The African Queen - With Live Steam - Billings - 1:12 - by Wayne

[a49kid]

And I must say I love my cut off tool I bought a couple of weeks ago.
A wooden kit you assemble, but I changed the kit blade to a UK Stanley one, it is much sharper.
And for the crates, you set the stop and then cut the strip wood to all exactly the same length that you want.
And the precise cutting is very very fast.

 

[swampdweller126]

Can you tell us what the brand name is? And where did you find it?

 

[sevish]

You did wonderful job on your planking
and the creates looking excellent.
Well done

 

[a49kid]

Can you tell us what the brand name is? And where did you find it?

Hi mate, a Link to Aliexpress..........
But I would suggest you get some British Stanley blades, are sharper.
And will need a small fitting conversion, see my pic.
https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/4000798011801.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.3.468dhjYkhjYkWS&algo_pvid=85cf2467-34f2-4a29-b490-b5f1d3be577b&algo_exp_id=85cf2467-34f2-4a29-b490-b5f1d3be577b-1&pdp_npi=4@dis!AUD!50.72!50.72!!!33.04!33.04!@2103011717154694016567496e2aae!10000008048425483!sea!AU!1729894530!&curPageLogUid=So98X9XySzvc&utparam-url=scene:search|query_from:

 

[swampdweller126]

Thanks very much my brother!

 

[a49kid]

Hi Guys, back again, this time with my rendition of Charlie and Rose.
They are not exactly as the film, but about the best I could do.
And yes it’s been a long journey, finding suitable seated 1:12 scale figures, ordering and waiting for delivery, then re modeling them with my Jewelers saw and Dremell tools, and then re painting them. And making hats etc.

Mods on Charles ……….
Re did his shirt, shortened his jacket, put a bottle of Gin in his right hand, raised and rotated his left arm / hand to hold the tiller, turned shoes to boots etc and have him a peaked cap.
Mods to Rose ………..
Removed her watch and glasses, raised her tops neckline, rotated her right arm / hand to hold a coffee cup, moved her left arm / hand down onto her leg.
And some re painting and made her a big sun hat.

 

[a49kid]

Hi Guys, a little update on my African Queen.
Finished all the RC electronics.
I’ve had this basic Fly Sky 6 Ch radio here for some time now, so good to put it to some use.
Model FS-CT6B
But I’ll only be using 2 channels, for steering and an electronic Sound Module.
I have decided not to have any control on the Steam Engine, so no Go / Stop or Forward / Reverse.
But I guess that could be added at some later stage.
The sound module runs on 6–12 volts, with better performance on 12v.
So I have installed a 11.1 Volt LiPo battery, which directly powers the sound.
I have installed a 6 volt Voltage Regulator / BEC, to power the Receiver and so the Steering Servo.
So there won’t be much drain on the 450mAh battery, especially when everything is at idle.
With the servo I’m using, I found I needed more rudder movement, so I added an in line adjustable Servo Tuner.

 

[a49kid]

Hi Guys, a small update on AQ.
Made the sun shade canopy.
A few traumas, had to solder it up twice to get it right, and square.
Yea over 2 nights, but I'm happy with it now.
And no, I didn't want a red and white circus tent ......................

 

[OGRonnie]

Hi Wayne, my name's Ronnie and I'm not only new to this forum, but I'm new to model boat building. I came across this forum thread through Google and thoroughly enjoyed reading your build log.

The Billing Boats African Queen will be my first kit, and I'll be powering it with a steam plant from MSM much like you, but I went with the model#4038 for the longer runtimes.

I hope you're still active on these forums because I wanted to pick your brain about the brass propeller diameter you went with and the propeller shaft, since Float a Boat have many options. Which item numbers did you end up buying that worked with our boat?

Also, would you be able to share some pictures of how the steam plant connects to the shaft/propeller? I'm guessing I'll need a couple u joints/couplers, but I'm unsure and trying to visualise it in my head before starting the build.

I hope to hear back from you soon, but if not I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

-Ronnie

 

[Moxis]

Hello Ronnie, one possibility to connect steam engine to propeller shaft is to use ready parts from RC racing car branch, where driveshafts are connected to differential. I have done that in one of my steam powered open launches and it is working fine: