1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

[tom m]

This is a project I have been wanting to do for a long time.
So I figured there was no time like the present to get going on it.

I have always liked the Sturgeon class lines and thus it was an easy choice to
model this particular boat.

A little bit about myself here.

Name: Tom Mihelich, full time Chrysler Seating Engineer.
Location: Troy, Michigan
Pond to Patrol: A number of small local locations to run at.
Model Manufacturer: Scratch Made
Scale of Model: 1/48
Type of Ballast System: TBD, I think I will have a bit to decide this one.

I hope everyone enjoys this build thread and of course all comments are welcome. That is what this
is all about after all.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS Grayling SSN-646 Sturgeon Build

As the set of plans I have are in 1/96th scale (Deep Sea Design Plans) I needed to expand them up to 1/48th scale for my project.
I first scanned them into Photoshop and then scaled them up to the correct size.
I then brought them into my 3D Studio Max modeling program and created a 3D model in 1/48th scale.
This model will come in very handy for the separate components I will need to create.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS Grayling SSN-646 Sturgeon Build

Now it is time to cut the hull out.
My plan here is to take full advantage of the 3D model and my CNC machine as much as possible.
Here is a shot of the Ventric 3D Cut program (along with VIsualMill) I am using for the project.
It takes the model and slices it up into pieces which will fit on the CNC table.
From this the G-Code cutter paths are generated.
I also divided the hull down the centerline so I could cut the 1/2 hole in the center to mount the foam sections
on a straight pole to keep everything straight as the sections are glued up.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS Grayling SSN-646 Sturgeon Build

After about 7 hours of setup and cutting, here is the front portion of the hull.
I have to say it came out very well.
All that is needed is a light sanding with some fine sandpaper to clean it up.
Being able to rotate it around the centerline pole makes working on this hull very easy.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS Grayling SSN-646 Sturgeon Build

Here is a shot of the CNC cutting out one of the center section foam slices.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS Grayling SSN-646 Sturgeon Build

This morning, (before the Canadian Grand Prix )I was able to get the center section foam slabs cut out.
I needed 11 sections (22 pieces) for the center section.
Would you believe I ran out of foam with 21 pieces cut out. Doh!
Oh well, going to need more foam for the rear section anyway.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS Grayling SSN-646 Sturgeon Build

This afternoon I made it back to Lowe's and picked up another sheet of blue foam.
I finished the one remaining center section foam piece and applied them to the assembly.
I did treat the rod with a touch of Vasoline just to make sure I could slide this bad boy off when ready.
She is starting to show her size now.

[greenman407]

Re: 1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

Man o man what I could do if I had all the tools that youve got!

[greyakula52]

Re: 1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

Great Going!
I'm Glad To See and Read About Another
Modeler Of 1/48 Scale.

My Current Fleet:
Alpha, Akula II, SeaWolf Class (SSN-24 SeaWitch § My Version)
And SSBN 656 George Washington Carver
Gato Class "SeaWitch" No Hull Number And A 1/48 Scale Type IX.

Keep Going!

Capt.Andy

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

Thanks Andy.
I did complete more of the rear sections yesterday and only have 10 remaining to do.
I should have all of the foam work completed by this weekend.
I am looking forward to the next steps of working with the epoxy.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

Today I finished up all of the foam section and tacked them into place on the centerline rod.
After a light sanding to smooth it all up I added a coat of epoxy over the enter hull
to lock all of the pieces together.
Now that's the way to use up a 12'x4' amount of blue foam.
Next I will add a nice sanding filler to all of the joint seams to fill them in.

[JWLaRue]

Re: 1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

Tom,

Very nice work and equally nice execution as well.......it looks like you are proceeding on a very clean build.

-Jeff

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

After a nice round of golf with my Dad this morning, I came home and applied
a coat of icing to the seams of the foam sections.
This is pretty cool filler paste, it starts off red and when ready to sand it turns white.
Boy did I miss my calling, should have been a cake decorator.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

Layed the first coat of primer down yesterday after sanding down the filler.
This evening I gave it another coat of epoxy with a talc filler in it to thicken it up
for maximum filling and ease of sanding the epoxy.

[tom m]

Re: 1/48 USS GRAYLING SSN-646 STURGEON BUILD

I am sure there are a thousand ways to do this very same thing but I just wanted to post how I go about it.

After I sanded down the pink (turned white when ready to sand) filler, I then layed down a thick coat of white
latex primer. Once that was dry overnight, I then over the course of 3 nights layed down 3 coats of epoxy in which I had added a talc filler into. This built up a nice thick layer of epoxy. Fairly un-even as you might imagine using a 2" brush to apply it.
Next, I sprayed a coat of automotive primer to the entire hull.
Once that was dry, out comes the long T bar sanding block and 80 grit paper.
I start on this radially with a forward-rearward motion to avoid getting any flat spots.
As you can see from the picture below, as the Grey primer begins to sand away it leaves a really nice contrast
to the white primer. In this way it is very easy to see exactly where the low spots are and as you work them with a large overlapping sanding stroke they slowly start blending away. The talc in the epoxy also makes it much easier to sand.
I left a portion half way done just to show the progression.
I have used this high contrasting approach before on airplane fuselage work and it pretty much leaves a perfect finish the first time through. It will take me a 3 or so more days to work my way down the hull (no need to rush things) to get the entire hull to this sanded state before the next steps.