Trumpeter 1/144 Gato build

[crazygary]

Hey, Moe!! Hey, Larry!! Nyuk, nyuk!!

The "crazy one" is back!! Abandon hope all ye who enter here!! Hah!!

O.K.! We have forward plane retract float in place.

I drilled a 3/32" hole in a piece of 1/8" x 1/4" styrene and temporarily anchored it in place.
In hindsight, I should have drilled it a little smaller, but this will work fine!

The float itself is a piece of closed cell foam that was leftover from my little Revell 1/230 Skipjacks'
1 1/4" SD. That's a nickel sitting on top of it for size comparison.

The float is a little too light to retract the planes, but I'm considering adding a bit of weight to it by
sticking a penny(?) to the bottom of it with a little silicone, which should help considerably. ( or not??)


This photo was taken at the bow looking aft.
As is clearly visible, the port plane doesn't retract all the way against the hull.
I'll have to shorten the operating arm to correct that. The starboard plane "pegs" before the port side is all the way in.
Should be a "no-brainer" fix!

As there's not a whole lot of room in this area (Really?), the planes will still be in "dive mode" when she's at the surface,
but at least they won't be flapping around like some crazed seabird!! From the outset of the "challenge",
I was pretty sure that this would be the case! Oh, well!! I gave it a good shot!! Once back on her stand though,
they'll be folded in all the way! I'll take the little victories as they come!!

But just the fact that they work at all, in such a small model, got me pretty "stoked"!! The "old fart" here
still has "it"! (Wonder if antibiotics will clear it up? LOL)

Next up, I think, will be a shot of primer inside the hull, after a little clean-up sanding! Then I'm "goin' in"!!
Gonna "bite-the-bullet" and glue the hull halves together! Arrrgh!!! Pray fer me, y'all!!


That is all!

crazygary, out!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

That is so slick! Wonderful job. Hey ... I was just kidding, but you made it work. You've got all the linkages so tightly done and hid from view -- you've done everything right so far. You got good hands, pal.

M

[crazygary]

I gotta say, it was a pretty fun thing!! Thanks for "putting me up to it"!

If nothing else from all the machining years we sure as heck
learned patience, but you, my friend, have the hands of a "sturgeon"!! Hah!!

The kids today are too much into the "instant gratification" thing, so everything's
"hurry-hurry so I can play with it!" ( O.K.! I know, and YOU know that there's a joke in there!! Hah!!)

I just wanna thank the hell outta whoever invented the "Opti-Visor"!! The man is a god!!!!
(Sorry, M! No "blasphemy" intended! LOL)

Back to the drydock!!

crazygary, out!

[crazygary]

Happy Sunday, fellow "bubbleheads"!!

The reason for the "hole-in-the-deck":

The linkage sits up just about even with what would be the top of the deck.


This is looking at the bottom of the deck. The hole through it is about .100" x .200",
which is enough room for the linkage to sit as it should. I beveled the area around the
hole with a small file and a little sanding stick for good measure!!


Here's the top of the deck with the "auxiliary hatch cover" in place!
It's cut from a piece of .010" thick styrene and measures about .200" x .300", and
once painted should hardly be visable. This is a good thing, so that maybe Capt. Guidos'
crew won't be snooping around it and "wondering" what it's there for!!

In assuring a strict "no-pilfering" policy, our crazy "Eye-talian" skipper has posted a fair warning
for those who may dare to pursue their curiosity:


Have a nice-a day!!

crazygary, out!

[crazygary]

O.K.!

I made up some prop guards based on photos I downloaded. Bent up some pieces of
1/32" diameter brass rod to look like this:

Here's a dimensioned CAD drawing of what I came up with, which looks to be pretty close
to what it should be:

Oops! Sorry, it's inverted from the real deal photo!! The end with the "compound bend" goes aft!

This is what it looks like attached to the hull, with the additional stiffeners:


They're mounted parallel with the molded-in waterline, which is defined by the
bottom of the masking tape. The guards are 5/16" above the waterline.


Once my little aluminum heat sinks arrive, the components will be soldered together, and the joints
cleaned up. Also left to make, and install, will be the angled supports which will tie into
the cross pieces, and into the hull, to provide structural support to the whole assembly!

I'm outta here for now! Must observe the fact that "it's five o'clock somewhere"! (Jimmy Buffet fan, here!)
Y'all have a great evenin'!!

crazygary, out!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Cut up a sponge into 1/4" cubes, each with a knife-slit half-way through. Slip a sponge 'heat-sink' onto the wire next to the hull, apply water to the sponge till it's saturated, then solder away with reckless abandon!

You're doing great work, Gary.

M

[Albion]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Ungar-7760-Soldering-Iron-Handle-120-AC-DC-/261409264095?_trksid=p2054897.l4276

For soldering, get one of these, with a screw in element heater. Although the wattage seems quite low, all the heat is generated at the tip, which means this punches well above its weight. I use this for everything from sheet brass, down to small wires. Provided parts to be soldered are clean, the tip is so hot that you can get a good joint and have the element off the workpiece before there is much heat soak.

[crazygary]

M:
Thanks for the "duh" moment!
I've done that many times but it totally slipped my mind this time, as so many other things do periodically!!
Must be an "old fart" thing!! Hah!

Albion:
Great tool! I have a couple, but have gotten pretty spoiled with my little Iso-Tip!
Heats up in a couple of heartbeats and is really maneuverable! Good to have a few
options, tho'!!

crazygary

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

If I could gather all the things I've forgotten, I would be a frig'n genius! As it is now, I'll settle for ill-tempered functional-moron.

M

[crazygary]

I'm definitely with ya on that one, M!!

It's good to have a "dee-dee-dee" moment once in a while! Make's ya feel that much
"more smarter" when ya don't screw something up!! Hah!!

I'm guessing that the 1/32" rod is a pretty sensible choice for diameter! Since 1" in 1/144 scale
is about .007" that makes the guards around 4 1/2" dia.! Sounds pretty o.k.!?

O.K.! 'Soon's the caffeine kicks in, I'm off to the drydock!
Have a good one!

crazygary, out!

[crazygary]

Prop guards are soldered and installed! Just finished soldering them,
so they're "in-the-rough" right now.

I'll clean them up in the morning, and add the angled supports under them
and into the hull.


Look, Ma!! I didn't melt the hell outta the hull!! WOOHOO!!!!!

crazygary, out!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Well done, sir. You want fillets in there anyway. A little file work, a rub-down with some '000' steel wool and you're good to go.

M

[crazygary]

I'll dab a little thick-bodied CA where they go into the hull too!
Want some nice fillets there, as well!!

CG

[crazygary]

Hiya, M!

I need to ask your opinion on a couple of things!

The 1/32" brass pushrods that I'm using to control the dive planes and the rudder are pretty flimsy.
And the fact that they're danged near all of 12" long, and need a bit of a bend in them to reach over the SD
doesn't help either! I'm considering slipping some 1/16" tubing over them to keep them from gettin' all
frittered up! I'll leave about 1/4" of the 1/32" sticking out of both ends for connection purposes. Sound pretty o.k.?
I'm guessing the little bit of extra weight won't be a major concern?

Also, even though I'm no where near the final painting stages yet, what would be a good choice for a nice looking color combination
befitting a WWII sub? The kit shows her to be black, with a medium gunship gray deck and con. I've also seen photos of a really
light gray on top. To me, it looks a little too light, but.... ?

I'm getting ready to solder the prop guard lower supports and clean up all the joints. Been working for "She Who...well, you know!! Hah!!
May have photos by the end of the day?

Thanks, as usual, for your input, Buddy! Much appreciated!

Gary

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Hiya, M!

I need to ask your opinion on a couple of things!

The 1/32" brass pushrods that I'm using to control the dive planes and the rudder are pretty flimsy.
And the fact that they're danged near all of 12" long, and need a bit of a bend in them to reach over the SD
doesn't help either! I'm considering slipping some 1/16" tubing over them to keep them from gettin' all
frittered up! I'll leave about 1/4" of the 1/32" sticking out of both ends for connection purposes. Sound pretty o.k.?
I'm guessing the little bit of extra weight won't be a major concern?

Also, even though I'm no where near the final painting stages yet, what would be a good choice for a nice looking color combination
befitting a WWII sub? The kit shows her to be black, with a medium gunship gray deck and con. I've also seen photos of a really
light gray on top. To me, it looks a little too light, but.... ?

I'm getting ready to solder the prop guard lower supports and clean up all the joints. Been working for "She Who...well, you know!! Hah!!
May have photos by the end of the day?

Thanks, as usual, for your input, Buddy! Much appreciated!

Gary

Do this: Go to your hobby shop and score a few lengths of carbon-carbon fiber rod, about 1/16" diameter. Very light-weight and very stiff. Glue your .032" brass rods to that.

Go with the late-war three-tone topside. More interesting than black.

M