R/Cing an Icons or TI 31" Disney nautilus - Heavy beasties...

[Guest]

Hi,

I don't know if anyone has been successful in RCing one of the Icons or TI Disney nautilae.

I know Bob Martin is working on a TI version, and I have an Icons/Scott Brodeen version.

I don't know how heavy the TI version is, but the Brodeen version is very heavily cast in what looks like polyurethane resin.

Obviously, they never intended it to be used as a working model, because a quick and dirty bathtub test revealed that block of foam of roughly 480ml was required to lift the thing to the correct waterline.

Hmmmmm, not a lot of freeboard on the nautilus either.

480ml equates to 480 grams of weight- over a pound for a 31" model!!!

Quite a big ballast tank, plus with that amount of top weight, I'll wager you'll need some lead in the keel to keep the thing laterally stable.

Solution? Either dremel down the original, time consuming and potentially disasterous, or remould using a lightweight epoxy glass layup.

Using the latter method it shouldn't be too difficult to reduce the top weight to 50%- a 240ml tank is a much nicer size.

The rest of the boat should prove simple, because with the cheap and readily available miniature R/C equipment, there's plenty of room inside the hull.

Andy

[bob the builder]

Andy,


My TI Nautilus will be

Andy,


My TI Nautilus will be a surface runner only, I'm afraid. Reason being that I'm modelling a complete salon interior which takes up a lot of room inside the hull. It will be a dry hull arrangement, so she should float fine.

Now I just have to get everything to line up right and I'll be OK... (BAD castings).

[Guest]

Ahh, I see! I thought

Ahh, I see! I thought the saloon interior was for static only, and was going to be removable for use in the wet stuff.

I saw the warpage on your castings, pretty nasty.

Actually I think I'd have been inclined to send that wheelhouse back, it looks banana shaped in the photo's.

I'm glad my icons boat didn't have any problems like that.

Cheers

Andy

[bob the builder]

I had Scott's 30" model,

[color=#000000]I had Scott's 30" model, and I foolishly sold it to a fellow in Italy.

Don't get me wrong, I think the TI kit has lots of personality, and I'm sure that Lee's master is a work of art. Unfortunatly either his materials or his casting skills are poor.

Many of my parts are bady warped. It will take some time with my oven and a lot of patience to get things fitting properly again. That project is on hold until I get my 1]

[tk-7642]

Wouldn't the watertight compartment itself

Wouldn't the watertight compartment itself be over 500 ml and provide the needed flotation?

[Guest]

Well yes.

If you want

Well yes.

If you want to build a dynamic diver, just over volume the WTC/module to allow for the top weight, or add foam to bring the boat to the correct waterline. Then use power to dive the thing beneath the surface! Simple, effective, but not a true submarine IMHO.

What I'm referring to is a static diver, with a ballast tank here, so what ever it takes to raise the thing above the waterline, is what is required to sink it!
So the tank would be full when you wish to submerge. 480-500 ml is quite a large tank for a small model with low(ish) freeboard. It's much better for the boat and the operator, if you can reduce the top weight.

Any additional bouyancy reserve provided by say extra volume in the module/WTC would need to be dealt with by placing lead in the keel (which would further assist static stability).

Cheers

Andy



Edited By Sub culture on 1073924591

[ron]

Bob,

Did you ever talk to

Bob,

Did you ever talk to the vendor on the problems you encountered? I was very interested in this kit, but based upon your posts I probably would choose something else.

Ron

[tliebeler]

Hi Ron. The "vendor" you

Hi Ron. The "vendor" you spoke of (total Immersion) is no longer producing the Nautilus kit. His cut off date was 12-31-03 and I called 2 days later and begged for him to sell me one but he said absolutely not.

Ahhhh well.

-t

[bob the builder]

Ron,


I'd call Sci Fi Matters

Ron,


I'd call Sci Fi Matters out of California. Thier Brodeen kit is a very nice replica, well priced, and expertly packaged, marketed, and put together.

E-mail me if you have any specific questions. I'd be happy to chat.