Yet another 1/96 SKIPJACK build

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

    Yet another 1/96 SKIPJACK build

    That's right, I said 'build'. Not 'assemble'! This is a scratch-built model. The tools and model parts produced by my own hands. What a concept!

    The D&E Miniatures 1/96 SKIPJACK r/c submarine kit. I've been without one of my own long enough! Time to get ready for 2021's Groton, Fleet-run, Nauticus, and SubFest events this coming new year.

    Here's one of the several 1/96 SKIPJACK's I built for a customer back in the day. It's dressed out in the pre-commissioning color scheme.




    A previous 1/96 SKIPJACK running at the now defunct Newport News Fall Festival event. The SKIPJACK is fast, tight turning, and demanding of the driver's full, undivided attention. These boats were the Navy's Maserati's: Fast, Loud, and very Sexy!

    The demarcation line between black and anti-foul red is at the designed waterline on this model. This is the pre-commissioning color scheme. I favor it as it produces better visibility of the model than the post commissioning scheme.



    This SKIPJACK is busy making the local JCC outdoor swimming pool safe for Democracy!

    "Shove off Ivan, the Sheriff is in town!"

    Notice that this model has the anti-foul paint demarcation line from centerline down. This is the post commissioning scheme.



    I've been producing this kit for over thirty years now, and have built at least five of them to operational status. These things are second-nature to me now. Now, it's time to build one just for me. Not a commission, not given away to a deserving friend. No. This one's for me! I'm recently retired, and it's come time to address my bucket-list.

    My most recent tools are of the mother-mold, glove-mold type; the rubber element imparts all the fine detail to the GRP parts. The stiff mother-mold gives rigidity to the tool during the lay-up process. The hull is GRP. The sail, tail-cone, appendages, and SD saddles are cast from polyurethane resin. The propeller, yokes and small detail parts are cast white-metal.

    Documentation is everything. We're talking 'scale model' here. Not a toy.



    Yanking a GRP hull part out of the glove-mold that gave it form during the glass lay-up process. The rubber glove is given support during work as it resides within the mother-mold, seen on the bench.




    The tooling employed to produce a D&E Miniatures SKIPJACK kit.



    About two years ago I started another 1/96 SKIPJACK, getting it as far as primer gray and functional. But, that work had to be set aside as I became ever more involved in SD production work for the market. Now that I'm a free man, time had come to finish this bad boy and build up my fleet.

    Preceding any priming or painting step the model parts are wiped down with a de-greaser. This insures perfect adhesion and forestalls the development of 'fish-eye' and other faults than can result if the models surface is not receptive to the adhesion process.



    The red anti-foul has been applied. Next step is the black (a very dark gray, actually -- one must account for 'scale effect').





    I use industrial strength paints. All you need are the primary colors, black, white, flattening agent and a color wheel and you have any color and sheen you desire.



    David
    The Horrible
    Last edited by He Who Shall Not Be Named; 12-31-2020, 12:19 AM.
    Who is John Galt?
  • trout
    Admiral
    • Jul 2011
    • 3545

    #2
    David, Wooohooo! This will be a sweet build. I am so glad that you are getting you time!
    Peace,
    Tom
    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

    • redboat219
      Admiral
      • Dec 2008
      • 2735

      #3
      Can't wait to see the finished boat.

      Wish you could document your entire build from start to finish and present it in a 20-30 minute like what some of the plastic model builders do
      Make it simple, make strong, make it work!

      Comment

      • JHapprich
        Captain
        • Oct 2017
        • 715

        #4
        "He's good.No, he's really good" they say. Happy hunting!

        Jörg

        Comment

        • bwi 971
          Captain
          • Jan 2015
          • 896

          #5
          Good stuff David,
          D&E was the catalyst for what I'm doing now.
          Developing a kid is ****ing time consuming and challenging.

          I'm pleased to see you found finally some "me-time".

          Grtz,
          Bart






          Practical wisdom is only to be learned in the school of experience.
          "Samuel Smiles"

          Comment

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

            #6
            Originally posted by JHapprich
            "He's good.No, he's really good" they say. Happy hunting!

            Jörg
            What kind of overly self-assured, presumptive, cocky, snobbish, ass-hole would say such a thing!?
            Who is John Galt?

            Comment

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

              #7
              Originally posted by bwi 971
              Good stuff David,
              D&E was the catalyst for what I'm doing now.
              Developing a kid is ****ing time consuming and challenging.

              I'm pleased to see you found finally some "me-time".

              Grtz,
              Bart





              Personally I found the act of starting a kid much more pleasurable than having to cloth, feed, and house the thing.
              Who is John Galt?

              Comment

              • JHapprich
                Captain
                • Oct 2017
                • 715

                #8
                Errr.... must have been the early 90' mirror-universe counterpart of yours, Mr. With the words of my generation "LOL"

                Comment

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

                  #9
                  Originally posted by JHapprich
                  Errr.... must have been the early 90' mirror-universe counterpart of yours, Mr. With the words of my generation "LOL"
                  Damned Doublegangers! Where's my portal-gun?
                  Who is John Galt?

                  Comment

                  • redboat219
                    Admiral
                    • Dec 2008
                    • 2735

                    #10
                    Originally posted by He Who Shall Not Be Named

                    I've been producing this kit for over thirty years now, and have built at least five of them to operational status. These things are second-nature to me now. Now, it's time to build one just for me. Not a commission, not given away to a deserving friend. No. This one's for me! I'm recently retired, and it's come time to address my bucket-list.

                    About two years ago I started another 1/96 SKIPJACK, getting it as far as primer gray and functional. But, that work had to be set aside as I became ever more involved in SD production work for the market. Now that I'm a free man, time had come to finish this bad boy and build up my fleet.

                    David
                    The Horrible
                    I would have never thought that you as the creator of this magnificent piece NEVER has one of his own.

                    Make it simple, make strong, make it work!

                    Comment

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

                      #11
                      Originally posted by redboat219

                      I would have never thought that you as the creator of this magnificent piece NEVER has one of his own.

                      https://youtu.be/e4eoQBn4-_c
                      I'll build one, play with it a few years, then I would either sell it or give it away. Keep in mind that I have over twenty operational r/c submarines in my fleet at any one time, so I'm not hurting for a play-toy when the urge comes to operate one of these things.

                      Here's some more eye-candy of these things of years past:





                      R/c 1/96 scale model submarine representing a unit of the SKIPJACK class operating at a local dive-shop training pool






                      Who is John Galt?

                      Comment

                      • redboat219
                        Admiral
                        • Dec 2008
                        • 2735

                        #12
                        Happy New Year to you and Ellie.
                        Make it simple, make strong, make it work!

                        Comment

                        • redboat219
                          Admiral
                          • Dec 2008
                          • 2735

                          #13
                          Click image for larger version

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                          Make it simple, make strong, make it work!

                          Comment

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

                            #14
                            Originally posted by redboat219
                            Click image for larger version

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                            ROTFLMAO!!! Perfect!
                            Who is John Galt?

                            Comment

                            • Rick Teskey
                              Lieutenant Commander
                              • Jan 2009
                              • 233

                              #15
                              Stay on target!

                              Comment

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