HMS Flirt, built by Palmers of Tyneside in 1897. It was a C class aka Star class three funnel 30 knot destroyer. Twin reciprocating steam engines.
The model is 1/72 scale, 3ft long. I have some figures to stick on yet as well as the torpedo davits and the ship's boats.
The model has twin electric motors and is controlled by a Flysky 10 channel radio. The motors can be run synchronized or independent, selected with one of the switches. The left knob rotates the forward gun and the other knob rotates the torpedo tubes.
The model is entirely scratch built. Fiberglass sheathing balsa for the hull. The funnels and cowl vent are 3d printed to my files. I now have a 3d printer which I'm sure will make many fitting for future models.
1 / 4At one point the sailboat was out in front of me, but in the waves and stiff wind, it would not come about, I had to sail it by dropping off the wind.
Sailing on Lake Champlain, NY
I wish my videos would have been better but I had a stiff wind and some choppy water, still the double end design of Emily the little spunky sister of Gary Webb’s Emma, did a nice exhibition of a sailboat for the family.
I was sailing off the southern side of Willisboro Point on Wednesday afternoon.
Just a few photos of the Three Musketeers sailing on Sunday 19th July. We seem to be the only three that turn up on a regular basis. Just so happened there was a young lady photographer (Inga Zaiat) taking pictures around the lake. She asked if she could take some of us and the boats. From left to right Myself, Arthur & Ian. Arthur picked up the Victoria for a song at Model Boat Mayhem and after a bit of tinkering we had it up and sailing. Considering the sails are in poor condition it sails very well. Ian's boat is a second hand DF65 and mine (Red one) is built from plans out of the Model Boats magazine but does have a purchased DF65 rig. All good fun. PS. I uploaded the photos in low res as they take up less space and load faster.
The Wiesel is Back: Sea Trial at Lake Seminole Park (Florida, USA)
Had a nice run with the Schnellboot Wiesel at the June 21,2026 meet of the Suncoast Scale Model Boat Club. First time back in the water after 15+ years in my display case. I was hoping for a little more speed but the boat ran well and looked good cutting the water. But then, don't all of the Schnellboot look good? Only issue was me letting it drift into some weeds while setting up my camera on the tripod. Most of the video was recorded at about 30 meters away but the decent zoom on the camera brought the boat in close. I hope you enjoy the video.
At the last SSMBC (Seminole, Florida, U.S.A.) Jim brought his RC scale model of the "Blue Devil" (WWII Fletcher Class destroyer) to the SSMBC meet. Having taken a video of it I decided to have some fun and edit it and add some sound effects to represent it looking for a German U-Boat. About 2-1/2 minutes long). Sound layers added: Water, engine, sonar, alarm, and voice. Lew
The sound track makes all the difference, it adds a sense of realism and character. The back end looks rather low in the water, and you don't want the crew to get wet feet when firing the depth charges.
