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Model Building Tips & Tricks
Power Your Model

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The choice of power for a model freighter is normally between electric motors or scale steam plant. The steam plants are impressive but expensive. The size of the motor depends on the size of the model and how fast you want it to go. There are many electric motors designed for R/C applications, but just about any motor will work for R/C.

Electric Motors

Motor Assemblies Pictures is the Graupner Speed 400 motor. Included in one package is the motor, reduction gear, shaft and stuffing box.
Motor and Shaft. Area around the shaft that exits hull is sealed with 5 minute epoxy (painted blue for this picture).
Gearing and engine mount.
Shaft is threaded to accept 4mm thread props. For more Graupner drive units visit Alan's Model Shop. Graupner products are available from different distributors in each country. Their main web site is located here, but does not show all of their products.

Using gears to reduce the motor speed allows the propeller to turn at a realistic rate while the motor turns at its designed speed. Another option to reduce the RPM's from the motor to the propeller shaft is to use a system of belts and pulleys. This produces the same results as a geared drive but does not make the noise a geared drive does.

Schottel Unit (Z-Drive) By Alan Rose The Graupner 1775 is a scale Z-Drive that offers a model very high maneuverability. The Z-Drive combines the a propeller, cort nozzle into one unit, replacing the rudder. The spare rounded end prop is for when unit used without nozzle, only a right handed propeller is available from Graupner but the www.prop-shop.co.uk makes left/right handed props in bronze for these units. Prop is fitted on a notched spine (not threaded) with a spring clip to hold it on. Nozzle just un clips. I have fitted the small bolts on the steering quadrant. The red section unclips to allow unit to go through hull.
Length overall. 4.3/8 inch. Base of bolting flange to top of red section 0.7/8 inch. Width of red section 2.7/8 inch Total depth of red section. 2.3/8 inch Diameter of small end of nozzle. 1.3/4 inch Nozzle prop diameter. 1.1/2 inch Length overall of drive section front to back. 3 inch (to end of motor shaft) The book by Tom Gorman, 'Ship Model Builders Handbook' has a picture of the unit set up page 103, it is shown with an extension for the vertical shaft.
The unit can turn 200 degrees -100 degrees each side of the fore-aft line. Read about the uses of these units in a model tug at Alan's web site. For more Graupner drive units visit click here. Graupner products are available from different distributors in each country. Their main web site is located here, but does not show all of their products. Article featuring a real tug using Z-Drives

Servo Power For smaller models a servo may be used for power. Click here for details
Steam Graupner working steam engine for boats.
More model Steam Engines

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