A Couple Of Scale Builds

[Old Boy]

I posted my intro a couple of days ago and am grateful for all of the welcome posts! Thank you!

In that initial post I mentioned I was mostly into scale boats, but have also developed itch to try my hand at something different. I can imagine an adult sand box out back with a loader, dump truck, dozer, and equipment to build a road while I sit in the shade and direct the operation.

I've attached a couple images of part of my fleet. All of my efforts are "old school" in that they're brushed motors, SLA batteries, and being scale are generally pretty slow
"Galley News" represents a small freighter that would carry most anything to outlying islands. She's 30" long and scratch built several years ago.
Tug "Fort Valley" is also scratch built plank on frame, epoxied and 'glassed hull. She's 55" long, 60 pounds ballasted. It has deck lights, interior lights, furnished pilot house, a smoke unit utilizing water vapor, sound, blue tooth capability, and several figures accomplishing tasks around the boat.


Her

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

At first glance, I thought those were real. Very cool stuff. Keep the pics coming

 

[Tunedfrog]

Awesome pics. I think a bunch of us here dream about our own RC road construction rigs.

 

[Doom!]

Beautiful work! Very nice figures too. Thanks for sharing. I really wish I had someplace I could try out RC boats.

 

[9x19]

Awesome boats, and yes, the figures on board look great as well!

 

[DeepLCG]

These are remarkable. I can't stop looking at the pics. Will you post more pictures, close ups of all the details, especially the finished interiors? I'd also love to see the electronics too.

 

[Old Boy]

Thank you all!
I had a chance to put the tug over the side for a while this morning. It was in the middle 40's for temperature which made an ideal
situation with "sea smoke".
I'm flattered (thank you,) and will post a few photo's of details, in the mean time here's a few of today's cruise.

(I don't know why the images come out so large. Is it OK or what can I do to make them smaller?)

 

[DeepLCG]

Thank you all!
I had a chance to put the tug over the side for a while this morning. It was in the middle 40's for temperature which made an ideal
situation with "sea smoke".
I'm flattered (thank you,) and will post a few photo's of details, in the mean time here's a few of today's cruise.

(I don't know why the images come out so large. Is it OK or what can I do to make them smaller?)

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View attachment 172376

The "sea mist" really complements the smoke billowing out of the stack. Very cinematic. Please do post detailed pics under the hood, electronics and interiors, when you have a moment. Link to video, if you have one. Thanks!

 

[Doom!]

WOW! Can't believe I missed this one, awesome photos!

 

[WickedFog]

Man, those are some gorgeous builds! Awesome pics too

 

[Old Boy]

Thank you all!

I was concerned that this may have been a go-fast and vehicle site and thought maybe the scale scratch-builds may not have fit in.
I appreciate the comments and will try to not let so much time pass in-between posts. Of course "Old Boy" isn't just a handle, it's reality in my case and being "vintage" I do things a lot slower.

Anyway, a little background may be in order concerning the tug in particular;

All-in the tug weighs over 60 lbs. when ballasted and ready to go. Given that I'm not going to carry a 60 lb., 55" tug model to the water and launch it, I had to devise a way to do this in stages. The procedure became launch the hull, install the ballast, then install the deckhouse. This last part was problematic if all of the smoke and mirrors were installed in the hull and wires had to be plugged in, stack pipes lined up, and the deckhouse secured to a moving target if there were any wakes, or wave action. The solution seemed to be create two systems. The main propulsion, rudder, sound, and associated components. The second system was independent in the deckhouse - lighting (four circuits,) and the "smoker", This necessitated a set of power contacts that would make when the deckhouse was seated, and included a separate receiver that was wired to accept the signals that corresponded to the circuits in the house. This in effect created two models.

The first image shows the deckhouse control board. The switches control the main deck lights, pilot house interior lights, running lights, stack lights (I'll explain them in another post,) and the "smoker" which is fastened to the underside of the main house roof. This board lives in the forward section of the deckhouse.

The second image is of the interior of the main hull before everything was finalized. The ESC lives under the box on the stbd side under the switches. Removing two screws allows the cabinet to lift out exposing all of that wiring.

The third photo shows the deckhouse power board before it was fastened on it's shelf in the house. In the very lower right of the engine room coaming you can see a metal clip attached to the forward edge. There's another clip on the other side. These are the pos. and neg. poles of the service to the house which has corresponding clips that engage the hull's providing power to the house board. The voltage regulators provide a means to "dial down" the brightness of the LEDs to a more scale appearance as opposed to being too bright.

Kind of confusing to describe, but basic in actual practice. One transmitter, two receivers both bound to the xmitter one receiver energizing the house, the other the hull.

 

[Chubaka]

Watch out for the ice burns.

Truly amazing. I have no words.

 

[Doom!]

Beautiful build, never thought about the ballast, that quite a bit of weight.

 

[DeepLCG]

Thank you all!

I was concerned that this may have been a go-fast and vehicle site and thought maybe the scale scratch-builds may not have fit in.
I appreciate the comments and will try to not let so much time pass in-between posts. Of course "Old Boy" isn't just a handle, it's reality in my case and being "vintage" I do things a lot slower.

Anyway, a little background may be in order concerning the tug in particular;

All-in the tug weighs over 60 lbs. when ballasted and ready to go. Given that I'm not going to carry a 60 lb., 55" tug model to the water and launch it, I had to devise a way to do this in stages. The procedure became launch the hull, install the ballast, then install the deckhouse. This last part was problematic if all of the smoke and mirrors were installed in the hull and wires had to be plugged in, stack pipes lined up, and the deckhouse secured to a moving target if there were any wakes, or wave action. The solution seemed to be create two systems. The main propulsion, rudder, sound, and associated components. The second system was independent in the deckhouse - lighting (four circuits,) and the "smoker", This necessitated a set of power contacts that would make when the deckhouse was seated, and included a separate receiver that was wired to accept the signals that corresponded to the circuits in the house. This in effect created two models.

The first image shows the deckhouse control board. The switches control the main deck lights, pilot house interior lights, running lights, stack lights (I'll explain them in another post,) and the "smoker" which is fastened to the underside of the main house roof. This board lives in the forward section of the deckhouse.

The second image is of the interior of the main hull before everything was finalized. The ESC lives under the box on the stbd side under the switches. Removing two screws allows the cabinet to lift out exposing all of that wiring.

The third photo shows the deckhouse power board before it was fastened on it's shelf in the house. In the very lower right of the engine room coaming you can see a metal clip attached to the forward edge. There's another clip on the other side. These are the pos. and neg. poles of the service to the house which has corresponding clips that engage the hull's providing power to the house board. The voltage regulators provide a means to "dial down" the brightness of the LEDs to a more scale appearance as opposed to being too bright.

Kind of confusing to describe, but basic in actual practice. One transmitter, two receivers both bound to the xmitter one receiver energizing the house, the other the hull.


View attachment 174395View attachment 174397View attachment 174398

I can truly appreciate the thoughtful, fastidious nature of a build like this. I think separating the ship into sections, was brilliant. It is fascinating how you have organized all of the electrical components into neat modular sections. I bet launching this ship, feels extremely satisfying. You must have some good lakes around you, to invest time and energy in such a dedicated build.

I can understand your reluctance to post something like this on a "modern" RC forum. Growing up, my Dad spent countless hours building RC airplanes in his shop. He truly loved building, more than flying. Members of his club would hire him to finish off their kits, in intricate detail. You don't see much of that, "build it from scratch' mentality any more.

Anyway, I love seeing the electronics and deck up close. Please do keep the pictures and descriptions coming, for both ships. I have a feeling there is a lot more detail we are missing.

 

[Xraycer]

WOW! Can't believe I missed this one, awesome photos!

Same here.

Just outstanding scale builds and photography!

 

[bobcasto2007]

What smoke generator do you use, I am building an Atlantic tugboat, 42" long and am interested in adding smoke and maybe sound

 

[Old Boy]

What smoke generator do you use, I am building an Atlantic tugboat, 42" long and am interested in adding smoke and maybe sound

Hi Bob,
I use a water vapor smoker from "Denes Design". if you go to Youtube and use his name as a search item his units should come up. I have a couple of reasons for using these:
In the past I used the normal oil based units that seem pretty common, but had a couple of instances that had me re-thinking my choices. On one occasion I had been operating the tug for quite a while and noticed that the smoke had nearly stopped coming out of the funnel. The boat was 100-150 yards from where I was standing and since the smoker unit was in sync with the ESC I didn't know whether to bring the tug back on slow turns keeping the heat low, or hustle it back full bore but quick. I decided it was better slow as there wasn't as much heat generated in the smoke unit although it was a little longer. I was fortunate in although the unit had run dry and the unit case had distorted a little, no real damage had occurred.
Because of this happening the first thing I did was install a remote controlled switch in the power circuit of the smoker. At the least I could turn it off underway and not worry about an over heating issue.
I learned about the water vapor smokers somewhere along the line and thought I'd try them out. Denes Design units have a nebulizer (it's actually a miniature humidifier that creates water vapor simulating smoke.) The unit has a control module that allows one to modify the smoke volume, frequency, and velocity. All this means is you can have very little just barely coming out, or a considerable amount being forced out by an integral fan. This is shown in his Youtube videos.
These are my personal considerations vapor vs smoke. (I have no stake in Denes Design, so any vapor unit would have the same value.)
With the oil units there is heat which is created by the coil within the unit. If the oil runs out the coil can overheat and break. The oil is messy and leaves a residue after a while.
The water vapor is just that - water vapor. No heat, if some condenses in the funnel, it runs back as a water droplet, and even if it finds it's way into the bilge there's no harm done. It'll wipe out or dry out and not leave a film.
Another consideration is the oil is relatively expensive for just a couple of ounces. On the other hand, in our area a gallon of distilled water is $3.00 which on my case lasts all season for three boats.

Harbor Models in CA is a good source for sound modules. There are some on the market that are much less expensive, but they sound much less expensive too. I have found that the speaker enclosure and mounting is important to the quality of the sounds too.

Hope this helps.....

 

[bobcasto2007]

Hi Bob,
I use a water vapor smoker from "Denes Design". if you go to Youtube and use his name as a search item his units should come up. I have a couple of reasons for using these:
In the past I used the normal oil based units that seem pretty common, but had a couple of instances that had me re-thinking my choices. On one occasion I had been operating the tug for quite a while and noticed that the smoke had nearly stopped coming out of the funnel. The boat was 100-150 yards from where I was standing and since the smoker unit was in sync with the ESC I didn't know whether to bring the tug back on slow turns keeping the heat low, or hustle it back full bore but quick. I decided it was better slow as there wasn't as much heat generated in the smoke unit although it was a little longer. I was fortunate in although the unit had run dry and the unit case had distorted a little, no real damage had occurred.
Because of this happening the first thing I did was install a remote controlled switch in the power circuit of the smoker. At the least I could turn it off underway and not worry about an over heating issue.
I learned about the water vapor smokers somewhere along the line and thought I'd try them out. Denes Design units have a nebulizer (it's actually a miniature humidifier that creates water vapor simulating smoke.) The unit has a control module that allows one to modify the smoke volume, frequency, and velocity. All this means is you can have very little just barely coming out, or a considerable amount being forced out by an integral fan. This is shown in his Youtube videos.
These are my personal considerations vapor vs smoke. (I have no stake in Denes Design, so any vapor unit would have the same value.)
With the oil units there is heat which is created by the coil within the unit. If the oil runs out the coil can overheat and break. The oil is messy and leaves a residue after a while.
The water vapor is just that - water vapor. No heat, if some condenses in the funnel, it runs back as a water droplet, and even if it finds it's way into the bilge there's no harm done. It'll wipe out or dry out and not leave a film.
Another consideration is the oil is relatively expensive for just a couple of ounces. On the other hand, in our area a gallon of distilled water is $3.00 which on my case lasts all season for three boats.

Harbor Models in CA is a good source for sound modules. There are some on the market that are much less expensive, but they sound much less expensive too. I have found that the speaker enclosure and mounting is important to the quality of the sounds too.

Hope this helps.....

Thanks very much for the detailed and prompt support. If I decide on smoke I will definitely use the Denes unit.