Bluebird & Other Scale Models

[Black Knight]

Tried posting afew pics here but comes up as file too big. I take them on my iphone so don't know how to make them smaller ;-(

Anyone else been modelling?

[Renegadenemo]

Tried posting afew pics here but comes up as file too big. I take them on my iphone so don't know how to make them smaller ;-(

We're building a 1:1 scale model so we may be able to help and I'm sure our resident photographer, Mike, will be along presently to help you post your pic's...

[Black Knight]

I re-read the diary soooo many times when i'm on nights, surprised it works but hey, i'm not complaining. I do with the pic of the day went into a gallery so i can look at them all too.

I'm a slow modeller at 1/43 scale so if it was to equate to a 1:1 build, i'd probably be taking as long as you too

[midlife]

Hi all,
I'm new here so please be gentle with me.
I've had a fascination with K7 since I was a lad in the 60's, my granddad would tell me stories about DC & Bluebird at bedtime which left me in awe.
I've been following Bill, his hat & the teams exploits since the early days, I thoroughly admire their persistence, dedication, skill levels and awesome knowledge.
This site is a fantastic resource of info for OCD people like me & an invaluable record of this historic rebuild.
Well I bought a set of 1:12 scale plans from Canada off eBay & set to....
Straight away I wasn't happy, it is a very old model plan from the 50's by the look of it & resemblance to K7 is to be fair poor, nothing is the right shape, so I've been going back & changing things where possible, I know it will never look right but from what I started with it's not too bad if you cover your glasses with grease & squint a bit.
I'll post some pics up of my progress when I get home.
Cheers
Wayne



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[midlife]

This is the point I realised the plan was pants.
Cheers
Wayne


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[midlife]

This is where I'm upto now, I'll make & fit the tail and cut the engine bay hatch later.
Cheers
Wayne


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[midlife]

On the colour front, we were given plenty of clues
Cheers
Wayne


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[midlife]

Tail made & glued into position, thanks to this pic for the detail I needed.

I must have gone through 1000 Gnat photos, it appears no one has ever taken a pic of one from behind...

Engine compartment hatch cut, it's not perfect but I'm working on it.
I've also been experimenting with drawing pins to replicate rivets & unfortunately I think I'm onto a winner, the thought of having to cut hundreds down to length makes me want a beer, I'll go & buy a few boxes tomorrow & see how I get on.
Cheers
Wayne


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[K7boats]

Tail made & glued into position, thanks to this pic for the detail I needed.

I must have gone through 1000 Gnat photos, it appears no one has ever taken a pic of one from behind...

Engine compartment hatch cut, it's not perfect but I'm working on it.
I've also been experimenting with drawing pins to replicate rivets & unfortunately I think I'm onto a winner, the thought of having to cut hundreds down to length makes me want a beer, I'll go & buy a few boxes tomorrow & see how I get on.
Cheers
Wayne


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Hello Wayne it's some time since I've posted on website but I have been following your boat looks great can I ask what's going to power it, I've been ill hence no posts for a while ,like to say hello to Mike and all at the BBP the big bird is looking great I've had a long time to think on my model and I'm making a big change to it the tail among other things is been chopped off ! Yep after nearly 3 years of building but with a year of I've decided to make her the 1964 record boat it's just me but I wanted to build the boat which h was part of the double first changed my mind ,but never mind at least I've started all but slowly a hour a day but still enjoying it hope I've posted it correct as I say long time since I posted ,,,,how do I post pictures again? Anyway all the best everyone Al.

[midlife]

Tail made & glued into position, thanks to this pic for the detail I needed.

I must have gone through 1000 Gnat photos, it appears no one has ever taken a pic of one from behind...

Engine compartment hatch cut, it's not perfect but I'm working on it.
I've also been experimenting with drawing pins to replicate rivets & unfortunately I think I'm onto a winner, the thought of having to cut hundreds down to length makes me want a beer, I'll go & buy a few boxes tomorrow & see how I get on.
Cheers
Wayne


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Hello Wayne it's some time since I've posted on website but I have been following your boat looks great can I ask what's going to power it, I've been ill hence no posts for a while ,like to say hello to Mike and all at the BBP the big bird is looking great I've had a long time to think on my model and I'm making a big change to it the tail among other things is been chopped off ! Yep after nearly 3 years of building but with a year of I've decided to make her the 1964 record boat it's just me but I wanted to build the boat which h was part of the double first changed my mind ,but never mind at least I've started all but slowly a hour a day but still enjoying it hope I've posted it correct as I say long time since I posted ,,,,how do I post pictures again? Anyway all the best everyone Al.

Hi Al,
When I started the build I hadn't given the power plant much thought, I've never built anything like this, the last model I "built" was probably an Airfix kit when I was a spotty teen.
Now that I've been looking into it, I really don't want to invest the money for a proper jet engine into this model as it's just not proportionally correct, I guess I'm using this build to gain the skills & knowledge required to build a proper larger scale model.
This is 12:1 scale so I think I will end up trying a 90mm electric ducted fan, I'm learning all this remote control stuff as I go along but by the look of it the thrust from EDF's suffers quite badly if the airflow into them is restricted, as we know the air intakes on K7 are the limiting factor, I'll have to make some ducting like the real thing & see how it performs.
Another issue is the size & weight of the LIPO battery to power it all, I think it will weigh approx 1kg & measure 150mm x 50mm x 50mm, so that's an extra kilo of thrust I'll need for nothing..
With the ducting I mentioned earlier it's going to be tough to fit it all in & keep the centre of gravity where it needs to be. Thinking out loud, I was going to make the rear plane out of solid balsa but it would make far more sense to make it hollow & slide part of the battery in there, thanks for making me think, result!
Over Xmas I have to build my grandson a smaller scale prop driven model of K7 so that he'll leave mine alone, I've been out testing the donor boat & all is good, I found a boating lake close to me as well, kids eh!
I've started collecting materials for a jet powered larger scale perhaps 6:1 model, i need to finish this one first though..

I'm glad you're starting to feel better & feel the inspiration to carry on with yours, to be honest your K7 is what pushed me over the edge to build my own, I guess we will be watching each others progress from now on.

Sorry for the War & Peace post, hope I don't get "moderated"
Cheers
Wayne


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