Topic: SS Falcon

[swiftdoc]

Having nearly finished my semi scratch build of the Shannon class lifeboat (it took me 5 years...), I have started building the SS Falcon kit. When I told my friend Alan who lives in St Margarets at Cliffe about my new project, he told me that the wreck of the real ship still can be seen nowadays at low tide from the cliffs near Dover. So when we visited him last year, I was able to take a picture of the wreck. Alan told me that they used it as a playground when they were kids.

The SS Falcon model is a lot smaller than the 1/12th scale Shannon boat, so it is easier to get into the car boot for sailing with my club mates. But the kit despite the small size shows enough details to be impressive on the water.

[swiftdoc]

I have installed a Bühler brushed motor which runs at 12 V. On the photo you can see a template for the coupling which i turned on the lathe to make sure it is well aligned later. The rudder servo is a micro size one from KST.

After a bath tub test I took the hull to our club pond in order to check if it would be sufficient to run her at a 2S LiPo. It will have to be a 3S LiPo though for the motor. I was quite surprised that she nearly can turn on the spot, probably due to the big rudder. After that test I returned home very happy, knowing that from now on I can focus on detailing, being sure that the running gear is O.K.

The hull is beautifully made, with lots of details moulded in, such as the plating

[swiftdoc]

Some more photos of the actual state of the build:

The coupling is a Misumi one, a Japanese brand. Linkage is from Conrad, using a 2 mm threaded rod.

The white metal skeg that comes with the kit was replaced by one made of brass profile.

[colin]

very nice Arno, hope you have fun building the Falcon

[swiftdoc]

Hi Colin, how nice to hear from you!
Yes, I enjoy the build very much. I spend an hour or so nearly each evening in the workshop when the rest of the family are watching TV….
I just have finished the funnel

[swiftdoc]

Ron Dean sent me some of the latest developments for his kits, 3D printed parts! I was really impressed when I received them, they are truly amazing! Apart from the details they can provide, they have the advantage of having less weight than the former resin and white metal ones. You can put more ballast in the hull instead which keeps the centre of gravity low.
On the other hand at scale 1/96th we seam to get to a point where some parts are so fragile and delicate that you have to be very cautious when cutting them from their supports without doing any damage.
The first batch shows some parts and in a second one I will post some photos of the tools used to prepare them.
A big thank you to Dean's Marine from my side for improving the kits considerably!!!!
And look at the steerable vent at the last photo, isn't that amazing?!

[swiftdoc]

Here comes the second batch of photos with some of the tools I used.
The more rigid parts can be cut with a fine razor saw (my one was a gift from Kim, which I am making good use of). The remaining supports the can be cut off with my Knipex cutter. For the more delicate parts I chose my Foredom pendant drill with a carbon fibre cutting disk. Any remaining traces of the supports can be sanded with 800 grit sanding pads.

[swiftdoc]

Before getting back to those wonderful 3D printed parts I did some traditional modelling. I hollowed out the fog horn using my Busch burrs (made in Germany, available from Cooksongold in the UK). They are good quality tools and very sharp. I use them in the handpiece of my Foredom pendant drill with the flexible shaft. The pipe of the horn was made from 0.5mm brass rod.

As I could not find any working navigation lights at that small scale, I decided to make my own. I started with 8mm Perspex (in Germany: Acrylglas) and drilled a 1.5 mm hole into it with my lathe. Then I machined the part down to an outer diameter of 2.5 mm and polished it with Tamiya polish. The lamps will accept 1 mm SMD LEDs later. The caps were made on my lathe as well, using aluminium machined to a diameter of 2.7 mm. For the boards I used 0.3 mm Tamiya pla-paper.

The awning rails were made from 1 mm brass rod, soldered in four sections. Those sections were fixed together by horizontal parts with epoxy glue.

[colin]

its nice to see the new 3D printed parts 

and your coming along splendedly.. keep up the good work..