Topic: HMS Gnat- Insect class Gunboat (Read 71821 times)

ballastanksian · « **Reply #125 on:** March 09, 2014, 06:15:20 pm »

Keep the camo references in the back of your mind for when Gnat needs her first refit and try them out then.

She is coming along really nicely.

raflaunches · « **Reply #126 on:** June 15, 2014, 07:52:55 pm »

Hi everyone

As part of the Wicksteed at War weekend WPMBC have been sailing to support the event and I thought I'd enter the waters and take some pictures of the 'Gnat' hunting. My Dad is at the controls whilst I'm kneeling in the centre of the lake. Not a wise idea!!!

It adds some thing different to take a photo at water level instead from above. Tomorrow night we are doing a late evening/night sail- I'm hoping to get some good dusk shots of the prowling gunboat.

Martin (Admin) · « **Reply #127 on:** June 15, 2014, 08:41:56 pm »

Excellent!

mark w · « **Reply #128 on:** June 15, 2014, 10:43:15 pm »

Great shots

.

Mark

derekwarner · « **Reply #129 on:** June 15, 2014, 10:49:51 pm »

absolutely superb images Nick........but just a few questions....

1. what sort of focal depth?
2. did you have neck to knee waders...or suffer the cold

3. are the nav lights clear with RED & GREEN led's

Looking forward to seeing similar evening images.......

....Derek

ballastanksian · « **Reply #130 on:** June 15, 2014, 11:40:01 pm »

The water level imagery makes the vessel look much larger than when taken from an elevated angle. Obviously not everyone has access to a water course that is so shallow but maybe lying prone and shooting would give a similar result.

She looks lovely Nick, a real sweetie:O)

raflaunches · « **Reply #131 on:** June 16, 2014, 08:38:50 am »

Thanks for the kind comments, the pictures are certainly a lot better than I expected with my limited knowledge of cameras!
Hi Derek- luckily I had a pair of chest height waders on (insulated too!) but the water is only 18inches deep where I was kneeling, strangely I did have a little leak in the middle of my back but it stopped!?! Unfortunately I don't know what the focal depth was and I can't check on the camera as I've already cleared the memory card in preparation for tonight. I'll check tonight to find out.
My nav lights don't work, my original plan was to have LED lights but after reading 'Armed With Stings' and several other books about Insect class activities the nav lights were painted over to ensure that they couldn't be used at all. The Gnat was used in this era as a night raider so she was darkened at all times so I didn't see much point having working nav lights if they weren't used!

There are stories of Gnat's sisterships Ladybird and Aphis entering Italian held ports at night during Operation Crusader and shelling depot ships in the harbour. They were so quiet and darkened that the sentry guards didn't see them until the two six inch guns opened fire. Ladybird and Aphis destroyed 6 depot ships in Benghazi that night!

Until tonight...

marinemole · « **Reply #132 on:** June 16, 2014, 08:49:24 am »

First class photography and superb model. Look forward to seeing the night shots.

Andy

raflaunches · « **Reply #133 on:** June 16, 2014, 08:54:51 am »

Thanks Andy
I hope it brightens up here so I can get a dramatic sunset in the pictures too but I might have to be content with a stormy 'Mediterranean' evening shot instead!

ballastanksian · « **Reply #134 on:** June 16, 2014, 10:12:32 am »

Armed with stings is a brilliant book especially as it is about a small vessel that probably saw more active duty than some larger and more impressive ships. Your Gnat needs an HMS Terror to accompany her!

pugwash · « **Reply #135 on:** June 17, 2014, 01:04:26 am »

Just caught up with your photos from Sunday - they are excellent as is Gnat
now she is finished. It certainly makes a difference taking them at the same
level as the model

Geoff

raflaunches · « **Reply #136 on:** June 17, 2014, 08:32:46 am »

Quote from: pugwash on June 17, 2014, 01:04:26 am

Just caught up with your photos from Sunday - they are excellent as is Gnat
now she is finished. It certainly makes a difference taking them at the same
level as the model

Geoff

Thanks Geoff, wait to you see some of the pictures I took last night, I'm downloading them as we speak and I'll upload them this evening. She looks very menacing in silhouette!

Hi Ian

I love that book, probably the best 1p I every spent! Yes that's right 1p, the post and packaging was £2.80 from amazon! But do have we any takers to build HMS Terror in 1/32 scale? She'd only be 151.8 inches long over all!

raflaunches · « **Reply #137 on:** June 21, 2014, 12:13:19 pm »

Hi everyone

Took longer than expected to post these but here they are at last...

Just picture yourself in June/July 1941 somewhere on the Northern African coastline, probably near Libyan border...

...and your imagine starts playing tricks, did you see a ship? Or was it a wave? The next thing you hear are shells raining down on you and you see in the darkness this!!!

ballastanksian · « **Reply #138 on:** June 24, 2014, 11:36:04 pm »

Bang on old chap, she is just right. Am I right in saying that you made the guns controllable?

raflaunches · « **Reply #139 on:** June 27, 2014, 06:45:55 pm »

Hi Ian

Thanks she looks brilliant in silhouette and quite menacing! She was going to have rotating turrets but the 12v 7amp/h SLA batteries we use for the foggy units and to power the motors (and ballast!) fill up the tiny amount of height inside the hull so we can't get anything in beneath the turret mountings to rotate them but they can be moved by hand and elevated.

ballastanksian · « **Reply #140 on:** June 27, 2014, 10:13:06 pm »

If you have any room beneath the turrets, could you use slim pullies with the servos placed in a more spacious place?

Off set if you will.

Rob47 · « **Reply #141 on:** June 28, 2014, 04:12:17 pm »

mini servo in turret driving against a fixed turret race, same as a tank turret

raflaunches · « **Reply #142 on:** June 29, 2014, 07:22:36 pm »

Mmmm maybe a future refit project in the next few years and trial fit a prototype turret mechanism in one of my side line projects for testing things like this. Thanks for the ideas and suggestions, plenty of time to think about it this week as I'm on tea bar and key duty at work!

derekwarner · « **Reply #143 on:** June 29, 2014, 11:07:25 pm »

.....not sure about ''tea bar"...but I once [after Sunday overtime] took the master keys to the complete Weapons Building home [86 kilometres to Wollongong] with me instead of returning & signing them back in with the Naval Police at Garden Island

I was not a very popular person the next morning

.....Derek

raflaunches · « **Reply #144 on:** December 09, 2018, 08:44:38 pm »

Well.... deep intake of breath... its been a while!!!

HMS Gnat has patrolled for sometime now in the slightly colder waters of Wicksteed Park (since 2014!) instead of the waters she actually sailed in. And she has received some battle damage over the years and the most destructive came from a fierce gale at Wicksteed at War which snapped her steering gear cables. We had been trying for the last 6 months to find some replacement cable which was not only stronger but more easily available. The actually break was in the middle of the run which was quite surprising instead of the weak points such as the chains, the cogs, the tieing down points on the servo arm... can you see why it surprised us at the break point!

Anyway we found some better cable and she is working again but needs some TLC which started with some grease and oil on the steering gear. Lovely smooth action now with a reduced squeek!
We have decided she needs a refit and will start with the six inch guns being completed to a better standard and some general finishing off. With our improved construction standards we are going to carry out some cosmetic surgery to improve her a little. Keep your eyes peeled, she might pay some visits to some local ports around Peterborough... Farcet Fen possibly if we believe reports from German sources!

ballastanksian · « **Reply #145 on:** December 09, 2018, 09:52:53 pm »

Are you going to try fitting a turning mechanism for the turrets? I saw you were thinking of it back in 2014 when you postulated a refit around now.

raflaunches · « **Reply #146 on:** December 10, 2018, 10:59:30 am »

Quote from: ballastanksian on December 09, 2018, 09:52:53 pm

Are you going to try fitting a turning mechanism for the turrets? I saw you were thinking of it back in 2014 when you postulated a refit around now.

Hi Ian

Yes, we are looking into the possibility of fitting some form of mechanism to turn the turrets, the aft turret has the least amount of space to work with as there is a 12v SLA battery directly beneath the turret base.
We are doing some general tidying up too and some upgrades to Gnat and like modern warships we built in some excess hull space for future upgrades, so it might be that only the forward turret may turn because of the space beneath it is bigger and could mount many different items from servos or even arduino system if I have time.

Geoff · « **Reply #147 on:** December 10, 2018, 01:47:50 pm »

For turret turning may I suggest a sail winch under tyhe bow turret and link this with bowden cables to the aft turret. The cables don't have to be particularly tight but they do have the advantage of taking virtually no room beneath the aft turret. All you need is a large diameter groved wheel.

Love the atmouspheric pictures.

Cheer

Geoff

raflaunches · « **Reply #148 on:** December 10, 2018, 10:32:54 pm »

That is definitely do-able ( is that a word? Sounds very RAF-tastic!).
I think I have a spare sail winch I can set up a working prototype so some turret turning fun this weekend.
Glad you like the pictures, we had some fun creating the scenes and I think I actually got into the water to get some of the shots.

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