1/8th scale hydroplane kits
 

I'm looking to build a hydroplane next, what companies make scale kits? I like the Dumas Miss Circus Circus, but haven't heard to many good things about the kit quality, and if I'm going to spend 300 bucks just on the kit I would like a nice kit. Any suggestions? Btw this isn't my first boat build, last boat was a Easy Vee, and I have 20+ years of airplane building experience so level of difficulty isn't an issue.:cool:

Does it have to be a kit? You can order plans from http://newtonmarine.com/index.php for pretty much any boat you could want. Your options are very limited otherwise as to sources or hull choices

I would like it to be a full kit. My build time is limited as it is with work, so I much rather have a full kit, unless I'm able to source out a kit cutter ?

Contact Mike at ML Boatworks, www.woodrcboatkits.com . He has a good selection of laser cut wood rc boat kits, gas, nitro or fe. He is great to deal with, & the kits are VERY well designed making them both easy to build & great runners!

^^^

I second that, and I gaurantee you 95% of anyone whose even remotely been up to speed with sport and scale hydroplane building/racing the past few years will as well.

The laser cutting is grade A quality and extremely precise, fitment is always superb. Mike has integrated hundreds of Newton plans into CAD, while incorporating better ride surfaces with the more popular kits so they more accustomed to current power systems (especially FE). Also, the kits have several intuitive building/engineering features that TREMENDOUSLY increase the convenience and labor in assembly, like interlocking toy tabs, laser etched numbers and glue lines (no need for instructions with these!), and also aids in a square, straight hull. As a matter of fact, you can view practically all of Mike's builds on his photobucket (heres a link to a T6 he built for a friend: http://s42.photobucket.com/user/spoo...?sort=3&page=1), and as beautiful as his scales are, hes never even used a jig for any of them!!

His scale kits aren't 100% complete, they are just the internal framing and some bottom sheeting. His extreme series kits though are more complete, theyll usually include alot of the bottom floor pans and canard/wing templates, cockpit liners, etc. to aid with the more complex and difficult sections of the hull. But if you just do a little research, youll realize the difference between getting a kit that in theory would be 100% "complete" vs what he offers really isnt that much extra work. If I were you, I would just give Mike a call, his number is listed on his website. Hes always open to discussion and is very helpful. That way you can talk about which boat you want to build and what else you need from other suppliers potentially. He can get the kit to you pretty darn fast too despite not having an actual laser CNC in house. But I just spoke with Mike a few days ago (I ordered a T4 kit on the 29th last month) and his laser guy is going down for about 7-10 days for maintenance.

Good luck!

[QUOTE=Nichismo;12199948]^^^

I second that, and I gaurantee you 95% of anyone whose even remotely been up to speed with sport and scale hydroplane building/racing the past few years will as well.[QUOTE]

I guess that means I'm in the 5% since I build from plans instead of kits.

[QUOTE=Hydro Junkie;12199979][QUOTE=Nichismo;12199948]^^^

I second that, and I gaurantee you 95% of anyone whose even remotely been up to speed with sport and scale hydroplane building/racing the past few years will as well.the percentages I was referring to was in regards to people whom I believe would also recommend Mikes kits to the individual that started this thread. In all honesty, the 5% to me was to represent the people who, for whatever reason, are simply unaware of MLboatworks.

I completely understand why you prefer to build from scratch (I assume you mean scratch, rather than "plans" as pretty much anyone who gets a kit from Mike will more than likely still purchase some of the corresponding Newton sheets) and as a matter of fact, among the large achive of pictures I have saved of peoples builds that I refer to for info and inspiration, the 100% scratch built ones are the ones I find most interesting and intriguing. Usually these ones possess features and qualities that are unique and entirely exclusive, as these things were probably the reason why scratching was chosen from the start. Not to mention when it comes to scale hydros, a few that come to my mind right away are THE most scale accurate boats ive ever seen......

But thats all for extremely experienced builders and takes a huge amount of time and patience, and isn't really relevant here for the OP. Its not just the fact that Mike makes outstanding kits, its that hes the only viable option for such! I mean clearly the man doesn't want a Dumas kit and it probably didn't take much research at all for him to figure that out, and thats AFTER seeing the 300$ price tag which is nearly double what the frame kit alone from Mike costs. I mean unless you would prefer to recommend he purchase a glass hull, there really is no sense in any other direction he could possibly go.

And that, unfortunately, is where the hobby is today. Either you buy plans from Newton Marine, buy one of Mike's kits(that are based on Newton Marine plans), draw your own or buy a premade FG hull. Since I tend to modify the plans I build from, kits are not an option for me and I'm not a fan of FG. This is a case where there aren't many options left