Well, I think it is time I did a dedicated build thread for this one. A quick recap of this model's history Mikey Deskin started on this hull after his Strasbourg passed sea trials. The first piece was cut in January 2008 as far as I can tell. His initial progress can be tracked starting on page three of this thread: http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/Forum/...fault.aspx Skip to May of this year, I do some trading with Mikey and end up with the hull in two sections: Fore and aft of the deck step. I started work on it on June 5. Progress can be followed here: http://www.rcnavalcombat.com/Forum/...fault.aspx Which shows my progress up to this past Saturday. Primarily, joining the two halves together, planking the hull bottom, contouring the bow/stern, removing the center rib sections, building cannon mounts, installing stuffing tubes, prototyping the CO2 system, building servo mounts for rudder/fire control, and a whole lot (and I mean a lot) of test layouts. Many thanks to Mikey, Phil, Mark, Eric, and Bat for the veteran advice to the rookie, and additional thanks to Matt whose enthusiasm was the kick in the pants to get the local ships back in drydock. Yesterday I did bilge keels, water channel, and a new rudder as I cut the shaft about 1/8" too short on the first one. Here is the underside of the stern: I just used some "T" weather stripping for the bilge keels and cut to shape. I will come back and glass the hull bottom/bow/stern with some .74oz cloth and will finish shaping on them. While I was at Menard's picking up the weather stripping, I spotted this: For my water channeling, I glued two sections of carbon fiber flats along the sections I had cut out. I went along the seams with thick CA and then let the hull sit to one side. I took a bubble from a torpedo level and checked the top of the .118" carbon fiber vs. the edge piece of 1/8x1/4 spruce. it was nearly perfectly level. I laid in the Loctite self-leveling sealant (~3/16") on that side and let setup overnight. I did miss a spot with the CA, so I had a leak at the bottom seam. I caught it within 10 minutes and hit that section with CA and zip-kick. Today at lunch, I tested the sealant, and it was firm, so I poured the other side. By the time I got home and did some other stuff (repair a broken bobble-head, etc..) it has set up enough to handle. The idea is the down angle will keep water along the centerline to help with stability. This hull is a very narrow double S with a TALL big gun cannon up front. I will need every advantage with roll stability I can get. I know a 3/16" water channel is not very deep, and will seem quite small to Fast-gunners, but I have to FIT a bunch of stuff into the hull, and keeping it low is key. Also, I will have a 30GPH, so it not nearly as big of an issue. Well, after all that is done, time for another layout test...The bow shot shows a dual-turret Indiana cannon, with a marine Viper ESC under the accumulator. Moving astern, we have The heart of the weapons system: Servos, SMAV-3s, Tank, Regulator, and port torpedo system (before the breach). Not seen, but present under the regulator (in the water channel) is the MAR-1/Check valve/manifold assembly. Next we have the rest of the tank, one of Allan's pumps with the 0.2A-under-load pump motors Mikey found, and Swiss Maxxon-A motors (thanks for telling me about them Kotori) on BC 280 mounts. Finally, an A123 Racing 6.6V 4600mAh LiFePO4 battery pack sitting on top of the stuffing tubes. Pump switch servo, and rudder servo. The El Cheapo Walmart kitchen scale says: 120oz...7.5lbs Scale standard displacement. Without deck, barrels, rotation servo, stern guns, starboard torpedo, blast sheild, and superstructure. :blink: I've got 40oz to play with people! P.S. Sorry about the picture quality. Me remembering to stop and take pics is rare enough, I usually settle with using my phone.
Looks good! I like the layout, it is very clean. There is a lot of room in there! I would recommend that you test your maxons, if you haven't already. Swiss Maxon makes a lot of different motors. Having bought several that were all RPM and no torque, I now bring a test battery, jumper cables, and a multi-meter when I go motor shopping.
Quick update: It feels bow heavy. I turned my tank around so the regulator (and heavy tank on/off valve) is at the stern end. I will have to move my torpedo accumulator/valve assembly back too (they only fit where the bottle necks down). I will run 1/8" hose from the valve out to the breech. I also re-prototyped my MAR-1 et.al. assembly to adjust for the tank move... and I had screwed up on the previous one as I did not have a supply line for the stern MAV-2s, just a fire line for the MPA-3s. I have an inline X that I might use to branch off the Torp accumulator supply...
Ii did not like the look of the weather stripping bilge keels, so I replaced it with1/4" ABS T stock. I have two sets of plans that show them different sizes and in different locations Will try to glass the hull tonight....
Note to self: try adding the bilge keels after fiberglass next time. My first fiberglass job wasn't a total disaster, but I had some issues with the shaft struts and bilge keels. I can fix it, but I am out of brushes at the moment. I'll go to Menards tomorrow, pickup a couple dozen, and hopefully finish tomorrow night.
Dustin It is good to see someone making some progress on the boat. I have my templates hidden somewhere for her. So we could always make her sister-ship down the road. Well done! Mikey
Update: This weekend was spent mainly on the Torpedoes and fixing the fiberglass snafu. Friday night a #12 exacto blade (curved), a lot of sandpaper and patience took care of the problems on the bad fiberglass job. For the bow & stern, I will add another two layers of the .75sz fiberglass cloth with the SIG resin. I will go back over the sections sheeted with plywood with a coat of the "your local hobby store" brand Finish grade epoxy. Then one more coat of epoxy over everything. Went to the Build session at Mikey's on Saturday and experienced mass-frustration trying to drill out the brass tubing at the magazine junction. The first one went off without a hitch. The next six all grabbed and tore the tubing. Plan B: use a brass tee. Mark offered one that was 1/8MPT on one end, so I drilled it out until I was happy. He said it was Watts brand that he got at Home Depot. After I got home I went to Menards. No luck. Next stop: Lowes 25 minutes down the road. No luck. OK, there is a Home Depot in Piqua--35 minutes later, no luck. (yes, I live in the sticks) Well, poo. The part sure looked like a Watts tee: the non-threaded section was six-sided, profiled like a barn, and........what is this? Oh, it has been re-threaded, I can see where two dies have stopped. Mark didn't tell me because I didn't ask :blush: (BTW, his new [TOP SECRET] cannon design is a thing of beauty. 105 shots from a 12g cartridge @ 190fps with more design work to go). Well, it gives me a depth-charge breech in case any subs show up . At the Home Depot I did notice a 1/8"MPT to 1/4"compression adapter (Watts A-22), so I picked up two of those, two in-line compression couplers (A-10), two compression caps (A-5), two compression tees (A-12), and some Watts 1/4" Vinyl compression hose. Today was Torpedo Day. Barrels are down the road a bit until I work out some other things, but here is the rest of the system. Tools: drill, 1/4" bit, 9/32" bit, file, small tubing cutter, countersink bit, and drillpress vise with tabletop adapter(Menards ~$17). Parts (x2 for all): Watts: A-5, A-10, A-12, A-22 & A-714 (1/8 hex nipple). Also 1/4" vinyl hose. Clippard: MJV-2, MPA-3, VAT-17-2, 15036, 11752-2 (four of these), MAV-3 or SMAV-3. K&S Metals: 9/32" brass tubing All drilling was done with a 1/4" then a 9/32" bit. I drilled out the tees completely on the side branch until I hit the opposite wall. For the main section, I drilled CAREFULLY until there was almost nothing left of the ~0.18 inner section. Seriously, there are only two miniscule little slivers left. Just enough to prevent a 1/4" ball bearing from passing through. When I have to secure that compression fitting to the hose, I will screw it on with ANOTHER fitting to get the compression, then unscrew it and add to the tee. I barely had enough room to allow two bearings into the breach. Then I drilled out the bodies of part A-10, the compression coupling. Next, I removed the brass inner "ring" from the four compression caps (with holes) off the couplings with some ingenuity and pliers. I cut two sections of tubing to 1.5" and two sections to 7/8". After reaming out the cuts with the 1/4" bit and countersink, I soldered each section to one of the "ringless" compression caps.(the long onesI gave a slight "up angle" based on test fittings). I then soldered the A-10 bodies to the other end of the long sections. The A-5 "closed" compression caps went on the non soldered ends. I took the 1/8 to 10/32 adapters and put in one end of the volume chambers. To the other end went the 1/8MPT nipples, then the MJV-s and MPA-3. On the OUT section, went the Watts A-22. 1/16" barbs went into the MPA-3 and 10-32 adapter. Assembled they looked like this: I have enough magazine space for 12 ball bearings each side--that's six shots instead of five for each tube. One set of plans show one reload on deck...more thought and discussion needed, but I can just remove the last two bearings, not too different than a fast gun cannon in that regard. I could also do 1" instead of 1.5" mags too. Since I wasn't exhausted yet, I decided to waterproof the receiver for my new radio that came in Wednesday. I coated the top and bottom of the board, avoiding the pins and trying not to put too much over the power LED. I also was careful around the bind switch. I used a dental pick and a 3/8" x 3" section of 1/32" plywood as my application tools. The Scotchkote is a little old, so I will probably put in some 3" extensions then hit all the seams with some Marine Goop. Yes, I did bind and test the receiver before putting that stuff on.
After some thought, I decided I did not like using the 1/4"OD compression fittings/hose for connecting the valve to the breech. I decided to replace with clippard 1/8" barbs, and I added an elbow soldered to a "sleeveless" compression cap to give me a better angle to avoid crimping the supply hose. Weight is starting to become an issue (just like any destroyer build), So I might drop the 9oz tank in favor of a 3.5oz tank. That would give me another 10-11oz total to work with and free up some space. I might go with a shared accumulator option to get more weight lower and closer to the centerline. There is another option I am looking at as well.... Here is the shared accumulator version: I started some serious work on the superstructure and realized that my bow cannon mount is too far astern. It was just in with CA, no epoxy yet, so I pulled it out and will rebuild it. I will spend the next few days focusing on the superstructure (planning mostly) until I have a solution on the weight issue.
Dustin - I've been looking around trying to find that tee again. I thought I bought it at Lowes, but they didn't carry it, ditto with Home Depot and True Value. If it's not a Watts, it might be a Parker, but I have no idea where I got it. I did not modify it myself, so I'm not sure why it looks like there were two dies used. Good luck.
Mark, Ya, no go on my local True-Value either. You find some again, let me know where, as it allows for more options on building cannon designs. (Plus I owe you some fittings) Quick update on the build: I've blocked out most of the superstructure forward of the deck step. I have left areas that might be affected by an increase in turret or barbette size alone until I know with 100% certianty what I will do. I hope to have as much of the SS (except for areas close to the shooty bits) done this weekend as possible.
Well, this weekend was more "paperwork" than anything, but I did make good progress on the superstructure: I still have smokestacks, directors, turrets, and "detail" left. Plus the open-air bridge and the "building" it sits on (need to figure out turrets first or it may bind my rotation). I ended up having to incease my "barbette" size by 1/8" with a new radius of 1 & 1/16" I cut some test holes out on some 1/8" plywood and had to go to 2 &1/8" to get unhindered rotation. I also had to move my A turret location forward 3/8" -- I will want to get another pair of eyes on this before I cut out the hole. I also made the "business" barrels for my torpedo launcher and a possible stern gun. The PVC section below will also act as a magazine for the stern gun
Tonight, I was finally able to get back in the garage. I split some 1.5" ABS tubing I got from an HO scale Propane tank kit length-wise and added a .5" strip of .060" ABS in between the recently split halves. After cutting the newly widened tubing to the proper length and backwards "sweep", I had some smokestacks! Next I made some SS bases out of balsa. I set the scroll saw base plate angle to the same as the "back sweep" and cut out the forward and aft sections that would wrap around the tubing. I used a multi-directional spiral blade specifically because the radius of the turn is completely independent of the angle of the cut. (or the X Y radius cut with a normal blade would screw up the angle of the Y Z cut needed for the base to lay flat against the SS). I then cut the outside edge of the bases the same way, except I changed the "angle of the cut" (Y Z) to 45 degrees in relation to the deck. The balsa sections will need a lot of putty and some epoxy for final shaping and durability. I then started on the forward and aft range-finders using couplers for 1/2" and 3/4" PVC conduit and a small section of 1/2" PVC
Well, I went with option three on my torpedoes. Phil had an old double valve Modified White/Indiana style torpedo cannon from his MBG days with two barrels per ball valve. It is a one ball per barrel. I spent a lot of time considering my options, but it just came down to saving 4 ounces. The cannon isn't pretty, but it is tested in battle (albeit, maybe fifteen or more years ago) I made the above deck launchers for the dummy and live triple/dual launchers tonight after spending the afternoon testing layouts, weighing, measuring, etc... I also cleaned up the launcher, lubed the various springs and checked for corrosion. I also traded Mikey my current pump for a BC Micro-pump. Here are the new funnels, torpedo launchers and last SS "building" plust a peak at the new cannon bottle and layout changes.
Looking great Dustin. I have been looking through all of my book on French cruisers, to see what we might add to the French fleet down the road. There is a lot to choose from. But it will most likely depend on what cannons are available. Mikey
Looking Good Dustin! really clean build, maybe I will jump on the french bandwagon and build an Alsace next....okay probubly not, but its a really nice build just the same! Nikki, I would say at this point it is a certainty, that it will be at the battle!
Interesting. That's one fat PVC accumulator. Bigger diameter than any PVC accumulator I've ever seen. The forces on it when pressurized must be incredible. I like your dummy torpedo barrels. Just be careful so load your ammo into the armed barrels, otherwise you might find yourself wondering why the other guy doesn't have any holes in his boat.
Matt, I appreciate your confidence in me, but: Nikki, i would say I am 90% sure she will be ready. Carl, The cannon is actually a one-ball-per-barrel reloading design. Ammo feeds like an Arizona cannon. Thanks, on the launcher compliment. Since we have all this extra room to work with, and the barrel diamater is only 1/16" larger than the "scale" launcher tubes, I figured I could spend an evening and deal with the extra ounce or two of weight to get her looking good. p.s. I called dibs on the Alsace Saturday p.p.s. Like a man who drives a compact and has had hernia surgery would actually be able to transport/launch/recover that boat...
Nikki, She is just over 55" long, just over 5" wide, and will displace about 10lbs--by far the smallest ship on the water at this point. Phil's Tashkent will be wider, longer, taller, and heavier(see the Battlestations Shipyard thread in Photos) and will be a more stable gun platform because he squared off the hull below the waterline, but this makes him a bigger target. Carl, BTW, Phil (who GAVE me the cannon! ) will be driving said Tashkent for the Lilly-Livered Allies. Ok, the non-French team. So I am not ruling out a good natured False Flag operation on the cannon. Big sigh of relief: Re-read the rules--carefully--and JOY! "2. The hull size tolerance +/- 1/2" in length, +/- 1/4" in beam (width), and +/- 1/2" from the scale waterline. 2.a. If more than one waterline can be substantiated from a reliable source, then the captain may select which they wish to use of either standard or heavy condition. Using the heavy waterline does not require the model to be at heavy displacement, in and of itself." I should have more to work with weight wise (sorry for the unintended onamonapia) than I originally thought. I really need to hurry up and waterproof the ribs to do a float test with tape...
