GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Stern tube areas are complete and I have started piercing the internal cylinder with 3/16 tubes that will ultimately protrude from the top and bottom of the hull. Two of these will provide mooring points for later. Once I get the two tubes in place, then I'll do the final alignment to the hull and I can lop off the forward section of the hull and seal up the aft end around the cylinder.

Cheers,

Dave

[steveneill]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Beautiful work!

Steve

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Thanks Steve. A lot of boring prep work this weekend. Nothing picture worthy. Hopefully something good coming soon, but unfortunately I am pulling triple duty starting tomorrow with a new job, wrapping up a yard project and working more on this boat.

Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Ohhhh, now I have gone and done it! I finished putting in the supporting pieces on the port bow and then I made the big cut...and both bow sides are separated from both stern sides...



I did it quickly...like ripping off a band aid so that there was no chance to turn back

Then I started clearing holes in the hull for the support rods that pass through the inner cylinder. These will allow me to slide the finished model onto a simple mount and help tie the cylinder into the hull to further strengthen the whole thing as I do the extension.



Amost there...probably have the stern halves together this evening...we'll see.

Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Well, I got the two stern halves joined around the internal cylinder. Not the greatest fit, but it is tight together and I added a strip of plastic to the upper seam that will be below the superstructure just for some added strength. I have some detailing work on the stern that I think I will do next (just tweaking the flood holes that are between the tubes on each side) and then I'll probably move on to adding the bow section on and then building the inserted section's outer hull. Here's a few shots of the stern section and cylinder together with the port side of the bow taped into place...

Full shot from the side...



Close up showing the size of the extension...



Shot from above...



As I think about it, it makes the most sense to me to glue on the bow kit parts and then work on adding the extension hull in before moving on to doing more work on the bow... makes sense right? Seems the most obvious choice, but want to make sure I am not missing something...


Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

So, some more work got done. I added in the spacers top and bottom of the cylinder for the extension. I also added in strips to provide support at either edge of the extension. Not all that exciting, but here are the pics...







Progress has slowed since I have had to pull all the display models down to the work room in preparation for having the tile on main floor of my house be replaced with hardwood. I still have to move my hundreds of reference and history books as well...



On the very bottom of the pic is a Holland that I need to refurbish...and six finished revell lionfish that are hidden under the table.

Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Got around to doing some more work. I finished up the work on the torpedo tubes, but I haven't taken any more pictures of that. After some clean up of the inside of each bow section I went ahead and glued the ribs in place for the extension and added the bow sections...



That was followed by starting with the bottom layer of the skin. I did each side separately instead of trying to wrap it completely around the section...




After the first layer was done on each side I dryfitted the top layer I intended to use (a thicker sheet that could take more sanding) and then put some shim pieces in to even everything out...



A very thin layer of sheet was put in place and then covered with the thicker final layer. I grabbed my trusty pencil just to show where the weld lines would go in...



Some sanding is required to even everything slightly, and I obviously need to fill the keel strip, but once the weld seams are made, any remaining discontinuity should disappear since there will be a seam at the forward and aft ends of the insert.

I guess I am going to go do some yard work for a while so I can take a break and get ready for a night of work.

Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

I promise I am making progress. I will post some pictures over the weekend hopefully. Underways and time as acting CO are cramping build time.

More to follow.

Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Ok, finally a couple pics. Working on replacing the deck. from the first pic, you will understand why I put in the spacers underneath to provide support to the entire structure. It also shows how I am putting the plates in in sections instead of trying to make a huge insert at once. It also gives me a chance to realign stuff if needed. The second picture shows a couple more plates in place and it is conveniently sitting on a set of Mike Keating's sail templates sized to 1/144. More to come tomorrow hopefully.







Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Ahh, more progress. So, I glued Mike Keating's North Atlantic Sail diagrams to a sheet of plastic and cut (with mini-Dremel and cutting wheel) out each of the parts. You can see the results in the first picture. I wasn't highly concerned about making them look pretty because the insides aren't going to be seen obviously and I am going to clean it up as I go. I held up the center piece to my drawings and realized I need to add a plastic piece to reshape the aft end of the sail. you can see the piece in the second picture...butt-join with some scrap reinforcements. I have permanently added the bottom two pieces with some cut tubes for stability and reinforcement. I have also decided to cut out the front section of the sail and rebuild to match the internal setup of the sail. The main problem right now is that the deadlights are going to fall near the one level piece. I also need to make sure the deck of the bridge is at the right height. So, there is some surgery to do. I also have to figure out how to do the deadlights, but I am currently thinking I might pour a clear resin mold in place and basically have a thick backside to them (throw out ideas if you have them). Anyone happen to have pictures of the bridge area on a NA sail? I have some looking down from Yorktown onto CLAMAGORE and I used to have some for REQUIN from the museum, but I can't seem to find those at the moment. So, if anyone can add clarity as I plan my detailing, I'd appreciate it.






Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Well, I continue to slowly pick away at the sail. I am trying to put some semblance of the bridge cockpit and lookout positions as well as the enclosed bridge area in, so I have needed to adjust Mike Keating's plans a little more. The fun part is that I am kind of working backwards. I set the original pieces together and now I am going back and cutting parts out and moving pieces to form different decks and rearranging where different stiffeners fall to form the shape. Inefficient, sure. But, it has been a little more fun I think...or I am just kidding myself. Unfortunately, good references are impossible for me in these areas, so I am using some best guesses on a few things that will be basically unnoticeable I think. Here are a couple pics... you can see the athwartships section I put in as the rear bulkhead of the internal and upper bridge areas...I would almost assume as I think about it that a healthy chunk of rear bulkhead would be missing to allow for free flood. I will probably trim a fair some away and maybe build up some scope shears...not sure. I may have to cut my tubing that I have as some extra structural support...whatever. This is the fun of modeling, right?






Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

And the sail work continues...added some internals for the snorkel mast base and the exhaust plate base. You can also see the bridge deck is in place...




I cut a new sail top...adjusted the dimensions slightly and drew in general marks for all the antennas and openings... other than the bridge itself...



And then I started adding pieces to the underside to form the aft cavity for the snorkel induction head, the recess for the two periscopes and the recess for the radar housing. Once the walls were in place, I Dremel'd out the tops and sanded the edges down as necessary. I have also done the cuts for the lookout stations. Plenty of cleanup and a few more holes to open up as well. I looked through a series of pictures and Tiru's plans to decide the most correct topside arrangement. From what I can tell, the arrangement of some masts shifted over time and this setup fits for Tiru in later life.



Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

As always, as soon as something get done, you get the reference that refutes it. One of the former JOs on TIRU contacted me last night to give me sail info. One initial comment was that their radar was not retractable...so I need to remove the well I made. He is going to provide more reference material after the weekend, so I guess I am stuck for a bit.

Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Well, I am still waiting for some feedback from the Tiru guys to move ahead further with the sail, so it is back to the decking. With the length increase, the bow section that is planked moves forward, but that left me with a chunk that is the attachment for the forward end of the sail vice "planked". So, I cut that section out and shaped a scrap piece to fit. Here is it before being glued up.



I also continued doing the limber holes that run along the superstructure at the bottom of the plates. My process has been to glue pieces of .040 x .040 square rod in and then trim the inside and shape it to angle to fit the curve of the hull. Tedious. At every structure panel I put two pieces of rod side by side based on the plans I have. In this picture, you can see that all the doubles are in place on the top edge and most of the singles, with some trimmed and some not. The bottom edge only has the doubles. To the left (aft) you can see where I laid in some .015 strips to cut down the gap some to fit the plans. I will use .020 x .020 square rod there.



Side shot showing the further along side...



And the aft end where I had to fill the holes and make a capsule shaped hole (it still needs to be shaped some). I filled the holes with 3/64 rod.



Cheers,

Dave

[ssn705]

Re: GUPPY III Conversion - USS TIRU - 1/144

Still working on the limber holes along the sides of the mid and aft superstructure. I also started adding in the basics of the extension of the superstructure to match the hull extension. So close to the heavy duty bow work.

Cheers,

Dave