Fixing an old sub

[daveg]

Hi all I have an old 23rd parrallel Type XXIII. And over time and use some cracks and small gaps have appeared in the hull bottom where the keel weights attached to the hull bottom( for those not familiar with the kit the weights were screwed on the outside bottom of hull). Any ideas on what to use to fill these cracks? my guess in some sanding and repainting will also be part of the deal. Thanks all
Dave G

[Subculture]

I'm not sure if these hulls were formed from polystyrene or from ABS.

In either case, have a loook for some modified acrylic adhesive (Deluxe materials Fusion, Devcon Plastic Welder, Stabilit Express), and use that to glue the plastic. Key up the plastic with some wet and dry paper and spread it liberally on the inside and let it cure over night. Once dry the hull will be as strong if not stronger than new.

[daveg]

Thanks SubCulture but

I should have been more specific in my description. The cracks are on the outside of the hull where the weights meet the hull bottom and the hull is ABS I believe. Your method I think may still work it just means alot more sanding and repainting.
Thanks for info
Cheers
Dave

[Subculture]

If the plastic is cracking it's due to age and stress.

The main snag with thermoformed plastics like polystyrene and ABS is that when they do get old and fracture they're a bit more tricky to repair than GRP hulls.

But if you use the method I describe your hull should good and strong. If you have weights glued to the inside, you could try removing them if they're not too firmly fixed in.
Then you can reinforce with glue from the inside, and fill the outside to hide the cracks. The nice thing about the acrylic adhesives is that they are easy to sand and take fillers readily.

Not a bad idea to post up some pictures- a lot easier than trying to describe the damage.

[gcladd]

I would be interested in knowing about your model. I have a 32nd Parallel Type XXIII that was barely started and "shelved" shortly after getting married. I recently started to do some work on it and found the detail on it leaves a little to be desired. It is getting revamped from my collection of naval reference books.

What type of paint did you use on your hull. I usually use epoxy paints on my models to give them a tougher finish coat. Your reference about the steel balast strips temps me to prime the strips and vacuum form a styrene, enclosure around them that can be solvent welded to the hull before painting.

The styrene sail after assembly looks pretty weak and needs some serious upgrading. How did you attach this to the hull? That raised lip on the deck does not leave much surface area to bond the sail to

[daveg]

I will try to remember

I have had this sub many years and it was my first so It was a learning process. First off I have Dave M's 3inch WTC in it and scrapped all the other stuff. I etched all the panal lines I could find from various sources( can't remember all of them) Should have primed the weights but didn't and I did not leave the space between the two( should have) One big plus was I ordered some stuff from Accurate Armour in Scotland for their type 23. Derek sold me all the fittings and the rear area of the conning tower. I hollowed this out and removed the stock piece and placed the resin piece in its place. I did this all several years after the initial assembly. Now I would see what the whole conning tower and fittings set costs and hollow that out and go with it. The small deck walkway was made from sheet stryene that already has the lines in it. Paint was normal krylon or model paints. they changed over time. As an aside if you go to subcommittee .com and look under members galleries look for my name Dave goddard and you will see what I did with Robbes Type 7 and Accurate Armour conning tower and fittings for that boat. I have since sold that one. I will try to post pictures if I can figure out how or send me your email and I will send them directly to you.
cheers
Dave g

[daveg]

gcladd
Go to members homepages on subcommittee.com and look under my name and there are several pictures of my type 23
Cheers
Dave

[daveg]

Oh yeah Ignore the email address it is old. New one is david.goddard@rogers.com. If you get ahold of Robert Chesneau's book on Type VII u-boats my robbe type 7 also appears in there with accurate armour pieces.
Dave

[gcladd]

Dave, I onsidered putting Dave M's WTC in my type XXIII several years ago, but when I consider the issues of removing the old one from the existing hull I always talk myself out of it. I hate the thoughts of mangling the hull to much to get the old WTC out. The adhesive used to bond the WTC to the hull looks like it will turn into a brutal task. How did you remove the old compartment. A clear WTC will make it easier to see leaks, and the smaller O-ring surface area on the ends will make it less likely to leak.

I quickly looked at Accurate Armours site but didn't see much relatied to U-boats, but maybe I wasn't looking on the right page. Great site though...might be time to update some gun detail on my 1/24 elco PT boat and my Perkas models.

[tsenecal]

gcladd,

I too have a 32nd parallel type XXIII that I have just started to build, and the very first thing i did was spend a weekend with a dremel moto tool with both a cut-off wheel and a highspeed ball cutter (5/16") to completely gut the boat. It took patience, and there is and forever will be a large mound of whatever that glue is at the base of the hull. I will use the original propshaft stuffing tube, I left that remaining. I am now trying to decide whether i will rebuild the rudder to see if i can get the steering hardware internal or not. I haven't decided yet whether i will go with a D&E 2.5" sub-driver, or make my own 2.5" wtc.

did a little looking around, and accurate armor has a 1:35 waterline model of the XXIII... i guess you just didn't look hard enough :)

http://www.accurate-armour.com/ShowProduct.cfm?manufacturer=0&category=13&subcategory=27&product=452

I assume that is what daveg used for his conning tower.