USS Washington SSN-787

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  • DMTNT
    Commander
    • Jun 2018
    • 297

    USS Washington SSN-787

    I never liked the VIRGINIA class. Honestly. In my mind it was always a stupid replacement for the SEAWOLF intended to be smaller and cheaper, and really wasn't either.

    ...Unoriginal! I said.

    ...SEAWOLF-lite!
    I said.

    ....BAH!! I said.

    Then I learned about what all the real boat could do. How she was jam packed with technology and digital whizz-bangery that could make even her sisters in the SSN-21 class blush. Didn't care. I even went to see the cinematic masterpiece that was Hunter Killer and still wasn't that impressed. No, I was forever content to be a crank who just didn't give a **** about America's newest flavor of fast attack.

    Until a few days ago.

    It was as if a flood had slowly been building deep inside my consciousness until finally the dam broke. I found myself inspired by the work of Dennis DeBoer who turned a 1/144 Trumpeter SEAWOLF into a 774 class. Truly impressive, if you read through the thread. He even went so far as to turn his modified design into a master from which he produced GRP hull for RC use. Very cool! Then you get to that point in his thread and... crickets. A shame, because a beautiful project like that deserves to have a fitting conclusion for all of us to oogle over.

    https://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/170-m...submarine.html

    Well I must be crazy, or stupid - possibly both - because I looked at his work and thought, "Hey! I could do that."

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    Last edited by DMTNT; 12-12-2019, 02:48 PM.
    Dead men tell no tales...
  • DMTNT
    Commander
    • Jun 2018
    • 297

    #2
    Then I opened by big, stupid mouth to David Merriman...

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    "This'll be easy!" I thought... "Fun, even! I can modify a SEAWOLF by lengthening it a bit, and I can tweak DM's fittings kit to look a bit more like the 774's tail feathers and we'll have a nice, tidy little project to tinker with over the fall & winter."

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    HA!

    I think not. While externally somewhat similar in profile, the VIRGINIA is a very different boat from SEAWOLF. Approximately 25' longer, and 6' narrower in the hips. Her sail sits taller, her nose is longer, and don't even get me started on the WAA panels. When you dig into it, there's quite a bit going on here. David and I met for drinks in a fancy hotel bar, where he proceeded to throw mine in my face, and then douse my fledgling dreams in cold water. But in a nurturing way.

    "Ohhhhhh no,"
    said the Headmaster, "if you're gonna do this, you're doing it right."

    So here we are. I've continued with some tool-room sketches of what needs to happen.

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    I did go out and buy a Trumpeter SEAWOLF kit (my fourth, for anyone who's counting) - which I intend to use for... I'm not entirely sure what yet. At the very least, I decided that she will be a Flt. III variant - and what better boat to depict than my home state's namesake, WASHINGTON SSN-787?

    This project is still in its incipient stages, but I encourage you to stay tuned. It's either going to turn out as an exciting new addition to the RC Sub world, or a fantastic disaster. Either way, I promise you'll get one hell of a show. Eventually!

    As always, any and all input, comments, criticism or advice are more than welcome. I am here to learn.
    Dead men tell no tales...

    Comment

    • DMTNT
      Commander
      • Jun 2018
      • 297

      #3
      Well, Mr. Merriman came through in spades. Thank you again for your help here. I think I'll be saying that a lot!
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      Yesterday's main task was resizing everything to 1/144 scale and then organizing my work. After my working copies were made I had a pile of reference material that wi’ll be essential later on.

      Here we can see SEAWOLF next to the plan view of VIRGINIA. What was surprising to me was seeing how the bow itself is so much more blunt. I always perceived the nose to be longer on the 774 class, and the sail to be set farther back. Instead, the proportions appear to be roughly the same as they are on the SSN-21, save for the more pointed sonar dome.
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      Overall she ends up being about 1/2" slimmer, and with the pump jet installed will be just about 2" longer than her sister. The sail is indeed about 1/16" taller, a shade longer and the profile of the leading edge is a bit different. Whether or not I end up casting a modified SEAWOLF sail or make an entirely new one out of Renshape is to be determined. Another challenge will be representing the recessed areas around the torpedo tubes and the VLS-Bathtub (as it's apparently called) on the topside of the bow. In DeBoer's conversion, he was able to cut the necessary sections directly out of the hull and then re-glue them in just a smidge lower, rounding out the edges with careful sanding.

      I've already done a rough mock-up sketch of how that will look around the torpedo tube doors:
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      Compared to the real thing:
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      At the moment, my plan for this one is to have David turn the basic profile of the hull in RenShape (thank you again for jumping in like that), and then work from the outside-in, so to speak. When I get my SEAWOLF kit in front of me, I'll have to compare the curvature of the bow section to the same area on WASHINGTON's hull. It may be close enough that I can do like Dennis DeBoer did, then make a reverse casting of that section in resin, then drill out a slightly oversized cavity into the bow, back-fill it with Bondo, and then press the casting into it and hopefully get the right profile.

      Maybe.

      The area in question on a Flt. II VIRGINIA class:
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      ....But that's all still a ways off. As always, your guys' comments or suggestions are more than welcome.



      Stay tuned.
      Dead men tell no tales...

      Comment

      • trout
        Admiral
        • Jul 2011
        • 3545

        #4
        You can put a hole center of bow and use a screed and Bondo to reshape the curve, however if the hull is a different diameter, never mind that suggestion.
        If you can cut, drill, saw, hit things and swear a lot, you're well on the way to building a working model sub.

        Comment

        • DMTNT
          Commander
          • Jun 2018
          • 297

          #5
          My Trumpeter SEAWOLF has arrived, and it is time to start planning some initial casting that will go onto the master of the hull. This kit will likely serve as a test mule, of sorts. Perhaps if she is lucky, enough parts may remain to convert her into a straight SEAWOLF r/c conversion, just for the hell of it. We will see.

          For the uninitiated, what resin casting materials come most recommended? At this stage, we will be casting parts directly off of SEAWOLF’s hull. I think a good first place to start would be reproducing the indexing tab for the sail, as seen in the attached photo. Depending on the curvature of the hull, I may build up a new WAA panel and then duplicate it with several repeated casts.

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          Dead men tell no tales...

          Comment

          • He Who Shall Not Be Named
            Moderator
            • Aug 2008
            • 12253

            #6
            Originally posted by DMTNT
            My Trumpeter SEAWOLF has arrived, and it is time to start planning some initial casting that will go onto the master of the hull. This kit will likely serve as a test mule, of sorts. Perhaps if she is lucky, enough parts may remain to convert her into a straight SEAWOLF r/c conversion, just for the hell of it. We will see.

            For the uninitiated, what resin casting materials come most recommended? At this stage, we will be casting parts directly off of SEAWOLF’s hull. I think a good first place to start would be reproducing the indexing tab for the sail, as seen in the attached photo. Depending on the curvature of the hull, I may build up a new WAA panel and then duplicate it with several repeated casts.

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            AlumiRes (RC-3) is a great general purpose economic resin. The AlumiRes (RC-3) is perfect for casting those large cosmetic pieces that take a lot of resin when you need to keep the cost down.
            Who is John Galt?

            Comment

            • DMTNT
              Commander
              • Jun 2018
              • 297

              #7
              Gotcha. And which flavor of their mold rubbers is your preferred one? Or does it depend on the application?
              Dead men tell no tales...

              Comment

              • He Who Shall Not Be Named
                Moderator
                • Aug 2008
                • 12253

                #8
                Originally posted by DMTNT
                Gotcha. And which flavor of their mold rubbers is your preferred one? Or does it depend on the application?
                My favorite, all round (both metal, resin, and some GRP work) RTV silicon rubber is BJB's TC-5050

                Who is John Galt?

                Comment

                • DMTNT
                  Commander
                  • Jun 2018
                  • 297

                  #9
                  I tried to take a baby step with RenShape today by making a static piece that I will soon attempt to cast in resin. It is modeled after Boeing's Echo Ranger - Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, developed back in 2001. While reading Larry Bond's novel Arctic Gambit, he described the USS JIMMY CARTER has having "A pair of UUV's. Each 18ft long, approximately 4ft wide, and looking somewhat like a loaf of bread with an blunt nose and an X-tail at the stern." This describes Echo Ranger almost exactly. Close enough for government work, anyway.

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                  Beginning with a block of RenShape, I cut it down to roughly those length & width dimensions, scaled to 1/144. That's approximately 1.5" x .33" if we're being generous. Since this is more a confidence building exercise, I decided I'd be pleased with a stand-off reproduction. Once the body shape was achieved, I added the X-tail, stolen from an unused 1/48 scale AN/ALQ-99 pod, and added a couple of bumps and bits to the surface to make it a little more interesting.

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                  Below is the result after an initial coat of primer:

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                  While this doesn't exactly pertain to the USS WASHINGTON project directly, I feel like it's a useful first step in learning to manipulate RenShape, and hopefully will be a viable master to test my initial casting abilities with. I feel good - good enough to try and proceed onto slightly more complex shapes, like maybe a diagonal stabilizer.

                  Stay tuned!

                  Dead men tell no tales...

                  Comment

                  • DMTNT
                    Commander
                    • Jun 2018
                    • 297

                    #10
                    Tonight we tackled the creation of the WAA masters. I have been thinking about how to do this since this project began. Originally, my plan was to build up one each of the two different styles of Wide Area Array panels on the hull of my Trumpeter SEAWOLF kit, but there were problems. The biggest one is the difference in hull diameters between the SEAWOLF and VIRGINIA. The 774 is a bit skinnier than her sister, and while nominal, is significant. As you can see in the picture below, the original shape of the WAA panels on the Trumpeter kit differ significantly from what the VIRGINIA boats have installed.

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                    So I poured myself a glass of Port and sat down to think about it.

                    Per the plans that David supplied me with, at 1/144 scale, the WAA panels protrude from the hull approximately 1/8". When viewed from a head-on perspective, you'll need to add about 1/16" additional material to account for the curvature of the hull.

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                    I purchased some sheet polystyrene (.060" and .040" thickness) and cut out the base profile of each array. You'll note that in addition to having something of a chamfered edge, on the plans the center of the panel sits higher, with a bit of a distinctive step. Actually, in reality, it doesn't. But I think it adds a bit of visual interest to the otherwise smooth panels. Plus, it's my boat ******.... A future builder is welcome to fill in the edges and make a smoothy curved array panel if they so choose.

                    The desired shape was achieved by cutting out the base profile of each array twice out of .060", and the inner profile out of a single piece of .040". The bottom pieces were glued together with plastic cement and then sanded to the correct profile. The same was done on the inner panel, and then all three were smoothed out with progressively finer grits of wet-sanding.

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                    I'm really quite happy with how these turned out! The next move will be to lay some primer down and do a little more sanding. Then I will cast these pieces as-is, with a flat bottom, in resin. (4) copies for the port and starboard forward and mid arrays, and (2) copies of the after arrays. Once I get the hull master from DM, I will wrap it with sandpaper and gradually sand the hull curve into the bottom of the WAA duplicates. It should work... should, being the operative word.

                    That's all for this evening. As always, any suggestions, comments or thoughts are welcome.
                    Dead men tell no tales...

                    Comment

                    • scubaed1911
                      Lieutenant, Junior Grade
                      • Jul 2019
                      • 45

                      #11
                      Keep on detailing your progress, this is fascinating!
                      If you're part of the particulate, then you're not part of the solution"

                      Comment

                      • DMTNT
                        Commander
                        • Jun 2018
                        • 297

                        #12
                        Today I took a deep breath and decided to tackle the dihedral stabilizers. I used the Trumpeter kit parts as a rough starting point and then began tracing them out onto a piece of RenShape. I know that, for some, this would be a pretty trivial matter, but I am still in my most infant steps of working with this material and making master components in general.

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                        You'll note the strip styrene on the bottom of the stabilizer. After roughing out the shape and getting the symmetry down, I realized that the chord length of the stabilizer was just a bit too short. I think my fix made up for the deficiency pretty nicely. According to the plans that I have, the stabs on the VIRGINIA class are shorter in length and more squared-off than those on SEAWOLF, and lack the boxy, protruding tips found on the SEAWOLF. I believe, in reality, those serve as openings for the thin-line towed arrays. Certain VIRGINIA boats instead have an asymmetrical arrangement with a towed array fairing on only the port stabilizer. I'll have to go back and look, but I believe that WASHINGTON (SSN-787) utilizes this configuration.

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                        The last photo is of the RenShape master stabilizer sitting loose atop my static Trumpeter SEAWOLF. You can clearly see the difference in profile between the two types of stabilizers. My plan going forward will be to cast this one piece in resin multiple times, and use one of those to make another master - to which I will add the rounded towed array fairing to its tip. I don't suppose there's any reason why you can't make a resin master out of another resin piece. Right?

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                        That's all for tonight. Comments and suggestions are always welcome.
                        Dead men tell no tales...

                        Comment

                        • DMTNT
                          Commander
                          • Jun 2018
                          • 297

                          #13
                          It's been a bit, but I am not dead - and neither is this project. Work has been a mess the last couple months, so I've been juggling that along with trying to find a new & more suitable job. I think I'm close to being onto something, and I've got my fingers crossed.

                          The next part of this project that I decided to tackle were the stern appendages. A few posts up, I'd toyed with the idea of only slightly modifying David's SEAWOLF stern planes, but abandoned it due to the considerable differences in geometry between it and what's shown on my VIRGINIA plans. I'm still at a stage where I feel safer and more encouraged to work with what I have vs. going completely from a solid block of renshape and working from the ground up. It's all about baby steps. A couple of weeks ago, Mr. M was kind enough to send some parts my way, and I asked him if I could use them as a starting point for making my own components. With his blessing, I thought about how to get to work.

                          I looked at what was in front of me, and took note of how similar the SEAWOLF diagonal stabilizer was in terms of overall profile to VIRGINIA's stern planes - at least the forward 2/3's of it. Being that those pieces are cast in solid resin, I figured that it would make reshaping them easier than trying to do so with the hollow, styrene kit pieces.

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                          Carefully I used a hobby saw to clip off the protrusion that sticks out aft of the stabilizer. I then proceeded to sand down its remains on the upper and lower faces until I was left with something that looked quite a bit like the makings of a stern plane. The next task was to cut off the tapered aft section so as to give the rounded leading edge of the control surface a suitable pocket to fit into. Creating the correct geometry of this section had been something that had given me a good deal of worry, until I had the realization that if I found a round file that was a similar size to the thickness / radius of the leading edge on the control surface, the whole task would be pretty academic. One trip to the hardware store later, and I'd found exactly what I needed.

                          To anyone out there trying to do anything, I cannot emphasize the value of finding and having the right tools for the job. It makes all the difference in the world.

                          For anyone who may be unfamiliar with the Merriman SEAWOLF fittings kit, the aft planes are a beautiful 3-piece affair comprised of the front (fixed) portion of the plane, the aft control surface, and a flying outer 40% that moves in concert with the inner flap. You can see it very clearly here on JIMMY CARTER:

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                          Given that VIRGINIA would use a larger fixed forward plane, that would span the entire width of the hinged control surface, I had to come up with a way of replicating that. Again turning to what I had with David's SEAWOLF planes, I decided the best course of action would be to use as much of the hinged surface as I could. The inner portion would work fine unmodified and be mated up to the forward fixed section, then the outer section would be placed over the VIRGINIA plans and cut down to fit into whatever space was remaining. With a little bit of creative finagling, I quickly ended up with a full-span flap that I was pretty happy with:

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                          In the above photo of CARTER's ass end, you can also see where I ran into a bit of trouble and broke the original cast resin collars that are integrally cast into the outboard section of the fixed inner piece. My fix for CARTER was to fashion a new collar out of .25" x 1/4" brass strip and work it into place. Not bad for a first effort, and it certainly got the job done.

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                          For the new boat, I decided that I would fashion a brass collar similar to the ones I used on CARTER, only this time it would be integrated further inboard on the fixed section. I tried to think logically, and as a result, made the cut for the brass collar before I attempted to file the convex backside of the fixed section. To my complete surprise, it worked just as I'd intended!

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                          It was now time to bring it all together, and honestly, I couldn't be happier:

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                          There's still some tweaking to do, like squaring up and slightly trimming the tip of the forward section, but overall I think it hits the mark pretty damn close.
                          Dead men tell no tales...

                          Comment

                          • RCSubGuy
                            Welcome to my underwater realm!
                            • Aug 2009
                            • 1768

                            #14
                            Beautiful work. I love the attention to detail!

                            Comment

                            • DMTNT
                              Commander
                              • Jun 2018
                              • 297

                              #15
                              Originally posted by SubHuman
                              Beautiful work. I love the attention to detail!
                              Thank you Bob!
                              Dead men tell no tales...

                              Comment

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