It's been a while since I posted anything on the forum so I thought I'd show what I've built since the U-3 Ace Hardware boat in 2018. I can manage about one boat for myself each year. I always wanted to build the 78 Van's P-X and finally did that last year for the 2019 season. I wanted the challenge of making a complicated paint job look good and just jumped in. I ended up making the blended gradient section of the deck with printed vinyl that I designed in Photoshop Elements and had printed at the FedEx/Kinko's down the street. The rest is painted. Jeff Ross (MonoJeff) did the lettering and number graphics for me and did a great job with it. The boat ran great after a little sponson tweaking and experimenting. According to our Division 2 specs, I run the Scorpion 3226-1600 kv motor in it. I use the Turnigy Marine 120 ESC with it. After breaking my 1/8" shaft off at the drive dog, I redesigned my prop shafts to be a bit more durable and better supported. I now use a 3/16" stub shaft of about 2.5" at the end of my shafts and a brass sleeve bushing in the stuffing tube of the same length to support it in all of my boats. The boats run much quieter, with less vibration and no more broken shafts or struts.
My 2020 COVID 19 build was an odd one that I've enjoyed. The challenge this time was to draw the plans using many pictures and try to put as much of the real boat's design in it as possible. I chose the 1949 Skip-A-Long, drew most of the plans in a hotel room in the evenings during a week-long conference I attended for work. This turned out better than I imagined and actually performs really well on the water too. It's a unique boat with a strange history. The real boat actually sank in Lake Tahoe after an exhibition run. It had just won the Harmsworth Trophy and ended up spending the next 30 years on the bottom of the Lake. It has since been recovered, but no one has followed through in a restoration effort. I run the Scorpion 3026-1210 in it with a Turnigy Marine 120 without any problems so far. Jeff did the graphics for this one too. I have only had it on the water for testing a few times since our racing season in 2020 had to be cancelled due to the pandemic. I really miss getting together with the Classic Thunder guys and running boats, but for now we have to limit our outings to small groups and get out when we can. With a little extra time on my hands, I've started a "just for fun and mental health" build of the 1975 "Winged Wonder" Pay'N Pak, one of my favorites.
If you're looking to build a 1:10 scale and need cowlings or other accessories to complete the project, visit the HydroScaleCreations web site linked below and/or send me an email with pics of what you've got in mind. I'll see what I can do to help you make it a reality. Happy building everyone and stay safe.
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