SF Harpoon Scratch Build

[elec_tech]

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Progress continues......

[elec_tech]

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Progress Continues.....



Edited

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Progress Continues.....



Edited By elec_tech on 1150648914

[KevinMC]

Hey Dan, looking great!

Sorry I've

Hey Dan, looking great!

Sorry I've not posted an Icing photo for you yet- I read your request on Sunday but haven't been able to "get things together" enough to get you a photo.

I've actually found it under two different labels. Here's the original stuff I was using]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/Materials.jpg[/img]

I'll try to get a shot of the "other brand" tonight. It seems to be the same stuff, same tube, just a different label. I bought both kinds from CarQuest.

[elec_tech]

Thanks Kevin,

I printed off that

Thanks Kevin,

I printed off that photo and tried my local Lordco Auto Parts store and all they had was some reinforced purple filler of some kind... I didn't think that was a match. We don't have CarQuest here on the west coast...I looked up their web page and they are stricly the east coast. RATZ!! I'll try some other auto body places around here to see if I can find it otherwise I might try ordering it online. I'll have to wait for delivery but if it's as good as you say it is... it'll be worth the wait I'm sure.

Thanks Kevin, I appreciate your help!

Dan

[elec_tech]

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Progress continues....

[elec_tech]

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[elec_tech]

After I figured I had

After I figured I had everything sanded down to my satisfaction level, and before I sanded to much of the icing away making the whole job pointless I laid down a couple heavy coats of high-build primer. I intend to run a light 400 grit sandpaper over it later to flush out some of the surface scratches and unfortunatly some of the paint runs. Getting into the pointy area around the deck proved a little difficult and I oversprayed a little. Here are some pictures of the hull all painted up. OOOOO EEE it's hot!!













This however is my favorite pic of them all... I just like the way the light hit it and how the glare shows off how smooth and consistant the hull is.



Overall I'd say I've been very productive of late and it feels great! I'm really enjoying this build.

Progress continues......

[Guest]

Good work Dan. She's looking

Good work Dan. She's looking like a boat now.

Have you thought about internals?

I'd reckon on a dry hull configuration- think of Big Dave's Sushi.

Tech rack, bayonet ring (or DIY equivalent).

Leaves plenty of room for lots of batteries!

Andy

[elec_tech]

Yup, I have been starting

Yup, I have been starting to think about internals and as nice as Daves Sushi is with a dry hull I think I am going to stick with my original wet hull idea. I've emailed Dave about purchasing one of his Kilo experimenter WTC kits with an RCABS system. We'll see how things go from there.

For the motor and ESC I think that I am going to try and go brushless however I haven't gone so far as to price it out yet. Price is a bit of a factor for me so if it's too much I'll probably go with a standard Speed 540 and either NI-MH or LiPO cells. I have a couple Speed 700BBs but that might be a little overkill!

I have a 4 channel Hitech radio and servos so I'm good there. I'll look at maybe getting an APC and the sub-tech xmix adapter but that should be about it. let me know if I've missed anything.

As for work on finishing the master, I have the sail to do yet, the forward dive planes and the x-tail planes to cut, sand and finish yet. Then I've got a few hours of work yet adding whatever details I wish but molding should be right around the bend.

Thanks for your comments Andy!

Dan



Edited By elec_tech on 1150991583

[scott t]

Boats looking good.

Your post on

Boats looking good.

Your post on making your boats helped motivate me to start mine, though I am a little stalled at the moment. Keep the updates coming it helps everybody.

-Scott

[elec_tech]

Thanks Scott,

Sounds great that

Thanks Scott,

Sounds great that you're starting your own build! Make sure you post a build thread so we can see what you're going to bring to the table.

Dan

[elec_tech]

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From there I

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From there I sanded it down to give it it's semi-final shape and moved on to adding one of the main details.... the hatch area. If you look at the first pic you'll see the detail shown on the top view plan. I took out a hole saw, matched it with the plan and presto... instant recessed rough hatch area. Naturally I sanded that down and test fitted the piece on the sub.







Here's where I took a risk, instead of fiberglassing it and waiting untill tomorrow to work on it after the resin cured I tried something different. Knowing that the Icing that I've been working with sets solid in 10-15 min, I mixed up a small batch and rolled the sail in it completely covering it. I let it set and began sanding it back into shape.



Now it wasn't a huge risk as I could've always started over and gone the glassing route but I am pleased to say that the risk payed off big time. I was able to continue working all afternoon because after sanding it back into shape it was a solid as if I had glassed it and smooth as anything.

Following KevinMc's build thread, I masked off the deck area the sail was to be fitted with green painters tape. I couldn't find packing tape and this stuff released just fine so I was ok with using it. I placed the sail where I wanted it to be and mixed up another small batch of Icing. I applied some to the bottom of the sail and squished it on so that the contour of the deck was captured and then using my gloved finger I dabbled a little bit of Icing around the edge of the sail so I could fillet it in.

[elec_tech]

So... I got hungry, had

So... I got hungry, had dinner and then I got back to work for a short while. I cut away most of the excess Icing and sanded the rest down to suit my design. I gave it a quick shot of primer and set it in the sun to bake(it was that nice a day). Now I guess it's fair to mention that I used a combination of 80, 120 and 220 grit paper depending on the area and detail level I was at.





While the paint baked I started cutting out the stern planes but I didn't get very far tonight and I'll talk about them more when I finish them. At the moment they're next on the agenda... that changes as often as my design does!

After I was satisfied with the dry paint, I picked and preened at it a bit and probably will some more later but that's the way it goes. I also positioned it in place and took the jump and scribed it into place, took a few photos and called it a night.







That's about it... more when I get the chance.

Progress continues....

[elec_tech]

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I spent the

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I spent the next little while sanding them down back to where I had them, only with a thin layer of Icing on them to seal the balsa and smooth them out. Balsa tends to still be a bit grainy, even when sanded down with 220 grit so this cleaned them up nicely. Next was a shot of primer and they are now on the bench for detailing and filleting.



After I worked the dive planes I picked up the piece I cut for the stern planes. I intend to only make one master and cast the four I need for my model from Alumilite. I had cut the basic shape out according to my plans and from there I took my designers discretion and continued to work the piece. I followed exactly the same route as before... sand.. Icing... sand and prime. It is also now on the bench waiting to be detailed.

[elec_tech]

Earlier this week I stopped

Earlier this week I stopped by my new LHS and picked up some small styrene strips/rods as well as the material to make molds (liquid 1 to 1 RTV from PolyTeck) as well as a pack of Alumilte. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with all of this great stuff.





Anyway, having these pieces on the bench is nice an' all but I had a hull staring at me all afternoon begging me to start detailing it. I've had ideas floating around my head all week trying to get out so I figured it was about time to let them out.

I started basically just playing with the styrene strips. taking one out and bending it, twisting it and placing on the hull in different spots to see what different ideas would look like. I finally settled on an idea that looks fairly sharp and I went with it. I can't really describe it so here are some photos to speak for me. I secured the styrene rods with thin CA and filled the rear area with the smallest bit of Icing.





Now I'm not sure what it's actually supposed to be but being an SF sub... I'm sure the little SF crew knows what it's for and how to fix it when it breaks

Moving on... I next tackled an idea that's been trying to get out ever since I saw something similar done by Steve on the Blueback. It's a simple weld line but I felt it adds a lot of character to the design. I pulled out my 1/32 crepe tape and laid out a bit of a weld line pattern on the bow. Trying to get these to match on each side was very difficult and time consuming but I managed to do it and keep it in line with the design. I really like it!





I also took a shot tonight at laying down some flood hole patterns on the bottom of the sub. They're not the best squares in the world...and I did it by eye but I think I'll be able to clean that up when I build the actual model.





Since I don't know when I'll be able to work on it again and I don't want the crepe tape pulling up or any of my vent masks falling off I gave it a quick shot of primer to kindof tack it all down. It also cleans up some of the mess I made with some of the CA and the detail sanding.

That's all I have for tonight...





Progress Continues.....