BUR2 / Rainbow Cutter by Argonaut - Billing Boats - 1:60

[Argonaut]

Nearly forty years ago I was gifted BUR2 by Billing Boats as a birthday present. I started it, made a mess of it, got bored, and put it back in the box and the box in the attic where it has sat ever since. But, now I have a hankering to try model boat building as a hobby, and so I have decided to start off by completing this long mothballed project.

 

Billing Boats have long since stopped producing the BUR2 kit, but their current "Rainbow Cutter" kit is identical in every aspect other than colour scheme and decals. So this build log will also be suitable to anyone building the Rainbow.

 

The kit itself is mixed media. It has a lot of plastic: the hull is a single piece of moulded plastic; but it also has wood (strip, dowelling, and pre-cut), metal, rope, etc. Instructions are minimal although there is a large A2 plan sheet; fortunately builders of the Rainbow are much better served these days as Billing Boats now provide a proper instruction booklet that can be downloaded from their website.

 

The big mistake I made with this kit as a child was painting the hull far too thickly. The paint ran leaving ridges of thick paint. I need to correct this by rubbing down the old paint and spraying a new coat over the top.

[yvesvidal]

It is always nice to see these old Billing kits come back to the front window. I am sure you will do this model, justice.

 

Yves

[Argonaut]

Thanks Yves. I will do my best, but this is my first attempt at model boat building so time will tell whether I have the skills to make a nice model or not. This is a very simple kit though, so I am starting this boat building journey with the stabilisers on.

Edited September 26, 2023 by Argonaut

[Argonaut]

Progress update. The wheelhouse sub-assembly is complete. I'm quite happy with it for my first bit of modelling with wood. I mitred the angles, both the 90 and 135 degree, before gluing with wood glue. With hindsight I should have painted the lamp holders before attaching.

And the hull is slowly taking shape. It still needs more masking and painting, but it is halfway to complete. I think the propellor looks unrealistic, so I have bought a three-bladed prop to replace it.