....
I'm still not sure if the objective here is primarily a cheap power train for an Ee-Zee boat, simple enough for kids to fit, or an experiment with brushless motors....
FLJ
Well, it's both, really. While I have been wasting my life away from modelling technology has changed a bit, and when I (was encouraged!) to put up a few pages in memory of the EeZeBilt range I wasn't sure where it would go. I couldn't work out if brushless would be a cheap possibility without a bit of experiment...
What I can see happening is a development in two directions. I would like to maintain and distribute data on the old EeZeBilt kits as a historical service. That means producing (saving!) original die-cut sheets and artwork where possible, and maybe some research later. All contributions gratefully received, by the way - I have Triton diecut sheets up, am working on reconstructing the sheets from a 1960s Terrier, and have a promise of a Curlew to come. If you want, you can now reproduce an original model from 12"x3" balsa, a cheap motor, a 4.5v battery, some brass tube and paperclips....
But a major feature of the EezeBilt kits, and others of this kind from Veron and elsewhere, was that they introduced young kids to the hobby cheaply. So it would be good to encourage that as well - several people have stressed that we have a gap in this area. Simply putting up the original die-cut sheets is of limited value to kids who aren't so interested in the history, because:
- People get different sized balsa today - why cut it down?
- You can't get the original propshaft/rudder
- You can get much better power units
- You can get cheap'ish' radio
so I thought I would see how we could 'improve' the range to offer what it used to do - a simple cheap introduction to model boating. This will be the '50+' range that I have been trying out - EeZeBilts for the 21st century! I would expect these to:
- Cost about £5 in materials
- Maybe another £5-£10 for motor and battery
- Be big enough to carry lightweight radio
- Be just as easy to make, using the original EeZeBilt eggbox technique
- Be between 15"-20" rather than 10"-17"
- Offer lots of opportunity for simple mods and self-built accessories
These are probably where the brushless motors would come in. What I think I have found is that we are quite close - some end-of-line BL motors and escs are around the cost bracket, but cheapness rather rules out LiPos (with their costly chargers) and size limits the number of cells. So we are at one edge of an envelope. Which is always fun...