Crew posting to Tug, still in dry dock and more crew to be completed and fixed to deck, limited room, but at least 2 more to go......still to be maidened, happy with subtle weathering....not over the top...fender soaked in some tea bags for a week....satisfactory end result...

Crew billets still to be decided, awaiting delivery of seamen gunners for 50cals, however pilot in wheelhouse with some passengers aboard.

Drivers and opo in truck to be completed, vehicle is also rc, so can be driven off when ramp lowered at designated location.

Midshipman Max takes the helm for the first time with the PBR......gave him 50% power levels.

Just knocked up camera jib for the gopro from an old tripod -
Tried it in the Morning Mist !

Gave up trying to fit a smoke device in the HSL due to lack of room so decided to try something else. Set up the twin small air pumps (1 per exit) and made some y joints to link them to the pump and exhaust outlets,. Works reasonably well and not too noisy. Breaks up the flow a bit and gives it an 'exhaust flow look'.
JB

Hooked it up to test exhausts and set the voltage a bit higher (2.6v) to show a bit more smoke. It can go to 3.5V but the test V reg Buck wont handle it (I've fitted a fan but still gets hot quick on 3.6V although not quite as bad.)
JB

This is the latest smoke version running on only 2,2V (4 Amps) and using a 12v water/air pump running on 8v to push the smoke. I can't run it on 3v (coil capable of 3.5v) as the regulator (5 Amp) is only rated for around 3.5A continuous (found that out cooking the last one) They say they have an over heat cutout, - but not so much☹️!

Don't need any more smoke than this for most applications I would think, but it's there if you need Mt Etna. Might see if I can get some lower wattage coils to drop the amps. I've ordered a few different 5A regulators to try, but I think fans are going to be needed to cool them. I think this is about as small as you can make these, using this method and easy to find bits and pieces, as you have to leave a reasonable air gap so as not to melt the housing, (also to pack the cotton around the coil)

There are the pre-wound coils to try next which might be able to be fitted in a smaller metal housing, but that's for later. I'm sure everyone has the idea by now and it will be interesting to see what others come up with for their particular models.
JB

A fan powered smoke unit (modified Heng Long) tried in the HSL. Not particularly good but it's output is reasonably scale(ish). As the fan (12v comp snail fan) just blows into the back of the smoke box without any positive connection, a fair bit of smoke escapes into the engine bay. The fan is hooked up to run with the cooling pump and is left on while running after the smoke (on off remote from the rotary switch) is turned off, and blows the residual smoke from the engine bay out the exhausts.

There are also the 2 small air pumps plumbed into the exhaust outlets via venturi pipe inserts, to blow the water out of the exhausts, (just on the waterline) as any water stops the smoke coming out (surface tension holds it in the pipe). Once I find a decent high volume small quiet air pump, I can do away with these and the fan, which should make things a bit better.
I've ordered some small 12v 40W printer elements to try another smoker idea, but they will be a while coming. Smoke will only be on for startup so shouldn't be too much of a problem.

I've almost become water/vaporlogged/glycerogged with all these experiments, and the other night I actually set off the smoke detectors,- house smells like a glycerine factory for hours afterwards,- but my skin's getting really smooth😂😂😂😂
JB

This is the top of the line, premium, top grade, no expense spared, gold standard, fully reverse flowed liquid converter. Assembled by skilled Latvian craftsmen using quality hammers and pick axes, and working in the most modern up to date farm sheds. We at Smoke R&D, present the Smoker Model X - "A smoker for the discerning modeler" (said Botswana Model Monthly)
JB, Head Sherang, Smoke R&D.

Still waiting for a better air pump so thought I'd try whacking 2 pumps on and upping the voltage from 2 to 2.5V Works a lot better but smoke still a bit slow. If I blow gently into the air tube I get massive clouds of smoke (hence the need for a better pump) Sorry about the crappy vid,- camera lens has a cloudy spot and not so good inside.
JB

Managed to get a smoker fitted in the HSL and it works reasonably well. Would have used a small ESC to vary the smoke etc but have run out of channels on the 6ch TX (also room). Could use my 9X TX but would have to mod the elevator to a throttle (for twin set-up) I could use the TX to program smoke advance etc using the curve facility. Might do that later as I mainly use my Futaba 6ex and 9XR for my planes and hardly use the 9X, (even though it's a good radio).
JB

Trying air injection to break up the water flow. The air pumps I ordered finally arrived a week late but are too small to be of much use. I need a much bigger and faster volume of air to achieve what I want, which is for the water to almost be sprayed out in a mist. Might need to mod the water outlet by fitting fine tubes or stoppers around the inner smoke tube to build up a bit of back pressure, which might be another alternative
Unfortunately, as I've said before, you can't scale water, due partly to surface tension etc (why it either drips or runs out of a small pipe), so to make it fine you have to pressurize/vaporise it at the point of exit (ie garden sprayer) which is the hard part on a small scale. Lots of fun trying to perfect it though, and it keeps me out of trouble, and keeps the brain working - (although it's just asked for a pay rise due to all the work it's been doing lately!😂)

Tip,- if you run both videos at once you can see the difference between this and the last vid. It also breaks the smoke up.
JB