M_M_I_2015_04_

http://www.marinemodelmagazine.com APRIL 201533

underside of the bilge keels and

this then secured them to the

hull. In the kit is a printed plywood

sheet for the crossbeams and I

transferred the fore and aft ones

onto 1.5 mm plasticard, then

after cutting these out they were

glued in place.

After marking with a pencil

line around the top of the hull

interior the thickness of the deck,

lengths of plastic strip were glued

around the hull interior just below

the marked line. For attaching the

first layer I used thick superglue,

then for the second layer I used

plastic weld and to complete the

job car body filler was applied to

the underside to strengthen the

joints.

Motors and couplings for this

model were purchased from

the kit manufacturer; with these

now lined up and fixed in place

a servo for the rudder was next

to be added. One of the last

internal jobs to be done was

to install a length of plywood

just forward of the motors to

position the batteries, receiver

and speed controllers. A card

template was used to gain the

correct curvature then this was

transferred onto the plywood.

Once cut out it was glued in place

with two part epoxy glue. The

ends and edges were arrested

with car body filler. Lastly a strip

of 6 mm by 2 mm wood was cut

to length and then glued across

the beam to form a bulkhead, this

then gives the correct width to

the hull at its centre.

The Decks anD haTches

Both decks were cut from the printed plastic card leaving about an

extra 3 mm outside the edge lines. All the access areas, of which

there are four in the decks, were removed and the three to be fitted

flush were saved. Using a knife and emery board the decks were

trimmed to fit and they were glued in place using thick superglue

and also plastic weld. Any gaps between the hull top and the decks

were filled in using car body filler. Raised coamings were glued

around the centre access on the aft deck and these coamings were

cut from the printed plastic deck, as were the strips of plastic that

were glued around the under edges of the remaining access areas

for the removable parts to neatly sit upon.

supersTrucTure, MasT, Funnel anD Guns

It was now time to cut out and assemble the superstructure

parts. I started from the bows and worked aft when constructing

the superstructure parts. Before removing any parts from the

printed plastic sheets check that each part is the correct size. This

operation takes a little time but it saves a lot of frustration later. If

there are four parts to a building check both sides are the same and

also both ends, this can be done quickly and easily using a pair of

dividers and any alterations required can be done before cutting.

Following this simple procedure will result in a perfectly

assembled component. I constructed the bridge assembly first

and when done any fittings that were to be the same colour

were attached. The mast is

constructed using the brass rod

and tube provided. Taking the

measurements from the plan

all the parts were cut and made

ready then using a soldering iron

and 1450C solder the parts were

built into the mast. Three holes

were then drilled into the decks

to accommodate the mast and

these positions were taken from

the plan.

Next to be assembled was

the funnel and this starts out as

two vac-formed halves. Using a

pencil I drew around the funnel

halves to give me a line to work

to and using a sharp number 1

blade I cut along the lines and

removed the two funnel halves.

I then placed a sheet of medium

emery paper onto a flat part of

the workbench and smoothed

down the edges until a true

joint could be made. When

this had been achieved I held

both parts together and applied

plastic weld to the joints. Finally

I added all the detail and made

ready for painting. When all the

superstructure parts had been

completed these too were made

ready for painting. All the parts

for the two main guns were

made ready. Their shields are

vac-formed parts and using the

pencil and cutting procedure all

the excess was removed. Then

using fine lengths of plastic strip

all the detail was applied. Both

the guns and shields would not

be married until after painting had

been completed.

Bilge keel components

Interior parts installed

Motors and rudder servo

Deck fittings Deck access areas shown

Checking the size of parts

using a compass

Funnel assembled

Mast assembled

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