Archive for The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum The Original Unofficial Toy Steam Forum Established 2006 The biggest, most popular steam forum around! Accept NO imitations! We have a growing community of regular posting members who chat about all aspects of toy and model steam.          The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum Forum Index -> Collections and pics SJN Wilesco African Queen Its here Here are som pictures of the wilesco African Queen. It looks very nice, and the quality of parts is great. Its also packed very well. But unfortunatly, the boiler/engine plate has broken loose, and cracked the nice wooden hull on both sides. If I was a collector, I would be verry unhappy about this and send it back, but since my plan was to modify, and re-paint it all, I does not matter much. Its easily fixed with some glue, and a little fiberglass mat on the inside for extra strength. Im going to build a floor in the boat anyway which will hide the inside repairs. Otherwise, it looks great I also bought a few extra Esbit tablets, and some steam oil. Mamodman123 Very nice model! But I wouldn't stand for that crack in the wood Will be watching this with interest SPOKESMAN Very interesting - whats the extra tube next to the burner? sparky o dear thats beutiful , thats one of the most nicest engines ive ever seen yosa Really nice SJ. Looking forward to the final result. Happy steaming mate. SJN The tube aside the burner is the condensor. Ive put the bits together now the "scratches" on the boiler in the pics, are actualy not scratches....but fingerprints from my greasy mits Mamodman123 Looks impressive! Almost ready to rock tmuir I take it your going to RC it. Are you sure you dont want to return it that looks like a nasty crack in the hull. You paid a lot of money for it I would want it perfect. I was looking at one in my local hobby shop yesterday they are a good size and will look nice in steam. Mamodman123 tmuir wrote: I take it your going to RC it. Are you sure you dont want to return it that looks like a nasty crack in the hull. You paid a lot of money for it I would want it perfect. I was looking at one in my local hobby shop yesterday they are a good size and will look nice in steam. I'd return it Tony, for that kind of money I wouldn't want a massive crack down the hull SJN hehe, nope...allready fixed it. I have built several boats, and this is nothing. if it was smashed, id return it......but its only split. No worries Mamodman123 SJN wrote: hehe, nope...allready fixed it. I have built several boats, and this is nothing. if it was smashed, id return it......but its only split. No worries It didn't look very well packed with everything just thrown inside the boat SJN well, they could have supported the boiler better..... But who would have thought that it would break loose Just laid in the fiberglass. Its so thin, that you cant see it once applied. Besides, The floorboards will cover this place anyway. sparky still looks very nice mate and i love it tmuir I've used that fibre glass sheeting on a RC plane before it adds a lot of strength without much weight. Its good stuff. Look forward to the finished result, keep us posted. Mamodman123 Thankfullly its gone to the right person, who is able to fix it and sort it out! I'm not impressed with the packing at all though If things aren't packed properly anything can break loose MTA It looks very nice SJN. I was surprised at how well you took the splits and boiler etc seperating from the hull! But then again, you seem to be a man of many talents! By the way, I like the way your D10 is perched on your sofa arm rest tmuir Dont tell MM but I just noticed on the box that Wilesco a German company is making a toy steam boat that is flying the British flag. MTA Maybe it could be one of those things where the model is dispatched/sold, the include that nation's flag Mamodman123 tmuir wrote: Dont tell MM but I just noticed on the box that Wilesco a German company is making a toy steam boat that is flying the British flag. disgusting! Doesn't deserve to fly the flag. Does it come with 'God save the queen' on cd too? niluht Excellent pictures Thanks for letting us see it from so many angles SJN Your welcome.....I got frustrated trying to find pics on the net.......So now hopefully others can see what you get Got a little more done......its going to bee real nice when done Mamodman123 All you need now is the cd player and champaigne cooler niluht I get that the condenser receives exaust steam and cools it back to water, but what happens to the collected water? Does it just accumulate in the condernser to be drained later? SJN yes, it is removable.....easy to install, and remove to empty it. The pipes slip loosly into it. Steve_S That's a very nice boat! tmuir The condensor will also catch most of the oil to minimise polusion to the pond. Most good quality steam boats are fitted with an oil seperator for this reason. An oil seperator is basically a small tube with exhaust in on one side and exhaust out the other, With a baffle fitted between them with a small gap at the top and bottom. The steam hits the baffle and the oil being heavier slides down it whilest the steam rises over it and out the exhaust tube to chimney. If people are interested I'll post a plan view of one. Wallace That's great SJN. Great pics too. Looks a lot better than I thought it'd be. I've only seen the pics of the fully painted model. Don't no why, but your pics just make it look so much better. Shame about the cracked base, but you've fixed it, so all good. On a side note: Just wondering, did you get it sent to you internationally? The only reason I asked is the other day I was talking to my brother-in-law who works for Qantas (not in the postal handling area though), and he questioned why I didn't post my engines I sell, overseas. Just told him cos of paypal. Anyway, he said if I ever do, pack them to handle a 1.5m drop, cos that is what they nearly all go through SJN Yes, the shop i bought it from sends internationaly. I bought mine in germany, which is only a 5 hour drive from Copenhagen, here in Denmark to the boarder, and another 4 hours to the hobbyshop where i bought it. So the distance is not that great. Shipping was free of charge, when you buy over a certin amount. http://www.moduni.de/ Price has risen from 360 Euro to 419 Euro.... I got the mine on special Mamodman123 Wallace wrote: That's great SJN. Great pics too. Looks a lot better than I thought it'd be. I've only seen the pics of the fully painted model. Don't no why, but your pics just make it look so much better. Shame about the cracked base, but you've fixed it, so all good. On a side note: Just wondering, did you get it sent to you internationally? The only reason I asked is the other day I was talking to my brother-in-law who works for Qantas (not in the postal handling area though), and he questioned why I didn't post my engines I sell, overseas. Just told him cos of paypal. Anyway, he said if I ever do, pack them to handle a 1.5m drop, cos that is what they nearly all go through It doesn't suprise me to be honest Wallace! I know what royal mail are like aswell! They probably play football with some of the boxes One someone sent me a steam wagon just wrapped in bubble wrap, no box just wrap. You could see the wagon aswell tmuir Mamodman123 wrote: One someone sent me a steam wagon just wrapped in bubble wrap, no box just wrap. You could see the wagon aswell Did it survive the mail? I hate my postie he likes to fold things. He once managed to fold a CD in half he was delivering to me. Mamodman123 tmuir wrote: Mamodman123 wrote: One someone sent me a steam wagon just wrapped in bubble wrap, no box just wrap. You could see the wagon aswell Did it survive the mail? I hate my postie he likes to fold things. He once managed to fold a CD in half he was delivering to me. It survived the mail but I haven't a clue how, if anything i'd expect someone to nick off with it as it was only sent standard parcels SJN Been at work all weekend, but still managed to get a bit done. Here she is so far. Still need to lay in a floor, and find a new mast, and lots of other stuff too Mamodman123 WOW! what an improvment that is on the black . This now makes the original one look like a pile of crap very well done Can't wait to see the finished boat! SPOKESMAN Pretty impressive! Steely That looks fantastic! It's certainly a big beast. Griffin Excellent, that boat looks 100 times better due to your handy work tmuir Looking great. Thats a big step up on what it originally looked like. Keep us posted and the pics coming. Wallace Wow, that looks a million bucks. Funny that the original one as seen in a wilesco catalogue I have just didn't appeal to me, but that one.... fantastic mate. Job well done sparky that looks reallly nice. espessially now you've change the colours and things, lovely job mate, very well done yosa Spot on mate, will you video the maiden voyage? sparky yes please do, nice idea yosa now that will be a class video SJN Thanks for the support guys It has already taken its maiden voyage! Weather outside is freezing and windy, so I think it will be some time before i can go out. Here is a video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=632463562265242200 I have ran it 4 times now, and it keeps improving. First time, it was a little stiff, but its quite smoothe now. The whistle assembly is utter crap. It fell apart, and I have temp. modified it slightly for now. The water level sight glases are very small, and its hard to check the level in them properly. Once steam is up, the engine runs very consistantly. I think the power it makes will sail the queen at a nice scale speed. Rudder control seems good too. Balance of the boat is a little off to one side, but ill get that sorted out when isntalling the servos, and batteries. Mamodman123 A few more runs should help it It looks fantastic, such a drastic improvement from the awful original Wilesco colours too. Shame about the whistle too you've not had much luck with it I must say. Outsrtanding job! Wilesco should employ you right away MTA What exactly went wrong with the whistle SJN? I have the exact same type on my Wilesco Locomobile, and it has been fine SJN The piano wire that the pivots the whole assembly is loose, and can fall off. The lever slides off both the needle valve, and the piano wire pivot. I have glued on a little brass fitting so it can not slide off at the moment. Mamodman123 That whistle looks very poorly made Shame really as the engine looks nice steamyjim the boat looks wonderful vast improvement on the origional i had the same problem with my whistle Sandman steamyjim wrote: the boat looks wonderful vast improvement on the origional i had the same problem with my whistle I lost my whistle altogether when the dentist fixed my teeth. Mamodman123 Sandman wrote: steamyjim wrote: the boat looks wonderful vast im improvement on the origional i had the same problem with my whistle I lost my whistle altogether when the dentist fixed my teeth. Steve_S You have made a wonderful job of the boat SJN! Very nice indeed! tmuir I like your makeshift pond. AFter the initial burst of speed it seemed to settle in at a good pace. It will probably take a few runs before it reaches its peak as everything beds in. That whistle does look poorly made. The whistles are of limited value anyway I really only use it to release the last of the pressure after a run before opening it up to drain the water. Though is you connect a servo to the whistle that could be fun. Mamodman123 tmuir wrote: I like your makeshift pond. AFter the initial burst of speed it seemed to settle in at a good pace. It will probably take a few runs before it reaches its peak as everything beds in. That whistle does look poorly made. The whistles are of limited value anyway I really only use it to release the last of the pressure after a run before opening it up to drain the water. Though is you connect a servo to the whistle that could be fun. Yup! Looks very cheap and nasty too! SJN More pics..... I need to buy some white canvas instead of the paper i used.... aill need to do the floor boards Mamodman123 Looks stunning the engine is a better colour too! you have all angles covered, it's now a superb machine! Griffin That boat gets better everytime I see it. Look forward to the finished results. yosa Wallace That is just an absolutely amazing job mate. Well done. As tmuir said, I love the makeshift pond In OZ you'd be known as a "bush mechanic" Remember, if it's been made, it can be fixed Creative, inventive, anything to get around a problem. I was wondering why the car batteries, then I can see it's to hold the sides. Well done mate, you should be really proud of that. That is truly the best steam boat I have ever seen made. Have you got a closeup pic of the servo to rudder connection? Cheers, and again, well done James Must... resist....must.... resist.... oh crap! I can't! I must buy one Mamodman123 James wrote: Must... resist....must.... resist.... oh crap! I can't! I must buy one You'll have a lot of painting to do! If you want it to look like that anyway he's done a marvellous job! James Aye, he has. But I don't think I'd paint it. I would be o'er frittend I'd cock it up Mamodman123 James wrote: Aye, he has. But I don't think I'd paint it. I would be o'er frittend I'd cock it up Well it looks crap with factory finish! tmuir It just keeps getting better and better, Make sure you do a vid of its first voyage in something other than a cardboard box. SPOKESMAN Necessity is the mother of invention! sparky Mamodman123 wrote: James wrote: Aye, he has. But I don't think I'd paint it. I would be o'er frittend I'd cock it up Well it looks crap with factory finish! i no what your saying but this new look is cracking Steve_S It looks very good indeed SJN! Well done! Mamodman123 sparky wrote: Mamodman123 wrote: James wrote: Aye, he has. But I don't think I'd paint it. I would be o'er frittend I'd cock it up Well it looks crap with factory finish! i no what your saying but this new look is cracking The new look is top drawer! SJN Thanks guys for the kind words Wallace, here is a picture from the manual on how the tiller is controled. I will be installing the servos soon too. But I think it will be too heavy in the rear if mounted like the pictures. Mamodman123 Yes that looks like it will unbalance it Wallace Thanks a lot for that SJN. I wanted to add a servo for my rudder, but without too much mod. I thought of a "fork" idea, just didn't think it'd work. But now, I'm onto it. I planned on putting batteries up front for balance Thanks very much. steamyman impressive, i think if Bogart and Hepburn were alive today, they'd be equally satisfied with this model. H2o vapour Wilesco African Queen articles - Thanks very much for the postings, I've very much enjoyed the running article . Very Very NICE BOAT !!- - well through out and a good result, very fine craftsmanship. Hope you have some good fun with it!! Good luck & well done H20 Vapour SJN Thanks alot all of you Weather is getting "spring like" , and it wont be long before i get out in the water with it oldstuff SJN wrote: Here is a video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=632463562265242200 What a cool boat, SJN! It even sounds a bit like Bogie's boat in the movie. Wonderful job all the way around. Bet you can't wait for the weather to get nice!        The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam Forum Forum Index -> Collections and pics Page 1 of 1