Todays Boating

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

The sound thing is like half a small g&t can and has a micro SD card in it. It’s a chunky thing but really LOUD and easy to use (switch it on).get them on e-bay. The cheap ones don’t play for very long though.

The bass on it is amazing! I also have a sound-to-light unit to illuminate the interior, but that’s a secret…

Ashley

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ashley,

Must be like the sounds we get from our Alexa so small and such a good sound, she has obviously been planted by MI5 to spy on us and my list of future models to build

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Yes Ray….your list makes interesting reading…..

Popped to the pond today and the weed situation much the same as last Sunday…light and on the surface but not near the jetty.

Boatbuilding has stopped for a bit while I decide on the next one. There are things I OUGHT to do but….

Re-lidded and repainted the Devastation box. STILL waiting for Yodel to deliver my Stingray motor. Out since 8th Sept…useless.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Nice boating today.

Demonstrated shiny boat and it looked fabbydozo but disappointing in the go department. Had a fabulous spray effect but was unable to capture on film. I suspect the smoke I thought enveloped the boat in last weeks snaps from Richards boat wasn`t in fact smoke but pulverised spray.

I have written to the owner of the boat in the USA, with snaps and only hope he likes it……

Disco boat a hit a usual.(actually, several hits on the sound box!)

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Damnation sir! Having waited for a whole week for Yodel to deliver my 2200Kv motor esc combo….it came today…and the motor is knackered!

Its binding internally…the magnetty bits are rubbing sogether like it’s full of sand.

Totally unusable, so have Fired a volley off to the e bay seller.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

….so, have fitted a 1400Kv motor as I have one. Easy peasy, just two screws and the u/j grub screw. Can try on 2s and 3s to see the difference.

Painted and stuck on some tiny men on the Devastation (same crew as per the London), as I happened to see them in their packet on the shelf.

what an exciting life!

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Colin has been taunting me from abroad saying he was sitting in a pub a/W a bacon butty lunchtime. I said oddly enough I was in striking distance to join him before he finished his third pint today but alas I had other duties To carry out.

i did go up the spinnaker tower in Portsmouth however and what a view!,

Ashley. (Yes nothing to do with boating)

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Great model for T31 frigate here on YouTube, on Babcocks stand at the 2021 DSEI show

**LINK**

Shame it’s only static!

Ashley

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ashley,

These new Warships are a modellers dream ! they are to bland and would be a relatively simple build and with the pick & mix superstructure options, the hull designed by computer must be the perfect shape.

They must rely upon the radar controlled guns to protect themselves I hope

Regards Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Thanks for posting Ashley. It's actually quite a good looking design and big enough to avoid premature obsolescence as has so oftern been the case in the past when ships could not be upgraded.as they were too small.

Colin

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Posted by Ray Wood 2 on 25/09/2021 10:53:47:

Hi Ashley,

These new Warships are a modellers dream ! they are to bland and would be a relatively simple build and with the pick & mix superstructure options, the hull designed by computer must be the perfect shape.

They must rely upon the radar controlled guns to protect themselves I hope

Regards Ray

I think that's been the case for a long time now Ray. I remember being on a cargo ship in Tyneside in 1982 when the Falklands broke out. One of the carriers under construction at the time, I think it was Illustrious, was rushed out of the yard and basically finished and commissioned on the run down to the Falklands. We got a very close view of her as she went down the river past us and the thing I remember most of all was how noticeable it was that the plating bowed between all the frames. The shell was very thin and she was already relying totally on computer controlled defensive gun systems.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

There’s serious doubts as to the effectiveness of the Phalanx guns. Their record for protecting ships under attack is poor.

the T31 has the modern Bofors 40 and 57mm guns which can be considered long range CWIS, and sea Ceptor missile system has a minimum range of less than 1km which is very good for an anti air missile.

Lasers soon of course!

Ashley

[redpmgParticipant @redpmg]

I used to work for Babcock Africa in the early 80s – in those days they only seemed to deal with boilers of all types, sewage plants and mining/construction equipment sale & hire………….

Things have changed a lot since then it seems . Not a bad looking ship for a modern one – but if the superstructure is aluminium as most others are even a rifle bullet would not have much trouble penetrating it let alone a small cannon……………

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

It is all steel, although the tall central mast on the T45 and T26 are composite fibreglass (to cut down top weight and limit radar returns).

Nowadays important bits of the ship are ballistically protected by Kevlar and spall liners, with harder stuff around magazines, and bullet proof bridge windows. The main defence is their size, to absorb hits, and much better compartmentalisation.

Today doesn’t look too bad, test Stingray and so on.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Nice morning. Stingray back to full performance on 1400Kv motor and 3s. Just shows you, the 4375Kv motor is far too much. Trevor’s batboat, same jet unit 4375Kv motor 3s achieved full speed on about 1/3 throttle and increasing didn’t make much difference.

Also, current for 1400Kv motor measured as a mere 10A, as opposed to 30+ with high rev one. Result.

Shiny boat looking nice, turned over on one turn and promptly rolled upright again!! Bought it in and no water inside. Tried putting the boat in upside down on the side by the jetty but it just rolled on to its side. Likely the rolling motion the first time took it back upright.

Not so lucky Trevor’s Tup caught an underwater log and ripped off one of the rear fins/rudder bits. Not irreparable but an o-er moment nonetheless.

Public continue to disbelieve it’s all our hard work and immeasurable skill that provides the boats… “you make these all yourselves??really??” Sort of thing.we are just sooooo clever, if I say so myself.

Had a wizard wheeze on the GP hull front, with a common deck to go with the common hull. I bit of instant modelling with scraps of dowel etc shows me that it is a goer for the Victorian warship versions I want to do. A change of cannon and figure size will alter the perceived scale easily.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I have decided that the masts on the new GP hull tops will be non-removable. Although it means another box for the top, it means all the rigging can be easily fixed in place, and I can put much more rigging on,making it look more authentic.

The top will only be as wide as the boat (obv) but will be a bit longer due to the bowsprit which is permanently fixed in place, mostly due to get rid of the need to rig the boat every time the top gets fitted, a major faff on the London.

I need to play with some figures and cannon now to determine which items can be fixed on deck, and which are to be removable. Several large removable fitments will cover the centre deck on one version so some details can be fixed in place but will be hidden when the alternative “look” is in use.

In addition I will make a couple of relatively boring tops to demonstrate the concept, one of which utilises large polystyrene balls!

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 28/09/2021 09:12:37

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

For anybody new to this forum, this is one of Ashley's new projects which he will describe in great detail, the object of this is keep us mere mortals in total suspense until he is ready to disclose the end product, rather like knowing the answer but not the question !!

The reference to large balls is making me wonder, If I have lost the plot

Keep it up Ash

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

You have it in one, Ray!

my builds are too AWESOME to come straight out with it or some sensibilities will be pushed over the edge.

The big balls have a gaseous quality to them (when applied to BULKY boats). No more clues!

Ashley

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

No one ever doubted the size of your balls Ashley!

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ah Richard……..

A pretty young girl goes into a pub and asks the barman for a double entendre ….so he gives her one.

boom boom

Ashley

(yes it's an old joke)

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Although its not that nice, Trevor wants to test his re engined batboat this morning so we will be visiting the pond.

i May take the new top down for peer review as well! This is going quite well, and I am almost at the stage of making decisions regarding cannons and men ..how big and where to put them. I know I said that last post, but that was to establish likely positions in relation to how much deck space the new centre section could take up. Now I have the centre section these choices need to be firmed up.

By using small and big men, It is amazing the difference it makes to the apparent scale of the boat, and that is going to be the key to altering the type of ship using only one item of deck apparel.

Landing craft obv, for recovery purposes….only if required of course.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

good warm boating last week. This Sunday, god permitting I will take the BIG `UN to sail.

Gunboat top coming on slowly. Have to paint the deck, its taking ages. BUT the paddle boxes look the biz.

Ashley.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Disappointment today as the big ‘un did not work. There were no signs of life from the Action electronics ESC and although I pulled the esc out the lander, the motor connections were different and I couldn’t be bothered to faff around.

Shiny one was good as was the Saucer, and the medium sized lander had an outing retrieving Trevor’s Iti racer top.

Its the speed that Giuseppe Holloway drives you know.

No other issues barring some testing with Richards Ecranoplan which didn’t work very well but this was to be expected with something as tricky as this. It showed promise, mind.

Ashley

[Richard BarnettParticipant @richardbarnett67129]

Yes Ashley, tricky might be one of the many words I might be using with this ecranoplan, mind I’m not an aircraft modeller so this is new ground for me; still I’ll give it a go before I make a bonfire out of it!

Ricky ye pirate 🏴‍☠️

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Still hard going with the gunboat rigging. All the stays and ratlines have been done, and a few bits of standing rigging.

In order to keep tension on the rest of the string, I intend to put the stays on starting at the stern, then centre and fore-mast as the stays pull the masts rearwards, the rest of the rigging is either neutral or pulling forwards as far as I can see. Does this sound about right?. (Without a long treatise)

its tricky because it is easy to pull the masts one way or the other and introduce the dreaded sag.

The boat will be at two different scales, and the scale will be given by the different sized cannon and crew men. I have an idea to sort of glue the men next to the (removable) guns to achieve this. Unfortunately the figures are too small to put pins under to swap them around.

Richard. By the time you have altered the motor mount, changed and added another motor, made new wings and a new body I have no doubt the ‘cran will work just fine…

Ashley

[Author]

Posts