Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Model Boating => Topic started by: tourerjim on January 18, 2013, 08:45:03 pm
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Hi from a newby with help needed.???
I want to mount a gopro camera on a boat above & below the water line for videos recording does anyone know if there's a inexpensive boat that could do this.
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Could try a springer hull... I believe they are fairly simple to make. I was thinking about trying something similar, fitting a camera onto a rotating turret on a springer hull.
Andrew
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I would say a Springer tug too but you would have to build it yourself... easy enough though.
Also, have a look at the Seaport tug. The camera might make it a bit top heavy and the radio is crap and needs replacing.
You could always find a local club, someone there might let you hitch a ride and experiment!
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=3471.0
http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6588.0
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I was hoping there b ready made one, tug boat does sound ideal so what sort of time scale to build the hull part of one of these's.???
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Welcome to the madhouse so to speak {-)
Right about a day's work to draw and cut and fit all hte hull pieces together thats all....depends how good you are at woodwork....BUT there is an alternative Mark at A Model World sells a kit on Ebay called the Ramberator I got one for Kelly for xmas and it is a lovely bit of Kit,all you would then need is the running gear...motor and electrics everything else is in hte kit
Dave
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Welcome to the madhouse so to speak {-)
Right about a day's work to draw and cut and fit all hte hull pieces together thats all....depends how good you are at woodwork....BUT there is an alternative Mark at A Model World sells a kit on Ebay called the Ramberator I got one for Kelly for xmas and it is a lovely bit of Kit,all you would then need is the running gear...motor and electrics everything else is in hte kit
Dave
Searched ebay & google & cant find anything on Ramberator.!
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http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AERONAUT-RAMBORATOR-PUSHER-TUG-KIT-NEW-JOIN-THE-MAYHEM-PUSHERS-/170974221956?pt=UK_ToysGames_RadioControlled_JN&hash=item27cedb9684
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The "Ramborator" is a Springer by another name. You can see it on www.aeronaut.de (http://www.aeronaut.de) and as Stav says buy one from the UK agent. I would suggest mounting your GoPro on a simple barge and towing it behind a Springer or a perhaps a proven second hand model. Calm weather only for surface filming or you will be sea-sick watching the videos. www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQJL9-9Zr4k&list=UUkCbIVrpksdPxCJv4txK44w&index=9 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQJL9-9Zr4k&list=UUkCbIVrpksdPxCJv4txK44w&index=9) and a couple of others on MacSpringer`s channel. Motor noise might be a problem with the camera on the boat hence barge. This video has a very noisy ( worn out) U/J and there is traffic noise too !
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A Geico 17 (http://horizonhobby.co.uk/marineonline/b1_proboat/b1_catamaran/b1-miss-geico-17/b1-prb0300.html) or one of its larger siblings might make a decent camera platform. I must admit that I have been toying with the idea of putting a camera on my Blackjack (http://horizonhobby.co.uk/marineonline/b1_proboat/b1_catamaran/b1-blackjack-29/b1-blackjack-29.html)...
Steve
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if its just to mount a camera wouldnt something like a smasher destroyer do it?
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What does the gopro weigh? The only bit of information from a quick look on the web that wasn't just saying how wonderful it was was the Amazon site, which indicated a "product weight" of 780gm, but that might be the camera plus the included bits n pieces. Package weight was 907gm.
Mounting a considerable lump of hardware above the waterline does need careful consideration for any stability issues, otherwise you might get the underwater images sooner than intended.
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What does the gopro weigh? The only bit of information from a quick look on the web that wasn't just saying how wonderful it was was the Amazon site, which indicated a "product weight" of 780gm, but that might be the camera plus the included bits n pieces. Package weight was 907gm.
Mounting a considerable lump of hardware above the waterline does need careful consideration for any stability issues, otherwise you might get the underwater images sooner than intended.
Just checked the weight & the camera with water proof case & support is all in 192gms,
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I really appreciate all your help here & still sifting though the choices but its difficult without actually seeing them, as mention underneath is not so much a problem but she will be little top heavy poss as it will sit a height 90m max
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90m ?????
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90m ?????
yep 3.5 inches.
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Something around 700 to 900mm or bigger.
The results can be quite good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybXFBV5AqCc&feature=share&list=UU3JEIAwzSpCMfyNlxSYmYJA
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90m ?????
yep 3.5 inches.
Not 300 feet, then.
For stability and low cost, maybe something like the "Dickie" tug with the firefighting gear removed/left off and a matching weight of dense ballast inserted into the water ballast compartment? http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=6588.0
Also called a Seaport. http://www.howesmodels.co.uk/RadioControl/viewProduct.php?ProdID=2945
The camera, assuming it records sound as well, would need a resilient mount to stop the motor noise coming through the structure of the boat.
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The stock motor coupling on a dickie is very noisy and camera mikes are very sensitive.
I mounted my camera on a dickie with a half inch neoprene pad and still got drive sound.
Ned
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Haven't got a Gopro, but do use 808 keyfob cams for this sort of thing. Not as good as a Gopro, but I like the results obtained, and the 808 cams are better suited to fitting in small light aeroplanes.
You won't avoid the noise especially when the camera is mounted underwater. Either mute the audio on playback or post dub some sound or music.
I advise mounting the camera as low as possible when above water. Mounted high up, you tend to get a lot of swaying about, which can be pretty distracting when you play it back.
If you want to build a boat specifically for filming, i would seriously consider a catamaran design, as they are inherently very stable.
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Hi Tourerjim,
Have you a specific thing in mind to film underwater? . A guy in our club used a biscuit tin weighted and sealed with a window fitted also with floats attached to house his camera, and this he towed behind a boat, or it could be pushed in front of a Springer Tug. If you just want to film close to the waters edge you could tow it about with the aid of a fishing rod.
You do not say where you are based.
Len.
Len.
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It's not setup for underwater but I just fitted a GoPro Hero3 Black to my rescue boat Im building. The tug is a Vac-uTow with some added lights and detail.
The GoPro is pretty amazing with the iPhone app you can control the camera and use it for a viewfinder with a real time view of what the camera is seeing. (There is about a 1.5 sec lag). You can also use your phone to take stills while the camera is recording video. I was thinking of making a cane or a pole to attach the camera too for handheld underwater shots.
Just an FYI the display case the camera comes in has a mount on the bottom that can be made into a custom attachment for a boat.(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/Pescador58/RC%20Vehicles/Vac-U-Tow/file-23.jpg)
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Hi Tourerjim,
Have you a specific thing in mind to film underwater? . A guy in our club used a biscuit tin weighted and sealed with a window fitted also with floats attached to house his camera, and this he towed behind a boat, or it could be pushed in front of a Springer Tug. If you just want to film close to the waters edge you could tow it about with the aid of a fishing rod.
You do not say where you are based.
Len.
Len.
I have an interest in wild birds & there behavior so the camera has to be easily mounted above & below water line with full control of the boat & can't think of another way that will be an easy setup.
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Again thanks for all the post I'm getting some good ideas from you all.
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Wildlife of any kind are very cautious when anything comes within a certain distance, even R/C ducks. Maybe a motorised and camouflaged "log" or other natural looking piece of flotsam would be better than a normal model boat. Start with a slab of blue foam and do a floating island with clumps of rushes and so on. A very quiet drive train would help but "drifting" is most likely to get closer. The power unit could be ....wait for it , a Springer or a hull like Tomsby`s with no superstructure but the natural looking rushes on your "island" or "clump weed". I like brainstorming like this O0
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Cautious or curious?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvduCPXO_FE
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Wildlife of any kind are very cautious when anything comes within a certain distance, even R/C ducks. Maybe a motorised and camouflaged "log" or other natural looking piece of flotsam would be better than a normal model boat. Start with a slab of blue foam and do a floating island with clumps of rushes and so on. A very quiet drive train would help but "drifting" is most likely to get closer. The power unit could be ....wait for it , a Springer or a hull like Tomsby`s with no superstructure but the natural looking rushes on your "island" or "clump weed". I like brainstorming like this O0
your idea I already had in mind & have now ordered this http://www.howesmodels.co.uk/RadioControl/viewProduct.php?ProdID=8486 which is very stable & can easily be camouflaged & your idea of blue foam would be ideal for extra buoyancy on the sides.
A Geico 17 (http://horizonhobby.co.uk/marineonline/b1_proboat/b1_catamaran/b1-miss-geico-17/b1-prb0300.html) or one of its larger siblings might make a decent camera platform. I must admit that I have been toying with the idea of putting a camera on my Blackjack (http://horizonhobby.co.uk/marineonline/b1_proboat/b1_catamaran/b1-blackjack-29/b1-blackjack-29.html)...
Steve
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You couldn't get much closer than this just a quicky vid. http://youtu.be/4qk_mTjyOuU (http://youtu.be/4qk_mTjyOuU)
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Hilarious sequence isnt it. Maybe the bears thought it was food. The Beeb used all sorts of remote controlled devices in their African epic including dung balls and "rocks" . Our local wildlife park has a pair of Polar bears that just love workmen`s hardhats as playthings diving in their pond to bring one up to pounce on them just like the ones shown in that clip. Staff have large sack of donated hats to replace the broken ones.
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Hilarious sequence isnt it. Maybe the bears thought it was food. The Beeb used all sorts of remote controlled devices in their African epic including dung balls and "rocks" . Our local wildlife park has a pair of Polar bears that just love workmen`s hardhats as playthings diving in their pond to bring one up to pounce on them just like the ones shown in that clip. Staff have large sack of donated hats to replace the broken ones.
Yeah remember watching the whole series, brilliantly done
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What is your underwater subject Jim ?
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What is your underwater subject Jim ?
At our local pond i've been studying the various birds & there behavior & want to capture there feeding below the water so i need to capture there heads going into the water then fit the camera under the boat to capture there feed, then video edit so it looks as if same bird has gone for the feed.
I've already manage to get some birds to feed out of my hands & most resent is with my hand raised up with food the seagulls swoop in for the picking & once they get more used to me I will also video them..
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Interesting, is the water clear enough ? Light could be another problem. The biscuit box idea has some merit if you can bait the area and light it , a sort of underwater studio.
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I'm not sure how close to shore you want to film the birds underwater but maybe the pole idea would work with the camera mounted on the end, I have seen it used for filming little electric jet boats in a creek and when it's all edited together it looks good.
Also if you haven't seen it there is a GoPro mount fitted to a headband on ebay that would be great for feeding the birds.
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Interesting, is the water clear enough ? Light could be another problem. The biscuit box idea has some merit if you can bait the area and light it , a sort of underwater studio.
the pond is fed from a stream so water is always crystal clear
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That is nice, where are you ? Good idea to have your location (approx) in your avatar.
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I'm not sure how close to shore you want to film the birds underwater but maybe the pole idea would work with the camera mounted on the end, I have seen it used for filming little electric jet boats in a creek and when it's all edited together it looks good.
Also if you haven't seen it there is a GoPro mount fitted to a headband on ebay that would be great for feeding the birds.
I need to get the same effect as the birds head enters the water & do another capture under water as the bird feeds, although it may well be a different bird but with editing the video it should look as if its the same bird that feeds, I did try it on a pole but the depth of water is to shallow at the edge.
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Whats a Gopro camera cost and where is the best place to buy one ?.
Len.
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Whats a Gopro camera cost and where is the best place to buy one ?.
Len.
Costco were doing the gopro HD Hero for £155,
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I was thinking about the GoPro mounts, if you had a flat smooth narrow plate attached to the front of what ever boat you decide to use and you use the suction cup mount you could just slide it up and down. From out of the water to under the water or anywhere in between.
The suction mounts are extremely strong they use them on race cars and airplanes but maybe still put a lanyard on it. :-)
There is also this build where a fellow is putting an underwater FPV (live video) camera system in a Springer tug.
But you might have to join the forum to see it.
http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?38609-Rescue-boat-build-springer-pusher-with-underwater-fpv-and-recovery/page1 (http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?38609-Rescue-boat-build-springer-pusher-with-underwater-fpv-and-recovery/page1)
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I was thinking about the GoPro mounts, if you had a flat smooth narrow plate attached to the front of what ever boat you decide to use and you use the suction cup mount you could just slide it up and down. From out of the water to under the water or anywhere in between.
The suction mounts are extremely strong they use them on race cars and airplanes but maybe still put a lanyard on it. :-)
There is also this build where a fellow is putting an underwater FPV (live video) camera system in a Springer tug.
But you might have to join the forum to see it.
http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?38609-Rescue-boat-build-springer-pusher-with-underwater-fpv-and-recovery/page1 (http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?38609-Rescue-boat-build-springer-pusher-with-underwater-fpv-and-recovery/page1)
Ive opted for the Geico boat ideal size & very stable with camera ether mounted top or on the bottom, still got some work to do on it but ill upload pics nearer the time.
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I have one of the long arm servos for sailing. You coud mount your GoPro on the end of that and put it in and out of the water while filming. Pan tilt could work this way too.
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I have one of the long arm servos for sailing. You coud mount your GoPro on the end of that and put it in and out of the water while filming. Pan tilt could work this way too.
Have you got a link to one of these servo arms.???
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Have you got a link to one of these servo arms.???
The usual way of getting a long arm is to make one from the chosen preferred material, aluminium, plastic, ply, etc, and bolt it to the existing short one.
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A very strong/large/expensive servo might be needed if the camera is to be fitted at the end of a servo arm. I`d think of an alternative way of lowering the camera, say chain driven on a slide ?
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A very strong/large/expensive servo might be needed if the camera is to be fitted at the end of a servo arm. I`d think of an alternative way of lowering the camera, say chain driven on a slide ?
You could counterbalance it with weights?.
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The problem with this idea is if camera is forward facing & you then use ie servo arm as camera swings under the boat its then reversed.
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The problem with this idea is if camera is forward facing & you then use ie servo arm as camera swings under the boat its then reversed.
Can't quite see the logic in that. You get about 90° with a servo. Rigidly mounted, the camera will face 45° up at the top of its travel, 45° down at the bottom. If allowed to pivot on the arm, counterbalanced or not, it should remain vertical.
Arrow5's winch and slider on a track is probably the top idea so far. An end stop on the track, of course.
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A swivel on the mount would simple to turn the camera but I still think an "up and down" sliding action would be better. Tilting the camera would be easy to arrange, pan by turning the boat. We haven`t heard from the originator of this thread on his ideas. TourerJim has chosen the boat so what do you think Jim ?
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A swivel on the mount would simple to turn the camera but I still think an "up and down" sliding action would be better. Tilting the camera would be easy to arrange, pan by turning the boat. We haven`t heard from the originator of this thread on his ideas. TourerJim has chosen the boat so what do you think Jim ?
your idea sounds good but will increases the weight.??? i haven't made allowances for the extra weight on the boat i got but i now have two mounts with double sided adhesive pads that will do the job just means me swapping the camera from topside when to bottom by means of a thumb screw.[size=78%] [/size]
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Thanks Jim. Any pictures ? Agree weight could be a problem. What about drag when the camera is submerged, might be handy to raise it to move the boat ?
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Thanks Jim. Any pictures ? Agree weight could be a problem. What about drag when the camera is submerged, might be handy to raise it to move the boat ?
Wildlife is generally cautions about anything strange moving in its area Unless the water is very clear, the boat would need to be very close for underwater shots. To get that close implies slow movement, slinking up so as to not scare the subject away, so underwater drag might not be such a problem.
Just thinking of the time spent seeing how close it was possible to approach a seagull on Harrowside before it departed, also trying to circle a duck at a distance, trying to cross my wake before the duck did.
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A turn of speed might be handy if an irate bird decides to have a go at the camera-boat. Fitting the camera fore and aft might help. Getting close is a must as apart from water clarity the Gopro has a wide-angle lens I think.
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A turn of speed might be handy if an irate bird decides to have a go at the camera-boat. Fitting the camera fore and aft might help. Getting close is a must as apart from water clarity the Gopro has a wide-angle lens I think.
your right.! but this im going to need to test out but it is a powerful boat
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Wildlife is generally cautions about anything strange moving in its area Unless the water is very clear, the boat would need to be very close for underwater shots. To get that close implies slow movement, slinking up so as to not scare the subject away, so underwater drag might not be such a problem.
Just thinking of the time spent seeing how close it was possible to approach a seagull on Harrowside before it departed, also trying to circle a duck at a distance, trying to cross my wake before the duck did.
The bird life there are used to me & even come out of the water for me to feed them so im hoping to capture them coming out of the water onto the bank as well as feeding under water.
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Where are you Jim, roughly ? More BBC Bristol Wildlife Unit (?) fun with remote and disguised cameras on Monday night (11th Feb 2013) , penguins this time . Shouild be fun. No doubt Youtube will have some clips.
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Ponds just to the right of the map marker 'A' https://plus.google.com/116908710456962871923/about?gl=US&hl=en
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Thanks, looks nice. :-)) If you get touring up the A9 send me a PM and I`ll get your boat on some crystal clear water. O0
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Thanks, looks nice. :-)) If you get touring up the A9 send me a PM and I`ll get your boat on some crystal clear water. O0
Thanks for the offer but we've now retired from the Carry On Caravaning only back last year after having 10 caravans in the thirty years of touring, we have now pitched the caravan on some land at Clacton where we retreat to in the summer weeks.
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Thanks Jim, dont forget the Penguins on BBC 1, 9pm tonight (Monday 11 feb.2013) or on player for a couple of weeks. For those abroad check Youtube, the programme is called " Penguins-The Spy in the Huddle".
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Thanks Jim, dont forget the Penguins on BBC 1, 9pm tonight (Monday 11 feb.2013) or on player for a couple of weeks. For those abroad check Youtube, the programme is called " Penguins-The Spy in the Huddle".
Thanks I'll also record it.
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Oh well ...only one boat-cam, but it was a submersible !!! More next week I hope. Wish they (Beeb) would show "the making of" snippets at the end as they do in some, or most of the Attenburgh wildlife programmes. :-))
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Oh well ...only one boat-cam, but it was a submersible !!! More next week I hope. Wish they (Beeb) would show "the making of" snippets at the end as they do in some, or most of the Attenburgh wildlife programmes. :-))
Yep I agree
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I have the Tripod mount which has a 1/4 coarse thread so you can bolt it to some part of the boat.
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Tested mine out for the first time in the week & done some nice video's which i will upload later.
Here's some links of some pic's to be getting on with.!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tourerjim/9223084139/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tourerjim/9225862606/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tourerjim/9225863120/