thank you for you're respones. I must admit that I have never been keen on pusher/springer tugs. I know many other people are huge fans but they are just not for me. Having said that they do fit my requirements very well!
Richald, I do like the puffers. They really are lovely. What size of motor did you fit to yours? How does it perform on the water? There is a stunning model puffer in the Dunvegan bakery, Skye! Strange place to display model boats but there are some others on display. The doughnuts are also highly recommended!
I will look into foamex as a building material. Klunk... What do you mean by weeks with PVC pipe solvent?
I had a look through Krishna's vosper build and found it very inspring. I especially liked the recycling of goods which normally end up in the bin!
I have come accross the "tiddler" plan which looks quite promising. No drawing scaling would be required which is an additional bonus. I have seen some stunning tid tug builds elsewhere on this forum so I would imagine there is plenty of advice available on such a build.
http://www.myhobbystore.co.uk/product/17075/tiddler-v104-tug-planI should probably add that my girl friend thinks the tid tug looks like a whale!