Thank you for posting that again Fred,
I might have a go at that later.

Martin555.

Hi

It is a YouTube vid if you look up RUSTING MODEL CARS! HOW TO MAKE RUST POWDER.

fred

Hi Fred,
That is a good tip thank you.

Unfortunately i am unable to open the video it just says (404 Not Found)

Martin555.

Hi
With regards to rusting, try putting some wire wool into a jar with vinegar do this in a well vented👍 area, then after a few day's place some of the wool onto your model were you think rust would be and leave for a day, .

Fred

Try old metal nails and screws in rain water (not chlorinated tap water)
Leave them to rust all year round.
Collect the sediment rust from the bottom of the container and allow to dry to a powder.Mix with Matt varnish and apply to model.
You have real rust.
I use it all the time....works well.
Bill.👍

Keep it simple -
I use as simple as it gets, I scrounged a 2nd hand cooker hood this mounted in my workshop with some Hardboard sides and vented out of the window it also has lights built in, and it seconds as a smoke chamber when I'm silver soldering and small welding jobs.

WEATHERING

Hi guys,
There are many technics to weathering your models.
one way is to use a weathering kit made from coloured powder. Approx £15.00 - £20.00

Or you could use Pastels sanded or filed, and use the powder from that. Approx £5.00.

Method:-
Apply the powder using small paint brush over the required area, when the desired affect has been achieved you then spray over it with a mat/semigloss varnish.

My tip is next time your wife/partner goes shopping for makeup, look at the vast range and shades of eye shadow or even an eye shadow palette. Approx £1.00 or less.

It will do the same job as the others (above) at a fraction of the price.
And it will last you many many years of weathering you'r models.

Martin555.

Who's a clever boy then Martin!👍 Great idea, might try a larger box with two fans, for the larger hulls etc.

Cheers, Peter

Great idea Martin - will try that next time I need to spray a boat or parts - have a couple of spare fans from dead PC's - No not police constables either JB before you start........

SIMPLE SPRAY BOOTH.

Hi Guys,
My simple spray booth is just a cardboard box with a transferable filter unit.
The filter unit is made using a small fan,scrap Balsa wood, a bit of plastic mesh and a couple of layers of toilet tissue.

Made a small box section from the Balsa wood and attached it to the fan.
Fitted a piece of plastic mesh then two layers of toilet tissue then the final piece of plastic mesh.
Fitted a flange to the Balsa box section.
Cut a hole in the back of the cardboard box so that the fan unit fitted snugly in.
Slid in my turntable,connected power and Bingo, works perfectly.
When the cardboard box gets old and tatty just replace it with another cardboard box. Cut out a hole for the filter unit and that is all you have to do.

If the filter gets clogged then replace it with a couple more pieces of toilet tissue.
Looking on eBay something similar will cost you £68.00.

Martin555.

Martin, that’s a great idea!! I’ll have to make one this week.

hi Martin, good tip, I have a doweling jig that works on this priciple.

Nice one Martin 👍

CENTRE FINDER.

How many times have you had to find the centre of a bit of strip wood/plastic.
My simple salutation is to get a scrap piece of wood/plastic, Mark out three points.
(Make sure that one is in the centre between the outer two)
Insert a pin/nail/screw into the end points.
Drill out the centre hole just big enough for the tip of a pencil.

Place the tool over the wood/plastic or other material that you want to find the centre of.
Twist the tool so that both outer pins/nail/screws are against the outer sides of the material.
Mark through the centre hole.
Job done!

Martin555.

Simple but effective, thank you.
I am a believer in keeping things simple and nine times out of ten it's the best way.

Martin555.

A small tip for applying windows easily. Just wrap a piece of masking tape (sticky side out) to a balsa stick and it makes a perfect window placer if using the cyno type plastic glue (or any fast set glue) Put the glue on, place window, hold till set, carefully roll off the 'sticky stick'.
JB

"Sometimes I’ll have small parts that need to be painted, and my lack of patience makes want to paint the thing in one shot. If it’s a part where the bottom is glued down and won’t be seen, I’ll tack glue a scrap piece of balsa stick to the bottom, "

I use double sided tape and an off cut of 2x1 for such parts.
Usually a whole row of 'em. Otherwise not worth firing up the airbrush😉
Sits stable on the spray booth turntable and can be easily set aside for drying.
Cheers, Doug 😎

Use my set of forceps all the time. Got mine from my Dad who was a doctor

Hi Ken,
Great idea👍
My old 13Amp plugs saved my bacon when I lost a couple of 5BA nuts from my ancient Tacol Target motor.
Rummaged around a bit and found that the knurled nuts from the plugs fitted perfectly😊
Now I know what to do with the "leftovers" 😀
Cheers, Doug

Hi Ken,
I never thought of using the brass from electrical plugs.
Good tip.
Thanks.

Martin555.

Good tips Cashrc,
Thank you.

Martin555.

I’ll buy what I need, but I am a CASO at heart (Cheap *** Studebaker Owner) so I will recycle things such as pushrods and clevises. When I flew RC combat I built models en masse, so once I was done with that I found myself with a lot of cut down pushrods around 5-6 inches long. I’ll take those, cut them in half and use small carbon fiber or fiberglass tube cut to length and ca the cut pushrod halves into the tube, making a very stiff, strong light pushrod. If the pushrod half’s slip too much in the tube, then before gluing, I’ll tweak a slight bend or nick the metal so it gets a good purchase inside the tube then run thin ca into the joint. Never had one fail.
Also, baking soda and thin ca acts like concrete, makes a decent filler but can be ugly if over done. Don’t breath the fumes!!!
Sometimes I’ll have small parts that need to be painted, and my lack of patience makes want to paint the thing in one shot. If it’s a part where the bottom is glued down and won’t be seen, I’ll tack glue a scrap piece of balsa stick to the bottom,
paint the part then gently put the stick in the vise to keep the assembly upright while the paint dries, then break off the stick and glue the painted part in place.

When I glue in my prop/rudder shafts I use two part epoxy and pieces of Nylon curtains.
Smear the glue on then add the piece/pieces of Nylon then work them into the glue (like laminating fibreglass).
When completely set it is incredible tough.
You can do the same for any joint where you need strength.
Or repairing fibreglass and model boat repairs.
In fact anything that needs a strong fix.
I have also used thin cotton bandage material, the glue really soaks in and you will be surprised how strong that is.

Many many uses .

Martin555.

Very good tips Fred, thank you.

Martin555.

Hi

If this all ready known just say.

Have you every had to draw a line along a tube, if it is yes then how about this way.

place the tube up to the door jam with the side that the line should be drawn along against the door jam, then run a marker pen down the jam thereby marking the tube.

To put a line around a tube just tape a sheet of paper round the tube making sure that the edge of the paper mate up.

Sorry if this is teaching you to suck egg's

Especially the ones with fiberglass / carbon fiber look alike rods.

PUSHRODS
Hi Guys,
Another good source for pushrods.
Discarded umbrellas.
And with the winds we are getting at the moment you could possibly pick up one or two quite easily.

Martim555.

Neat idea, and comes with ready made handles as well!

PAINT TUB WORK STAND
Hi Guys,
I use old paint tub's as work/display stands.

Remove the handle.
Cut out the desired shape for your boat at the top of the tub.
Line the cutout with rubber hose.
It is ideal for holding your models when you are working on them.
With some modifications you could use it to but your boats in the water and retrieve them as it is made from plastic.

Martin.

I like your tip, it reminded me of the way I have used cycle spokes as drive shafts, the spoke nuts are usually plated brass so can be used in brass props by drilling out then silver solder the nut into the prop after removing the plating.
Cheers Colin.

There are two types of bicycle spokes it seems - ordinary and stainless steel and of course they come in various lengths as our local cycle shop owner said years ago. Have used the ordinary ones as pushrods and the stainless ones as propshafts as components are not easy to come by in SA. However they are not 2mm thread so can only be used with old Billings type plastic props where they thread themselves and using the flat head part of the spoke fastener as a lock nut . Tried to re-thread some but they broke the carbon steel die.

We are fortunate to have a material called Vesconite manufactured here - a grey/black nylon type which replaced Lignum Vitae as underwater shaft bearings on most Tugs around the world. it is lubricated by water - and functions especially well in salt water. So there is very little wear after years of use.

$15 NZ is not too bad for a pair of Sullivan (US) 3ft pushrods (2 inners 2 outers plus 2 threaded rods 2 clevises, 2 clips and 2 keepers) makes it so much easier to make a set (or you can buy them as singles,- different lengths, sizes, $$ available) No worries about finding suitable tube for outers etc, then still having to buy clevises etc (or make Z bends) Not sure of the cost in UK etc,- perhaps they whack you with a bigger $ extraction stick up over ?

Excellent,
And I bet they are a lot cheaper too.

Martin.

Some time ago I bought a whole load of cycle spokes - which are rods with one end threaded. They were very useful as push-rods...

R/C aircraft elev, rudd, ail push-rods come with threaded rod, clevises etc. You can cut them to whatever length you need, (same as yours Doug but with all the bits. Graupner used to make some really fine push-rods in the 70s which I had a truckload of (still have bits left) but they disappeared with all the good stuff from Graupner years ago (Chinese ARF market killed them a bit.)

When I needed an extra long connection the length of my submarine to the rudder I used a home made Bowden type cable.
Stranded steel wire from the garden centre craft shop set in a styrene tube.
😎
Now back to clearing up the terrace / garden after storm damage 🌧️🌪️🌩️😠

They are a really good idea Martin, I've been using them since the 60s in boats and planes. To add to your idea, some other slightly stronger items to try are R/C plane wheel collars (steel or brass) which are available in different IDs. I found that sometimes the brass terminals (electrical) will split at the bottom if you use a bit much force and can come loose. A couple of wheel collars hang on pretty well, and don't have any screws sticking out to catch on things. (I've had partially jammed rudders now and again)

PUSH ROD JOINERS

Hi Guys,
This little tip is probably well known.
To lengthen my pushrods I use electrical terminal blocks, I cut of the plastic insulation and just use the metal part.

Martin.

No not me but was told this method by a fisherman that used to share a Boat with my dad, I've also used on various full size boats to seal water tight buoyancy compartments after storm damage. Mostly 16 to 30ft fishing boats.
Cheers Colin. 👍

Good job Colin, a genuine 'big boat' repair as well, (was that you who did my racing dinghy?)

Hi Colin.
A Brilliant idea, and it will be very useful.
Thank you.

Martin.

Great tip Colin, thanks👍
Now I know how to fix a model of a boat I sailed on in Brazil several years ago 'Queen Lory' in Buzios. I was working in the Brazilian navy yard in Rio for several weeks and used to go up to Buzios at the weekends.
That's the sort of thing I miss since retiring. All the office politics rubbish I don't miss at all 😉
Managed to stick my thumb through the cabin roof of the model☹️
Been thinking of scaling it up to make an RC version.
I'll take some pics tomorrow. (make that later today😮)
Cheers, Doug
PS Wadaya know! Found some pics of the original on the web!
https://www.google.com/search?q=queen+lory+buzios&client=firefox-b-d&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=ouxXG__-25HQmM%253A%252CGg1hT_kx_6p82M%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQw9hQsdZ1jaB_ASAtDMfmBHHKh4g&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiapu__0OziAhVDU1AKHZQ2D3QQ9QEwBXoECAAQBg#imgrc=ouxXG__-25HQmM:

My way of repairing a damaged balsa deck with no internal access.
1-cut away carefully the damaged planks.
2-cut a piece of ply or hardboard so that it just fits diagonally through the hole.
3-drill a small hole in the centre an fit a piece of cord with a knot at the back.
4-pass it through the hole making sure you don't let go, apply industrial strength super glue all around the edge and Pull up into the correct position and support by hanging the weight of the model plus a weight to pull up any indentation.
5-after the glue has set, glue the cord in place then trim off flush with the board.
6-check the fit of the removed wood and if necessary cut new pieces. Then glue it onto place using balsa cement.
7-once set, carefully rub down and re-varnish. Followed by a rub down and as many coats as necessary. I tend to do 6 coats.
Sorry for the lack of photos but the app won't let me upload any more. Gone to my Web browser and added the new pictures. Will post more after doing the the finishing varnish coats. 🤔
Cheers Colin.

Hi Guys,
Sorry but I have run out of tips at the moment.
But please feel free to add your hints and tips.

Everyone from the beginner to the more experienced model makers could benefit from them.
Your tip could trigger the memory of another's, leading to a good comprehensive list of hints and tips.

Martin.

Used to take a bottle of Naval Reserve Port, or a dozen std NZ currency (crate of quart bottles of DB -Dominion Breweries) to parties in my younger days, fertilized many a garden. Once bought a 37 willys sedan for a dozen! (notice I slipped in a marine related item)

Hi JB,
Boozy lot you ANZACS!! 🤣
Prefer Tawny Port meself😉
Down the hatch lads, Cheers, Doug 💤💤

Hi Guys,
Well I have learnt something new today.
Thanks.

Martin.

Absolutely Wingco, 101% with you on that 👍
I got the same advice from an ex RN Captain I met at my local lake here about 30 years ago.
He recommended just that for the two props one rudder setup on the destroyer I was sailing, to improve manoeuvrability when going ahead at speed or slow astern.
He also said I should flatten the hull form at the stern to help concentrate the propwash onto the single central rudder. Did make quite a difference.
Cheers, Doug 😎

I was always told, If you have a single rudder then port clockwise and starboard anticlockwise. If twin rudders then port anticlockwise and starboard clockwise.

Or a shorter version I was told when about 12yrs old, by a boat builder,- there's no red port left in the bottle. Same thing but different. (NZ version)