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Author Topic: Billings Calypso  (Read 28453 times)

Shipmate60

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #50 on: October 18, 2008, 06:17:22 pm »

Dan,
One word of caution on building her as is.
If you are powering her with a Gel Cell cut the Motor tray to get the battery as low as possible.
If you mount the battery on this tray she can become very "tender".
With the battery lower very stable.
I mention this as I do know of several that have turned turtle with raised batteries.
If using Ni Cad/MiNim place some ballast under this tray.

Bob
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #51 on: October 18, 2008, 07:25:57 pm »

Dan,
One word of caution on building her as is.
If you are powering her with a Gel Cell cut the Motor tray to get the battery as low as possible.
If you mount the battery on this tray she can become very "tender".
With the battery lower very stable.
I mention this as I do know of several that have turned turtle with raised batteries.
If using Ni Cad/MiNim place some ballast under this tray.

Bob
Hi Bob, thanks for the advice, I have allready placed a large amount of lead flashing under the "tray" to help with this. The last Calypso I built nearly turned turtle in the bath, & I ended up putting loads of ballast in her. This time I think with the battery in the same place, it should be ok. As you say this is a very top heavy boat.
Here's a pic of my first one in the water. Cheers Dan.
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ronkh

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #52 on: October 18, 2008, 07:59:06 pm »

Lovely build so far. As Footski said, keep the photos coming as I am also tempted now to have a go after seeing your effort. Well done.

Ron.
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #53 on: October 21, 2008, 02:00:08 pm »

Thanks for the kind words, I'll try to keep it interesting for you all. I've found this to be a very interesting boat to build, due to the large amount of detailing that is available for it, it's quite a daunting project though, the instructions are basic to say the least, but nothing that can't be over come.
I also got all the dvd's that were available on Jacque Cousteau, to get plenty of research material, very interesting to watch too!!
I know it's not a boat, well it's a flying boat, so I think that counts, so I thought you might like to see a model I made Of the Calypso's cousin before her demise. This was a normal 1/48th PBY Catalina, which I converted, & made up the decals on the computer. Cheers Dan.
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #54 on: November 12, 2008, 06:58:59 pm »

Managed to get a little more done today. Finished off the upper superstructure, bar a little touching up here & there. Made some of the hatches & battery box for the bridge roof, & the anchor winch.
One thing I will say for Billings kits that makes up for the basic instructions, is the excellent quality of the brass fittings that accompany the kit, I think they are truly superb.
Anyway I gave them all a coat or two of primer, & then went over them with a red oxide type colour, which I will add some satin varnish to, to take off the heavy shine.
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #55 on: November 21, 2008, 01:21:05 pm »

Well managed to get a few more bits & bobs done. Made the rear capstain, & the diving ladder / platform.
I decided to scratch build the platform, as the kit version is only a bit of abs, with some wood glued on top. Going by a photo of the real thing, I made it out of some thin (1mm) brass wire & soldered it togeather. Didn't come out to bad, & looks more realistic.
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barryfoote

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #56 on: November 21, 2008, 08:11:23 pm »

Coming on a treat. Looks great.

barry
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craftysod

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #57 on: November 21, 2008, 08:12:47 pm »

Agree  :-))
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crzydoyle11

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #58 on: November 22, 2008, 11:52:18 am »

 :-)) great job hope to see more of your work.
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #59 on: December 04, 2008, 07:58:55 pm »

Hi all another update. I've been busy building the "Jumo" crane for the stern. This was a mini kit in its self !! Made mainly from injected moulded abs & brass fittings.
As usual the instructions were basic. You have to bend the main lower frame of the crane to fit the base, no markings are given, so it's pretty much a guesstimate as to how much you bend them. I did them so you just had to lever them apart a little to get the lower hydraulic ram in place & still be able to move it freely. The main arms were straight forward, still no locating lugs etc so a bit of care was needed in getting the parts placed correctly.
I added some extra details like the drum guards, & all the pipe work, which I used thin telephone wire to simulate. They even go to the correct places, as there was a diagram in my reference book, which helped alot !!! I added a crew man complete with the ubiquitous red hat for effect. Cheers Dan
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barryfoote

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #60 on: December 05, 2008, 08:33:52 am »

Excellent job.....A little tip. Hope you don't mind, but run your "ropes" through a block of beeswax before using them. It keeps the "fluff" down.

Barry
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #61 on: December 05, 2008, 11:05:54 am »

Excellent job.....A little tip. Hope you don't mind, but run your "ropes" through a block of beeswax before using them. It keeps the "fluff" down.

Barry
Thanks for that Barry, I don't mind at all, any tips allways welcomed. Cheers Dan.
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #62 on: December 18, 2008, 02:42:35 pm »

Well I made the funnel, & a pain it was !!! The vac moulding was very poor , extreamly thin sides, & all crushed in, & some areas had thick runs in the plastic from the moulding process I assume.
I started by adding some plastic metal inside the funnel, to try & regain the correct shape, when this was dry I sanded down the runs, & where the plastic had split, & after several coats of model filler, I managed to get the shape back. After adding the top & brass extras I built up the side vent & added some hinges & a handle on the access door, & gave it several coats of white primer before adding the top coats.
I also decided to add a smoke generator, & went for the Graupner 6v model part No 2324. this was very easy to fit, & produces a large amount of smoke at full blast.
Quite pleased with the result.
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barryfoote

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #63 on: December 18, 2008, 08:46:01 pm »

A cracking rescue job on that funnel...
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #64 on: December 29, 2008, 12:48:11 pm »

Hi all cheers for kind words on the funnel. I decided to make the heli pad next. The  one in the kit, was made of planking, & going by pictures & screen captures, I cloud see that the original pad was made up by many sections of perforated metal sheet, so I decided to scratch build one.
I first scanned the plan, which was 1:1 scale, & then cut it out to use as a template. I used some aluminium mesh, the type that is used to fill rust holes in car panels etc, & then used some scrap decking, or in my case the wood I had left over from planking the hull sides which I cyno glued to the underside to act as the joins in the metal sections. Once painted it should look quite good. Cheers Dan.
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Ghost in the shell

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #65 on: December 29, 2008, 01:01:16 pm »

looks good dan :)

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Hannu

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #66 on: December 30, 2008, 11:31:53 pm »

Hi & Greetings from Nordic!

I have had Calypso kit maybe closer 15 years awating to start,
and today it was The Day..

Playing earlier a lot with rc airplanes, not so much with boats,my very first question
came up, in matter of balancing weight, before gluing any motor decks, I thought it would be the best get some idea about itīs basic ballast,
to get those as low as possible, am I right?

I hope I red through earlier posts, sorry if I repeat question, but could not find any accurate base ballast info

Thanks & Happy New Year !
Hannu
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #67 on: December 31, 2008, 08:59:42 am »


 The most common way to ballast a bot is to get the motors and shafts in place first, they have to go where
 they have to go, if you see what I mean. ( But having said that, you may have a little lee way by using longer
or shorter shafts or gear or belt drives, this gives you the option to move the main battery about.... a bit!) Follow
the layout as suggested in the instructions and you won't go far wrong.

For ballast, some people use lead shot in plastic bags (or strips of lead sheet) and lay them in the completed hull
(shaft, props, motors, couplings, rudders, radio & electronics), adding, removing and moving them around until the
correct waterline as marked on the plans in archived. Allow a couple of millimetres for deck and superstructure weight.
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #68 on: January 02, 2009, 01:29:41 pm »

Finished off the heli pad today. straight forward enough following the template as a size guide. I used spray cans to paint both the white & yellow, as this gave a nice even covering, & didn't fill the holes in the mesh up. Being acryilic, it dried in a flash too.
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Hannu

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #69 on: January 03, 2009, 09:12:31 am »

Hi,

Well, "problem" in Calypso is, that in kit design there is bottom deck for motors, and in matter of balance point, if balance weight, at least partially
installed, could get the balance point in lower position, if initially added below motor deck. That way it should be much more stabile runner
compared to situation all balance lead added over motor deck in higher level.

I have seen quite many scale ships manoevering badly in moderate weather, whereas major problem is not lack of correct
ballast weight, but that itīs balance point is much too high, making ship unstable in wawes/ turns etc..

@Dan.L

Your progress looks great!

BR,
Hannu
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Hannu

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #70 on: January 11, 2009, 07:49:57 pm »

Hello,

well, this is a bit offtopic in matter of Calypso, but as  Calypso is originally modified British Yard Mine Sweeper,
after a short study, I found that there was also 4 pces of those BYMS in service in Finland,so  I decided to make my Calypso kit to be
Finnish Navy Mine Sweeper, lets see what we get from that idea..

BR,
Hannu
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #71 on: January 24, 2009, 10:29:14 am »

Hi all, not done much lately, due to computer problems etc. I have managed to build the main winch assembly & the smaller side winch. I added a couple of brass wires to represent the armoured cables that powered the winches, other than that it's the basic kit. The cover for the pulleys will be added after painting
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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #72 on: June 15, 2009, 01:25:11 pm »

Hi All, well it's been a long time, but i've returned !! Been so busy of lat, note had time to do anything, but I made a start again yesterday. Finished off the rear winch assembly, & scratch built the air supply area. I've also spent some time on the vac form parts, gluing & filling them ready for detailing & painting. Not much I know but it's a start. Mare to come soon hopefully :-)

Cheers Dan.
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Martin (Admin)

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #73 on: June 15, 2009, 07:48:14 pm »

Lots of blood on the bench there Dan!  ok2

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Dan.Lord

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Re: Billings Calypso
« Reply #74 on: June 15, 2009, 08:11:40 pm »

Not so much blood Martin, red paint !! Plenty of sweat & tears though  {-)   
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