Chesapeake Bay Flattie by FoxtrotHotel - FINISHED - Corel - 1:25 - RADIO - Fishing Boat

[FoxtrotHotel]

Hi,

 

I'm building Corel's "Flattie" kit, modifying it to be sailable via remote control. Since I'm new to both ship modeling and RC, I decided to build the ship initially in a "barebones" form, with minimal planking, painting or decoration, just to test it on open water. If it turned out to be a disaster, with all hands lost, I didn't want to waste weeks worth of painting. Once that was sound, then I'd move on to do the final planking and painting.

 

I've since completed the testing, and it seemed to sail fairly well. The pictures below are from the initial build. Now I'm moving on to the final aesthetics.

 

Deviations I've made from the kit are 1) I enlarged the deck houses to allow more room for the electronics, 2) repurposed the centerboard slot to house a fin keel with weighted ballast, 3) attached extra rigging to main boom and tiller to allow them to be actuated by servos.

 

I'm a complete novice, so if you have any suggestions or comments, they'd be appreciated. To be clear, this isn't a completed model. My plan is to make it look as similar to the box photo as possible, minus some creative liberties taken to make it easier to maintain and sail as RC.

 

Is there anything I should use to seal the external planking against water? It'll be completely painted with acrylics. Do I need to apply any water sealant first or will primer and paint be enough?

[coxswain]

 - You're doing pretty well for a complete novice!  Regarding the sealing/waterproofing of the wood, I'm afraid I'm no help - I used to build and sail various plastic models that weren't designed for sailing, but of course, they weren't wood.  Try reading some of the R/C build logs and/or start a new topic on sealing/waterproofing.  Here is a link to the R/C builds here https://modelshipworld.com/forum/32-rc-kits-scratch-building/    There are lots of knowledgeable and friendly people here at MSW!  

[FoxtrotHotel]

Thanks!

[thibaultron]

I would say a coat of epoxy or the old fashioned RC aircraft dope. I used the aircraft dope on the outside and inside of my RC Combat Warship models.

[FoxtrotHotel]

Progress update. I've glued on and sanded most of the exterior planks. How does it look? I used a sharpie along the edges of the deck planks to simulate caulking. Did I overdo it?

[FoxtrotHotel]

Mostly finished painting. I really don't like how the deck planking turned out. Is there anything I can do to fix it, or should I just paint the deck white?

[ccoyle]

From here it doesn't look too bad. Something to consider is whether painting the deck would still leave visible plank seams. My admittedly small knowledge of such vessels is that modern reproductions with painted decks tend to be made of marine plywood.

[ESF]

Looks like a good, honest, well-used working deck to me.  If there are too many reflections from glossiness you might use a matte clear coat to flatten it out.  If what look like reflections are some splotchiness I'm sure others could give guidance on blending or weathering techniques, but I would hope you wouldn't paint it.  The deck really adds to the character.

 

Steve

[coxswain]

I agree with the esteemed gentlemen of the committee - it's a good looking deck, especially when viewed from above, but you may wish to cut down on the gloss as ESF suggested.  In trying to get a sense of your feeling of something lacking, you may want to try adding the treenailing to the deck - it would tend to break up the broad expanse of the deck and would add some interest and not be too difficult at this scale - witness the MK tender Avos with and without the nail detail - in any case, the choice is yours!  Respectfully, Steve M

[FoxtrotHotel]

Thanks for the advice. I kept the deck, and finished the painting, weathering, and rigging.