SSBN659's ALFA OVERHAUL

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  • SSBN659
    Commander
    • Feb 2009
    • 405

    SSBN659's ALFA OVERHAUL

    The first time I saw a picture of a Soviet Alfa Class I thought it was a great looking boat and would make a fantastic model. However, I had a Victor on the ways and I put Alfa idea on hold. Then as luck would have it an unassembled Alfa kit in Canada came up for sale and I bought it.

    When it came I looked it over and realized it would need some work, particularly installing the rudder and stern plane linkages back there in the “shaft alley”. While waiting for epoxy to dry on the Victor I started to assemble the Alfa. I was able to get the linkage installed on the stern lanes and bottom rudder but at the cost of leaving the top rudder fixed in a fore and aft position. The “shaft alley” was too cramped. The boat ran well this way but I was never completely happy with it. Now, years later, I decided it was time for a major overhaul to redo the linkage using the same technique I used on the Victor.

    In this thread I’ll post the progress on this overhaul.
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    SSBN659
  • greenman407
    Admiral
    • Feb 2009
    • 7530

    #2
    Cool! Are those two boats the same scale? Just wondering.
    IT TAKES GREAT INTELLIGENCE TO FAKE SUCH STUPIDITY!

    Comment

    • SSBN659
      Commander
      • Feb 2009
      • 405

      #3
      Mark, yes they both are 1/96 scale.

      The first step was to drill a hole for the upper rudder shaft and bearing. I removed the lower rudder and set the lower hull upside down on the adjustable table of my drill press. Next I adjusted the table so the drill lined up directly over the hole for the lower rudder bearing. All this assumed I was getting the correct alignment between the longitudinal axis of the hull and the upper and lower rudder shafts. It looked very close. Finally, I drilled down through the lower rudder bearing, through the upper tail cone, and just enough into the upper rudder to mark the location for a shaft.
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      The next step was to remove the upper rudder and enough of the upper tail cone to get good access to the “shaft alley”. And no, I didn’t find the Golden Rivet.:) To make the cuts I used my jeweler’s saw and my Dremel. As you look at the shaft alley and linkage you can see why I had originally left the upper rudder fixed. I just didn’t know then how to get everything back in such a cramped space.
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      After looking at what I had done to the hull I hoped I could get it all back together. We'll see.

      SSBN659

      Comment

      • greenman407
        Admiral
        • Feb 2009
        • 7530

        #4
        Major surgery! Kinda gives you a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.
        IT TAKES GREAT INTELLIGENCE TO FAKE SUCH STUPIDITY!

        Comment

        • SSBN659
          Commander
          • Feb 2009
          • 405

          #5
          I knew when I started this overhaul bad things might happen and they did – a lot sooner than I thought they would. I messed up drilling the hole for the upper rudder shaft and decided on a different approach. I would cut out a section of rudder, align the shaft as best I could, CA it place and fill in around it with epoxy. While making the cut a piece of rudder broke off. Fortunately I had some spare parts that came with the kit. I cut a piece to shape, CA’ed it and the rudder shaft in place and made a dam of blue tape. By the way, I can’t remember why the piece of copper tube is on the brass rudder shaft. It must have seemed a good idea at the time.
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          Next I filled part of the void with baking soda and hit it a couple times with CA. It set up nicely. Then I flipped the rudder over and filled the other side the same way. My day had to get better.
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          At this point I was ready for a cookie break before sanding down the hardened baking soda. My apologies for the focus of the picture but my hand was steadier after I finished off the cookie. Then some red spot putty, some more sanding and the rudder looked pretty good. A coat of grey primer will point out any spots that need more work but that will come later. By the way, I purposely kept the rudder shaft long for easy handling until just before it would be installed.
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          SSBN659

          Comment

          • SSBN659
            Commander
            • Feb 2009
            • 405

            #6
            We’re back in the shaft alley now. This time we’re looking at the stern planes linkage. If you look closely you can see that the port plane shaft is higher than the starboard plane shaft. I knew this when I first assembled this boat but found a way to make it work because I didn’t want to admit my mistake and start over again. My shortcut worked, the boat ran well, but I had too much brass back there fit in linkage for both rudders. Sound familiar? Well that’s the whole reason for this overhaul.
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            The next step required several removals as you can see below in order to get the shafts realigned. I think this hurt as much as the removal of the upper rudder and section of the tail cone. Now I had a lot of parts to keep track of so I laid them out on a paper towel and keep them there while I work.
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            In the next three pictures you see a 3/32” brass rod running through a copper round bearing on the starboard plane. This rod ran through the port bearing to insure alignment before I tacked the starboard plane to the hull. I completed the bond by filling the gaps with epoxy (vaseline of course on the rod to keep it free). There is a void around the bearing that needed filling so I made a dam with blue tape then stuck a half of cotton swap into the bearing to keep it free of epoxy filler.
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            Once the filler cured, I cut off the excess and removed the swab plug. This is the realigned, reattached starboard plane ready for reinstallation of the moveable planes and outer bearing caps.
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            The way things are going it may take awhile before this overhaul is complete.

            SSBN659
            Last edited by SSBN659; 09-09-2013, 06:35 PM. Reason: spelling

            Comment

            • He Who Shall Not Be Named
              Moderator
              • Aug 2008
              • 12256

              #7
              Keep at it. Good WIP, pal. And my hat is off to anyone who chronicles what went wrong as well as what went right. Informative!

              M
              Who is John Galt?

              Comment

              • Slats
                Vice Admiral
                • Aug 2008
                • 1776

                #8
                Originally posted by SSBN659
                The first time I saw a picture of a Soviet Alfa Class I thought it was a great looking boat and would make a fantastic model. However, I had a Victor on the ways and I put Alfa idea on hold. Then as luck would have it an unassembled Alfa kit in Canada came up for sale and I bought it.

                When it came I looked it over and realized it would need some work, particularly installing the rudder and stern plane linkages back there in the “shaft alley”. While waiting for epoxy to dry on the Victor I started to assemble the Alfa. I was able to get the linkage installed on the stern lanes and bottom rudder but at the cost of leaving the top rudder fixed in a fore and aft position. The “shaft alley” was too cramped. The boat ran well this way but I was never completely happy with it. Now, years later, I decided it was time for a major overhaul to redo the linkage using the same technique I used on the Victor.

                In this thread I’ll post the progress on this overhaul.
                [ATTACH=CONFIG]22541[/ATTACH]

                SSBN659
                Two gorgeous sub models - well done.

                J
                John Slater

                Sydney Australia

                You would not steal a wallet so don't steal people's livelihood.
                Think of that before your buy "cheap" pirated goods or download others work protected by copyright. Theft is theft.



                sigpic

                Comment

                • SSBN659
                  Commander
                  • Feb 2009
                  • 405

                  #9
                  Thank you John, David, and Mark for your comments on my boats. I'm trying hard to make it look like I know what I'm doing, because often I do not. That's what makes it fun. :biggrin:

                  SSBN659

                  Comment

                  • greenman407
                    Admiral
                    • Feb 2009
                    • 7530

                    #10
                    Boats that go into drydock are usually there for a while. Gives most of the crew time for extended shore leave.
                    IT TAKES GREAT INTELLIGENCE TO FAKE SUCH STUPIDITY!

                    Comment

                    • SSBN659
                      Commander
                      • Feb 2009
                      • 405

                      #11
                      The inboard bearings were secured in the hull as you saw earlier. I thought I’d better rebuild the linkages and test fit them before securing the outer bearing caps because once the outer caps were in place I would not be able to install the linkage.

                      I ground a small flat on each 3/32” Dubro collar so I could drill holes for brass rod. The flat spot just makes drilling the hole that much easier. The rod was bent as close to a semi-circle as I could get it. On the top side of the port collar I cut a small slot with my Dremel for a brass arm with a small hole for accepting the control rod. To save space the semi-circular piece and the control rods are 1/16th” brass. The linkage for the rudder will follow along the same design with one modification that I’ll cover later.

                      While soldering the arm to the collar I melted the solder on the semi-circular piece joining the collars – way too much heat. So I started over, this time using an aluminum tube with aluminum rod inside as a heat sink and as an alignment jig. This attempt worked fine.
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                      Then I did a trial fit with the propeller shaft in place to check for clearance and to see if the linkage would work. I held the linkage inside the tail cone while sliding the port shaft through the bearing and into the collar. Then I tightened the setscrew. Next I slid the starboard shaft through the bearing and into the collar. Finally I aligned both planes and tightened the starboard setscrew. So far, so good. There is clearance around the shaft and the planes worked fine up and down.
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                      There was not much surface area for bonding the outer bearing caps and I accidently broke them off while doing some sanding. So after CA’ing them in place again, I drilled through the caps into the main body of the plane. Then I added a length of brass wire and CA’d it in place for additional strength. I hope it works. I’m sure too find out later.

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                      In the last two photos you can see a piece of white styrene. Any guesses as to what is? I'll cover it later.

                      SSBN659

                      Comment

                      • He Who Shall Not Be Named
                        Moderator
                        • Aug 2008
                        • 12256

                        #12
                        Kerf make-up?

                        M
                        Who is John Galt?

                        Comment

                        • SSBN659
                          Commander
                          • Feb 2009
                          • 405

                          #13
                          Well I guess that was too easy. Yes, I needed some way of making up what the cut off wheel removed when I cut out the upper rudder.

                          SSBN659

                          Comment

                          • SSBN659
                            Commander
                            • Feb 2009
                            • 405

                            #14
                            “Kerf fill”. It’s a professional way of saying I used styrene strips held in place with CA to fill the port and starboard gaps left in the tail cone after I cut off the upper rudder with my Dremel tool. I like that!

                            I positioned the styrene so it was flush with the hull on the inside before applying the CA. Then I did another trial fit of the linkages and shaft before filling the starboard kerf. The clearances look OK at this point – except for the focus.
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                            In the next picture you see a flanged bronze bearing held in place by a piece of acrylic. This is my reverse thrust bearing. The U joint on the prop shaft fits up close to the bearing to keep the dog bone connector in place while running in reverse.
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                            After cutting the excess styrene as flush with the hull as possible I started priming, filling and sanding. This is going to take awhile before all indications of the “plastic surgery” is hidden and everything is ready for final painting, including the entire hull because I know I’ll never be able to match the original paint job. If anyone has some pictures of an Alfa paint job to share, I would appreciate a look.
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                            SSBN659

                            Comment

                            • He Who Shall Not Be Named
                              Moderator
                              • Aug 2008
                              • 12256

                              #15
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                              Last edited by Kazzer; 09-21-2013, 09:04 PM. Reason: duplicated pics
                              Who is John Galt?

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