Eric,

I have used lead duck decoy weight strips, they are thin and easily cut with scissors, and can be attached as needed. Also, I recommend using bb's or lead shot mixed with epoxy. Put the correct amount of weight in a plastic bag, and mix with epoxy, then pour as required. It would great for hard contours and such.

Eric

A model the size of yours will need a fairly large amount of wieght.I start off by using the largest batteries I can.This takes care of most of the ballasting and gives you more runtime. I have a large plastic kiddie pool which makes a good controlled environment. I place the model in the pool and add ziplock bags with BB's in them,adding BB'sand moving bags around until I have the ship exactly at the waterline(if your ship is mostly finished,ie not much more weight to be added by construction)Then I take the bags out,one at a time and put a small amount of epoxy in and knead it around in the bag with my fingers.Then put it back where you got it from and continue until all the bags are placed.I use a piece of velcro to hold the bags in place,this way I can move them for fine tuning or remove them if I add something later and need to remove weight. I think you will be surprised at how much weight it will take,especially if your batteries arent very large/heavy.Have fun!!

shifter, place your pennies in a sock, then in a zip lock baggie.

Self adhesive lead tire weights from JC Whitney were all I need for stability. She floats ladies and gentlemen, and the water stays out of the people tank. Whooooo Hoooooo!!!!!

Here are some pics!

Congratulations on getting the hull wet!

Can she make those tight turns in your pond?!?
How much more work till she is underway?

Got some more work done. I am not pleased with some of the paint (painting in bad light), but hey the paint wasn't perfect on my ship so why should it be on this one.

Some of the detail work is not perfect, but this model is going to be for driving so what the heck.

A few vents, some conduit, bumps, boxes and doors,... and the railings...
You have it practically finished.

The white striping looks good too. Just need a SH-60b Seahawk LAMPS MK III on the stern.

Really nice work!

Originally Posted by shifter3

OK, I am done fiberglassing, thank GOD! What a learning experience. I am currently in the process of creating the stern tube with some bondo (just the aesthetics, so it matches up to my dry dock pictures.

I will post pictures this evening.

Quick question, what do I use to thin the resin to paint the inside of the hull? Also, there is a portion of the bow that is inaccessable, but I feel I have it sealed well from the outside, is that ok?

Lastly, is there a way to salvage a brush after using it for resin?


As always thanks!

Eric

Eric, Do not give up. Just be patient and with some refinishing and a lot of sanding you will get it done. Navy men do not give up. sending some photos to get your morale up. Think of all the fun you will have in the
lake. I mis- numbered mine and made the radome too small but what the hell,
I like it and it sails super. When you get frustrated just leave the model alone
and have a beer. Regards
Norman2

Eric or anyone for that matter,

How is the quaility of this manufacturer? This will be my first 'wooden' hull and I don't want problems due to poor quality before I start! I've read Erics build log and I have to say the quality of help is impressive.

Originally Posted by joe31hat

Eric or anyone for that matter,

How is the quaility of this manufacturer? This will be my first 'wooden' hull and I don't want problems due to poor quality before I start! I've read Erics build log and I have to say the quality of help is impressive.

Bad Ship Models has ok quality but the Garcia, Knox, Brookes frigates. were the first
boats and do not have good quality. The Arleigh Burke, Ticonderoga and
Belknap Cruisers were designed later and have excellent quality and better
instructions. They are easier for R/C because they have a wider beam and
have more space for electronics. Regards and Good Luck

Shifter3, I'm building the FFG as well. You wouldn't happen to have any more under body shots would you. I'm looking for details, the drive line stuff was great. I learned a lot.
Thanks much for posting the pictures you've posted.
Jerome

Hope these help.

What are those drop down motors/props used for?

Originally Posted by Kmot

What are those drop down motors/props used for?

Those are called APU's (Auxiliary Power Units), they really serve two purposes. Using them in conjunction with the screw and rudder I can park that thing almost anywhere without tugs. If I get my vectors all figured out properly in my head I can make her move laterally through the water to put her on the pier. The other thing they do is if I was to lose my Gas Turbines, as long as I still had my diesels providing electrical power these would give me about 4 knots of emergency maneuvering.

Really they are just two huge 360 degree trainable trolling motors.