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Done! 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class

A

Adam Baker

Active member
Damn the torpedo's and full speed ahead!!!

I decided to pull out a kit I picked up a few weeks ago, and join in.

First, the requisite date shot.

DSC01344.jpg


All the bits & pieces. This is my first multi-media kit. Hull, prop ring and the dihedreals are resin, prop and a few bits are photoetch, and all the rudders, periscopes, etc are white metal.

DSC01347.jpg


I've decided to do this build as SSN-766 USS-Charlotte.

SSN-766Patch.jpg


According to the instruction sheet, on standard active duty patrols, US subs carry no markings at all, that names, numbers, etc, are only present during special circumstances such as commissioning, refits, etc. I've decided that I'm going to go ahead & include the various markings & such on my build.

One thing I did find out, is that the USS-Charlotte is listed as a MOSUB or "Mother Submarine", meaning that its set up to use the Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) and is also capable of launching and recovering the Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS). B/c of this, I might see if I can find either of these mini-subs that I could include w/ my build.

USS_Charlotte_SSN-766.jpg
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Yea, thankfully a single piece hull. I don't know that I'd want to try doing one that wasn't a single piece, at least not yet.
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

adam baker said:
I might see if I can find either of these mini-subs that I could include w/ my build.
Click to expand...

Viking Models produced the ASDS as part of their USS Jimmy Carter submarine kit. It is out of production though...

Regards,
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Thanks for the info Saul.

I think I read last night that Yankee Modelworks acquired molds for a DSRV, or it might be an ASDS. I've thought about emailing YMW to see if they have any for sale.
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Haha, thanks Mike, 'cept I dont think its gonna be yellow, haha.

Just a minor progress update, I got about 90% of the casting plug cut off this afternoon, but it still left material about 1/16" thick and 1/4" wide almost the entire length of the hull. I then started working on sanding it down. I've managed to get most of the plug sanded off, but now I'm taking it slow so that I dont have to work on restoring the shape of the hull.
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

I suppose this is a major milestone in the build.

This evening I managed to complete the removal of the casting plug on the bottom of the hull, and I'm very glad, b/c my finger tips are rather sore now, haha. I started out removing all but about 1/16 to 1/8" of it w/ a razor saw. I left that much b/c I didn't want to get too close w/ the saw and risk damaging the hull. I then went at it w/ the roughest large emory board that I had in my stash, along w/ "swizzle stix" standing sticks. But tonight I pulled out my flex-i-file and it just tore right through what was there, and the nice thing was that it helped to keep the round profile of the hull, which worried me quite a bit. I was afraid I'd come out w/ flat spots in the hull, but thankfully that didnt happen once.

DSC01365.jpg


Now that this is complete, before I do anything else to the hull, I'm going to pull out the airbrush and the floquil grey primer, and prime the complete hull, to check that the bottom of hte hull is completely smooth. I have several air bubbles that I have to deal w/, along w/ a void that had pieces of hte rubber mold in it. It really surprised me how large the void was, once I got the casting plug sanded off. I used an xacto blade to clean up the edges of the hole as best I could, to remove any undercuts so that it will be easier to fill the hole. Thinking about filling it w/ super glue and then hitting it w/ some accelerator. The air bubbles will most likely get filled w/ Bondo spot glazing putty since they are all fairly small.

Void that had the mold rubber in it
DSC01367.jpg


Air bubbles
DSC01368.jpg


DSC01369.jpg
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Man, one reason I have avoided resin stuff like this. Show it who's boss Adam! :popcorn
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Well, the holes weren't as bad as I feared they might be, but it was worse than I expected. I definitely wasn't expecting to find the void that had pieces of the rubber mold in it, that was a very big surprise. It wasn't visible on the casting plug until after I had removed most of the plug w/ the razor saw.
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

I bet someone at Yankee Modelworks is wondering where that broken rubber part went to. Shouldn't be to bad to plug up though should it Adam?
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

No, I don't think so. For the large hole, I'm leaning toward super glue & accelerator. For the small holes, I'm going to use Bondo glazing putty.
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Progress!!

This evening I worked on laying out how I was going to mount the completed model. I purchased a piece of 1"x6" yellow pine and 1/4" square spruce dowels from Lowes a couple weeks ago. The white pine will be cut so its about 13" long, I want to ahve at least 1" on each end of the model. The spruce strips have been cut into 3" lengths, to act as dry dock cribbing, which the sub will sit on.

To secure the sub, I found threaded brass wood insert nuts. I'll drill a hole for the insert, and then very slowly and very carefully screw it into the resin. I can then screw in a 6-32 machine screw into the model to hold it in place. I'll drill through the base & the cribbing in 2 places, and thats what will hold the sub in place.

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I thought quite a bit on how to go about finding the center of the sub, and this was the process I used to achieve what I feel is a pretty accurate center line on the model.

Using the blue foam insulation I got for my Kugelblitz base, I stacked & glued 3 layers. I then cut an opening in the top piece of foam slightly smaller than the sail on the model, effectively making it self centering.

DSC01395.jpg


Then using 2 machinists 1-2-3 blocks and a dial caliper, I measured the width of the sub, and then took half the measurement and scribed the bottom of the sub in a couple of places. Filling in the small scribe marks w/ graphite from a pencil made it very easy to see where the marks were. I then laid out a piece of 1/8" fine line tape between the marks, and used a pencil to trace a line on the model.

Pic kinda sucks, but it shows.

DSC01393.jpg


And once I found the center line, I laid out my cribbing on some painters tape to figure out where the cribbing would be, and then decided where I want my holes to be.

DSC01397.jpg


DSC01396.jpg


Now to drill the holes, I'll leave the model taped to the foam, and then I'll pull out my dremel drill press and carefully work my way up to the holes needed for the inserts. I'll use the dremel until I get to about my #60 drill bit, and from there, I'll hand drill the holes. By the time I get to the #60, I'll have a really nice pilot hole, so using the larger bits by hand will follow the holes already drilled, so I wont have to worry about them getting off center or crooked on me.

The other really nice thing by doing this, is I will also make a construction base. When I got hte machine screws for mounting the model, I got some 3" long screws as well, and I'll build a second base w/ those 3" screws, so I can work on the model w/o having to manhandle it around or touch it a lot, once I start getting all the delicate parts on it. The only time I'll have to touch it, is when I transfer it from the construction base to the finished base.
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Good plan going there.I'm kind of interested in watching this for my sub. Will be a learning experience.
:popcorn
James
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Haha, you & me both. I've never done a sub, so its going to be interesting. What worries me the most is there are no locating tabs for anything, its all flush butt joints, so plenty of opportunities to FUBAR things.

jknaus said:
Will be a learning experience.
Click to expand...
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Measure twice, drill once. :laugh: It's just resin, you can always fix it with Bondo.
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

Go back on Chucks and Luiz builds on how to cut center on resin stuff.

Maybe a good classroom session, basics in constructing resin stuff?
 
Re: 1/350 Yankee Modelworks Los Angeles Class Sub

I was able to get the holes drilled pretty good the the other night, and then got the inserts put in. The front insert is good, but the rear was crooked a fair bit.

Thankfully I was able to fix the problem. Hardest part was getting the insert out that I used. I think the crooked screw came from the insert not going in straight.

I took another insert, ground off all the threads, and then epoxied that one in palce, and its much better. Hopefully tomorrow I can get it cleaned up, and then put onto the construction base.
 
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