1/35 scale type 23

[greenman407]

Rainy today, so it was kinda low key around here. Started fooling around with this thing and the servos would just sit there and jitter. I dont like that. Only one of them was doing it the other day and I replaced that one. Since then all was good until today. So I tried a different BEC. Still the same. So I tried a different crystal which meant changing the frequency. LOW AND BEHOLD!!!...............that was it. Channel 87 was very noisy today....apparently, so channel 89 I guess will be it.
I had to resort to grinding down the crystal pins with a Dremel wheel, to taper them, so that they go in well. I then put some good vinyl electrical tape over it so that it cant come out. The silicone holding the receiver in place is drying. Tomorrow Ill get the APC into place and then all thats left is trimming in the bathtub.

[crazygary]

A pretty "clandestine" operation there, eh??

The "Stealth-Aqueous-Submersion-Chamber"!! (AKA: Hotel California)
You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave!!
Impressive!! (LOL)

CG

[greenman407]

Thanks Gary, I was just fishing for anyone out there who also had a Lepton. Im thinking I will probably need more weight, but Ive got so much floatation in there already, I am hoping that I wont have to put any foam in it. We will see what the bathtub will tell us. Yes............the bathtub.......a very hush hush piece of state of the art diagnostic equipment.....dont ya know.

[crazygary]

She's "bad -To-The-bone", greenmen407!!

Funny you should mention the crystal pin "thing"!! I had the exact same problem!
I ran, very carefully, a very small diameter drill bit into the sockets which helped a little,
but didn't want to get too carried away for fear of screwin' up the Lepton!! Very strange
design glitch, there!!

Really like the keel weights!! Great call!! Gotta file that one away for future reference!!

CG

[greenman407]

Somebodys nice model.

[greenman407]

Everything is coming together real good. Im using 1 ounce fishing weights to get some weight into her to start with. Ill use the flat ones that I always use in 1/4 ounce increments for trimming. All the double magnets in place. Here we can see the placement front to rear of the ballast tank. The vent valve is pretty close to the center of the sail. The center of the ballast tank is about 3/4" behind the present balance point of the sub. We will have to see how this works out. Now that I got my supply of Clippard hose in Ive finished the ballast tank. READY FOR TESTING.

[greenman407]

OK now, I got in the crystal for the Lepton receiver. Thats really weird. You would think that the pins for the crystal would sink all the way down into the circuit board ,just like every other one Ive ever dealt with. But NO! It goes in maybe a 1/16" and stops. I kept pushing and bent the pins of the crystal, but it works. Ive got two of the receivers and two of the crystals, and its the same for both. WEIRD

[greenman407]

Got my BECs and put one in. Im still waiting on the replacement servo. Maybe tomorrow. Then we can bathtub test the Subdriver and do our trimming. Then its off to the Clearwater sub pond for SEA TRIALS! Watch out fish.

[greenman407]

My servo installation. Odd arrangement but it serves well and lines up nice. The servos are either all the way to one side or in the middle so that a good amount of space for wires to pass by on the one side. Unfortunately one of these servos turned out to be bad right out of the package. Caswell offered to replace it at no charge. As far as the servo pushrods are concerned Ive always had difficulty trying to get them just the right length without having to try again and again. What I have done is to make them up in two pieces. At both ends put them where they are supposed to be, all lined up with the radio on, trims in nuetral, control surfaces where they are supposed to be. I join the two pieces together with a 1/16" I.D. piece of brass tube with a slot cut in both ends and the 1/16" brass rods roughed up with a dremel cutoff wheel to give them good texture. When all is good, hit them with the real thin CA and watch it soak up inside the tube.

[greenman407]

If thats the case, it would be....what......rust color?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Now to **** on Mark's parade:

As I understand it (check me on this, von) by that time Germany was so low on strategic metals (brass, for example) that almost all propellers of the period were cast from steel.

(running for cover)

M

[greenman407]

The instructions also tell of another method to apply the Bronze. They call it the brush technique. You use the anode with its gauze cover like a paint brush to apply it. I dont recommend it as it turned some of the areas black. It was burning it. The pool method seems to work much better. The urethane will slightly darken the prop which is OK by me. Ill do the 5 bladed Scamper prop the same way. I can reuse the kit and just reorder the refills to save money. You need two bottles per prop I believe.

[trout]

That came out really looking good. It looks like a prop that has been used and weathered naturally.

[greenman407]

As far as the propeller is concerned, as you know, I purchased the Caswell Plug n Plate system in Bronze, thinking that what more realistic way to doll up your prop than to metalplate it with...................BRONZE, the same thing that they make the real bloody things with EH! So here we go with the operation. I hit the prop with a wire wheel attachment on the Dremel. Not only does it buff it up it also smooths out the casting seams and any imperfections. I then scrubbed it down with "Soft Scrub" and rinsed her real good, taking care not to touch the prop with my fingers. I boiled water with the prop in the water to bring it up to temperature and the blue bronze solution I also brought up to a higher temperature before I put the negative cliplead into the shaft hole of the prop and used a clothes pin to suspend it in the liquid. Then the Anode with gauze loosely wrapped around it was inserted and clothes pined to the glass as well. Then just plug it in. The prop immediately starts to emit bubbles so that the fluid becomes cloudy. I left mine in for a hour and a half. At that point I believe all the bronze was used up. It did a good even job as long as you turn the prop every 15 mins. or so. For mine , I felt that another plating session would do the trick so Ive got a refill bottle of the Bronze on the way. After I get the prop the way I want it Im going to clear urethane it to protect it.

[greenman407]

I do use the set screw on the rudder, because its already there. But you dont have to. If the set screw sits too high for your tastes, then take it out and drill more holes and glue it as well.