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

[HardRock]

Great work Mate. Can't wait to see the final product pop out of the mold.

[Davidh]

Thank you David and thanks Scott,

I have just started summer holidays. So pace on development should pick up as of tomorrow. I have now just the two hull halves to do, fingers crossed....
Dave h

[Davidh]

Hello all,

Thanks for the feedback David, there wasn't much else on offer but I took your advice and did a smaller silicon hardback mould doing a copy of the Resolution sail. It worked out well however I really learnt that you need to make sure that the silicon mould is thick enough. Other than that the mould worked well and as I don't have a vac /pressure chamber I couldn't get the air bubbles out however I found that there really was virtually no air bubbles anyway. I did not know how much thixotropic-M thickener to put into the mix. I decided to put a few drops in at a time and mix it and then see if it would cling to walls. It only took a couple of drops. Man.. that tiny jar will last me years!

I have been busy making extra sails for the mike and have made a couple out of Vinyl ester resin. Initially when I used this resin I was sceptical however I have found that it's really good, it just needs longer to fully set than polyester which I am so used to. Anyway the photos here show some examples of sails out of the mould the Vinyl ester being the mossy coloured ones. The detail is just as good as with polyester resin.

Before laying up the moulds there was still a bit of detail work to finally complete on the top and bottom hull. I still hadn't completed all the vent holes on the bottom and there was a tiny bit more safety line to do near the bow. So I etched away at the bottom of the hull and completed the rest of the vent holes. I have actually moved the placement for the inlet scoops further back. My initial position was slightly too far forward. I have finished smoothing the teardrop profile of where the sail is placed too...

I have just commenced summer holidays here and schools out. Today is going to be a 35 degree stinker so a good one for laying up moulds. I put the roller doors of the garage up and work in the shade, in the direct heat is really intense and just too hot. I am at the stage where I am looking at starting the most laborious part of the whole exercise, creation of the two hull moulds. As mentioned I am trying something new and creating a silicon mould for the top of the hull. I have never done a mould this large before and have put a fair bit of thought into it.


Took a break for an hour or two and took the aforementioned kiddies down to 'Soldiers', our local beach here on the coast.

After mounting the hull on the board I then made sure it aligned up and was exactly level. Then I would go around the hull and press modelling clay into the corners. A nice yellow colour that I bought at go-lo for $3. Actually I didn't end up doing it . I had two willing helpers that wanted to "help Daddy with his submarine stuff." The pictures here show Amelia (milly) 6 years old and Noah, 9, pressing the yellow clay into the gap between the hull and the board and then slicing it away with the back of a ruler. Did a good job too. I have decided to make a barrier around the side of the mould and mix up some silicon without thickener and pour around, effectively making a trough. That's what these wooden barriers are for. I have cut grooves into the side of them to help register the silicon mould sides to the fibreglass hardback when I eventually mould it up.

Anyway I may very well be back to it tomorrow and the write ups should be a little more frequent.

David H

[redboat219]

Hello David.
Wonderful build you got going here.
BTW, What scale is your Mike, can't recall seeing a post about it's scale anywhere.

Are you going to do an RCable hull?

[Davidh]

Hi Redboat,

Thanks for the comments, the boat is 1/120 scale and it is made for RC. ( I do not build models that don't function) I will be dropping a subdriver into it. I am going to put it into production.

David h

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Good stuff, David. Slave labor: much to recommend it.

M

[redboat219]

Hi Redboat,

Thanks for the comments, the boat is 1/120 scale and it is made for RC. ( I do not build models that don't function) I will be dropping a subdriver into it. I am going to put it into production.

David h

2" dia. Single screw SD?

[Davidh]

Thankyou all.


Red boat to answer your question the SD is 63mm /od. Yes its a single screw. Its the same SD that I have in my R esolution that I completed last year. I like a modular system where I can run any number of boats off one SD.

The last couple of days have been busy. Work periods in between dad's taxi service to the shops and Christmas stuff I have embarked on the most arduous part of the entire exercise. I find that laying up and creation of the two hull mould halves is messy, smelly, tedious work, but if you don't want you submarine to consist of purely appendages its usually good to create hull moulds. Kinda helps....

The last batch of pics showed the kiddies doing a bit of labour. It was good that my kids could help and found it enjoyable, I do however get sad when I think that there are some kids in India or China who actually do this every day to survive. I know David's jokes are in jest.

After checking that the hull is secure we continued using the modelling clay all the way around the equator of the hull. I am pouring RTV silicon around the edge of the master. I thought about using the Thixo-M to thicken up this silicon but then decided on using a silicon without thickener and simply making a shallow wall all the way around the base. The initial pour could simply create a moat around the outside of the hull. I just need a draw bridge now. I drilled holes into the side of the mould board about 10mm out from the hull. Earlier last week I found some scrap in the waste bin at school and cut some barriers for the silicon to run up against. I cut grooves into the side of the walls to create indexing areas for the silicon to run into. Once this layer is poured I would then mix up a batch and add thixo-m to thicken it and paste it over the rest of the hull.

Enough for now

David H

[HardRock]

Looking good Dave. What are you using to ensure that the silicon releases once dry?

[Davidh]

Hi Scott,

The silicon will just peel off. You seem to be busy in the building department. I'm going to have to have a look at this soryu of yours...

Dave

[HardRock]

You must, she's wild machine...

[greenman407]

Hardrock, ............what is that? It looks like a Japanese sub. For an instant , I thought it was a 212 ....but the sail is wrong.

[Davidh]

Hi Greenman,

It's a Japanese Soryu class. I sometimes hear rumblings in the press that our top brass maybe considering them to replace our Collins class.

Scott,

What I would love to see are the instruction booklets for all the kits you've built. It would help with the development of mine...

Dave

[HardRock]

My pleasure. I'll gather them up for you. In gereral terms however: HWSNBN's are extensive and have lots of photographs; Engel's are wordy, have very few photographs and are therefore confusing; and Feng's are at the other end of the spectrum - he doesn't provide any instructions at all!

[HardRock]

Hi Greenman,

It's a Japanese Soryu class. I sometimes hear rumblings in the press that our top brass maybe considering them to replace our Collins class.

Scott,

What I would love to see are the instruction booklets for all the kits you've built. It would help with the development of mine...

Dave

Yep. What he said.