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Author Topic: Help a Newbie Please?  (Read 17148 times)

supaboat

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Help a Newbie Please?
« on: June 30, 2018, 11:18:46 am »

Due to cost considerations I would like to build a rc boat from foamboard which I can purchase cheaply from HOBBYCRAFT.


Could somebody please tell me which water proof glue to use.
What type of paint can I use.


Lastly, I'm told I Cannot use a transmitter for areoplanes and drones. So, what electronics would you guys suggest for me please. I have a budget of around £150 for the electronics.


Thanks for your help....
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ballastanksian

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2018, 11:35:54 am »


Welcome to the forum Supaboat!


What type of boat are you looking to build?
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supaboat

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2018, 11:45:57 am »

Thanks for the welcome.


It will be a bog standard type boat about 50cm long. I've still to design it but have it in my head. Nothing fancy. Hope my vague description sort of helps you?????
 
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Andyn

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2018, 12:01:19 pm »

You can't use a 35mhz aircraft transmitter, you can use any 2.4ghz transmitter for boat use. Easiest way to tell if you don't know is 2.4ghz transmitters have short aerials, generally around 6 inches. also worth noting you can use 40mhz gear, but these days very few do. 2.4ghz systems are cheaply available from Hobbyking.

Foam board is ok, but won't be durable and won't last long, maybe consider balsa or ply, the more traditionally used material.

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supaboat

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2018, 12:38:52 pm »

Thanks Andyn, would you be able to tell me which primer and paint would be best to use??
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Arrow5

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2018, 12:56:42 pm »

You could do worse than build a Springer instead of trying to design your own boat. The topsides can be your choice.  As for cheap material any old wooden drawers for example will provided a much more robust wooden boat then foamboard.   Another material  that is cheap or free is expanded foam, the blue or pink builder`s insulation foam , not the white stuff made of bubbles and used for packing. Check the Springer threads on this forum.  Is the EH on you location Edinburgh ?   If so join the local club, maybe find some second hand gear cheap but also a wealth of how-to-do-its.  Good luck and welcome to mayhem.
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supaboat

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #6 on: July 01, 2018, 10:50:34 am »

Thanks arrow5 for all the tips. I'm in Bathgate area but what you say about joining a club makes perfect sense. I'll check around for one that is close to me as I have a mobility problem. Will definately check out the springer websites you mentioned. The other reason I thought of foamboard was to see if my design would work. If it does, then I will rebuild with balsa wood.


Anybody able to suggest what type of glue and paint I should use? Thanks guys.
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Andyn

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #7 on: July 01, 2018, 01:29:37 pm »

If you're thinking of that foam artists board they sell in hobbycraft then you're going to have to be very careful how you seal it, it's paper on absorbant foam.
There's very good reason why no-one uses foamboard over wood  %)
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Arrow5

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #8 on: July 01, 2018, 02:06:38 pm »

Plus I don't want to discourage you from experimenting but re-inventing the wheel is difficult O0  since the first dug-out canoe to ekranoplans I think you will find that your design will have been tried before. Regarding glues, again suck-it and see is best. For wood glues I use Titebond III , Devcon 5 minute epoxy, Gorilla Glue expanding/foaming type and superglue from Loctite. Remember your joints really are dependent on the material you are gluing and must be waterproof . Weak point on foamboard is the paper. Avoid expensive spray-can paints.  cellulose based paints can eat/dissolve some materials.   Brushed oil paints are slower but more user friendly and let you get on with other things while they dry.  Join a club, build a Springer, your choice of top. All these pics are on Springer easy to build hulls.
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supaboat

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2018, 02:47:29 pm »

I hear what you say about the paper on the foamboard in question. Its easily removed with warm water. I usually do this when I build a diorama. I get its not as tough as balsa wood and will keep that in mind.Thanks for the other glue tips.

Thanks for the Springer pictures,they are superb.

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Arrow5

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2018, 03:05:01 pm »

Balsa isn't a very good choice either, soft and absorbent. harder wood and/or ply is better.
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ballastanksian

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #11 on: July 01, 2018, 06:41:07 pm »


You can get various grades of Balsa from soft and quite weak to quite hard requiring tools of greater strength. The issue is whether you have a model shop near you and if so, whether their range of balsa is large enough for you to choose your pieces. A friend of mine who owns a model shop said that he does not invest in products he sells infrequently, so if the shop does not sell much wood, he might not restock as much as we would like.


In the end ply is a good material, and if you know someone who is a carpenter, or know someone who knows a carpenter, you may well be able to get some choice offcuts. What we would consider a useful sized piece might be considered waste by a carpenter.



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Klunk

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #12 on: July 01, 2018, 06:46:13 pm »

I have balsa boats that were built in the 60's and 70's and are still going strong.  none are fibreglassed or resined. like most boats All it takes is care and attention. I've seen boats that are made of papermache stillworking and they were built in the 50's
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Arrow5

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #13 on: July 01, 2018, 08:05:22 pm »

 Supaboat mentioned  buying his foamboard from Hobbycraft for economy , that chain sells balsa from an American company so wont be cheap.  All the types of construction you mention were probably out of necessity, gum paper etc,  To encourage a beginner to build a model on the cheap in modern times I suggest using simple ready available materials.  As Ballast says,ply off-cuts, builder`s scrap foam etc.  Marionville Models in Edinburgh would be a good source of standard modelling supplies and radio gear, not too far from Bathgate. My first model boat was made from balsa from plans laboriously hand traced by by an adult who could afford the kit, a Veron Thames Police Launch. My first flying model was a Vic Smeed "Tomboy" from a plan purchased the month it was published in Aeromodeller Magazine so I have a reasonable knowledge of balsa. An ED Bee was used in both swopped between the each depending on weather.  The Tomboy had floats and I`ve been flying waterplanes ever since, still using balsa. So how do we help someone on a limited budget and mobility to join us in model boating ?
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JimG

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #14 on: July 01, 2018, 08:45:15 pm »

Marionville Models in Edinburgh would be a good source of standard modelling supplies and radio gear, not too far from Bathgate.
Unfortunately Marionville is no longer in Edinburgh. The younger generation have taken over and gone mostly mail order. They are now based in an industrial park in Livingstone, there is a retail section but seem to be mostly drones, cars and wargaming based. Their website has no mention of wood or boat fittings except for a few spares for artf boats.
Jim
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Arrow5

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #15 on: July 01, 2018, 09:16:20 pm »

Auch naw  >:-o >>:-( ,    aw weil. Sic transit gloria.    You`ll be tellin` me next that balsa wid is fae sooth amerikay an no Solarboland.
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grendel

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2018, 06:37:35 am »

you could build a model using recycled materials, I pick up old wooden venetian blinds from boot fairs and use them to build plank on rib models.
http://modelboatmayhemimages.co.uk/image/B7nce
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supaboat

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2018, 09:12:38 am »

Thanks for the input guys, sure are learning a lot and its great to find people who are so willing to help. I think you guys have convinced me to abandon the idea of using foamboard. I'd hate to see my electronics go to the bottom with a puff of smoke!!
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Arrow5

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2018, 10:56:39 am »

you could build a model using recycled materials, I pick up old wooden venetian blinds from boot fairs and use them to build plank on rib models.
http://modelboatmayhemimages.co.uk/image/B7nce
  Have you ever found some of the very thin narrow flat 1/4" wide bamboo with a very realistic grain ? Terrific for vintage wheelhouses etc.   The normal 1" 1/2" x1/8th" flat plane grainless wooden venetian blinds can sometimes have wax polish sprayed on them. Best remove paint as they might be ready to shed the paint that has been exposed to sunlight for ages. Nice wood though.
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grendel

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2018, 12:34:07 pm »

Quote
Best remove paint as they might be ready to shed the paint that has been exposed to sunlight for ages. Nice wood though
I always run a sheet of sandpaper over them to remove this before I use them, they are all made from lime then stained to match the wood they are supposed to represent.
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supaboat

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #20 on: July 11, 2018, 06:43:17 am »

Ok, I know you guys will have the answer to this one.


When choosing a servo to operate my rudder, what sort of torque do I need? At the moment I have a budget of £25 for this.


Also, what sort of motor should I use.I would prefer something that has the ability of torque as opposed to speed. Budget would be about £35-45.Thanks folks.
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Andyn

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #21 on: July 11, 2018, 10:43:11 am »

Seeing as we have no idea what your design is, the answer I'm afraid is 'how long is a piece of string?'
You said before that it's going to be roughly 50cm long, but what is it going to be? Slow scale? Displacement hull? Fast planing hull? Tug?

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supaboat

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #22 on: July 11, 2018, 06:22:23 pm »

Hi Andyn, youre right, my amateureness is not giving you guys much to help me with.


I hope to build a boat that looks a bit like an oil tanker if thats any help. Displacement and all those other charactirestics I dont understand,so, I'm all ears.but please give it  to me simple. Hope this helps,thanks again........supaboat.
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Colin Bishop

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #23 on: July 11, 2018, 06:37:59 pm »

Supaboat,
I think it would be better if you were to do a bit of research and reading first before asking members to give their time assisting you.
'Boats' don't 'look' like like oil tankers, either they are are they aren't!
You would probably be better off starting with a kit as this will include the parts and also usually recommendations for powering the model which makes everything a lot easier.

If you want a cargo ship with engines aft configuration then have a look at the Model Slipway website which features several coaster designs:
http://www.modelslipway.com/
They are pretty straightforward to build.

Also have a look at the Deans Marine website as they also have a variety of engines aft designs although you will need a bit more skill than for the Model Slipway models.

http://www.deansmarine.co.uk/shop/

OK, you will have to shell out for the kit but it might be cheaper in the long run and a lot less frustrating. The motors, radio and running gear will cost the same whether you cobble together something of your own or go down the kit route and will probably cost as much as the kit does anyway.

Colin
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supaboat

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Re: Help a Newbie Please?
« Reply #24 on: July 11, 2018, 06:48:34 pm »

Thanks Colin, I'll check out the sites you have mentioned and see what else I can learn. I apologise for wasting anybody's time but just trying to figure it out. Thanks for your suggestions.....Supaboat
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