as promised already some months ago, here is my new project. About five years ago I watched the documentary on the Penlee lifeboat disaster and since then I wanted to build a model of the Solomon Browne. Thanks to the RNLI Heritage Team and the help of some friends I could gather all the necessary drawings and finally start the journey. Hull and superstructure will be made from grp, with a plug built the old fashioned way.
As usual the boat shall be built in the teutonic scale of 1:20. This gives a decent siced, but handy boat. About 70,5 cm in length and a beam of 20,0 cm. With no such hulls on the market I had to start from scratch. Hull and superstructure are made from grp, with a plug built the old fashioned way.
Well, let's dash forward and skip two months of work...
... till hull and superstructure are separated from their moulds.
The strong protective belting around the hull is made from obeche. For the deck I used 2 mm aircraft plywood and added a coaming made of polystyrene.
Motors and battery are situated in the engine room. Beneath the aft cabin the receiver and decoder are housed. The two circuit boards do control the flashing blue light and turning speed of the radar.
Next I designed a bunch of 3d parts and had them printed by a small company. Shapeways got too pricey.
And there she is...
... not yet finished, but almost done. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the penlee lifeboat disaster and I want her to be finished by then. The boat will be housed inside a proper boathouse with detachable slipway. To accomplish this, mast and rudder can be raised and lowered remotely.
Cheers, Max
Fred 1948 and Swab like this post
barriew Captain (moderator)
Posts : 2631 Join date : 2011-11-26 Age : 83 Location : Thaxted, Essex
Subject: Re: 47ft Watson - ON 954 'Solomon Browne' Wed Sep 29, 2021 6:36 am
Very impressive Max
Barrie
Swab Master
Posts : 410 Join date : 2020-02-16 Age : 63 Location : West Midlands
Nice build and a nice tribute. Are you using a Robbe Futaba 40mhz setup? you'll be mugged by passing submariners.
maxthepiper Able Seaman
Posts : 31 Join date : 2018-01-23 Age : 31 Location : Bavaria, Germany
Subject: Re: 47ft Watson - ON 954 'Solomon Browne' Fri Oct 01, 2021 9:54 am
Thanks guys
Yeah, I'm still using my trusty Futaba F14. Thankfully there are no submariners nearby. But in the long run upgrading to a 2.4 Ghz setup might be the better choice.
This week the wood for the boathouse arrived. Can't wait to start construction. An update will follow this weekend.
Swab Master
Posts : 410 Join date : 2020-02-16 Age : 63 Location : West Midlands
Subject: Re: 47ft Watson - ON 954 'Solomon Browne' Fri Oct 01, 2021 7:48 pm
If you decide to sell the F14 let me know i need one for my submarine build.
DavidWrighton Deck Hand
Posts : 1 Join date : 2021-12-21
Subject: 47ft Watson Solomon Browne Tue Dec 21, 2021 3:40 am
Hi there,
Firstly congratulations on building an outstanding model of the Solomon Browne.
I was wondering, as an amateur model maker how I could attempt such a project. With no commercial Watson class kits available..and with limited expertise…can you help please?
I have seen some figurines in 1:12 scale and was hoping I could build in this scale?
Any help would be gladly appreciated and whether I could buy a kit from you maybe?
Thank you David Wrighton Perth, Western Australia
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Subject: Re: 47ft Watson - ON 954 'Solomon Browne'
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