I’m terrible for starting new projects before finishing old ones. In this I don’t think I’m alone as many friends have the same problem. This means that modelling cupboards of the world are filled up with half-complete projects.
So in an effort to stop,I had another look at Idris this weekend. To be honest I don’t have a lot to do to the boat. Perhaps an air horn on the cabin roof might be a good idea, and some navigation lights but otherwise all I need to do is make a box and then enjoy the model.
As Sunday was nice and sunny the battery was charged and the boat launched on the pool in the garden.
Despite being very light she sailed very nicely. As befits any model boat powered by a dismantled servo the speed was either slow or stop with little in between. Steering isn’t bad and even in reverse the craft is manoeuvrable.
This is not a boat for winds, waves or indeed any sort of weather apart from sunny, still days. However it pootled around the pool very pleasantly for at least 45 minutes with power to spare. Just the sort of relaxing sail to be enjoyed in the evening when the furthest I can be bothered to travel is the bottom of the garden.
Showing posts with label Cardboard Boat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cardboard Boat. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Friday, March 16, 2007
I finally make something !
Idris needed some way for the crew to tie up at the quayside. Since no parts are provided in the kit for this I fiddled around with some plastic to make bollards to do the job.
Size was worked out by punching circles in .5mm (I think, didn’t bother to measure) sheet with an office hole punch and then picking plastic tube of about the right thickness. The base is leftover sheet from another kit.
I like this odd’n’ends fiddling around. Making bits out of scrap is fun and when it goes well, very satisfying. Add to this the satisfaction of making something quickly and it’s all good news.
A quick coat of matt aluminium paint to the bollards and some parts from a boat show and the model is nearly finished. With the weather improving she should get a proper maiden voyage this weekend.
Size was worked out by punching circles in .5mm (I think, didn’t bother to measure) sheet with an office hole punch and then picking plastic tube of about the right thickness. The base is leftover sheet from another kit.
I like this odd’n’ends fiddling around. Making bits out of scrap is fun and when it goes well, very satisfying. Add to this the satisfaction of making something quickly and it’s all good news.
A quick coat of matt aluminium paint to the bollards and some parts from a boat show and the model is nearly finished. With the weather improving she should get a proper maiden voyage this weekend.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Captain on the bridge
From the figure selection I picked the JCB driver and a soldier using binoculars as Idris’s crew.
The driver lost his arms and lower legs. These were re-attached in new positions so he’d fit the seat and reach the wheel. The arms were a pain to stick so I shoved Peco track pins in with a soldering iron to hold them in place. The legs went on OK with superglue. His hard hat was sufficiently unconvincing to look OK as a casual cap once painted beige. To be honest the kit wheel should be replaced as it’s too large and crude. If I did this agin something made of wire would be substituted.
The soldier took a bit of carving to remove holsters and other military paraphernalia. I cut a slot in his forehead with a razor saw and inserted some plastic to turn his hat into a baseball cap. This is pretty convincing and really easy to do.
Both figures were completely repainted to make their clothes look casual. Originally they both wore shorts but this didn’t look right so blues jeans were the order of the day. Considering the soldier is wearing long boots, it’s amazing how difficult it is to spot this.
The driver lost his arms and lower legs. These were re-attached in new positions so he’d fit the seat and reach the wheel. The arms were a pain to stick so I shoved Peco track pins in with a soldering iron to hold them in place. The legs went on OK with superglue. His hard hat was sufficiently unconvincing to look OK as a casual cap once painted beige. To be honest the kit wheel should be replaced as it’s too large and crude. If I did this agin something made of wire would be substituted.
The soldier took a bit of carving to remove holsters and other military paraphernalia. I cut a slot in his forehead with a razor saw and inserted some plastic to turn his hat into a baseball cap. This is pretty convincing and really easy to do.
Both figures were completely repainted to make their clothes look casual. Originally they both wore shorts but this didn’t look right so blues jeans were the order of the day. Considering the soldier is wearing long boots, it’s amazing how difficult it is to spot this.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Wanted: A Captain
What scale is this boat ?
It doesn’t say on the packet so I suspect the makers did it all by eye. It’s certainly not based on anything real as far as I can tell, just a generic cruiser. Not that this matters except when it comes to finding a captain.
If I planned things properly then I’d have picked some suitable figures up at the Harrogate show or one of the model shops I’ve been in recently. I didn’t so it was into Leamington to try and find something.
Another element of my lack of planning was not to work out what size person I needed. This meant wandering around a town devoid of toyshops or anywhere else apart from the local railway model shop. This is excellent but mainly 2 & 4mm scale so their figures were likely to be too small.
So during my wanderings I found a man in a JCB (£2.99 bargain), a Harry Potter rip off, G scale Bachmann man and a 1/32nd scale toy soldier.
It looks like the JCB man and the soldier will do the job with the others heading for the spares box to be used again one day. They both need modification but that’s part of the fun.
It doesn’t say on the packet so I suspect the makers did it all by eye. It’s certainly not based on anything real as far as I can tell, just a generic cruiser. Not that this matters except when it comes to finding a captain.
If I planned things properly then I’d have picked some suitable figures up at the Harrogate show or one of the model shops I’ve been in recently. I didn’t so it was into Leamington to try and find something.
Another element of my lack of planning was not to work out what size person I needed. This meant wandering around a town devoid of toyshops or anywhere else apart from the local railway model shop. This is excellent but mainly 2 & 4mm scale so their figures were likely to be too small.
So during my wanderings I found a man in a JCB (£2.99 bargain), a Harry Potter rip off, G scale Bachmann man and a 1/32nd scale toy soldier.
It looks like the JCB man and the soldier will do the job with the others heading for the spares box to be used again one day. They both need modification but that’s part of the fun.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Swimming platform
Let me start this post with a warm welcome to readers who have found my blog via Modelboat Mayhem. I also need to apologise to you as the link you’ll have followed will have brought up only the posts relating to model boats – and there haven’t been any new ones for a week ‘cos I’ve been writing about model railways. If you want the full, unexpurgated version of this blog try this link. You might want to dig back in the archives as well because there is a lot of boat content in there that predates Blogger’s facility to categorise posts.
Anyway, there has been a bit of boat progress. My cardboard boat (hereafter known as Idris) now has it’s swimming platform attached. This is a great example of the laser cut woodworkers art. I doubt that it would be possible to cut all those squares out of a sheet of wood any other way. All I see is grief as the wood splits or the holes become irregular in size. Perhaps it’s my lack of skill but I know I couldn’t do this any other way. If there grid isn’t perfect though, it will stand out a mile.
The wood was sprayed with Plasticote varnish and then lightly sanded. Using waterproof (I hope) PVA I stuck it to the back of the model complete with it’s little supporting pieces. The whole lot was then brush painted with satin varnish. Great care had to be taken to avoid filling any of the holes – there is enough surface tension in the varnish to do this if you aren’t careful.
I know this part is in the kit, but I’m not sure about it. The instructions say to put it pretty much at the waterline. While this is fine for the small scale swimmer it will prevent the boat getting up on the plane as the moment we have sufficient speed, the lifting of the front of the hull will cause the platform to dig into the water and act as a brake.
If this is a problem I can see me making some alterations. No chance of that until I can sail on some fish free (there is a problem with carp in our lake, they are big enough to sink a boat like this. Negotiations with the landlord are ongoing but if I can lay my hands on a big net or some dynamite…) and get a bit of speed up.
Anyway, there has been a bit of boat progress. My cardboard boat (hereafter known as Idris) now has it’s swimming platform attached. This is a great example of the laser cut woodworkers art. I doubt that it would be possible to cut all those squares out of a sheet of wood any other way. All I see is grief as the wood splits or the holes become irregular in size. Perhaps it’s my lack of skill but I know I couldn’t do this any other way. If there grid isn’t perfect though, it will stand out a mile.
The wood was sprayed with Plasticote varnish and then lightly sanded. Using waterproof (I hope) PVA I stuck it to the back of the model complete with it’s little supporting pieces. The whole lot was then brush painted with satin varnish. Great care had to be taken to avoid filling any of the holes – there is enough surface tension in the varnish to do this if you aren’t careful.
I know this part is in the kit, but I’m not sure about it. The instructions say to put it pretty much at the waterline. While this is fine for the small scale swimmer it will prevent the boat getting up on the plane as the moment we have sufficient speed, the lifting of the front of the hull will cause the platform to dig into the water and act as a brake.
If this is a problem I can see me making some alterations. No chance of that until I can sail on some fish free (there is a problem with carp in our lake, they are big enough to sink a boat like this. Negotiations with the landlord are ongoing but if I can lay my hands on a big net or some dynamite…) and get a bit of speed up.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Green modelling
“Why are you showing us pictures of your rubbish ?”, I hear you enquire.
Simple. There wasn’t enough glazing in the kit for the cardboard boat. Now I could have obtained some “proper” clear plastic from a model shop. Or I could do what I did this time and pinch some from a bit of packaging in the bin.
It works just as well and makes me feel all environmentally sound as I’ve stopped just a bit of plastic ending up in land-fill.
Now I’m at the top of the slippery slope that leads to a house full of useful packaging that is kept for the day when it can be used for some other task. I must resist, I really must…
Simple. There wasn’t enough glazing in the kit for the cardboard boat. Now I could have obtained some “proper” clear plastic from a model shop. Or I could do what I did this time and pinch some from a bit of packaging in the bin.
It works just as well and makes me feel all environmentally sound as I’ve stopped just a bit of plastic ending up in land-fill.
Now I’m at the top of the slippery slope that leads to a house full of useful packaging that is kept for the day when it can be used for some other task. I must resist, I really must…
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Bath Time
This photo followed a nervous moment. While I doubt that any model boater is entirely at ease as their creation gets wet of the first time, most haven’t made all the nautical bits out of cardboard. Any hints of a crack in the waterproofing paint and varnish and I could enjoy watching the model soak up the contents of the bath.
Fortunately this didn’t happen. The model sat nicely on the water with the waterline at about the right place. One of the best launches so far in my model boat career.
I then tried the radio gear. It worked as well. In fact it worked so well that I can 3-point turn it in the tub. OK, it’s not a big boat but it is very manoeuvrable. Even reverse isn’t bad. If I’d charged the battery properly I might have had quite a good sail.
There may be problems ahead as this is a very light model and I wonder how it will behave on a lake with slight cross winds. That will have to wait though as it’s too dark in the evenings to check and I’m away at the weekend. Anyway, the windows in the superstructure haven’t been glazed yet and I’m not going anywhere near our fish-infested sailing area with holes in the top.
One thing I will do is very carefully dry this hull out every time. I know I sprayed a lot of varnish on and did everything I could to keep the water out but it still worries me.
Fortunately this didn’t happen. The model sat nicely on the water with the waterline at about the right place. One of the best launches so far in my model boat career.
I then tried the radio gear. It worked as well. In fact it worked so well that I can 3-point turn it in the tub. OK, it’s not a big boat but it is very manoeuvrable. Even reverse isn’t bad. If I’d charged the battery properly I might have had quite a good sail.
There may be problems ahead as this is a very light model and I wonder how it will behave on a lake with slight cross winds. That will have to wait though as it’s too dark in the evenings to check and I’m away at the weekend. Anyway, the windows in the superstructure haven’t been glazed yet and I’m not going anywhere near our fish-infested sailing area with holes in the top.
One thing I will do is very carefully dry this hull out every time. I know I sprayed a lot of varnish on and did everything I could to keep the water out but it still worries me.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Getting some go
After all the messing around with paint, filler and varnish I can get on with fitting the hardware to make it go.
The instructions make it seem pretty simple. Use a dismantled servo to turn the propeller and a normal servo for left and right. The drive shaft comes pre-assembled. It’s a brass rod stuck on a bolt. Neat and effective although not something that the scale modeller would appreciate. I wondered about it myself but decided to go ahead as the homespun look fitted the boat I was building.
To couple the motor to the shaft a rubber tube is employed. This has worked well in other boats of this size so I’m not going to buy a proper device for this, not least because it would cost about the same as I paid for the kit !
A blob of Blu-tack held the shaft in place and I squeezed glue around the motor, which was in sort of the right place. When this had dried I filled the hole the shaft runs though with “Liquid Nails” glue to fix and waterproof.
The exciting bit of the build approaches- once the rudder is in I can try it on the water.
The instructions make it seem pretty simple. Use a dismantled servo to turn the propeller and a normal servo for left and right. The drive shaft comes pre-assembled. It’s a brass rod stuck on a bolt. Neat and effective although not something that the scale modeller would appreciate. I wondered about it myself but decided to go ahead as the homespun look fitted the boat I was building.
To couple the motor to the shaft a rubber tube is employed. This has worked well in other boats of this size so I’m not going to buy a proper device for this, not least because it would cost about the same as I paid for the kit !
A blob of Blu-tack held the shaft in place and I squeezed glue around the motor, which was in sort of the right place. When this had dried I filled the hole the shaft runs though with “Liquid Nails” glue to fix and waterproof.
The exciting bit of the build approaches- once the rudder is in I can try it on the water.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Super Structure
Just to show that my lack of posting doesn’t mean a lack of progress, here’s a photo of the cardboard boat’s superstructure.
It went together nicely enough with outdoor quality PVA. It’s nice to do some “organic” modelling with no solvents. Of course I spoilt this by painting the while bits in Humbrol and then spraying the lot with polyurethane varnish.
The only problem so far is that I didn’t spot the printed gauges in the bits bag. While they would be nice, I’m sure I can paint something nearly as good in the holes in the instrument panel. I don’t feel stupid about that at all. Honest.
It went together nicely enough with outdoor quality PVA. It’s nice to do some “organic” modelling with no solvents. Of course I spoilt this by painting the while bits in Humbrol and then spraying the lot with polyurethane varnish.
The only problem so far is that I didn’t spot the printed gauges in the bits bag. While they would be nice, I’m sure I can paint something nearly as good in the holes in the instrument panel. I don’t feel stupid about that at all. Honest.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
What do you call a cardboard boat ?
Naming the cardboard boat has caused me to think a bit. Normally I use the name of a pet unless something more suitable presents itself. Since we’ve had lots of pets there is plenty of choice. Even nicknames come in handy – “Pigeon Pie” being the one given by my sister to our dog Ben and now to my Yacht Tug.
This time I have strayed a bit by calling the boat “Idris”. This isn’t strictly speaking the name of a pet or at least not a real one. Many years ago we had a new boiler (I think) which arrived in a big cardboard box. At the time I loved nothing better to play with than a cardboard box, some pens and sellotape. The box became a dragon named after the beast in “Ivor the Engine”. Idris lived in my bedroom for quite a while as I recall (it was along time ago !) and at the corrugated paper found in chocolate boxes. He was very well behaved and good playmate as a small boy could sit inside and hide from his sister.
As my only cardboard pet, Idris is the obvious name for a cardboard boat. I think it’s what the Americans call a “no brainer”.
Naming will be carried out using waterslide transfers printed out on the computer. The liven things up I acquired an image from a dead web site of a cartoon dragon. The whole thing was put together with a DTP package (Pageplus) which allows me to set the sizes and pick from a wide selection of fonts for the text. I made some spares just in case things went wrong – there is no better way of ensuring everything works first time !
The transfers are applied to the model and then given many coats of varnish to stop them sliding off the first time we go for a sail.
This time I have strayed a bit by calling the boat “Idris”. This isn’t strictly speaking the name of a pet or at least not a real one. Many years ago we had a new boiler (I think) which arrived in a big cardboard box. At the time I loved nothing better to play with than a cardboard box, some pens and sellotape. The box became a dragon named after the beast in “Ivor the Engine”. Idris lived in my bedroom for quite a while as I recall (it was along time ago !) and at the corrugated paper found in chocolate boxes. He was very well behaved and good playmate as a small boy could sit inside and hide from his sister.
As my only cardboard pet, Idris is the obvious name for a cardboard boat. I think it’s what the Americans call a “no brainer”.
Naming will be carried out using waterslide transfers printed out on the computer. The liven things up I acquired an image from a dead web site of a cartoon dragon. The whole thing was put together with a DTP package (Pageplus) which allows me to set the sizes and pick from a wide selection of fonts for the text. I made some spares just in case things went wrong – there is no better way of ensuring everything works first time !
The transfers are applied to the model and then given many coats of varnish to stop them sliding off the first time we go for a sail.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Cracking Hull
If you are going to sail a cardboard hulled boat, you better make sure it is waterproof.
The instructions say everything should be painted with urethane. Fine, except that I don't know where you buy it. On the other hand many varnishes are marketed as polyurethane so I assume this will do.
First step was to spray the hull with Plasticote varnish. It went on well and seemed to make the hull slightly glossy which I think ought to keep the water out. Unfortunatly it didn't cover the areas where the surface of the card had been damaged when I peeled off the tape used to hold it together for the first fixing.
Filler is the cure for this and on the garage shelf was some high-build primer. This is a primer with filler in and it's in a spray can, Just the job. I think I bought it for working on my camper because I couldn't get any normal stuff at the time.
Anyway, I spray away. Remembering previous tangles with this, I dried each coat with a hair dryer. It all looked OK except for a couple of areas where the paint went on too thick. These were a bit rough but I decided to let it all harden and sand the problems away.
To my suprise when it had dried some areas were cracked. Sanding took the worst of this away but another think coat and some more drying brought the cracks back. Presumably the filler is too think and shrinks on drying.
I'm going to sand again and if it looks OK shoot another coat of varnish over the hull to finish the job. Before doing this I've attached the deck so the hull has reached its final shape just in case flexing it makes things worse. At least the tape marks have gone...
The instructions say everything should be painted with urethane. Fine, except that I don't know where you buy it. On the other hand many varnishes are marketed as polyurethane so I assume this will do.
First step was to spray the hull with Plasticote varnish. It went on well and seemed to make the hull slightly glossy which I think ought to keep the water out. Unfortunatly it didn't cover the areas where the surface of the card had been damaged when I peeled off the tape used to hold it together for the first fixing.
Filler is the cure for this and on the garage shelf was some high-build primer. This is a primer with filler in and it's in a spray can, Just the job. I think I bought it for working on my camper because I couldn't get any normal stuff at the time.
Anyway, I spray away. Remembering previous tangles with this, I dried each coat with a hair dryer. It all looked OK except for a couple of areas where the paint went on too thick. These were a bit rough but I decided to let it all harden and sand the problems away.
To my suprise when it had dried some areas were cracked. Sanding took the worst of this away but another think coat and some more drying brought the cracks back. Presumably the filler is too think and shrinks on drying.
I'm going to sand again and if it looks OK shoot another coat of varnish over the hull to finish the job. Before doing this I've attached the deck so the hull has reached its final shape just in case flexing it makes things worse. At least the tape marks have gone...
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sanding sealer
Ahhhh, the joys of tradition modelling. Who amongst you whipper snappers with your X-Boxacto knives and your Resistance Soldering Units, has ever used sanding sealer ?
Not many I suspect. Well sit at Grandpa Phil’s knee and let me explain.
Imagine you have some wood. Yes real wood from trees, not some plastic imitation. You would like to paint this wood. Now you might think that all you do is open the tin, stir the liquid and slap it on in the approved manner. What you will end up with is a hairy mess.
Wood has grain and is made up of fibres. So, before paint you need to seal the surface or the liquid colour will make the grain and fibres rise – giving the impression of a model that’s been too close to the cat.
The trick, if it can be described as such, is to paint the wood with sanding sealer. You’ll have to search a bit for this, as most model shops don’t carry it. Model aircraft shops are the best bet, or Squires. Sanding sealer is made from the blood of frogs harvested at midnight or something (I might have made that bit up) but the trick it performs is magic. Balsa wood is converted to a smooth substance that feels like soft, warm plastic. Paint now forms a beautiful smooth surface. The brush you used is probably dead though unless you wash it out in cellulose thinners. A small price to pay I feel.
Of course you could just use plastic in the first place. It would save a lot of mucking around.
Not many I suspect. Well sit at Grandpa Phil’s knee and let me explain.
Imagine you have some wood. Yes real wood from trees, not some plastic imitation. You would like to paint this wood. Now you might think that all you do is open the tin, stir the liquid and slap it on in the approved manner. What you will end up with is a hairy mess.
Wood has grain and is made up of fibres. So, before paint you need to seal the surface or the liquid colour will make the grain and fibres rise – giving the impression of a model that’s been too close to the cat.
The trick, if it can be described as such, is to paint the wood with sanding sealer. You’ll have to search a bit for this, as most model shops don’t carry it. Model aircraft shops are the best bet, or Squires. Sanding sealer is made from the blood of frogs harvested at midnight or something (I might have made that bit up) but the trick it performs is magic. Balsa wood is converted to a smooth substance that feels like soft, warm plastic. Paint now forms a beautiful smooth surface. The brush you used is probably dead though unless you wash it out in cellulose thinners. A small price to pay I feel.
Of course you could just use plastic in the first place. It would save a lot of mucking around.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Metric rules
I’ve always been a metric sort of person. Not for everything you understand, if asked how far away something is I’ll estimate in feet or miles but when you want precision only metric will do. This especially important when modelling so I measure everything in millimetres.
So it is great to discover that the cardboard model boat kit has all the measurements in imperial. Wood sizes are described at 1/16 rather than 1.5mm. I’ve had to rely on Google to do all the conversions for me – type in “Convert 1/16 inch to mm” and the search engine does all the work.
It doesn’t help that one of the measurements is wrong – the main cross support is not 6/34 from the stern – it’s about 6.75 inches. Roughly. Sort of. I’m going to work it out by pushing the bit of wood back and forth until the edge of the hull appears to fit the deck.
This is all the fault of the Americans. They simply aren’t clever enough to realise that you need millimetres for precision work and probably explains why everything important ever was invented in Great Britain. We Brits worked this out many years ago which is why we lost the war of independence just get rid of them. Imperial units instead of metric, coffee instead of tea, it explains soooo much…
So it is great to discover that the cardboard model boat kit has all the measurements in imperial. Wood sizes are described at 1/16 rather than 1.5mm. I’ve had to rely on Google to do all the conversions for me – type in “Convert 1/16 inch to mm” and the search engine does all the work.
It doesn’t help that one of the measurements is wrong – the main cross support is not 6/34 from the stern – it’s about 6.75 inches. Roughly. Sort of. I’m going to work it out by pushing the bit of wood back and forth until the edge of the hull appears to fit the deck.
This is all the fault of the Americans. They simply aren’t clever enough to realise that you need millimetres for precision work and probably explains why everything important ever was invented in Great Britain. We Brits worked this out many years ago which is why we lost the war of independence just get rid of them. Imperial units instead of metric, coffee instead of tea, it explains soooo much…
Friday, January 26, 2007
A cardboard boat
Cardboard and water don’t mix. Or if they do you get papier machie. So I was fascinated to see a cardboard boat kit on eBay which intended to be a working model fitted with radio control.
Since I managed to win the auction at a price that was very right, I wondered what I would get.
A few days later in the post a Osbourne Micro Boat kit for a Chris Craft Cruiser arrived. It’s brilliant. Laser cut card and wood along with a few fittings. Excellent instructions. A real quality item.
I couldn’t resist starting it. It’s one of those models you can build while working on something else. Every step involves glueing or varnishing and then leaving the piece to dry. Normally I get impatient and ruin things but not this time I have promised myself. Besides, I need to get a move on with the Armstrong, hopefully I’ll be distracted enough to do a proper job.
So far I have taped the hull together and then run white glue into the inside of the joints. The tape was peeled off as carefully as I could and I’m left with a suprisingly good hull. It’s a testament to the makers art that the parts fitted perfectly and I look forward to carrying on with it.
Since I managed to win the auction at a price that was very right, I wondered what I would get.
A few days later in the post a Osbourne Micro Boat kit for a Chris Craft Cruiser arrived. It’s brilliant. Laser cut card and wood along with a few fittings. Excellent instructions. A real quality item.
I couldn’t resist starting it. It’s one of those models you can build while working on something else. Every step involves glueing or varnishing and then leaving the piece to dry. Normally I get impatient and ruin things but not this time I have promised myself. Besides, I need to get a move on with the Armstrong, hopefully I’ll be distracted enough to do a proper job.
So far I have taped the hull together and then run white glue into the inside of the joints. The tape was peeled off as carefully as I could and I’m left with a suprisingly good hull. It’s a testament to the makers art that the parts fitted perfectly and I look forward to carrying on with it.
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