R.C. and Me
Hello Everyone!
Just thought I would share this with those of you who would be interested in R.C. and doing it with Box Stock or Modified models. Oh, I know many wouldn't think of this or even want to do it. Yeah, playing with that model is off the books. Why? You took the time to build it? Why not build another so you can see it perform.
True, this works better with Cars and Boats for sure. This is where this going. When I was a member of the Golden Gate Model Yacht Club in San Fransisco, there was a group of young modelers that couldn't afford the big ticket radios and receivers that a lot of the Guys were using.
They started bringing regular Box Stock models to the Lake(Spreckles lake) in Golden Gate park and running them. Well, the regular Sailing Yacht and Steam(Live) vessel owners didn't want them there. They said they were afraid they would cause confusion and that the bigger vessels would run over them. One very nice Sunday we had a show along the lake shores .Luckily it was "Run What Ya Brung" this day.
One of the young fellows put his boat in the Lake and startled everyone. Powered by a pulled apart servo and housing batteries and another Micro servo for steering, this Boat( The old ITC, LIFE LIKE and Lindberg branded boat) was the Submarine Chaser. This fellow had managed to make it water tight and ran circles around some of the bigger boats out there.
I was running my favorite freighter that was powered by a Motorcycle Battery and a set of servos and a motor from Radio Shack and one of their trucks( A large one) My boat( Freighter ) was 1/96 in scale, but well represented a "Tramp" coaster. I used the headlight circuitry from the truck for running lights. The Hull was scrap lucite from a Picture Framing Studio. I asked and they let me "Dumpster Dive" behind their shop.
They were throwing away perfectly good sized scrap, Lexan and Polycarbonate sheet from their jobs. I took this and created the " Miss Virginia", my wifes name. She was four foot long and totally water tight. In building her I built her prop to allow her to travel at a scale speed in the lake.
She had four watertight compartments and the Motorcycle Battery provided Ballast and Power! But, I had a mini Surprise too. Remember the venerable Life Like and Pyro and Lindberg L.C.V..P.? I stuffed it with mini gear from a car! The well deck cargo covered the Reciever and the rear deck covered the flat battery pack and steering servo. It sat a wee bit deeper than she should have, But didn't ship water into her well deck.
I was told it was too small to run.( remember it was smaller than the Sub Chaser!). I snuck it in the water anyway! I was way across the lake and one of the live steam guys( An older gentleman, Probably in his 70s, lost power) across the lake but to far from shore to retrieve! Unbeknown to all who were looking at this( The older members of the Club.) Said they didn't know what to do. But a wee little boat was creeping toward his Brass built liner!
The Hippies had been throwing broken bottles in the lake at night and the Club's Recovery Punt was in process of getting a new bottom so it couldn't be used. The water would've come up to my armpits but they didn't want anyone going in the water because of the aforementioned glass! So L.C.V.P. to the rescue. Now his ship was large enough( It was a small Liner about six foot long,made out of heavy stuff!) and no one could see what I was up to. I maneuvered up to his stern and stuck my little boat right up to his rudder, under the "Spoon " stern on his ship!
Yeah, I burned my motor up, But, I brought his ship close enough they were able to use a boat hook to retrieve her. When they did the screw had locked onto the front of my little boat so they came out of the water together! Well, the vote was then in the majority to let Micro Boats on the lake at certain times of the day! Fine Scale(oops) models of Navies, Merchant and Civilian power boats started showing up including a couple of Pyro Mississippi River steamers(You know of which ones I speak!). His vessel had a value as a model (powered by steam) of just under $4,200.00 bucks. My little boat 's cost was just under $60.00 bucks!
So, in closing, be it Cars or Boats or even Armor.( My M48-A-1? Patton(The old Monogram Model) runs fine with Fruil-Model Tracks and scoots all over the place with it's rotating turret and elevating gun. Total cost? The original price of the Kit in the seventies About $12.00, the car electonics $39.95+Tax and the $39.95 for the Fruil Model tracks! Her total cost. Maybe $175.00 Bucks! And she still runs today! So- My final statement is this, Enjoy a motorized model, It can still built to show quality, It just moves as well! My 1/72 Scale, Revell H.M.S.SnowBerry, is now twenty years old and except for the rudder and screw, looks like a well detailed and built showpiece, Weathered and All. Runs like the proverbial "Scalded cat" even to this day. Enjoy!!