Today's work on the little Revell SKIPJACK fittings kit

[Subculture]

The file size should reduce if you're doing it right. Does the Mpeg 4 option bump the resolution?

[Kazzer]

Looking good, Mike. How's the range? And what's the water type (Chlorine, salt, etc.)?

How about a detailed report on problems encountered, etc.?

David,

I've had a few minor problems with the tail end. The prop tube was slipping, so I dabbed a bit of CA on it and let it dry. That thickened the shaft and solved the problem.
The Sub-driver is a bit tight in the saddles and needs a little sanding to loosen it up a bit.
I also placed a drop of oil on the prop shaft and that stopped it binding.
I'd pushed the foam in the cone back a little too far and it was also tight on the shaft, slowing it up.

Having trouble getting a good turn on the rudder. Its as if the servo isn't operating at full throw. I don't know how to fix that.

Those damned magnets keep coming off the push rods. You (David) glued them on with CA & Baking Soda, but I think CA has no flex and gives a very brittle joint, especially to a smooth surface like those magnets have. I am going to try a dab of contact adhesive as this has some elasticity. On my Xcraft, I glued on magnets to a push-rod then placed some heat shrink tube over the ros & magnet and shrank it. That worked. I don't know if I can do that here.

Other than that, she's a winner!

[Kazzer]

Merriman just emailed me this!


Mike

Can't tell you how useful your 'after action reports' on the product are to us. I'm not being a smart-ass, but you're the perfect 'field' guinea-pig: You don't have all the answers (don't think you do, anyway) so your open speculations are relatively pure from pre-conceived opinion or 'fact'; you're rather clumsy with the product, which quickly reveals the structural weaknesses in the product; but you have a practical mind and an above average understanding and appreciation of tools and consumables that can be brought to bare on a problem. All of that results in a guy who can find product problems, identify them clearly (articulating a problem to the designer is the biggest asset a good test pilot can have), and come up with some of the fixes on his own. Good attributes for someone who works to improve the performance of a product.

Case in point is the current little SKIPJACK. You're shaking out all the little problems intrinsic in the design; the problems that have to be worked out to make our SD and fittings kits better. And that I appreciate more than I usually let on, Mike.

Anyway, enough of that. Lets deal with the current array of issues with the product:

I said:

• I've had a few minor problems with the tail end. The prop tube was slipping, so I dabbed a bit of CA on it and let it dry. That thickened the shaft and solved the problem.

You put the CA on both the forward end of the propeller shaft and the SD motor shaft, Mike?

I said:

• The Sub-driver is a bit tight in the saddles and needs a little sanding to loosen it up a bit.

It's supposed to be tight between the two back-stops. Or are you talking about the foam in the upper and lower hull halves?

I said:

• I also placed a drop of oil on the prop shaft and that stopped it binding.

Good.

• I said:I'd pushed the foam in the cone back a little too far and it was also tight on the shaft, slowing it up.

What did you do to fix the binding?

• I said:Having trouble getting a good turn on the rudder. Its as if the servo isn't operating at full throw. I don't know how to fix that.

As delivered I mounted the rudder servo magnet (you can't see it under the red, opaque, G-10 lid) very, very close to the servos center of rotation which severely restricts rudder throw. The fix is to make up another servo bell-crank with the magnet a bit further out -- center of magnet, about 1/4" from servo center of rotation -- giving you more moment arm, which translates to more rudder throw.

The fix is to pop the G-10 lid off the servo box, replace the servo bell crank, and using silicon RTV glue stick the lid back in place. The servo will produce a much tighter turning radius. I gave it to you this way so you would not over-control the damned thing, Mike, and slam it into a wall ... I've seen how you drive (even Big Dave is a better sub driver than you).

I said:

• Those damned magnets keep coming off the push rods. You (David) glued them on with CA & Baking Soda, but I think CA has no flex and gives a very brittle joint, especially to a smooth surface like those magnets have.

Good observations, and you're right. We need to come up with a better means of securing the little magnets to the pushrods. Also ... I did it this way just to **** you off!

• I said:I am going to try a dab of contact adhesive as this has some elasticity.

How about epoxy glue? Yeah, we have to come up with a producton-friendly fix for this. Maybe a cast resin/metal magnet holder?

I said:

• On my Xcraft, I glued on magnets to a push-rod then placed some heat shrink tube over the ros & magnet and shrank it. That worked. I don't know if I can do that here.

No, we need the flat face of the magnet up close against the top of the servo box G-10 lid.

I said:

• Other than that, she's a winner!

Very good, How's the run time; how long can you run it till Kevin's delightful little LiPo Guard kicks in and shuts down the show?

I trust that at the end of the day you put the SD to bed opened up so it can dry out overnight. How long does it take you battery charger to bang up that 800 mAh battery, anyway?

Any water getting into the SD, Mike?

I said: No.


Good man! Keep up the good work and keep those *****es and complaints coming in. Useful stuff!

David,

[Outrider]

212 in Builders Trials, Perhaps?

The three servo box has the servos arranged so that two of them (one sliding, one moving the sliding servo) are configured to operate an X-tail type set of control surfaces -- for the SubDriver that will drive the little Revell, 1/144 Type-212.

You've been teasing us with the 212 for some time. Back in March you posted a photo with a dry fit of the mini driver sitting in the unmistakably brown hull of an unpainted Revell 212. This note says you're working the X-tail, which seems a bit more complex than the standard control configuration.

Do you have anything more you can share on your 212? If so, I'll start a new thread on the 212 and 214.

Jim

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

You've been teasing us with the 212 for some time. Back in March you posted a photo with a dry fit of the mini driver sitting in the unmistakably brown hull of an unpainted Revell 212. This note says you're working the X-tail, which seems a bit more complex than the standard control configuration.

Do you have anything more you can share on your 212? If so, I'll start a new thread on the 212 and 214.

Jim

Nothing new to report, Jim. But, conversion of the Revell 1/144 plastic model kit to r/c operation is in, 'the rotation' around here.

David,

[Outrider]

Cabal Report / Instructions

When Mike posted that the Revell Skipjack had become a collectors' item, I decided to buy before the chance was gone. Glad I did, as the fittings kit is really a gem, even if Revell didn't overachieve.

I've been following the Type VII fittings kit reports as they've come out, and was wondering if the Revell Skipjack would get similar treatment in due course. This thread certainly has enough material to make a good start at suitable instructions, but some of us will need more guidance to assemble a final product that looks and works as David intends.

Jim

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

I'll get on it after the SubRegatta.

David,

[kielbasa]

dave, can you point me to where you got he little waterproof toggle switch? I need one?

otherdave
________
VAPORITE SOLO VAPORIZER

[Kazzer]

dave, can you point me to where you got he little waterproof toggle switch? I need one?

otherdave

These?


Click Here
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WHOLESALE VAPORIZERS

[secrtwpn]

David,

I'm having a problem in following how you get rid of the gap. Do you have any more photos?

Thx
Farlan Clutters

Three specific chores are addressed here: removal of the bow piece from the lower hull and bonding it to the upper hull half; filling up the gap between the two hull halves when joined; and re-contouring the bow employing the screeding technique.

First, I identified the gape between upper and lower hull by loosely holding them together, I then placed masking tape on both halve so that the edge of each (one on the upper half, and the other on the lower half of the hull) would meet. The hull halves were taken apart and thick formula CA applied to the area inboard (sticky side) of the tape and atop the hull flange/edge. I then sprinkled on baking soda to build up and harden the fill. This repeated till top and bottom hull halve had their edges built up, eliminating the gap when the hull halves are assembled together.

Once the longitudinal hull gap was tightened, I chopped off the forward bow from the lower hull and bonded that piece to the upper hull. The forward edge of the internal foreword SubDriver back-stop formed the radial flange that captures the upper hull, holding it down on the lower hull when the two halves are assembled.

I then employed the fittings kit provided screeding tool to re-contoured the bow of the model to more closely match that of the prototype -- the kits bow being much too blunt. Evercoats Metal Glaze filler was the build-up material of choice here. About five layers of filler and I had a new nose on the submarine, changing the entire character of the display!

David,

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

No shots of the small SKIPJACK build-up of the edge. But, that operation is well represented in photos on the 1/72 Revell GATO edge build-up:

[secrtwpn]

Thx for the quick response! I'm looking forward to receiving my conversion kit.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

I would use straight CA and backing soda to built up the straightened edge, not filler (as demonstrated on the GATO example above). Just build up the masking tape dam on the outside of the hull(s) half as required, build up some CA onto the existing styrene edge and inboard side of the tape dam, then sprinkle on the baking soda. Block sand the excess CA-baking soda build-up to the top edge of the tape, remove the tape then work in some air-dry touch-up putty to fill the inevitable gaps in the built-up edge.

The actual task goes quicker than I can write this!

[secrtwpn]

Thx for the pix. They help alot. Also, which electronics do you put in the fore and aft WTC?.

THx
Farlan

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Aft is the battery, Lipo-Guard and nano ESC. Forward is the ADF and receiver.