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[pmgargan]

Does anyone out there know where to find plans & templates for these old kits? The last time I saw them was in the eighties . i still have a few of the toy type outboards lying around and thought it might be fun to RC one or two of these in the future, I have seen one on ebay (the Titan Tug ),  I think it will be too rich for me.

[maninthestreet]

If I remember correctly, these kits didn't come with plans as such, just assembly instructions.

[dodgy geezer]

Anyone remember the KK EeZeBILT range of boats from their youth?

I was looking for some info on them, and could find NO web site dedicated to them at all! Yet I think they were a major influence on UK boat building.

I have put up a couple of pages about them at http://modelboats.hobby-site.com but that's really just showing some pictures and saying they existed. Does anyone know their history, or have any other info about them that they could share on this thread?

[tigertiger]

I remember doing a couple of aircraft, but no boats.

Try keeping an eye on evilbay. It will allow you to catalogue additional photos or other models as they crop up.

[dodgy geezer]

Thanks for that, tigertiger. I had been looking, and eventually bought a Triton, which is where a lot of the pictures come from. I asked one seller if I could use the Otter pictures, but these things cost far too much money for me to think of buying a full set.

The EeZeBILT range of aircraft has at least one web site mentioning it - http://www.ffscale.co.uk/sportster.htm . I thought it would be a shame if the boats didn't have the same thing. The great thing about them was that they were easy enough for a child to build without adult help, so you got a huge feeling of achievment... 

[Proteus]

Have a lool at these two links..

Proteus

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Keil-Kraft-EeZeBILT-BOAT-KIT-Triton-Cabin-cruiser-BOAT_W0QQitemZ220449339122QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_ToysGames_ModelKits_ModelKits_JN?hash=item3353cdf6f2&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A10%7C66%3A1%7C39%3A6%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A24

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/keil_kraft_veron/

you have to join the above group to see any info

[biggles1]

Hi Dodgy I have just managed to get hold of a K.K. Triton kit via Ebay a couple of weeks ago. I wanted one as it was the first model boat i built used to sail at Prince of Wales pond on Blackheath S London (LATE 50S). The die cutting is very poor, i was only saying to Douglie at the lake on sunday i was going to take photo copy of print wood and put on decent balsa , but you have beaten me to it. I have some old K.K. cataloges which show the full  range. To go with them they sold a kako elec motor which is all one unit, motor, prop shaft, and prop all in one. We used to have great fun at Blackheath we could not afford R.C. mostly diesel powerd ED hunters ,racers etc one rich lad even had Taplin Twin. Just set the rudder for a circle and off you go hopefully not hitting the opposite bank.    all the best Dave   

[dodgy geezer]

biggles1, thanks for the response!

Did you really build one of these in the late 50s? I was speaking to someone last night who bought one in '61, and I thought that must be pretty close to the first time they were around.

I hope to get the plans for all seven up on the site eventually, though I don't want to have to buy them on ebay at huge prices. Perhaps people will contribute photocopies if they have these boats in their collections?  I would be very interested in your catalogues to put on the site as well - I have just updated the pages to add a few more Triton sheets and a contact e-mail, so if you could scan a page or two and send it in I would be grateful.

You are right about the poor die-cutting. The earlier boats were not so bad, but it got worse by the '90s. The change to a plastic propeller didn't help either - it was usually stuck on the shaft off-centre! So the latest boats tend to be the worst.

The great advantage the EeZeBILT range had going for it not the balsa - it was the ease of assembly. A child could make these kits up on their own and get a successful boat with NO adult help, and one that looked good as well. This provided a huge sense of achievement, and was a brilliant way to get a child interested in, and willing to tackle, the bigger, more complex craft. I was hoping that boat clubs round the country could make up a few of these sheets - the Terrier, for instance, and give them out as prizes or starter kits to the youngsters....   

[biggles1]

Hi Dodgy Iam sure it was around the late fifties when i built the Triton perhaps 58/59. I have a friend who has some earlier catalougs than mine so will try and find out.Got out my earliest K.K. cat out and i was wrong about the make of motor it was the Elmic Thrust-Pac which was suitable for the Mermaid,Neptune and Triton. Listed at just under 12shillings Otter tug boat, Terrier M.T.B., Curlew fishing launch, all 11ins. And at 18shillings 9pence Mermaid ocean-going cruiser 14ins., Neptune day cruiser 16ins, Triton cabin cruiser 17ins, Crester outboard 16ins. I will try and email the relevant pages.      Dave

[dougal99]

I would have sworn that the MTB was 7/6 in the early sixties  Just shows how your memory can play tricks. What date is your catalogue Dave?

I must have been richer than I thought on my 1/6 to 2/- a week.

Doug

[dodgy geezer]

Hi Dodgy Iam sure it was around the late fifties when i built the Triton perhaps 58/59. I have a friend who has some earlier catalougs than mine so will try and find out.Got out my earliest K.K. cat out and i was wrong about the make of motor it was the Elmic Thrust-Pac which was suitable for the Mermaid,Neptune and Triton. Listed at just under 12shillings Otter tug boat, Terrier M.T.B., Curlew fishing launch, all 11ins. And at 18shillings 9pence Mermaid ocean-going cruiser 14ins., Neptune day cruiser 16ins, Triton cabin cruiser 17ins, Crester outboard 16ins. I will try and email the relevant pages.      Dave

I would be surprised at a fifties date for these boats - I think the design is a little sophisticated for that period! And those prices certainly seem high. But I wonder what they would go for nowadays?

Have you any idea how they came to be designed? They are quite different from Eddie Keil's normal 'profile and stringer' aircraft design, and I don't think he designed things anyway - he was a distributor? They were a clever idea and lasted quite a long time...

[Circlip]

April 1959 "Model Maker" has KK Swan, Cygnet, Mermaid and Cresta listed from "Mail  Order Models" of Romford, ALL at 12/4d + 9d P&P. The range from Eddie was probably to challenge RipMax, Yeoman, ElectraFleet, Mercury etc. who all had ranges to entice Shillings and Pence from kids pockets.    

    This is what we've lost to bl**dy compewkters and eye-puds.    

   Regards   Ian.

Oh,aye, said mag has a photo of "Revell's" SSN 571 USS Naughtylus on the cover, and what a boxfull (??) of plastic cr*p THAT was.

[SteamboatPhil]

biggles1
That rich lad would have been my father (as like as not) I might add it was a second hand taplin (it still cost £12 odd). I still have bits of it in the wokshop (the taplin was not vey good engine, and afte a while--well hence I have the bits) I have still got the ED hunter, which still runs.
Back to the plot. A pic of my Titon built (a long time ago) I used this to demo straight running on the small pond at the  80th Model Enginner Exhibition
Also of a photo of Radio Control when it came to the Pince of Pond, Blackheath, hows that for a compact tansmitter.   

[Edward Pinniger]

I have quite a few old Model Boat magazines which I think have Keilkraft adverts in them (or at least adverts from dealers stocking KK kits) with pictures of the various boats in the range. If anyone's interested I'll scan them in and post them (assuming I can find them!)

[dodgy geezer]

April 1959 "Model Maker" has KK Swan, Cygnet, Mermaid and Cresta listed from "Mail  Order Models" of Romford, ALL at 12/4d + 9d P&P. The range from Eddie was probably to challenge RipMax, Yeoman, ElectraFleet, Mercury etc. who all had ranges to entice Shillings and Pence from kids pockets.    

    This is what we've lost to bl**dy compewkters and eye-puds.    

   Regards   Ian.

Thanks a lot, cicclip, this is just the sort of information I was hoping to find out. I would love to see a scan of that page if you can put one up, or post it to me at the contact point at http://modelboats.hobby-site.com - I could put it on the web site.

I wonder what the Swan and Cygnet looked like? They dropped out of the range quite quickly, before I was buying them. The idea of posting plans on a web site is to get modellers to make up a set of parts for their kids, and see if they can't encourage them away from their computer games or plastic toys. The balsa wood is cheap enough - maybe we could get a revival of small boats in ponds across the country...

Anyone else with a set of die-cut sheets for a KK EeZeBILT - now is your chance to spread a bit of happiness around!

[bogstandard]

I think about the last retailer to be selling these kits were Hobby's.

http://www.hobby.uk.com/

I know they still do the cheap and nasty prop tubes. Maybe a phone call to them to see if they have any old stock knocking about might turn up something.

Bogs

[dodgy geezer]

I think about the last retailer to be selling these kits were Hobby's.

http://www.hobby.uk.com/

I know they still do the cheap and nasty prop tubes. Maybe a phone call to them to see if they have any old stock knocking about might turn up something.

Bogs

Interesting thought. I looked to see if they had the old (and as you say nasty) propshafts - couldn't see them. All their props seemed half-way decent. But they DO seem to do the cheap model outboard motor which the Cresta needed - I didn't think I would see those again...

[bogstandard]

This is what I was thinking about.

http://www.hobby.uk.com/products/00026-junior-prop-shaft-assemblies.html

Maybe a little too refined. But if I remember rightly, doesn't Jerome of SHG do even cheaperer and nasterier than those, for use in the very cheap vac formed hulls and kits he does? But maybe he has gone upmarket as well.

Bogs

[dodgy geezer]

This is what I was thinking about.

http://www.hobby.uk.com/products/00026-junior-prop-shaft-assemblies.html

Maybe a little too refined. But if I remember rightly, doesn't Jerome of SHG do even cheaperer and nasterier than those, for use in the very cheap vac formed hulls and kits he does? But maybe he has gone upmarket as well.

Bogs

Well, we had it rough!

This was what you got with the EezeBilt range. A thin steel shaft (usually straight) with a melted on plastic prop. This one is about 1/16 off centre, and put on at an angle, so the tip of the prop describes an 1/8" circle. A simple brass tube, without bushes. The rudder is a bit of stamped steel, soldered to a copper wire (usually badly). The paperclips are to attach the motor wires to the flat 4.5v battery, and the length of neoprene tubing (invariably bent) is to connect the motor to the prop shaft.

And you tell the lads today, and they won't believe you... 

[bogstandard]

I remember them very well, how could you ever forget such bad bits of kit. If I remember rightly, the rods for the shaft and rudder were just normal copper coated welding rod, they would rust up just by looking at them.

I phoned a friend earlier, as he used to own a model shop, and when he moved out, he took a load of things home with him. I asked him if he had any of these kits in his stash for you, but he said he didn't bring them home, just threw them in the bin when he closed up, because he had never sold a single one while he had them in stock. Just dust gatherers he called them. I used to have a few in my loft, but they got the same treatment a short while ago, when I was having a good clearout.

Now it seems they are coming back into fashion.

Bogs

[dodgy geezer]

I remember them very well, how could you ever forget such bad bits of kit. If I remember rightly, the rods for the shaft and rudder were just normal copper coated welding rod, they would rust up just by looking at them.

I phoned a friend earlier, as he used to own a model shop, and when he moved out, he took a load of things home with him. I asked him if he had any of these kits in his stash for you, but he said he didn't bring them home, just threw them in the bin when he closed up, because he had never sold a single one while he had them in stock. Just dust gatherers he called them. I used to have a few in my loft, but they got the same treatment a short while ago, when I was having a good clearout.

Now it seems they are coming back into fashion.

Bogs

Thanks for thinking of me! But if you find any, I would sell them on ebay - they fetch £20-£30!

What you got in one of these kits was not sophisticated quality materials. Everone agrees with that - they came from the 'austerity era' of 50 years ago. But I think you got something else which you don't get in modern kits. You got a clever design that allowed kids who had never built anything with their hands before to reliably turn out quite a good looking boat from a cheap handful of wood. And without adult help. So the kids got a strong feeling of achievement and confidence, and many went on to build much more complex items.

What these kits did was give a brilliant introduction into the world of modelling, which is something we're missing today. The reason I put up the http://modelboats.hobby-site.com site was to try and spread these plans around, so that someone with an 8-year-old kid could cut out the parts, hand them over, and watch them make their own boat, all by themselves. Boats like that are so much better than the ones you buy in a plastic box from Taiwan...

[biggles1]

Hi  what a great subject this has turned out to be, Dougie the K.K. handbook i quoted from is i think 1969 they did not always put the year on the cover. i worked out  the year that i built my Triton i was born in 1945 so would have been arond 13-14yrs . Great picture of the old pond Phill there realy did used to be that many people on a Sunday morning,We did use to moan when your club use to take it over for sraight running and thetherd speed (ONLY JOKING)  what year was the photo. Dave.

[bogstandard]

Don't get me wrong, I think what you are trying to do is magnificent.

We all need to know the roots of the hobby.

In fact, very early on in my passion for model boats, to have one of these kits could only be dreamt about. I had been making dynamic submarines out of broom handles and a bit of tin plate from a bean can, and a few bent up nails for fittings.

I can remember my first build like it was yesterday. I had one bought for me as a birthday gift.

A tube of balsa cement to stick it together was half my weekly pocket money, so only a tiny bag of sweets that week.

I couldn't afford a motor, and things like sealing the wood weren't even considered. I just made it and sailed it for the first time in the bath.

Great disappointment followed. Came to have a second go and it was full of sprung joints and the whole thing was distorted out of shape.

Many lessons were learned from my first kit, and that was all before I reached the ripe old age of 10.

I was messing about with double edged razor blades, hammers and chisels etc from the age of 8. I could hardly reach the bench vice, but in those days we had common sense.

As for selling things on ebay, I wouldn't even consider such a thing.
That is the problem nowadays, people only think in cash value. I get more enjoyment from giving things away to people I know who would appreciate things as they are, not for their monetary value. Sometimes money does become involved, but as many on here have found out, I have never made a profit on any model boat items I have sold (except for the engines I occassionally make, which goes towards the upkeep of my workshop), unlike a few people I know who have bought stuff off me supposedly for use by themselves, but in fact they just sold the items on to make large profits.

To me, people like that are not true model boat enthusiasts, they are just in it for what they can get out of it.
 
I truly think that the era of helping other people achieve their dreams, without charging for the service, is very fast disappearing.

That is why I commend you in doing what you are doing.

Enough of my old f**t ramblings, I will leave you in peace with your posting.


John

[dodgy geezer]

Found this site: http://82.13.162.172:5887/

Yup. That's ME. (actually, it's an old P3 in my attic, but it's my site). If you do a whois on http://modelboats.hobby-site.com , that's the address you will get. I honestly think I'm the only person on the whole web who has any kind of mention of the KK EeZeBilt boat range. That's why, if anyone has any pictures or photocopies/scans of the die-cut parts, I'd love them to send some over, before they get completely lost...

There are two other EeZeBilt sites, one in the UK and one in the US, but these only do EeZeBilt AIRCRAFT. I contacted the UK site owner, and asked if he wanted to take my data and put it on his site, but he said that he only wanted to do the aircraft. 

So now we have to have a separate site for boats. I wonder why the aircraft people didn't want to play....?



@bogstandard..

Thanks for the good wishes! I still have a few pages to put up on the site, and then I'll announce it as open on this forum. Your experiences mirror mine pretty closely, though I can also remember the time I first realised that I wanted a model boat.

I must have been about 4 - a little toddler, walking with my father in Holborn, on an autumn afternoon. We walked past a shop window. This shop window: http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/0904568342/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_all

Inside was a magnificent boat, pointing straight towards me. The Streamlinia. I can still picture it precisely, and I knew at that moment that I wanted one. Then my dad pulled me away, and I never saw that particular boat again.

You see them occasionally on ebay. The last one I saw had a Stuart steam engine in, and went for £1,370. So I probably won't be getting one, though I might make one from an ebay photo....

[dodgy geezer]

Found this site: http://82.13.162.172:5887/

Out of interest, Martin, how did you find this site? I am wondering how to advertise it more widely, and I don't know much about google optimisation...