Aluminaut Research Submarine 1/96th Scale

[trout]

I started this build several months ago, and posted on another site, but I wanted to move it here after clearing it with Mike and David. So, to catch up, there will be some bulk postings. I am not an expert and I make a ton of mistakes, but that is not a bad thing. I share the blunders and the successes. It gives others an opportunity to learn what works, what did not, and what they may do better than what i will/have do/done. I want to experience many different aspects of this hobby. This is the small side of r/c submarines. O.K. before David yells at me to get on with it......

This 1/96 Aluminaut Research Submarine is by Scale Model Castings and it is a beauty!

Here is what came in the kit. The part that was missing was the portal windows. I was told I would get them.

There are some excellent details in this little sub. This is one of the saddle tanks. In the real sub, it would be filled with sand.

This is the deck.

And this is a bag of goodies for making the arms, grating for basket, etc.

There are some castings in here (like the railings/guard for one) that really show off Rick's talent.

Scrubbed down parts preparing for painting.

There are a few parts that took a bit of hunting down. I have circled the pieces I was not sure of and where I believe they go.

Number 1 is a ballast filler chute (my description not sure what the official name is). There are two provided, but in photos, I only found one on the starboard side (starboard side circled below and port on right).

Number 2 is a sonar that goes on top of the bow.

Number 3 is sort of a mystery, there are two locations one is a connector of the saddle tanks to the top walk way. Not practical for a working R/C sub because of the way it interconnects you would not be able to open the sub up without breaking them. The second area is a brace for the light bar.
So a concise picture of where the bits and pieces go would be this:


My gut says this sub will be a tough build, but this sub has been calling me for a long time! It is small and there will be challenges, oh yes there will be challenges. The thing I feel confident about is we will all learn together! I am thinking a syringe ballast system or diaphragm type. I need to ponder this out. Any suggestions from anyone that builds small subs?

[trout]

Oh, did you know that at least one sub had wheels, the Aluminaut.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

A quality kit, and someone who knows how to swing tools -- what's not to like?!

[Subculture]

Oh, did you know that at least one sub had wheels, the Aluminaut.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]18142[/ATTACH]

That's owing to Simon Lake's influence.

[trout]

A quality kit, and someone who knows how to swing tools -- what's not to like?!

Thanks, I do swing, dig, gouge, mar, scratch, break, splinter, and occasionally things come together. LOL

[Scott T]

"Swing away Merril..." (Signs) or in sub terms "Build away Tom"
Do you think those parts are cast in alumilite?

Scott T

[trout]

I would just be guessing, but yes or a smooth-on product. I do believe he adds fibers in it to strengthen the castings.

[Peter W]

Tom, nice looking kit.

NR-1 had wheels as well, great big truck wheels I even think they had concrete in them.


Peter

[trout]

who knew? I thought it would have been a joke like "as useful as a screen door on a submarine"

[trout]

So scrubbed the parts and used 0000 steel wool to make sure oils and schmutz is off the parts. The clear tube was washed with soap and water, then scrubbed with the steel wool.
before and after

Shaped the ballast/keel to fit the tube.

Some of the bits become the arms. Trimmed off and brass wire is pushed through the holes pinning them together.
Really cool the way it came together.

I quickly painted the assembly, but that was a mistake. I did not pickle the metal - that in the long term would not allow the paint to hold on long.

Unfortunately while trying to pin the brass wire, I split a side of two holes, bent several pins, and generally mucked things up. Next time I would do things different. I would put a blob of solder at the end of the wire. Pull it through the parts and drop a bit of solder on the other end. Then I could lightly tap the solder down to tighten the hinge, You can see the shiny dot on the hinge, it worked well here. Live and learn. The more I looked at this the more it irritated me that the hole split. I went to see if I could put a drop of solder on the split. I kept the soldering iron under 300 degrees F. thinking that it would not melt the cat whit metal, I or the iron was off. The end melted like butter. Now I was forced to rebuild the arm.
I decided to use some square brass and make the replacement for the melted arm. I could have made a mold, cast the new arm, and life goes (several hours later) on or cut a piece of square brass, drill a couple of holes and your off and running much quicker. I also trimmed back the two plates closer to the arms. It was easy to do, I just used my flush cutting diagonal pliers. then rounded the edges.

It was bothering me that I forgot to pickle the metal and the thought of another layer of paint made me shudder. So, I stripped most of the paint off and dipped it in ferric chloride acid to etch the surface. This gives a better bond to the primer and paint.

It is in the solution for only a few moments. You will see it slowly get darker. When you are done - no definitive answer on that one - I soak it in a water with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). There will be a reaction of the acid still on the part and the water which has been made basic with the sodium bicarbonate. Swirl it around to make sure all the acid is neutralized. It will come out something like this.

Rinse in fresh water and let dry. Now it is ready for paint.

I ran the wires for the aft motors. Drilled a hole for the wires to run into the WTC. I will seal this with Marine epoxy later.
Ran the wires through the hole and (not shown) widened the channel where the wires from the motor run. I widened to give the wires room to lay flat.Earlier I mentioned about making the channels wider for the port and starboard motor wires, here is a picture of that. The channel will be filled with some metal glaze body filler and the holes into the WTC will be filled with epoxy. That is the plan so far - I will let you know how that goes.



I used Marine epoxy to attach the o-ring bulkhead to the bow end piece. To do this with the o-ring installed, push the bulkhead into the body tube leaving about 2mm or so out then I carefully added a very thin solid bead of epoxy around the edge of the bow end piece that will mate with the bulk head and then a slightly thicker solid bead on the face of the bulkhead that will mate with the end piece. This bead is more on the inner part of the face. My thinking was I did not want this gushing out and spilling onto the tube and o-ring I would rather see it gush inward. By being sparing on the epoxy, when the two pieces were placed together, I could see a slight wetness along the edge. I placed the tube on a table and adjusted how it aligned by touch and eye. Left it to cure. To fully cure,the epoxy takes 24 hours, about 50 minutes to set. Then repeat for the other end. So far this was the most difficult part. Mess these up and your in for some work - so take extra care here, if you are going to build one.

Next I drilled a hole for the deck's motor wires to come in. Since this deck will be attached to the aft end piece, I am going to put a couple of pins in to strengthen the joint. Something we did a lot of in the resin garage kit days. You can see the marks I made on either side of the hole for the wires. This will get sealed with more marine epoxy. For those not familiar with subs do not use the 5 minute epoxy or even the 15 minute epoxy, these will get soft when exposed to full water and time. Look for the slower longer cures or like I am using a marine epoxy that is waterproof.


I could not help but put some parts together and noticed the tube was slightly longer than the parts.

[alad61]

Tom that is a neat little kit. But mate I don't envy you with working in that scale/size. I kind of vowed that after the scratch built salon and additions to the wheel house on my static Brodeen 31 inch Disney Nautilus. That I wouldn't tackle stuff that small again. Well for a while at least anywayBLUSHER

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Yet you jump, with both feet, into the PL ENTERPRISE kit! Isn't that Brodeen kit simply a wonderful example of resin casting!? I'm still working mine and marvel at how few pin-holes it has.

How about some shots of your salon? You've seen what Bob Martin's done with his?

David

[crazygary]

This little submersible is way too cool!!
Youse guys are gonna cause me to jump into one, yet!! Hah!!
Great going so far, Trout!!
I'm watching with much interest!!

Crazygary

[trout]

When I first put the pieces together, everything looked like a good fit. But once it was assembled properly, it was a tad off. The tube was a little too long.

That is an easy fix.Built the bow railing, but it looked too tall and it was by 2mm. The only thing to do is re-do it.
Attaching the deck required a little extra reinforcement were it joins the aft piece. Two pins are added to secure the deck. The wires from the motor mounted on the deck go through a hole drilled out.

Under the deck a channel is run for the wires to run in. The wires are secured by CA and baking soda. A little epoxy and the two pieces are joined.

To address the tube being too long, I wet sanded it down to size.

Attaching the saddle tanks with RTV


Here is the sub so far.

[trout]

Bronco's are playing soon......so I gotta hurry up here.
I really appreciate what Mark is doing collecting photos into one area. It is like NavSource on steroids. Gathering photos for reference is so important.
A little research before starting on the basket was needed. There are some compromises that you may choose to make, but it is by choice not ignorance. You know what I mean?

Began with top portion of the basket. That was my guide for the bottom piece. Then added the corners.

Included in the kit was a screen. Added that to the inside of the basket.

Here it is painted and attached.

Now we add the arms.
Earlier post, I shared the assembly error and repair of the arms.

There is some perforated brass included in the kit for use in the undercarriage. This mounts just behind the arms and around the beam at the bow end of the ballast/keel piece. I used a square brass tube as a guide and soldered the brass pieces together.

Attaching the perforated brass and arms there was an issue of the undercarriage pushed the arms too far forward. I could have trimmed the carriage back, but I opted to put a slice into the carriage to help secure the arms. As an added securing for the arms, I put a pin in.

A quick look all put together.

Game is on, gotta go.....