Your welcome. I have VHS video of this ship in action which I need to convert to DVD format to post to Youtube or Facebook but I need to have time to do the conversion after I locate the video which is packed away with dozens of others from the Nabs days. I hope to get the photos and videos posted someday as there is a lot of history there and great pics of the ships that were in the club during first 10 years.
Nice pics Curt, I currently have the Roberts, she was captured by the Germans and is being refitted to serve in the Kriegsmarine, Jay
Sweet. I am going to have to get a list of the ships you guys have had in the Nabs fleet for records. I hope to get a complete roster of the all of the ships that were started finished or unfinished, from all the guys who were involved in the club. Do a photo pictorial of the ships and a little Blurb on each one. I got most of them but I am sure there are many more that were started or just in the building stages but I don't know what ships they are and who owned them. Be nice for club history and records.
Hi Curt, I'll get you started with the data collection. These are mostly in chronological order. All models except the first HMS Terror had fibreglass hulls, the majority being from my molds (now Strike Models'). HMS Terror (WWII version; wood hull) - built 1984 with a primitive BB cannon and spherical Freon tank; never used in combat and the only known RC combat model in Canada at the time; scrapped after fibreglass hull made in 1996. HMS Terror (WWI version) - built 1996; sold ~2003, bought back from Tom Cromwell ~2008 and scrapped 2011 (The plexiglass used for the decks and some interior fittings was deteriorating; all of my later models had moulded fibreglass decks.) HMS Hood - used the first hull produced in 1997; model not completed until 2004 due to very detailed superstructure; disarmed and sold around 2006, bought back in 2011; to be repaired and rearmed with a different BB cannon arrangement. HMS Courageous - first fiberglass hull from the 1997 mold; model completed 1997; sold to Plato Avrimades (sp?) around 2000-2002; was in the MWC (now retired?). HMS Suffolk - another first hull with quarterdeck cut down; started in 1998; sold incomplete in 1999 with fiberglass deck, rudder, motors, armour, shafts and props installed; it went to Pictou County for a couple of years but nothng further was done and was resold to Piper (at that time a young lad). I helped him complete the model which served in the NABS fleet as HMS Cumberland; I hope to buy it back from Piper in 2-3 weeks and refit it as the 1945 version without the large hangar aft. SNS Espana - another first hull; completed in 1998 and used for two years; good turning and lots of impenetrable area but too slow - 28 sec. speed and no equally slow opponents in the NABS fleet; sold to Scott Ellis ~2000; now owned by Craig Nash in NB. HMS Black Prince (WWI AC) - another first hull; started in 1998 and sold incomplete to Rob Helliwell; battled in NABS fleet for a couple of seasons, teamed with HMS Minotaur. Bought back in 2007 and sold in ~2009 to Brian M. of the OAF. SNS Canarias - my second model using one of my Kent/Canarias hulls; completed 1999 and was a really fun combat model. The ability to fight in either the Axis or Allied fleet was a plus. Sold to a US captain ~2002. (I'd like to get it back!) HMS Warspite - Ralph Coles QE hull (Mk.I) extensively modified with fiberglass (wider bow with greater flare, longer and fatter bulges, fewer casemate guns); completed late summer 1999 and was my most successful combat ship; fought at NATS 2003 and was often the last Allied ship afloat in successive CANNATS; sold to someone else via Craig Nash in 2007. The plan was to replace Warspite with HMS Rodney in 2008 but that has yet to happen. HMS Gorgon - 1.5 unit monitor built in 2001; another first hull; 4' turning circle, small target and a surprisingly good combat model for its size; still in my fleet. Great fun to operate and can be an infuriating model to less agile opponents. Helped a cruiser sink HMS Barham when it lost propulsion. HMS Roberts - 2.0 unit monitor; another first hull; started around 2002 and sold incomplete in the same stage of construction as HMS Suffolk. Went to John Coffil who completed it (another model with 4' turning circle). Later sold to another fellow who couldn't maintain it and sold it for a pittance at a flea market before NABS members had a chance to buy it. I-400 - Battlers Connection hull (now OOP); traded a Suffren hull for it in 2002, deepened it by 3/8" and original superstructure discarded. Mold for an accurate SS made; completed in 2003 and underwent testing for several years. Able to do static dives and resurface multiple times using CO2 capsules. Self-draining 1.5 unit spurt gun design passed dive tests (housed in hangar pointing aft). Ongoing ballast mods in attempt to make the model stable enough for competition; sold to Brian M. in the OAF in ~2010 when NABS members produced a new I-400 hull that was deeper and more likely to be stable. HMS Erebus - sistership to HMS Terror but with bow rudder installed; started around 2005; sold to Tom Cromwell in ~2006; can be seen incomplete on a shelf in photos of Stokomoto's workshop. HMS Minotaur - WWI AC; lengthened Black Prince hull; detailed model; built 2006; battled in NABS fleet 2006-2007 and as a Treaty Combat ship in 2008; remains in my 'fleet' and is quickly convertible between IRCWCC and Treaty specs. FOR SALE (to be replaced by faster HMS Cumberland). HMCS Roberts - Class 1.5 small AA 'cruiser'; built from an Eric Broderick hull in 2006; detailed model; sank on first trial in a lake after receiver (and pump) failure in moderate waves; located ~250' from shore by motor noise and recovered from 12' depth. Battled only once - too 'pretty' for me to battle with it and see the details destroyed; sold to Brian M. of the OAF at the same time as the I-400. HMS Furious - the 1997 Courageous hull plug was in storage for years and in 2006-7 was repaired and modified with larger bulges to make the hull plug for HMS Furious; I'm not really sure why I did this as Furious can carry only 2 cannons and 2 pumps under IRCWCC rules. However under Treaty rules she's very fast and can carry 1.5 unit guns. This hull will likely end up as a noncombat RC ship model of Furious in 1917 (the hybrid battlecruiser/carrier) complete with 1/144 biplanes. IJN Ibuki - uncompleted japanese light carrier; 'hypothetical' ship allowed under Washington Treaty and NABS rules; Ralph Coles Mogami hull with fibreglass hangar added; started construction 2009 (thread on this site); construction resumed this fall. Was to be a Treaty Combat model but will be completed as a convoy (target) ship, if not sold as is (with aircraft complement). FOR SALE. I-400 (#2) - from the new I-400 mold I made in 2009 (3 NABS members helped make the hull plug); way down the project list. Pending sale of the hull and ss molds for production in the US. Profintern - Soviet CL; the hull plug and mold I commissioned in 2007 were unsatisfactory; I made a couple of hulls but had to modify them to correct side sponson errors (It wasn't economical to make the hulls and then correct them so only one was sold.); this unique hull type has some very interesting armament options. Corrections of the hull plug's sponsons and some other minor errors are nearly finished and the plug will soon go to the US for hull production. Profintern will be my next combat model, using one of the two original hulls. The model should be active in the 2014 NABS fleet. HMS Vanguard - I made the Vanguard mold around 2007 and the hull and its fibreglass deck have been sitting in the basement since 2008. Most components are on hand but I have to decide whether to build Vanguard or Rodney first. HMS Rodney - this is a Ralph Coles Mk.II Nelson Class hull that replaced Mk.I after more accurate plans were obtained; I helped Ralph build the new hull plug; current model status is the same as Vanguard's, though Rodney will probably be built first, being my favorite British battleship. HMAS/HMS Albatross - a weird looking seaplane carrier used as a fleet repair ship after transfer to the RN from Australia. Another of my hulls, this will be a convoy (target) ship, though it could be a Class 1 combatant; hull is waiting for fibreglass decks. The mold might be sold in the near future. Those are all the RC combat hulls and models I've built. More cruiser hull plugs will follow Profintern's in 2014-2015: British Frobisher Class heavy cruiser Dutch Java Class light cruiser Soviet Krasnyi Kavkaz 2.5 unit 'heavy cruiser' (had a modified Profintern Class hull)
The photo of HMS Roberts with turret and BB cannon but no superstructure shows the model at the stage of construction when I sold it to John Coffill, although the bow anchors were added by John. Note my usual fiberglass deck construction, this one molded with the protrusions aft for boat storage. The hatch is plexiglass. This is a model I wish I hadn't sold, given it's eventual fate. Two models to the right is the MS Pundua, aka 'The School Bus', another model I'd started and had forgotten about until now. I had the plans (from Model Boat magazine) since the early 1970s and Eric Broderick made the hull mold from them. Pundua was another project I sold to John when I was in residency training and realized I had too many and wouldn't be able to finish them for years. The prop shaft, rudder and fibreglass deck were installed before Pundua was sold. The hull in the middle is one of Eric's German raiders (Kormorant?). I think there were 3 under construction in NABS but don't recall any being completed. Scott Ellis had one, I think Chris Osborne had two and John ended up with one of them. We had a set of NABS rules for armed merchant raiders and armed merchant cruisers. The Kormorants would have had 1.5 combat units.
Surcouf is another model I forgot to put in my list. It was one of Ralph's Coles hulls. I made small fibreglass ballast tanks for it (amidships saddle tanks) that weren't permanently installed, nor was the fibreglass subdeck I made. There was room for only one working prop shaft and one motor; the second shaft was a dummy. With those and the rudder installed I realized that there was not enough room for a BB cannon and running gear. That's when I gave up on the Surcouf and started looking for an I-400 hull from BC. I sold Surcouf to someone in the US who thought he could make a go of it. That reminds me of another hull I'd forgotten about. Somehow I'd found myself with a BC Suffren but decided it wasn't a cruiser I wanted to build. That was the hull I traded to John Coffill for the BC I-400 hull.
You sold the hull to me, Bob. It is still sitting predominantly on a building table crying forlornly to be finished. I managed to put in a couple right sized gears to mesh the two shafts together. A tiny motor with an installed pinion gear meshes directly with one of the shaft gears to power both shafts rather well and still not take up a lot of room. I also installed a couple stuffing tubes in scale locations for stern and bow planes (though haven't run the internal linkages yet). I'm planning on a snorkle type ballast system using a tiny Carwell pump (already acquired), a small plastic tank, and a 16" antenna tube. Battery is a small 1200 mah Lipo that fits nicely on the bottom of the hull. Even with all of that, there is still room for a 12 gram piercing holder. Like you mentioned, the cannon will be the interesting part. Both weight and space is the issue. Strike Models is working on a couple lightweight composite cannon designs that might fit the bill. If all else fails, an ultra simple muzzle loaded spurt cannon may be used.
Ahh that's what happened to those ships. I couldn't remember the names but glad you brought them up here. Someday I got to get a list of all the ships that have been in the club since inception including the unbuilt and incompleted ships. Bob just for point of interest on the Surcouf Caswell Plating has a fiberlgass hull and deck and conning tower of the Surcouf measures 5 or 6ft. You can get working torpedoe accessories and WTC for it. Check under his RC Sub section from his main page.
Hi Mikey, I'd forgotten it was you who bought the Surcouf. You've done a lot more with it than I could have. The cannon will be a major challenge because of space needed and center of gravity. When I had the Surcouf I concluded the bulk of the cannon would have to be in the hull with only the breech and barrel in the conning tower. While working on the I-400 I tried a regular BB cannon but it was limited to a 1/2 unit mag to fit in the hangar. Even that cannon was too heavy so I desgned a self-draining 1.5 unit spurt gun that fired 5 BBs per shot and easily fit in the hangar. There were still serious stability problems due to the high center of gravity and the inherent instability of submarines near neutral buoyancy. The I-400 had a much deeper hull than Surcouf''s (I'd further deepened the BC hull) yet was only stable in completely calm conditions. Any sharp turn caused a 45 degree list from which it could not recover unless the sub did a static dive and resurface. I was in an ongoing process of shifting lead ballast from inside the hull to outside along the keel and doing stability tests when I decided an even deeper hull design was needed. The result was the I-400 hull mold I have now. Between me and Ralph Coles at least 6 hulls with conning towers/hangars were sold - it's a time consuming hull to lay up and I don't like making them. I've yet to do any work on my hull.
Hi Curt, I can add some details. The Pundua end up with Chuck and Joy, they bought it for their son, Mogador was there too and Chuck' s Malaya. Craig had Malaya for a while and one of the guys in Fredericton was working on it, not sure if Craig still has it or not. Joy tried to sell Mogador after the 'Miss Mog' refit, not sure of that either. I have John's Scharnhorst, Fuso, HMS Nonsuch (I think that's what he called that cargo ship/carrier thingy), Roberts and Scott Ellis' Westfallen (partially complete), the Sri Ayuthis that Bob made and sold/traded to John and sevearl other hulls including an I-400. Craig has Shanano, one of 2 of Ralphs Graf Spee's, one built one hull, a Glorie (French CL), the three Komet's (German raiders from Scott Ellis) the Newf (after several sells and buys) and several other assorted hulls. His Bismarck went to the OAF, Brian I think but don't quote me on that. Steve Hill has Vanguard, a Surcouf hull and a Goose decoy to be fitted with water cannons.
Hi Jay, You have the Roberts? Is that the completed model we thought had been sold for a few $$ at a flea market or another of my hulls? I forget what type of ship the Newf was. Steve Hill also has the HMCS Uganda I completely rebuilt for him - I must remember to pick up the London/Dorsetshire hull he offered me in exchange for the work. I'd completely forgotten that Sri Ayuthia - yet another incomplete model for my project list. Do you know what happened to my Warspite? I sold it to Craig in early 2008 but he'd bought it for someone else, maybe in NB.
Hi Bob, I got the Roberts from John, he had it out for those couple of Treaty battles we had years ago. I forgot about Steve's Uganda, nice looking boat. The Newf is one of Uganda's sister ships, along with the Ceylon. Both came from the hulls Steve made from the mold he has. I also got the Sri Ayuthia from John, it is cut out with a deck cut for it. It is very small, I don't think I have the required skills to get that one as a combat ship, As far as Warspite goes, the last time I saw it Curt had it at the CANNATS we had in Fredericton a few years ago. I am not sure what happened to it after that. J
Warspite was sold to a member of A.R.R.C then he couldn't keep it so he sold it to a guy in California. No idea what became of it afterword.
