Brought this vintage Aero Kits RAF Crash Tender for £50 from Newcastle area, it is the 34in version.
To my surprise at home I found that it had a Bullet 30 motor installed these motors were the top drawer motor of early fast electrics in the early 1980's and its the only one I've ever seen, it can run on 24v and pull around 15A giving 300w not bad for a brushed motor.
due to the power of this motor I have modified the hull under the water line with turn fins and trim tabs to reduce torque roll and improve turning stability, the underside is incorrect already as it only has one propshaft, where the original had two and I believe that both props turned in the same direction.

The Pictures here show some of the work in progress I have remounted the motor and added a speed controller rated at 24v
I have remade the stern compartment and rudder gear under it.
I have blocked windows and foamed the front half of the boat.
made missing parts and repaired delaminating ply.

Note old ply is not as good as modern, the glue is not as water resistant.

Have painted the hull and have just ordered the decals from Cornwall model Boats :-https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/cgi-bin/sh000001.pl?WD=hose%20fire&PN=becc_fire_tender%2ehtml#aB_2dFTS1_2e32

The 34in is 1/16 scale

Fitting can be brought but many are cast white metal and can add weight to the boat, I have made two water cannons and plan to buy plastic fittings from this site.

This has turned out to be a task that is difficult to assess how much effort and money to spend on a hull that has been built by someone else (say no more).
Have just finished the steps for the stern compartment.
Painted and now for the test run.
the Bullet 30 motor ran well between 14 and 18v,

PT 109 was one of the hundreds of motor torpedo boats (PT) of the PT 103 class completed between 1942 and 1945 by Elco Naval Division of Electric Boat Company at Bayonne, New Jersey. The Elco boats were the largest in size of the three types of PT boats built for U.S. use during World War II. Wooden-hulled, 80 feet long with a 20-foot, 8-inch beam, the Elco PT boats had three 12-cylinder Packard gasoline engines generating a total of 4,500 horsepower for a designed speed of 41 knots. With accommodations for 3 officers and 14 men, the crew varied from 12 to 14. its full-load displacement was 56 tons. Early Elco boats had two 20mm guns, four .50-caliber machine guns, and two or four 21-inch torpedo tubes. Some of them carried depth charges or mine racks. Later boats mounted one 40mm gun and four torpedo launching racks. Many boats received ad-hoc refits at advanced bases, mounting such light guns as Army Air Forces 37mm aircraft guns and even Japanese 23mm guns. Some PTs later received rocket launchers.

This Proboat PT 109 model was brought in 2013 for £100 these boats are rare now, This one had a few faults with the propshafts they were bent and noisy both were replaced, with quality 4mm shafts, motors twin 600s were also replaced by Graupner versions along with mounts and couplings, basically all the running gear, also two ESCs by Aquapower were added and a 2.4G RC system.

Building a German Police launch right now and thought that the radar scanner components were a bit 'heath robinsonish', so decided to see if I could make an alternative unit.

Photo 1 shows the Radar scanner parts obtained from MMB (ebay) for the princely sum of ONE POUND !!!!! plus 28p postage, and construction is of a medium soft resin that isn't prone to breaking or splitting when shaped or drilled, and a short length of 2mm brass rod becomes the drive shaft. This particular unit has a 44mm sweep bar but there are many other sizes available

Photo 2 shows the drive motor which operates on voltages between 1.5 and 6v, ideal for the control driver which is the next item. Available from saih.tan on Ebay for under 7 pounds, and if the motor is mounted on a removable bracket as I have done, this unit can be used in several models without the need for major 'surgery', the motor and radar shaft being connected with a short piece of rubber tubing

Photo 3 shows the receiver driven radar motor speed control which operates from an auxiliary receiver channel and takes the motor voltage from the main receiver supply, thus obviating the need for a separate supply and switch.
This unit is available from www.mr-rcworld.co.uk and costs a staggering 14.50 post free sheesh !

I must add here that I am in NO way connected to any of the suppliers mentioned here, but just though some other modellers may be interested in 'home brew' accessories and suchlike.

I bought a used hull of the Ayton Cross and look all over the internet for some plans but found none.
I did find a lot of images though.

I bought most if not all of the fittings and since have decided that the way to go is to make what you can from what I can get hold of.

So all other model boats are and will be scratch made.
I have two on the burner at the moment.

Anyway some of the Ayton Cross looks right some of it does not.

But I can always do it again as I hopefully get a little better.
This one again is awaiting Ballast and it will be ready to go.
I fitted two Engel 12 volt motors and made the mounts in grp then Laminated them into position..

Everything has been hand painted and slightly aged .

The bow thruster was made using some household plumbing pipe a small propshaft Again home made and it works very well.

Something to play with as I build hopefully better.

This 1/12 scale model is based on the Aerokits Solent Class lifeboat. Over the past 5 months it has been under going a major refit. I originally built the boat about 35 years ago and got the "bug" again last September. I've done the best I can to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

Its powered by two MFA Torpedo 800 electric motors. power comes from two lead acid batteries, each rated at 12v 7Ah. Control is provided by two Mtroniks Tio ESC. The twin spade rudders are linked to one servo. Each ESC has its own receiver. I found that one receiver, using a Y lead, could not continuesly keep the two ESC supplied with a signal and they kept going into Failsafe mode alternately. I got round it by binding two receivers to the one transmitter. Within the engine compartment is an automatic bilge pump. Two probes detect if/when the water level rises to a certain amount in the bilge and activates the pump.

The model has working radar scanner , navigation lights, search light and blue flashing light.

If you want to see the boat in action please go to my You Tube page at https://www.youtube.com/user/coljacktonvale

First trip out 100Mtrs coupling broke, calmest day for weeks took an hour to get back!! Built from plans supplied by Colin Smith. 38/32 brushless motor, 125A ESC, 4 cell lipo. When it went it went! Motor, ESC and motor mount water cooled. I will get a new coupling and try to get a video of this hope we have some more calm days.

1/12th scale Guard lifeboat still not finished still havent painted the cockpit thats why the blue window but just couldnt wait to see it on the water. Powered by twin Pittman motors it has six low profile 12v batteries mounted below the waterline to aid in its self righting.

HI All, I had a request for infomation on the Motor and Gearbox setup that I have fitted into a Wavemaster, a Sea Commander, and Fireboat, all shown in various posts of mine. The gear boxes are fitted with a 2.92:1 reduction gear, and were purchased from Hong Kong on Ebay, this is the information if I can publish it in this post. I mount the gearbox this way up to position the motor in the boats as low as possible.

RC Model Big Size Metal Gear Box
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RC-Model-Big-Size-Metal-Gear-Box-with-3-Metal-Motor-Gear-for-R-C-Airplane-GB090-/270842196092?pt=US_Character_Radio_Control_Toys&hash=item3f0f73f07c

Ebay Number

270842196092

Specifications
Material: Steel Brass and Aluminium
Main Gear: 38 Teeth Aluminium
Motor Gear: 13 Teeth Brass
Gear Rate 2.92:1
Prop Shaft Diameter: 4mm
Prop Shaft Length: 13mm

Hope this helps those who have asked Graham

Have been resurrecting this old 34 1/2" FIREBOAT which was originally built in 1958 from an aerokits kit, for the last 12 months. Went for first sail at Cwmbran on Wednesday, and I am pleased to say it performed very well, But needs a little tweeking to get balance right as she sits a little low at the bow. Having been given some great advice by the local club members, I will be moving the motor and mount further back, and reducing size of prop as it used too much power. But still I'm happy with the performance and the fact it didn't leek. Will update as soon as I've done the mods.

HI fellow Modellers,
Another model from the RADMC fleet at the fleetshaven workshop and boat yard in Ponthir.This model was built using a Billings Kit, bought for me as a Christmas pressent in 2009. A graupner 6 volt steam unit is fitted in the funnel and to make the boat a little more realistic a maplin steam sound system has been used to generate the sound of the engine. A simple mod allows the revs to be linked to the engine voltage. The steam engine rotates using a stripped down minI servo, fitted under the motor housing on the deck, again linked to the main motor voltage. The two 9.6 volt AA batteries and control gear are mounted under the boats floor, forward locker, a minI servo for steerage is fitted under the rear seat and the receiver is located under the wood pile. Figures are self made from items obtained from the local pound shop. The modal can be seen sailing at Cwmbran Boating Lake or at shows the society visit. Hope you enjoy the pictures, Regards GreyWolf.

Another project as I found a model RIB at our local car boot sale ( probably for action man or simular ) and thought it might be worth modifying.
it floats in the bath and now has a Mtronics Vision 500 motor and ESC, and servo steering via a rudder mounted in the dummy outboard.
More after sea trials!
Regards
Chris

This is my work in progress plus some nice angles of my boat. Colour scheme obviously not conventional but I like it. its some way off its maiden launch and this isn't the intended motor- that is still in the post! it will be fitted with a Graupner 600 8.4v and a Viper 20A ESC.This is an ebay purchase and came with some original brass items and an IC engine - hence the modification to the motor mount.The boat will probably sail initially at Blackheath.