Hi guys. I have a desire to motorise my RAF ASR launch, and make it R/C. Has anyone done this before? I thought that vibrator motors (from mobile phones) would do the job. With micro speed controllers, batteries and recievers, it can't be too hard to do. Then there's the E-boat, the Vosper MTB, the Revell U boat..... all in 1/72nd , so why not? And do I use two motors, or a single with a rudder?

For less than $10 US, r/c micro race cars - typically 1/64 or so - probably provides what you need in tx and rx components. the car runs for a few minutes from a nimh battery charged by the tx. you could replace the nimh with a primary cell so your launch isn't stranded off the beach if that's an issue. the cars include a steering mechanism that can control your rudder. some cars use a magnetic wishbone contraption, other use a pager motor. for a few more $ some even have proportional steering but quick fingers can emulate same on simple left-right controllers. the motor drive itself is a pager motor and goes fwd or rev.

Hi Stan. cool idea. Any links please, to the type of car you mean?

There must be at least a dozen or so mfrs. The US chain store Radio Shack sells a line called ZipZaps which I have taken apart. Other names I recall are Micro Sizers and Bit Char G. I just tried these 3 names on eBay and they all came up with hits. For example listing #5969625490 is in UK and listing photo shows electronics in the car to give you an idea of size...I figure there should be no problem fitting the electronics of a 1/64 car into a 1/72 launch. Depending on your budget and ambition, some cars even have headlights using tiny LEDs. This might be another option for your watercraft.

If all this seems like a possibility, I suggest you take one apart (the car side) and observe the steering and drive-train mechanisms as you operate the transmitter. I've taken several apart and basically you have a circuit board with 2 wires to the battery, 2 wires to the drive motor, 2 or 4 wires to the steering mechanism, and 1 antenna wire (though there are versions that are infrared control rather than radio).

Also, there are larger scales which might be easier to work with depending on available space. I have dis-assembled the 1/43 Super Slick from the chain ToysRUs and it's the same configuration.

Years Ago I R/C'd the Airfix E-Boat. Man it moved too! it was easy to do and worked great with just off the shelf toy store parts. Email me if you want some insight.

Check the forums at:

http://www.microrccenter.com

plenty of stuff on how to custom r/c ships and subs in 1/72 and even smaller. very interesting current thread on an operating scale torpedo.