layout Fi Double luff mainsail without panels has proved very efficient Foredeck shows the pulleyblock for mainsheet and upstand to tako sideways tension from sheetline whon close-hauled is required. The centre line ofthe hull was found by careful ‘measurement from the gunwale on each side. | also found it useful to.use a laser level to project a ine from the centre of the bow and the centre ofthe stern to confirm the measurements. Once this has been done the hull was cut with a Dremel and carefully shaped to ‘accept the fin box. With the fin inthe fin box it can be tacked into ‘the hall lightly wth thick Cyano. To allow the alignment ofthe fin to bbe checked | put the fini the fin box and clamped the bottom of the finn adel vice 80 that the hul’s planned waterine is parallel vith the work surface, fit wasnt, the fin box could be removed and repositioned. Once | was happy with the alignment of the fin box | fitted the central bulkhead to the hull ike to have a soil bulkhead in my boats, which divides the boat Into two waterproof halves making ita lt less ikely to sinkin a lsaster. The central bulkhead was made out of § mm Depron which ‘was glued into the hull onthe forward side of the fin box using S:minute epoxy. Once this isn place the fin box can be fixed to the bulkhead and the bottom ofthe hul using an epoxy micro fibre ‘mix. The hull was also stiffened by adding several strands of carbon fibre tow along the length and around the hull. This dramatically Inereased the stfness. This boat has two decks, the lower aft deck and the main deck ‘The lower aft deck is fixed to the rear ofthe central bulkhead ‘and the stor ofthe boat, The underside ofthe deck has local reinforcement made out of 2 mm fibreglass sheet to accept the serews used to hold the servos inthe boat. Before the deck was fitted to the boat it was skinned on both sides with one layer of 160 g/m* glass fibee and epoxy. Once this deck was fited a 6 mm 4 mm carbon fibre tube was fixed using thickened epoxy to form ‘2 rudder tube. The upper deck has two layers of 5 mm Depron at the bow. This was done to make the bow a ite bt deeper to help ‘Mast top details 26 ssuny 2011 wmnmmerinemodelmagazine.comAll four rigs and the hull aid out. Note size of doormat for ‘comparison the hull resist nose-diving, I'm not sure that this Is necessary but "ike boats with a deep bow and many of the other AGES designs have this feature. To make the upper deck | made a pattern out of hhardboard and lightly glued the Depron to this. Ths allowed me to shape the sides ofthe deck to give rounded gunwales. Once this was done the Depron was carefully removed from the hardboard ‘and both sides ofthe upper deck were skinned in 162 g/m cloth vith 280 g/m® carbon fre being used on the underside ofthe deck ‘around the mast and sheeting post positions. An access hatch ‘made from an old Sudocrem container was fitted to provide access to the battery compartment, This boat has a Hitec HS5245D Digital servo Dimensions: 17.0, ‘mm x 32.0 mm x 31.0 min, which is used as an arm winch. It has been reprogrammed to give 160 degrees of rotation. Ths fe 2 mini ‘servo and only weighs 32g whist providing 4:4 kg of torque, After testing it did not thnk thatthe servo was powerful enough but during all the sallng to date it has worked perfectly even in strong winds, I would not however want to use this servo ifthe boat was conventionlly rigged but there are loads of standard sized servos hich would do the job. The steoring servo is a Savéx SHO2S7MG digital servo (Dimensions: 12.0 mm x 22.8 mm x 25.4 mm) this is a micro servo providing 2.2 kg of torque and weighing 14 g. used a Tutborix 2.4 GHe receiver and Sx AAA NIMH batteries for power, ‘The hull was painted with Plast-kote spray paints, itl t was primed with aplastic primer before several coats of primer filer were applied. This was then rubbed back using fine wet ‘dry oper to give a smooth finish before tee coats of gloss topcoat ‘were then applied. The Plast-kote paints are easily avalable and ‘pray well but the topcost takes months to harden. But once this, happens the finish is very good and appears to be quite tough. IF was going to conventionally rg this boat I would have put ‘mast tube 15 mm in front ofthe fn but | really wanted a swing rg boat. knew thatthe mast would have to be further forward than this because the jib is smaller on swing rigs but I was not sure how ‘much. Inthe end decided to put the mast tube 50 mm infront ofthe fin and see how it sailed. | was prepared to tune the balance ofthe boat by altering the ratio ofthe jb and the main. The mast tube is a 12x 10 mm carbon fibre tube. Ithas a 10 x 6 mm stainless steo! ball bearing in the bottom and a 10x 6 mm flanged ball bearing atthe top. The rigs for this boat are made out of: 4,6 and 8 mm carbon fibre tube al with a wall thickness of 1 mm. This s easly avallable from ‘most model shops or the Intemet and cost about £7/m. The masts Pe} This set of sails is the maximum height allowed and ideal for light wind sailing 14 onthe lager rigs are all @ mm. The smallest rg has a mast diameter (of 6 mm, The main boom and the spar are 6 mm diameter and the {ib booms are all 4 mm. Although the class mits the number of rigs to three | have made four so far. The only nig! have sailed the boat In so faris the "Big and it was apparent that the boat could carry ‘much more sal so | decided to experiment with a taller rig. As you can see from the photo all the rigs are angular in plan, have a fat top and ful length js. | belive thatthe high jibe and fat topsais Improve performance. ‘The swing ig block was made by gluing two pieces of 8 x6 mm cearbon fibre tube to a 10 x 8 mm tube and covering in two layers (of 280 g/m? unidirectional carbon fibre tape with the fibres parallel to the booms and one layer of 200 g/m? twill weave tape on the outside. Once lad up it is put into a vac bag and allowed to cure. Its helpful to seal the ends of the tubes being used with Play-Doh (0r Blu Tack to stop resin going into the tubes. Once the resin has cured the finished article can be cut and sanded to size Rubber grommets are used for most iting on this boat. They are easy to use but ther flexblty does mean there is abit of ‘sponginess. The upper jb attachment is bound to the mast with {eyano and carbon fibre tow. The head of the main is attached to the mast with apiece of 1.8 mm stainless steel wire, which pivots freely inthe top ofthe mast. I found thatthe best place for the up hhaul was 40% from the front of the sal, www.marinemedelmagazine.com JULY 2011 27‘Second suit and rig for moderate wind, with fll allowed sail area — | 4 ——2s; —_- ame tata biaem Sa ‘The sails on the rigs | have made so far ll have a single panel ‘main sal with the mast inserted into luff pocket and a three: panel ib. They are all made out of 50 Micron Film. | think the twa largest ‘alls would benefit from being made out of a lighter material. | hhave been very surprised how well the single panel sails set. originally only made a single panel main sal for speed and ease of construction whist establishing the correct balance but | was £0 pleased with the shape that | decided not to use seams on any of the main sails. originally thought that the top ofthe sail would have lide or no camber because when | make salls with seams in| put the seams into keep the camber inthe all all the vay tothe top. TThave also been surprised how litle battening the sais need. The ‘KB’ and 'C’ rigs only have one batten atthe top ofthe sail and the ‘D' ig doesn't have any at all, DEVELOPMENTS ‘Since completing this boat have only sailed it four times but plan todo alot more. The inital impressions are very good and the boat ‘eppears to be; responsive, seaworthy and powerful itis nat as fast ‘8 an [OM but it's not far of, It also looks very small on the water ‘ext tothe IOMs but it sale well and appears fine in ll the wind conditions | have thrown att so fr. |am delighted withthe speed in which the boat can be rigged and the way the eas are exactly the same as the last time you sailed it. Hopefully I can find some local competition and even try and get a class race day to see how well it (goes compared to others ofthe same class. CONCLUSION ‘Although the boat is small the hull construction was no easier or {quicker than bulding an IOM or Marblehead. | also found it dificult, to.get used to the emall size and struggled to build everything 28 suny 2011 light and small enough, Ihave leamt alot bulding this boot and i were to buld another one | am sure that it would be better. | would however build it almost exactly the same way. |have enjoyed the freedom thatthe class allows and found working with Depron challenging and satisfying. The rigs were fer easier and much faster to make than IOM ones with fewer components and no dling. 1 bboleve that the sails could be improved with rounded Leaches and | would like to try calls without pocket lufs for comparison. lao ‘want to try making some more sails out of different matenals such ‘28 learex or Cellophane, | even have some more nonconformist ideas about trying: a balanced una rig, a gaff rig or even a solid or ‘Som rigid rig using a KF aerofol, The boat is very stable and when pressed downwind can appear to trp up over the fin. It may perform better in strong winds with a shorter fin, which I may ty | might ‘even ty alighter keel to see what difference that makes. MAME Third suit for strong winds, again with fll allowed sail area Fourth suit with area reduced to 1750 2q em, for really strong winds (Note that a fourth set of sails is NOT allowed for racing)aiit:) vt eee) Soret] comet coed coed Fes ond Pans Modeling Toots www.model-dockyard.comSTEAM SCENE CHRIS CONTINUES BUILDING HIS STEAM ENGINE, THIS MONTH CONNECTING THE BOILER PIPE. ‘WORK prepared the boller for my Sealight Clyde Puffer. The next task 'Was to link the boiler to the TVAIA Twin Cylinder steam engin. ‘Steam pipe is avalable in four standard sizes, 1/8", 8/32", 3/16" fend 1/4", For me the selection was easy as the engine used 5/32" pipe for the manifolds and i seemed reasonable to use this size throughout. The pipe is readily avaiable from model engineering ssuppllers and comes as a coll. As the copper is usually fay soft at this stage it is an easy tack to straighten out the length required ‘and shape it to fit between components, As | wanted to have con: trol on the motor speed a servo controllable valve wa fitted into the mainline, Thus I needed two pipes, one from the boiler to the control valve, and one from the valve to the engine The first steam pipe was relatwely easy to prepare. At the boller fend a 1/4" x32 tpi steam fiting was sorewed into the steam head (on the boiler. This fiting has an external 1/4" x 40 tpi shaped end ready to seal wth a brass pipe ferrule (or nipple), held in place with 1/4" put. Again the ferule and nuts are readily avaiable from ‘model engineering suppliers and usuelly come in packs often “Make sure if you are doing thi yourself, that you get the correct ripple size forthe chosen pipe size. They must be a very close fit 7 I 1 the May tion of Steam Scene I described how | had Thorough cleaning of copper is vital for geod joints 30 suny 2011 wmnumarinemodelmagazine.com ‘onto the pipe if a strong, effective solder joint is to be made. The ripples for 1/8" and 5/32" pipes are the same extemal size ond fit the same 1/4" nuts, the only difference isin the size of hole. Having an interest in electronics | felt my knowledge of soft soldering could be applied to these steam pipe joints. After a lot of trial and error | had to admit that soldering using a large electric Iron was just not going to work. needed to siver solder the joints properly. Here again lan Holland (previous contributor to Steam ‘Soene) came to my rescue. In just a few minutes he had prepared {and soldered a ferule to a pipe. The resulting joint was smooth tnd clearly a very good seal. just had to have a go myself Like all cats, iis never as easy to do yourself as the expert makes it ook However, have now mastered the basics and shall give a summary of what I Team Firstly you need to purchase some silver solder and the flux to ‘90 with it. The solder comes ina wide range of sizes, shapes and melting temperatures. I chose to use a relatively low melting point mixture (610 620 deg C) called 842 Siver Solder 42% sven. It ‘was purchased in 0.5 mm wire form and was in a1 m length (with ‘experience I would prefer the wire a litle thicker as this would make ‘teasier to manipulate). The Fux. often called Easy Flow’ flx or ‘EF fluxis in poveder form and a 50 g bag is sufficient for @ umber (of steam engine plants. The fis mixed with water untl it forms a thick creamy moxture. | keep a small quantity in an old 35 ma film Container with an airtight lid. Without evaporation the modure lasts ‘2 very long time, but needs thorough mixing before applying to the Joint to be soldered, After adding the nipple the jc fs held under slight pressure‘The next thing to decide upon is the source of heat. | use two different flames. For small joints or where soldering is to be done near other soldered joints (Le. the manifold junction I use a gas torch witha fine high temperature flame. The one I found easiest to.use was the Proxxon MicroFlame Burner, which is powered by butane lighter fuel. The second, mare powerful gas torch was, purchased from a B&Q DIY store ands fuelled by a butane plus propane gas mixture, Care is needed in selecting the correct model of torch as many are designed to give a wide flame suitable for paint stipping. These are far to inaccurate for silver soldering ‘A good guide is to look for the models that have high flame temperatures (1600 deg ©) and state that they are suitable for brazing Preparing the copper tube comes next. Absolute cleanliness is vital if well sealed joint isto be obtained. | started using wire wool but the expert pointed me to the scouring pads used for cleaning ssaucepans. The most common domestic version is green in colour ‘and works OK. However, there fea burgundy coloured version ‘vallable from model engineering suppliers, which Is more flexible ‘and easier to use, After afew minutes of careful abrading the tend ofthe copper pipe shouldbe bright pink with no blemishes, Soldering ean now begin. Solder is applied to the joint ‘The correct nut is ret put onto the pipe the correct way around, ‘This is particularly important when soldering both ends of the pipe! [Next the flux is mixed thoroughly and a thin layer put onto the cleaned pipe end. The ferrule is then pushed fully home onto the pipe. The pipe Is now ready for heating, | cover an area of my work surface with calcium silicate (asbestos froe) bench mats. These are completely freproof and protect the bench from all but the most severe heating. The pipe is then ‘arranged on the mat so thatthe ferrule is being pushed onto the pipe. During heating the expansion of cifferent areas can often ‘cause the Ferule to be pushed off the pipe. By having a slight downward pressure this can be avoided, Heat s frst applied about 1/2° behind the ferule in order to let the pipe heat up uniformly. Faily soon the moisture val bol off from the flux and it begins to ‘melt. Once the whole pipe and ferrule is realy hot the solder is ‘applied. If the temperature is ight the solder should melt and run into the joint. This needs some practice, as itis easy to try the solder too soon and have it form lumps on the joint. this happens ‘more heat is required and the solder should eventually melt and ‘ink into the joint. Don't worry too much if your First few joints look ‘messy, they can be cleaned up witha fle once cooled (Once the joint has been made and inspected the pipe can be cooled in 10% sulphuric acid (danger corrosive) or @ solution of ‘aie acid (much miden. This acid not only cools the copper but reacts with any oxides formed producing a very clean, bright pink tend tothe pipe. It is vital thatthe joint is thoroughly inspected at this stage, as any leaks will be impossible to recy later. ‘TWIN OSCILLATING MARINE ENGINE (MODEL KIT) "have recently had the opportunity to build the twin oscilating ‘marine engine from PM. Research Inc in Wellvile, N.Y. This was an Imported kit but there are a number of suppliers stocking itn the UK. This engine is much simpler than the TVRIA | described in the March Steam Scene, having no crankshaft or moving valve ‘assembles. Being alot cheaper it has the added advantage that a steam control valve is not necessary as throtle and forward/reverse 210 all selected by the postion ofthe valve handle. Thus only one ‘servo is needed for fll contol ofthe motor. ee eee ‘The whole motor ie bull upon the base casting. A lt of preparation work has already been cared out on this casting with the main cylinder frames already siver sokdred in place together wth the brace rods positioned for final adjustment ‘The single shoot plan gives very clear instructions on how to put the engine together. Most steps are straightforward and require ‘only basic hand tools, There were, however, afew moce demaneling ‘steps, as | ill ouline bolow. ‘There are two bearing sleeves which need to be pushed into the base unt. As you would expect, these are a tight fit and so lined ‘each one up in the hole and then placed the unt into an engineering ‘ce fitted with wooden protectors onthe jaws, The bearing was then ‘moved slowly into the base unit by tightening the vie. A constant check was made on the straightness ofthe bearing as distortion at this point could spoil the engine. The front bearing had to be pushed ee www.marinemedelmagazine.com JULY 2011 31ee eee ee) all the way in until fush withthe casting, The rear bearing had to| left protruding by approximately 1/8. | stopped pushing the bearing in once the 1/8" point was reached, but lam sure it could have bbeen pushed in futher before it met the front bearing, It woul be very easy to push this bearing in too far and then not have sufficient protrusion to locate the control valve correctly ‘The next instruction required the reaming ofthe bearings to 0.1875" so thatthe dive shaft ited snugly but was free to rotate. As I cid ‘ot have the correct reamer | used a small rund fle, taking great sare to evenly expand the hole. As only avery small amount of metal had to be removed a good fit was quickly ebtained, The shaft noed to tum freely without any side-to-side play. Construction ofthe pistons and cylinders Is very straightforward. It Is the making ofthe paper gaskets which proved most cl The kit comes with @ quare sheet of gasket paper. | used a compass fitted with a knife edge Gvallable from most hobby shops) to cut the inner and outer circles. It was the four oles for the 3/8" machi sores which proved to be the most dificult to cut, At fist | simply punched the screws through the paper and then tried to attach the syinder bottom cap tothe cylinder. Unfortunately the excess paper Caught inthe threads and stopped the screw fiting. I then had to remove this excess with a sharp krife. Iisa 00 easy to sip the blade during th pt the gasket rendering it useless. | cannot say found an easier way to make these gaskets and feel tis a pty they are not ready cut inthe ki. eee 32 suny 2011 ‘weww.marinemodelmagazine.com The piston assembly ‘The completed engine was attached to a compressor and Immediately sprang into Me Initially one drection was not as free as ts had to be made tothe lates tis a belance between the other 80 small adjustme pivot shaft around which the piston ‘988 tightness and friction to get the be | was impressed by the power produced by this engine on a lw ai hly in both directions and had a wide | would describe this engine as very good value for ‘money. MIME Day erePS Compton Castle awaiting new owners ‘at her mud berth in Lemon Quay, Truro lor vistors to Truro, the county town of Comwal, you can't fail to iiss at the head of the shopping complex, dare | say the remains of the ‘once much-loved River Dart Paddle ‘Steamer, Compton Caste, The sister to PS Compton Castle the PS Kingswear Castle has been restored to her former lory and can be seen operational during the summer season on the Fiver Thames and River Medway. The story of the PS Compton Castle fs alittle more depressive, as she has for ‘numberof yoo been berthed on a mud berth in Truro and was used as a garden centre. Recently due to a change of ownership she has been transformed into a potential restaurant and as the billboard alongside her proudly states, “Sympathetic Restoratior of The Paddle Steamer Compton Castle” it may be the advertiser's licence but looking at her does bring a lump to your throat as most cof her fittings have been removed and her former glory isin the cm ‘and distance past, We understand that er steam engines are on cdplay onthe lele of Wight Local model maker John Wilks has built a fine model of her as she was in her real working life and it may in the future take centre piece onboard the now proposed restaurant f and when they find @ ‘ew tenant, John bult the model from scaled down shipyard plans ‘and it is complete with crew and passengers. Having paid a vst to.John’s model shipyard itis very practical and takes up a corner of is kitchen, there are models of completed vessels all over the Desai the TC OMPTON CASTLE nes sand ee ra opPauny of PS Compton Castle floating at high tide The ‘To Let’ sign states Sympathetic Restoration of The Paddle Steamer Compton Castle Sof you are visting Truro have ‘look at the present PS Compton Castle (by the bus station) and try to visualise her in her former glory. She was built by Cox & Co. Lid in Falmouth in 1914 and was the frst of the Dart paddlers to have wide extended decks over elongated ponsons. Sadly, in 1963 she failed to obtain a passenger certificate and was withdrawn from service, after which she was sold and used as @ moored restaurant and museum at Kingsbridge Lunt 1978 (the author vividly remembers her as a restaurant in Kingsbridge, some 36 years ago as he was on his honeymoon!) ‘She has been at her present berth at Lemon Quay, Turo for some 25 years and prio to that she was Berthed for a short time in Looe, (On a postive point, even though the present ‘restoration’ of PS ‘Compton Castle may not be tothe liking ofthe purists itis far otter than being subjected to the serap merchant's cutting torch! The Intermet has plenty of other information and pictures, as a starter website try For model makers who are interested in building a model of the Compton Castle, Kingsweir Castle or Dartmouth Castle we Understand that a fibreglass hull avalabe from Waverley Models, Tel: 01275 546772 o email waverley.modele@virgin.net Local model maker John Wilks with his fine model of PS Compton Castle in her former glory Mid ships detailed view of John's model suny 2011 33 www marinemodelmagazine.comALL IN THE TIMING! (On one of my recent visits to The Boat Shed, the home of Mobile Marine Models, | walked into the mayhem of the staff busy completing the final pre-production stages of a new kit release. Having received, and clutching onto my mandatory ‘cuppa’, | wandered around the public areas of the factory trying to glean ‘8 preview of what was unfolding infront of me, when Ana thrust ‘box onto me and said, “There you go, have a look at that that’s the new Astin Presumably, aiming for the beginner, and for the more advanced modellers quick-fun-build market, Mobile Marine Models have now added to their ever expanding range of Budget Boats, the vac-formed kit of the motor tug Arlin MMM, better known for their Budget Bulding System, and tho now wall established GRP ‘ust-coloured’ hulls and kits of tugs, coasters and workboats, introduced the vac-formed Budget Boats range a litle over two years ago, The full range of these inexpensive hulls and kts can be found on Mobile Marine Models’ very comprehensive website (see Kit Box Data for ind. Perhaps a litle unusual for a vac-formed boat, the Arlin is ‘2ctually based on a full size tug, of to be more precise, two full ize tugs. The design of the hull was created back in the ‘60s, by a famous British yard based in North Devon, and now, with several boats down-the-tine, superstructures modified to sult the modem world, MMM has, as usual with all of their boats, given {great thought to the final design of the Arlin, offering a single fr twin screw version: the option of customising your own drive system, and adding your ‘own litle touches’ to the final model WHAT'S INSIDE? MMM offer the boat under the umbrella of the tried and tested, Budget Building System, which, in turn, gives so much flexibility to the modeller in their choices... So what do you get? ack 1 is the kit, complete with a full colour photo/pictorial instruction booklet, containing 36 vac-formed mouldings in white 1.5 and 1 mm plastic, and although all the windows ete. ‘are pre-moulded both in the deckhouse and the wheelhouse, @ 34 suny 2011 wmumarinemodelmagazine.com Fa ii Rett ee Pack | of the kt showing th 38 vac formed parts further sheet of moulded laa pls window panes included tffenng the choice of ether panting the windows fas pr the Pack 2's the eng goor set) and ea, this where MMM thovoht that has gone into the powerran ofthe Ain The Single Sutew pack contons he presen T4A mull ple motor metor mount and the voctormed tor bose boar sofetycouping, SimLine pedoonpropshel end unique Thrusleler® Power Kort eopeclay adapted for the Be nd ‘ormat “The Twin Screw pack, contains athe aforementioned, but ctviousy wth two motor, coupe, SinLine shale ad two Power Kort, wr header of oP” ramen an wo real whol mt be ung. ond might ad a wery lever en, a VE hist cou be arged that Mobile Marine Models re the nly manufacture ta stualy manfactres everything, n wiht they produce, by themselves Cand the ange fe huge’ the