Merriman's Submarine Modelling Masterclass

Just got back yesterday from the two-day event. Perfect weather, and a near perfect venue for scale r/c boat and submarine running.

It was as the Carmel Indiana Veteran's Memorial Reflecting Pool. Much thanks to Dave Hampton and his crew of the local, Indianapolis Admiral r/c model boat club for organizing and running this fun event.




















































 
Returning from the first r/c model boat regatta of the season -- this one at Carmel, Indiana -- Post Mission operations and checks had to be performed on hulls and SubDrivers: Cleaning the hulls, addressing mechanical, electronic, and propulsion problems encountered at the venue, airing out the cylinders, placing the batteries in safe storage, and putting the repaired and maintained SubDrivers to bed.















































 
Scott Kenny said:
Seriously, take that Barbel-class you have with torpedo tubes out for fun.
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The model you're likely referring to is my 1/96 BLUEBACK. It's a pain to get a launcher and weapons system to work well at such a small scale -- but I did it with this 1/96 THRESHER:



































What a Plumber's nightmare that thing is!

Much easier to build and employ a 1/72 scale weapon-launcher system.

David
 
merriman said:
The model you're likely referring to is my 1/96 BLUEBACK. It's a pain to get a launcher and weapons system to work well at such a small scale -- but I did it with this 1/96 THRESHER:
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Yeah, scale torpedoes would be ~0.22" in diameter or so at 1/96...

Blueback is probably easier to aim the torpedoes, since those rockets are straight line shooters and the Thresher design angles the tubes outboard...
 
As much as I truly love and admire your work, just posting the pictures without explanatory text is like watching a silent movie without title cards. But I completely understand if you really want to keep the tricks of your trade for yourself forever instead of teaching the next generation ;).
 
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Yes, what is the teriyaki sauce and the olive oil, really?
Etching solutions to keep the putty from debonding?
 
martinbayer said:
As much as I truly love and admire your work, just posting the pictures without explanatory text is like watching a silent movie without title cards. But I completely understand if you really want to keep the tricks of your trade for yourself forever instead of teaching the next generation ;).
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THERE ARE NO SECRETS. Only idiots who think there are secretes.

There simply is not enough time for me to take the pictures, post them, and spend hours writing narrative. So. I post the pictures, you look at them, and if you have need of explanation -- a narrative -- simply post your question here and I'll write up a complete narrative (usually supplemented with more detailed pictures) to address the issue.

Silent movies made the audience THINK, to fill in the blanks -- title cards were often a distraction.

So. Ask questions and I'll answer them.

If I was one of those idiots who thought there were secretes to hoard in this Craft then why in hell am I posting these pictures????
 
aim9xray said:
Yes, what is the teriyaki sauce and the olive oil, really?
Etching solutions to keep the putty from debonding?
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You are correct, sir!

Pickling with acid oxidizes the metals surface producing microscopic pits onto the parts surface that works to mechanically hold filler, putty, primer and paint to the metals surface.

First, the acid bath followed by a water rinsing. The water spiked with baking soda -- the high pH of that water killing any remaining acid.















 
You, Sir, define and embody the very essence and meaning of what a labor of love actually means. I salute you, Sir!
 
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martinbayer said:
You, Sir, define and embody the very essence and meaning of what a labor of love actually means. I salute you, Sir!
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Very kind. Thank you. I have the advantage of knowing from age five what I was going to do with my life. No time wasted on pursuit of dead-end career paths -- I started on this one early and have not wavered from it for over seventy years.
 
Did you have to add some camber to those props or something?

If they were 3d printed they should have already had the correct shape for the full sized item...
 
Scott Kenny said:
Did you have to add some camber to those props or something?

If they were 3d printed they should have already had the correct shape for the full sized item...
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Whoever designed those wheels took the shortcut of omitting any helical twist along the span of the blades -- the hallmark of a constant pitch propeller -- just flat slabs. And, yes, I added camber to the suction side of the blades to both strengthen them and make them a tad more efficient.

Other than those shortcomings, all other aspects of the robot produced Type-21 parts was outstanding!
 
Your stunning hardware is a welcome sight for sore eyes tired of mis/uninformed discussions on various and sundry topics in this forum...
 
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martinbayer said:
Your stunning hardware is a welcome sight for sore eyes tired of mis/uninformed discussions on various and sundry topics in this forum...
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Yes. Lots of armchair 'experts' out there. I prefer to keep both toes deeply immersed in the world of reality and Newtonian physics.
 
merriman said:
Whoever designed those wheels took the shortcut of omitting any helical twist along the span of the blades -- the hallmark of a constant pitch propeller -- just flat slabs. And, yes, I added camber to the suction side of the blades to both strengthen them and make them a tad more efficient.

Other than those shortcomings, all other aspects of the robot produced Type-21 parts was outstanding!
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*facepalm* Oof...
 
Michel Van said:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtqkuIo9lbY


i really enjoy your comment in video at 0:43
3D Printer can be blessing or curse for Modelmakers.
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LOL. His child-like joy in showing off that printed part to me was just too much for me to hold back. He did not know my position. Now, he does!

I think you'll get a laugh from the tongue-lashing I got in another forum concerning my distaste of robot produced parts:

http://www.wmunderway.mysite.com/cgi/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1720034209
The bloodletting starts with my comment at, Reply #5.

Enjoy the fireworks.

David
you stop being a Modelmaker the moment you surrender to the robots
 
Oh yes I understand you completely

As myself learned the traditional way of Illustrations, Ink on Paper, maybe Rastertone on it, Yes i'm so old.
i face digital art and Design and horribly software by Adobe,
nowadays I adapt using a scanner for my drawings and Affinity is such a blessing.

Try 3D graphics but i don't get it. Blender is terrible to use for newbies and the Rest meh and expensive...
Google SketchUp was good and free, until Trimble inc bought it and now subscription for it like Adobe.
i use now Live Home 3d for buildings, but that get screen printed and on light table under paper and i draw.
I have absolut control if i draw it. not that kind of dictatorship what you get in Clip Paint studio,
or next new crap by Trimble inc or Autodesk (the next to fail like Adobe)

and now AI generated Art, my comment on that:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqPOeC-tnKI
 
merriman said:
you stop being a Modelmaker the moment you surrender to the robots
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Some shapes just cannot be made any other way.

And some shapes need to be made better, like those 3d printed props you had to correct.

Says the guy with a pretty large pile of 3d printed miniatures on his to-paint pile.
 

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