Manned Model Ships site.

duncan · 24-12-2005

A mate of mine over the pond has been planning a site for manned ship models for a while and has now got it up and running. I`m sure it`ll develop as more large models are found around the world. A whole "cult" of American style manned tugs are still to be mentioned,(dozens of them). Information on the 30ft cruise liner "Oriana" last heard of in Queensland , Australia is sought. If you are a MTB fan check that one out,it is fast and must be a thrill to ride in. If you fancy a simple to build American sternwheeler, there are plans on the site with measurements etc. Large model aircraft are show-stealers, why not get a large model ship going for your club in the new year!! Have a look at the Portsmouth boys "biggies" and the modest cost. Trying to find more on the Tromso MBC and their large "ride ON models". Any more let us know.The site is http://groups.msn.com/MannedModelShips

squiffythewombat · 31-12-2005

loooooool @ that site!!!

those guys are crazy! and all credit to them, some of the boats are works of art, i just wish the pictures were slightly bigger, the small ones dont do them justice!

duncan · 31-12-2005

Squif, Go to www.warshipmodelsunderway.com ( pages 6 and 13 in the Gallery) and www.pmbdt.co.uk and you should get larger size pics of some of them. Sorry ,edit it should have been 13 , Graf Spee, not 16 as previously posted.

jankers · 31-12-2005

The local Historic Preservation Soc.

http://www.sunderlandmaritimeheritage.org.uk/about.htm

is planning to build a manned sailing ship. It's not on the site yet so i don't know how far it's progressed.

duncan · 31-12-2005

That is interesting janks. Date on the site was Feb 05 and a Trafalgar thing. Surprised they didnt consider a manned Adelaide to advertise that project. Sinfull situation with that ship rotting away in Irvine. I`ll contact them early in new year.....which is in 2hrs and 10 minutes. Can you do a bit of investigating since that is your homeport ? Have a good one when it comes !

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jankers · 01-01-2006

Will do, and Happy New year to you also.

new to trains · 03-01-2006

there were 2 manned models on the supermodels II programme on discovery home and leisure channel.- one sub and one battleship, did not pay too much attention at the time- but they are real works of art, but would not like to have to get out in a hurry- can hardly do an eskimo roll in a graf spee !

duncan · 03-01-2006

I haven`t seen Supermodels II but I`d guess that the two models you mention are Roger Wilkinson`s semi-scale King George V class battleship and the submarine pictured in earlier post. Flat bottomed both of them, no problem with rolling over but in any case you can see the top hinges easily to exit in an emergency. Anybody know where "Wee Spark" is berthed at the moment?

jankers · 11-01-2006

Sunderland Historic Ships

I visited their workshop today and found that the ship/model I refered to above is in fact the "Venerable". the ship that Jack Crawford sailed in.

The model is 19 feet long (prow to stern), has a breadth of about 5 feet and draft of 4 feet 6 inches. The team leader (Derek) was away so I was unable to get the full info but it is currently planked to maindeck level and the after works are giving the chippies real headaches trying to figure out the details. It currently has no masts and these will be a real problem as they are likely to be up to 30 feet above deck ( the spritsail is expected to be 15 feet long), and there is no timetable for completion.
When complete it is hoped to power it with a (electric?) motor and could/should/maybe will hold two men to operate. The anticipation is for it to "sail" in resricted waters, hence the motor, in any event, two men would not be able to control the amount of rigging/sails it could carry so that is still up for grabs.
If no appearance on their website in 6 months I think another 'site' visit will be in order.

PS. I'm just glad I don't bother with models of this period, that rigging would drive me insane!

duncan · 12-01-2006

John , That is great info. Wonder if they could be persuaded to post some background and pics. It must be nightmare with rope and sails etc. Anybody know what happened to the "Hornblower,RN" tv series models. Some of those were big enough to be manned. On a more commercial note, here are two links to professional use of manned models. www.portrevel.com and www.warsashcentre.co.uk/c-shipPicture from the latter site showing one of their tankers. Edit I cant seem to get the link to work but it comes up OK on Google.