Got so busy building that I forgot to update the board but first a huge vote of thanks to Joe, my own build would have been a lot more challenging without the insights and tips provided.
Anyway, I didn't come across any more major problems with the instructions but I have to be honest, the quality of the resin castings left a great deal to be desired, sorry Ron, but you really need to sort this out. It may make Joe a better modeller but it just made me a really grumpy one - I did feel a bit like the guy who bought a dog and spent all night barking
. And my wife has learned loads of new nautical expressions relating to resin castings!
Anyway, on a more positive note, the build is now complete, its model is great and sails superbly. The main reason for writing this post is that in some areas I took a different approach to Joe that others may be interested in.
First, the use of a brass plate instead of ply makes it really easy to glue gear to the bottom of the hull.
Next, I modded the design so I could remove 01 deck and everything aft of where 01 deck drops to 1 deck. To do this I used pine as the support beams as it strong enough to hold a thread and increased the width to about 1/2 inch. This also helps to keep the water out which as been enhanced with a smear of vaseline. The joints were 'covered up' with 1/8 inch semi circle rod which also improves the watertight integrity as water ingress now has to go via a Z bend as opposed to an L bend. It only needs 12 screws to bolt the whole lot up which is a bit tedious but fully compensated for by the access. On reflection, 1/8 inch is probably a bit think so next time I will use 2.5mm, or maybe even 2mm.
I didn?t like Joe?s design for the turret as I couldn?t see how he kept the water out where the servo head went through the deck. Instead, I used some 2mm rod and tube to connect the turret to a servo which I mounted (almost!) in the bilge. I connected the servo to the turret using a 2mm collar glued to the servo arm head which I didn?t screw on which means I can separate the turret from the servo head and the servo head from the servo. I used a HXT900 micro servo which can be modified to a 180o rotation using a couple of resistors wired across the potentiometer ? instructions are on YouTube much cheaper than a servomorph and, IMHO,works a lot better.
I took a slightly different approach to the radars from Joe using a Jotika 1/298 gear reduction motor for the 965, a 1/198 motor for the 993 and the action electronics radar motor for the 293, all powered by two NIMH AA?s in parallel. The Jotika motor mounts are laminated to give stop the plastruct flexing and the motors are screwed on using a bit of wood glued on to the motor. Yes, I know the 293 shouldn?t be on the bridge roof but I liked the idea of three rotating radars and it?s my boat so the bits go where I want
The figures are 1/100 railway figures from eBay ? ?3.99 inc P&P for 100, chuck away the girls (unless you have a post 1995(?) build), a coat of paint and loads of jolly jack...
I also chopped out the anchor mounts and built recessed versions, a great improvement on the original moulding ? many thanks for the idea Joe.
I have rebadged the ship as Mohawk ? too many F124?s about! And yes, I know Mohawk was never modded for Seacat (always assuming early versions of Seacat could considered an improvement on anything), the navigation radar is in the wrong place, the flight deck lettering should be white, no hand rails (all I do is knock them off and stick them back on again) and God alone knows what else ? but like I said, my ship, my rules.
Anyway, that?s all I can think of for the time being - time for OOW manoeuvres with the Berwick. If anyone wants any more details on what I have done, drop me a line
Cheers
Kit
