bcochran
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Everything posted by bcochran
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Here are some plans I used for reference. You might already have them. The plans were by Bates I think. I bought a set on Ebay and when my boat was finished I passed them along to another member who was building a Robt E Lee. There are 9 pages,
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I want to keep this build log open since this boat is a R/C model and I haven't gotten the R/C components working yet. The superstructure is finished but not the electronics and she has yet to float in the water. Several people here have offered help with the electronics and I want to use that advice.
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If there are any high rollers out there and you want to build this model, there is an original Marx Chris Craft Constellation on Ebay for $875 plus $40 shipping. It is a rare kit but a bit too expensive I think. There is a Marx power kit on Ebay for the Constellation for $749.99. It looks like from the pictures for the Marx constellation there are no motors or anything to power it. My Lindberg kit has motors and things to power it. I am not using them though. There is a Lindberg sports fisherman for $850 plus $80.65 shipping. I would rather make a Dumas model which is much cheaper. I am seriously thinking of doing that. Or maybe the Lindberg PT-109. I will be completely done with building my Constellation today. Pictures to follow. I will next work on getting the electronics working then on to the pond at Waller Park here in Santa Maria, CA.
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Thank you, I learn a lot by reading other people's logs and that's where that idea came from. The one in the pictures here is acceptional I think.
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When I see them for sale they they are mostly on freshwater. I live 9 miles from the Pacific Ocean and there are days I wouldn't want to be on a submarine. Last weekend the waves were 5 to 8 feet above normal. The surfers love it but don't expect me to go whale watching in waves like that. I was looking into joining a club in Santa Barbara that has rental boats to use on the sea. They were 15ft single deck with a tiny cabin. I said no thank you.
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Well the superstructure of the boat is almost complete. I need to add the dingy, the canvas railing covers and a few more things.
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There is a gap between the deck and the right front corner of the cabin. I think the deck is warped. I am going to try and prop up the deck from the underside. I think the Alclad II is the better method of painting chrome provided you go about doing it correctly. It is meant to be sprayed with an air brush. You must first apply a glossy black undercoat then lightly mist on several coats of chrome to bring out the effect. That is not easy to do if you are not skilled with an air brush. Too heavy a coat and the chrome effect will not work. Testor's spray chrome is easier but not quite as good a look as Alclad II I think. Also you can't spray it too heavy either, it builds up fast and it takes a while to cure completely. You can't control the flow of the paint from a rattle can like you can with an air brush. Alclad II has many different shades of finish and I think it pays to learn to use it. I read lot's of threads about things like this and I see what I call "absolute" statements. I don't believe in absolutes other than to say there are no absolutes. You have to use what works for you. If you are happy with the results it doesn't matter what other people say.
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Sometimes when working on a build like this there are days when you can't do anything right. Your skills seem to have abandoned you for a while. Or other mishaps like breaking or losing a part happens. Then there are times when it goes right! I thought I lost one of the stanchions. I was resigned to either scratch build one or just substitute a piece of plastic rod and live with it. I decided to try and scratch build one. I was looking through a pile of tools and junk on my work desk to get what I needed for the scratch build. There at the bottom of the pile of junk was the missing stanchion!! It was incredibly serendipitous! I have no idea how it got there. I didn't want to get out my airbrush and Alclad II paint for just one stanchion so I sprayed it with Testors chrome in a rattle can. It doesn't look all that different from the other ones. So rather than spend a day trying to correct for a mishap I am moving forward again!
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When mounting the port and starboard railings, you can't permanently attach them to the fore stanchion if you want to be able to remove the rear deck to get to the electronics. That stanchion is not mounted to the rear deck. The instructions don't mention this but a little thought makes it obvious. You have to lift the railing off that stanchion to remove the deck. The others can be permanently attached to the railing. There are quite a few places where you can screw up this model by not knowing what you don't know. Be sure to mount the stanchions in the right direction. This isn't obvious but a look at the real thing helps.
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Here are the stanchions painted chrome with Alclad II. The parts were molded in gray. I first painted them with Alclad gloss black primer then with chrome.
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All that is remaining to add are a few parts, the life boat, the starboard side chrome trim, the railings and stanchions. I am going to try Alclad II to paint the stanchions chrome.
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Well the cabin roof is on. It's not as good as I would like but I am tired of working on the cabin. It comes off in one piece so I can get at the electronics,
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I took most of the cabin apart and found I didn't align some of the parts well. I stripped the paint off the roof for repainting. I have to touch up the paint on the window frames and reassemble as much of the cabin as I can. There will be gaps that I'll have to live with if I want the cabin removable, and that is a must if I want to work on the electronics
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I am repairing the cabin. I took parts apart to reassemble correctly. I should be done within a week. Then I'll be back on schedule.
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Here's where things stand at the moment. I said before here, that where and how you glue some pieces together is a guessing game. I have unglued some of the cabin frame to get the roof to fit right. Fixing all that is for tomorrow or the next day. Sometimes you just have to walk away from it for a while until the negative vibes pass and the model is seen in a more favorable light. Also, it is good to wait until a solution to the problem comes to mind before banging ahead. The solutions come to me as I lie in bed at night or early morning. That's one of my little dogs waiting for her supper.
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I’m running into a bit of trouble with the cabin roof. It’s been the biggest pain in the butt of this whole kit beside the electronics. I’ve had trouble painting it because of the paint I chose. Because I chose to build the cabin framing as one piece the roof doesn’t fit well and it was a bear getting it in place. This will be an area that I won’t be pleased with and years from now I won’t remember why when I look at the boat.
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