Monday, April 09, 2007

Seam Stealing

No pictures at present but I've been working on the seam between the upper hull hatch and the lower hull. It came fairly tight but there are the occasional gaps up to 1/16" in spots and I thought I'd try to hide them.

First, I made sure the upper hull hatch would not stick to the filler material. I did this by brushing on a layer of PVA which I use as a mold release agent when laying up Type XXI hulls. When this was dry, I also applied a thin film of bearing grease down the edge of the hatch. Just in case.

Then, I sanded the lower hull lip for good adhesion. 3M painters tape was masked around the external edges to keep from spoiling the rivet detail. I also put the tape along the edge of the upper hull hatch as well.

The filler of choice was Evercoat Metal Glaze. I mixed a small amount up on a plastic putty spatula and applied it sparingly to the lower hull lip with a popsicle stick. No need to glob on too much and watch it ooze down the side (this stuff isn't cheap). The upper hull hatch is then installed and securely fastened. Only small sections (4" - 6") on one side are filled at a time to ease separation once the Evercoat cures. Any excess filler is scraped off to leave a smooth seam.

After an hour or so, the upper hull hatch is unfastened and gently pried loose -- snap! The result is a nearly invisible separation line between the two hull halves.

NOTE: for those who've lost any of your tiny button head socket cap screws used to secure the upper hull hatch the size is #2-56 and the length is 1/4". A pack of 50 in stainless steel can be bought from Micro Fasteners for $5.50. I'm switching out the kit supplied alloy steel screws to prevent rust in the field.

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About Me

The first movie I saw in a theater was Disney's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (1971 re-release). The first grown-up book I read was "War Fish" by George Grider. Built hundreds of plastic kits growing up. Saw an article on The SubCommittee in the mid 90's and joined. Began first foray into radio controlled subs in 1998.

Current Projects

1/32 scale Disney Nautilus (Custom Replicas kit).
1/96 scale USS Helena (SSN-725) (ThorDesign kit).
1/72 scale USS Permit-class (HMK kit)

Completed Boats

1/96 scale Permit-class modeled as USS Thresher (SSN-593).
1/96 scale Los Angeles-class modeled as USS Jefferson City (SSN-759).

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