Assembling the Arkmodel 1/72 KILO kits ... that's right: kits!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

It's a very nice kit. And just the right size at 1/72 too. The hull parts and sail are well executed GRP hand lay-up, nominally .080" thick, with a well distributed white gel-coat which is bubble-free. The hull and sail feature lots and lots of engraved and proud detail work. And that's the only problem: the panel lines and other things that stand proud are way over-done. But, that's why God gave us sandpaper ... no big deal. Symmetry is very, very good on all parts -- looks like CNC and laser measurement were a big part of this kits gestation period.

The thin hull and sail means you won't need much volume in the ballast tank to get this beast to the designed waterline.

Feng's on my ****-list, so I don't communicate with him. Sometimes the truth is a stranger to him. And his business practices suck! But, his skill (or is it the skill-level of his little elves?) at engineering, materials selection, and production methods are top notch. And this 1/72 KILO kit is an example. This guy is one hell of a Model-Maker!

If you can snag this kit, DO SO! But beware: his delivery time can be very, very long. So, buyer beware! If you corner Feng at a trade-show and he has product there to sell, do it that way!

Here are the other items you get with the kit -- I omitted the nice (if you can make out Mandarin) instruction booklet, and GRP hull parts. Comprehensive.You get an acid-etched brass fret, some water-cut plastic structural parts, and parts to build this thing as either the Project 877 or Project 636 class. But the propeller provided (cast resin, carbon re-enforced?) is right-handed, not left-handed and only represents the wheel used on the 636 boats. Damn!.... gotta build another ****ing propeller master, tool, and metal parts! IT'S NEVER EASY!!!!?????

M

[trout]

Yeah, I missed that....being lazy.
I am impressed even more with the hull.

[greenman407]

Earlier He said GRP and Resin

[trout]

This is not a styrene hull then?

[greenman407]

I am watching with interest Mr. Dave. I assume this model can be had off the Website?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

I laid down some #100 sandpaper on a flat board ... a super-sized sanding block if you will, where you shove the model along the block, not the block around the model. I used that to produce the flat at the edge of the lower hull. I sanded till I was to the lower of the two parallel waterlines previously marked onto the hull to denote the 3/32" of material that would be lost to kerf (during the cutting), and sanding needed to true up the edge of the lower hull.

I then roughed out the material on the upper hull till its edge was about even with the upper marked waterline. And then set about the task of building up, from CA and baking soda, the edge lost to kerf. After the build-up I block-sanded that edge till it was true. Then test fit the upper and lower hulls for a look-see at how tight the equatorial seam was. Going back to the CA-baking soda trick and sanding as required.

M

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Learned something new. I like how you used brass strips and screws to hold the pieces together. Nice! I am just going to sit back and learn.

Yes, very useful when you have to hold assemblies together as you affix GRP re-enforcement on the inside. Here is another example of using brass straps to hold sub-assemblies together before bonding them permanently.

[trout]

Learned something new. I like how you used brass strips and screws to hold the pieces together. Nice! I am just going to sit back and learn.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

So, my Boss, Mr. Caswell, shows up to take charge of a turnkey job. And after he shoves it into his car he drops a big box at my feet. Within are two beautiful Arkmodel GRP and resin 1/72 KILO kits. Joy! By now I know the drill: I build 'em both up as turnkeys -- one for Mike. One for me. Neat!

They've been sitting here while I work to get out from under back-orders. This week I played hooky from the production work and set about the task of making an equatorial cut at the waterlines and gluing together the bow and stern pieces. What I got with the two kits were assembled forward and after hull halves with the radial break near the bows. Huh! Them inscrutable Chinese, ****ing with me again! We'll fix THAT!

First off, I don't think this kit was supposed to have a GRP hull initially -- I think old Feng was going for a blow-molded hull with a short cast resin tail-cone. Anyway, that's what I surmise from the comprehensive but confusing instructions: a delightful mix of chinglish and Mandarin; that coupled with the fact that the illustrations point to a homogeneous hull and tail-cone, but what is provided is a radially split forward and after hull halfs that are to be joined with a very flimsy looking plastic bayonet-ring type union.

Feng would have you build this r/c submarine as a dry-hull.

Hell no. These are gonna be wet-type hulls, split into a top and bottom, with honest to God Sub-driver's in 'em! Anything else would be un-American, by cracky!

So, I tape the bow and stern together as straight as I can, mount the hull on my molding board, strap it down, and use my waterline marking tool to establish the kerf zone. As long as I keep the cut within those lines I will be able to later accurately re-establish the height of the lost material (eaten up by the cut-off wheel used to make the equatorial cuts) and make it back up with filler or CA-baking soda.

The surface of the board is my reference plane (datum plane) off which all vertical measurements and tool heights are set. I strap the model down with sail-twine (the wax impregnated weave will hold a knot once cinched down). Under the hull, glued to the mold board, is sandpaper which keeps the model from sliding around.

The twine straps are glued at the top of the hull to keep things from rotating out of alignment as I press against the work with my man-eating moto-tool death-machine.

Of course I did not cut all the way around the hulls -- the areas under the twine straps, and at the extreme bow and stern were left alone. Those connecting tabs between upper and lower hull would later be hand-sawed off once I strapped the radial break to hold the bow sections in place once the equatorial cut had been completed. Note the use of brass straps and machine screws to hold the bow and stern pieces together -- this done before making the final hand-cuts to complete the equatorial separation of upper from lower hull. Also, like the fine little Trumpeter 1/144 KILO kit, I elected here to make the break at the boats designed waterline -- much easier to hide this break with the book-topping and scum line. ... always thinking!

The only jog away from the single-plane equatorial split was at the bow. As I wanted this to be a torpedo shooter (my boat anyway!) I made this vertical transition so I could keep all the muzzle doors on the lower hull.

All that hacking and slashing out of the way, I re-enforced the radial breaks from the inside with fiberglass tape and some hot formula West System laminating epoxy. Tomorrow, when I get up, I can take off the brass straps and lay down a wider piece of re-enforcing GRP over those breaks. Then on to the never-ending job of getting the kerf lost edges built back up and trued.

M