Member postings for John W E

I think I have made a pigs ear of me postings above - but - anyway - what I wanted to mention as well is a guy he is called Christian Shepherd - and he runs a Company called MTB Hulls - he is a real gent - and he is the 'knowledge' of all Coastal Craft - and if anyone can help you - he will. Christian will be able to furnish you with photographs that we have never seen.

John

hi there, sorry for the delay in answering - but - I have just been doing a bit of research on the launch. I take it that the plan that your father worked from is the one in the image that I am going to put on which I have scanned from Model Boats magazine, February 1984. I am unsure if you have this issue from your dad to go along with the plans, but, if not there are several places that you will be able to obtain the issue of the Model Boats Magazine on the web. As far as fittings go; and manufacturing of the fittings yourself and detailed plans - I am sorry to say there is very little information around. But, depending on which version your father had been building - because - I note that there is one version that has a dinghy on the back and also no gun turrets on the bridge - then there is the lower version which seems to have an Oerlikon gun on the rear end plus the Perspex turrets on the bridge which normally have twin guns in them.

I know there are a lot of people who try to manufacture these Perspex domes out of old light bulbs - some of them are pretty successful - but the last pair I actually made I moulded them using the oven in the kitchen and a mould - if you go onto Mayhem and look on Masterclass for the RAF launch build there - you will see how this is done.

If you wish to purchase fittings - I know there is a Company called Battlecraft - who do a lot of fittings for this type of craft - and at the right scale.

Let's know how you get on.

Edited By John W E on 01/05/2020 10:51:04

as above try the above link - to You Tube - give it a go - you will notice it sounds like a Kenwood Chef - this is due to the fact I originally ran the model on 6 volt main drive batteries and it was a bit slow. So, I upped it to 12 volt running to which it looks likes a mixer frothing the water so now went from Gel Cells to 7.2 NiCad packs which runs about right. If you have the sound on forgive our Geordie Accents in the beginning because I was tormenting a dog on the lakeside with a water cannon on the model.

 https://youtu.be/nL8nZohRMTA

give this a go 

Edited By John W E on 30/04/2020 10:42:17https://youtu.be/nL8nZohRMTA

Edited By John W E on 30/04/2020 11:09:42

hi there

with regard to adding a bow and stern thruster to help the model to turn whilst under way - is not very successful - as has already been stated. Unless, you have the bow thrusters connected in with variable independent propeller control. On the other hand, independent paddle wheels give you a greater manoeuvre-ability when under way - when stationary you can literally spin the vessel on the spot by putting one paddle wheel forward and one reverse. You don't need a mixer in your model, independent stick control on your transmitter will do the job.What hasnt been mentioned is 

 that a lot of paddle steamers have what is known as a bow rudder to help them turn; I would suggest you try independent paddles first off. Also slightly increase the weight of your model so that it sits deeper in the water. You will find that some 'paddlers tend to dig in' i.e. tend to lean as the paddle pulls the water back. To counteract this, if you fancy going to the expense of making 'feathering' paddles - anyway - if I can find out to put a video on here without going through the bother of YouTube - I do have one of the Forceful, which I built - going through its paces .

John

Edited By John W E on 29/04/2020 18:57:46

Edited By John W E on 29/04/2020 18:59:21

hi there, if you go on to EBAY they do 180 degrees servos which are round about the £5 mark - but make sure you get the analogue one and not the digital one. That is one method,.

Also, if you go onto YouTube - there is plenty of videos - which show you how to convert a standard servo to either continuous rotation or, 180 degree movement.

I used a similar servo from EBAY myself for a crane on one of my models. I used a continuous revolving servo, but, used a gear ratio of something like 5 to 1 to give a smooth rotation of the crane. Just food for thought.

john

Edited By John W E on 27/04/2020 10:08:13

hi there

Heres a pic of the RAF Air Sea Rescue Launch (63 ft one triple rudder) this gives equal amounts of movements on the rudders and is a fairly robus setup. If I remember rightly on this particular model the 2 outer props rotated inboard towards each other as looking from the stern. The centre prop turned anti clockwise if I remember rightly. If you want to be pedantic some of the real Coastal Forces Vessels (PT boats) have all their props turning the same direction due to the fact that they were unable to obtain or manufacture in time, the reverse gear boxes.

John

pic s

Hi there, here are a couple of photographs of my latest project called BUOY CAT which was designed by F Body in the 1960s. Basically, its a CAT hull with an IC engine in it . I have tried to keep as close as possible to the original design, couple of variations in the build is I increased the length of the spray rails either side of the hull, originally they were only half way along. I added an upper rubbing strip around the deck area and also on the back deck I opened up an area with a grille in it to allow ventilation. The only thing now to do is to give it a trial run in the paddling pool - to make sure nothing falls off. I have glazed the cabin windows but I do have a funny feeling they will either melt - or - I will knock them out to create ventilation. For those wondering why I didn't go brushless with this design is that I wanted to keep it as authentic as possible as this is one part of our hobby I enjoy - i.e. tinkering with IC engines - come to think of it I have many a battle scar on me fingers from the old boot lace starting. But, now softy here has a starter motor and electric one that is.

Good morning Master Milbourn - whilst occupied yesterday afternoon with other things such as stacking up the z's the penny slowly dropped into the empty spaces in one's head. I should have this drawing somewhere - as I used it for the gun on HMS Leeds Castle and a similar one on the Orkney - both models are with other owners now. Anyway, I began going through all plans trying to locate them and then the 2nd light bulb lit up - I believe our mutual friend Mr Marc Rigden may have all the drawings for Leeds Castle and the subsidiary drawings, guns and bits and pieces as Marc obtained a 1:72 scale for the Leeds Castle. So, maybe, if you email or ring Marc he might just have a photocopy he can send you.

Here's hoping.

john

Dave

https://www.trinityaries.com/shop/plans-drawings/jecobin-detail-sheets/jecobin-x052-bofors-40mm-gun/

john

Edited By John W E on 17/03/2020 10:28:00

Edited By Colin Bishop on 17/03/2020 10:57:45

Hi this is a scan from the book ,as I know Dave is too tight to buy the mag

John

Ray, the motor gun boat was a free plan in Model Boats mag way back - its been on the back burner to build for a long long time - and the model in the backgound is another old one - called the Buoy Cat designed by F.Body. At the moment I am setting up an Enya 19 inside - cos there are one or 2 lakes around here that allow us to run IC engines and we can get away with running IC engines if the model is a bit vintage.

john

Edited By John W E on 28/02/2020 08:35:24

Hi there,

have you thought about using a CD case - the clear plastic ones. Just tried this idea myself on the windows of an MGB and what I was able to do was to glue rings cut from plastic tubing onto them. I used Tamiya extra thin cement to stick the rings onto the windows. I also used canopy glue to stick the actual windows to the inside of the superstructure. Up until now, they haven't fallen out and I haven't poked them out with my fingers. They seem to withstanding a bit of rough and tumble.

john

Hi there

the splinter mats which I made for the Fairmile B were made from car body filler - first of all I made a mould from modelling clay and then I gradually built up layers within the mould with car body filler; doing it this way prevents the filler from 'going off' too quickly and cracking. When I had moulded one I made several other moulds from the original so I could mould 2 or 3 splinter mats all in one go. Here is a photograph of the 'real' ones plus those on my model.

John

hi there, Michael, your message has just been pointed out to me - as far as the prop shafts are concerned, I would go with what Ray on his plan has shown you. As far as prop shaft lengths are concerned. When I built my model of the RTTL I made up the prop shafts from cut down 12 inch prop tubes which the outer section had been cut down to approximately 6 inches long and the shaft was left at 12 inches long. There was then a support made which fits next to the propellers. Bit of a tedious job to set two of them up - because in the long run its just for cosmetic looks really.

john

HELP - I know I have lost part of me sight but I cannot see any photographs I am so sorry - I would really like to see this built though and have you managed to put 2 motors and 2 shafts in?

john

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNveRCGPMCw

Hi ya Michael

it is good practice to reinforce where the prop tubes go through the skin of the hull. I have put a photograph on of how I did this on the RTTL which I myself built.

just out of curiosity, is it not worth sticking to one prop shaft through the keel - this would make life a lot easier for you as you will only have one motor and coupling to line up - whereas if you have 2 prop shafts and motors - you then have to ensure that both prop shafts line up on the outside of the hull of equal distance from the hull skin - and - also that the 2 prop shafts are parallel to the keel. Just food for thought before diving in

Also, if you require the correct shaped rudder as is on the plan - one of the ways I have done it in the past is purchase a rudder from 'off the shelf model shop' and cut it and file it to the shape required.

If I can, I will try and put a link on of when I ran my RTTL on the local lake last summer.

John

Edited By John W E on 17/01/2020 18:25:29

Hi ya there Mike

As far as access to the hull - on the plan, the main superstructure lifts off and also the roof of the engine casing. On the model which I built, I also opened up the large hatch just behind the main superstructure and also the towing cabin at the back - which lifts out as a unit -This gives you ample access to the internals of the hull.

here is a photograph of the areas of access on the hull which I made.

john