After months of procrastinating, I finally decided to pull out the 1:350 Scale Titanic from Minicraft and start the R/C conversion. Power will be a single S-280 motor turning the kit supplied middle prop only. The outer shaft fairings will be in place, but no props will be installed there. Guidance will be a simple 2 ch. set up.

At 30.25", the length is great, but with a beam of only 2 7/8", the challenge will be to get to stable running. I think I'll fudge the water line up 1/8' - 3/16" and ballast till she's stable. That'll be much later though, so for now, let's get into the project.

Oh boy I am ready lets get going...I bought the kit when it first came out in the early 70's. No photo etch in those days. This should be fun.

Since the model will use only a single S-280, the prop shaft was made up from 1/16" brass wire. The stuffing box is 1/8" O. D. brass tube with a 3/32" O.D. tube, 1/2" long, soldered into both ends.

Getting the hole drilled into the aft hull was a bit tricky due to the angle needed to work around the rudder hinge post. The process started with a .039" bit hand drilled into the boss to insure the hole was centered. Then progressively larger bits up to 1/8" were run in to open the hole for the shaft.

The shaft was installed and Cya'd in place, with a 3/8" block to support the front end. The motor will be glued in place with silicone using triangle stock for support with a plastic tube flex coupler to connect the motor to the shaft.

PAT

Grav, I picked up the "Upgraded" kit about 2 or 3 years ago with intensions of getting started the same day. But , we all know how that works, so will be working it along as a "spare time" project. Should be fun!!!

PAT

Originally Posted by P. Tritle

Grav, I picked up the "Upgraded" kit about 2 or 3 years ago with intensions of getting started the same day. But , we all know how that works, so will be working it along as a "spare time" project. Should be fun!!!
PAT

Pat, every seasoned modeler on this site can pick up on the "getting started the same day" syndrome. It's a terminal illness.

We all acquire that same malady, but postpone the treatment until we end up having a basement full of stuff---.

Maybe it's "hog heaven"?

Pat, every seasoned modeler on this site can pick up on the "getting started the same day" syndrome. It's a terminal illness.

Yep, it definitely is an illness, and most of us have it bad. I can honestly say that I never intended to become a "kit collecor", but it sure turned out that way!!! But look at the bright side, we'll never be short of something to build when the mood does strike.

PAT

The motor was located and the trianle mount "beams" glued in place with Cya. The coupler was then fitted and the motor glued in place with silicone.

The rudder was built up from brass and the bearing tube fitted and glued in place. The next step will be to mount the rudder servo and hook up the linkage. As high as the control horn is, there might need to be some fancy rigging needed to get it all going, but will look at that closer when the time comes.

PAT

Pat,

When you are done, or somewhere in here, Include a list of parts you bought added or created to make this model run. The not so RC oriented Titanic fans will sing your praises and be forever grateful.

(Actually a friend e-mailed me hoping you will do this...)

the Titanic's rudder looks nothing like that!! your not building
to scale

oh wait wrong forum looking good pat

Originally Posted by bigford

the Titanic's rudder looks nothing like that!! your not building
to scale

oh wait wrong forum looking good pat

But if he makes the rudder scale and doesn't have good slow speed handling, how will he ever maneuver it to hit the ice berg in the right place?

The rudder servo is mounted now, and though it's not in yet, I know how I'm going to hook it up. More pics to follow as soon as the linkage is in.

Umi, The additional parts list will really be pretty simple. The motor is a standard 6V Speed 280. I'll use a forward only Airplane type ESC w/BEC and probably a 6 cell 3300 NiMH battery since a good bit of ballast will be required anyway. A Micro servo was used for the rudder since even a small servo in the hull looks pretty big, and of course, a simple 2 ch. radio.

So far, all the components have come from the scrap box, but are all readily available from Hobby Shops or mail order places that handle R/C airplane stuff -- with the exception of the surface frequency radio which is also available from the same sources.

BTW, anyone out there who has never tried converting a plastic kit and would like to give it a try, please feel free to post up with specific questions. There's lots of good help available here on the forum.

PAT

here is a cool site for the small boat stuff
http://www.mikromodell.de/

Looks like a great project. Cannot wait until she is sailing!

Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I'd worked on the Titanic. Anyhow, I got back on it last week and finished up the hull assembly. Then it was onto the top side where I hit a major snag!

The next step is to join the front fore and aft main deck sections. Unfortunately, my kit contained 2 forward deck sections and no rear. So I dropped the folks at Minicraft an e-mail explaining the situation, with a request for the missing parts. I haven't heard anything back yet, so am a bit stalled for the time being.

PAT