hi Nigel,
I consider myself as lucky that my model boat club has the same freindly positive atmoshphere that I enjoy with Scale Models and we have superb facilities in the form of the park. If you are lucky enough to stumble across a similar club it opens up a whole new world of modelling.
We have everything from fast electric off the shelf models to plank on frame yachts. We have subs, steam engines, tugs fishing boats paddle steramers and anything else in between. At the end of the day we all enjoy our boats and share our thoughts and experiences on a Sunday moring at the pond. On Sunday morning one of our more senior members was showing me his latest yacht hull he is working on. All had had was the hull made from planks of mahogany, made on a frame then removed, glassed on the inside and satin varnished on the outside. It was absolutely beautiful, yet I can have a constructive chat with this guy about our steam engines and share our ideas.
I would heartily recommend a club if you can find a good one. Unfortunately a lot of clubs get bogged down with silly politics which makes it all a bit of a pain but we seem to manage to avoid that.
As for the paddle steamer, it has a rudder in front of the wheel which is remarkably effective although to be honest I don't know exactly how the real ones steer. I do know that some have a rudder in the bow as one of the main design features of them is the flat shallow bottom, making them suitable for shallow river waters. The bow rudder is basically a section of the bow above the keel that turns as a rudder.
By the way my Robbe might still be a cheap way into a detailed static model. I have learned though by building the Revel one that the actual shape of the Robbe kit leaves a bit to be desired as regards accuracy.
I think the best working model on the market now is the new Engles kit, complete with two dive tanks etc and the best static kit is the Spanish Andreas Miniatures one. Either of them will only leave you one arm and leg!!
