Topic: PCF (Patrol Craft Fast) Vietnam Swift boat build (Read 63180 times)

red181 · « **Reply #75 on:** May 03, 2015, 07:36:49 pm »

ran it again today, and very pleased to report the stuttering has gone, I put that down to a faulty servo extension lead, and they where all new!

I am thinking of fitting longer and bigger spray rails, at speed the rear part of the deck is getting very wet, and now I have to sort the water leaks

red181 · « **Reply #76 on:** May 04, 2015, 11:18:24 pm »

Is anybody reading this???

Progress today was exceptional

I sanded the original short spray rails off, they were doing nothing, and far too much water was hitting the deck, compounding the water leaks. Using square profile 2mm plastic strip I fitted full length spray rails front to back hoping that this would help with the amount of water hitting the boat. On test today, in slightly choppy water, I am really happy to report it worked, the deck is now almost bone dry, after 20 mins throwing it all over the place.

It also greatly minimised the torque roll, although right hand turns at speed against the direction of both props need to be handled with care to prevent the boat digging in and trying to go straight on. Counter rotating props will sort this.

The rear covers are in the process of being modified to be water tight, and the first version which was just taped on worked, the inside of the hull was dry, with the signal problem sorted, I can now finally move on from the mechanicals to the cosmetics and at last think about starting the paint and fittings

essex2visuvesi · « **Reply #77 on:** May 04, 2015, 11:21:28 pm »

I'm reading this

derekwarner · « **Reply #78 on:** May 05, 2015, 12:02:44 am »

Yes red......even from 22,000 km away........that cooling water setup shown in the twin aft deck hatches looks

.......like a plumbers nightmare ...

When will you install the new handed [counter rotating] propeller's?.........keep us posted on progress

.. Derek

Antipodes · « **Reply #79 on:** May 05, 2015, 04:09:18 am »

I'm reading this too from down under

It's going well.

red181 · « **Reply #80 on:** May 05, 2015, 10:54:32 pm »

Hi Derek,

well its when I can afford them! Annoyingly I have a couple of 5mm pairs, but no 4mm that are big enough. I actually started painting tonight, all exciting stuff now!

Those last 3 responses must be the most worldwide responses in succession on any thread!

essex2visuvesi · « **Reply #81 on:** May 05, 2015, 10:58:25 pm »

Quote from: red181 on May 05, 2015, 10:54:32 pm

Hi Derek,

well its when I can afford them! Annoyingly I have a couple of 5mm pairs, but no 4mm that are big enough. I actually started painting tonight, all exciting stuff now!

Those last 3 responses must be the most worldwide responses in succession on any thread!

What size do you need?

red181 · « **Reply #82 on:** May 07, 2015, 12:42:16 pm »

Not sure yet Gary, probably same as my Fireboat, that's buried deep in the garage, so when I get close to back on the water I will dig it out.

So, got some primer on, still a lot to do with pre paint prep, but now I know what it looks like in grey. At least this boat will not have to be a fussy paint job, its going to look battered and bruised, so imperfections don't really matter

I am really undecided about the colour scheme. Green was the river boats, and probably the more popular and well known, due to various war films, Grey was the coastal boat. I have some crew lined up, that are in green, so I assume they are Army/Marines, which would be the River boat, and maybe the Coastal boat was Navy?

Any comments welcome please

TugCowboy · « **Reply #83 on:** May 07, 2015, 01:27:22 pm »

Looks fantastic in primer. Green always works very well with the battered look where Grey can be harder to get right for the dirty used image.
I normally like to go against the grain but I'd say go Green.

Alex

red181 · « **Reply #84 on:** May 10, 2015, 08:40:32 pm »

thanks for all the replies, oh, there was only one

so green is ahead at the moment, Thanks Alex

Rear hatch covers are on, rivet detail from dressmakers pins, they took ages! I have a cunning plan to hide the locating bolts under some deck clutter. Once the boat is completed there will be very little need to take these covers off .

Its finally starting to get interesting

TugCowboy · « **Reply #85 on:** May 11, 2015, 01:26:10 pm »

Rivets are a pain to detail.

I have one of these little lovelies which I picked up off eBay around 5 years ago for £25.

It's a GW Models Rivet Tool and they do become available occasionally on eBay but you don't tend to want to get rid of it. The chap making them sells them for about £52 inc postage although I've heard there can be a waiting list.

It pushes a perfect rivet shape at many different scales from 1:78 through to about 1:24 through a series of interchangeable punches and will go through styrene sheet, brass or aluminium no problems. I believe there is also a more advanced model available now for about £30 more but I can't really imagine how it could be improved.

Alex

TugCowboy · « **Reply #86 on:** May 11, 2015, 01:27:21 pm »

Duplicated my own post - apologies, can admin please delete?

davidm1945 · « **Reply #87 on:** May 11, 2015, 05:38:16 pm »

Quote from: red181 on February 18, 2015, 10:40:00 pm

One motor is a bit rumbly compared to the other...

I bought a brushless motor from Hobby King and it screamed like a Banshee on anything over 1/2 power. I stripped it down, knocked out the ball races and replaced them with some good quality ones from eBay - now smooth as silk and purrs even on full chat. I suspect that the bearings supplied are produced by the million and not subject to any sort of quality control.

Dave.

red181 · « **Reply #88 on:** May 11, 2015, 10:13:45 pm »

That's a fab bit of kit Alex,

Good point Dave, Cheap motors equals cheap components, I will swop the bearings out if it gets worse. For now, I'm on the fun cosmetic things, could not bear going back to mechanicals just yet!

red181 · « **Reply #89 on:** May 12, 2015, 01:04:44 pm »

off work today, so after ignoring all the jobs my Missus wanted doing, it was in the shed for a long haul this morning making stanchions. I couldn't find what I wanted anywhere, and the original white metal ones where broken, bent or horrible. After spending another £30 getting the GREEN

paint mixed I have to keep the costs down, so its out with the scraps of brass, and 3 hours later the parts are done, just need drilling and soldering together

red181 · « **Reply #90 on:** May 17, 2015, 09:51:00 am »

spent way too long on these

rob · « **Reply #91 on:** May 17, 2015, 01:44:21 pm »

They look perfect to me, so is there ever a case for spending too much time on one item ?
I've always spent too long on most items of a build, but it means I'm happy with most if not every one of the bits I've used. . . . . Think of it as enjoying the journey rather than rushing to the destination.

red181 · « **Reply #92 on:** May 17, 2015, 01:57:02 pm »

thanks rob

at least they wont fall off after all this work! I started with 15 thinking have some spares and now down to 12

TugCowboy · « **Reply #93 on:** May 18, 2015, 11:49:52 am »

Lovely job on the stanchions.
Certainly no chance of spending too much time on them. I had a right job trying to find some off the shelf ones for a recent build. I've hacked down and tweaked some others but despite the price paid for them, and a good few hours put into it I'm really not happy.

Wish I had the tools to scratch make them so beautifully like you've done here.

If the results right then the time taken was never wrong!

red181 · « **Reply #94 on:** May 20, 2015, 10:25:00 pm »

some more done, never throw ANYTHING away, even small bits of brass, especially small bits of brass,

The bollards are an unusual shape, so made my own, and again, these suckers are not falling off, so used m3 bolts to secure on the deck

Remember when your parents had a brass set of brush, poker and shovel next to the fire (even when it was a gas fire!

), well I buy this sort of thing from car boot sales, for a few quid, you get a lot of brass in those things, and it can always be used for something else!

red181 · « **Reply #95 on:** May 21, 2015, 10:32:24 pm »

some more scrap brass put to good use. I didn't have the Samson post at the front, so had some time off work today and put it to good use

red181 · « **Reply #96 on:** May 21, 2015, 10:34:41 pm »

no sigh of the wife, so onwards with another task, whilst the scrap brass box is out, and the lathe is plugged in, start the rear deck searchlight. The original one just didn't look salvageable

red181 · « **Reply #97 on:** May 21, 2015, 10:39:55 pm »

Time to finally get the paint out. I want to complete the hull and deck, then move on to the wheelhouse etc after that. I had an idea about weathering. The PCF was an aluminium boat, so there isn't going to be any rust, so I thought about painting any area that will get damaged, knocked, and generally worn out with aluminium paint. The green can go over this, then when I weather the boat, gentle rubbing should reveal the aluminium paint, in theory it should look ok.

Any comments about weathering and "dirtying up" welcome, come on! its getting very lonely here

JimG · « **Reply #98 on:** May 22, 2015, 09:44:54 am »

You could try a technique used by the large scale aircraft modellers for scuff and chip marks. Using the aluminium base paint put some dabs of Vaseline where you want the wear to show. You then spray the top coat and when this has dried you can remove the paint over the Vaseline. After cleaning you are left with the aluminium showing through the top coat.

Jim

Sub driver · « **Reply #99 on:** May 22, 2015, 01:07:53 pm »

Hi Red
If you check out the St Helens open day thread you can see my PCF and PBR may give you some ideas
I painted mine then dry brushed aluminium paint very gently in areas that would get wear.
Sub

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Author Topic: PCF (Patrol Craft Fast) Vietnam Swift boat build (Read 63180 times)