Topic: HMS Zulu build

[paul swainson]

Hi Joe,  Had a look and could not see any 35 and 36ft motor boats,  but I must say the detail on the ones listed are very good.  I will have a look at the other sight and also John Haynes has also be mentioned.  I will chat to Ron about what he has too.

[radio joe]

Hi Paul, I had not realised lusty had 35 & 36 Ft. boats I've not seen any of that size,

Zulu is now sporting her new pennant numbers with the white out line, I like the look of them, also got the 1:96 warning signs, true you need a magnifying glass to read some of them but I think they are a nice touch.

[ship's doctor]

Another excellent build Joe- I like the warning signs, all adds interest!

I have used the 35ft fast motor boats from John Haynes but I'm a little concerned about the weight as they are solid resin. So might need to replace them with vac-formed. I've not found a the RN 36 ft boat online...

[radio joe]

Hi James, the 35 & 36 Ft. Boats are for Paul's lusty at about 8Ft long I don't think the weight will be a problem, judging from the ballast in my 4 footers I'm thinking she'll need at least 5 pounds of ballast.

[radio joe]

Another two whip aerials on her bridge roof is the last of them, she has nine whips and a hoop, now just pottering around adding little details as I think of them, as soon as there is a nice calm day I'll get her to the pond for trials.

[swiftdoc]

Very nice, Joe Good luck for the sea trials. I hope they are a success like mine were with the Muirneag!

[radio joe]

Thanks Arno, Yes committing months of work to a lake that's about 4 foot deep is quite daunting, so with this in mind I thought I'd do one more wet dock test after installing her main ballast, I'm glad I did as she still had a slight list to starbrd. another 15 grams out board of the port battery in a space between the hull and the battery box cured it, so now I'm happy that it will be safe to do the "sea" trials.

[swiftdoc]

In the bath tub she looks perfectly balanced. But that was the same with my Muirneag and other models - out on the pond I found that some correction was needed. So take some lead with you to the pond and good luck!!!!

[Horatio123]

Looking good Joe . Good luck with the sea trials . Swifdoc is right as I can tell you from practical experience you might need a bit more ballast when you get on the lake. 

[paul swainson]

Nice Build Joe, The one problem with my build is that the bath is too small, will need a swimming pool.

[radio joe]

Had not thought of that Paul, dose er in doors know she's getting a pool yet, LOL.

Sea trials will be carried out with great care, in calm conditions, so I can see how she handles without too much input by the weather, I usually run up and down the pond a couple of feet from the edge for some time so if the worst happens at least I can retrieve her, if she handles as well as Solebay I'll be well pleased.

[paul swainson]

No Joe, she has no idea of what is happening but I can say I know your bath very well and feel part of it!!

[radio joe]

I'm fitting out Zulu loosely based on what she was like in 1983/84, and from memory of working in the ship building industry from 1977 on, the health and safety issues we have today were starting to become prevalent in the eighties, so to that end I made some fire extinguishers and placed them throughout the decks along with safety signage for various hazards that we are all so used to, next I'm going to try to tackle the curtains on the turrets.

[radio joe]

I've had a go at tackling the turret curtains using tissue paper, very fragile not easy to work, they are not brilliant but passable, I wanted them to look "used" and maybe a bit tatty and I think tatty about covers them, anyway she's about finished and awaiting trials.

[FJF]

Perfect build! Impressive work on details.