Durability of R/C'ed polystyrene kits

[tom dougherty]

A curiosity question on my part. Never have built an R/C sub, and never will, but I am curious as to the durability of polystyrene kits such as the Revell Type VII-C and Trumpeter SSN-21 when they have been converted to R/C. A lot of folks have been excited about using the polystryrene static kits for R/C, and I've seen a lot of excitement around the upcoming Revell Gato for the same reason. I know that many of the R/C hulls are built of more durable GRP, and was wondering how well polystyrene plastic holds up with repeated water immersions and the inevitable collisions with the bottom, rocks, etc. Also, does one use the kit polystyrene railings, guns and other fittings, or replace those with more durable parts?

[bigdave]

Hi Tom,
I can only

Hi Tom,
I can only speak for myself, but I have had good luck with the plastic kits. I have braced them up in the seams with plastruct strips, and added some bulkheads. Since they are a bit flexible they tend to absorb the shocks of my collisions. I ran my Connecticut full speed into the side of a cement pool a few weeks ago. (And she is quite fast) Except for a few scrapes on the bow she was fine. For the most part I use the guns, railings, and other fittings that come with the kits. You do have to be careful. But I can say I have broken more railings and scopes off in handling the model than running it in the water. I would like to get some other inputs on this question. Thanks Tom! Great question. BD.