Todays Boating

[Philip OxleyParticipant @inonowt]

Hi Noel.

Not sure this is relevant for your needs, but I recently bought some figures from Jager Hobby  https://jagerhobby.com/?srsltid=AfmBOopiPbgBj552M1qqq0FgGXKcyG7iBXEE_NoItt1DRgFxZ2PDuLQl.  Tale a look.  Scales seem to be 1/12 to 1/87.

Philip

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Thank you Phillip. Noel will no doubt check them out.

On the rowing project front, the difficulties we are having has been identified as simply a lack of power.

The motor/gear units although quite torqy are too weedy overall. A unit with literally twice as big a motor ( 31×57 as opposed to 24x25mm) has been found after yet another other exhausting ebay trawl so we will see.

I have had a sore throat and tickly/chesty coff now for a few days so will be missing boating today despite the weather looking good.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I am more or less fit and well again and looking forward to going to

KEMPTON STEAM.MUSEUM, behind Kempton park racecourse with fellow boaters to exhibit on Sunday and Monday. Other clubs will be in attendance along with a small steam/model marquee and loads of static chiggers. The big indoor steam machine will be running over this weekend. Awesome.

Noel will be bringing his 8 foot carrier Monday and I will be bringing my two carriers just to have a theme going.

Obviously the bushy park boaters will be bringing an odd assortment of craft like wot we are famous for ( in Teddington).

Ashley

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

Interesting point regarding crew Noel and one I have particularly paid attention to over the years.

This is only a personal opinion so not recommending anything but, I prefer figures to be doing something relatively non-dynamic.  This could be just sitting, standing, leaning, reading, looking through binoculars etc.  My reasoning has been this, if a figure is in a dynamic pose, i.e. running, climbing or walking, it looks odd to me that they are in exactly the same pose every time you look at them because they should have moved.  On the other hand a figure that is sitting or standing could very well be in exactly the same pose when you view them again.  Consequently I have always avoided figures that are doing something dynamic.  I prefer them simply standing, sitting, talking, looking through binoculars, etc.  such as these chaps:

What scale and type are you looking for?

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I still have to paint the fgurines for my Silver Mist but I doubt I will come anywhere close to your standards Richard!

Colin

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Colin

It just a matter of practice but I guess no one will notice when sailing the model.

I spent a few years painting War hammer 40k figures so I have lots of inks and shading colours.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

People would ceratinly notice if I put some of those on my boat Tim! Ashley on the other hand……

Colin

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Perhaps I should be build an Ashley inspired boat to use some of them !  They are made of white metal so a bit heavy. I used to have a few hundred of them. Most sold off a few years ago on EBay.

Tim

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Ballast!

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

 

Have painted up some men to put on the Manchester type 42, and the Argus carrier. The Manchester is 1/96 and the railway figures are supposed to be 1/100 but they seem to ge a bit bigger. They look ok and not a million miles out.

The Argus has a very barren deck…literally just aircraft…so some painted workmen have been added and that looks much better.

My table will have the Invincible at the back, then the Manchester and the Argus in front and that should layer up nicely.  All will now have crew on them which adds immeasurable interest.

Going to be warm at Kempton tomorrow.  Hope the deck hatch on the Invincible doesnt warp in the heat…

Ashley

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Hope all goes well Ashley, enjoy yourselves and don’t forget the pics.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Pictures later..but..

Emergency repairs or at least modifications time my Invincible flight deck hatch which has warped badly in the searing heat…as expected.

Heading to the workshop now. Have an hour or so to do…something to hold it flat.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

We enjoyed ourselves at Kempton however the footfall was dire…hardly any public for the two days we were there. Bank Holiday? Searing heat?

Snaps. Including Noels 8 foot Ark Royal ( nice)

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

The Invincible wasn’t very maneuverable on the pool, and i have just seen that the wood block supporting the plastic snake outer ( that guides the inner from servo to tiller) had come adrift..allowing the inner to bend and decreasing rudders angle. Refixed.

My emergency engineering on the flight deck hatch was successful in keeping it flat.

Noel has some minor warping on some of the longer 3d printed parts but generally the blazing sun did not seem to be an issue for the boats.

Engine spectacular as usual. Was only taken out of commission in 1980 having been installed in 191 or thereabouts.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Ash,

Well done for putting on your brilliant display of models, Noel’s aircraft carrier is amazing 🙂

Not often in this country you can say the turn out was poor due to the really hot weather, and I think people are thinking twice about driving these days because of the fuel cost 🙁 as my first gallon of petrol for my moped was 6/- & 3d in 1972 nothing comes down in price !!

Regards  Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Yes, impressive. Carriers are always difficult models because of all the top hamper.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Panic at the pond yesterday.

Loads of blanket weed on the water, but at the far side…and the wind was blowing away from us. I took the big LCT and it was being blown about good and proper…and then it stopped.  Well short of the weed….but it must have caught some underwater. Couldn’t have stopped in the worse place…almost dead centre of the pond.

Wading out is not an option as there is about a foot of really sticky silt/slime which is almost impossible to wade through….so…I went home to get a reel of 5mm nylon cord and weights, however I just couldn’t get the distance (or the aim) to chuck it over the boat.

To the rescue…Richard keeps a fishing reel in the car and after only the 4th attempt managed to overshoot the boat and reel it in!

Relief. The boat was very gradually being pushed to shore by the wind and the only other alternative would have been to return a 6 or 7pm to hope the distance had closed enabling me to get the distance with the cord.

I have ordered a cheap telescopic fishing rod/reel now to keep in the car….its the thing to have to do long range rescues…you can cast quite a distance and quite accurately with a rod.

Ashley

[Roger FugeParticipant @rogerfuge]

Yes we always take a fishing rod with us , saved the day many time  but the lake is very large  so some times we have to wait until it get to the far shore or shout to a paddle boarder , weed is not a problem it’s  removed regularly for the swimers

Roger

 

 

 

 

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Hi Roger. Yes..lesson learnt!

Ashley

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

What a beautiful engine, right up my street!

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Richard. It sure is beautiful, and mega big.

1905 ish it was installed, and two years later they put a pair of steam turbines in, driving rotary ( or centrifugal)  pumps for extra capacity. Not used that much as being early turnines they were apparently very heavy on the steam consumption. Perhaps a single smaller turbine could have been driven off the waste steam a la Titanic centre shaft. Wonder if they had under specced the pair of 1000hp ones originally. Both engines erected in the pump house using the gantry cranes. Flywheels were cut in half I was told as they were too heavy to transport in one piece…I cant see the join, mind.

No boating yesterday. We decided the weed wouldn’t have dissipated enough despite the rain as it is still warm. Will recce pond tomorrow but I don’t hold up much hope.

Ashley

 

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

1. Looks like no boating on Sunday either. Reports say pond clear put to about 25 yards from the jetty

..but its going to be hot today and tomorrow…so the blanket weed will multiply. Trouble is you cant see what’s under tne surface.

Unfortunately all our airboats have either a sharks fin or small water rudders and even the Tup’s narrow rear blades somehow catch the weed.

Ashley

[Philip OxleyParticipant @inonowt]

Our boating lake was plagued with weed because workmen let the water level drop.  The boat club was instrument in getting the council to clear it and put in aerators.  Since then, no weed.  Just need to steer clear of the aerators.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

The parks authorities for whatever reason, has shut the gate so no water flows into our pond from the far corner ( where the jetty is). There is an inlet at the far side but the fliw just goes straight into the channel feeding the next pond ( there are three connected together).

Why we don’t know, but with a bare minimum of water  coming in, the pond is a bit still.

All our air boats have small sharks fins underneath, mid point, to help them turn…and they have transformed the turn performance of all of them. Mist also have small water rudders to enable them to turn when theres s breeze…these are not big, but again they are well worth having. It means therefore the dreaded weed can snag these sticky out bits and thus tender then either dead in the water or severely limit their maneuverability.

Ashley

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Pond now well and truly weeded up with weed…big mats or small mats of the stuff EVERYWHERE!

I am off on hols for two Sundays but I suspect there will be no boating in any case.

Ashley

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