Moebius (Revell) Skipjack Build

[trout]

Down from the high of the regatta and now ready to get the Skipjack back on track.
Today was the mundane of cutting out the flood holes.
Drilled a hole for the blade to get through. Using a deep throat jewelers saw (coping saw) and a fine blade rough cut the openings.

Then began cleaning up the holes with files.


Any suggestions on how to measure and mark out the center line?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Waterline marking tool (surface gauge) running against a straight edge set on the same worksurface as the hull and its edge parallel with the centerline of the hull quarter being marked out with the centerline. Duh!

You people!

M

[greenman407]

I like using those inexpensive contractors lasers that Home Depot and others sell. I bought one for my Employer years ago and when I need it I just borrow it. Or you could use those grille edges that your cutting out as a reference and put a tape measure between them and make a mark. Do that where ever possible and then join the lines.

[trout]

All great solutions, I ended up doing something more primative. I did not have the proper equipment or funding to spend at this time.
I remember from my past "Never measure distance with string" - I guess it is because string can stretch. So, what I did is take some wire and measured it to the hull so that the wire went from edge to edge. Rolled some blue painter's tape in the approximate middle and measured against a ruler for the center. Marked on the tape the center according to the ruler.

I reversed the wire on the ruler to make sure the center was the same (which it should be if it is truly the center) and once satisfied, I marked my center on the hull.




Once having the center marked, I was able to continue on the install.
Reading the instructions carefully, David warns about the sub-driver foundations and the proper installation.
One end is larger than the other and the larger end needs to be up (there are two sets larger one pictured here and a smaller one that will go aft - pictured later). I marked mine up to remind me.

I placed the foundations in for distance and marked the holes to drill out with a mechanical pencil - I needed to extend that lead out enough to mark.

Then drilled out the holes using 3/32" drill. tested the fit. Below you can see one screw is counter sunk - the others will get the same treatment.


The strap foundation install is relatively simple - this is not rocket science I am told. Like the other foundations orientation of this piece is important, the larger or taller side goes forward, I marked mine to reflect that.

I had a concern. The hole further aft was mighty close to the opening I cut out (shoot maybe I should not have cut that one out?) anyways it means I needed to move the hole a little further back. Marked a spot that I liked and drilled out the holes. On the foundation, I tapped a 2-56 thread into the location I marked.

Test the fit.

You can see the flood hole opening is mostly covered by the strap foundation, so those looking for suggestions on their build, do not cut out that small grid.

[trout]

The lower two quarters get bonded together with cohesive glue. The guide is pretty clear as to why and how. So far I have not washed my parts, I am waiting for such a time as this. My thinking is I am handling the parts and my grubby, greasy, fingers are putting all sorts of schmuts all over it. So, I washed the quarters and sanded the areas to be affixed together and applied liquid cohesive, then thicker cohesive to the parts, quickly strapped it all down to the board.

<12 hours later>
Removed the lower hull and tested the rear quarter panel.

Yikes, I have a bow in my sub. That warpage might cause me some grief, but I will plod forward. I am thinking when the forward quarter is joined to the rear quarter, it may put enough force to over come that slight arch. If not, well I'll just bin this project.
Or come up with something.
Cut some strips of wax paper and placed them at the juncture of the top quarters and lower hull.

Washed and sanded the parts. Sanding under the forward quarter was especially important because of some molding flash or injection points.

Same as lower hull, liquid cohesive then thicker. Then quickly strapped it all together with rubber bands. Time to kick back and relax - tomorrow we will see how it all looks.

[alad61]

Struth Tom your bench is way go clean and organized...:biggrin: Your boats looking good so far, look forward to seeing more.

[trout]

Alec,
Thanks, but that is not the case. It is over 44 degrees Celsius or 111 degrees Fahrenheit in the garage on nice days and so I work on the kitchen table or the patio table. When I do work in the garage I come out soaking wet.
My bench looks like a disaster depending on the number of projects I have going on.
Thank you for your kind words. More to come!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

how bout this!

[trout]

David, that is cool! Was there a paint scheme like that? Awesome photo too! It has to be a thrill every time you see a Moebius or Revell model running in the wild knowing you had a hand in it coming to a reality. Does the article say what dive system the assembler used?

[trout]

The slight warping still exists. Once I get the tail pieces together it might help because if I squeeze the tail down behind were the radial will be, it closes up..
Earlier I transfered the radial markings for cutting the bow and aft sections from inside to the exterior side of the hull. Per the instructions, used a light to help do that. Then used tape to connect the dots. I marked were the radial line made contact with the paper on each side, measured the distance from my radial line to the aft most end of the sub to make sure the distances were even on both sides. Did the same for the bow radial line to make sure it was also even on each side.

Darkened the line and removed the tape.

Cut along the line and we have separation.

Same was done for the aft end.

I still need to fill in the quarter pieces seam from the prior nights gluing and clean up cuts made into the hull. One step closer!

[trout]

There is not much to add to the instructions. I curved the plastic strips over a small metal tube and marked on the pieces for how much will extend out from the edge. The upper aft portion (the small section cut off) will get 1/2 hanging over (since the strip is 1" it is 1/2" extended out past the edge). The lower bow section (the larger piece or main body) gets a 3/8" extended past the hulls edge.

Sanded the areas to put cohesive glue on.

Used clothes pins to hold it together.

Now it will be another day before i work on it.

[trout]

Everything has dried.
Putting in the means to fasten the hulls together was pretty simple.
This section was left out of these instructions, but it can be found in the 7th part of the Skipjack Cabal (can be found here http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showa...mentid=5287179 ) mark 1/4" forward of the aft radial cut.

Drill a 7/64" inch hole all the way through.

Run the threads of the 4-40 screw, included with the screw foundation, through some soap. It will be a barrier from the CA seizing the screw into the foundation. Ah, the smell of Irish Spring.....

Thread the screw through the flange and into the screw foundation. Apply CA around the foundation and set aside to dry.

Test assembly. Yeah it worked!

[alad61]

Tom are you going to countersink the fastening screw? I like the soap idea too.

[trout]

Alec,
Yes I will counter sink the screw. Today's post will be some of the small things being done like that. The soap idea, in this build, is from David's cabal report.
T

[trout]

Hole counter sunk.

Installing the torpedo foundation/Bow support. Did a test fit.

It was off center.

Squared it up using grid paper.

Outlined the foundation on the bow piece. Using the outline as a guide, sanded the area and ca'd the piece in.

David had put a line (I hi-lighted with black Sharpe) that is used to align the foundation.

CA'd it all in.


Did a bit of finishing and clean up.
Finished counter sinking the shock absorber screws.

Cut out the flange overlaps.

Used sprue to fill in the seams. I had trouble getting it to fill in some areas. In some areas it just looked ugly.

Assembled the bow with the foundation put in. Them I remembered I was going to prime the interior. Ooops.

Still concerned about air flows and preventing trapped air, made passage ways for air to leave.

Wanted to reinforce the opening by making a small bridge that allowed the air to pass and strengthen the area cut out.

Installed the support.

Harder to see here, paths cut in to allow air out. Beveled the holes that vent air out.

Reinforced the bow seams.


CA'd the aft foundations.

Same for the forward foundations and the shock absorber.

The aft piece, I carved a notch in the frame for air to escape. I do not know if any of this is necessary. I guess the final word will be how it handles. So hang on, we will find out together.

I glued the sail together using a cohesive being careful to leave the bottom free from glue to allow it to open. Thought I did good until I realized I forgot to put in the screw foundations in. I am here to tell you they can be installed after the fact (it is better to remember first). Not all went well, the rear foundation did not go all the way aft, so my hole was off a bit. I ground the opening to allow a screw to thread. When installing the foundations you only glue one side of it so the bottom can be slit open for maintenance and repair.