Nelson/Rodney

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Ashley as ever you have come to my rescue without me even asking you . I am intending to build the Rodney/Nelson next year and as ever i see you have built a version your self . Was it from plans or from scratch as i have a set of plans , somewhere , but as i remember i was not impressed with the hull building and wondered if this was a fleet scale hull or self build .

Bearing in mind i cannot use highly smelly products , well depending on the weather that is , indoors as i have to share my garden /jungle with upstairs and their dog who lays more mines than the whole of Iraq !!!!.

On another and somewhat embarrassing point i took my old , 17 year old to be exact, perkasa mtb out for a spin only to find when i got it to the lake ( pouring down with rain ) the bloody drive battery was flat and i had forgotten my receiver battery my mate who came with me thought it highly funny until his own boat suddenly stopped dead and had to wait , in the rain , for the boat to come to shore and found his universal joint had come apart . But after a mug of coffee we had a good laugh.

Anyway many thanks

Andy

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Andy. This is a scratch build from a 3 view drawing, blown up by a print shop to full size (model size that is).

The hull is common hardboard, and the base was pine plank, deck hardboard, most of superstructure same. I fibreglassed the hull just to be safe but Eze-cote water based resin and glass cloth would be ok.

Turrets cut from MDF on a small bandsaw, barrels from brass tube, two sizes.

Two MFA 540/1 motors on 6v with 35mm brass props. Suprstructure footprint slightly widened, for access, and same for the AA platform at the rear, for access to the single rudder.

Ashley.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

Ashley

You`ve made a lovely silk purse out of a sows ear!

An excellent build and with very creative use of junk materials……..Are you really that hard up?

Bob

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Ashley many thanks for the info . I never thought of using hardboard as i always thought it a bit to porous for boat building .As in do not have the luxury of owning a band saw i guess it will be a coping saw and elbow grease getting it to the right size and shape or layers of balsa wood as for the barrels i guess it's a raid on McDonalds !!!! as i have a box of wooden stirrers " liberated " from McDonalds a long time ago via a friend who worked there and i find a whole host of uses for them . The base , how long and how thick ??

Once again many thanks

Andy

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Bob. Nothing wrong with hardboard, its just like thick ply, and very strong (as used on a hull). with sanding sealer it takes a good finish.On this boat, there is not too much in way of hull curvature – above water- so I thought I would use the stuff again (as per the battlecruiser).

Not so much hard up as liking to use something different, really.

Andy. Dont need a band saw for this. The hull base was 19mm pine plank, with a step up at the rear to accomodate the props and rudder. Most of the shaping was done with the hull clamped in a workmate, and using a plane and hand belt-sander ! BUt a cheap plane and sandpaper block would be sufficient. The octagonal tower is carboard. In fact the whole top could easily be made form thick card, and a sheet from an art shop would provide all you need. The boat is 44 inches long . Barrels can be made from bamboo BBQ sticks, with paper rolled aroud to provide the tapering effect (use PVA, and select nice round sticks). My barrels only have one "step2 but look ok when painted.

I did cast the 6" turrets from stone plaster from a rubber mould I made but could be cut from MDF or similar.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Pictures of the start of the Glorious… same construction as the Nelson…3/4 pine plank and hardboard sides and top. Started to prove or disprove the conversation we were having at the pond regarding the merits of using a plank as a base for a boat.

A well was cut in the plank base to house the battery otherwise it was very unstable, plated over with a hardboard patch on the G, but the entire bottom was hardboarded on the Nelson, to get a smooth bottom. Ashley

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Sorry i was typing a message to you and this blody thing decided to wipe it out . I have checked all my junk files and deleated files and still cant find it i will check my lap top and will also have a look at the libary . I just do not understand why it has not come through but find it very frustrating . I can see that there is enough rom to put a turntable in for the turrets but would have to make it much , much bigger for working crane, boats etc and i just do not have the room or knowledge for this job . Which direction are we looking from is it Bow to Stern or the other way around .Silly question but what is the black " thing " on the first picture ?? Well as i am a bit of a hoarder and magpie i found a small box of switches and a socket spanner that was in with an old tamiya kit so i have just saved myself about 6 or £7 !! Is it possible to run the Nelso/Rodney on 1 speed controler ???

I have passed your advice on to my brother but he still wants to know about his transmitter /reciver . I did tell him to bin it a get a neew but got a two word answer the second of which was off !!!!.He will bring it down next week and i will have a look from there . Please can you send that file again and lets hoope for the best other wise i think it's down to Pigeon post or cammel post which ever is quicker !!

Many thanks

Andy

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Hi asley i'm on my laptop bu no sign of it on here but will check the libary tommorow when i get 5 ,

many thanks

Andy

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

The big shiny thing on which the plank in the first picture sits is a bit of left over kitchen worktop. Fantastic for building boats on. Dead flat and resists most glues,meaning it can be scraped flat if some filler or glue gets splashed on it.

We are looking at the stern end nearest the bottom. The rear section is stuck on top of the main bit in order to provide the cutaway for the props. There have been two slots cut already for the propellor shafts, as drilling holes to fit them afterwards would be difficult, or at least..not difficult, but getting them both in the right place would be tricky.

The Nelson, and Glorious both run off one speed controller. I dont have any boats with powerful enough engines to warrant two ESC`s. Ther are two MFA 540/1 motors (low powered 540`s) in Nelson, 40mm props and 6v battery..and one 15A Viper ESC. Doesnt even get warm. that lot.

Ashley

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Ashley , nothing at libary terminal either . I am starking to think that an albatross has flown between my masts !!!! Me thinks you are going to have to send it by snail mail rather than e mail !!!

Andy

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Andy.. Seb=nt again…if you do not get the Nelson pdf, plse mail me, then I can reply. Ashley

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Ashley i am sorry to mes you around but this is getting beyond a joke . I have checked my Deleated messages and my junk box buyt nothing has been found. I dont understand why i can get a begging letter from so idiot in africa and get nothing from yourself . i will e mail you my home adress in a frew moments . My " building board" used to bev an old kitchen worktop in my shed , many years ago, but now it's a whole table in the bay window of my flat , i enjoy it there as i get good natural light there and a good veiw of people wandering up and down the road and the kids in the park over the road ..Anyway lets get this e mail off and get a mug of coffe .

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Ashley , GOOD NEWS i got your e mail and have even printed off the plans . I think more by accident trhan design plus lots of bad language and various threats to the computer ranging from drowning to beating to death !!!!! But i have AT LAST got it . What a bloody nightmare trying to print it off but it's done .

OK next questiion , as the plonker in my model shop was as useful as a chocolate tea pot , I have an ON/OFF switch with 3 leads 1 =Reciver ,Speed contrler socket

2= Reciver battery

3= ???????

The first two are 3 pin type , one plug in and the other socket , the 3rd lead is a 2 prong plug in . I have no idea where it came from but i guess i can make up a standard on/off toggle switch .Any advice on this pls .

many thanks

Andy

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Andy. Good news about the plans, hope they are OK. I also used a model warship site for reference, althought the ships are mostly Airfix 1/600 types, I find that looking at other models is useful (rather than pictures of the real thing) as you can see the shape of the actual boat and superstructure etc better, and decide how much detail you want to incorporate. Photos are not neccessarily so clear and , for battleships etc, have loads of rubbish scattered about, ropes, spars etc cluttering the view.

Ashley

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Ashley , i have gotten hold of a decent chunk of ply which is about 5ft high by about 4ft across by about 5 or 6mm in thickness so i reckon i may have the deck and base and i think i may have sourced a cheap if not free source of hard board . So it's crack on and clear the decks of what i have ready for " the big build" but i have to get a couple of servos and speed controlers to finish off what i have on the boards at the moment and then it's " Full Steam Ahead " , so to speak !!!!

Andy

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Andy.good man. I made the superstructure footprint a bit wider than plan in order to get a gell battery in, likewise the stern A/A gun platform is too big, in order to get at the rudder.

Things like this have to be thought of!!

Ashley

[Andy HustlerParticipant @andyhustler32076]

Ashley , last signal received and understood !!! Off to the copy shop in the morning to get the plans enlarged as i received a few quid for " Attacking my mates jungle " well ok it was a garden but I'm sure there were a few Vietcong snippers in there . It's amazing that an old fashioned tool , a sickle ,can produce such good results . This sickle must be about 40 or 50 years old but keeps and edge like a fine Swiss knife .But today i had to " Crawl " out of bed spend most of the day on the sofa and even went to bed again for a few hours !!!!! I was absolutely shattered BUT it was good to see a results at the end of it and am pleased of the result . Just like building a boat but much harder work .

Andy

[Alan FrancisParticipant @alanfrancis51858]

most impressive looking in the water. I had a similar constructed Rodney when I was a child in the 50's, but with only 1 mabuchi motor which was OK without RC.

I am thinking of getting the 35" plan from myhobbystore and yours has me erring this way rather than the Penelope, as with a bit more space I could get the turrets rotating or something similar. I will probably settle for a single motor depending how the build goes.

I have not long finished the Vosper MTB and found that the 500 motor a bit fast and juicy so changing for the MFA540 5 pole as I have a 12v Lipo battery the combination of which should give me greater sailing time.

Thanks for the

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

OK next questiion , as the plonker in my model shop was as useful as a chocolate tea pot , I have an ON/OFF switch with 3 leads 1 =Reciver ,Speed contrler socket

2= Reciver battery

3= ???????

The first two are 3 pin type , one plug in and the other socket , the 3rd lead is a 2 prong plug in . I have no idea where it came from but i guess i can make up a standard on/off toggle switch .Any advice on this pls .

I would expect that the switch harness you describe would be intended to allow you to either operate the gear or charge the battery.

1 supplies power to the RX/ESC

2 connects to the battery (assuming its an RX battery rather than a big knobbly power battery)

3 gives you somewhere to connect a charger

You dont say what size of switch it is – if its one of those small sliders, it will not carry much current, and shouldn't be used for the main power.

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