Hi all
I decided a while ago to stockpile a couple of hulls for buliding after I retire properly next spring in case I can't afford them on my pension
As a result, I found myself in Poole at Kingston Mouldings last Saturday to collect a Mascotte Pilot Cutter and a Duncan launch (which is destined to be fitted with my second Gemini engine and a (ebay) Hemmens vertical boiler.
What has this got to do with the Bantam Tug I hear you ask! Well, being a part time canal dweller, I'm familiar with various of the little tugs around the system so added the tug and barge mouldings to my order almost as an afterthought.
Now Ive got them I quite fancy interrupting the other things I'm doing to build them up. It'll be something different for me in many ways. A model small enough to carry in one hand, styrene used in the build for the first time and most of all this strange electrickery stuff to drive it! What's more I they'll be small enough to work on when I'm travelling.
For those of you who don't know the hull, it's about 300mm long and substantially non-scale underwater to increase the space available. I'm also not aware that any Bantams were built with a square counter, all had a semicircular one AFAIK so I'll need to mod the hull in that area. This will give me a rather more scale uxter plate overhang as well and allow me to fair the stern post to a point instead of the 1cm flat end it has at present. Above water it'll look pretty believable I think. I probably plan to base it on Bantam No 4 which is an exhibit at the London Canal Museum. A quick check suggests that I have a total of about 1lb 10oz to play with in total to get it down to it's (very low freeboard) waterline.
Hence I need advice on a suitable motor and ESC for the combination (tug pushing barge). It needs to swing a 3 blade prop of about 1 1/4 inch diameter to be approx scale.
I'll also need a small diesel sound generator as well. Ideally a twin or three cylinder one if available.
BTW I can't speak too highly of both the quality of all the hulls and also Robin's customer service in getting them done in time for me to collect while I was in the area for other reasons.
All suggestions gratefully received.
Guy