A little creative stimulation?

[Stephen Vick]

OK,
First let me admit that I build submarines to scale from real prototypes, I haven't built any fantasy stuff.
Anyway I find it fun to check this site from time to time to see what is doin on the fantasy side of our hobby. I must say it has become quite stagnant, the discussions seem to center on the many different versions of Nemo's Nautilus , voyage to the bottom of the sea and not much else.
I bring up this point because I have been waiting with baited breath for one of you to build the fighter plane/ submarine hybrid from Sky Captain or the Gungen sub from Star Wars Episode 1 ? These are great fantasy subjects, and I am sure there is a plethora of documentation on them.
Lets not forget the range of subjects from comics or fantasy literature.
I miss the time a decade ago when we saw some really creative stuff diving the waters of our regattas, you guys are (or should be) the lunatic fringe that keeps us on our toes and reminds us to think outside the box. I don't mean any offense, but I would sure like to see some new and crazy stuff comming from this side of the hobby.
What do ya say guys?
V/R
Stephen Vick

[bob the builder]

I agree. I get awefully

I agree. I get awefully tired of seeing the same nuclear sub fleet pics over and over again.

I've seen pics of the Gungan sub successfully R/C'd, though I haven't heard of the plane from Sky Captain being done yet.

I've got plans for the Nautilus from the ABC miniseries to be used for R/C, and I'd really like to see a completed SeaQuest sub.

[robert]

Well, one of my longer

Well, one of my longer term plans is a scratchbuild/kitbash of the Helldiver sub described in a couple of the Doc Savage pulps. But first I need to learn enough about Subs to find a likely kitbash subject. Right now I doubt I could tell the difference between an Alpha and The Skipjack.

A description of the Doc Savage sub is in The Polar Treasure, originally published in 1933, and again later in The Phantom City. The Helldiver is a diesel sub designed to go under the Polar Ice]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_smile.gif[/img], portholes in the bow. The runners appear to protect both the top and bottom of the hull.

So far I haven't seen any sub kit which is remotely close to meeting the criteria. It's not a roomy sub, so if it's 100 yards long and cigar shaped it can't be any too large in diameter. It sounds sort of like a cross between the original Verne Nautilus and the Aluminaut.

[boss subfixer]

Bob,
Seaquest seems like it would

Bob,
Seaquest seems like it would be a hard one. Building it would be one thing, and propelling it through the water wouldn't be too hard but how to turn it looks to be the trick question. As far as up and down RCABS could do most of that but you would still need a way maintain trim. Do I sound like I'm off base or on the right track? I too would like to have a seaquest and I've been pondering these questions. I've even looked at my static model to see if maybe I could somehow convert it, It's pretty tight. Oh yes, The Gungan submarine would be pretty cool too.
BSF



Edited By Boss subfixer on 1116619858

[bob the builder]

Well, I think there's lots

Well, I think there's lots of possibilities with the Seaquest. The central spherical section would work great as a ballast tank. The rear vanes could work well for rudders / rear planes, though I'd be more inclined to go with a tilteable rear propulsion assembly. A main drive battery running on rails would be even better to maintain trim.

So many projects... so little time.

I can't wait to retire!

[petn7]

i think vectored thrust is

i think vectored thrust is the best bet with the seaQuest. using those 4 rear tentacle/vane thingys would probably be easiest, but most un-scale like and therefore completely out of the picture (in my opinion). one thing i've wondered with vectored thrust is, where would the intakes be?

[Guest]

http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/Seaquest6compr.jpg

http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/ACF4406.jpg

Not my work, but a





Not my work, but a talented professional model/pattern maker called Andy Cox.

These shots date back about 12 years. Project was mothballed, as he was busy starting a family (more fun than modelmaking, but more expensive I guess!).

Last I heard, the kids are older and he was back on the beast, so maybe I'll get to see it in the water one day.

Andy

[petn7]

nice model, but those intake

nice model, but those intake vents are making squirm

[boss subfixer]

Those are nice pictures, My

Those are nice pictures, My hats off to Andy. I seem to remember them from the old web site. I have more pictures of his boat from when I first saw it posted if anyone is interested.
The tiltable rear propulsion system sounds interesting. I was thinking of maybe having the bow section being able to tilt a couple of degrees up or down. I know the real (?) Seaquest does'nt do this but what the heck. Either idea seems like it would be slow to respond to direction change. Maybe a combination of the two would work better?
I agree the center section would be good for the ballast tank with radio gear fore and aft of it.
So far as the the rear vanes those should work but if you look at them real close they only swing out and back, the vanes on top and bottom would essentially be your planes and the vanes on the side would be your rudder.

Hey how about instead of a tiltable bow section using clear lexan as bow planes? like what our Japanese brothers did with the Voyager spaceship conversion to submarine.



Edited By Boss subfixer on 1116700496

[robert]

/em ears prick up

Voyager Spaceship

/em ears prick up

Voyager Spaceship sub? Is this a bigger version of the rare Aurora kit from the 60's cartoon? If so are there links?

I'm hoping that eventually (this year maybe) Lunar Models will re-release their upgraded large version of the Animated Voyager...

[boss subfixer]

Robert,
no not the 60's

Robert,
no not the 60's comic version but the 90's star trek version. If you go back to feb 4 of this year in this section of the forum you will see a post by Model nut with a topic of "not a real sub but". It a really cool video.

[robert]

Ahh, too bad. The 60's

Ahh, too bad. The 60's Voyager would look cool under water (being capable of it in the comic). Of course it has no moveable control surfaces, but that could perhaps be fixed. The lunar kit is in resin, I guesstimate about 12" bow to stern, but isn't currently available. Here's a pic of the Aurora buildup]http://www.fantastic-plastic.com/AuroraVoyagerPage.htm[/url]

I believe at least one person on the web has scratchbuilt one of these in larger scale, but I don't have the link handy.

[boss subfixer]

Thats pretty cool looking. It

Thats pretty cool looking. It doesn't seem that it would be that hard of a build if you could find more pictures. Propelling it through the water would be easy, the three ports in the back could house a pump jet of some sort. Make the tail section movable like an air plane maybe. Give it a ballast system to get it under water and your off.

[robert]

I have .jpgs of the

I have .jpgs of the instruction sheet for this kit but that doesn't really count as 'more pictures'. I well remember the kit though since I built it as a kid. If/when the Lunar kit comes out, it's almost large enough to build a submersible version of, though it's resin. The kit wouldn't be too hard to built out of fiberglass though a it's mostly simply shapes. My plan is to buy the Lunar kit when it becomes available then to produce drawings from which a fiberglass kit could be made for RC.

[Guest]

Those are nice pictures, My

Those are nice pictures, My hats off to Andy. I seem to remember them from the old web site. I have more pictures of his boat from when I first saw it posted if anyone is interested.

You'll find the other pictures on my members homepage. Just click on the little 'world' icon at the base of of this message.

Reckon that Voyager would be a fine candidate for vacforming.

Not a difficult subject to model. Get to it.

Also I'd suggest you email Lunar, and ask if they'd be willing to share drawings with a fellow scratchbuilder.

Andy



Edited By Sub culture on 1117040218