lovely models Colin and Colin.

its lovely to see unusual and interesting different models being built. i still have my lifeboat to build and my friends lifeboat to finish……..but then i am stumped.

i have been given a kit of the new Metcalf Models Liverpool class lifeboat which i designed 16 years ago, and would dearly love to build that.

however a friend has developed lines for a very unusual tug which i want to build and fit a Cheddar Gemini steam plant in to. that another friend gave to me some time ago as long as i put it into a working model and sail it, and as he was staff coxs'n on the lifeboat i did some crew training on years ago with intent of joining before i stupidly married and moved out of town, i think i owe him that one……………..and i really am looking forward to building.

so maybe that model first………..something unusual, but can't say what, until my friend has built his model at a larger scale.

but, i think 2021 will keep me busy and out of trouble, lol.

Hi All
Nice looking models in the posts above , I have spent some of my time repainting my model of River Star (metcalf mouldings kit) and adding lights ,slowly getting there

Hopefully pic attached

Cheers
Tim

Lovely job Ray, reminds me of building a rubber band powered model with my Dad as a youngster. We once took it to a field and had a play for a couple of hours and could not work out why it was going round in a big circle and coming back to us. Then we realised that we hadn't attached the wing perfectly centrally, which was well worth knowing for future flights!

I take it you are going to cover it but are you going traditional with doped tissue or are you going to use the more modern heat shrink covering film?

Couple more

Hi Richard,

What a super layout, the great thing about a railway there are so many things to do, and is a layout ever finished?

The Lysander may be covered at some stage with tissue & doped, it was more of a dexterity test with all that 1/16" square balsa, they were always marginal flyers !

Tim,

I will probably hang it up in my workshop it may live longer that way I'm a bit of a hoarder I probably have another dozen various Keil Kraft kits, they just take me back the catalogues which were like the modellers bible and the things of dreams.

Regards Ray

Thanks Ray, I agree, it will never be finished! If I can get a reasonable area of it done I will be happy.

Colin, the layout is a permanent home based layout, I'm very lucky to have a spare room above what used to be a garage so I arranged the layout to be around the room with the staircase rising up into it. I then avoid the crawling underneath to get into the centre or the lifting flap type of arrangement.

Hi,

Its been a while since I posted anything on here, mainly because I have changed tack, so to speak, in the model boat world and have been concentrating on building and restoring vintage model yachts for the last couple of years.

My current project is an A class yacht to a 1970 John Lewis design called Phaedra 2. We bought the bare wooden hull and keel weight from another VMYG member in the middle of last summer. It was brought along to a model boat club in Leeds about 10 years ago as a garage or loft find and auctioned off to a member of the club. Last year he decided he was not going to finish it and was looking for someone to 'take it on' Elizabeth and I were eager volunteers. The hull is about 85 inches long, beautifully constructed with cedar planks. The keel weight is very nicely cast and was partially finished when we acquired it. When complete the yacht should weigh about 68 lbs and carry about 1500 sq inches of sail. The only clue to the original builder is that the hull was accompanied by some drawings done on UK Atomic Energy Authority drafting sheets from their site in Risley. Coincidentally many more years ago than I care to remember, I used to go out with a girl whose father worked there.

So far I have added the deck beams and internal bracing ribs and tie bars, The sail winch and rudder servo are also installed and the deck has been cut roughly to size. Work on the model has been paused for the last couple of months as we have been carrying out some major improvements to our workshop. In addition to Phaedra 2 we have two ten Raters in for restoration but at the moment these are primarily Elizabeth's responsibility.

Here are a few photos of Phaedra as we originally acquired it and as it is now.

Gareth

Richard,

I am pleased that you were impressed by the models on the VMYG stand at the CADMA show. I was the custodian of the stand at the time you came round and was curious to know why you were making notes. It was only later that I realised you were going to write the show report for Model Boats. In that respect you replaced me as I had done the show report for the previous 8 years or so, However I don't bear a grudge, after 8 reports on the same show it was getting difficult to think of anything original to write.

I am intrigued by your reference to a small scratch built model yacht. Is it by any chance an Alan Wyatt S class? Elizabeth bought one from him about 6 years ago, in fact the one he had built for his wife Margaret. Elizabeth wanted something to remind her of his craftsmanship and the help he had willingly offered when she started building model yachts. He was an outstanding craftsman in many materials including wood, metal and paint. He was also so willing to offer advice and help and so modest about his own achievements. He was a very sad loss to the modelling world and Kirklees MBC,

Maybe we will get a chance to meet up this year. Phaedra might be finished by the summer, but I am not very confident there will be a CADMA show to attend in June.

Best regards

Gareth