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HIGHLANDERDAVEABBOTT reviews Mount Fleet Models' Puffer kit

Arecent addition to the evergrowing range of model boats fromMount Fleet Modelsis the ,

Highlander, a typical example of the smallhard working boats which plied the placidcanals and even made short journeysalong the coast of the Scottish Isles.Their cargoes were varied; coal

cargoes were usually loaded at Glasgowand then taken to the small stone jettiesof the Western Isles, or even beaches ifno jetty was available. The cargoes werethen delivered by local merchants, ormaybe a big household or mansionwould order an annual supply, in whichcase the Puffer would beach herself andthe landowner's cart or even

wheelbarrows would unload the cargo,day and night if necessary. The Pufferwould then move on to the next quay orbeach until the cargo had beendistributed.

Not only did the Puffer supplydomestic customers but also kept thelighthouses supplied, maybe twice ayear. The largest single customers by farwere the whisky distillers who requiredcoal, malt, barley and empty barrels.When these were delivered the pufferswould return with a load of whisky forexport and distribution at the docks inGlasgow. Gas works were also suppliedwith coal by the Puffers, carrying cokeon their return journey. Refined salt-was

moved through the Forth & Clyde Canaland delivered with a different cargo onthe return journey.Many loads were undertaken by these

wonderful workhorses but with theimprovement in roads and motortransport their days were numbered. The ),change to diesel motor vessels brought toan end the era of the Puffer.

Neil Munro has immortalised the Pufferin the form of The Vital Spark, skipperedby Para Handy. Because of him the Pufferwill never be forgotten.

Memories of Puffers unloading on a beachor small creek with steam escaping from thewinch and boiler, and the smell of herringfrying on the stove and the crew rowingacross to the fishing fleet exchanging abasket of coal for a basket of herring. Thesemust have been wonderful days.

One or two of the vessels are still inexistence but most have now beenconverted to diesel power and carrypassengers on holidays or adventureschemes, with the hold converted intodormitories or classrooms.

This model is representative of a 66ftWest Scottish Coaster at a scale of 1:24with an overall length of 33ins (838mm)and a beam of 9.5ins (235mm). This reallyis an enthusiast's model, allowing for thepersonal touch - also for the atmosphericmodeller. It is highly suitable for steam orelectric motor.

The KitAs with all Mount Fleet Models the kitcomes packed in a strong cardboard box withthe hull and superstructure wrapped inbubblewrap, Photos 1 and 2. The hull, ship'sboat and superstructure are all one piece grpmoulds and the deck and superstructurecabin are good quality ply which is printedand only requires to be cut to size. Varioussize strip wood, plastic strip, plastic funnel,brass wire, alloy tube and wood dowel areincluded, as well as a prop-shaft, chain,rigging cord and numerous other materialsto construct the model;

Full size plans are supplied as well asan instruction manual which gives a step-by-step guide to building. Last of allcomes a magnificent set of white metalcastings, all numbered in plastic bags.These numbers correspond with the step-by-step manual.

The grp_hull shows aU external platingand riveting and has been designed torepresent a working boat. It is not glossysmooth but depicts what a hull of thistype should look like.

Finally a photo pack of the finishedmodel by the designer and builder showhow the model can be brought to life byslightly weathering the finish. Altogethera full and comprehensive set of materialsand fittings.

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Construction ofHighland~rLittle work was required on cleaning up thegrp hull with just a few flashes needing tobe filed down. No holes or blow marks were .to be seen. The detail of both the rivetheadsand platiiig was extremely good andgreat care was' taKen not to rub away anydetail when preparing and cleaning downthehull, The tops of the bulwarks allaround were filed to a level which wouldaccept the bulwark capping ra.jls whenfitted. After rubbing down with a very firiewet and ·dry abrasive paper the whole of thehull was washed withhot water and a milddetergent to kill any static build up. It wasthen hung in a suitable place overnightwith a: wire lead from hull to concrete floorto finallydischarge any static. electricity inthe hull and prevent unsightly patches ofpaint ~hen spraying on to the hull. It maysound over the top but it does work..Whsf the hull is dry the first job is to

installthe skeg;·~rudder·and prop shaft.Photo 3 shows the collection of partsrequired, for this operation. It comprises ofskeg, skeg' support, rudder, rudder shaftbearings, prop shaft, tube and whitemetal propeller. Two holes were. drilledinto the bottom of the ·keel toaccommodate the pins in the lower skeg,and a hole drilled in the position wherethe vertical skeg support meets the top ofthe keel. The. rudder can then be placed in.the lower skeg and the position for the.rudder- shaft bearings marked.

Tlfese parts are tempofarily heldtogether, making sure that the rudderturns freely, but they were notpermanently fixedat this stage, as first weneed to install the prop shaft andpropeller. rmarked the centre of the grp.'propeller boss; and drilled a hole slightlysmaller than the propeller tube, ana witha round file opened out the hole until theshBft was a 'snug fit.

:At this .stage one must consider the.method of propulsion, i.e., steam plant,electric motor etc." and file and line up-theshaft and tube to suit the, unit to 'be used.Then one can refit the skeg-rudder, shaftand propeller. After making sure' thateverything works and nothing catches orbinds, glue can be applied. As these parts

are ,probably the m</st vulnerable they _need to be strongly fixed, Photo 4. I used24 hour Araldite jwo-part.epoxy whichgives great strength.

The wash 'Port covers can be fixed on tothe bulwark sides, I chose to glue themstraight on and not cut openings throughthe bulwarks due to the almost nil'freeb~ard when operating the model; thusl{eep)ng drier decks. Three .each side were.fixed using Superglue.

Also, while working on the hull, themooring and anchor ports. were fitted,drilling through the hu:ll and cleaning theholes back to the inner edges of thecastings, Photo 5. Again these were fixedto the hull side using Superglue. Any gapsleft were filled with Isopon and the skegwas faired into the keel by. the samemethod. T.his now completed work on theoutside of the hull,

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DecksFitting the main and quarter decks werethe next jobs. To support the main deck awooden frame is constructed and fittedinto the position indicated on the full sizeplan and the instruction manual. Thisframe is made up from 10mm x 10mmand 10mm x 5mm strip-wood. Due to thesheer of the deck the side strip-woodneeds shaping to fit the sheer. Photo 6shows the two side strips cut part waythrough with a saw, which willallow for the strip-wood tobe bent and shaped.This woodenframe was

glued together using a white PVC wood glue,Speedbond by De-Luxe Materials. This is a 5-minute wood glue which works very well.Leaving the frame to dry, I meanwhilemarked the deck level at the measurementgiven in the instructions around the inside ofthe hull. The previously made frame wasfixed and glued into the hull at the markedposition, again using 24 hour Araldite, and

held in place with clamps and clips as

necessary, Photo 7.When dry it leaves the deck supports to

which the fore and quarter decks can befitted. Because of the shape of the hull atthe bow and stern plastic strips areprovided which are glued to the sides of thehull. The first strip of plastic was glued tothe hull with Araldite and the second strip,plastic to plastic, with a plastic solvent i.e.,Plasta-weld or similar. Each strip followsthe sheer of the deck. This process can beseen in Photo 8. Also at this stage thewooden plate on the frame at the front canbe drilled for the foremast.

After allowing this to dry offit will beready to accept the two decks. These are pre-marked on sheets of ply, but needed to be cut

over size and laid over the top of theebulwarks and marked with 'a pencilaround the shape of the hull. I cut to thismark and kept cutting away and sandinguntil itwas a perfect fit on to the deckframes and the sides ofthe hull. The deckwas glued down on to the frames using PVC

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wood gls», and epoxy for the plastic strips.'Weights were placed on top ofthe decks andleft·until drY, overnight if'possible.Any tiny, 'gaps between the deck. and hull sides werefilled With Isopon filler ..Photo 9 'shows deckfitted.

The inside, ofthe j,lUlwirks above the decklevel are left in,a-rough and )illeven state dueto the'grp material, The way to overcome thisisto coat the -areas with Isoponfiller, buildingup to a nice smooth'finiSh on to wIllcn,thebulwark supports and rivet plates can be,fitted. The rivet plates are ~~d'to match thepositions of the plates on the outside of thebulwarks and the bulwark support feet are.fitted on to the deck at positions marked. onthe main drawing, Photo 10 shows all theseplus the coaming fitted on the quarter deckwhich will hold the superstructure inposition, Note: coarning for the main hatchhas not been fitted yet.

A plywood coaming was made for the mainhatch to sit on; this from,plywood strip andglued into place. Before making the mainhatch I made sure that the .rearsuperstructure fitted snugly over thecoaming,on the rear deck and gave a coat ofprimer paint to the superstructure.The main hatch was made from plywood

strip and. sheet, not forgetting to make surethat the four' side pieces of the hatch fit nottoo tight or too loose. The side webbingsupports of the hatch are from strip-wood cuton the diagorial and sanded ·to:.shape.Acentre strip of wood is higher than the sidesto give a tent like effect on which the hatchboards fit. Photos 11 and 12 show theconstruction of the superstructure, and thehatch cover fitted on to the decks,

WheelhouseThe ,sides, roof and floor of the. wheelhouseare printed on ply sheet and require cuttingotit carefully making' sure that' all aresquare, when gluing tdgether otherwise 'theroof will not fit when finished. It'$ best to cutout and fit the window openings and thewhite-metal frames. as you go along, finallymaking the roof top to fit the wheelhouse. Imade mine removable so the interior muldbafitted out later in the project.'1 also decided to make the ftiimel !it this

stage, The funnel is made of plastic tube, the-ftU:l:nelbands, top and base are white' metaland the-steam Plpe"llJld whistle pipe are in,alloy tube. Photos 13.and .1:4 show theconstruction of the wheelhouse andffunnel.

More decks JTlie 'quarter-deck and' fore-deck were thenext items to be fitted, these were-again cutfrom printed ply sheet. The quarter-deckneeded to be cut accurately to fit around thecoaming of the superstructure and the frontneeded to be flush with the front of thestep-down. The fore-deck wax heldtemporarily in position so that the main .mast could be drilled to fit through the maindeck and into a dtilled plank of wood in thehull bottom. Before gluing the decks intoposition :the sub decks were painted withred oxide so that when the printed deckswere fitted no more painting was required.

The companionway and' outside lavatorywere. constructed all' as shown, Photo 15. "Decks were 'glued down on to the subdecks using Araldite two-part epoxy,weighted down and left overnight to dry,

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FittingsA major part of the kit are the white metalfittings - too numerous to mention all, butthey include bollards, stantions, ladders,coal holes, winches, etc. Photo 16 shows aselection filed down and ready for spraying.Before fitting and installing them the

superstructure and wheelhouse needed tobe painted. These were mostly sprayedusing a Badger airbrush.

First to receive the fittings were thesuperstructure and wheelhouse, mostfittings were drilled and Superghied. Somewere pre-painted as in the wheelhouse butothers were fixed and then painted in situ.Photo 17 shows fittings painted inwheelhouse - note the black and white tiledfloor; and Photo 18 shows fittings to bepainted on superstructure side. To completethe superstructure and wheelhouse the

funnel and stays have to be fitted, togetherwith the water tank, lifebelts, steeringchain, mast crutch, grab rails andnavigation lights. Photo 19 shows thecompleted wheelhouse and superstructure.

Winch and Ship's BoatThe two other major items are the winchand the ship's boat. The winch is made upof 33 parts, all white metal. It's a model inits own right with steam cylinders, gearwheels, lagged steam pipes etc. One canreally go to town and finish the winch tolook as if it actually works. Photo 20shows the completed winchwithout therope attached.The second item, the ship's boat, is

another model on its own. The hull comesas a grp mould and as before, the inside isrough and uneven so needed to be

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smoothed with Isopon filler. The insideribs are simulated with plastic 'strip,measured and glued at correct intervalswith side stringers to support'the seatsand thwarts ..Photo ·21 shows the ribbedhull and fittings such ,,"S oars, rowlocksetc. Internal seats are from printed plysheet, stained and painted.The builder's ladder; which most Puffers

carried to scale the sides of the quay whenthe tid" was out, is also supplied in thekit and is made up from white metalrungs.and wooden sides. Thisis shown inPhoto 22 as are 'the hatch boards, all cutindividually with two handles on eachboard, Also note in Photo 23 that thecanvas tarpaulin has been fitted to coverthe boards and held in place by woodenwedges andsteel bands. The canvas ship'sboat covel' can also. be' seen 'rolled up inthe ship's boat in this- photo.Photo 24 is of the Puffer almost

complete except for the rigging andfinalpainting. The rigging' and ratlines aresimple and should not give any problems.All rigging cord is supplied in the kit andincluded are instructions on how to tie offthe ends. Beeswax is also supplied, whichwhen run along the rigging cord, lays ,_.back the hairy bits so that the cord willIwng correctly. The cord can be dyed Or .stained to the colour required by soakingin tea or coffee, no milk, no sugar!

Paintin.g and FinishingMost of the painting was carried out usingHumbrol paints. The large areas like thesuperstructure, wheelhouse. and black onthe tOR pam at the, hull were allairbrushed, as also were 'the funnelcolours'. The lower part of the hull and thedeck bulwarks were 'sprayed with redoxide primer' paint. As 'this was not amodel that.shouldbe seen in pristine

condition, but with a slight weatheringeffect, this was the way I decided to finishthe modeL In the kit some real. coal wassupplied arid l-decided to .simulate a cargoof coal in the main hatch, with a fewhatch goar!ls open and coal spilling out onto the main deck, The coal was also usedin and around the bunkering coal scuttles.35mm film canisters were cut down- gluedunder the deck and filled with coal. Thelumps of coal were placed in a piece ofthick cloth and hit with a hammer untilthe correct size ~as obtained. The veryfine coal dust was used to rub into thewooden decks.Ageing or atmosphering is. aseparate

art from painting and could be the subjectof a separate article. Never over-do it!Skippers used to take a pride in theirvessels. Photo 25 shows a view of the"fore-deck shot of the finished model,

PowerThe Highlander Puffer kit has beendesigned for steam or electric propulsion.The hull provided more than enough roomfor a steam plant; but I decided to install anelectric motor with a simulated steamsound and a' smoke generator. This was aDecaperm 12v motor geared, chosen due tothe large size propeller it would have todrive arid also the final weight of the model.'This motor proved to be the correct choicewhen the' trials were carried out. Two getcell 12v lOAh batteries, were. used ~opower'the .motor-and these were installed flatdown.in the bottortLor'the.hull to keep the'centre of gravity as low;as possible.

ExtrasConsidering the atmosphere of the type ofmodel involved I thought that.it would be.a good idea to have a steam' soundgenerator installed, Many diffetent

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manufacturers make these kits, however Idecided on: a unit from ACTion, Havingplaced .an order and receiving the unit by',return of post I found itwasjuat what Iwas looking for. The heart of the unit isthe box of electronics size 73:5inm x49.5mm x 29mm ..Also supplied was a 4inMylar waterproof loudspeaker, Theseunits can be s;uppJied 6v or 12v. The one Iused was .a P56 steam engine soundsimulator; this unit has a removable link',which will cause ,the' unit to change' from'multi cylinder sound to single cylindersound. Full instructions. are given.in theleaflet enclosed for wiring and setting up.The Wiring is ve'ry simple. and I had rioproblems at all. It worked first time, withthe beat of the unit increasingproportionally with tpe speed of themotor, This could be adjusted within theunit, as also could the volume plus thestationary trimmer control which alloweda hiss of sound when the motor was Ilot,

running. Photo 26 show.s the unit andloudspeaker as received from ACTion. Awooden plywood speaker box was made toimprove the-sound, and fitted directlyabove the batteries in the opening for themain hatch, Photo 27. 'lb allow the soundto be heard better I cut a circular hole inthe wooden main hatch which improvedthe volume much better through thecanvas tarpaulin.A smoke generator was also instil lied in

Highlander. Again there are a number ofmanufacturers who produce these units - Idecided to use one from TomahawkProducts. This was their new improved

101 unit which producesdramatic thick smoke.The. unit is 2.2 x 1.25x 2.2ins, voltage is12v and it holdsapproximately 20ccof smoke fluid. Theelectrics caseincludes twoLEDs, greenforpower on and redindicates smokefluid level. Oneoptional extra is aheat sink which canbe attached to thebottom of the unit todissipate the heat fromthe main unit. A fillertube is provided for thesmoke fluid and the unitwill run forapproximately 20minutes. When the fluidis used up the element will

switch off. This unit produces lots of whitesmoke and adds great realism toHighlander. I lined the inside of thefunnel with aluminium tube as heat isgenerated when the unit is in use. Photo28 shows the smoke unit and heat sink. Aswitch is not supplied with the unit.A large number of manufacturers also

produce speed controllers. For this modelI decided to use one of the units fromElectronize. The one chosen was type43HVR high power speed control. Thiscontroller will run any motor up to 15amps continuous current. It is theupgraded version of the 43X and 43VRincorporating a higher rated mosfet andlarger and thicker leads. This unit'svoltage range is 7-24v and it can besupplied as a self assembly kit or fullyassembled and tested.The one thing I didlike about this unit

was the long length of the leads, allowingthe controller to be installed somedistance from the motor and RCequipment. When set up this unit workedwell and gave good results over the fullspeed range of the motor. Adjustments areprovided for neutral and speed range andare easily accessible. Photo 29 shows theunit with the diagram and instructions;Photo 30 shows the unit installed.

Ramo control equipment used was Hitec2-channel 40Mhz, one channel for steeringand one for the motor. The smokegenerator and the sound generator wereswitched by separate switches, although -these could be operated by a switcher uniton a third and fourth channel.

Photo 30 shows how the wholeinstallation was put together under themain superstructure, this was to maximiseaccess to the equipment. As can be seen theequipment sits in an aluminium tray, with·the smoke generator isolated by analuminium screen in case of heat problems.

All the units are held down with Velcrotape. Also note that the receiver, batteryand steering servo are installed in thisarea. Wires and connections all go throughthe bottom of the tray and are terminatedin a block of connectors at the rear of themain hatch, Photo 31.

On the waterEven with the two batteries in the bottomof the hull the Highlander still requiredsome extra ballast in .the form of leadweight. I ballasted the model down to arealistic level to give the impression that itwas carrying a full load of cargo, coal inthis case At this level the model-was verystable on the water 'and really looked thepart. I put the propeller in the vice in theworkshop and balanced and checked thepitch: In fact I found the propeller to beperfectly good for running, nice and smoothwith adequate thrust. Turning circle andmanoeuvrability were very good.

ConclusionI can say that the Highlander builds easily,looks good on completion and looks great onthe water. It also offers extremely goodvalue for money and puts a high classmodel well within the reach of the averagemodeller. Price is around £250.

Well done, Mount Fleet Models.Further information from: .Mount Fleet Models, Laurel Mount, 79

Holmfirth Road, Meltham, HuddersfieldHD7 3DA. Tel: 01484 851569.ACTion, 140 Holme Court Avenue,

Biggleswade, Beds SG18 8PB. Tel: 01767314732 ..

'lbmahawk Products, Unit 346B, PooleRoad, Branksome, Dorset BH12 lAW. Tel:01202 766884.

Electronize Design, 2 Hillside Road, [IDSutton Coldfield, West Midlands B744DG. Tel: 0121 308 5877. C>