What's the best "first kit" to build for an R/C sub?

[sam reichart]

The new Blueback kit based on the SWM tooling is a great starter boat with very detailed instructions. For a first boat, it's darned near ideal. The rear tail assembly come pre-installed with linkages and control surfaces as well, making it a breeze to get put together.

Bob

Yep, I mentioned that model in my posts. I remember when Dave came out with that model and how popular it was. Plus his cylinder mated to it very well; if I recall correctly, the servo connectors sort of fell in place with the control surfaces?

[sam reichart]

Bob Martin- aside from the Blueback, in your opinion, what else is a good candidate for a first time boat?

[thor]

As mentioned earlier, the Permit is an excellent starter boat and has just undergone a complete kit update to make it even better. There is a very extensive instruction manual that goes along with the kit. The kit is fabricated through extensive use of top quality epoxy glass and carbon fiber to reduce the use of fragile urethane resins.

[sam reichart]

hmmm.. "reply with quote" seems to be misbehaving...
Thanks Matt! I knew your Permit would be an option.
From past experience with your kits, I know they build out quickly and easily. I built Dave Burkett's Alfa (not including ballast system) in about a week or so. That was getting the boat to the point where it had its appendages added, holes opened and primed.

From you experience, what other models would constitute a good first kit, if one were looking for, an older class of sub?

[thor]

[QUOTE=From you experience, what other models would constitute a good first kit, if one were looking for, an older class of sub?[/QUOTE]

Sam-Really the only "older class" submarine kit I would recommend would be Bob Martin's 1/48th Type VII from Arkmodel. It is not a simple kit, but is fairly easy to assemble and get in the water. The builder needs to understand that the older boats have a lot more "fiddle bits" to place on the boat, so the build time will be longer than a modern boat kit, but the rewards are there if they can stay with it!

[sam reichart]

Sam-Really the only "older class" submarine kit I would recommend would be Bob Martin's 1/48th Type VII from Arkmodel. It is not a simple kit, but is fairly easy to assemble and get in the water. The builder needs to understand that the older boats have a lot more "fiddle bits" to place on the boat, so the build time will be longer than a modern boat kit, but the rewards are there if they can stay with it!

it is an awesome kit. If I weren't so damn pig headed on using the photoetch addons, I could have had this built in a week. It really was designed to be built for R/C, and the plastic that it's made from looks like it will easily stand up to some "running in the water" abuse!

[PaulC]

I had a real nice experience with Matt's Permit kit starting out. It went together well and there weren't any major parts to fabricate. The boat performed well and looked great on the stand or in the water.

[bob the builder]

I really wish the Thundertiger Neptune was still out there. It was really robust and highly featured with great upgrade potential. The replacement unit is nearly twice the price, unfortunately. Something RTR is the way to get started, provided it's simple enough to trouble-shoot without knowing how it's put together.

Any modern nuke boat is fairly simple to build up. The higher the quality kit, the more likelihood that it will go together easily and without frustration on the part of the builder. I agree with Andy about the Arkmodel Type VII. It's a great kit and easy (if time-consuming) to assemble. The 2.5" SubDriver fits in there nicely and getting it all to work is very straightforward.

So much of your first experience hinges on your passion for the subject. I'd advise picking something that interests you. Passion for the project will carry you through a lot of frustration.

I actually wrote a blog article on this very subject just a few weeks ago. You can read it here.


Bob

[sam reichart]

I really wish the Thundertiger Neptune was still out there. It was really robust and highly featured with great upgrade potential. The replacement unit is nearly twice the price, unfortunately. Something RTR is the way to get started, provided it's simple enough to trouble-shoot without knowing how it's put together.

Any modern nuke boat is fairly simple to build up. The higher the quality kit, the more likelihood that it will go together easily and without frustration on the part of the builder. I agree with Andy about the Arkmodel Type VII. It's a great kit and easy (if time-consuming) to assemble. The 2.5" SubDriver fits in there nicely and getting it all to work is very straightforward.

So much of your first experience hinges on your passion for the subject. I'd advise picking something that interests you. Passion for the project will carry you through a lot of frustration.

I actually wrote a blog article on this very subject just a few weeks ago. You can read it here.


Bob

Awesome post Bob. Thanks for the link to your blog. That's got some good insight for sure.

[PaulC]

I agree, Bob. The Thunder Tiger Neptune was a great first boat: fully static so you learn all the fundamentals but less assembly than a full-on kit. A sub in a box. I believe it is still available as the TTR Seawolf. It's an upgraded version with a better prop, etc.

I've also been around Jeff Portous and his SWM Blueback for years and found it to be a great way to get in the water if you want a scale boat that carried torpedoes in 1:1 scale. I'm still amazed at how maneuverable that boat is. It travels well, assembled quickly and looks good on the pond. It's been Jeff's main boat going on 20 years. He's traveled the country with it (air and car) and it keeps on ticking.