Scratch Build Project 685 Plavnik K-278 Komsomolets NATO: Mike

[Davidh]

I just uploaded the photos and it cut out half the text. I don't like this new format..

Anyway I'll re type it. I got hold of the drawings of Komsomolets and made some copies of the bow section. Then I cut out the profiles of the bow horizontally and vertically to get a plan and side view. Then cut them out and stick to some stiff cardboard. This is the first stage in getting that elusive genie we call symmetry. The photo's show how the front edge of the template hits the bow well before that section of the template should fit snug against the area where the plug joins the PVC tube.This would require further sanding around the PVC area to allow the template to more easily fit over. Once this was sanded back the profile fit was already pretty good.

The Bow of Komsomolets gently slopes at the top and reaches its furthest point forward just below the axis line. Then the lower curve back is more of a tight radius to meet the bottom of the hull. The plan profile is obviously symmetrical but not a predictable round shape. It's more elliptical and the very front point a subtle tip.

A couple of hours sanding here and sanding there to get the profiles as best I can see them.

The last couple of photo's are my tribute to an amazing little spacecraft. Well done New Horizons, You've been going for nearly ten years but your big moment in the spotlight and the most amazing discoveries this year but only 2 minutes worth of airtime on channel 7 news because Mike Fannings little shark slap was more important and got nearly ten. Seriously?!...

Anyway I would love some answers to the earlier questions and any advice would be great.

david h

[Davidh]

Hello all

Is there anybody who can give me some answers to the earlier questions posed?

Anyway back to the build.

I have sanded down the raised fore plane section above the front of the bow. I will come back to this and make sure that it complies with the profiles that I have yet to make to make sure that it's obviously scale and conforms to the photo's as best I can interpret them.

[Davidh]

Hello all,

I am hoping that people can see the extra pictures of the Mike in drydock and also the picture of the front end. This photo in particular is interesting however I am finding it hard to work out what is deck structure and what is works men's ropes and equipment on the deck.

Anyway back to the build.

The deck looks smooth with a layer of resin to seal the wood grain and look more consistent however then are small undulations that will need sanding out. The edges of the deck are also a little rounded and smooth and will need to be given a more defined and abrupt edge that runs along the length of the flat section of deck.
In the meantime I have started looking at the bow section at the start of the flat deck section. Komsomolets has two retractable bow planes. These pivot out on shafts from a door on the side of a raised section in the top of the hull. Although very subtle it is one of the main deviations to an otherwise predictable hull shape for the rest of the length of the hull. As you can see from the below picture it is sizeable and is tapered in shape. This opening runs along the lower edge of the raised section of the hull and comes in the form of two raised bulges that run parralell and for a short length of the bow. It's hard to pick up in photographs, it's quite subtle and only slightly rises above the level of the flat deck section of the bow. Most of the photo interpretation for this section comes down the analysing the changes in light off the slight differences in angle between the different surfaces as they meet .

To make this section I am going to cut a small strip of fig that I have left over and with a knife take the angle off the top edge and the glue it down to the section already marked out on the bow. Once this is glued down I have then used more filler to fill out the perimeter of the two fillet pieces. These are going to be heavily sanded down as because mentioned this raised housing is very subtle. I will be making templates to make sure that the raised section on both sides of the deck are symmetrical and even. On the front view they appear as two raised bulges, they are not joined. Then once the filler has dried it is a case of sanding it back. I have done several layers of filler and will use the templates to gain consistency and symmetry as mentioned.

david h

[Davidh]

Thankyou Hardrock,

I am going to try and re-post those images. On my laptop it shows them on the site however on my Ipad you can't see them. I am not a fan of this new format. It sometimes will not let me put things up.
frustrating. Anyway I hope this works and maybe people can get back to me with answers to the questions that I posed previously.

David h

[HardRock]

Hi Dave, I'm bumbeling around in here trying to figure out how this thing works. I feel like Steve Wonder. For some reason I can't see the last two photographs mentioned. This build looks great and I can't wait to see it first hand.

[Davidh]

Hello anybody?

[Davidh]

Hello all,

Back at work and trying to get my head out of holiday mode. I have managed to spend a bit of time in the evenings looking through all the different forums and reading up on HWSNBN's work. I have some pics that I have managed to drag from the net.

These are some photos that I managed to find on some Russian sites. Can't understand the writing but the pictures are really usefull. Sometimes If I highlight some Cyrillic that mentions what looks like 'npoekt 685' (project 685) then you're onto something and you can might find some even better pictures. than the usual stock stuff.

These two pictures show the Komsomolets under construction. A tantalising view from both. Pity about the tarpaulins in the way and covering some strategic details that would be really useful. What is also interesting is how there is no building hall and that these boats were launched sideways. The building area looks really chaotic and messy. I am curious as to what the large boxes on the sides of the boat are. What also frustrates me is that if these photos exist then there must be more like them. Ones that could really reveal a lot more detail. As mentioned earlier probably in some old filing cabinet in Severodvinsk gathering dust. I am curious about the wooden blocks that are attached to the ropes that hang at intervals down the side of the hull in the forward overhead shot of the bow. Can anyone enlighten? Also the cover on the bow . In many build photos you see the Soviet navy flag. This just looks like a covering. Does anybody know if Komsomolets had a bow logo so common on Russian subs?
Does anybody out there have any more pictures beyond the standard ones you see in the first or second round of Google image searches for this boat?

Please get back to me...

David h

[Davidh]

Hello all.

Wow every things quiet. Thanks Gantu,


I've got to say I'm not a big fan of this new format... photo's don't do what you want them to..

Anyway...

After looking at the sail fillet area and applying more filler after cutting the more correct profile and simply sanding back, I then turned my attention to getting the rectifying the straightness of the main deck. If you look down the hull from the stern or bow you would see that the flat deck had a slight bend in it. Imperceptible but there. I bought a longer 600mm ruler. $5 as opposed to a 1000mm rule which they were going to charge me $28 for! Took the ruler and measured down both sides of the deck and then marked out. Once that was done I would simply start sanding back along the side of the deck at a gradual angle to shave away any material outside of the line and straighten up the deck. I could sand, however found that the edge of the rule worked brilliantly as a shaver of sorts and would easily cut through the filler and also the outer layers of PVC pipe although I don't like to go that far.

Putting on a coat of grey primer reveals in the reflected light the grain of the timber of the deck. Would have to fill this grain in and so have over time applied a few layers of polyester resin. This would then be sanded back and then probably re applied and sanded back to give a smooth consistent surface devoid of wood grain. I have not really started too much more work on the bow shape. Just getting the deck looking right has been the priority.

Today is the last day of my winter holidays here and I'm back at work tomorrow, oh joy. So updates will simply not come as quickly. Probably once a week if that. Maybe every fortnight. Chilly today, got down to 8 degrees. It was almost snowing up in Queensland that never happens!

Anyway, would love some feedback.

david h

[gantu]

Here the plan of the sail.

[Davidh]

Thanks for the pictures Gantu,

As mentioned in the last write up, the overall shape of the boat and the deck section are pretty much established. As mentioned this boat does not really have the complex curves of a boat like Resolution, A type 7C or a Foxtrot. I am pretty much working with 40-80 grit at the moment. Finely making the shape that I want.

What I have found is that the curve of the Sail fillet area is incorrect. In the previous photo's you can see that there is a more pronounced radius at the front of the fillet and it tapers off at the back. This is not so. The fillet follows a consistent radius that is quite large. So I cut up a template profile to follow from both sides and make sure they are symmetrical. Then go at it with the Stanley knife. Cut down vertically sand a little and more filler. I marked an axis line down the centre and has simply made sure that the variation either side of the axis line is consistent. If you look at the plan view there is little room for crew members to walk around the side of the sail. The fillet then has a gentle slope back down to the sloping hull.

I have spent a bit of time at the front end. The lower bow section has needed extra filler in order to increase the radius around the front of the bottom. I have applied plenty of filler to the front section and then hit is with the 40- grit. Then more filler into the low points. The upper bow section needs less work however I really need to the start developing the templates to check for symmetry and consistency of radius. The overall bow section is looking nice and generally fits the shape according to the plan however appearances can be deceptive. So to making templates I go.

I have screws at the bottom of the PVC pipe that hold together the circular inserts that reinforce the top deck. I have taken the screws out at either end as they were getting in the way of sanding the two turned ends. I will take the rest out further along the build. The inserts have glues to the deck and are now stiff. I will have to look at giving the deck a coating of resin to close the grain and take it out of the equation so I can then work with a sealed surface.

Anyway, enough for now.

david h

[gantu]

Some more picīs

[gantu]

[Davidh]

Hi peter,

My issue with the Resolution was that if you look at the foreplanes, they seem to have evolved their mounting design over what looks like three distinct phases. The original design has the shafts of the planes exposed. The second has them housed in a blended profile that matches the foil of the plane and the final design features an enclosed block section with planes that look like the are not able to be folded upwards.
I do not know when each of these changes were introduced. When these were included in refits is info I simply can't get my hands on.
I wrote to several of the Resolution class boat associations and got next to no help. There weren't alot of drawings of resolution around . Beneath the waterline, forget it.
The bow has really subtle evolution from the missile deck down to the humpback whale type bow. It's a bit deceptive there aren't alot of complex changes but getting it right was still a challenge and took me a couple of months.
Yes the photos Gantu has sent do look mainly of akulas and vics.

Dave h

[Peter W]

Great looking David. The more Ruskie Nukes the better in my opinion.

Out of interest what were your issues with the resolution plans, I have a lot of concerns about the upper hull forward of the sail.

Aren't a lot of these pics and the bridge one especially of Akulas? And some of Vic IIIs and Charlies

Peter

[Davidh]

O.K Gantu, I haven't seen anything yet but that's because I'm still trying to work out how to use dropbox.

Hello all,

Since the last instalment it has simply been a case of sanding and filling. Getting the deck nice and square has also been occupying my time. It is now level and pretty much straight. It looks pretty good as far as I can see.
Attacking the bow is a more tedious effort. The bow profile is quite subtle, There are effectively two radii with the curve of the bow beneath the axis line is sharper and more defined. Above the axis line the hull more gradually slopes up to meet the casing. It is there that it will also meet the slightly raised front section where it transforms into the forward planes housing. This has required a fair amount of filler and then a lot of sanding. This will take a while to do and numerous templates to get right. Then I can also concentrate on getting the gradual slope up to the forward deck, under control.
I have also spent a bit of time filling the odd divit in the stern end or bow. Making sure that the profile is exactly consistent the whole way around will be the challenge.

The next major piece of detail on the hull and the first part that I have done that is not just the hull itself is the filleting around the base of the fin. The Komsomolets has a widened section that curves the deck out side ways as it runs along the length of the deck to accommodate the width of the fin. This is common on numerous submarines. The filleting on the Komsomolets is quite subtle. It isn't pronounced and it is dead flat with the deck. The sail starts just a little back from the start of the fillet and continues , ending just a little aft of it.

I simply sculpted two pieces of fig that I found in the workshop, seasoned from a tree felled in my mates backyard a year or so ago. They were really no more than slivers and I greatly tapered the bottom so that they could be glued either side of the deck , flush with the deck and aligned with each other. Then I added filler along the gap between the fillet and the deck and also underneath the fillet so that it meets the angled hull as it rises up to meet the fillet. I shot of primer shows imperfections and more sanding. I have also realised that the curves of both fillets to not match exactly so I will make a profile template to make sure they are symmetrical.

Anyway enough for now. Please feel free to reply.

David h

Gantu, even if you were to email me the pics or just post them here that would be great.