Vic Smeed’s Silver Mist

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Thanks Tim but it isn’t perfect, the extra detail draws the eye away from some of the blemishes. It’s probably as good as I can get these days. Lindsey is keen to feature an article in the magazine.

Colin

[Tim CooperParticipant @timcooper90034]

Colin

Look forward to the article.

I would still like to build one but not at that level.

Tim

[Roger FugeParticipant @rogerfuge]

Really great build  looks great from all angles

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Couple more photos.

Colin

 

 

[Boiler BriParticipant @boilerbri]

That’s a very nice model and the quality of work is superb.

 

Bri

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Thanks, it is an interesting subject although the quality of work could have been better as in my younger days.

Colin

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Colin,

She has turned out very well, Vic would be proud 🙂

So ! what’s next on The Bishop’s building board ??

Best Regards  Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Thanks Ray, praise indeed! I guess I should get back to my 1:150 scale liner which I  paused to do Silver Shadow. I may be able to cope better with the fine detail now I can use the Bob Smith cyano.

It’s funny how things turn out though. My only personal contact with Vic was in 2010 when I edited the 60th Anniversary Commemorative Special issue of Model Boats which was a marketing exercise between MD Owen Davies and W H Smith. I sent Vic a complimentary copy. He responded very graciously but expressed some disappointment that there was not more content about the role the magazine had played in promoting and supporting international model boating competition through membership of NAVIGA. This was of course a very big thing during the 60s & 70s and into the 80s and a lot of space in the magazine was taken up with regatta reports, rules and associated subjects. A high point was in 1975 when the UK hosted the NAVIGA Championships at Welwyn. The 70s and 80s also saw the huge growth in RC Scale modelling with the establishment of the National Championships. This was still going strong into the early 90s. I took a 10 year break from active model boating when I bought my own full size boat and after I sold it and came back to the hobby I was astonished to find that competitive RC scale model boating was virtually extinct and hardly anyone was interested in staging steering regattas anymore with a few exceptions. RC boating was still popular but the organised competitive element was pretty much gone and with it any interest in NAVIGA.

So when I came to choose material for the Special Issue I needed to focus on what the current readership were most likely to be interested in and this did not include extensive coverage of an era now gone. I did include 3 pages on the 1975 NAVIGA Championships and 4 pages on the history of the MPBA but the rest of the issue consisted mainly of classic build articles and practical model boating subjects. An article on yacht vane gear included a photo of Vic with a ‘Genie’ yacht.

Vic clearly thought that his main legacy to model boating lay with his support as Editor and his personal involvement in promoting international model boat competition but I would venture to suggest that his true legacy lies with all those wonderful boat and plane plans he produced during his career. Over 140 boat plans are listed by Tony Hadley in his definitive article about Vic in the 2015 Design Special Issue.

Vic’s plans are still popular today. Silver Mist was first published 68 years ago and is still capable of generating huge enjoyment  by her builders – not a bad legacy is it?

Colin

 

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Colin,

I’m sad I never met Vic, but like you back then I was into my full size sailing 🙂

In the early 90’s the Cygnets club at Mote Park did have steering comps, which actually gave a reason to have an electric boat, but now members are pleased to go aimlessly round the lake in ever decreasing circles 🙂

I didn’t realise he designed 140 boats I’d better get my skates on !! I’ve only done 23 so far !

Regards  Ray

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Did try and post previously but had problems commenting on certain posts again.

So belatedly I’d echo the comments of other members in congratulating you on another fine build, it looks lovely Colin.

Chris

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Thanks Chris!

Colin

[Richard SimpsonModerator @richardsimpson88330]

Lovely looking model Colin.  Not bad for a one eyed pirate!  I must admit I have never seen davits attached to the outside of a hull before and with what looks like a bolted through arrangement.  Quite unusual.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Richard,

The Silver Mist plan clearly shows the davits mounted externally and so does the photo of the boat it was based on, Silver Vanity. (see below).

I have also seen a photo of another Silver boat with this arrangement. The larger ones do appear to have the davits emerging through the deck edge where they are still fitted. Either way they obviously need to be mounted on something substantial that can take the weight of an 11 foot clinker built tender.

Colin

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

Apologies for the late reply and lack of participation both in the thread, or forum.

Your Silver Mist is superb. A lovely example of taking a basic plan and turning it into an accurate scale model.

Looking forward to seeing the future written article in Model Boats.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

I don’t usually point out spelling mistakes but Begginers!!

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

🙂

Regards  Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Although Silver Shadow is essentially complete now, there was one missing fitting. Boats like this need lots of mooring lines and these have to be stored somewhere handy. A common solution is a ventilated rope box with sides made up of fine gratings.

Like cowl vents, gratings are always a bugbear for scale modellers, particularly in very small sizes. You can sometimes buy them but constructing your own can be virtually impossible. My Bilsdale paddler needed a grating over the rudder gear at the stern and the solution was to find a suitable image online, import it into MS Word and then resize it as required before printing it out and sticking it to a thin ply underlay. It looked pretty convincing.

In constructing Silver Shadow I needed a deck grating on each side of the model where people would come aboard and resized my Bilsdale grating and mounted the print onto a plywood base. Again, the this looked very effective.

So it occurred to me that I could take this one stage further and reduce the grating to match the sides of the 1cm high rope boxes I wanted on Silver Shadow, one forward and and a second one aft. The prints were simply stuck on a section of 1cm square wood and topped off with a thin ply lid. A very quick job and looks just right as per the photo below.

I have used this printing technique on my unfinished 1:150 scale liner and am very happy with the results. (2nd photo)

Colin

 

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