matchbox stingray

[Guest]

im about to undertake a conversion of an old matchbox toy of the gerry anderson stingray. it will more than likely be a surface runner, but will look cool nonetheless on the water. And at 12 inches long is my sort of size.

its was produced in the early 90's and is now a collectors item but im going to tear it apart. I had one when i was about 5 or 6 and wish i kept it 'cos it just cost me £60.

will post pictures at some point soon

Grant

[Guest]

Now that sounds like an interesting idea. Have you thought about how you are going to generate propulsion whilst maintaining the rotating thruster effect of the actual model?

I can't wait to see some pictures of this!

[Guest]

There are a few ideas driving me crazy.

1. The propulsion unit is hollow with two solid ends so basically i would remove these ends fix the unit solid and put a prop inside it (paint it white or silver to hide it because the propulsion unit is clear) so it will act like a kort nozzle (it wont rotate i know, sometimes you have to make small scarifices)

2. keep the unit as it is put the prop through the bottom of the boat and attach a small motor or even a dismantled servo to it to make it rotate. though this may cause it to turn into a paddle like a paddle steamer and act like a rudder so i will be forever turning right (if you know what i mean)

3. If i can find out if it will avt like this then i could run the prop through the bottom of the boat, attach a motor to the propulsion unit and use it as a rudder. motor goes forward boat turns right and vice-verca. This will eliminate the need problem of where to put a rudder and still keep it looking right (even with a clear one)

Grant

[Guest]

I would try to arrange a prop inside the nozzle, which would give a good flow as long as you arranged for an unrestricted inlet flow, and a rudder inside the nozzle right at the aft end.

This would look as neat and as scale as possible but would also give a directional thrust from the end of the nozzle. I am sure the rudder linkage could be arranged to be underneath and the rudder could be easily supported by the nozzle itself.

Maybe even extend it slightly with a piece of very thin acetate sheet which would not be visible but would enhance the rudder effect dramatically.

This is the arrangement used by Kort in thier Fixed Kort Nozzle arrangement as per the attachment.

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[Guest]

Thanks Richard, that sounds good however the nozzle isnt exactly unrestricted as you should be able to see in the pictures which is why im unsure as to how well this would work.

Grant

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[Guest]

Grant, I'm afraid the pictures open up as thumbnail size so it's not easy to see the detail.

[Guest]

Sorry Richard i didnt realise, Ive made them bigger now,

you should be able to see the bump at the back which covers the nozzle.

Grant

[Guest]

What about this:

At the forward end of the nozzle, on the end of the raised "flutes" you have a flat angled surface. If you drilled a hole through this flat face, at an angle of somewhere like 45 degrees, it should come out into the nozzle. So if you drill a hole in the end of all the "flutes" you should have an inlet path for some water. The prop would have to be half way down the nozzle, aft of where the holes penetrated the nozzle, to get a flow through the prop and I don't know if it would be enough but you might get a better idea from looking at the model. I don't suppose you are after a great deal of performance anyway so these holes may supply a small, slow prop OK.

[Guest]

I see what your getting at. GOOD IDEA i shall look into that some more. :thinking: :thinking:

Thats something i didnt think of.

I wont be using alot of power as im guessing that because of the shape of it, it would start to "dig" itself under, whish for a surface runner isnt good.:grinball2:

Thanks

Grant

[Guest]

Grant,

Have a look here, http://www.subpirates.com/viewtopic....rsons+stingray

He has'nt posted much in the way of progress here lately but maybe the two of you could hook up and share ideas. There is also a gentleman by the name of John anderson that is working on a 52" version for R/C at the same site.

Hope this helps.

Don

[Guest]

i have seen a big version of this ( approx 50 inches) at the warwick international boat show a few years back, plus there was a set of GRP mouldings at a large scale recently on ebay, for £300- i was tempted but divorce costs more than £300 and the wife was serous!!!

[Guest]

This seems a really good model. I have the fireball XL5 matchbox version now which i refuse to make because of how rare the kit is.

[Guest]

Hi guys, i checked subpirates a while back and got in touch with him but he hasnt even tested it yet because something broke and he hasnt had a chance to fix it, so im still in the dark really.

A guy at our lake has a 3-4 foot one which we have yet to see 'cos when he says he'll bring it he doesnt turn up, so still looking forward to see it go though (its only a surface runner though).

apparently this is quite rare but i guess that doesnt matter anymore, but whats annoying me is i paid £60 for it thinking i might not get hold of one again, but on monday i won a bid on ebay for £18. Still at least now i have a spare in case the first one goes wrong, or even do the surface runner and later on if i want a bigger challenge i could convert the second one to dynamic dive.

Grant