SSBN659's ALFA OVERHAUL

[SSBN659]

Thanks for the tip David, I'll check it out. Mark, the Alfa is one of Lee Upshaw's kits. The fellow in Canada who originally bought it didn't have time to complete it. It must have been a very early model as it doesn't have the creeper motors that l've seen in pictures David has posted.

SSBN659

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

I helped Rogue Subs with the masters of an after-market fittings kit for this kit (those resin parts are up to speed on what we know of the ALFA today). See if you can contact Kevin and buy a set -- or is it too late for that?

M

[SSBN659]

I've seen Kevin's fittings but at this point its not in my plan. If this were to be a display model only, I might go for it. I need to get this one behind me so I can start only next project.

SSBN659

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

So .... what's next on your plate?

M

[SSBN659]

I've not done one of these before so that's a challenge. Here's a teaser to whet your appetite. For now my lips are sealed until later.


SSBN659

[SSBN659]

Back to the Alfa. The upper hull has been painted a satin black. It was very difficult to get a good picture inside because of reflected light so I took it outside. The pictures were better but I’m not sure I like it – still a lot of reflection. Maybe the clear coat will fix that but I’ll do a test coat first. We’re getting a cold spell, maybe down below freezing tonight, and I don’t paint in the garage so it’ll be awhile before I paint again. Anyway, I’ve started cutting masks for the areas to be painted white. There is a lot of work to be done there so I’ll stay busy.


SSBN659

[SSBN659]

Finally, some warm weather after almost 2 weeks. It was so cold in the garage, down in the 40’s, that I unplugged the wine refrigerator since it wasn’t really needed.

So today I finished up the masking and did some painting, outside of course. Once the initial tapes were on I taped the rest of the upper hull. I’ve not done it this way before but since I was using a spray can I thought it was necessary. I “primed” the tapes with black to seal them. Any leakage under the tapes will be black. Tomorrow will be the white. Then off with the tapes and hopefully things will be looking pretty good. At that point I need only the red on the escape hatch and then clear coat.

[SSBN659]

The weather was still warm enough to paint outside so on with the white. Here it is back inside after drying. I used up a lot of tape but I’m hoping it paid off.

Next step was stripping off all that tape. A few little spots of white that bled through will need correcting but the results, while not perfect, didn’t look bad.


I mistakenly called this the escape hatch in my previous post but it’s really the emergency marker buoy. Didn’t anyone catch that? Anyhow, here is the masking for red paint. I went to extremes again with blue tape and drycleaner bags to mask the marker buoy and protect the entire boat from overspray. After sealing the mask with white paint I let it dry and sprayed the red. Then when that’s dry I’ll peel off all the masking and figure out how to do the draft marks that I had forgotten about. Should have done that earlier.


SSBN659

[SSBN659]

OK, I've pealed off all the masking and here's an update. A few rough spots but I can fix that. Still working on the draft marks.


"Will" Rogers
SSBN659

[SSBN659]

With Christmas and New Year behind us, it’s time for a progress update on the Alfa. To be honest, I haven’t done much other than a lot of thinking and experimenting. Just before Christmas I did one set of draft marks to see how it looked and I wasn’t happy at all. It started out looking good but went downhill fast. The draft marks were way off scale and using a spray can was like using a hammer to fix a watch. I was in so much of a hurry to get this job done that I really screwed it up.


I decided to completely redo all the black and white painted so far, but not until after the new year and after I’d come up with a better method of doing the draft marks. Also, this time I’ll use my airbrush.

So my starting point for the draft marks will be this picture I found on the web and the drawing from Gregg Sharpe that has been rolled up in the cupboard for too long.



Happy New Year everyone.

"Will" Rogers
SSBN659

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

[SSBN659]

The light bulb just turned on. Thanks for the tip:)

"Will" Rogers
SSBN659

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Professional's taught me. I teach you. In time, you will pass on the torch to your Journymen.

M

[Kazzer]

Professional's taught me. I teach you. In time, you will pass on the torch to your Journymen.

M

Oh! Gawd! I had no idea this was such a hallowed profession! Looks like over-acting to me! Ha! ha! Ha!

[crazygary]

The "Master" has spoken.
Long live Yoda!