Sorry about that title. I simply couldn't resist given the subject...and I couldn't think of anything else.

In any event, my best friend of these last thirty years has finally taken the plunge (literally) with his first R/C model, a Silverlit Flying Dutchman RTR pirate ship which he's been merrily sailing in his own Spanish Main, namely his pool.

He's christened it The Flying Wasp after the small dinghy which gets splintered by a yacht's anchor in Caddyshack.

It seems this little galleon has a real fire in its belly with its ability to power slide. No rudder. It steers by varying the speed of the props. I'm told that there are few things funnier than seeing a miniature 18th Century sailing vessel skid sideways like something out of The Fast and the Furious.

Being the rather eclectic individual he is, e-mails have been flying as to how this ship should be manned. Discussion ranges from Star Wars to the Teletubbies. We're thinking a compromise.

How do you think Darth Vader would look carrying a purple handbag?