Not today then! Chris Jenner can sail boats in his garden (in summer).
David Walsh thought his Titanic would 'go down well' there
From Byron R Brown
Bearing in mind my very active model rail and Heritage Railway interests I had, through model exhibitions picked up some old Model Boat Kits over the years which remained unbuilt until I got fed up with Bradbourne Lakes ever being usable again for model boats and discovered the Crowborough pond!!!! The scale miniature railway around the pond was a real bonus.
Apart from the kits I also had a number of model boats that had worked at some time but in need of refurbishment plus the addition of up to date electronics.
The African Queen Kit (as indeed 'Glasgow') came from my Brighton Model World attendances as a representative of the Romney Hythe & Dymchurch Railway. Never really liking the idea of a replica and a 'Wooden Steam Engine' I thought the hull and decking would make a good 'seaside tripper to Beachy Head launch' as operated at one time during the summer from Eastbourne Beach near the Pier (The William Alchorne). I more or less completed this last year with new RC.
From Chris Monk (Chris’s new toy)
I have had a couple of members enquire after my new laser cutter so here are the details. It is an Ortur Laser Master 2 diode laser engraver/cutter. It has a bed size of approx 400mm square and is a 20 watt version. It comes as a partially assembled kit much as most small 3d printers come, with the electronics and laser head fully assembled but the frame and drive motors to be assembled. As it is an open frame model I built a box for it and fitted an extract system. It can engrave most non shiny surfaces ( styrene sheet, timber and ply etc) and has the potential to cut ply up to about 4mm possibly thicker when I sort out the “air assist”.
It is photographed here as its engraving one of the new “Fenchurch” tug deck overlays.
This is what I have been using both the laser and my new printer (Creality CR6 se) on. The deck insert planking lines and the match boarding on the lower superstructure were all engraved with the laser, I didn't fancy hand engraving 2mm planking. The laser printer is a joy to use, I don't think I have had a print failure with it yet. That probably means the next job will end up as spaghetti.
From Mark Waller
I thought I had better do something with the fibreglass hull I received about a year ago!
No video I am afraid until lockdown ends, but here are a few pics of it sailing on my shed floor.
The driver is Harry Potter who appears to be taking his magical girlfriend for a spin – in her Jacuzzi. The idea amused me but everyone else in this household thinks I am a bit weird! (I know that you will understand that I have a reputation to keep up!)
The scale is all wrong of course but the main thing is the two hefty brushless motors inside which should make it go like a bat out of hell – (or perhaps make a lot of noise while it remains stationary, creating a cavity around the props!
One more project to clutter my shelves. (Watch out Jeff – here I come!).
I was quite pleased with the windscreen. It was a piece of Perspex I had in the garage , cut to a banana shape (whose exact shape I rehearsed using paper.) I then used a hot paint stripper blower to heat it up and bend it into shape. Even heat requires patience, especially when the perspex is a bit thick . At one end I slightly overheated it and got some blistering but otherwise it was OK.
The jacuzzi water was cast in place
I have set the boat up to use the thrust to steer but I suspect that it will not lean properly into the corners so I may add a rudder later.
I am also aware that the props are underneath and it may work better half submerged at the back with a suitable racing prop. I shall experiment once the lake is available and change as required!
From Jeff Ayres
At the present time I am planking John B's Medea deck and also the superstructure sides rather than make up paper decks. For the superstructure I am using cherrywood planks from China which give a nice "teak" effect.
From Steve Pears
A re-homing of his models from their temporary Portacabin storage
Something different to look at this month from Malcolm Place is the plan for the new housing development in the field by the side of Goldsmiths. https://www.lindenhomes.co.uk/live/community_events/54a.pdf The model boating pond is in the bottom left hand corner.
I also understand Martin is building another (large) submarine and Jeff has bought another boat! - more on these next month!
See you on Zoom
John K