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Compass 360 - Latest hobby & industry news
Leader - Ready for your next project and looking for inspiration? Fraser Gray presents the UK's first Pilot's Boat...
Building Bobin - Steve Whitelock explains how to construct and power a charmingly simple little R/C micro yacht...
Cockatoo Island Dockyard - With travel currently off the cards, this month John Parker treats us to a tour of this historic Sydney tourist attraction - which is definitely one for the model boat builder's 'bucket list'!
HMS Saumarez - Francis Macnaughton explains why a combination of drawing on past experience and trying out completely new methods and techniques served him well during the build of this 1:200 scale World War II destroyer
The Cigarette - Ray Wood provides easy to follow instructions to accompany this month's free plan
Just hold a Sprengbrook - Dave Wiggins serves up another blast from the past
Box clever - Glynn Guest offers some practical, better safe than sorry, advice
Soobrazitelnyy - Dave Woolley continues his 1:72 scale build of the new Russian multi-purpose Soobrazitelnyy corvette
Your models - More of your brilliant builds showcased
Get the right rudder angle - A simple but effective hobby hack shared...
Boiler Room - Richard Simpson concludes his guide to soft soldering, moving seamlessly from the theory behind this technique to its practical application
Your letters - Views aired and information shared
Buy the book - John Deamer recommends some riveting reads for your model boats bookshelf
Coming next month...A sneak peek at some of the content you can look forward to in the May 2021 issue
Over a year into this pandemic and with summer just around the corner, being able to get back on the water has probably never seemed so exciting!
Groups of six people, or two households, can, of course, now meet up outdoors - obviously while still maintaining the correct social distancing precautions, which means that some of you may already be back sailing at your local clubs, albeit in far more limited numbers at any one time.
According to the government's 'road map' to the relaxing of restrictions (underpinned by key 'tests'which are linked to data and will act like a checklist that must be met before moving onto the next stage of reopening), from May 17 outdoor venues can resume normal activities at 50% capacity, before, possibly from as early as June 21 all legal limits on social contact will be lifted.
Understandably, however, most of the larger model boat shows/ events have been cancelled for 2020 - perhaps not only because it just isn't viable to put in the amount of planning required amidst such uncertainty but also because it must be very difficult for organisers to gauge how long it will be before the public actually feel comfortable and confident about attending any such large gatherings again.
If you are able to get your boat out on the water, therefore, it would be lovely if you could take your camera/ phone along with you and email us some us some photos for inclusion in the Your Models section so that fellow readers not so fortunate can also enjoy them.
If you're quick about it and you haven't already got one, there's still time to knock up a dedicated transportation box (see Glynn Guest's 'How to...' feature starting on p. 46) so that your model arrives at the pond/lake side in pristine condition for its photoshoot!
For those of you who don't yet have the luxury of being able to get out and about again, commiserations, but hopefully the pages ahead will give you a few ideas on how you can continue to keep yourself busy.
On the subject of which, be sure not to miss next month's issue, as we'll be taking a look at how to keep younger members of the family entertained during the long school summer holidays ahead by introducing them to the hobby in the most engaging and delightful way.
Enjoy your read!
Lindsey
