New Akula

[JIMJAM]

My latest addition to my fleet. Its my fastest sub and has every know gizmo including Auto leveler,Subsafe,water detection. D&E 3.5 WTC. Just finished adding weathering details including waterline.

[tobi-wan-kenobi]

'beautiful!! i have an old graupner 'shark' that i have to get into the water someday, but i think it's not such a great model. where can i find suitable info on the net to get that ship 'sailing' again? and about those 'gadgets' too?
do you have a pool, or does it have an onboard camera to see where you're going?

thanks. Tobias.

[JIMJAM]

I really havent read anything good about the Shark. Its difficult to setup and also really small inside so you dont have any room to add anything. Go to SUBCOMMITTEE.COM. Theres tons of info there. Im in the process of trimming out the Akula with weights. Im trying to get her with just a little bit of positive bouyancy. Right now she sinks when ballast tanks are full. Thats ok in a pool but I operate in lakes where if you loose it its hard if not impossible to retreive. No, no cameras. I operate in semi clear water and at depth of 2-3 feet or just at periscope depth.

[tobi-wan-kenobi]

indeed, not a great model :D i had it in a pool a few times, looked really nice, but i could't stop the leaking and don't have any relatively clear water near me either. i guess i'll stick to heli's and airplanes for now ;)

great website though!

[JIMJAM]

This is a pic of my Russian Akula next to my US Boomer. Both are around 30 pounds each with the Akula at 48 inches and the Boomer 54 inches.

[fgroza]

JimJam,
What kits did you use for your boats? I'm looking at the OTW Type VII U-Boat. I'm not much for the nukes.
I am also getting ready to put together a Corona of which you are flying. I'll keep in touch.

Frank:cool:

[JIMJAM]

The US sub is from an unknown maker but overbuilt and has a heavy sail. The Akula is a scale shipyard. I also like the U-Boats and have built and sold a few Robbe U-47s. I figured out how to set them up with a ballast tank which it really needs but its expensive and tough. Ive looked real hard at the OTW and almost ordered one. Its a little too big and would be tough for me to get around. I owned a 32nd parralel VIIC and it was a monster and weighed around 80 pounds. I will probably get a OTW when Im ready for a 6 month project.

[fgroza]

JimJam,
If you are serious about a OTW boat, perhaps we could get a better deal by ordering 2 kits!!
Have you built any LATINA boat kits? They have a AMSTERDAM tug kit that I kinda like. Was the Robbe U-47 a tough build? Several remarks about Robbe kits say that they are a pain to put together.
BTW- My LHS has your Corona photo set as a screen saver on the store computer!!
BTW2- mY GOOD FRIEND took 2nd place at Toledo in pleasure boats with a Dumas triple cockpit. He machined all of the fittings from 6061 billet!! Nice boat!

Frank

[JIMJAM]

First open water sea trials and all went well. Just like the real Akula, the turn radius is horrible. Im going to make the bottom rudder larger. Pic of sub with ballast tank full.

[JIMJAM]

Underwater pic. Hard to see but trying to take a pic at the same time is tricky. More worried about dropping the camera than anything.

[Trobber]

HEy i am curious The shark ? with the newer servos and such can that save space. I like the look of it and it hasa good size, for yhe pools around me. I have to say very nice work i like the detail in the water line very nice.
Thanks
Travis

[tobi-wan-kenobi]

yes, i have to admit i started thinking about that myself, with some mini servo's there'd be plenty of room i guess. it would be awesome though if i could install a micro camera in the nose, just like the ones used in micro heli's and airplanes along with a strong light bundle, and be able to go a bit deeper than visual range. has anyone tried this yet? gotta go dust it off and check it out!

[lupy]

I haven't tried this with a sub, but I have dove in murky lakes with lights, the biggest problem is glare from all the silt. When I was doing some sport dives on BoraBora, the video guy had lights mounted 1.5ft on either side of the camera and you could still see a little glare off the silt even in those clear waters. difficult to do in such a small nose. Maybe mount the camera in the tail tipped down and illuminate from the nose?? or visa versa Unless you are going real deep, it's probably not worth the hassle. I would try a B&W camera with as low a lux as you can get and wait for bright days.
Ken

[JIMJAM]

One last pic of the Akula. I had to sell her to afford a more expensive toy.