Nautilus Smoke-and-Mirrors

[bill harris]

Ever since the mid-1950's this kid has wanted to build a model Disney Nautilus. I'll do that eventually, but I don't need to jump into the quagmire of large-scale subs right away-- I need to work up to that insanity.

This boat has a very commanding presence on the surface of the water. The wheelhouse, top deck and tail fin are distinctive. I am thinking that you could do a "smoke and mirrors" mockup, building a modern RC "atomic sub", like a Kilo, and adding a proper-looking Nautilus superstructure to the upper side. And lights, plenty of bright lights. Not good scale, but "stand-way-back-and-squint" scale.

The Trumpeter Kilo will be a good start to learn RC sub basics and could easily be bashed into a stand-off scale Nautilus later on. The plastic kit inexpensive and WTCs and other hardware are readily available. The Kilo is about 23" long and I quesstimate that the bashed Nautilus will be 30-ish inches.

Whatcha think? My first scale sub will probably be a WWII German sub, but building the Kilo would be good practice even for that.

Here is a cut-and-paste of a bashed Verne-Kilo:

[redboat219]

Why not just get this.

Why not just get this. Comes already to be RCed

http://www.nautilusdrydocks.com/Brodeen31.html

[bill harris]

I may try that some

I may try that some day. But I'm a scratch-builder, and $450 for a resin shell ready to be converted to RC is a bit steep. Were I going the large scale route, I'd go with something like Bob Martin's 1:32 (66") fiberglas hull.

This may be a bad impression/opinion on my part, but I'm thinking that cast resin is like Bondo and somewhat brittle, my preference is laid-up fiberglas. What is resin like in a large kit-- is it like styrene plastic?

--Bill

[carcharadon]

Resin hull with mat is

Resin hull with mat is very tough.

Mine stay outside in the weather all year round.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1112362

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Jetnautilus/

Cast resin brittle but still durable unless it takes a direct blow. I use cast for the parts, sometimes with mat. Either way not much of a concern. I've busted rakers hiting things, but easy to repair.

[bill harris]

Resin is more durable than

Resin is more durable than I remembered. Rather than Bondo, I was thinking more of the polyester resin used in auto fiberglas work.

I've been reading your 4' Nautilus thread over on RCG. Too bad the thread got sidetracked and closed.

--Bill

[carcharadon]

I had to flood it

I had to flood it (the thread) with photos before I found I had the option to close.

I closed it, I can open it, but I've been getting pms instead. If I open it just more crap so for the time I'll just keep it closed.

Seems some of these vendors resort to these gimmicks.


Polyester resin, (fiberglass resin) very hard and brittle but tough enough for most parts. I would prefer to add mat to the hull but even without the mat still durable but harder to build layers. The mat adds resilience and reduces brittleness.

[raalst]

if you need inspiration for

if you need inspiration for the Kilo have a look at mine.
it was the most fun I ever had with a kit worth 20 bucks
http://www.modelbouwforum.nl/forums/dui ... ost1218123

[carcharadon]

Hey Bill, if you want

Hey Bill, if you want to try a hybrid experiment I have a top half hull which I can’t use. I made it too sturdy, it’s heavy and thick. Yours if you want it, I just would want shipping and handling?






Tom

[bill harris]

if you need inspiration for

if you need inspiration for the Kilo have a look at mine. it was the most fun I ever had with a kit worth 20 bucks.

Great build on the Kilo, Ronald.

Besides the low cost, the Kilo for seems like a good place to start with RC subs, even if I don't end up bashing the kit into something else.

--Bill

[raalst]

yep. but it *is* on

yep. but it *is* on the small side.
I have sometimes looked jealously
to the people building an r/c trumpeter seawolf.
If you have "thick fingers", check that one out as well.
it allows you a bit bigger WTC.

[bill harris]

That is a good idea,

That is a good idea, Ronald. I'd seen the "1:144 Seawolf" but assumed that it was a similar size. This boat is huge-- 3 inches diameter, 39 inches long gives a lot of room.

I've never been one of the "bigger is better" crowd, but I know with trainer aircraft, size helps visibility and stability. Even a large sub is a small fish in a big pond. Bob Martin has a build article for this sub at his website http://www.caswellplating.com/models/seawolf.html for the RC conversion.

--Bill


edit-- corrected a typo

[bill harris]

A little Seawolf sidetrip here...

What

A little Seawolf sidetrip here...

What is the hull diamter of the Trumpeter Seawolf 1:144? Some sources say 3", some say 5". For example, Bob Martin says 3", but the photo of the box art at his website shows a size of 747mmx126mm (29"x5").

Minor, but it bugs me...

I don't think there are two versions of that kit. Online I _think_ that the Trumpeter part # is 5904. I'm going to call my LHS on Monday and see if they can get me one, if not, where is a good USA source for mailorder? Caswells?

--Bill

[petn7]

A little Seawolf sidetrip here...

What

A little Seawolf sidetrip here...

What is the hull diamter of the Trumpeter Seawolf 1]http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_confused.gif[/img]

I don't think there are two versions of that kit. Online I _think_ that the Trumpeter part # is 5904. I'm going to call my LHS on Monday and see if they can get me one, if not, where is a good USA source for mailorder? Caswells?

--Bill

The ID of the Trumpeter 1/144 Seawolf is about 3 inches. I use a 2.50" pressure hull in mine.

You can buy this kit from TowerHobbies.com (they spell seawolf as two words, though).

[bill harris]

I did some more checking

I did some more checking and that "126mm" is a factory typo on all their spec sheets. I'd suspect that 126mm (5") is the conning tower top to boat keel height. Not a big deal, I fidget over details sometimes.

The Trumpeter part number is indeed 5904.

Trumpeter has a large number of ships and subs. Website page of warships is:

http://www.trumpeter-china.com/war513/p ... classid=21

Tower Hobbies is one of the dealers that the US distributor (Stevens International) deals with, which is good since all three of my LHS carry the Tower line and can at least order it

--Bill