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[Lifeboat1]

Hello all. In brief, a very cheap and easy conversion for most of the Chinese boats which operate on a tank steering system,with no speed control and limited range, is to fit a 2.4GHz system designed for 1/16 scale tanks. I have successfully converted the Sovremenny, Severn Lifeboat and Perkasa torpedo boat. Total cost was £42. This was for transmitter and receiver unit with built in esc. It is also possible to run a couple of led lights from this unit. Cheap cheerful easy and it works. Hope this is of some use. If already posted then sorry.

[Steven.T]

Looking forward to seeing this, I bought one of these years ago: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hengtai-HT-2877F-Infrared-Battle-Ship/dp/B00AAXPAEI/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1401021257&sr=8-9&keywords=rc+boat


I must admit I have thought about butchering it, It isn't a bad model, just a shame about the running gear!
Cheers,
Steven

[pompebled]

The running gear using motor pods under water will seize up after about a year of using the boat.
As there's no way to lubricate the shafts, water will get inside and make the motors rust solid.

I have a similar model on the shelf, waiting until I find the time to fit it out with a normal propshaft.

Regards, Jan.

[Lifeboat1]

Hi, Thanks for interest. I actually posted this previously but probably in the wrong place. Regarding the pods,yes they are problematic. I removed them and treated them with a rather pleasant smelling substance called "Corrosion X". Fired the stuff down where the wiring goes in and then soaked them over night in a small Tupperware tub of the stuff. No problems since. The stuff is not cheap but it can be used for other things.
Anyway as I said cheap easy and it works.
Regards.

[Lifeboat1]

Hi Steven T,
 I noted you say you are "looking forward to seeing this." I have already done the conversion. Not much to it which is why I like it. I did the little Severn RNLB Volunteer Spirit first which was easy. Everything fitted in and the sailing performance is excellent. No antenna required and perfect speed control. I then went back to the "Smasher" Sovremenny  which I had previously fitted with an ESC, twin rudders and a 27Ghz receiver. Removed all that and shoved in the 2.4 GHz tank receiver.
I also did the Revell 1/72 sboat. Fitted the static rudder for appearance but stuck in (literally) two old heli motors. I used new brass  shafts to the original plastic props. Rigged the centre prop as free wheeling and it goes very well indeed. If you are interested I will try to attach some pics of the interiors of the boats.
Regards.       

[Severn]

Hi guys im from Newcastle the kit was giving to me I been Ross the hull alone wood fetch between £300-400 I would like to start a kit myself I do like the ones on slipway

[Neil]

Hi guys im from Newcastle the kit was giving to me I been Ross the hull alone wood fetch between £300-400 I would like to start a kit myself I do like the ones on slipway

sorry severn, but if you referring to the Severn hull............you can buy a brand new one with grp superstructure from Speedline by negotiation for just under £275 inc postage.

see here ( he's missed a nought of the hull cabin price)    http://www.speedlinemodels.com/

neil.

[RAAArtyGunner]

Hi Steven T,
 I noted you say you are "looking forward to seeing this." I have already done the conversion. Not much to it which is why I like it. I did the little Severn RNLB Volunteer Spirit first which was easy. Everything fitted in and the sailing performance is excellent. No antenna required and perfect speed control. I then went back to the "Smasher" Sovremenny  which I had previously fitted with an ESC, twin rudders and a 27Ghz receiver. Removed all that and shoved in the 2.4 GHz tank receiver.
I also did the Revell 1/72 sboat. Fitted the static rudder for appearance but stuck in (literally) two old heli motors. I used new brass  shafts to the original plastic props. Rigged the centre prop as free wheeling and it goes very well indeed. If you are interested I will try to attach some pics of the interiors of the boats.
Regards.       

Yes Please,

[Lifeboat1]

Hi, I'm having problems posting pictures. I keep getting a "file to large" message.?

[pompebled]

Hi, I'm having problems posting pictures. I keep getting a "file to large" message.?

maximum individual picture size 161KB, total size per post 2000KB.

Most likely your pictures need to be cropped first to allow uploading to the forum.

Regards, Jan.

[malcolmfrary]

maximum individual picture size 161KB, total size per post 2000KB.

Most likely your pictures need to be cropped first to allow uploading to the forum.

Regards, Jan.

Not necessarily cropped, but the image can be resized.  Windows has tools to do the job, most image handling software has options in its menus.

[Lifeboat1]

Sorry about this. Struggling. Windows 8........

[barriew]

Do a Google search for Image Resizer and install it. Select your picture(s) and right click you will have a new action to resize your pictures. Select small for this forum. Works on all version of Windows up to 8.1 Update


Barrie

[Lifeboat1]

Hi, Thanks for help re pics. I hope this works. These are pictures of the start of the Revell Sboat conversion showing details of prop shafts. I know the title of this topic is Chinese destroyer ( I think) but this model also uses the 1/16 tank electronics.
Regards Steve.

[Lifeboat1]

Hi Barrie. Well that seems to be working. I will continue with more pics re Sboat. I will however post retro pics of the Sovremmeny and Severn if anyone is interested. I will have to open them up of course so I will post pictures as I go. In the meantime I will stick with the Sboat. More detail of prop shafts, with free wheeling centre shaft.
Regards Steve.

[RAAArtyGunner]

 
Also have the Revell S boat kit as well as the larger 1/35 Italeri, please continue thank you 
 
 

[Lifeboat1]

Some dimensions. Drill used to hollow out plastic prop shaft support is an extra long 1.1mm x100mm.  I started with a shorter drill. Once I had the prop shaft support done. I glued it in place and used it as a guide to continue drilling into hull.
Tube used for shaft is a 1.1.mm x 0.9mm outside and inside dimensions. Shaft is 0.8mm. I simply drilled out the plastic kit props and glued them (super glue thick) to  end of shafts. All the drilling was really just a matter of eye judgement and care. Slowly. All very amateurish. I think I used the Corrosion X  stuff again to lubricate and seal shaft. Vaseline would probably do fine. The shaft is quite long because of the low entry angle through the hull so that makes it easier to seal. I lined up the motor and used silicon to glue it to the hull. the time set for the silicon gave me plenty of room for adjustment. Once everything was set. I put extra silicon around exposed shaft to support it, reduce vibration and seal the hull. The spring couplings did not work. They very quickly turned into twisted slinkys. so I just used the ends super glued (again) into some plastic tube.       

[Lifeboat1]

I think I may be getting carried away with this post if so I will not be the least offended if anyone tells me to give it a rest. To continue:-  Revell S Boat 1/72 scale cheap and cheerful conversion to RC with speed control and tank steering.
The reason I like this conversion is that apart from the tricky bit of drilling out the prop shafts it is pretty straight forward and it still looks like the original model. No big out of scale rudder and no big ugly propeller. Pictures of finished boat. The deck is just a tight push fit. (Sometimes you're better with a lucky joiner than a good one...) I use one of the moulded deck fittings (strong) to bull deck up and then just slide back and off. I had to cut the corners of the torpedo tubes (last pic) to accommodate the working navigation lamps. This is not seen when the deck is in place. The navigation lamps also act as a tell tale for the power on/off.
Now all I need is for barriew to be kind enough to tell me how to post a video and I can show it running.
Regards
Steve. 

[Tug-Kenny RIP]

Hi Steve,

You carry on getting carried away.  We are all enjoying your build, especially now you have your own section.     

I'm afraid you cannot show videos directly on the forum but may i recommend using YouTube and posting the reference details on your thread.

Cheers

ken

 

[Lifeboat1]

Hi Ken,
Thanks for that. I "have my own section" wow that's cool. I will keep replying to my own posts and build a following.
Cheers.
Steve.

[RAAArtyGunner]

 
You are aware that the only intelligent conversation you can have is with yourself 
 
The complete electrics I take it, is the workings from a 1/16 scale tank kit?

[Lifeboat1]

RAAArtyGunner,
Thanks for the interest. Yes absolutely. 2.4GHz transmitter and receiver for a Heng Long 1/16 scale tank. Total cost at the time was a special at £42. I used a Lipo 7.2 battery. That's the Velcro you can see near the stern. The reinforcement at the stern was for a magnetic closure for the deck but was not required (neat tight fit). An advantage of the electrical set up is that you can also run a couple of leds from it and in the Severn RTR I also stuck in a  speaker. So the Severn is now powered by a diesel tank engine. Oh! and no antenna required. I don't think the radio range is too bad but in any case suitable for a wee RTR.
As the original heading for this post was Chinese Destroyer I thought I better at least allude to one somewhere.
Regards
Steve.     

[Lifeboat1]

The Chinese "Smasher" Destroyer toy (rtr) after a little paint, some brass railings and ladders and new electronics. It now has a nice controllable speed from creep to speedboat. No visible antenna and still reasonable range.
As I mentioned earlier the electronics fitted to this boat are excellent for the little rtr Severn class lifeboat. They are extremely easy to fit into the Severn and eliminate the need for an external antenna. I fitted a tell tale flashing led and a speaker which produces a really growly diesel sound (Sherman tank I think). Both of these additions are simply plug and play into the main control unit.
I fully appreciate that this is not a post that would interest a serious modeller and it is intended mainly for those like myself who have a limited knowledge of electronics and wish to have a bit of relatively inexpensive fun improving the  performance of either of these rtr toys. 
Regards to all
Steve.

[RAAArtyGunner]

Steve,
 
Very informative.
 
Plastic magic, now has some following and often features in the two UK boat model mags.

[Lifeboat1]

Thanks RAAArtyGunner,
 I had seen a few posts previously about converting the "Smasher" and they all seemed a bit complicated, fitting rudders, steering servo, an esc and a receiver. I actually did that with this one before I thought of the tank electronics. I just hope the post is of some use to someone who is thinking about a conversion. I didn't put much info in because the pictures speak for themselves I think and the basic premise is quite straight forward.
Anyway all the best,
Steve.