From: DMeriman@aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, August 07, 2007 10:50 PM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: R/C'ing the Revell 1/72 GATO Class Static Submarine Kit, Part-29
R/C'ing the Revell 1/72
GATO Class Static Submarine Kit, Part-29
A Report to the Cabal:
I'm in the home-stretch
building up a GATO kit for Mike Caswell. This boat will be operating at this
years SubRegatta and when not in the water will be residing on the Caswell Inc.
vendor table under the big tent. If you make this years event, give it a
look-see.
The kit has gone
together with little change from the instructions ... well, as far as the
detail items go, that is.
I've had it in the water
and its floats upright, and to the designed waterline. And I'm pleased to see
that I have more than enough ass to push this thing along using two Graupner
400's geared three-to-one.
Let's get up to date on
the build:
I've left the lower
skeg, stern planes and rudder off till I've finished the major grunt work on
the hull ... why attach these removable items only to put them at risk as I
handle the model during work up on the superstructure, deck details, running
gear and other items?
I've welded the
propeller guards in place -- these parts are dead-serious practical
devices on this model: just as on the real thing, they work to keep collisions
at the stern from clobbering the two overhanging propellers. I've filled some
of the gaps between the receptacles molded in to the hull and the strut pieces
with red Nitro-Stan air-dry lacquer based automotive touch-up putty
applied with a stiff brush. After it dries I rub it down with steel wool and I
have a neat well filleted transition between struts and hull. Before the putty
dries I dip the brush in lacquer thinner and rub the putty to pull it into a
uniform fillet -- learned this trick from an old Pattern Maker.
Since the models of the
GATO I'll be building from the fine Revell kit will be practical r/c models,
representing boats 'rigged for sea', I omit the deck stanchions and life lines.
The square recesses for those items molded into the hull had to be filled with
Evercoat and sanded smooth. Here you see some of that work after sanding. A
coat of primer and the evidence of their existence is gone.
The sail went together
just as the instructions told me -- Wow! is there a wealth of detail to the
sail and guns! I did the big deck gun version for this model. Note the
semi-circular opening in the leading edge of the sail for a Caswell Inc.
Up-Periscope video wireless camera-transmitter.
Brian Starks put me onto
some fine, braided wire for use as the life-lines that string through the
little holes of the six forward gun platform stanchions. The stiff wire was
flexible enough to make the semi-circle, but strong enough to lend quite a bit of
rigidity to the life-rail assembly. The kit provided sewing thread was totally
unsuitable for the job. Thanks, Brian!
The only major gap
filling was at the top of the look-out station and at the edge were the after
end of the curved fairwater meets the sides. Other than that, everything
was a near perfect fit. I departed from the instructions in the matter of the
small, vulnerable ladder rungs that run up the sides of the sail -- I've
deferred putting them in until all assembly, seam filling, sanding and priming
are done. Only then will those items be attached. I've also omitted from the
build some of the outriggers that support various antenna runs -- better to
leave them off than have them break off!
Once all the putty and
filler work had been worked with files and abrasives, I gave everything a very
heavy, wet shot of 131S, DuPont, Lucite brand, Automotive acrylic
lacquer primer. I love this stuff! It went on heavy enough to fill scratch and
tool marks, but dried thin to preserve the small rivet and other details molded
into the sides and deck of the sail.
Test fit of the sail and
guns -- starting to look like a WW 2 era fleet boat!
Neat! I'll steal Brian's
idea of using magnets and employ those magical little devices to hold the gun
and sail to the deck.
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