The EeZeBILT range comprised seven boats - three small and four large. The Small range were each 10 3/4" long - approximately 1:72 scale, while the Large range varied between 14" to 17" long, and might be 1:36 to 1:24. They were:
Curlew - Small Fishing Launch. Rather small - almost bath-toy, but nice superstructure. The bow was nearly vertical, so it tended to plough through the water rather than slide over it....
Otter - Tug Boat. The 1960s box illustration oozed character, but operating the boat was a disappointment. A very flat, almost pancake hull with no depth gave the boat no stability, and the motor tried to push it far too fast for realism. No depth to the hull meant that the battery had to be carried high up in the cabin which gave a high CG. Mine overturned on its first outing in a canal...
Terrier - Motor Torpedo Boat. This was the goods for a young boy! Attractive lines and a good performer, but it was a bit disappointing to find that the torpedo tubes and twin machine-guns shown on the illustration were not included, and the instructions just showed a way to make them with pins and paper! See the Fittings page for a slightly nicer gun...
The EeZeBilt boat range was actively marketed - you can see the development in box art as the years went by. At least the later artist can draw waves! However, the boat kits remained as they were developed in the 1950s, and no new boats were ever introduced.
All of the Small Range were a bit small for a big pond, and sat quite low in the water when a 4.5V battery was added. The Large Range of boats avoided that difficulty, but were probably getting towards the biggest size that was practical for this design technique...
Neptune - Beamy Day Cruiser. The hull was straightforward, and the superstructure was simple, with a flat front. I thought it a bit uninteresting with a large uncluttered foredeck, but there is room for a lot of fittings...
Mermaid - Ocean-going Cruiser. Lovely streamlined superstructure, and a deep curvy bow which looked spectacular on land but made the boat bob up out of the water at the front. This caught the wind so much you could never steer a straight course! It was priced as part of the Large range, but because it was a model of a very big boat the scale was about the same as the Small range...
Cresta - An outboard motor boat which needed an expensive specific model outboard motor to be bought, at considerably more than the price of the kit. I never made one because of this, and the model was removed early from the range - probably it did not sell well for this reason!
Triton - A Cabin Cruiser which could easily be a fishing/work boat. The Big Daddy of the bunch - 17" long. You got a lot of boat for the money, including a little dinghy, which really enhanced play value for me...
