Newsletter – June 27th 2010.

My new Steam Yacht model (pics & details added 30.11.08)

Another new model from the Kingston Mouldings workshop as yet un-named, but all mine and most definitely not for sale. If enough people tell me they're interested, then I'll add the hull and plan to the range. The basis for this new creation is a modified version of my 1904 Windermere open launch hull, but moulded with bulwarks, and everything else is wood built up the old fashioned way, I like ‘traditional’ modelling methods. The steam plant is an SVS unit, all quite extensively re-built and modified by retired engineer friend Ted Hodson, who also helped by doing a fair amount of painting and finishing work on the model to speed things up, he was getting rather impatient with my slow rate of progress.

 

And now, African Queen (added 27.08.08)

It's been a while since anything new has been added to the range, but at long last, the one that many have been waiting for is here, the ever popular open steam launch AFRICAN QUEEN. I've done it at one tenth scale, which makes it around 930mm x 270mm, or 36½" x 10½". With those distinctive hull strakes, it hasn't been an easy one to make, and research has proved especially difficult. I've lost count of the number of times I've sat through the film DVD to try to gain fresh info on the boat, and I know almost all the dialogue for both Humphrey and Katherine off by heart. As all who have seen the film will know, the boat that they used was pretty rough and battered in appearance. I haven’t reproduced this effect on my hull, no dents but not a polished high gloss finish either, so you could also use this hull for a model of several other period launches if you want to. I first thought that it would be a relatively simple matter of scaling up the little Billings kit design, but not at all, the original boat from the film still survives, but some time after filming, the boat was altered substantially, also the dummy steam plant used for filming was replaced by a completely different functioning one, all of which means that the Billings version doesn't represent the film boat at all. Naturally, no useful drawings of the original exist, but I think I've managed to do justice to the true AFRICAN QUEEN design in the end. Of course, a detailed scale drawing is supplied, and some pics of an excellent finished AFRICAN QUEEN have just been added to the AQ page on this site.

Most of the activity in my local club concerns sailing boats, or at least it does when the lake isn't choked with weed, as it usually is at the moment. For many years, I've made little but steam and electric-powered models for my own amusement, but fellow club members have converted me to the delights of sail at long last, so I've made a new IOM ONE METRE YACHT, a comprehensive update of the popular SPIRIT design, the hull is completely new and only the name is the same, see the relevant page for more details. As well as the hull, I've also made a stylish skiff type deck moulding for this hull as an optional extra, and you can see both of these new items on the SPIRIT IOM page.

Although I've tried competitive sailing myself, I've decided that it's not really for me, so I lean more towards the scale side. A recent request from a trade customer was for a small semi-scale gaff-rigged design, and as he wants quite a lot of these, I've started work on a FALMOUTH RIVER BOAT for him. This has to be a handy size, so quite small at 540 x 180mm, and it will have an enlarged keel, so that all necessary lead ballast can be contained within the hull. It's still two or three months away from production, but keep watching this page for further details. I'll try to keep everything about this design as simple as possible, and there's even a possibility that complete kits might be available eventually, so like I said, keep watching this page for further news.

I had countless customers asking for an RAF VOSPER CRASH TENDER, so eventually had to make this old favourite from the early 1950s. I had the original Vosper plans to work from, so have captured all the elegant lines and curved hull sections of the real thing, something completely missing from the slab-sided plywood kit version of the same boat that many will remember from years ago. There is a 1/16th scale version like the original Aerokits design, and this measures 880mm x 255 mm or 34½” x 10”. Depending upon how accurate you want your model to be, you can either fit twin shafts like the real thing, or a single shaft like the Aerokits version of old.

21 - 09 - 09 - Updated ORDERING & PAYMENT information for customers outside the UK.

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