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Author Topic: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.  (Read 32957 times)

unbuiltnautilus

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Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« on: June 14, 2014, 04:42:36 pm »

Magma displacement?
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #1 on: June 14, 2014, 04:48:53 pm »

As it is now nearing completion, information can now be revealed to the public.

I had the good fortune to obtain an Engel Typhoon submarine a few years ago, the bad news being...
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warspite

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #2 on: June 14, 2014, 04:56:41 pm »

That polit bureu cook / spy, let that damn bomb off inside too soon  {-)

'you were supposed to only blow the doors off'  ok2
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #3 on: June 14, 2014, 05:00:42 pm »

It was black, pickled, and the internals were....challenging.

My first thought was one of the Refit Typhoons, however we are blessed with at least two cracking good Typhoon models in the UK at the moment ( you know who you are :-)) ), so it had to be another option.
I read Tom Clancys novel The Hunt For Red October way back when it was first published over here. Excellent read. I waited with baited breath for the film. Then I found the world of difference between a good novel and a two hour movie. Still it had submarines, big explosions, and those graceful Oliver Hazard Perry class Frigates in it %% . It also had a big Red October movie prop model and a full size, almost, floating set, each slightly different from each other. Both ugly! What is the deal with the so called 'platypus tail'? Not a pretty appendage.
So, I decided I wanted a Red October as detailed ( very sparingly! ) in the original novel.

And thats my excuse.
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #4 on: June 14, 2014, 05:02:21 pm »

That polit bureu cook / spy, let that damn bomb off inside too soon  {-)

'you were supposed to only blow the doors off'  ok2


Much more exciting in the book!
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #5 on: June 14, 2014, 05:20:13 pm »

My Typhoon is the earlier version of the kit, lacking the super detailing of the current version. This convinced me that it would be okay to hack this expensive model to bits.
I needed a a super secret silent drive system, 26 missile doors, and a towed array pod on the rear fin/rudder.
But first that black paint had to go.
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #6 on: June 14, 2014, 05:29:10 pm »

The paint seemed to just flake off of the upper hull, but proved a tougher nut to crack on the lower hull and resin parts. I had to resort to an organic paint stripper from the nice people at B&Q. Even this struggled. In the end I resorted to fine wet and dry paper and buckets of soapy water.

The bilge keels were my first addition. These are actually triangular in cross section, and wired through the hull sides, then bonded in place. they are tough enough to lift the model up by.

Also, never forget to make a decent stand. This one will drain off any water easily. it also has four hand holds for lifting the model.

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Nordsee

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #7 on: June 14, 2014, 05:31:07 pm »

That polit bureu cook / spy, let that damn bomb off inside too soon  {-)

'you were supposed to only blow the doors off'  ok2
" You were only supposed to  blow the B----y doors off
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #8 on: June 14, 2014, 05:38:29 pm »

The insides of the model were next. There are many systems at work in one of these big Engel kits, ballast tanks with limit switches, hydroplane and periscope retract mechanisms, failsafes, motors etc etc.
All the wires were colour coded....black. Every single wire of consequence was black. Okay, they had little masking tape tags on them with letter/number codes, but that was it. So out it all came.
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #9 on: June 14, 2014, 05:40:04 pm »

" You were only supposed to  blow the B----y doors off

If I had a pound ( 1.22 Euros approx ) for every time I was told that at one of our displays :}
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #10 on: June 14, 2014, 05:44:32 pm »

Posh multi-coloured wiring in. Keeping notes as I went.
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U-33

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #11 on: June 14, 2014, 05:50:42 pm »

No colour predujice there, then...very smart.


Rich
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #12 on: June 14, 2014, 06:06:18 pm »

Still to come, surface detailing and how to do it justice. Those pesky missile doors, the silent drive system, plus much filler and destruction of that beautifully designed stern section.

Need to go lie down in a darkened room to calm down now <*<
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U-33

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #13 on: June 14, 2014, 06:20:24 pm »

And...breathe.




Rich
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #14 on: June 14, 2014, 06:24:39 pm »

Breathing again..thank you :-))
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Mankster

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #15 on: June 15, 2014, 01:33:45 am »

I think I am going to like this thread  :-))
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mermod

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #16 on: June 15, 2014, 09:12:52 am »

go easy on the beaver tail please :(
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Subculture

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #17 on: June 15, 2014, 05:09:06 pm »

Heavy old boats to lug about. How's your lower back? ;)

I like the Kehrer Typhoon featured in Submarines Models and their originals, which used twin 500ml engel tanks in a tube. Brings the weight down a bit over the glassed in box.

The conversion that Ron Perrott did on Mick Higgotts Mark 1 Engel Typhoon is also very impressive. That beast used four piston tanks in twin cylinders. As a result it has a very fast dive time, about half that or better of the standard Engel boat.
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #18 on: June 17, 2014, 12:27:16 pm »

Heavy old boats to lug about. How's your lower back? ;)



Honestly, not so good. So my best hobby would be model boats and submarines, 100" tankers and stuffing great Typhoon submarines! Thats why I have a crate for Red October. It used to house a 1/96 scale RN County Class Destroyer, nice snug fit. It now has rope handles at each end and down the sides. The model also has bespoke strops, in the box, for launch, recovery...and to get the model out of the box! nothing to get hold of you see, very round cross section and all that.
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #19 on: June 25, 2014, 05:14:48 pm »

Checking through the working functions I found that the forward retract mechanism for the hydroplanes just needed a little tweak and it ran fine. The periscopes retract mechanism kept stalling before reaching its end points. I oiled all moving parts just in case, to no avail. So, in the end opted to re-motor the mechanism. Instead of the 385 type motor originally fitted, it now has a 480 type! A bit overkill in retrospect, but it now has the desired 'grunt' to do the job. Now I have to ensure the end stop mechanisms dont fail, as I could destroy the entire device if anything goes wrong.
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #20 on: June 25, 2014, 05:24:08 pm »

Access into the Typhoon seems to be an issue. The two piston tanks barely fit through the hatch without some pulling, pushing and cursing. Also two of the relay circuits are hidden in the bow and stern area of the model. This caused much hacking to follow...
I opened up a couple of circular hatches fore and aft, with the intention of hooking up the wires to the relay circuits, then bolting down and siliconing in place two circular acrylic inspection hatches. Offering me a good view into the otherwise hidden ends of the model. if I needed to access these areas, the bolts could be undone and the silicone cut away, all to be replaced once any problem was addressed.
Two problems with that plan, one being that my neat circle cut out missed the terminal blocks that I wanted access to. Leaving me to cut a slot radiating out from my circle, not nice to look at. Also, the fibreglass here was surprisingly thin. I then discovered that a metal plate is laminated into the top part of the WTC, around the hatch bolts. Making for a very stiff structure overall. Donut here has now hacked holes into it!
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #21 on: June 25, 2014, 05:32:14 pm »

So, decision has been made by me, for me. Upper structure now fatally weakened by me drilling big holes in it...so hack it all off!
I obtained some 8mm clear acrylic sheet, some already laminated fibreglass sheet, with a gelcoated top surface, also about 8mm thick, neoprene foam sheet for a hatch seal, and about 50 off M4 stainless bolts. Proceeded to assemble a new top hatch off of the model. Then got the Permagrit cutting disc out and hacked the top out of the lovely, expensive, Engel kit, to within 25mm of the top edge of the upper part of the WTC. Using Fibreglass Repair Paste, I then secured the new upper deck to the roughened surface of the original kit. filling and fairing in with filler to complete the job.

Imagine green fibreglass paste, sticky tape everywhere, dust, and bricks and batteries to hold the whole lot down while glueing.....because I left the camera at home that night! So no photos.
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U-33

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #22 on: June 25, 2014, 05:36:00 pm »

So...nobody says to you today...."hello mate, had a good day?"


Rich
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #23 on: June 25, 2014, 05:38:13 pm »

Now I started playing with ideas for the surface detailing. I tried to simulate the panelling seen on these big subs with a pencil and thin flexible ruler. using a 4H pencil to draw a grid pattern on the bare fibreglass hull. this was then smudged about with a sweaty finger to blend it in just a bit. Liked the look, file it away for future use.
Also it was time to work out the door arrangement for the Caterpillar Drive. Do I go movie accurate, cos the rest of the model wont be. So a quick bit of mocking up in the computer.
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unbuiltnautilus

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Re: Red October, as seen in the novel of the same name.
« Reply #24 on: June 25, 2014, 05:40:47 pm »

Every day is a good day for someone! If I meet them though <*<
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