Scratch-built 1/96 Oscar II

[KevinMC]

Okay, here's a shot of

Okay, here's a shot of that "sanding sponge" I was talking about before.



It's a 3X product that I found at Home Depot. I've found it very handy for sanding surfaces that curve in two directions at once.

[KevinMC]

Wednesday night's progress]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/new_hull_bottom_glass_draped.jpg

Next, using a

Wednesday night's progress]

Next, using a clean paint brush (I keep one round just for this) dry-brush down the cloth onto the surface to be covered. Start from the middle and work your way out, carefully working out any wrinkles that may develop.



The action of dry-brushing the cloth builds up a static cling that will hold it tight to work surface, even on the undersides of large-radius bends like the bow of the hull.



Next, mix up some slow-cure epoxy and pour some onto the hull. As always, start from the center and work your way out.



There are many ways to spread the resin out, I've taken to using old business cards as they're flexible, can easily be double/tripled (or more) up for added stiffness, and are disposable when I'm done. I've started by spreading out the resin along length of the center of the hull.



Once wetted out, the white cloth will turn almost perfectly clear.



After completely wetting out the center section, start "pulling it down the sides" of the hull adding more resin as necessary. Do this a little bit at a time in wide sections starting at the top...


and finishing up about 1/2" beyond where the glass cloth will be trimmed back to.


Work all aound the hull and before you know it there's nothing left to do but kick back and have a cold one.



As with the top side, allow the epoxy to cure up for several hours, then with a sharp (clean) blade, trim back the excess and lift it away.



I'll go back tonight and fill in the weave with another coat of epoxy, then I'll be ready for sand'n'prime.



Edited By KevinMc on 1134061082

[tmsmalley]

Great photos!

Great photos!

[KevinMC]

Thanks Tim, although I can

Thanks Tim, although I can only take part credit this time.

Wow, time flies when you're not paying attention! I've completed filling the weave of the glass. This was done by simply mixing up more epoxy, thinned with about 15% alcohol, and brushing onto the hull. Since I'm still using the slow cure stuff there's lots of wait time. Once cured, the hull gets sanded smooth until most of the shiny spots are gone or I've sanded down to the weave. Next we go back to the icing to put the final shape on the bow. I also noticed I had an "indentation" on the lower portion of the hull on either side of center, so this got filled as well.





Also, during some of the wait time I primed the new fin and glued the towed array housing into place on the tip.



That's all for now. I have to build a spray booth in the basement (now that it's too cold to spray outside) so it'll be a few more days again 'till I get anything new up.

[KevinMC]

Still plugging away. (Groan!)

This is

Still plugging away. (Groan!)

This is out of the booth from the first coat of primer. The primer has shown a number of areas that need to be touched up, either taken down a hair or filled up a little, to final tweak the shape so that's what I'll be up to over the holidays.

[anonymous]

Kevin,

It looks great man. This

Kevin,

It looks great man. This is the part that takes the most time. Preen, sand, primer and do it again. Been there done that. Your so close. Great job!

Steve

[novagator]

Did I miss a couple

Did I miss a couple of steps? Why are you priming it at this stage? I thought this was the master to create the molds for the hull.

[himszy]

Kevin,

Sorry that this question is

Kevin,

Sorry that this question is a bit late,

Why have you thinned the resin with alcohol?

Love the thread,

Michael

[pirate]

And what kind of alcohol

And what kind of alcohol did you use? Is it polyester or epoxy resin too?

Pete

[KevinMC]

Thanks Steve, it's always an

Thanks Steve, it's always an honour to recieve accolades from someone as accomplished as yourself. This is definitely the slowest part of the whole build- lots of time for only minor changes. But I also recognise that patience now pay dividends when the hull comes out of the mold.

Novagator- You didn't miss anything, I'm priming to further even out the surface. Even though I've been filling the surface by brushing on thinned epoxy, I'll get a much better finish with spray applied, sanded primer. I've decided I'll be making hard-walled molds, so having a glass-smooth surface will greatly ease de-mating of mold from plug.

Michael- I thinned the epoxy to make it spread more easily. Right out of the bottle it was just too thick to brush on, and since I was looking to be able to fill up the cloth weave and level the surface out, thinning the epoxy out seemed to be the right thing to do.

Pete- I was thinning with straight (99%) alcohol purchased from the local drug store. (Not to be confused with rubbing alcohol which has a significant amount of water in it.) The resin is System 3 epoxy. I've been using it for years with really good results.

[KevinMC]

Well, I hope everyone had

Well, I hope everyone had a great holiday. I don't have too much to show, but I did accomplish some. I sanded down the primer I shot before the holidays, trying to get the surface down to a good finish.




Next, I started marking the hull where I'll be placing panel lines. I've decided I'll put major features such as missile doors and such right into the mold. Here I'm marking where the upper row of limber holes will go down the upper side of the hull...



And here is the doors that cover where the bow planes extend from.

[KevinMC]

I also started re-building the

I also started re-building the bay that houses the towed radio buoy. (I probably should have done this before...) The details of how is was built are essentially the same as last time, but here's a couple of shots again anyways...







Also visible in these shots are the lines that show where the cruise missile doors will be.

[eloka]

good to see the progress.

good to see the progress. i love russian subs

regards Dirk

[gotland]

Kevin,

what I especially like in

Kevin,

what I especially like in this progress is, that You show it all very detailed. This here will be a great help for all beginners to make a hull from scratch!

This is another great thread which has to be added to the list of "first-class-building-threads" over here.

Keep the candle burning!

Lothar

[KevinMC]

Dirk, Lothar- Thank you both,

Dirk, Lothar- Thank you both, I'm so glad you're enjoying. Although I'll have to take your word that what I'm doing is a good guide for beginners- remember I'm a beginner at subs myself!