Scratch build Skipjack-conversion : Project 1710 Beluga in 1/63 scale

[rwtdiver]

Jorg,

I am still fascinated by what you did with your receiver antenna! Running it outside the boat and utilizing it as a safety tract. I commend you on your forward thinking and ingenuity! As a side note I want to let you know how much I appreciate dentists!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat."

[SSBN659]

Your workbench looks a lot cleaner and better organized than mine. I'm very impressed with your work on this boat.

Will Rogers
SSBN659

[JHapprich]

Thank you, David! The Beluga's lines are special! Will see how it will perform with the refitted ZB!

Time for surgery!



Safety tracks are installed, will receive a coat of epoxy after filling and sanding.

Jörg

[Davidh]

Nice work Mate.

This Beluga is going to be superb!

Dave.

[JHapprich]

Thank you! Yes, its a sheerline high pressure system, distributed by David Hughes of ZERO BUBBLE MODEL DESIGN. ZB-1 with numerous modifications.

[rwtdiver]

Hi Jorg,

Very interesting method of doing your receiver antenna! And looking at the final photo showing your WTC can one assume that your ballast system is forward of your electronics WTC? It is really a joy to see others step outside of the so called box and trying different methods of doing there submarine models. Your Beluga is looking great!

Rob
"Firemen can stand the heat."

[JHapprich]

Hi again!

Basic scribing of the conning has been re-done. Worked on the safety tracks from styrene rod and tried my approach of an external antenna. Antenna's beeing plugged into the stern endcap, hull halves then closed up. Antenna forms the aft starboard track, reenters the hull at the conning, forms an loop upwards under the conning's ceilling, crosses to starbord and forms the forward port track. To be CA'd down and fixed with epoxy permanently yet.

[JHapprich]

Put the model on the milling table and ground the stern to shape. Found an air bubble that was filled with ca and carbon powder. Finalized with wet sanding and the screeding tool. The product is well worth that time consumpting process!

[JHapprich]

The prop installed into the stern. Stern taper has been further narrowed by hand. Will remove some more material with the machine as the massive grp cone is quite tough!

[JHapprich]

Final filling and sanding of the conning:



Imperfections on the limber holes and the gap between docking ring and hull were filled ad brought to shape too.

The propeller hub received the vortex attenuator, made from 1mm brass, again using the proxxon installation:

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Some very creative stuff going on there with your use of the lathe fixtures and high-speed rotary cutter. Neat! I'll file that away for future consideration, sir.

David

[JHapprich]

Some minor filling....



While i left the upper hull to cure, parts for making a new hub for the Raboesch Scimitar Prop arrived. I found a much cheaper and prefabricated alternative to a solid brass bar: lamp-making accessories!





Again, i used my proxon with crosstable to remove the original tip from the propeller's hub. Left hand turning the table's spindle, right hand spinning the threaded rod with the prop on. One clean cut!



Same treatment for the new nut that will be countered against the prop to secure it on the shaft.



Test-fitted in the boat. Not too bad! Will make those vortex thingies from brass and solder them in slots to the hub, next.

[JHapprich]

Test fitting of prop and planes. Stern tube is in, not yet permanently fixed. Transition between stern and prop needs further grinding.



The hull offers a lot of internal space!

[JHapprich]

The taper of the stern needed some final adjustment.
I made a crude screeding tool. Last picture shows how the stern tube with shaft and prop will slide into the stern.

[JHapprich]

Happy New Year!

Didn't get that much done during Christmas Holidays plus cought quite a flew. Now that i'm fit again i was allowed to enter my shop again by my wife and filled up the model's stern to prepare the drive shaft installation.

First step was opening up the narrow transition point between the original stern and the new longer stern cone. I cut out several wooden discs to make a large and a small grinding drum. Cut a slot into those discs to hold the sanding piper strip that was then wrapped around. That drum was then srewed onto a threaded rod. Forward of the drum the old stern cone master was used to center the drum, another large disc acted as rearward bushing. Powered by an electric drill work was done quickly.



On with the stern tube.

initially i thought about casting a single large oilite into stern. Dropped that idea and will use a conventional stern tube instead.

I did not want to simply set the tube in place and cast resin into the stern as i did at the MIKE built because of the large volume that needed filling. Also wantey to enhance the strenght of the rather thin-walled stern. So i stacked up the discs on a 6mm aluminum tube, insulated against the resin with WD40. Inserted into the stern with the last disc using an o-ring and a pice of bycicle tube to form a seal against the inner hull i had the alu tube/ spacer dead center.



Poured in a small portion of resin, than formed a roll from a glassfibre strip and put that down around the aluminum tube, used small rods to condense the glass into the resin. More resin, glass, repeat. After curing i pulled the rod and the wooden spacers, having a rigid fibreglass stern with a clean 6mm bore to accept the actual stern tube.



Some more work wos perfermed on the upper hull, most notably cutting out the hull under the conning tower and glassing its edge onto the hull.



Also did more testing with the radio to determine how to install the antenna. Put the wtc inside the hull, attached upper hull and put the boat in one corner of the garden. Left my phone with the model do film what would happen. Went to the diagonal edge of the garden around 80metres away with our house, trees etc in between and i had signal with the antenna inside the hull.

Video showed some glitches with the radio's antenna all-in.
Just to make sure i decided to install the antenna on the outside.
So the antenna was split, employing a stud from 2mm banana gold plugs glued into the endcap of the wtc. Old antenna opening reused for testing of the seals and air venting. Also made a change to the drive gear the needed installation of a new pinion and main gear as well as lowering the engine a bit into the stern bulkhead.