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Author Topic: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....  (Read 29776 times)

Artistmike

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Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« on: February 07, 2012, 10:51:57 am »

Due to popular demand ( well Dicky moaning at us in another thread entitled Model Boats or Not.  :embarrassed: ) I'm going to put here the current build I'm working on of the Sea Scout by Vintage Model Boats, alias IPEngineering. But first some background.

Many are familiar with the original Sea Scout, designed and produced as a kit way back in the 1950s by Les Rowell, along with some other famous boats.   It was as a child I yearned after one of these but never actually built one and having seen some excellent restorations of these earlier models on here and with Vintage Model Boats and the current Lesro Models getting together to produce a new laser cut version, I decided I just had to make one for the pure nostalgia.  My wife kindly bought the basic boat kit for me for Christmas from Vintage Model Boats and it's that that I'm working on now.

Now I didn't take a photo of the kit when it arrived so I'm posting a copy of the photo posted by BJ to show just what arrives in the post (Hope that's OK BJ ).......  :-))




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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #1 on: February 07, 2012, 11:00:48 am »

Now I've been modelling all my life, everything from boats to 00 gauge railways to my G Scale Garden Railway, see below, and that's involved a fair bit of scratch building and kit building but I'm very much the table top modeller, no workshop and basic tools so you'll have to forgive the lack of expertise and I hope the enthusiasm makes up for it.  In the process I have built railway kits by IPEngineering and used their parts in some of my scratch builds so I'm aware of how they do things and like the way you can ring and get help if and when needed, so I have no problem in recommending them on that score ... my garden railway below where it's nearly all built by me, especially rolling stock.  :embarrassed:



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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #2 on: February 07, 2012, 11:08:39 am »

So, back to the Sea Scout....

The first thing I noticed was the quality of wood and laser cutting, all top notch ! .... There are no plans, though they are available for an extra charge but there's a well illustrated booklet and notes on the build, which will more than suffice for an experienced builder and although they do state this model is for those that have built before, with care a beginner with a bit of guidance should be able to attempt it, I would have thought.  There have been a couple of small points that need clarification and perhaps a little more attention to detail but I'll mention those as I get to them... In all though it's been going together well and I'm more than happy with it.

Now the basic kit has no running gear or fittings, but these are available should you wish to go down that route but I'm going to be detailing the boat somewhat differently and putting a bit more power in so I'm sourcing those parts myself. Below is what the boat would look like if you stuck exactly to their build though.

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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #3 on: February 07, 2012, 11:15:13 am »

Vintage Model Boats recommend Super Glue or 5 minute epoxy but I'm using Aliphatic Glue throughout and with a judicious use of clamps and pins it's gone together easily and very strongly.  The construction is done without a baseboard, which I've not found a problem, though I will mention later one place that extra care is needed but I overcame the problem and so far so good.... so.. now on with the build !  :D

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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2012, 11:31:43 am »

The first small problem I encountered was with the instructions, shown below, for the two free standing bulkheads assembled after the first two which are held in place by other parts of the brest hook and bow reinforcing parts.   Without a baseboard or any way of ascertaining what should be square to what and to stop these frames from moving and ending up in the wrong place. I temporarily slotted in the two cabin side pieces and transom while those frames glued to the keel, which made it far easier to locate everything., the boat then being as in the photo above and thankfully square  :-).

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2012, 12:17:15 pm »

Strange, the original Aerokits had "Doublers" on either side of the keel between the formers so that the formers were held square. A bit offside that you don't get a copy of the plan with the "Kit"

   Regards   Ian.


 How does the bottom skin join onto the keel?
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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #6 on: February 07, 2012, 01:07:30 pm »

Ian

There are indeed doublers but if I had followed the instructions, these wouldn't have been added till later in the build. I don't think with this boat that they would have sufficed to stop the formers being held in the right place but by temporarily popping the cabin sides on, it seems to have accurately held everything in place while they glued.

To an extent I agree about the lack of plans but they are available at an extra cost if desired and I have to say I'm managing without them so far.... At least splitting the cost of the kit the way they have, does give you options which if you're trying to save pennies, would help.
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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #7 on: February 07, 2012, 01:24:25 pm »

The basic framework of the boat all goes together quite nicely. At this stage, although a stand comes with the kit, I made a somewhat stronger one using the parts given to get the shape right. I know these can get a fair bit of wear and tear so this stronger one will be my working one till I make a somewhat nicer job of a display version.

The doublers were installed but I modified mine as I intended putting a fairly chunky Graupner 600 Speed 8.4V, complete with water-cooling in and to this end I wanted a more substantial engine mounting system than the one provided. I also like everything in the way of motor assemblies to be easily removable in case of changes, breakdowns or the like, so what I've done is to build in a small bed with four bolts Araldited in situ, which have rubber shock absorbers on top and on this the motor will be installed, bolted onto a flat bed with a Graupner mount on top.  This way the motor is easily removable should I wish to change it and there is a degree of noise suppression with the rubber mounts helping stop vibrations.  It also allows for some adjustment of the motor position in order to get really smooth running, .... photos below.....





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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #8 on: February 07, 2012, 01:34:08 pm »

Another small potential problem I identified when fitting the chine strips is shown ringed below.  The transom is very curved, so when sanding the strips to get the correct profile for laying on the skins, a lot of material is sanded away on the top strip, leaving the strip adjacent to the transom very thin and in danger of breaking.   I noticed on looking carefully at the instruction photos that they had doubled up the chine strip in this area but made no mention of it in the instructions. In fact I only noticed it when I had made the modification myself, prior to fitting the skins.

A beginner may miss this and leave a potentially weak spot that may fail either when clamping the skins for gluing or later when using the boat. I've marked the spots below where I reinforced the strip during the build.

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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #9 on: February 07, 2012, 01:48:16 pm »

In the well I'd also made slight changes to the way the floor goes in. I intend having it fully removable and it will also have seats etc. fitted. As well as that I want to put a door on the face of the cabin so as this will be slightly proud, I needed a strip in front of it so that it didn't stop the floor dropping into place. This will all be more obvious when I finally get the well furnished and planked.  At this stage I also built the removable section that goes over the steering servo





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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #10 on: February 07, 2012, 01:58:59 pm »

By now the basic hull framework was just about finished, I'd also installed a 9" propshaft with M4 threads either end from Riverside Models the specification of which was as follows :-

" These shafts all have stainless steel inner shafts complete with stainless steel nuts and thrust washers both ends. All shafts are threaded approximately 1/2” down both ends.
Outer tubes on all shafts are heavy duty brass tube 8mm (5/16”) O.D. 6mm I.D. Bushes are 12mm long special leaded bronze type plain bearings, which incorporate approximately 3mm of thrust each end. "


The boat looked like this, about a week ago and then it was just a question of spending a couple of days sanding it all down to make sure that the skins lay nice and flat against the chine strips and bulkheads, as we all know a lot longer job than we expect but worth it when it comes to laying the skins on !  O0

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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #11 on: February 07, 2012, 02:05:22 pm »

I also constructed the roof which went together nicely and took very little sanding and adjustment to get a really good fit.  I may well attach it to the boat with some sort of elastic, come running time, just in case winds get the better of it but I'll see later. I also intend modifying it later by adding a screen and mast of some sort but that's for the 'tarting up' phase of the build.  :-)



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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #12 on: February 07, 2012, 02:11:30 pm »

One other nice aspect that's been thought about with the bulkheads is that presumably both to keep weight down and to provide access, holes have been made along the base and sides. This makes the installation of wiring and tubing for water cooling the engine a doddle and is a nice little addition to the tidiness of the boat , see below.

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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #13 on: February 07, 2012, 02:31:14 pm »

A servo mount is provided and after drilling the rudder hole, the mount was fitted and tested with the rudder temporarily in place and it all seems to fit OK.  I've not as yet glued the rudder tube in but it takes a standard 'medium' ruder and I've worked out that using a 40mm standard prop I should just have enough room to get the water intake for the motor cooling in the right place, if I'm precise. It will be tight but should work !  %%



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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #14 on: February 07, 2012, 02:50:17 pm »

Fitting the skins was worrying me a tad but as I said I spent a lot of time in sanding and fairing the chines and bulkheads so that they would lay as well as possible. The instructions  from Vintage Model Boats said to soak the skins in water for an hour prior to fitting them so that's what I did.

I started with the bottom skins, each was soaked in the bath then placed on the boat and much time spent pinning and clamping to get them to lay perfectly, which they did very easily. I did one at a time and each was left to dry for a day and then when unpinned and unclamped I was delighted to see that they maintained their shape beautifully. It was then an easy matter to put aliphatic glue on the frame of the boat and re-clamp and re-pin the skin, without it attempting to escape this time !. No stress, no problems and after a half an hour it was glued fast.

Each skin is provided over size so it's then a simple matter of cutting the excess down and doing a final sand to shape.  The only aspect that may prove troublesome for a beginner might be at the bow where the top and bottom skins meet and change from being at right angles to one another to adjacent.   Again, the procedure is explained in the instructions and the fact that the ply skins take so well to being shaped by soaking means it's easy to take your time and get it dead right, prior to gluing.  Tip to beginners ..... only apply glue when you're one hundred percent sure that parts fit together !  ( Note to self... take notice of tip for beginners.  %% )

Anyway, having done that four times it starts to look like a boat rather than a skeleton !

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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #15 on: February 07, 2012, 03:07:01 pm »

Next I started to lay what to me will be the sub decks. These are intended to be the final decks as far as the VMB company are concerned but I've bought myself various 0.6mm Mahogany and Sycamore veneers which I intend to use to lay as planking to make the boat look as nice as possible.

These 'sub' decks provided again are over sized and after making sure the chines and deck supports are sanded to take them I started gluing them in place, making sure I have a nice fit around the removable piece aft over the steering servo. All again went smoothly and that's where I'm up to so far .........      Although the basic structure is nearly there, I now have all the decorative woodwork, planking, painting and final engine and electrical systems to install, so it's all going to be a while yet, in fact I've hardly started this build log, lot's more to come though a bit slower as it will be in real time from here on in and I'm not that fast a worker...  :embarrassed:. .....  

To date though I'm really pleased with the way it's going and with the quality of the wood and laser cutting that's gone into preparing it.    Oh and if anyone has anybody has any bright ideas to help, chip in... I'm always happy to accept good advice  :D



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Flash22

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #16 on: February 07, 2012, 05:33:24 pm »

looking good was thinking of getting one of these kits from lesro later in the year (holiday near christchurch in a few months) have you decided what colour scheme your going for ?? also what prop are you going to run or you having a play to see whats suits the boat ???

I wonder is if a brushless setup would go in this without over powering the hull
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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #17 on: February 07, 2012, 05:53:00 pm »

looking good was thinking of getting one of these kits from lesro later in the year (holiday near christchurch in a few months) have you decided what colour scheme your going for ?? also what prop are you going to run or you having a play to see whats suits the boat ???
I wonder is if a brushless setup would go in this without over powering the hull

I'm still working out the colour scheme, I want it to reflect the period but perhaps with a bit of a twist (more on that to follow later).....   I've got a few props to try , with this set-up a standard two blade 40mm should do it but I have a few options to try when I get it on the water....

I've avoided brushless as I know absolutely nothing about brushless motors and battery/charger set-ups  %% .... perhaps less than that.  :embarrassed:  .. I think the motor I've got should give it a reasonable turn of speed but the way I'm building it, it's easy to change the motor if I do fancy giving it another try.  ok2
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Dannysfod

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #18 on: February 07, 2012, 07:57:29 pm »

Hi mike, great building blog. I'm looking to purchase this kit in the next few weeks and I M a beginner to model boating but not to ip engineering. Like you, I have a garden railway and I have many of their kit built wagons and coaches!

Tis building blood has shown me thing to look out for as a beginner which is really useful.

Keep th tips coming and I'll let you know when I start my build!

Kind regards

Daniel
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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #19 on: February 07, 2012, 08:40:29 pm »

I'm looking to purchase this kit in the next few weeks  ....................... Keep the tips coming and I'll let you know when I start my build!

Kind regards  Daniel 

Daniel, Glad to hear someone else is having a go at it.  :-))  If you have any questions at all when you get going, just give me a shout, if I can help I'll be glad to and I'll be continuing this blog till it's in the water.... hopefully.  :}
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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #20 on: February 10, 2012, 02:14:03 pm »

I put the last pieces of the sub deck on and then decided to start with the woodwork.. I want the transom to be varnished with the name of the craft in gold lettering so I decided to apply the first of many veneers to the boat. Not having done these before I read up quite a bit of what others had done..... and then just sort of did it my way.  %%

I firstly cut the veneer roughly to shape using very sharp scissors. Then I put aliphatic glue onto the transom and spread it thinly with a piece of scrap wood, making sure there was enough all over and that it reached completely to the edge all round. ... I then placed the veneer on the transom ........  and it immediately curled up !  :((   So, I then placed the boat vertically on a very flat surface so that the transom and veneer were pressed together and popped a 6v lead battery in the boat to make sure that they were together very tightly ... and went and had a cup of tea  :D

An hour later with trepidation I had a look and was pleased to see that they had glued beautifully together but, before I started trimming the veneer to shape, I put two coats of Eze Kote onto the veneer with the hope that it would stop it splitting while I trimmed it and cut it to shape, the .06 veneers are lovely and light but delicate to work with ! I did this work with a brand new scalpel blade and I'm pleased to say that worked very well too, the Eze Kote had toughened up the veneer making it very easy to cut and sand it to the shape of the transom without a single split ......  First bit successful !  :D

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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #21 on: February 12, 2012, 03:51:38 pm »

Planking started using the same technique, using 0.6mm Mahogany and Sycamore veneers.  ... Could be a long job, caulking will be done when it's all finished............................  O0

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MikeA

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #22 on: February 12, 2012, 09:29:48 pm »

This has been a great read and i expect will continue to be a great build thread. The boat looks beutifully crafted and it doesnt matter if your a slow builder because it shows in the quality. I myself am a VERY impatient fast builder and have to confess my boats look like floating dog turds. I have to comment though on the propeller that i feel that a 40mm will be too large, i had a 42 on a direct drive 8.4 graupner speed 600 and it smoked. Of course the pitch will come into consideration and its possible that your motor may not struggle like mine did. In the end i settled for a 34mm prop powered by an 8.4v nimh battery.
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Artistmike

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #23 on: February 13, 2012, 07:27:59 am »

This has been a great read and i expect will continue to be a great build thread. The boat looks beutifully crafted and it doesnt matter if your a slow builder because it shows in the quality. I myself am a VERY impatient fast builder and have to confess my boats look like floating dog turds. I have to comment though on the propeller that i feel that a 40mm will be too large, i had a 42 on a direct drive 8.4 graupner speed 600 and it smoked. Of course the pitch will come into consideration and its possible that your motor may not struggle like mine did. In the end i settled for a 34mm prop powered by an 8.4v nimh battery.

Thanks very much for that Mike and I'm very grateful for your thoughts on the propeller. I'm fairly ok when it comes to sticking bits of wood together but the whole technical stuff on the power train is a bit beyond me at times, especially as I've not built anything remotely fast before and most of my models have had sails!   

I bought a couple of different pitched props at this size to see how well they coped but after you've said that I may start of with something a little smaller. It will always be easy to increase the size if it's underpowered but I don't want to end up with the darn thing getting too hot !   I will also perhaps have to rethink the water cooling intake position a little, if only by a couple of mms so that if I do need to come down a size in propeller, the intake isn't out of the propwash....... All this technical stuff will do my head in.  :o  ... It's great to get other people's input though while I'm building it as it can be a bit difficult altering some things later on, so thanks ....  :-))
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MikeA

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Re: Build of Vintage Model Boats version of the Sea Scout ....
« Reply #24 on: February 13, 2012, 08:55:40 am »

if the propeller is well matched and your running sensible voltage (dont know what that is) then overheating may not be such a problem, the water scoop doesnt neceassarily need to be in the prop wash either just as long as its pointing forward into the oncoming water resistance, but that depends on the speed of the craft.  %%

what water pickup have you got?
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