Monitors, like their predecessors the Bomb Ketches, were not designed to fight other ships but to bombard land targets from the sea. Many people are aware of the large monitors of WWI and WW2 with guns as large as 18ins. They shelled all sorts of targets from heavily fortified forts and coastal batteries to troop…
My first r/c paddleboat was loosely based on an early steam tugboat. This gave the right proportions for a compact yet practical model which proved to be both educational to build and great fun to sail. The educational aspect was the discovery that the paddlewheels, something I initially feared to construct, could be made simply…
BRIAN ROBERTS modifies the Caldercraft kit Having built two Severn class lifeboats and other sundry vessels over the years, I decided in 2009 to go down the tug route and build an Imara tug by Caldercraft. After a challenging but enjoyable six months work she was completed, so looking for a new project it seemed…
ERIS KENNEDY presents a Feature Plan for a semi-scale destroyer The first radio controlled model boat I ever built came from a free magazine plan and the design was for a Battle class destroyer prepared by Glynn Guest. That model was called HMS Lagos and the design appealed to me for several reasons. I liked…
RICHARD GORDON and his models Some months ago during some correspondence with your Editor over an article, it was suggested that I might like to write about some of my boat building experiences over these last few years. I said at the time that he didn’t know his rotten luck, so here goes! Victoria When…
COLIN BISHOP visits Southampton Maritime Museum At the end of the 1950s, mass air travel had yet to make an impact and much international travel was still by sea. This was the final swan song of the great ocean liners and impressive it was too. The ports of London, Liverpool and Southampton maintained links across…
DAVE BRUMSTEAD with a current summary General development since the 1940 Since the last war, radio control equipment has developed at much the same rate as the domestic electronics market. No longer do we have to carry bulky transmitters with eight foot long aerials to the pond side, accompanied by large dry cells. Installation of…
DAVID McNAIR-TAYLOR and his experiences with an Almost Ready to Run Model The Admiral Class ships HMS Hood was one of these which were developed during WW1 to counter the threat of the German Mackensen classes, but only HMS Hood was eventually completed. She was first commissioned in 1920, although her three sisters were cancelled…
Harry Hitchenes, his models plus some thoughts on the future At the moment I am not a member of any boat club as I have been flying r/c model aircraft for some years, but I was a member of Tynemouth MBC for a number of years from the mid-1970s. Like many other modellers I found…
ROBERT HOBBS restores this classic model yacht One evening in October 2008, my wife Eva took a telephone call from a lady asking if Robert looked after wooden boats. The accent was Australian and Eva’s heart sank as she thought: ‘Oh no, not another yacht!’ The following day I returned the call and talked to…
