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**Von Hilde** · 03-08-2014, 07:25 AM

weeds are not my problem since I dont have any to deal with, but there are big fish that eat fish, that are bigger than a 1:72 u boat. The humm of the electric motors turn them into big electronic lures without hooks. A 4ft barracuda can chop a thousand dollars in half in the blink of an eye, A 4 footer is small compaired to some of the big "Logs" the cruise the canal. Sharks are no problem as they hunt by smell. Cudas hit anything that moves

**crazygary** · 03-08-2014, 11:36 AM

M-

Your railing work is excellent!! I've been contemplating how I would do it on my little Gato,
but, as usual, your "homework" will make it a total "no-brainer"!!

Many thanks to you, Sir!!

crazygary

**He Who Shall Not Be Named** · 03-08-2014, 12:03 PM

Yeah, go with .014" brass wire and you're in business, Gary.

M

**crazygary** · 03-08-2014, 01:21 PM

Gonna have to plug all the deck holes first, and redrill them.

The molded-in holes are already a few thousandths over 1/32"!
Maybe 1/32" x 1/64" tubing first??

CG

**vital.spark** · 03-08-2014, 10:32 PM

Gary, with your talent it would be easy to use small tubing for sockets so the ralings could slide in.

**Kazzer** · 03-09-2014, 08:45 AM

You've seen these stanchions no doubt?

http://www.harbormodels.com/site08/stanchions.html

Or these pre-made rails?

**crazygary** · 03-09-2014, 11:33 AM

Thanks, Mate!! I appreciate that!!

I found 1/32" brass tubing a real P.I.T.A. to find, without paying $20-$25USD for it!!

I did manage to find a vendor in the U.K. with decent pricing. They have .8 mm. x .4 mm, which works out to be
equivalent to 1/32" x 1/64". Now, you would think that .4 mm. brass rod would, therefore, also be available
from them!!? Au, contrere!!(SP?) = au contraire

I located, and ordered, some .016" brass wire from another source, stumbled upon purely by luck!
Apparently, 1/64" diameter brass wire is in the same isle as the hydraulic muffler bearing grease!
and, therefore, cannot be found in a timely manner!!

I may have to run an appropriate size drill bit through the "deck sockets" in order for the
railings to become removable, but no worries! There are only "umpteen" of them on the boat!! LOL

Glad I'm retired!

CG

**crazygary** · 03-09-2014, 11:41 AM

Thanks, Kazzer!

I have, indeed, seen those and although really nicely machined, as well as being very
convenient, they're a bit too big around for my liking!

The injection molded stanchions in the kit measure at about .023" which is
probably about .010" smaller than the machined ones, which also take .032" rod
for the railings. Too big for 1/144 scale, but, that's just my opinion.

Thanks for the information, though! Much appreciated!

CG

**Von Hilde** · 03-13-2014, 06:39 AM

I have found that my bronze acustic guitar strings have served well for stanchions and rails as well as jumper wire ect. Depending on guage of strings (light, medium or heavy) and acustic or electric they start with the 1st E string at .10 or .12 the 2nd around .15 or so and then the next 4 strings are wound with about .10 increases for each string. The 6th being about .55. The wound strings, I use on larger scale projects. Hand rails cables antenna ect. I use to throw my old strings out, but now I save em all. The E 1st and B 2nd are not actually bronze but silvered or nickle steel and make great tower rails and ladders as well as hatch handles and levers

**He Who Shall Not Be Named** · 08-31-2014, 09:01 PM

After considerable delay, I'm back onto the 1/72 Type-9 fittings kit project.

All the master and tool work is done, and I've cast up the first lot of resin and metal parts. I'm working now to work out a streamlined fittings kit manufacturing methodology. In concert with that I'm forming the specialized holding fixtures and jigs needed.

The weekend started with my working up the drilling fixture for the rudder mechanism. This tool -- guiding the drill bits as bores are punched into the resin rudder mechanism foundation piece -- insures correct orientation of the .092" diameter drive gear operating shaft bore in relation to the two rudder operating shaft bores of the same diameter. The same fixture is also used to drill the .062" hole that is later taped to receiver the 2-56 flat head drive-gear retaining screw.

(I gotta get off my fat ass, the superb Revel of German 1/72 Type-9 kit has been on the market for over four months now and I still don't have a fittings kit ready for market!).

To insure correct mesh between the drive and rudder shaft gears of the rudder mechanism I could not rely on the loose tolerance performance of flexible rubber and shrinking resin. So, I designed a drilling fixture to render the drive gear operating shaft bore. The same drilling fixture guided the drill bit used to punch out the drive gear retaining screw.

This drilling fixture indexed off the pre-existing rudder mechanism foundation rudder bores.

Punching out the bore for the drive gear operating shaft.

Note how the short pins on the face of the drilling fixture insert into the pre-existing rudder operating shaft holes in the cast resin rudder mechanism -- indexing the fixture to those holes. Insuring a close, but non-interference, mesh between drive and rudder operating shaft gears.

As is my want -- all components of a mechanism (wherever possible) are attached mechanically, permitting later disassemble for alteration, repair, or maintenance. Such is the case with this well designed rudder mechanism.

Damn! ... I'm good!

Getting the first batch of rudder mechanisms ready to join the other parts that make up a 1/72 Type-9 fittings kit. Tomorrow: the metal work.

M

**trout** · 09-01-2014, 12:04 AM

Wow, you do good work sir!
Are you thinking forward and aft torpedoes on this sub?

**Von Hilde** · 09-01-2014, 05:35 AM

Clearly, I should have waited untill you did all the work, and ordered a fittings kit. I could have saved tons of time. Good thing thats one thing I have plenty of. I had to cob together a one off set for the Combat hull boat a year before I got an eyeball on the revell. I basiclly used the same design for it as well, but the second time I made a few "improvements" and it went a little smoother. Now that I have a ton of money tied up in PE sets and brass and wood decks, im keeping the boat im working on, ststic display, but I still have the spare hull set Revell sent me to power up. BTW the Nautilus wood deck set is supurb detail and way cheaper than the brass. Augmented with the Eduard PE deck set for the hatches, should be as close to an authentic representation of the real deal.