Mark Wilkes - My Graupner Neptun


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Hi Martin,
I spotted your Neptun section on your website, did you ever complete it? (Not yet sadly......... Mayhem) and if so, what does your model look like, mine is pretty much standard, just renamed and lights added. My scheme is to have her done as a nuclear freighter, carrying nuclear flasks, don't ask why, but the idea came from a novel I read earlier on last year.

Having sailed my Neptun on several occasions, I have found her to be very good with her sea keeping, though as she is a low boat, don't put her in water with too high waves, however, she will need 1.2kg of ballast to sit her on the waterline as pictured by Graupner. Extend the crane mast supports, as they are too low, the crane wont sit on them.  I use a 7.2v nicad pack, which gives me ample sailing time, and with 8 of them, as well as a charger, I can sail all day :)

That boat has been from stoke on Trent to Portsmouth and Darlington, and she is a joy to sail.
installing lights was a pain, as the space inside her is not massive, but that is not a problem.  originally I did not intend her to have the navigation lights, but I thought sod it! and fitted them!!! You WILL love her when you get her on the water!!!!!
 
KIT : Graupner “Neptun”
Length : 857mm
Beam : 142mm
Draught : 50mm

MV Gemini is my example of Graupner’s popular Neptun kit is a Freelance design of a two-hold bulk or dry cargo ship, seen operating on many of the world’s sea lanes, the kit itself has been in production for a number of years.

Power for My example comes from a speed 400 motor, via an M-Tronics 15A digital speed controller, running BEC off a 7.2v Ni-Cad 6-cell pack, with the lighting being provided by a separate battery pack that also provides ballast for the model, however when the lights are not required, a lead weight takes the place of the lighting pack, which is a 6xAA strip with a 9v style connector on her.

The height of the railings suggest a relative scale of 1/87th, as a result, Gemini has been fitted out with a set of Kibri “HO” (1/87th) scale sea containers. The sea containers are 12m (40ft) modules, her crew which are visible on deck come from two separate HO gauge railway packs.

With the scale of 1/87th, the dimensions of the vessel would translate to the following:

Length : 75.5m
Beam : 12.35m
Draught : 4.35m

Being a flat bottomed hull, Gemini required 1.2kg of lead ballast to sit her on the waterline, much of that is located in the area around the forward hold, counterbalancing the weight of the superstructure island at the rear.

MV Gemini has sailed several times, with pleasing handling abilities, with a fairly tight turning circle, though a fault with the rudder has meant that minor surgery has had to be performed on the model, nothing too drastic though.

I am planning a second Neptun based on a research ship idea, so watch this space!
 

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