Took Ellie and me about a week to work out the process and execute it. What a total pain-in-the-ass that job was!
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Scribed in after the fact. I made sure to lay in a heavy gel-coat at the beginning of the GRP layup -- just to make sure the later scribing onto the surface did not hit glass fibers.
Took Ellie and me about a week to work out the process and execute it. What a total pain-in-the-ass that job was!
Last edited by He Who Shall Not Be Named; 07-25-2025, 08:06 PM. -
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Permit me to introduce myself: I'm David Douglass Merriman lll One of the finest scale model builders you'll ever have the pleasure of knowing.
Introduction made.
Ellie and I formed D&E Miniatures nearly fifty years ago. A sole proprietorship business, we initially built industrial display pieces for defense contractors, one-offs for collectors, and also produced and sold both vacuformed and cast resin model kits. We later expanded our activities to include work for the motion picture and TV industry designing and building effects miniatures, and concluded our business producing product for the r/c submarine hobby.
My first r/c model submarine was a spin-off of a job we did for the Librascope company, a 1/96 scale AKULA submarine they used at trade-shows to illustrate the 'Soviet Threat' to potential customers. The model you see hanging from the ceiling.
Built in the late 80's the model was basic of detail, and some features just were not correct with what we now know of these boats today; the display was 'best guess' for what the AKULA looked like -- based only on some grainy pictures gotten from a Jane's Defense Annual and a few other even more dubious sources.
About a year after that job I took the tooling and laid up a hull and cast resin and metal appendages and produced an AKULA suitable for radio-control. My first r/c submarine. The innards went through many, many iterations, but eventually I had a reliable, well running model submarine.
Years later I gave this boat to a friend who operated it a while with some success. The model eventually wound up recently in the hands of my Torpedoman buddy, Dave, 'Jake' Jacobson.
The time had come to repair damage and get my old AKULA back up and running with a new r/c system and removable water tight cylinder. That work is ongoing and should be wrapped up in a week or so.
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David,
do you use Brylcreem in your hair? I remember as a youth, they called it “greasy kid stuff”. My dad, a retired jarhead, used to make me get a flat top at the barber, and that’s what they used to keep the front up.Leave a comment:
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Bob was working on his own 2" wtc which was based off of the 2.5" R&R cylinder ( reversible pump with vented tank ballast system). Maybe he can provide you with one.Leave a comment:
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Tim,
We worked as a vendor to the Caswell company initially. Eventually, Mr. Caswell sold his 'submarine' side of the business -- as well as our services -- roughly ten years ago to Mr. Martin of Nautilus Drydocks, who became the sole distributor of D&E Miniatures products, including our line of fittings kits.
Eventually, after my retirement (soon after my partners death), I sent all tooling and most masters of the fittings kits (the SEAVIEW fittings kit among them) to Mr. Martin. What became of all that, I do not know.
You're on your own, pal.
DavidLeave a comment:
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Tim,
We worked as a vendor to the Caswell company initially. Eventually, Mr. Caswell sold his 'submarine' side of the business -- as well as our services -- roughly ten years ago to Mr. Martin of Nautilus Drydocks, who became the sole distributor of D&E Miniatures products, including our line of fittings kits.
Eventually, after my retirement (soon after my partners death), I sent all tooling and most masters of the fittings kits (the SEAVIEW fittings kit among them) to Mr. Martin. What became of all that, I do not know.
You're on your own, pal.
DavidLeave a comment:
Leave a comment: