Topic: A good starter kit ?

[Simon Moore]

Hi all,

I've been having a look at the deans marine kits & fancy a winter project. I've never really done anything to do with boats before but i have built rc cars in the past & have been a railway modeler for years. I've built locomotives from brass & white metal to a reasonable standard.

I fancy something a bit different though. I've always liked big machines from trains to commercial shipping. I do fancy a challenge but something that is going to be buildable. Could you guys on here give me any pointers as to what would be a good starter kit for myself.

Cheers

Simon

[colin]

Hi Simon,
first of all , a warm welcome to this forum, you mentioned "liked big machines from trains to commercial shipping."

i take it from this sentence that you would prefer to build something from the Commercial shipping side of the Deans range..??

a reasonable intermediate starter would or could be the SS Furie, or the Trimrix, my reason behind this choice, there are from there scale a little larger, but also compact in there total size.

but if you would rather build a military ship, most of the fast launches are also a good starter

[Simon Moore]

Thanks for the reply Colin.

Yes i would prefer to build a commercial ship rather than a military ship. I shall take a look at your options i think i have just been looking at one of them.

Simon

[colin]

there are of course a lot to chose from... my advice would be, do not chose a 1:100 scale unless you like working with tweezers, the larger the scale the smaller the parts get, but i guess you know that already

the HMCC Badger (out of the Service craft section) could be another...

[Simon Moore]

Colin the actual model i was looking at was the MV Fairwind. Now as i am new to this i have no idea what is involved firstly in putting together one of these kits but from the list of contents within the kits i take it most of the model is built with a variation of glues ??

I've a lot of experience working with soldering irons, etched brass & white metal & parts very small as a locomotive is small compared to one of these. Could you give me a little more indication as to what is involved with the build process with one of these kits ? Are they straight forward to build & like a airfix style kit when it comes to the parts or is it something a little more complex ??

I'm trying to marry up my skills as a model maker with the skills needed to build one of these kits because it is hard to judge without seeing one in the flesh. My thought process with the Fairwind is that it is a basic looking ship although i might be way off course here with my way of thinking.

Always a hard choice to make when your dipping your toes in the water for the first time with something new like this. Also what is needed to make the whole thing work as a RC boat. I understand you will need radio gear do the instructions give advice on what you need to finish the kit ??

Cheers

Simon

[colin]

Build demo of the Fairwind
other and more building demos in the Gallery

basically you would need three glues, there are suggestions in the instructions;
plastic: such as the airfix glue, or plastic weld, for gluing all the plastic together
superglue: for whitemetal and resin parts
a type of Epoxy: for propshafts and the likes of

they are definitely not straight forward like Airfix, all the plastic needs to be cut out with a sharp knife, this can be quite complex

the Fairwind, could be a good starter kit for you, with your modeling skills at hand... 

to make the hole thing work:
glues, paint, something to apply the paint, a few tools: knife, pliers, ruler, small muti-tool like dremel or proxon, 30-50watt soldering iron
radio gear consisting of transmitter, receiver, servo, speed controller, batteries and charger

hope this points you in the right direction

[Dimitri]

Hi, everyone!

I share some railroad experience with Simon though never had anything to do with r/c.
I've set my mind on building the Fairwind.
My question concerns the electronic gear I have to order to complete the model like the type of the motor, speed controller, shafts, battery, steering devices, bow thruster and etc.
Do you think you could help?

Rgds, Dimitri.

[colin]

My question concerns the electronic gear I have to order to complete the model like the type of the motor, speed controller, shafts, battery, steering devices, bow thruster and etc.

Motor; any low RPM (2000-5000), high torque, low amp, would be suitable.
Speed controller; depends on the motor, if you have a 5 amp (max drain) then a 10amp controller would be OK.
Shafts; any that would fit, the kit comes with shafts, but i tend to use the ones from Raboesch 301-01.
Battery; any that would fit, the larger the amps the longer the driving time.
steering devices; the rudder is in the kit, you would require a Servo and a linkage (bicycle spoke)
bow thruster; there are different makers Graupner or Raboesch 108-01 to mention a couple.

hope this points you in the right direction

[Simon Moore]

Colin as you seem to know your stuff regarding these kits could i be cheeky & ask you for a little more help regarding the kit contents ?

When it comes to the plastic sheets which come with the kits are they sheets of plastic with lines drawn on that need cutting out or are they something totally different. I've been trying to view the various kits in the gallery but the images are tiny & i cannot see in detail what is included in a kit. Is there any chance you could post some good clear images of the various parts that come with a kit.

Like many others that will surely follow they will want to see themselves what is included in a deans kit before they make a purchase. I am really looking forward to having a go but before i do i still want to make sure that i can build one of these kits & my skills match the kit. I think after i have spent years building & forming brass parts one of these should be easy but it is always best to ask many questions no matter how silly they are to make double sure. After all it's a fair amount of money to shell out for a model that could easily be ruined if it is not a suitable.

Simon

[mikearace]

If you dont mind me jumping in ahead of Colin the plastic sheets are printed and have to be cut out and glued using plas weld or similar poly solvents to make the structures and shapes.  The are not pre cut apart from a couple of the newer kits such as SS Truro which I believe is now laser/cnc cut.  For major parts such as decks they are not an exact fit when first cut as their is a degree of tolerance needed where there are differences in the thickness of hulls as they are individually made.  Some have ply sub decks to support the decks which require cutting also.  And of course there is ramin and balsa wood to be cut to size and shaped at the bow and stern to support the decks.  If you follow a build thread - try Joe's HMS Bramble although this isn't the model you are after, it will give a good idea of what is involved as the basic premise of the build apart from the subject is the same.

Fittings are from resin and white metal and do require some dressing at times with a small file to remove moulding edges and seams - painstaking and requires patience at times but well worth the end product.

You will also at times maybe need to seek suggestions from others for fitting things such as the RC as their is more than one way of doing this and on here a lot share their experiences and help out with ideas.

I hope this makes sense and helps.

No doubt Colin will be able to add more than me as he is familiar with a lot more of the kits than I am.  And more knowledgeable all round!

[colin]

Mike... your good on that one... agree with every thing...   

could not have put it better...

in the online shop, some of the Kits have photo's of the kits contents, for example:
SS Furie here you can see the printed plastic sheets and the layout of the fittings..

all of the Deans range are built in very much the same way, so Joe's Builds or My builds or Mikes Builds, would be good examples of how to go about building these kits..

another example of kit contents: AIR SEA RESCUE LAUNCH "128"

[Dimitri]

Colin, thank you for your clarification. Just was too busy in the office.