Jupiter, a Caledonian macBrayne Ferry

sadly a little set back  has happened.....I decided to paint the back ground to the House Logo, behind the Lion Rampant on the funnel badge.
Sadly my hands are not as steady as they were, even 5 years ago when I was building the trio of lifeboats and I made a complete spherical objects of the job.......and so the only way I could think of to correct the matter was to completely sand off the moulded logo, take off the logos from the original masters for the funnels and make some more roundels for the Lions to go onto after painting and then glue them back onto the resprayed funnels.......I am part way there, just waiting for paint to dry..........sounds a cliche' but true, lol.

Best laid plans of mice and men etc.Thank goodness it was nothing worse!
Mick F

Ahhhh.matey........this model. Has been a trial and mastery over arthritic pain and is basically why i am giving up scratch building after it......dont mind a kit where everything cut out for me.......but i think i reached my peak finally with the two sailing lifeboats i built last........hands now unsteady and painting is crap...not the same time finishing off like i used to.....so time to hang up the towel n let othhers do the hard work for me.... ..i am actually pleased with the decision and can now look forward to buying another bike.....nice bmw tourer.

Neil,

I can cut the lions in self adhesive red vinyl if you are interested. Wont have the same depth, but save fiddly painting. Just let me know the size.

Barrie

thanks for the offer barrie, but it's not the cutting I find hard ( although it does give me pain)........but the finishing painting around the bulwark stays and such things.........always was a pretty crap painter, but it has just got worse and worse over the past year..............and the little lions actually came off ok..........so am doing it in three parts......they are all painted now so just a task of adding them all together..........and to tell you in all onesty an loosing heart as I go on..........

had the hobby and never deviated from it since I was 8 years old, have produced some nice models, and some nice kits and moulds, half of which Models by design won't even admit to me actually doing via Metcalf mouldings, rather take the credit for himself, and so I would rather be a biker again, and just enjoy the triumphs that I have had, sit back and think.............I DESIGNED AND MADE THAT.......LOL........and boy oh boy am I looking forward to my beamer,

my daughter came home today and had just received her sponsorship for her foundation degree at Fleetwood Nautical college and is moving out to halls in two weeks, my younger daughter has decided that she wants a workshop to progress after a levels into an interior design and furniture restoration apprenticeship............and so I feel that with all the tools I have collected over the years, she has a ready made workshop...................so life is getting peachy, and my bike and touring beckons................sod the model boats, lol.

Must be the weather making you feel so down my friend.Chins up ,yes chins,things do improve.Come on matey surely YOU must have the mantra "Can't let the ba###rds beat me!"
Wonderful news for your daughter,bet you feel really proud,at her achievements. Get this ferry out of the way,the sun will start shining when you get back to your much loved lifeboats.Even if you are one of these born again bikers,maybe you can turn your hand to help bring "Annr Leticia Russell" back to life!
Best of luck my friend,and dont forget you have many friends who would be more than happy to have a natter on the phone with you!!! Always look on the bright side of life!!!You will be humming or whistling that now for the rest of the day!
Mick F

Cheers matey and thanks for the encouragement.....not down though......just come to the stage in life where there must be more to life than just building model boats.......after all i can only sail one at any one time and i will have four to go at and three kits unmade sat in reserve........but you just dont realise if never been a biker how much it gets into the blood ...and i would like another before i get too old to ride one again......missed out for 35 years and there isnt a model on the scene that i even remotely fancy building at present......may be one day.

the House emblems on the funnels have finally been added and funnels repaired....the yellow roundels were finally made from yellow card glued to the funnels and the red lions, previously painted glued onto them with cyano, giving a crisper look. I also added the flue pipes to the tops of the funnels using small 3ba brass washers and plastic tubing.

Just have to paint the ladder rungs up the inside faces of the funnels and add the ladder up the rear face...................but there is a problem there...........I've lost the b***** things somewhere..........probably same place as my chuck key/

The books look real nice painted Neil... Hehehehe

By the way you have got me wanting another bike now...

Mark..

Metel detector next on the birthday wishes? Must be a veritable gold mine lurking down there in the depths!

sod all in there matey of any value, except the myriads of tools, lol............but eureka, I found them.......they weren't in a butter container I keep all the other fittings in..........were in a spray can lid which I had put all the doors in as well and was buried under them, lol

a nice funnel or two makes a model from any angle.........gives them a purpose for being.lol

and now I have found the varnished doors I can add those under the shelter deck as well, lol

any more progress yet Neil?

done sod all in weeks Aron.......but now fine weather is coming and no. 1 daughter left home to go to sea in merch. I will be getting to some soon. neil.

Finally decided to get off my Whoopsie Daisies and do something to the ferry and the first job I have to do before anything else now is to get the VSU's fitted........how the **** do I do it.

got the base rings in and sealed but it goes on about the sealant and I haven't got a bloody clue as to where it goes in the seating.......anyone with any ideas from fitting their own either pics or diagrammed sketch would be appreciated.

below is what it says on the translated instructions.

Mounting the VOITH-SCHNEIDER drive unit in the model boat The first step is to cut a circular 84 mm hole in the bottom of the boat, into which the plastic mounting ring is glued.
Mould the gasket material supplied 5 mm and using your hands then place it on the sealing surface of the mounting ring; it should be located outside the screws. press the gasket material into the corner of the 1'5mm recess and press home the VPSU."

cheers guys. neil.

Sorry Neil I can't help you with your problem, but I'm pleased to see you back modelling.

Barrie

Glad to see your back to the boat Neil, now get it bloody finished!

here's some help for you including photos....

Official install instructions with photos and wiring setup diagrams .... (start with this one)

https://www.graupner.de/mediaroot/files/2161_VELOX.1_GB.pdf

i got a snippet with slightly clearer instructions from it


"Installing the Voith Schneider Propeller in the model A circular 84 mm Ø opening must be cut in the bottom of the hull for each drive unit. The ABS support ring, which is supplied with each power unit, is glued in this circular opening. The outrigger which bears the motor must be positioned facing either the bow or the stern. Locate the gasket material supplied in the set, mould it into a cord about 1.5 mm in diameter using your hands, then place it directly in the internal shoulder of the 1.5 mm recess on the sealing surface of the mounting ring; it should be located outside the six holes. Press the gasket material into the corner of the 1.5 mm recess, and check that it is not interrupted at any point all round. Place the VSP in the support ring and secure it using the six screws supplied. Caution: only tighten the screws moderately. Tighten the screws steadily, working sequentially round the circle; do not tighten them alternately, from side to side."


If my interpretation is right you need to take that 'gasket material' and roll it into a long length like you would clay or Plasticine,  to a 1.5mm dia ''worm'' and then install that into what seams to be a recessed section marked on the ABS support ring internally.

(or find an O ring of the same size as the internal, which would be what i would have done, o ring over gasket anyday when it comes to watertight seals)


Someone else with similar issue.. with some possible answers

http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=53495.0

couple extra photos see if these help..

cheers mate......have found the answer via my mate jim putting the request on mayhem.......umi r came up with a picture of the answer.

cheers mate.........will be getting those set in asap, and can then start fitting the detail under deck one and fitting superstructure......but those photos of yours are great for setting up stops to restrict servo movement as I don't have programmable rc.

Well my first actual bit of building since January took place this afternoon and after looking at the pictures of roadrunner I realise that my original plasticard holders for the servos are............ ABSOLUTELY...............USELESS and so have removed them for much sturdier 4mm ply brackets............however came to glue the supports for them and found that my 2 part epoxy had gone hard after 8 months of standing........so can't do anything more till Monday..........1 step forward, 2 back................name of the game...........but got the bug back.................so i'll post my photos  on Monday when glued up.

Nice to see your progressing Neil

troutrunner wrote:

Nice to see your progressing Neil

thanks guys for your encouragement............GREATLY NEEDED I can assure you..........yes got the vpsu's sorted now and ready for fitting once new brackets made for the servos............going to Lancaster tomorrow for epoxy.

 shall return, as MacArthur once said.........well, I think it was MacArthur, lol.

well, after looking at the installation that Roadrunner posted for me I knew well that fitting them into the Jupiter was going to be a messy business......a very messy business indeed. In fact it was hell, and never want to do it again.
Luckily I had a tall stool at hand or else I would never have managed it bent over a bench for three half days............It was a nightmare.

In conjunction with the confined space of the hull, the decks and the shape at bow and stern it was one step forward and three back just to get the servos to fit into new wooden holders and then in confined spaces to screw them into a position where they could be removed if the worse happened.

But they are finally in place, and linked up and in the central joystick position which can be minutely adjusted via the transmitter they run parallel and therefore no motion when motors are idling.

Only one speed controller ( curtesy of my mate Dave [Inertia] ) will run both fore and aft motors on a single direction via a Y lead and give a stop- through idling- to full power. Only a single direction controller is needed as fore/reverse/sideways and diagonal is controlled via the variable pitch of the blades on the Voiths.

I don't want to go through step by step of the fitting in words as it would take too long to list all the modifications, but will enclose the photos of the process of how it went along and changed day by day.

Just to say it was even a hassle getting the screws into the fixing plate space was so tight with my arthritic fingers. I used putty stuck to the end of the screwdriver to hold the screw on a long driver to get them in.

You'll notice that there are some 3mm bolts sticking up from the servo support plates on 3 of the four servo arms. This is a manual stop form the servo arm. the throw of the arms to the VPSu' are limited to 4mm as to avoid locking and damage and as I didn't and have no intentions of investing in new digital radio gear in order to set these tolerances, I thought it easier to make manual, stops. the final one didn't have room to put in the 3mmm bolts and so wooden stops were made ( gluing up at the moment held by the pegs.

It might be better to put the stops on the transmitter stick to avoid stripping servo gears  Neil.

They're all metal gears in the four servos I'm  using Damien, and I probably won't sail it more than once in its lifetime, because I don't think, even though I am making it for my daughter, she will ever sail it, as she has the big boys toys to play with now, a 10000 tonne 100mtre real ship to steer, when on watch, lol...

my piddley little 60" model pales into insignificance now, lol

Neil.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Reduction in servo movement can also be achieved by putting the linkage closer to the servo horn, I'm sure your well aware of this, but might have slipped your mind.

Servo throw always gives me a headache the rowing boat project was the best example of that!

I mention this as although the servo may have metal gears they are only bronze and can still wear easily, but worse is that it reduces the life of the servo as the servo becomes overloaded (so also drains more amps) when the model is in use especially when using a voith.
at least two of the servos at any one time will always be at full tension when the models is in motion given they way the system works, so if they are hard up against stops the servos won't last long.

I would suggest seeing what servo arms you have that could allow for the correct motion without using stops for your own benefit

Other then that glad to see you back to the build. 

Neil
The type of servo arm shown in your picture should allow a very fine degree of adjustment, being based on fine-pitched meshing teeth. Fitting a stop like you have done is not a good idea, irrespective of the material the gears are made from. One stalled servo will drain your battery quickly; four will do it much quicker!
I've seen several different types of DIY mechanical doobries on Internet forums for this job, usually associated with building a Parat tug. I think RC Groups was one of the places I found references.
Electronically you could fit an ACTion P96 to each servo, but that gets quite expensive with four of them at £14 each. Maybe there's a smaller and cheaper variety available from The Inscrutables?
At the end of the day I reckon the easiest solution - and the  one with the least head-banging and b*ggering about involved - would be to buy a simple 'computer' radio. I use a Hitec Optic 6 and it's very straightforward to program the servo end points.
Nice to see you "back on the horse"!
Dave M

cheers dave and all of you for your input......I don't really want to buy new equipment as I have 4  40meg sets already..............but I will look for one that you suggest, dave on ebay second had................are these sets 2.4 gig or 40 meg sets............not well up on this technology at all.

cheers guys.

Neil
They can be either frequency when S/H but it's so difficult to obtain a new multi-channel 40MHz set that any of your used sets would command a handsome price from someone who wants one for an RC submarine. For 'non-submerging' boats then if you have standard servos and ESCs the two frequencies are totally interchangeable. I would suggest selling two of your sets and buying a new 2G4 with a spare receiver. Here's a good price for a Tx and Rx; in stock, with free delivery https://www.wirelessmadness.com/hitec-optic-6-sport-2-4ghz-afhss-transmitter-and-receiver-with-nimh-battery-2210200?language=en¤cy=GBP&gclid=CjwKEAjwps2_BRC5jduHor-h8xESJADGT-LtCxQqSeEb9_PSss_CjUEDPlYvLXcFBoW5GtxI_rz5ShoC41rw_wcB
There is a S/H Hitec Optic 6 on E-Bay at the moment but the frequency isn't shown; it's certainly VHF and could be either 35mhz (aircraft only) or 40 mhz, and there's no Rx with it. Without first checking on the frequency and the availability of a Rx and crystals it's a no-no. I would also personally avoid cheap Chinese radios that require programming via a PC. That's just hassle you don't need, even if the prices look attractive.
In my book it's Hitec Optic 6, Futaba 6J or, at a pinch, Spektrum Dx6i. My list starts and ends there, although I also have an Optic 5 non-computer set and an Aurora 9 which I got for a silly price from a good customer.
Incidentally I've no wish to start a debate about which brand of radio is the best. That's about as meaningless as asking what type of car is best - ask ten people and you'll get at least eleven different answers. I've had Futaba, Spektrum, Planet and Hitec in the recent past. That I've now standardised on Hitec and flogged the rest reflects only my own opinion, although there are apparently one or two folk out there who actually value that!
Dave M

i'll look for that on ebay dave and shoot him a message...........and then start looking.......there's plenty of time to find one as I don't think i'll have the model finished before next summer. cheers for the info.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HITEC-OPTIC-6-CH-DIGITAL-PROPORTIONAL-FM-RADIO-CONTROL-SYSTEM-WITH-HITEC-BATT-/182282146320?hash=item2a70dcd210:g:-gQAAOSw8vZXM9LB

But do beware! Hitec 40MHz FM crystals are as rare as rocking horse shoes...especially the Dual Conversion type. Interesting that it's been used only once or twice but he's keeping the Rx and crystals........I would have all sorts of questions to ask him, particularly where he obtained it, but that's just my nasty suspicious revenue mentality!

Bon chance, mon brave!

DM

cheers mate...........will have a look and send a message.

message sent.

got a reply, no receiver and doesn't have a clue as to its frequency......told him to have a look on the crystal if there is one......bit suspect........you wonder if it were halfinched from a pond side or table at a show if he doesn't know what to look for.

but now I know what i'm looking for I can search daily. cheers dave.............and when I get one...............you can set it up for me, lol.

I'm not at all surprised, Neil, and I'll go along with your suspicions. I might even stick the link on Mayhem to see if anyone is missing one.
Yes - I'll 'set it up' as long as you pay for my petrol up to Fleetwood and back to Nottingham! Cheaper by far to RTFM, m'duck.
DM

taken me a good fifteen minutes to work out what RTFM  means, ....LMAO

HE did get back to me when I suggested he look at the crystal when he gets home and said he would do...........but why keep a single tx crystal if you don't have the rx........curiouser and curiouser.

It's been pointed out to me that the module in the back is clearly labelled "Ch61 35.010 MHz" (I missed that photo), so it's no use for a boat anyway. Oy veh...
DM

ahh, cheers mate............but at least I know what to look out for now......will go with your suggestion and watch out for one on fleebay and gumtree. ta very much.

Neil I've bought a couple of radio sets on Bangood prices are good and good quality. 


http://www.banggood.com/Wholesale-Radios-and-Receiver-c-4587.html

Damien.

cheers mate.........will have a look. ta.

Well, I have to admit it has been one step forward and two back on this old girl of late, not to mention the absolutely ridiculous choice of car I made last June......bought a fiat 500 convertible......great little car, but couldn't even fit a fart in it, never mind a five foot long boat.........most stupid move I have ever made in my lifetime and couldn't sail a lifeboat all summer..........idiot!!!!!.

So last Tuesday just gone, I made a round 800 mile trip to Bournemouth on the south coast to buy a very nice second hand 1 owner 59k mile 1.5 DCI Nissan Note, that I CAN fit model boats into, lol

And onto the next problem......I bought an almost new Hitek optic 6 transmitter 2.4 ghz  a couple of months ago off mayhem and was kindly sent a Hitek Optima 7 receiver brand new from Dave Milbourn  [and sorry Dave it has completely slipped my mind to send you the dosh]..........but they wouldn't bind.

So on Dave's recommendation, I  am taking the two pieces plus the boat hull down to Steve Webb Models in Frodsham, Cheshire this Saturday for them to have a look at the whole set up and get it working for me.

Once that has been sorted I can put the main deck on, but not before I tank test the hull for leaking around the Voith Schnieder fittings.

This I can do by making a slight detour from Frodsham up the Wirral to the lake at New Brighton where I can plop it into the model boating lake on the prom.

Hopefully once this test has been done, it will give me the impetus to get off my ascienda and get this model ready for summer sailing.

Hi Neil, Sorry to hear your tales of woe, but relieved to hear you have a plan to start modelling again. I hope you like your Note - I'm still trying to decide if I made the correct choice when we bought ours 15 months ago. It has some nice features, but some very annoying ones also.

Barrie

I bought one new in 2006.a petrol one...........and it has NEVER let me down, 116000 miles on the clock, and up until last Wednesday when I signed ownership over to my ex wife it has been the best "modern" car, post mg b's that I have ever owned.......been a fantastic car, that's why I bought this one.i love it.

both mine have been the mark 1 original shape versions, not the new shape and style........massive room in them.

nhp651 wrote:

sorry Dave it has completely slipped my mind to send you the dosh

That's OK, Neil - don't forget that I know where you live....

BTW Sorry if grandmothers and eggs suddenly spring to mind but do remember that you really ought to buy something from Steve Webb's; after all, they didn't supply either the Tx or Rx. Also I wouldn't take the model into the shop to start with - it's just the Tx/Rx binding you're having trouble with. A Rx battery pack and a servo would do nicely. I speak as a former model-shop assistant who was frequently requested/expected by customers of other model shops to rectify problems which those shops were unable to help with. I could tell you some tales...
Dave M