Revell Gato 1/72 - Newbie no more Part duex

[trout]

@David - I never get tired of those kick in the pants... Almost three years ago, I got my first kick while building this sub.
@Mark - yep, hopefully I will be able to purchase the kit next Friday. There are only a few left on the sub-driver site.

[greenman407]

OK......OK.....your days of morning are done. You can build another one now.........Murphys law says that as soon as you buy the new Type 23 kit and pop the seals.......your old one will pop to the surface like a cork!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Yeah, losing a boat like that is a real punch to the chin. I've never lost one for good (took about ten days of clandestine night-dives, but I finally got mine back), so can only imagine the frustration and loss of heart when you're compelled to drive back home with a permanently empty boat stand. But, as others have said -- you might still get it back ... someday. Well 'weathered'.

Enough of that motivational horse-****.

Suck it up, you Puss and get back on the field!

M

[trout]

Thanks guys! You're the best!

[greenman407]

I feel your pain. You could always build another one. Not yet though, your days of morning are not up yet.....(dances with wolves)

[Scott T]

Don't fret that XXIII... she may return some day like those ghost sub novels. The Gato is looking great.

Scott T

[trout]

Everyone by now knows I lost my Type XXIII at the regatta.......if you didn't, you do now :-)
Anyways there was a shining light for me.....My Gato.





This cradle/stand did not come home empty. Although I did break bits and pieces off. Someday, I want to rig the sub, but I am nervous about yanking that off too. Maybe I do need to use some carbon fiber tubing for some of the parts.

Don't you need to use a respirator when working with carbon fiber?

[crazygary]

Wow!! "0" for "2", right out of the blocks!!??

However, she did make a fine comeback for ya, though!! Cool!

CG

[trout]

Oh the adventures of running a R/C submarine. Another story of "when things go bad" This one however was not entirely bad......just issues.

Very proud of the Gato, by the way, and it was a eye catcher for people stopping by. So after the heart stopping Skipjack, ol' reliable would calm me down. That did not happen. The servo to the ballast tank would not open. I could run on the surface, but not get a dive in. Brought her in to sit on the bench.

After the incident with the Type XXIII, I came back to the Gato to see what I could do to get one sub to run. Opened the Gato and turned on the switch and lo and behold the servo just started working. Closed up the sub put her in the water. She sat a little high. With ballast tank empty the Gato was here:

I like my tower to have only 1/3 or less out of the water. With enough speed (which many were amazed at how fast the sub moved - even being dialed back) The Gato sub slipped (or shoved) its way under.

Being that positive buoyant makes turns harder to remain at periscope level. On straight aways it worked.
So I went to fill the tank with air from the SNORT, nothing. It just sat there. Brought it on the bench and no sound from the pumps.
So the day ended with a small success.

Someone said as we were leaving. It was a good day all subs returned home from their missions. Yeah, I can agree to that.

[trout]

Had the opportunity to cast up some more periscopes to replace the one that was lost/broken off. Gave a quick spray of black.

The base of the scope is drilled out and an air slot is cut into the side. This white wire shows the opening well.

There are other things that need repairing like the deck gun's barrel brace and the site on one of the guns. When time allows.

[alad61]

What a nice place to drive model boats. Thank you, Tom

M

Agreed indeed... No weeds, you can see or atleast make out the bottom. Pretty much all the ponds near me are clear but dark due to being deep, water being murky or weed infested...

I'm pleased to read you guys had a good time Tom. Sorry to hear about the periscope. I have come to the realization that such things are an inevitable part of the hobby.

[Scott T]

Good patrol report Tom. I may need to take that last picture for a screensaver.
Set the repair crew on that scope. (It will probably be found as soon as the new one is in place.)
And give the crew some R&R.

Scott T

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

What a nice place to drive model boats. Thank you, Tom

M

[trout]

I went to the Keystone Colorado regatta, held by The Colorado Crew. The area was fantastic, really beautiful and the temperature was mid 70's - perfect. This was my first regatta and, to be frank, I was nervous. The Gato survived the drive up, only to have me knock off the periscope as it was being taken out of the car. Where it went I have no idea, but it did exactly as it was supposed to do and come off cleanly leaving the tube free to draw in air. The Type XXIII made it in one piece.
My 32 Parallel Type XXIII ran o.k., it was more positive buoyant than normal and was struggling to get to periscope depth. My son did a really good job of controlling it.


It had about a tablespoon of water in the front compartment when we brought it in. I took the end cap off and let it dry out while the batteries were getting charged.
The Gato ran wonderfully. It was slightly more positive buoyant than usual, but not enough to prevent some great runs. When the water got crowded with targets, it was a great time to talk to others and learn. The days just flew by, but I got to talk to a lot of people including a couple of older men that were on subs, one was on a Gato and the other was early nuclear - I tried to remember the subs names, but I forgot. The children loved the subs that were displayed. I think more than even the battleships on display and were fascinated to see them run.



I love seeing the periscope out of the water, it just feels like the sub is on the hunt. There were some large biologicals in this pond.


Final thoughts on my Gato, it was probably not the best choice for a first time sub build, but my love for this class of sub kept me motivated (and if I were to do it again - i would still build this one). I made many mistakes, in the end it worked. As much as I like the way I have the deck come off, it gets crowded reaching in with my fat fingers. I do like the way Gene Berger has his separating, so the next Gato/Balao build will feature a different way to open her up.
I will change out the Klik-On for the rudder - mine got dislodged twice on Saturday and zero times on Sunday. So, it needs a bracket to hold it so it can be re-homed or replace it with one of my stronger ones.
I do regret cutting my WTC to accommodate the misaligned shafts. I know it had to be done, but I am limited to the size of LiPo that can go in there. I ran a fully charged 1300 mAh battery for about 45 minutes. The LiPo Guard http://www.sub-driver.com/lipo-guard.html worked, as it should, because I got so engrossed in playing, that when my boat went from decks awash to sitting at water line, it startled me enough to realize the time and to bring her in.
The gas system is nice and came in handy. I like the SAS system and will put that in on the next sub. The SNORT system in my Gato uses two of the micro pumps http://www.sub-driver.com/accessorie...ter-pumps.html That I will do again. One pump just takes too long in my opinion to empty the tank.
Finally, this is a great system - I cannot recommend it enough, if you are reading this and wondering should I spend the money? I would say YES especially if it is your first sub. There were so many other headaches that you need to go through in a build, that trying a different system is just adding to the frustration. Does this mean I will not play with other systems? no. I want to try other systems to learn more. What it does mean is this is the standard that I will use to judge other systems.

Thank you David, Ellie, and Mike for this Sub-Driver, forum, and to all of you for your encouragement, knowledge, and support.

[trout]

Thank you. I look forward to your success too!