Opening the box I found a wonderfully detailed kit, nice work to all envolved. Even though this one is destined to be RC’d, I can see that even a static builder would enjoy having this sub on display.
This sub had the common issues that I have read about like one quarter being slightly warped,
or the heavy areas where the sprue attaches to the hull.
Both of these do not concern me. It can be fixed. There was one thing I saw, the grating in the lower forward quarter, all the way at the bow (left in picture) was soft in detail, not the crisp edges like the others.
If I was not going to cut this out or this was to be a static model, this might bother me.
At the time I opened the box I was working on the Aluminaut. So, I put rubber bands around the quarter pieces and the sail. And kept it in the garage hoping it will help with the warping (although the warping was not that bad - slight pressure and it came together).
I have been putting building this off too long and would like to take this to the Keystone Regatta (even unpainted if I must). So time to read the instructions - Mike Caswell did a great compilation of David Merriman’s cabal reports here: http://support.caswellplating.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/369/18/the-moebius-skipjack-model-instructions
I will be following this document (for the most part).
and marked up the sub per the Skipjack instructions downloaded to make sure I understood the instructions and what size drills I needed. Frankly, I had a tough time just reading the instructions - some of the terms used I was not familiar with and working with sub in hand helped a lot.
I must have lost my (M) Hull Rudder Hole Blanking Disks because I could not find them. Also, on this model, one rudder hole was larger than the other - Any of you have that too?
Using some sprue I heated over a flame and squished it to make a fatter section, larger than the holes. Then chucked this up in the lathe and trimmed it to fit the two rudder holes.
Note - if you do not have a lathe, no big deal - I find myself finding reasons to use the lathe because it is so fun, but P.T.L. (prior to lathe) I would have done one of several ways to make a plug like fattening a piece of sprue and hand sanding using a drill or heating and pulling a section of sprue just past the fattened area, that taper would eventually seal the hole and using a proper cohesive glue the sprue melts together with the hull. Then you can just fill the hole with Evercoat filler. Anyways my point is, do not stop because I mention a tool you may not have.
Gluing my plugs in, I used Plastruct liquid glue. It melts the plastics together (cohesive) and once dry your piece becomes one with the hull. Once dry, trim and sand.
Drilled out the new rudder holes per the instructions and temporarily put in the hardware to test it out. The arch in my rear dive planes yolk was bent out of shape making the plane have a funny dihedral in it. Since the metal is soft, gently pulled it until everything lined up.
Then made the pushrods (I love the pliers for making a Z bend)
Then continued to trim bits off. I intend to leave the hull stand openings open and use them in the cradle to lock my sub in (Mike Dory does that and I like the idea).
Marked the Z cuts for the hull. Did not have the tool David used to mark the hull, so I improvised (sorry it is burry).
Page 6 on the instructions (or Skipjack cabal part 6) says:
But a 7/16 hole is HUGE especially when it is compared to the holes mentioned to be drilled out.
So the document should be corrected to say 7/64”
This sub had the common issues that I have read about like one quarter being slightly warped,
or the heavy areas where the sprue attaches to the hull.
Both of these do not concern me. It can be fixed. There was one thing I saw, the grating in the lower forward quarter, all the way at the bow (left in picture) was soft in detail, not the crisp edges like the others.
If I was not going to cut this out or this was to be a static model, this might bother me.
At the time I opened the box I was working on the Aluminaut. So, I put rubber bands around the quarter pieces and the sail. And kept it in the garage hoping it will help with the warping (although the warping was not that bad - slight pressure and it came together).
I have been putting building this off too long and would like to take this to the Keystone Regatta (even unpainted if I must). So time to read the instructions - Mike Caswell did a great compilation of David Merriman’s cabal reports here: http://support.caswellplating.com/index.php?/Knowledgebase/Article/View/369/18/the-moebius-skipjack-model-instructions
I will be following this document (for the most part).
and marked up the sub per the Skipjack instructions downloaded to make sure I understood the instructions and what size drills I needed. Frankly, I had a tough time just reading the instructions - some of the terms used I was not familiar with and working with sub in hand helped a lot.
I must have lost my (M) Hull Rudder Hole Blanking Disks because I could not find them. Also, on this model, one rudder hole was larger than the other - Any of you have that too?
Using some sprue I heated over a flame and squished it to make a fatter section, larger than the holes. Then chucked this up in the lathe and trimmed it to fit the two rudder holes.
Note - if you do not have a lathe, no big deal - I find myself finding reasons to use the lathe because it is so fun, but P.T.L. (prior to lathe) I would have done one of several ways to make a plug like fattening a piece of sprue and hand sanding using a drill or heating and pulling a section of sprue just past the fattened area, that taper would eventually seal the hole and using a proper cohesive glue the sprue melts together with the hull. Then you can just fill the hole with Evercoat filler. Anyways my point is, do not stop because I mention a tool you may not have.
Gluing my plugs in, I used Plastruct liquid glue. It melts the plastics together (cohesive) and once dry your piece becomes one with the hull. Once dry, trim and sand.
Drilled out the new rudder holes per the instructions and temporarily put in the hardware to test it out. The arch in my rear dive planes yolk was bent out of shape making the plane have a funny dihedral in it. Since the metal is soft, gently pulled it until everything lined up.
Then made the pushrods (I love the pliers for making a Z bend)
Then continued to trim bits off. I intend to leave the hull stand openings open and use them in the cradle to lock my sub in (Mike Dory does that and I like the idea).
Marked the Z cuts for the hull. Did not have the tool David used to mark the hull, so I improvised (sorry it is burry).
Page 6 on the instructions (or Skipjack cabal part 6) says:
But a 7/16 hole is HUGE especially when it is compared to the holes mentioned to be drilled out.
So the document should be corrected to say 7/64”
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