Fiberglass hulls and thick balsa

Discussion in 'Construction' started by Tugboat, Mar 10, 2009.

  1. Tugboat

    Tugboat Facilitator RCWC Staff Admiral (Supporter)

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    My thought on that is that it gets harder to cast satisfactorily with each sharp break line that is added. In terms of effort, it's much easier to say 'models can be a bit wider than the rules currently allow', than to indent the hulls of all ship hulls produced. I suppose that if one were to make Big Gun-specific hulls that would be a possibility, but you'd have to do it yourself (not saying hard or impossible, mind you!) because no one who makes 1/144 hulls is going to want to only sell huls to big gunners. That's what it would be, because indenting the hull enough to fit 1/8" balsa will leave a visible very nonscale indent on 1/32" sheeted ships. I am sizing the 1/96 plugs for thick balsa, but there isn't a larger community of 1/96 fast gun guys who run 1/32" balsa that I could also sell to.

    Not saying it's a horrible idea from an aesthetic standpoint, just not a good one from a hull production & sales standpoint.

    As for modifying the molds, the ones I already have from Bob are pristine and I would cry at the thought of modifying them; I expect the others who have functioning molds feel similarly. Speaking theoretically, you could make a 1/8" thick wax insert and fit it to the mold for a one-shot, but I don't think it'd be trivial.
     
  2. BoomerBoy17

    BoomerBoy17 Active Member

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    maybe use some wood filler to build up along the areas where there needs to be a better transition, then sand it and water proof it (silkspan maybe). I hope this helped.
     
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  3. NickMyers

    NickMyers Admin RCWC Staff

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    They could always just sheet the entire hull. Not very economical, would add weight and be a real pain and possibly violate dimension constraints, but would cover up the problem. :D
     
  4. rarena

    rarena Well-Known Member

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    I always sand the edges of the balsa to feather it in. Real ships are actually very lumpy so if you are going for the ultra smooth side, good luck but it is model and not real.
     
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  5. Kotori87

    Kotori87 Well-Known Member

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    Hey folks, I've been thinking about fiberglass hulls a lot recently, since a new member started building a fiberglass Roma in the WWCC. One thing that I noticed was that when the fiberglass hull was sheeted with 1/8" balsa, as required by WWCC rules, the edges of the balsa were very noticeable due to the way stood out from the hull. I know most fiberglass hulls are designed for the 1/32" balsa that Fast Gun clubs use, but I am wondering if there is any way to reduce or eliminate the thick balsa edging on Big Gun fiberglass boats, without compromising the scale appearance of the hull.
    One idea that I've been kicking around is the possibility of indenting the sides of the hull in the penetrable sections, so that when the balsa is installed it is flush with the fiberglass sections and blends in without major effort. I get a similar effect on wooden-hull boats by planking the bottom in material the same thickness as the balsa I plan to use, so there is no visible transition between penetrable and impenetrable hull from the outside. So all you fiberglass hull-makers out there, what do you think? Is it possible to design a mold so that the penetrable areas are all indented the thickness of the ship's balsa armor? And is it possible to temporarily modify an already-made mold so that one or two hulls can be made like that?
     
  6. DarrenScott

    DarrenScott -->> C T D <<--

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    I always sheet stem-to stern, sanding the ends, and filling the bottom edge with filler before silkspan, since Rodney had internal armour. On Thunderer, I'm planning on having the balsa look like the external armour belt, so no sanding.
     
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  7. squires

    squires Member

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    well i used builders bog, it is basically a bog made from composites acts much like timber and is maluable for about the first hour then sets as hard as fiberglass. basically just run that along to blend into the hull then wait 5 mins sand it back and let it dry. when you need to re sheet the boat it is possible to scrape the builders bog off the hull using a chisel and presto ready to start again. you can buy the bog in the filler section of any hardware store. it also has the added benefit of being able to be shaped to a very pointed front which inturn reduces you wave friction and makes your batteries last longer.
     
  8. bugler

    bugler Member

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    Well, I think... but I am pretty new... that I will try to set up an internal frame to support the balsa, recessed into the side of the hull, so that the balsa is flush or indented a bit? Probably use the same frame to support an internal armour behind the balsa....

    I saw someplace that someone was using duct tape instead of balsa to sheet their penetrable area?

    Yeah.. I think there is a bit of conflict in this hobby between the "detail" folks, and the "Waring" folks. If we are shooting big holes in everyone's ship windows... people probably will notice the holes etc, and patches.... more than a slight raised edge of balsa along the hull..... A speeding battle boat in a Melee of boats, water spouting everywhere, guns blasting.... who seriously is going to squint the eyes and comment at the end.... "YEAH well John's Bismark may have won the battle...but look at the 1mm edge of balsa sticking out on the side of his hull... shoddy work... terrible....etc...." Most of the ships I see on the site are great! But they mostly lack a lot of detail in the superstructure because it would just get shot off anyway.

    Just my thinking.
     
  9. Tugboat

    Tugboat Facilitator RCWC Staff Admiral (Supporter)

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    honestly, I sheet to the ends of the boat, and sand it to a reasonable edge, or I just sand it so that it's a smooth transition. From 10 feet no one will know or care :)
     
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  10. Bob Pottle

    Bob Pottle Well-Known Member

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    Tugboat, that's what I've always done - it looks much nicer than ending the balsa abruptly just short of bow and stern.
     
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