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[Mike D]

hello there guys

Im a little ashamed to admit that I have joined this great forum to ask you chaps of your vast knowledge :)

my names Mike 24 from Liverpool, and I am a big model making fan, particulary model railways and Gerry Anderson sci fi shows

still awake?

im sorry I do appreciate great model making, but I do know very little about ships and boats.

what it is, I am constructing a replica of a weird and wacky helijet vehicle from the 1960s TV show Thunderbirds, using the original aurora, revell and hawk kit parts as the studio model did,



problem is, stuck on the side is a rectangular porthole/window frame with rivet detail, Ive been told this may be from ripmax? as a detail accessory for wooden boats
you can see it painted silver on the side of the picture above

but Ive been searching the net for ages now trying to find this out, it is approx 20mm x 35mm and I cant find it at all, and it is holding up my build


does anyone recognise this part at all? I would be very greatfull for any help

and I dont mind any micky taking at all 

thanks

Mike

Topic renamed - Admin

[Circlip]

Nobody wants to reply to you Mike so I will from hibernation. They were made in the late 50's early 60's by RipMax and were available in plain white or chrome plated and had two styles. The rectangular ones you show and some with a raked leading edge. You might find someone on Flebay selling rediscovered old stock.
  Regards Ian.

[Mike D]

thanks Ian,

thats a great help,

so I take it these where ripmax's own product?

is there a particular name or terminology I should be searching for, Im not really sure what type of boat these would have been intended for.
maybe there was a product number or something?

I can imagine that they are old hat now, and the sort of thing modellers wouldnt use nowadays as theyres lots more better and products on the market now.

problem is most of the model shops that would have stocked these have closed down now,

Ill keep searching and although this is a weird request to be starting out on, I will be sticking round and lurking and learning as I would love to build working RC submariines and boats in the future

cheers

Mike

[RickF]

Mike,

Here is an advert from the sixties -  actually from Vic Smeed's 1963 "Model Maker Annual".

Hope it's some use

Rick

[bigfella]

Hi Mike

Wellcome to the forum. I  just love Thunderbirds. I never realised that the making of the models on the show was using parts of existing kits and splicing them together. But now that you have pointed it out it seems obvious now. Could you post pics of some of your builds as I am sure the rest of the forum would love to see them. Hope you are successful in your search for the portholes.

Regards David

[Mike D]

thanks guys

Rick that looks exactly the part that im after, even better that it has the product codes, it will certainly help tracking one down.

big thank you

please excuse the ignorrance, is Vic smeed, anything to do with ripmax? certainly rings a bell and maybe why Im not having much luck searching, certainly helps with google and the like if you know what to search for,

is there any good shops that people could recommend to ask, as at least now I know what to ask for

David,Im a big Thunderbirds nut,it what got me into model making,

I tend to like all the vehicles that had minor screenroles, as most of the main vehicles where specially scratchbuilt, wheras the less important models where kit bashed from plastic kits and also toys and household items and so if you can find them it makes it easier to make a replica
 Im a member of a forum specially dedicated to making replicas, might be best if I post a couple of links to my projects rather as its easier, Ive got a few Thunderbirds replica models on the bench, although all are waiting for parts to be recognised from kits and toys etc, Ive got a couple of fire engine replicas using the actual 1960s toys, and also an explosives tractor which uses toy tracks and model railway and model car kit parts

http://www.eagletransporter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5232

they also where very clever at filming model boats, heres a link to some behind the screen images where they where filming harbour scenes, members of the forum may enjoy this one moreso.

http://www.eagletransporter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5288&highlight=behind+scenes

thanks

Mike

[djrobbo]

Hi mike d.........now you know us old farts never throw anything away.....saw your post and thought .Hmm they look familiar , so a quick check and what do you know............i have four of those windows in white approx 20mm x 35 mm , not pristine , but unused and useable ...let me know if you are interested

               regards......bob.

[Mike D]

Hi Bob

yeah, definatley PM sent

cheers

Mike

[Mike D]

you guys have been great and the most helpfull

I got thinking,seeing as you guys know your stuff.

could I ask you of a couple more Thunderbirds model boat accessory items from the 60s?

id imagine they where from the same supplier as the boat window, ie ripmax

firstly this searchlight, as Im also building a replica of these fire engines, I managed to track down they where based on 1960s toy amphicars from hong kong, and also lots of airfix kit bits




and what appears to be.... what you would wind rope in on a boat?



really appreciate any advice, if you dont ask you dont get, and best to ask the experts :)

thanks

Mike

[Reade Models]

Hi Mike

The rectangular porthole and the searchlight were both manufactured by ourselves (then trading as the Northern Model Supply Company) for Ripmax (Max Coote) in the late 1950's and 1960's.

We still manufacture the searchlight http://www.reademodels.com/page35.html but unfortunately the rectangular porthole is no longer available.

I hope this answers your query.

Regards,
Malcolm Reade
Reade Models

[Mike D]

Hi Martin

thats great news, never thought I would hear from the actual manufacturer themselves,

Bob has come to the rescue with the windows, which Im delighted with

and I will definatley have a couple of large searchlights off you, they look excellent, although just debating to have the working or non working, reason being, although they where working on the old studio models, I dont think LED's where available back then, do you know wheather you may have changed from bulbs to LED's over the years?
its a bit of a trivial question really, it doesnt bother me that much, the main thing was to get hold of the actual searchlight. but was just wondering really

out of interest, was there much more from your range at the time that isnt available now?

would be great to see maybe an old catalogue or something

heres a couple more pics I meant to upload yesterday


you can see a wire out of the back of the searchlight


and you can see that it is lit up in this shot

thanks

Mike

[Reade Models]

Hi Fred

(If you call me Martin, I guess it's OK to call you fred)?

On closer inspection, the searchlight in your photograph doesn't look like one of ours - there are some minor diffrences...but if it does the job?  (The bezel on the one in your photograph is upside down).

Our range used to include all sorts of fittings that we no longer have the moulds for - I know that my dad used to re-cycle brass moulds to make new items that would sell better than ones that didn't.  I wish he hadn't, but I guess that's business?  I know that after WW2, things were very tight financially, and even the cost of a piece of brass bar to make a mould would keep food off the table...

I do remember the rectangular porthole, mast steps, sheet horses, and particularly a ships jolly boat that was a joy to behold - but the mould was apparently "mislaid".

Our searchlights have high output white Nichia LED's and a matching resistor built in. We supply the resistor separately with the small searchlight (it won't fit in the lamp).  I'm not sure of our stock position at the moment and not able to manufacture to to major ongoing structural work to our home.

Regards,
Malcolm Reade
Reade Models

[Mike D]

thanks Malcolm, sorry, dont know why I put Martin

yeah it doesnt look like the chrome one, dont know why I put that picture up, but looks like the one on the fire engines, which is what Im after, I will still have 2 off you if you have them in stock.

the only last thing Im wondering about is the black windless on the rear of one of the fire engines, at least thats what it appears to be?

Mike

[Reade Models]

Hi Mike

You'd be surprised how many people do call me Martin - Graham is another favourite...I generally answer to pretty much anything... ::)

Send me a PM and I'll get back to you late tomorrow with our stock position on searchlights - I'm sure we can do something to help you out?

The windlass (winch) on the back of the fire engine isn't like anything I've seen previously, but shouldn't be too difficult for you to make one?

Regards, Malcolm

[Mike D]

thanks Malcolm

PM sent

and if people dont think that the windlass winch is a model boat accessory, thats ok, as all it tells me is to look somewhere else, I think it may be a model kit crane part actually, but if not, will make it from scratch

a lot of people like to make studio replicas of the Thunderbirds vehicles, Ill mention your site on the www.eagletransporter.com/forum might put a bit of business your way hopefully

for example I know lots of people have made replica firefly models, and have wondered over the ships hooter on the roof, looks to me as if that was one of yours



thanks

Mike

[bigfella]

Hi Mike

I have taken a look at the links you provided and the site is great. When you mentioned that almost anything was used to make these fantastic models on Thunderbirds it was sort of like a light had just gone on. I can recall that when watching scenes of T1 (I think) in its hanger there was what looked like a citrus juicer on the wall and several times when there was a scene where someone was using a desk microphone it looked like the mic was a Din Plug used for audio connections. Next time I put the DVDs I have of Thunderbirds on I will be looking for familiar looking objects.

Regards David

[Mike D]

yeah thats right its a lemon squeezer thing and either side of that is 2 toy periscopes from Marx  :)

Mike

[Mike D]

heres a pic :)



loads of airfix girder bridge bits in there too  :)

Mike

[djrobbo]

Hi mike.........launch windows in the post..........the twin horns on top of firefly........well i've got two of those aswell.........cant have them though as they are on my springer tug ..fubar......if you look at the piccies stavros put on for me you can just make them out either side of the wheelhouse.


                      regards.....bob.

[Mike D]

thanks Bob

no worries about the firefly horns as its not really on my lists of things I want to build, but good to know where they are from for future reference

cheers

Mike

[Guy Bagley]

aaah thunderbirds and anderson productions, great weren't they


i was luck enough to restore and refurbish some of the 'zeros' from terrahawks and work with sylvia anderson....

and i now work only about 4 miles away from where the andersons filmed most of thier shows...and my son loves the films, - i guess we all recognise model bits in the different productions - it keeps you on your toes !

[Mike D]

yeah definatley,

the studio building is still there I believe, on the slough industrial estate

only just caught up with Terrahawks, I must have just missed it when it was on first time, it is weird, but I reckon I would have liked it as a kid, like it now actually

I got into Thunderbirds when it was repeated in the early 90s, I was 8, my dad made me watch it,remember him always banging on when he saw something obvious like a household item disguised :)

I always wanted to know how big or small the models where, and the only way to find out was if they where next to something you could recognise, so you could get an idea of scale, I always thought they where a lot bigger than they actually where

theres only one major thing I want to find now, its the large toy ladder from what Id guess is a toy fire engine from the 60s,Ive searched for hundreds of toy fire engines and havent found it yet, once I find that, I can build my replica fire engines :)
large metal ladder, approx 20 inches long with a rack arangement so you can raise and lower it, probably an american toy as they where always bigger than the british stuff.
anyone know any vintage toy fire engine experts?  :)



can anyone fill in the question marks? its took a long time just to find out all this



and also these plastic boxes (I know theyre plastic as one melts in a fire scene ) approx 4 inches x2 inches, the closest suggestion so far is 6v lantern battery cases, note the distinctive pattern on the side, and also the lid, other suggestions where drill bit boxes, but I got hold of a load of them and I dont think its one of them

cheers

Mike

[bigfella]

Mike

Thats the juicer thing. I never recognised the periscopes until you pointed them out. One other thing that I have noticed is some of the sounds they used for rockets and jets must have been made with an amalgam of other sounds including household appliances. I can hear a Hoover or hairdryer sound when T2 is slowly coming into position to land. Wow they were clever, it all seemed so real as a kid and even as an adult . Now I have been thinking about your Fire engine ladder and just a suggestion, could part of it be a bridge for a mini scale train???

Regards David

[Mike D]

I only just found out about the periscope myself, then I showed my dad, who said he had one! :)
I did think about the ladder being something else, maybe a bridge as you say, size wise would be perfect for 00 gauge but when I saw some toy fire engines, and real fire engines, it looked just like one, also the pattern of the girders makes me think it wouldnt be a bridge, its not symetrical.

terminlogy Ive found so far to help search is merryweather, turntable ladder or arial ladder, I know this is a 1980s fire ladder, but only the cab will have changed



Mike

[Mike D]

Big thanks to Bob,the windows arrived today, I can now finish my helijet off, as I can cut away, and fit them in before I move onto the next stages
 it was a big relief to finally work out and then get hold of some, really greatfull for everyones help 


this is the one Ill be doing, they used the same model several times, but repainted it, it was originally yellow as in the first picture I posted, reason for doing this red one as it will go alongside a tractorcat  Im building from the same episode




Mike