The Big Adventure.

[fspg2]

Kim, it's always great to admire your creative work!

[1-32]

Hi Ray, Russ and Frithjof.
cheers .
Ray the sail design is a Chinese  Junk design, really every batton that goes across the sail should a trimming rope but it usually gets really messy.

[Design-HSB]

Hello Kim, the sail is a typical Chinese junk sail, only the slats are too huge for me that have not used bamboo tube?

[1-32]

Hi all.
After careful planning, I have decided that a Flat bottom swamp boat with a Mud motor is what I  am looking for so here it is.I try hard with motors but really I struggle it is definitely a work in progress, I just lose interest. And of course, there are new crew members to go with the swamp boat.
cheers Kim.
.
.
.

[finescalerr]

If you change your mind again, you can always fill it with water, put it in the freezer, and use it as a tray to make ice cubes. -- ssuR

P.S.: Your other boat inspired me to draw this thing and it was so difficult it took days! Click on the image to see it much larger.

[1-32]

Hi Russ that is really close to my original hull design I bet it was a whole lot easier to do it this way than my method, ice cubes yes as long as there is a profit in them.
My outboard has gone back to the workshop for some adjustment pity there was not a casting of a 3 horsepower Honda engine they are definitely the small engine of choice around the World.
My big adventure nuts you say all I do is make boats and butcher plastic figures so her is a bit of a drawing of the big event -work it out.

cheers

[Ray Dunakin]

Nice job on the swamp boat. Reminds me of an "adventure" my brother and I had when we were teens...

There was a filthy old pond on land that used to be a dairy farm near us. It was surrounded by trees, trash, and junk. We tried fishing in it, without success. Then we found a large, shallow box that had wooden sides and a sheet metal bottom. I think it had been used for mixing concrete.

We dragged it into the water and discovered that we could actually stand in it and float around. We found an old shovel too, and used it for an oar. The problem was, there were several small holes in the sheet metal, so our "boat" would gradually fill with water. We kept having to row it to shore and dump it out.

Inevitably, the time came when we didn't make it back to shore in time, and sank. I shudder to think of the diseases we were probably exposed to in that grimy water, but somehow we survived with no harm done. However, our dad was not very happy about it all.

[1-32]

Hi Ray.
nice image you should model it on a large scale it would look great.
I had a similar adventure when I was 3 years old I was sent to live with my grandparents in far north tropical  Australia visually it is all stunning except.this was 1956 to 1957
My grandfather worked at the local coal-powered gas works which were located in a less desirable part of town a swamp actually and the company house was on the edge of the swamp interesting in its own way.
In this environment were 4 features that I still remember.
To get coal to the gasworks they constructed an earth embankment for a railway line on either side of the embankment were long rows of coconut palms. Every 2 or 3 days old coal fired railway engine would trundle along to deliver coal to the gas works. There in the extreme heat stokers would feed the gas works with coal swearing at the heat and coal dust.
But.
During the second world war, this part of Australia was being threatened with an invasion so to deprive the invaders any useful infrastructure mining equipment and oil processing equipment was sunk in the swamp the environment was littered with these bits and pieces with just parts of their structures being visible .the water was a swamp colour with the shimmering film of tar from the gas works and a course the place was crawling with those sort of creatures that are part of a nightmare heaps of snakes and crocodiles are the most vivid.
A big adventure for a 3-year-old with on friends.
Anyway, Russ with your boat do the keel,  stern and gunnels then figure out a way to make it in a solid 3 D form.
Cheers

[Barney]

With ref to your boat motor  - The one I have seen was in an aircraft Museum under a American Fighter aircraft of the Vietnam era
from what I can remember it was a Moped / or lambretta (if thats how you spell it) engine with half its cowl missing bolted to a British Myford lathe gearbox the prop shaft tube was only about 1 1/2 inch Dia I think yours looks a bit on the heavy side
1/35th kits of mopeds are still about I think Diopark still do some and I have seen others but they seem to come and go
the Verlinden 1/35th kit of the San Pan is still about Second hand but some people are asking stupid prices it was an early resin kit and not  good.
Barney   

[Barney]

Found amongst MY old files /scrap books an ODD BOD loco All you copyright people (I could find better words to describe them but Im in a nice mood) can go away or dig an hole as I actually OWN the photo can not remember were I acquired it and I don't no much about it
I should be the one to moan have seen it on the internet recently !! on the back it has LEN - 1957
Barney
Would make a nice Swamp Rat loco

[1-32]

Hi Barney,
Great set of pictures Thailand is still full of these styles of boats and mud hopping motors,  doing ridiculous speeds and carrying up to 10 passengers. The motors were always a creative use of available machinery but Hondas have taken over.
During the Vietnam War, the CIA  documented the shape and construction methods of coastal small boats of Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia very useful if you want to model this era, wooden pegs were very popular fasteners.I accessed these books from Sydney's  Maritime museum's library.
cheers

[Chuck Doan]

This is really good Kim! Great modeling and imagination. I think those are two of the best things to accomplish.

[1-32]

cheers, Chuck.
I looked around and knew that I had some old photocopies [very dark] of the CIA textbook and here are some reproductions. The last image is of a boat based on these drawings that i built maybe 15 years aho[HO scale]
cheers.
.
.
.
..
.
.

[Krusty]

Found amongst MY old files /scrap books an ODD BOD loco

Experimental Nattrass locomotive (putting a Cadillac car to more civilised use) on trial at Campbell's Sawmills Ltd, Karapoti, Upper Hutt, New Zealand. Nattrass never managed to convince anyone to buy this locomotive, but his subsequent ventures into improving Fordson tractors were moderately successful.

Another photo of the trial, if it works, both by someone called H.R. Maybury.

[1-32]

Hi Krusty how are you doing
Moving along I have added a roof to the swamp boat-paper and styrene.I like the effect that is on top of the roof I first started with a camouflage pattern but did not really like it fiddled around and this came out of the fiddle. Base colour then an acrylic matt fixative let dry but not too long and an acrylic topcoat let dry again not too long.Wet the top coat and rub you will find that the fixer will act as a sort of wet medium between the base and top coat producing a nice random effect .
cheers.
.
.
.