Starting out in Subs

[FAA]

Well I did it !

I took the plunge.

After years of thinking about it, I decided to get into submarines. I joined the Subcommittee and picked up two subs

The Dumas USS Bluefish, which I will modify to a 3" WTC with balast tanks and a Robbe U-47 which I also will use an Engle 750 6v Piston tank, an auto pitch, and an accurate armour CT.

May sound a little much to some folks, but I have been flying aircraft and heli's for twenty years, the five last being electrics 90%, so I have plenty of experience in the hobby.

Plus the fact that I have a 40 x 20 ft pool and multiple ponds all around me, will give me something else to "fly" during those windy New England days.

I will be starting some threads here on ezone as I begin construction so stay tuned. Many mods to show.

I have done much reading about in the various subs sites over the past month and have come to the conclusion that the sub community is much lacking in the areas of propulsion and power that the electric aircraft and heli community have. I will be presenting some new mods in this area.

Nick

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Welcom aboard,

Looking forward to some interesting articles.

Aimee

[skippy hop hop]

i am starting to but with the simplest of subs i cant afford eny more than simple stuff just a elavator rudder throttle thing i picked up for $200 8 years old good condishion (i talk about planes a lot)

[JIMJAM]

Do a search back a ways and Ive posted a TON of pics of various subs Ive owned or still have. I love all aspects of rc and have planes,helis,cars and monster trucks. Subs were the final frontier and I figured combining water and electronics,sinking them and getting it to come back up sounded fun. Ive owned 3 Robbe U-47s and while pretty to look at, NEED to have some sort of ballast. I considered it but got into the 32nd Parallel boats.Good luck and be sure to post because this forum is DEAD.

[ChrisS]

JimJam

Where are you finding 32nd parallel boats? Have'nt they been out of business for years?

Chris

[BrittB]

Ebay is one place. You could also go to Subcommittee.com and post a want ad.

Britt

[Tachikaze]

Yeah Britt!
Now with you on the forum you can help me get the Surcouf in the water:D

[BrittB]

How close are you to making that happen? Last I heard, you had moved it to the back burner. Did you get the Shimakaze finished yet?

Britt

[PLANE FREAK]

My old magazines have ads for 32nd Parallel subs that I have had for years. I always wanted to have a German U-boat of some type.

My second choice would be the Russian sub the Akula which is now available as a 33 inch kit from Dumas.

My third choice would be the Nautilus from 20,000 Leagues under the Sea. I have the plans in a 1983 Best of Scale Ship Modeler. It looks like a pretty involved project since it has a very complex hull. I know how to make fiberglass molds so if I built a hull for a sub I would want to mold it.

[BrittB]

A good source for U-Boats is The Scale Shipyard. Lee has the Type IV in a couple of different scales. There is also a Type VII from Robbe which isn't too bad except it's a dynamic diver which means you need forward motion to dive. There are others out there too. A little homework will see you through.

The Dumas stuff are toys. Unscale and cheaply built. You get what you pay for.

If you mold the Disney Nautilus, be perpared to pay out a royalty check. Copywrites a pain sometimes.

Britt

[PLANE FREAK]

Thanks for the info Britt.

I'll take a look at The Scale Shipyard. German U-boats are a favorite of mine. They are good looking subs but how well do they perform as a model. Sometimes when you scale things down they don't work.

I have several articles and plans for the Akula so I may have to scratch build that one. Too bad the Dumas boats are toys but thanks for the warning. The web pictures are so small it is hard to tell.

I believe you can make one Nautilus for your own personal use without Disney coming after you. If you made more than one you could get into trouble. The reason for molding would be if you lost or damaged it you could recover faster. It would be alot of work and if you lost it .....

[Nemo]

Originally posted by PLANE FREAK
I believe you can make one Nautilus for your own personal use without Disney coming after you. If you made more than one you could get into trouble. The reason for molding would be if you lost or damaged it you could recover faster. It would be alot of work and if you lost it .....

Been there, done that. Now that my Nautilus is in the water, I've got my master model and molds collecting dust on my shelves.

Anyone want to do some trading?

http://www.rc-sub.com/images/modelpics/final3.jpg

http://www.rc-sub.com/images/modelpics/moldinside.jpg

http://www.rc-sub.com/images/modelpics/maiden2.jpg

[CA'ed fingers]

Hi Nemo,

The Nautilus is in line as my next sub. Yours looks great, and it's canadian.... I'm interested in some trading, is there an email adress I can use?

eric

[FAA]

What did you have in mind for trades ?

By the way, your model looks great !


Nick

[Nemo]

I dunno. I'm open to almost anything. I've got over $600 in materials alone for the molds, and several hundred hours in the master.

I'm looking for a good 4 channel surface radio setup for my 1:72 Nautilus and Spanish Galleon. Also a 7 channel+ setup to replace my VG600 (I've got lots of plans for more features).

RC Sub models would be good, too. Maybe a really cool surface boat?

If all else fails, money is easy to ship :)

Anyone interested can feel free to contact me by e-mail at bob-m@shaw.ca.


Thanks for the interest.

[FAA]

How about producing some models from the molds you have already ?

[Nemo]

AAAHhhh! Disney lawyers are notoriosly scary people.

Besides. I don't have the time or energy left to dedicate to doing up proper kits.

Nah. I'll try to find a good home for the both my molds and master.

[PLANE FREAK]

Hey Nemo, (Fellow Canadian)

Nice job on the Nautilus. You must have spent a ton of time on research and even more making the master. Then you made moulds and then you made the sub.

Did you use microballoons or gel coat for the first layer? How did you capture all that surface detail with very few bubbles ?

Did you use epoxy laminating resin or polyester resin. I feel epoxy is nicer to work with but polyester is cheaper but more brittle. The catalyst will turn your eyeball to stone so you have to wear safety glasses and be careful.

Do you have plans in DXF format ?

[reaper]

nemo,that one pic is at thetis lake???.Did you go to the recent subcomIP victoria sub run???.I couldnt make it,maybye ill see you at cultas???,Cheers!,reaper.

[Nemo]

My model has a layer of white (blah!) gelcoat that's about a sixteenth of an inch thick, then there is a single layer of polyester resin and cloth underneath. Made for a really light hull. I think that the total weight was something like six pounds for both top and bottom together!

I sure did make it out to Thetis for the Regatta. Not a huge turnout, but some great boats were there. I hit the boat pond on the Saturday, too, but running a 14" tall model in 18" of water is pretty scary. I've already got a lot of scrapes along the keel to show for it.

Come on up here any time. There are better lakes than Thetis around. I hear that there's one just north of here with visibility to 30' or so!

[PLANE FREAK]

Hey Nemo ... What is the length of your Nautilus ?

How many rivots did you put on ?

What motor / gearbox / prop / battery combo do you use ?

Where did you get your plans from ? I saw some for sale but they look the same as the ones I have in my magazine. Here is the link to the plans

http://members.aol.com/ccspevam/20k.html

[Nemo]

Hmmm. Ya, I've got those ones posted on my website at www.rc-sub.com. They're not 100% accurate, but definitely good enough for most people to build a great model from.

My Nautilus is 1:32 scale, or 66.5" long from ramtip to tail. I've lost count of the rivets that I've applied somewhere after 20,000 including the original ones and the 'redoes'.

She's powered by a 12V radiator fan motor from a car (10 pole, 2.5"OD, 3"OAL, 1800rpm). That's motor's strong enough to require a pair of pliers to stall the shaft (and it's a struggle even then). I'm using a direct drive to my prop, and it's all powered by a massive 12V, 12Ah sealed lead acid battery.

My prop is the authentic 'sledgehammer' style as seen in the movie. Its a single piece of 1/16" aluminum mounted to a hub and bent to the proper angle.

A full writeup can be found on my website at www.rc-sub.com, including hundreds of pictures.

[reaper]

Nemo,good stuff....30ft deep visibilty?,holy smokes....shanigan lake??......I was talking to romain & a few of the guys about when the subcomIP run will take palce at Cultas lake in chilliwack...august perhaps???...Cheers!.

[U812]

Nick,

You sneaky dog. I'm a closet submariner too. My Dad worked as an engineer on the Skip Jack and USS Washington plus a few more so subs have always been in my blood.

Was thinking of converting the new Revell U boat to RC as I have one on order. They were in the LHS and I failed to get one at the time. The next day they were gone and on back order.

Steve

[instrblah]

Wow, RC submarines amaze me... I'm considering a dip in that direction. Presently I 'm a rc sail boater(3 yrs). I'm not the greatest tech ..in fact , I'm lacking in that direction! Considering the DUMAS AKULA as a starter..I'd hate to spend the cash and mess it up on construction..Any pointers for the 1st timer on sub kit building... Thanks
Ivan

[instrblah]

Is there online classifieds for rc submarines for sale or trade etc?
Ivan

[CG Bob]

Sub Swap (http://www.subcommittee.com/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?;act=SF;f=8) courtesy of the Sub Committee (http://www.subcommittee.com/) .

[expfcwintergreen]

The Dumas AKULA is a good first boat. Buy it from SubTech/Mike's Subworks and they include an upgrade to the seals, as well as various packages. Plenty of threads around on construction (including a great one by Steve Neill in this forum).

Another great kit is Subtech's ALBACORE. I actually prefer this one over the Dumas boat.

If you don't want to do a lot of building, and would prefer to lay down some more cash, Dave Manley of Small World Models produces some excellent kits; BLUEBACK, OYASHIO, TRAFALGAR and KILO.

Last, but surely not least, the ThorDesign PERMIT is a well engineered simple kit. This can be purchased from Atomic Subs.

The nice thing about this hobby is there are plenty of people around willing to offer help. We've all been in your shoes at one time or another. Be not afraid!

Chris

[instrblah]

Chris,
Thanks for the INFO AND ENCOURAGEMENT!
Ivan