Hi All,

In the thread "Vic Smeed's model boat designs" my build of the Hydro-Bat was mentioned. It keeps me busy for a few months now and I'm enjoying it. The model will be powered by a Black Lynx engine made by Model Engines in the US. It's in fact a modern Cox engine made with performance parts. I won this engine with a picture contest on Cox Engine Forum. The build is coming along well. I did a small modification on the rudder because I didn't like the rudder arms and push rod above the deck. I also changed the canopy. It became a bubble canopy with dashboard. Plan is to fix a pilot figure afterwards.

Some pictures:

(I can't figure out anymore how to insert a picture, I did it before though. can someone explain? th.

Lieven

I didn't. The rod is just put on top of the blade. That's what Vic must have done when making his prototype. According to the plan, he uses 1/16 piano wire. The blade was cut from a paint scraper or putty knife. The central fin was made from the same material. I think it's a little less than 1 mm thick.

Yesterday, I finished the hull.

The article in Grid Leaks by Vic says to sheet the entire model and then cut out the hatch for access to the radio compartiment. The hatch will be fixed with "surgical tape". I don't know what that looks like but I'll use sticky tape. The dome will have a pilot. It's a light plastic pilot figure of IM Products of Japan. I have since I was a youngster. Finally I could find a use for it. The dash board is already in place.