Spotted in York earlier this year, a nice piece of colourful graffiti at the top of a building.
Graffiti is a fact of life, and has been for many years. Replicating it on a model is challenging, as some of it is distasteful, and we like our models to be suitable for a family audience, at least at an exhibition. This could be copied though, and would be safe for young eyes, as well as adding a splash of colour to a model.
Scratchbuilt from a Basset-Lowke drawing, I think, I've always liked this model, but it's especially important as Dad built absolutely everything. OK, I did the paintwork and electronics, but otherwise, it's all him.
Carefully placed on the water, it seems the model is stupidly fast, or at least it would be if I opened it up! A couple of clicks on the transmitter, and we were plodding around at a suitable speed for the tugboat.
Puffin sits well on the water, and doesn't seem to let any in. The day was a bit breezy, but there was very little roll. All the weight that gets the model down to the waterline, and broad beam, see to this!
I managed 10 minutes sailing, but there was no sign of the battery running out of charge, so we should be good for a long enough sail on the big day.
You did a good job there Dad.
Obviously, I can't spend the day with lifeboats, without picking up something from the supporters' stand. And it's never too early to do your Christmas shopping and pick up some cards! And an umbrella.
Over on the Bring'n'Buy stand, I'd placed a small pile of old plastic RTR boats as part of my current clear-out. I've hung on to three Tri-ang models, because I collect this make, but Scalecraft and similar have gone - yes I sold them!
£45 in. £8 out. One plaque seen above, with an RNLI badge on it (a rare thing, according to someone who knows about this stuff), and a battery charger.
A fiver for this. It doesn't have the mains connection, but it does have all the output leads, some of which I'm missing from my current charger. At some point, I will make up replacements, but this solves the problem for now.
Finally, a couple of vintage badges.
Lifeboat day dawned grey and cloudy, but when I arrived at the lakeside, everything was set up, and looking good. I'd even got there early to help, but I think that despite the emails during the week, much of this work had been carried out the night before.
Good news as it turned out, because people had travelled to the event from quite some distance, including a group from the Blackpool MBC.
There were all sorts of orange boats, plus a few blue and white earlier vessels to be seen. I'd taken my Brede, and launched it early in the day - at that point when everyone seems unwilling to get their hulls wet. It performed well, but ran out of electricity before the main parade. Never mind, we struggled around a bit, and at least stayed on top of the wet stuff.
Not everyone did.
Speeding off, and then slamming the brakes on, saw this superstructure jump off the hull, and need resucue by someone in a wetsuit!
Incidentally, the funny colour of the water is a fish-safe chemical that keeps the weed down.
By lunchtime, the sun had come out, and I was enjoying a sausage in a bun, followed by some cake.
All in all, a really pleasant day by the water. I even made a profit on the Bring'n'Buy stand!
A video by my colleague Steven Draper with some useful hints on mastering acrylic paints. I learnt a bit, and now need to do some shopping!
