Having followed Bob Abell’s exhaustive thread on the build of his 1/6th scale model of this boat from near enough day one I felt inspired to give this a go myself initially I intended building from scratch but while in conversation with Bob it transpired that he had this kit and no plans to use it. so he offered it to me and courtesy of Mr P Pat it arrived today. I’ve read a lot about this kit on various forums over the last year and had a fair idea what to expect when I opened the box. The quality seems to be much improved over the early versions mainly because it is now laser cut, as opposed to I believe printed on the sheet material. there are a couple of issues that leap out at you 1 being the brass prop-shaft and tube. not too straight and plain brass bushes on a brass shaft will prob wear out quickly, especially given that most these days will power it with a high revving brushless motor. the recommended though is either a 600/700 brushed or a .15cc ic engine. (not many going that route I’d have thought) the weight of the box suggests a light final result and I think it would be a shame to overload it with a lumpy 700 brushed motor when at half the weight a brushless equivalent will give a very sprightly performance. LiPo bty’s as opposed to 8 sub C NiMh cells would reduce weight further, and I agree add cost so this option needs to be thought through.

 

anyway a few pics of the box contents the rest are in my photo album on here

 I hadn’t ticked the public box should be visible now mate. pencil marks were expected so no problem. Jumping in with both feet is not on the agenda. do you know which issue of the mag the article was in? if you look at the pic of the open box you’ll see some A3 paper that I’ve traced all the sheet parts onto. The issue of the hatch is under consideration, probably extend it rearwards under the fin much the same as that guy on that other forum did with the join on the edge of the red stripe. it’ll be needed just to fit the rudder servo.

 

 

Phil

Thanks for that Bob all good useful stuff and lots to read and think about before leaping into the shed with tools at the ready. I prob won’t have any shed time on this till after Easter as I’ve a sailing day at my local pond to organise as well as hopefully getting the little speed boat ready for its trials that weekend. So its steady as she goes on this for a while, and that’s definitely the way to do it justice. I’ve done some research on veneer glues and it looks like the old way is still the best for curved surfaces (Cold press glues) however the names have changed a bit “titebond” veneer glue seems to be the most popular, thicker than pva to prevent bleed through and an open time of 15 min to allow accurate positioning and clamping. some custom clamps called for when I get to this point.

 

 

 

Phil (searching for his patient head)

   I will be re-reading that section of your thread Bob, when the time comes! However one other possibility, given that this is a much smaller boat is temporarily fixing it to the bench and using a curved length of wood to sit the entire length of the strip of veneer, held down with long screws, carefully tightened to exert the necessary pressure.

   Looking at that kit review I’m struggling to see how he secured both hatches, and water proofed them, especially the servo hatch, as I’m guessing that area may well suffer a little more than the odd splash!

   I wonder how much speed he got from the 600 speed brushed motor he fitted? The running pics show it on the plane, so I guess it was quick enough. However whats the chance it got to 14.9mph? 1/12th of the record of 170+ that’s the full size set in 1950! Pretty good I’d say.

   A further point from that review, is there is no mention of paint/resin being applied to the inner hull surface. leaving it, in my view, susceptible over time, to damp ingress damaging the structure and finish from within. As the construction process leaves huge areas inaccessible to do this after hull construction is complete, some thought will have to be given to the subject prior to starting.

 

Phil (head hurting from all this thinking )

Totally agree on the security of the building board bob.

   These pictures I’ve found purport to be a faithfull rebuild of “U27”  so although not the original, as near as damm it, have a look at this pic maybe clearer. If it won’t enlarge go to my gallery and view full size from there.

 

 

Phil

Here you go Bob me auld worrier! . I think the line from the song goes something like this. “Yes we have no bananas today”

As for fitting that step both sides, I’m not to sure, as I’d like to get it as close to the original as possible. Some more research is needed, to see if that mod was fitted to the actuall boat that set the speed record. I’m guessing the answer may well be no! however  fitting it to both sides may help with the set of the stern at speed, and might be something to consider for yours??

 

Phil

I’ve got a quandry now. it would appear that the Slo-Mo IV (U27) was quite different looking over her 6 yr life.

 

   starting without a fin and at  varous times being fitted with no less than 3 different designs, including one designed and built by the boeing aircraft company. The one it is sporting on the box cover is that used in 52 when she set the “water speed record” at 178+mph, and it was later refitted in 55/56. Also the red stripe changed over time from a stripe either side extending to mid fore deck, to some where between 52/56 to the design on the box. on top of this I’ve seen photo’s and read reports that strongly suggest it at times had two seats. Specifically during the world record attempts. Also to add fuel to the fire several cowl designs are in evidence.

 

   So I now need to decided at what point in its career do I model it. I’ve kinda settled for the 52 world record attempt, for a few reasons. 1; the supplied fin is right, 2; if the suggested stripe is wrong thats easy to fix, 3; the major cowl difference is, a huge air filter/supercharger is in evidence protrudng through the front top, and that should be easy enough to model.

 

And to make my mind up this was arguably the Slo-Mo’s finest hour. so there we have it. I intend to model this as closely as possible to the record breaking boat of 7/7/1952

 

 

Phil

Thats a good point Bob. However having a bit of a latent perfectionist inside me, and the oppourtunity to make something perfect, and the fact that I display my creations at a good number of shows through the year. I thought I’d take the chance to add the little details that’ll make so much difference to the finished article.

 

They really are quite small details I agree, but then you as well as any, know that’s where the devil is.

 

I’ve also discovered that the fin is in fact a trim tab operated independantly from the rudder pretty much pre-set to keep her straight at speed.

 

Phil