D-Day 70th anniversary event 2014

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Mike

Is the problem that your notebook wont accept PDF downloads or that you don't have access to a printer?

Paul

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

Notebooks are perfectly happy to accept .pdf downloads. They do need something to read them, usually Adobe Acrobat Reader, or, if you don't want everlasting updates, Foxit Reader. Both free. Then to be useful, they need a printer.

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hi Malcolm

That's just my point, if you have a notebook and a printer then you can access and use my download designs, such as the LCM that Mike wants to build.

Paul

Edited By Paul T on 15/01/2014 16:11:43

[mike farrellParticipant @mikefarrell21522]

Hi All ,No Paul I do not own a printer and never had a reason to own one. The problem will be resolved as I will be sent the Length, width, and higth soon and with the excellent photos I should be able to build a fair copy of the landing craft .We are (good health allowing) hope for a trip to BUSHY as there is no such event local It will be donated complete when it has served its purpose is met Thanks for your thoughts

Michael

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hi Mike

Here are most of the dims that you wanted.

If you want the rest of the dims I can email them to you.

Paul

[mike farrellParticipant @mikefarrell21522]

Hi Paul

Thanks so much for the dims .I will be able to build from these. Might be identical but only you will know. .I keep a stock of Liteply and balsa and 1/8 and 1/16 ply in stock as living on the east coast its too far to get material and the postage is becoming prohibitive

Hardwear always has to be from ebay . Thanks again

Michael

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Paul. Thanks for that. I shall expect to see Mike at our event with a knockout prizewinning build later this year (not that there will be prizes, although we have a ton of chocolate on top of the fridge..might save some.)

A comp might be good… what categories??

Most detailed, fastest, most wonky, best crew/tank, biggest propeller, daftest paint job…towing the corvette..best ww2 dress (uniform). Best admirals hat  ???

I suggest everyone puts some sort of strong-point on the rear, a screw eye will be enough, for the tug`o`war, ….singles, pairs or even a team event??

A suggestion from Sunday was to organise some BARRAGE BALLOONS.. you know, like party balloons filled with helium to tie to the small wood grass separation fence, to advertise our presence. Could be made? or has anyone seen anything that could be painted grey and Helium filled.

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 16/01/2014 19:48:04

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Ashley

Just an idea…….you could try involving Colin B and Paul F in competitions as they might have access to decent prizes and could spread the word via the magazine.

As I said its just a thought

Paul

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Well, I see no reason why we couldn't do something along those lines once the scope of the event has become clearer. Remind me, what dates are you thinking of?

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Sunday before D-Day whatever that is, or in the event of apaulin appalin appaulling bad weather, the Sunday after (this would be historically accurate considering the original day way cancelled once!!)

I am afraid our event will be informal and i am not sure that i would be able to accurately predict the numbers attending.

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

When first suggested to Ashley I had no idea an "event" would be organised cobbled together happen spontaniously, just half a dozen or eight landing craft on a ceremonial sail / drift past, definitely not some mega build !

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

D Day Event

There is no reason why other clubs couldn't pick up the idea and organise a commemorative sail along similar lines to those proposed by Trevor and Ashley.

Involving the website and magazine in starting a competition would certainly raise the profile and possibly lead to some decent prizes being offered, its a simple enough competition to organise with prizes being given for the best LCM.

Entries could be submitted in the form of photos and the best could be judged by Mr. Bishop & Mr Freshney.

For very little organisation a UK wide (or even worldwide) mass sailing to commemorate the event could be arranged.

Why am I so keen to promote this….the competition entrants will need a plan of the LCM to build and if they buy mine through the justgiving website http://www.justgiving.com/model-boat-fundraising then the Royal British Legion will benefit.

We all have a good day out sailing, some lucky people win nice prizes and a worthwhile charity benefits….whats not to like?

Paul

Edited By Paul T on 17/01/2014 13:05:47

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I'm afraid I shall be away on holiday that week but I expect we can work something out nearer the time.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Yes..no doubt, after all that effort in building landers we will be sailing them on the Sunday afterwards as well, and then you can bring yours down !!

I would even build a shell for you as per plan so all you have to do is outfit and paint it..

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

After yesterdays ballasting trials for the Corvette it is evident that some serious weight is required, ideally I want to make as much of this removable however 7kg of lead flashing (retyreived from the "come in handy" pile in the garden) is going in spread along the bottom of the hull as a start.

I will soon have to bite the bullet and start the deck planking but this will restrict access so probably the rear first, as there will still be space.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

I have often wondered why we make model boats with deep scale hulls?

This means enormous amounts of lead are required……Which always results in a very heavy model or having to cart about portable heavy ballast etc

My idea is to make the hull from a solid 2" plank!…..As simple as that!…….Minimum ballast required

Just up Ashley`s street?…..Mek `em simple!

We`ll get The Maestro on the job, with his CAD and calcs, as we`ve talked about this many years ago and we greed it was feasible…….Could be our next project?

It would have made your D Day models, so simple to build……Especially the big Corvette?

Bob the Lateral Thinktank

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

Originally I toyed with the idea of a slab sided "ship" to represent something giving covering fire but talked myself into doing a half decent build, then into a reasonable semi scale hull with superstructure, then into a fairly accurate hull onto which I can add detail on an ongoing basis.

Agreed a few 4" x 2" planks with some cardboard superstructure and big guns would have turned out a great deal easier – also nearly got an old canoe from the dump to "tart up" !

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bob. Have you been reading uncle Ashleys posts and also inwardly digesting them?? The much maligned HARDBOARD BUILDS (HMS Glorious and HMS Nelson–but discounting the carpet carrier) were indeed made from planks.

Only 3/4" in these cases as they are only 48 or 44 inches long respectively. I had AN ISSUE with stability, planks are more floaty than meets the eye, but once cutouts for the batteries had been made in the planks and the hole pieced over (with a hardboard patch) they work ok.

Trevor, starting from scratch trying to get a half decent shape from 2 inch planks would have been a job, and probably would not have looked as good as that which you are making. Yes it needs a lot of ballast, but as most of it is going to be removable then this should not be too much of an issue. There are always loads of willing hands a to get something this size in the water.

Seeing the size and judging the likely weight of it, I think maybe the corvette towing comp may be a non-starter..

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I am reminded via Trevor that the Airfix infantry support group, currently made by Airfix and readily available at toyshops and E-bay, price £5 is MOST SUITABLE as crew for your landing ships.

For navy use they need painting blue and so on, however there are a number of useful poses in this set.

Commander looking through binoculars, man waving arm giving order to fire, men loading mortars (ok for manning machine guns, and so on. The Vickers machine guns might be useful. I will take any unwanted figures off you lot when finished!! They are in 54mm size in a hardish plastic, but glue very well to decks using a hot glue gun, just a small blob, and can be levered off easily afterwards without causing damage.

Have been searching for Toyway reissue "lone*star sailors" but have not seen any about. Not particularly rare I would have thought, being re-issues, just have to search a bit. Not that there are many about but some toy shops might have some left on a bottom shelf.

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

Had the Corvette on the water yesterday – with approx 30kg (thanks to Ashley for brining various dead SLA batteries for temporary ballast) of assorted ballast it was somewhere close to the required waterline, giving an all up displacement of approx 35kg.

I am aiming for each half of the hull to weigh 8kg without batteries or removable ballast, so some careful thinking will be required as to what will be permanantly installed, loose (batteries, lumps of metal) or water (pumped or in jugs).

Not being able to stand back and view it from a distance whilst building has led to some cock ups areas of potential improvement which are easily spotted in the new album photos but nothing too drastic.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Its very odd. The rear or the front portion of the deck appears to be rising like a ski jump, when viewing the boat on the water, but getting it out and laying it sideways gives a new perspective, and the centre is actually straight, there is a bit of a dip both sides to be rectified and side planking to be put in place and really thats all that was wrong. It is very difficult at the half finished stage to see whats what, and Trevor has a bit of a monster on his hands.

Full marks for the sailors though, Trevor has cut off a few sten guns, moulded on lifejackets and painted them dark blue and they really look the part!

This a very useful box of soldiers, the Infantry support group, currently available in toyshops and in a harder plastic than the originals so easier to cut`n`shut.

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

The sailors are quite easy, nice sharp knife gets rid of the water bottles, guns, ammo packs and straps.

A bit of Milliput and paint is all it takes – accuracy was not a priority as they will be seen from at least a yard (or metre for the younger people out there) away.

I will put my hand up and admit I paid full price (£14) for the set but with 17 assorted figures and enough guns, spades, spare ammo packs to create landing craft "clutter" it still seems decent value.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Trevor. The clutter would cost a fortune to purchase as items for detailing and making small things like that is very difficult. Well worth the money. I may have been guessing at the price, if thats what you paid I would assume that IS the price and my guestimate should be ignored!

Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

I bought it at a weel known model shop in Stoneleigh – supporting local shops rather than tinternet price – been using them for the last 40 years (with my father) when they were in New Malden. A real model shop to be encouraged.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

All boaters and those wot would LIKE TO participate in our D-Day event at Bushy park (get ideas up now).

<or of course at your local venue>…doesnt have to be a grand affair..it is about the numbers. We will need a swarm of landing craft to make the spectacle watchable and remember the sacrifice of those men who stormed the beaches to liberate Europe from the …..etc etc

I have been inspired (actually, finished project no5 and am waiting for weather to improve before starting project no4, but have the d Day thing to consider) to start my LCT4 and to this end have cleared the kitchen worktop and bought in the pre-cut 3.7mm ply pieces from the cold and started glueing them together. I am working on the 4 foot section first. I have a 4 foot length of ply to which small blocks of chipboard have been glued, and to these rows (resembling a straight Stonehenge) I have glued the outer hull layer (2 inches high) and the inner well bulkhead (4 inches high) to the Henge, along with the substantial 20mm rear bulkhead; this is the bit that will be bolted to the rear 18" section. It looks good so far, and the cats are nesting in the tank-well to hold it flat.

It looks a bit low to me, but it is to the dimensions of my card replica and that looks ok. I expect it to have a draught of approx 1/4 inch. This will increase at the stern due to the battery and so on, but these things sat rear heavy in order to power the bow up the beach.

A small point, the motors and props were left running on beaching in order to keep the bow head on to the beach. We have no beach but it will be fun to see who can push who out the way in order to be the first to land the troops. (I didn`t say that!)

i will have to have a cut-up at the rear in order to accommodate the props, and I will do this as I see it…i am going to use years of bodging experience to work this out. I have said it once before, making the unusual is easy, making it work….a different proposition.

i have sufficient WW2 Tanks and jeeps to fill my LCT easily. I am still looking for something suitable at low cost for the masses, however, a bit of cammo netting will disguise even a Chieftan in a landing craft (at a pinch).

Ashley

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