AZIZ by Colin Stephens

The LED lighting on this model is the best I've ever seen!!!!

I met Colin at the Doncaster model show and I managed to persuade him to take a couple of photos and do a bit of a write up for us - Thanks Colin, Great stuff!

  Mayhem.


 

Here is my model of the Aziz Anchor Handling Tug from Model Slipway; she took about 10 months on and off to build. She runs on 2 individually controlled Model Slipway’s 500 Torpedo motors with 2.5:1 gearboxes using M.Sonics Marine speed controllers from a 6V 10Ah Gel battery, this battery also powers the bow thruster (Robbe 1156), which uses an M.Sonics Marine Eco speed controller.

 I installed 23 working lights all of which are 3mm 5000 mcd white LED’s bought from www.ultraleds.co.uk these are controlled using a micro switch and a servo running from a 12V 7Ah Gel battery with resistors for each LED. The navigation lights are just painted to provide the correct colour.

 The 12V battery also powers both my fire monitors that are made from 3 mm diameter copper tube bent to shape to mimic the dummy ones supplied. The water pump for these is a car windscreen washer bottle motor bought from a local scrap yard for £1 with all wires and tubes; this is also controlled using a micro switch and servo, it picks up its water supply from a small hole in the bottom of the boat filtered through a fuel filter, which has saved the cannons from being blocked a few times.

 All the colours are from Humbrol applied using brushes for the detailed and small parts and an airbrush for the larger sections, both of the batteries provide the ballast.

 On the water the model is very manoeuvrable with one motor forwards and the other in reverse with a little rudder she will turn on the spot. The fire monitors work well firing water about 2 – 2.5 meters. The bow thruster is the paddle type, which works well when there is no wind. Altogether the model is a very nice and complete kit to build, will definitely be buying another kit from Model Slipway.

 Since some of the photos I have re-routed the ariel which now runs through the grey pipes along the back and added some equipment etc for the rear of the ship to carry, all that is left is to add some rust to certain areas, never done this before so quite scary.

 Regards,
Colin