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SMALL RESCUE BOAT by Dave Brumstead Review published in Model Boats - June 01 Click on photos to enlarge |
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When
I visited the model show at Picketts Lock this year, (2000) I stopped to
chat to Jackie and Laurie White of Model Slipway. As usual the
conversation turned to “What’s new, then?” whereupon I had a plastic bag
thrust into my hands, full of bits of plastic etc. I had been given their
new entry-level kit – The Small Rescue Boat. Model length: 500
mm. Following
on directly from the success of the Club 500, the Rescue Boat features a vac-formed
hull and superstructure, motor mount and battery trays and all the
necessary running gear, including the main drive motor. All that remains
for the purchaser to supply is the radio equipment, some form of speed
control, 7.2v NiCad pack plus the usual adhesives and paints. In my usual style, this is a kit review/building tips article. The sole intention is to enable the purchaser to complete the model as supplied and get it on the water in the shortest possible time. I mentioned earlier that this is an entry-level kit, but the scope for modification and addition is virtually endless. I have already had a conversation with an experienced modeller, who has already detailed all the bits and pieces he intends to do to the model. I must emphasise that this is an addition to what is supplied – I built mine unmodified in any way and I was delighted with it. So, to start, check the contents against the contents list at the top of the instruction sheets. Photo 1 shows all of the bits, whilst Photo 2 shows more of the parts supplied, including in the middle the drive motor.
I spent a couple of hours going through the building process to get it clear in my mind, cross referencing the various stages to the parts supplied. I then felt comfortable to make a start, trimming the hull. Photo 3 shows the next step, trimming the deck. The principle is basically the same. I inked in the cutting line with a fine felt tip pen to help my poor old eyes to see what I was doing. The most emphatic point I must make is that when cutting, plastic card or in this case a Styrene vac-form, make all the knife strokes light – particularly the first. Sods Law says that if you press hard the knife will wander and you will cut in the wrong place. By using a light stroke, if an error is made, it may be recoverable. I finished off the trimming with a piece of medium wet and dry paper, used dry on a sanding block to get to the finished line. The next step was to trim the motor mount, Photo 4 and 5. Note the black felt-tip line.
The instructions described next how to cut out and trim the
radio tray. I left mine until later because I knew that if I prepared it I
would end up sticking it in place, as shown by the dotted line in fig. 5,
and it would be in the way when I came to fit the motor mount and prop
shaft in place. So
I made up the rubber band retainers and stuck them on the motor
mount using Deluxe Materials Plastic Magic. I used this solvent
adhesive throughout the construction, because I had it to hand. There are
other equivalent products that may be used. With
the motor mount put to one side, I built the stand for the model. It is a purely functional stand made from MDF.
Its base is larger than the hull, to provide a degree of protection when
moving the model around the workshop (the stand hits before the hull!) and
the hull supports are made so that the waterline of the hull is parallel to the bench. The reason for this will be seen later. With the stand built, I marked out and drilled the holes in the hull where shown in fig. 5. You may just see in Photo 6 pieces of masking tape stuck down where the holes are to be made. There are two reasons for this – one, it is easier to mark on the masking tape (and remove it if a mistake is made) and two, it helps to prevent the drill from slipping. The hole for the rudder was drilled first, and with the rudder support cut and trimmed to shape, the rudder tube and support were fixed to the hull. The motor mount was also glued in place at this time. You can just see the centreline drawn in the bottom of the hull to assist alignment, Photo 7.
Using the prop shaft support extension on the motor mount as a guide, the prop shaft was slid down this until it touched the hull. The position was marked and drilled out to suit the shaft, ensuring it was laying at the correct angle Photo 8. The motor was fitted temporarily in position and the prop shaft connected to it Photo 9. The support was prepared and fitted in place. Photo 11 shows the prop shaft assembly, support and rudder in position. It is important to make sure that the propeller doesn’t foul the rudder. The outside of the prop. shaft tube was tacked in place with superglue (I used Deluxe Materials Roket Rapid) and when I was satisfied with the alignment, it was glued with epoxy adhesive. I used Araldite 24hr as some 5 minute types are not water-resistant.
The next step was to fit the servo in place, I used “Sticky Fixers”. For this type of model, with the servo fitted to a smooth surface, these stickers are quite adequate. Photo 14 shows the servo in place, connected to the rudder pushrod. Prior to the installation of the motor, it was wired as shown in Photo 15 and suppressed. Fig.17 gives the layout but I have always used MFA suppressers and I have never had any radio problems caused by motor interference (touch wood!) The wiring ends with a Tamiya connector. I always use this technique so that motors and speed controllers can be readily changed if required.
It was now time to stick on the deck. After ensuring a good fit to the hull, I applied Revell Contacta Professional (a slightly thicker solvent than Deluxe Materials Plastic Magic) to the deck with the deck inverted on the bench. I then placed the hull down onto the deck. The two were held together with ordinary masking tape and placed in the stand Photo 16. To make sure I had a good watertight join, I inverted the assembly and ran a bit more glue into the joint. DO NOT use excessive solvent or it may distort the plastic.
Superstructure: With the hull put to one side, it was time to start on the superstructure which is built up from three major parts. Again care has to be taken when cutting out the parts from the vac formed sheets. Once again, I inked in the cutting lines and cut out the parts using the same technique as for the hull. When I had cut fairly close to the lines, I rubbed down the two halves of the superstructure on medium wet and dry stuck down onto a flat surface. This ensured I had two good edges for joining, Photo 17. The support strips shown in fig. 11 were cut from offcuts of the styrene and glued as shown to each half. I made sure that none of the strips would interfere with the wheelhouse floor section after it was fitted, Photo 18. The two halves were held together and placed on the hull coaming to make sure they fitted together satisfactorily Photo 19. The wheelhouse section had a final trim, Photo 20, and was fitted between the two halves to check for fit. When I was satisfied the two halves were glued together first and when dry, the wheelhouse section was stuck in place. After leaving overnight, any gaps in the join were filled with suitable filler. I used Humbrol filler but plastic filler like Plasto from Revell could be used, Photo 21. This was rubbed down to a smooth finish and the inside edges at the top of the wheelhouse finished off. I left the stage “fitting catches” until later as I wanted the superstructure to sit flat for painting purposes and I also felt the catches might be a bit vulnerable at this time.
Deck Fittings: Before tackling the deck rails I did cut out the coaming flanges to clear the catches as in fig.12, Photo 22.
With masking tape along the deck edges, I
drilled the holes for the stanchions, spaced as shown in fig. 12, Note! -
Do not fit the rear hatch at this time – I did and it was a pig to paint
with the handrails in place – leave until later and paint before
fitting. After drilling the holes I cut the stanchion material to length – mistake
number 2! When I looked at the drawing of the side view of the hull in
fig. 12, where it said all rails from 1mm rod or all rails from
1.6mm rod, I made the stanchions accordingly. This was wrong. All
stanchions are from the 1.6mm material. When you look at my photos you
will see the error and I repeated it for the pulpit rail as well!! To
determine the length of the stanchion material, the height to the top of
the rail is shown as 17 + 17 = 34mm. I made the stanchions 35mm long, 2mm
through the deck left 33mm plus top rail 1.6mm. I made up a simple height
gauge from an off-cut of styrene Photo
23. The stanchions were tacked in
place with a touch of superglue Photo
24. The stanchions were later
checked from the bench with a square to check that they were upright –
remember that bit about making sure the waterline is parallel to the
bench? – now you can see why, Photo
25. I bent the rails to shape and using heat sinks soldered them in place using additional flux with ordinary electrical solder to get a good joint, Photo 26. Following a chat with Laurie White, he has now included guidance notes for shaping and soldering the handrails and stanchions. (Note: from September 04, one-piece plastic stanchions will be provided the kit).
I made up the pulpit in the same manner as the handrails and stanchions. On to the next stage, which was to make up the rest of the brass wire fittings. Fig. 13 consisted of full size drawings making the fabrication of these parts quite straightforward. The radar platform was prepared at the same time, Photo 27. The next job was to make up the mast and radar platform. The only small modification I made was to insert a small piece of brass into the bottom of the plastic upright which I could locate in a hole drilled in the wheelhouse roof, to give the structure more support, Photo 28.
I now returned to the superstructure assembly and sprayed it with Halford’s Filler Primer. Try to do this job outside as it is quite a heavy spray and gets every where. If necessary, fill and smooth as required. Photo 29. After allowing sufficient time for the solvents to evaporate from the primer (I think I left it a couple of days) I sprayed the superstructure with its finish colour, Halford’s Volkswagen Brilliant Orange Photo 30.
Finishing the hull: As I had glued the handrails permanently into position, the only option I had was to spray the entire deck assembly. I masked off the hull below the deck. For this I used the backs of used photocopier paper, to ensure I didn’t get any black marks onto the plastic. Avoid using newspaper as the print can come off. The paper was held in place with cheap B&Q masking tape – quite adequate for this job Photo 31. The deck etc. was now sprayed with Halford’s Grey Primer Photo 32. When dry, the model was returned to its stand after removing the masking tape and paper. After ensuring the model was level in its stand, the waterline was marked in place. I used my minidrill stand with a pencil held onto the table with tie wraps. It is an easy job to adjust the table to position the pencil at the correct height, Photo 33.
A suitable alternative would
be a block of wood of the correct height with the pencil firmly attached.
The two batteries shown lying on the hull were simply to add some weight
to make sure the hull didn’t move under the pressure from the pencil. The hull was masked off in similar fashion as before, but this time Tamiya 10mm masking tape was used first to get a good sharp paint line and in turn
backed up with the ordinary masking tape and paper. The bottom of the hull
was sprayed with Halfords Volkswagen Mars Red, and the upper part with
Halfords Vauxhall Regatta Blue, (rather appropriately named don’t you
think?) Photo 34.
Other fittings: The other fittings were prepared next. White metal fittings normally need just a touch from a small file to remove any casting flash, and a clean from a fine brass wire brush. An old type suede brush is ideal. The white metal parts, plus the three wiper track covers can be seen in Photo 36, stuck down with double sided tape ready for spraying with primer. When dry the individual parts can be sprayed or brush painted. The holding device for the anchor was made next. By careful study of the diagram in fig.18 I think I got the angles about right – anyway it looks O.K. on the model, Photo 37. After gluing all the fittings onto the hull as shown in fig.18 I glued the ‘D’ section rubber in place with touches of superglue.
Finishing
the Superstructure:
Returning
to the superstructure, by studying the various figures, particularly
number 14, I drilled the superstructure to take various handrails and
booms etc. To be different, I painted mine white. Before fitting anything
in place I stuck the windows into position. As the booms fit over these,
fitting them later could be difficult! I cut up some off-cuts of 6x3mm
plastic strip, drilled a hole to take the handrails etc. and used them for
reinforcement inside the superstructure, Photos 38 &
39.
The aerial array, aerials, ships wheel and wiper track covers were also fitted. The superstructure clips were cut out and trimmed and glued into place Photo 40. The windscreen template was cut from the instructions and masking tape stuck onto the plastic supplied for the screen. I drew around the template and marked onto the tape the fold lines. The windscreen was carefully cut out using a sharp craft knife, Photo 41. Before any irrevocable folding was done, the windscreen was placed against the superstructure to ensure the folds corresponded with the corners of the wheelhouse. When I was satisfied, it was glued in place with Deluxe Materials R/C Modellers Craft Glue. DO NOT use superglue on styrene – it will make it fog. The superstructure was now complete.
Fitting the Radio: I had picked up a new Hitec 40 MHz AM radio when I was at Sandown so I decided to use this. The Futaba servo had to have the plug slightly (and carefully) modified to fit into the receiver. The aerial wire was cut about 100mm. from the receiver and a connector fitted – the male half to the receiver end and the female part to the rest. The only suitable location for the aerial – to keep it away from the motor as much as possible in a small boat – was to fit it around the inside of the superstructure. It was taped to the inside of the superstructure with the connecting plug hanging down near its mate, making connection straightforward. At
the next show I had visited, Wings and Wheels, Graham of Hunter Systems
‘persuaded’ me to try one of the new (to me) M.Troniks digital speed
controllers. Now, at the time of writing I haven’t had a chance to fully
assess this unit, but I must say it seems O.K. When I have had a chance to
use it more, I’ll comment on it in Focus on Scale, Photo
43. The
speed controller, which incidentally was a BEC unit (Battery Eliminator
Circuit) was installed between the receiver and rudder servo using Velcro
so it could readily be swapped from model to model. The receiver was also
fitted in this manner Photo 44. As
the speed controller was BEC, a separate battery for the receiver was not
required, a regulated supply being provided from the 7.2v drive NiCad. The
on/off switch was fitted with double-sided tape to the edge of the rear
coaming.
At
the lake:
With
the assistance of Mick McEllaney Southern Area Scale Rep. of the MPBA and
the wife and dog, we tested the range of the radio before committing the
boat to the water. When we were satisfied that we weren’t likely to lose
the signal navigating the big lake at the Brentwood Club, the model was
placed in the water. Disaster! – well almost. The neoprene connector
between the motor and shaft had broken. Upon closer inspection it was
obvious that the idiot who had built the stand had not allowed sufficient
clearance for the prop. and under certain circumstances the prop. could
foul the stand – hence the busted coupling. A
swift repair was carried out by moving the motor slightly towards the
stern and connecting with a shorter piece of tube! With the model now functioning ok, the boat was sent on its way. Gentle turns
to left and right to ensure the rudder servo was functioning ok under
load, then an increase in speed until the model was flat out – and very
impressive too. When
we had finished playing with the boat and brought it back in, we checked
inside and not a drop of water was to be seen.
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