Trafalgar Class - HMS Trenchant in 1/72 scale - Magnetic End Cap with piston system

[salmon]

Bought Erich's Trafalgar when he first posted it for sale. Was hoping to build it and sail with him at the next SubFest, well sadly that will not happen, so this build is done with Erich in mind.

I am going to do this one as the HMS Trenchant (S91) in the color scheme that the sub only had on for a short while - in 1999, the blue dazzle dazzle camouflage.
The only reference photos I can find are these:

Not sure if the photo above was the Trenchant or another sub or if it was when the paint was first being put on. I will assume it is the Trenchant.









This next photo was shared by a gentleman that worked around or on the Trenchant. He mentioned that this color scheme was for more tropic or Mediterranean regions, but never got tested in those waters. He also mentioned that the paint they used did not last long at all.

[salmon]

Here are the photos Erich sent me of the one I purchased.













OTW builds a really nice hull!

[wlambing]

Tom,
The boat in the pics is Trenchant. She's the only one to get that scheme. HMS Torbay had a very small splash of the light blue on her sail with the hull sides a very dark, sorta purply blue. There are some more pics on the 'net, including a nice artists rendering that illustrates the scheme very well. Also, Brian Cliffe posted some nice pics/videos of his boat in Canadian waters some years back. I think there are some good ones in past SCRs. I'll look and see what I can drag up and will let you know.

Take care,

Bill

[salmon]

Bill,
Thank you!
The more reference the better!
Looking at the photos, it looks like the sad and some portions of the sides had tiles. So, that is what I am going to run with.
Using a Sharpe pen marked areas that I need to cut out or be careful about.




I was a little bummed the aft planes were one piece, so I will need to cut this up and make it work.

[salmon]

So to create the tiles, I 3D printed a pattern using a resin printer. When you complete a resin print you are supposed to cure it, until you do there is some flex in it. I used that flex to create a wrap for the sail. Using rubber bands to apply pressure and keep things snug against the hull.

In Nevada we get a lot of sun, it's not hell, but I can see it from where I live.
Once cured, The rubberbands can come off.

Began working on scopes and masts.

Cout out or drilled areas for the things I will add.





Also added a floor for holding the scopes and masts.

[wlambing]

Tom,

The sonar bubble on the aft edge of the sail is completely wrong, but do what you are doing!!!!! All edges of the "applique" should have a fillet applied to give a 45 degree transition bevel down to where it meets hull/sail plating. The Small World Models kit had that done very nicely in the original molding. Got distracted, but will be picking that little girl up in the work schedule again soon.

Take care,

Bill

ps- NICE WORK, very CLEVER!!

[salmon]

Thank you Bill!

I made 3D scopes and masts. This took a LOOONG time to make. The English are very protective of their stuff. So, I made these as close as I could. Also some things changed with time, so I needed to be mindful of that.






I am amazed at the details I can add. There are bolt heads around the base.

[wlambing]

Nice! Entering the realm of museum stuff! That art piece I mentioned was a Color Guide from White Ensign Models (now defunct?) that I found on the net and used for many years as wallpaper on my EB 'puter.

[salmon]

WEM had some great paints for matching original colors. I thought they got bought out by someone, does anyone know if they still live somewhere? I wonder if Wayback Machine has a snapshot of their old website?......Hmmmm may have to check.

The sail is put away for later work (like add lights, railings, and other details).
Erich had purchased the pump jet for this sub and it is a beauty. Then I got it in my head, can I make this in 3D? So, I played using plans I had for the Trafalgar and was able to come up with a decent replica.


I chucked it up in my drill and used the kiddie pool as a test. While is did O.K., it seemed to choke out at speed. So, I printed a second one with fewer blades. That made all the difference in the world. It pushed plenty of water through it.




Made a couple of alignment jigs to keep the shaft centered while affixing the pump jet.


A lot of filler and sanding to get a nice smooth taper.

[salmon]

I did a water test on unpainted resin parts to see what the longterm effects are for submerged parts made from the resin I am using.

So, there is some swelling and it seemed to taper off after 3 days in the water. I did notice after several weeks parts became soft. How soon after? I stopped measuring and did not pay attention.I figured after a few days it is not important because our sub are not in the water that long and are also painted. So, the impact of parts swelling to our hobby is minimal. Interesting, Once I removed the parts, within a day, it was firm again and swelling was already down substantially.
Just an FYI.

[salmon]

The aft dive planes, for me, needed to be re-done. It comes as one piece, but the plans show it as two pieces plus some towed array on the ends.

Cut and drilled.....drilling gets me in trouble so the many attempts made it a cavern that I filled later once the shaft went through as it should.

There is a 3D piece on the end for the towed array as shown in the plans.

Coated with Nitrostan and sanded.

The next two photos are the same process. Coat, sand, prime, sand, coat, sand and on and on.




Once I was happy with the master, Madde a mold and cast a pair of planes.



Plane after removing from mold and put together.


Prime and ready for paint.

[salmon]

The rudders were mostly simple (again laughable if you know my drilling skills). The lower rudder a 1/8 brass rod was inserted. Sanded and filled and primed.


The upper rudder needed some modifications. There is a notch on the plans and so I added it to mine. I drilled all the way through and inserted a 1/8" tube not solid. My thought is I will run wires for a light. If you look towards the right or top of the rudder you can see one of the unintentional exits while drilling that I filled.



Inside the aft I made some alignment pieces that served a couple of purposes. One, to bolt into and other was to add a clip to where the two parts (upper and lower) of the hull match up. I marked any rods that needed to be cut back.

Used brass tubes as bushings for the rudders.

A couple of layers of fiberglass to strengthen the mated pieces and assembled all the pushrod horns, washers and bolts.


On the outside of the hull I made tiles to match the plans and the photos.



The aft where I separated the tail cone from the hull needed to be cleaned up and fill gaps.
Once I put a layer of Evercoat Metal Glaze down and let it begin to set, I run a metal shim through to make my parting line.

If you look closely you can see the line.


Oh, I forgot this photo
This is how the bow planes are installed.

[wlambing]

Tom,

That notch in the upper rudder is for clearance to the large pedestal bearing that the rudder blade sits on. IRL, the bearing protrudes out each side by a couple of inches. Took awhile to do on my Upholder, but I got it done. Looks way more betterer than just a clean blade. Lookin' good, dude!!!

[salmon]

Thank you Bill!
I am close to getting the build caught up to where I am now.

[salmon]

The sail is secured to the hull with a couple of screws. In the sail, I cut some Garolite to fit fore and aft in the sail. I epoxied nuts in there as well. When I am closer to final finish, I will add some washers inside the hull for securing the sail.


The four legged fluffy bottom monster knocked my sub off the bench. I was pleased this was all that happened to the edge.




Used masking tape to create a dam and filled with Bondo. Sanded to shape and blend the outer edges. The inside edge I did not get to crazy on, but left it a little thicker for strength.



If you zoom in you can see a small edge. This was coated with CA prior to re-painting.

The hull gets another coat. This will not be the final coat. Each time I coat it, I see other areas that need fixing.









Currently I am baking my sub.....I want to see what 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 Celsius). Will the 3d printed stuff pop off?