Sedgemoor Sea-Jet Display Team
For more info about the Sea-Jet Team - click on the buttons below
Sedgemoor Sea-Jet Display Team
The Full Story - by Russ Chilcott (Team Leader)
The idea for the display team came about after I saw two Robbie Sea-Jets operated by Wessex 88 MBC members Bev and Lynn Johnson, at the 1998 Weymouth Maritime Modelling Festival.
I thought it would be great to see a fleet of these models doing a Red Arrow’s type formation display. I started by asking the regulars from our club who would be interested in forming a team. Most importantly they must be willing not only to put their hands in their pockets to buy the kits, radio, batteries, spares etc, but willing to give up spare time to practice the routine and of course all be available to do any displays.
By early 1999 the Sedgemoor Sea-Jet Display Team was formed, at that time we had six members. We purchased the kits in bulk from our local model shop Weston-super-Models, the owner Dave Cuff has supported our team from the start and supplies us with spare propellers, couplings etc at a good discount. Likewise Astec’s Allan Shillitto has also supported us, by providing all the speed controllers for the team at cost. He also does the very important job of giving a public commentary at all our displays.
The Sea-Jets were all built identically with only the driving figures helmets and gloves a different colour to tell them apart, then came our first problem when two of our team members told us they were coloured blind!
It was quite impressive seeing them all together on the water for the first time and as we started to practice our first routine we discovered just how difficult it was to form and hold any formation shape at all! In fact by the time all six were in the correct position we were running out of lake. Turning in formation proved to be particularly difficult, since the inside Sea-Jet is going slow and will not respond to the rudder very quickly, while the one on the outside is flat out trying to keep up and will over steer very easily. We learnt early on to run them at about three-quarters speed most of the time so someone can always catch up, but they look at their best flat out for the crossovers so this leaves little room for error!
We made a small modification to the coupling and rudder linkage so they would turn a few more degrees to allow them to spin on the spot, while this does look good in the routine it makes them a little prone to spinning when turning at full speed.
Our first time out some bright spark in the team suggested (I think jokingly) that we should have one Sea-Jet jumping the others. I went away and returned at our next practice session with a four-foot long ramp and yet another Sea-Jet fitted this time with a Graupner 700BB turbo motor in a jet unit and powered by fourteen cells. I had problems with this design air locking as it hit the water and have since changed to a twelve cell, surface piercing out-rigger which pivots upwards as it hits the ramp so avoiding ripping off the prop and rudder! The following year we attached a Barbie doll water-skier to the Jumper and they both jumped the ramp!
Over the years our display has developed and hopefully improved, with more complicated routines, closer formations and near miss crossovers. In 2001 a seventh member/Sea-Jet joined the team and we also added a fully working ready-to-go Sea-Jet as a backup should anyone breakdown or get damaged. Together with the “jumper” this brought the entire team to 9 Sea-Jets!
For 2007 we have had to drop the 007 James Bond part of our display - too much work! So will just be doing the formation part of our display for the time being.
The names Bond...
Not happy with just doing the formation displays, in 2004 we added a second completely new display which was based upon a James Bond film, well actually, a chase sequences which would involve a few “stunts” and our James shooting all the bad guys!
The original idea was very simple – take the 7 standard Sea-Jets plus 1 spare we already have and simply change all but one of the Sea-Jet drivers for the “bad guys”. Paint them in black and arm them with Action Man machine guns. We would then eject the bad guys from the Sea-Jet seats as our hero (painted in white) chases them around the lake.
The old jumper Sea-Jet which we already had would have a second identical 007 figure who would finish the display by driving through a 3ft long boat which was joined under water but had it’s centre section made of paper. This would be a nice and simple display, which we could do immediately after the formation routine.
But then…
…plans change and the stunts get bigger!
The original planned 3ft long boat grew firstly to 6ft long and then (it was my fault) to 8ft long!
This was to accommodate more and more stunts and effects. The “Big Boat” as we call it now, has 3 crew all of them are Sea-Jet figures (painted grey with black helmets). One is in the wheelhouse (unarmed) the other two are hidden away within the boat. One pops out through the cabin door on the port side holding a machine gun and can move around about 90 degrees, the other one comes up through a forward deck hatch. He’s operating a much larger twin machine gun and can rotate 180 degrees. Both can be killed ie: ejected from their seats. The bigger boat also allowed us to fit in a few more surprises. The centre 2ft section drops inside at an angle to make a ramp, the lower side (the bit 007 drives through) is made of wallpaper painted the same colour as the hull and has a 6mm balsa frame. This allows our 007 “jumper” Sea-Jet to appear as it has crashed through the side of the boat! At the stern is a long funnel with a line attached to the top, with a flick of a switch the funnel drops leaving the line to hook one of the bad guys clean off his bike – hopefully just after 007 has gone pasted! Inside the hull is an air bottle connected to air value switches that are in turn controlled by micro switches and a yacht winch. This allows us to use the compressed air to fire a mixture of flour, cornflakes, bread etc out through 10” pipes that are level with the deck. One pipe is just below the water line so we can fire a vertical waterspout along the side of the boat. This system allows us to do relativity safe effects and only leave harmless debris in the water. One final trick – the boats bow door opens (controlled by a car electric window unit) which allows an escape pod to exit. This escape pod is a modified 12cell “Wizzard” fast electric boat.
And there’s more….
We also have also built a rocket launcher and tow boat. The total length of the model is about 6ft and it has yet another Sea-Jet figure at the controls. When attacked, the driver dives out of his seat helped by a catapulted unit fitted inside the boat. While he’s in the water along comes “Jaws” (our fast electric rescue boat) with yet another Sea-Jet driver plus a machine gun to capture him! The rocket launcher itself has 3 rockets mounted on a flat barge hull. The barge also has a hidden ramp inside, again covered with paper on a balsa frame. The middle rocket is elevated clear from the impact area during the display, when it’s “ready for launch”. The inside rocket (nearest to the impact side) has a false middle section again made of paper. While the outside rocket will fall off the other side of the barge when hit. IF everything has gone to plan – the escape pod will crash into the rocket launcher breaking through paper rocket and fake hull section, knock off the 3rd rocket and come to rest across the middle of the barge. So far it’s only worked once in two displays!
Now we are into our seventh year it is still amazing how often things can break or just stop working when you have ten Sea-Jets, a very large boat (and very complicated!), Rocket Launcher, the escape pod, plus “Jaws” to get ready for the display. Of course “Sods Law” applies and things only go wrong as the music starts and the display begins – well I suppose if it were easy everyone would be doing it!
This year we plan to do displays at the Exeter MBC Open Day at Crealy Park, (both days) at Weymouth Maritime Modelling Festival and last but not least our own Club Open Day at Apex Lake, Burnham-on-Sea.
We would like to do more displays but because we all have interests in other model boating activities, simply getting all of us together at the same time greatly limits how often we can do a display.
The Sedgemoor Sea-Jet Display Team are supported by:
Astec Weston-Super-Models
Allan ShillittoDave Cuff
6 Stickland55 Orchard Street
ClevedonWeston-super-Mare
North SomersetNorth Somerset
01275 878125 01934 622938
(speed controllers) (kits and spares)
