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Hey there, I am new to this hobby, but learning a lot from videos, reading and other mentors such as 'He Who Shall Not Be Named'. I ordered the 688 preprinted kit from the Nautilus Drydocks and assembled. I was rushed in the aesthetics due to desire to be utilized at a function and am currently in the process of figuring out what my next steps are to refinish the outside and get it working as an RC conversion. I did add some non-skid but again it was rushed, not fully to scale and has inconsistent texture. Also, being very junior I did not fully understand the concept of scribing when I tried to etch the SHT in, resulting in inconsistent sized tiling and not the cleanest job overall, another item to return to later.
Review of the kit overall: The kit provides a decent starting point if you don't have a printer of your own to buy the files and print your own kit. Major critiques: there are drain holes instead of ballast tank holes in the bottom, the designer attempted to print some of the scribing into the print, most of which was inaccurate and had to be filled, the plastic joints to the PVC also were poorly sized and had to be filled to make a smooth joining edge. Also the resolution of the print was overall lower, any curved edges in the print needed filling such as the dihedrals, the yokes provided don't work well for securing control surfaces and I am in the process of replacing them, and finally, the pieces are joined with 6 bolts, each of the holes holding the bolts are now cracking, and I am working on fiberglassing over to reinforce (I did not overtighten the bolts)
Here are some pictures from the early process, I was not as big into the whole chronicling thing originally so I did not take as many pictures, but hopefully there will be more to come. Additionally, Not shown, I fiberglassed the inside of the hull so I could move the drain holes to resemble actual ballast tanks without causing the PLA to splinter when I go to cut into it.
Review of the kit overall: The kit provides a decent starting point if you don't have a printer of your own to buy the files and print your own kit. Major critiques: there are drain holes instead of ballast tank holes in the bottom, the designer attempted to print some of the scribing into the print, most of which was inaccurate and had to be filled, the plastic joints to the PVC also were poorly sized and had to be filled to make a smooth joining edge. Also the resolution of the print was overall lower, any curved edges in the print needed filling such as the dihedrals, the yokes provided don't work well for securing control surfaces and I am in the process of replacing them, and finally, the pieces are joined with 6 bolts, each of the holes holding the bolts are now cracking, and I am working on fiberglassing over to reinforce (I did not overtighten the bolts)
Here are some pictures from the early process, I was not as big into the whole chronicling thing originally so I did not take as many pictures, but hopefully there will be more to come. Additionally, Not shown, I fiberglassed the inside of the hull so I could move the drain holes to resemble actual ballast tanks without causing the PLA to splinter when I go to cut into it.
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