Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

Folks, this is the beginning of another crazy build, a second virtual kit, this one from Nautilus Drydocks.

 

2123329849_Alfa1(2).jpg.d95fe427b2d5b698c495275f0ea0c533.jpg

 

NAUTILUS DRYDOCKS is specialized in Radio Controlled navigating submersibles and they have a very large selection of kits. My choice focused on the Russian submarine ALFA for  multiple reasons:

 

  • It is relatively small for the scale I want to model it into (1/48th). It would be impossible to model a large boomer from the US Navy, for instance.
  • It is an incredible machine and remains to this day the fastest submarine in existence with more than 40 knots of underwater speed.
  • It is also one of the attack submarines that can dive to abysmal depth, leaving most traditional torpedoes unable to reach it.
  • It has been a star of multiple Navy exercises in the 80's, where it excelled each year.
  • It is a rare beast (only 7 made), using very advanced technology and materials.
  • I love the shape of it.

 

There is a lot to say about this submarine and the choice to model it was made long before the current geo-political skirmishes currently taking place.  These have in no way reduced my appeal for this machine, quite the contrary in fact. I will not say more on this forum, but eventually the truth will be revealed and the people will realize how they have been manipulated.

 

The kit is a virtual kit again, that is to say a license to print parts. The kit comes originally in the scale of 1/96th and provides a model of about 890 mm long. As the readers of this forum know, I like the 1/48th scale for my small fleet. 

 

Whereas all the kit parts (1/96th) will print easily on my Creality Ender 3 v2, sizing these parts to 1/48th presents some radical challenges. Besides the diving planes and the connectors for the hull sections, nothing does fit on my 3D printer. I have had to learn some new tools to cut and slice parts so that they can be printed on the little Ender 3 bed, sized at 220 x 220 x 250 mm. That magic tool is Meshmixer (AUTOCAD) and is a blessing once you start learning how to use some if its capabilities.

 

While working on the HMS Bellona, I have been printing for the past month and a half and basically exhausted and broke my little 3D printer. We will get back to that story. The poor thing showed some signs of early decay and a few parts had to be replaced.....

 

At 1/48th scale, the model will be enormous and is probably the largest thing I will ever build, if I can finish it. Below is the result of more than 610 hours of almost non-stop printing: 

 

DSC05893.thumb.JPG.00acf8834f1afc2fc2a5a5e53ac9e63a.JPG

 

DSC05894.thumb.JPG.20b6f89aa21ff214b145808678ccd627.JPG

 

About 4 to 5 spools of PLA filaments were used.

 

When deciding about the scale of the model, I decided to print the nose of the submarine in various scales to get a feeling of the overall scope of the model: 

 

DSC05895.thumb.JPG.3a9f4fea5b7a8e4b4dc5b9e53ee8792d.JPG

 

DSC05896.thumb.JPG.32c292bf0e0d3c774a6b74734685f90f.JPG

 

On the right, is the 1/350th scale model of the ALFA by DRAGON, an old kit that I bought some 30 years ago. Next to it is the same nose at 1/192nd scale, then 1/96th in the middle and finally 1/48th to the left. Yo can see that the size is growing very quickly..... The finished model should be 6 feet long.

 

DSC05897.thumb.JPG.472e5f089a0d0e29cd4b99e6e760b8e8.JPG

 

The picture above shows what the kit is supposed to be, when built at 1/96th scale, and the Altoids box gives a reference for the size.

 

The kit is designed in seven sections, from Bow (#1) to stern (#7): 

 

3QuarterView.jpg.a3981f00d56697f82c08949a83ef845e.jpg

 

It is very well detailed and renders all the openings and hatches of that incredible beast.

 

FrontView.jpg.1bc37ec550fe7e42553a3d93a05a9d24.jpg      RearView.jpg.42f631299ae4a163b12cec68c6c5e314.jpg

 

SideView.jpg.4b628b1e343700ab0d954d7336ba1257.jpg

 

Because the kit was created to be RC equipped, the top section of the hull can be detached from the bottom.

 

Alfa_Assembly.png.1aa2ef33bf27da3a9cb871ad6dd4b01d.png

 

My model will be static (with a little twist) and so I will be building things differently. The kit comes with a short PDF instruction sheet that does not help much.

 

The kit costs $50 on the Nautilus Drydocks website. Progress will be very slow, as the Bellona is getting most of my attention..... So be patient.

 

Yves

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted

I'm in for this one Yves - this is going to be another masterpiece!

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    Hs129B-2 1/48  SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32   IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

Posted

Looking forward to this one  - and at that scale.

 

OC.

Current builds  


28mm  Battle of Waterloo   attack on La Haye Saint   Diorama.

1/700  HMS Hood   Flyhawk   with  PE, Resin  and Wood Decking.

 

 

 

Completed works.

 

Dragon 1/700 HMS Edinburgh type 42 batch 3 Destroyer plastic.

HMS Warspite Academy 1/350 plastic kit and wem parts.

HMS Trafalgar Airfix 1/350 submarine  plastic.

Black Pearl  1/72  Revell   with  pirate crew.

Revell  1/48  Mosquito  B IV

Eduard  1/48  Spitfire IX

ICM    1/48   Seafire Mk.III   Special Conversion

1/48  Kinetic  Sea Harrier  FRS1

  • 4 weeks later...
Posted (edited)

A quick update for a change of pace from the HMS Bellona. 

 

This model will be static and thus will be built differently from what the kit is suggesting (not that they give you a lot of information....). I will start with the bottom section of the hull, using pre-shaped large balsa strips of 1/4 inch by 3/4 inch, for rigidity.

 

There are 7 sections in this submarine and none of them can fit on my 3D printer along the Z axis (height). Thus, they are all split in two pieces that need to be glued and aligned together.

 

DSC05927.thumb.JPG.495ad76ba030097267b3b88a378ad71f.JPG

 

Again, I am using the MEK to solder the parts, but these are large and will likely require epoxy glue for a solid and sturdy assembly.

 

DSC05928.thumb.JPG.101a160177302dd0ebf4adb83a8c6da4.JPG

 

DSC05929.thumb.JPG.a60e971f05f676e77b7460265627408d.JPG

 

The lower section is put together by using the two hard balsa strips and #10 screws with washers and nuts: 

 

DSC05930.thumb.JPG.03af2ef56b607a5f18804d61b6b8ab81.JPG

 

DSC05931.thumb.JPG.a5056c1fc6419432319902760fb8f999.JPG

 

The following parts are placed and all holes are drilled with precision: 

 

DSC05932.thumb.JPG.f5c5dad2da35b3384e5e4573c51125f2.JPG

 

Nothing is glued yet. I need to prepare a large quantity of epoxy to make sure that everything is sturdy, straight and solid.

 

Yves

Edited by yvesvidal
Posted

A few small progress, with the building of the lower hull, Section #2 and #3: 

 

DSC05934.thumb.JPG.fea03a56e1d099ce73373f6d68e75741.JPG

 

Bottom Section #2 (refers to the overall view of the submarine if confused...) is made up of two parts: 

  • White that took 17 hours to print at low speed
  • The light grey one with the openings that took 42 hours.

The reason why these were printed at low speed is because of some extrusion problem on my 3D printer. It took me a while to figure out that the extrusion lever was cracked internally and not putting enough pressure on the filament when feeding. I should have known better, but could not see the damages from the outside.

 

Bottom Section #3 is shown as well, with one light grey part glued to Section #2 and the second part of Section #3, waiting to be glued...

Bottom Section #3 took 31 Hours and 21 hours to print.....

 

DSC05935.thumb.JPG.ef6032dcae66a4e4cd2a16887978e06a.JPG

 

This view shows how the various parts are being glued together. The overall assembly is perfectly flat and rests on the table.

 

DSC05936.thumb.JPG.ec7855782ca231d93ce645e42cb8df7e.JPG

 

The diameter of the submarine is of about 200 mm. It will be very large at 1/48th scale.

 

Yves

Posted
On 4/1/2022 at 8:44 AM, yvesvidal said:

The kit comes originally in the scale of 1/96th and provides a model of about 890 mm long. As the readers of this forum know, I like the 1/48th scale for my small fleet. 

And your doubling that to 1780 mm!!! Yeah, small fleet of large boats.... I wonder how they would come out on a resin printer?

 

Amazing my friend... Your really pushing the bounds of what is possible...

 

I'm here, wouldn't miss this for the world....

 

 

Current Build: F-86F-30 Sabre by Egilman - Kinetic - 1/32nd scale

In the Garage: East Bound & Down, Building a Smokey & the Bandit Kenworth Rig in 1/25th scale

Completed: M8A1 HST  1930 Packard Boattail Speedster  M1A1 75mm Pack Howitzer  F-4J Phantom II Bell H-13's P-51B/C

Temporary Suspension: USS Gwin DD-433  F-104C Starfighter "Blue Jay Four" 1/32nd Scale

Terminated Build: F-104C Starfighter

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quote:

"Relish Today, Ketchup Tomorrow"

Posted (edited)

Moving along with the lower hull. Installation of the lower section #3: 

 

DSC05937.thumb.JPG.28f71f21b19d09fd6b9d0b4f2fbb08fd.JPG

 

That section is comprised of two parts (always) that required 31 hours and 24 hours of printing time, respectively.

 

Between each section, a coupler stiffens the hull and provides for a very strong assembly. I use MEK first and then epoxy resin for a solid coupling. I know, it looks sloppy but it is very solid. 

 

DSC05938.thumb.JPG.ad87df0b16b658a284f43f2883ae9df1.JPG

 

From the outside: 

 

DSC05939.thumb.JPG.b2e274a1667283a2126286afcfef3de7.JPG

 

Another coupler will go between Section #3 and section#4. There is not much to see at this stage and the interesting part will come later.

 

Yves

Edited by yvesvidal
Posted (edited)

Another exciting update, with the same exact thing repeating: Section #4: 

 

DSC05940.thumb.JPG.86a0ad1e60705b32c74d84800846865c.JPG

 

Again, two large pieces glued together with MEK and then Epoxy resin. Printing time? 34 Hours and 49 Hours !!! You can see the extrusion problem starting to show up, before I could diagnose the crack in the lever. To remedy the incorrect feeding of the PLA, I was reducing the speed to 50%.

 

DSC05941.thumb.JPG.491ddc2895cb536af79ec97c380f6b03.JPG

 

Section #4 is then MEKed to the existing lower hull and later on re-inforced with epoxy resin and the 3-4 coupler part: 

 

DSC05944.thumb.JPG.38edb4f7cedd20b9b3abbf8271596ca2.JPG

 

The central bottom hull section made of sections #2, #3 and #4:  Almost 3 feet long at this stage.

 

DSC05945.thumb.JPG.cea4032dc0e9a528929fbd52daa8482c.JPG

 

I am sure all this PLA parts are getting you excited, right? It will get more interesting once we move to the upper hull.

 

Yves

Edited by yvesvidal
Posted
3 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

Another exciting update, with the same exact thing repeating: Section #4: 

 

DSC05940.thumb.JPG.86a0ad1e60705b32c74d84800846865c.JPG

 

Again, two large pieces glued together with MEK and then Epoxy resin. Printing time? 34 Hours and 49 Hours !!! You can see the extrusion problem starting to show up, before I could diagnose the crack in the lever. To remedy the incorrect feeding of the PLA, I was reducing the speed to 50%.

 

DSC05941.thumb.JPG.491ddc2895cb536af79ec97c380f6b03.JPG

 

Section #4 is then MEKed to the existing lower hull and later on re-inforced with epoxy resin and the 3-4 coupler part: 

 

DSC05944.thumb.JPG.38edb4f7cedd20b9b3abbf8271596ca2.JPG

 

The central bottom hull section made of sections #2, #3 and #4:  Almost 3 feet long at this stage.

 

DSC05945.thumb.JPG.cea4032dc0e9a528929fbd52daa8482c.JPG

 

I am sure all this PLA parts are getting you excited, right? It will get more interesting once we move to the upper hull.

 

Yves

Hi Yves,

Is the finished article "Static?"

Just thinking it would make for a pretty awesome RC model.

 

Cheers....HOF.

 

Completed Builds:

 

A/L Bluenose II

A/L Mare Nostrum

Sergal/Mantua Cutty Sark

A/L Pen Duick

A/L Fulgaro

Amati/Partworks 1/200 Bismarck

A/L Sanson

Posted

Still working on the bottom of the hull. This time, I am preparing Section 5 and Section 6 of the hull.

 

Originally, the bottom part of Section #5 was printed with extrusion problem. I decided to re-print it over the weekend and got a considerable improvement with the new metal extruder: 

 

DSC05953.thumb.JPG.f82c5b8c84ce448c9cef05737cddba55.JPG

 

DSC05954.thumb.JPG.c7646cbad2f3e7a9eff5cd2b5fbdb269.JPG

 

You can see the differences easily. The white part is ten times more solid than the grey part. The grey part can be broken by hand so easily. It will be thrown in the trash and will get recycled in the next 50 years, by mother Earth.

 

Section 5 and Section 6 have been glued. Each sectio is always mode of two or more parts, to fit on the 250 mm maximum height of the Creality Ender 3 V2 printer: 

 

DSC05955.thumb.JPG.dd8367f922ffa247837f4afd2d0857a9.JPG

 

DSC05956.thumb.JPG.790cdaeda27731072f5415714103cb99.JPG

 

Then, an extension of the wood strips is done to align correctly Section 5 and Section 6.

 

DSC05957.thumb.JPG.c4f902c595f2a63dda69361449086741.JPG

 

Yves

Posted

This is going to be an epic project.  Looking forward to this one!

 

Mike

 

Current Wooden builds:  Amati/Victory Pegasus  MS Charles W. Morgan  Euromodel La Renommèe  

 

Plastic builds:    Hs129B-2 1/48  SB2U-1 Vindicator 1/48  Five Star Yaeyama 1/700  Pit Road Asashio and Akashi 1/700 diorama  Walrus 1/48 and Albatross 1/700  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/32   IJN Notoro 1/700  Akitsu Maru 1/700

 

Completed builds :  Caldercraft Brig Badger   Amati Hannah - Ship in Bottle  Pit Road Hatsuzakura 1/700   Hasegawa Shimakaze 1:350

F4B-4 and P-6E 1/72  Accurate Miniatures F3F-1/F3F-2 1/48  Tamiya F4F-4 Wildcat built as FM-1 1/48  Special Hobby Buffalo 1/48  Eduard Sikorsky JRS-1 1/72

Citroen 2CV 1/24 - Airfix and Tamiya  Entex Morgan 3-wheeler 1/16

 

Terminated build:  HMS Lyme (based on Corel Unicorn)  

 

On the shelf:  Euromodel Friedrich Wilhelm zu Pferde; Caldercraft Victory; too many plastic ship, plane and car kits

 

Future potential scratch builds:  HMS Lyme (from NMM plans); Le Gros Ventre (from Ancre monographs), Dutch ship from Ab Hoving book, HMS Sussex from McCardle book, Philadelphia gunboat (Smithsonian plans)

Posted (edited)

Sections #5 and #6 have been glued as well as all the connectors between them: 

 

DSC05958.thumb.JPG.1e46f088366942d572ba2dfc93c56ab2.JPG

 

This represents 49 inches of PLA tubing !!!

 

Section #5 took 38 hours and 32 hours of printing.

Section #6 took 19 hours and 15 hours.

Couplers were printed with 100% filing (they are very hard) and took between 13 hours and 5.5 hours for the smallest.

All parts are secured/positioned with a dab of CA and reinforced with epoxy resin. The result is very strong and sturdy.

 

DSC05959.thumb.JPG.a74d654250eb34784d9af92391c81407.JPG

 

The half hull lays perfectly flat on the table, which is a good omen for the rest of the build.

 

Yves

Edited by yvesvidal
Posted (edited)

In order to assemble and install the stern, I need to start putting together the rear sections of the submarine. Therefore, the installation of the Section #6 top hull is done, after gluing the coupler part designed for the rudder and diving planes section.

 

The top parts of Section #6 are small and only required 19 hours and 15 hours of printing time, respectively: 

 

DSC05960.thumb.JPG.7d71ccbc442a48bc27f0d0ee35cb0492.JPG

 

You can start seeing some of the nice details engraved on the top of the hull. For this section, the extrusion was giving me some headaches and is not as sharp as the other top sections as you will see later on. The two white parts on the very end are the couplers used to attach the stern and propeller (see picture below): 

 

DSC05961.thumb.JPG.3cb07409ad984197a9ce673a88081d5d.JPG

 

A view from mid center: 

 

DSC05962.thumb.JPG.35a1ff559a0422d4b0f8376c44434ee8.JPG

 

Top and bottom sections are glued and bolted for alignment and extra strength. I use 10-32 x 1 inch long bolts.

 

DSC05963.thumb.JPG.64c57b1ddca7da78d18d20b67acbe8bf.JPG

 

As you can see, a lot of sanding and filling will have to take place. I suspect I may spend 3 to 4 cans of primer, on that large hull.

 

Yves

 

Edited by yvesvidal
Posted
18 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

I now have to think of a way to display and hold this massive beast.

 

I just now saw that photo, and my first thought was that you'll have to quit building now that you've run out of desktop. 😂

Chris Coyle
Greer, South Carolina

When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk.
- Tuco

Current builds: Brigantine Phoenix, DS Børøysund

  • 1 year later...
Posted

The work on the HMS Bellona is temporarily halted for various reasons (dog and cat inside the house....).

 

In the meantime, I got the itch of continuing this large project which was placed on hold for way too long. The next step is to work on the stern and the diving and steering planes.

 

This part is just enormous and did not fit on my small Creality printer. I had to cut it in 5 pieces: four wings and the rear section: 

 

DSC05805.thumb.JPG.e8b1c716e4af45ffb69881ebb244433e.JPG

 

Above is one of the wings being printed. Below, it is almost finished: 

 

DSC05800.thumb.JPG.a73609cb92d9c4cac5dba01075d167e3.JPG

 

The four parts will be glued vertically first, and then horizontally: 

 

DSC06668.thumb.JPG.cced1e13b4b239e07d0df4b9971d378b.JPG

 

DSC06669.thumb.JPG.84af422f18d87f564189d084837f5691.JPG

 

Before assembling the tail to the main hull, I need to work on a way to anchor and display the hull on a base. With a complete hull 6 feet long, I need to think about something relatively light that will allow the full beauty of this incredible machine.

 

Yves

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...