Any chance you could post new photos of the hulls sections joined? Hang in there. They say that good things come to those that wait. Mikey
After 4 1/2 months the I-400 hull plugs are back in my workshop. Both the upper and lower hull plugs need repairs, having sat all summer in a humid environment. Wooden frame members had expanded and contacted causing multiple cracks. By midnight last night the upper hull had been crack filled and is ready for resanding and resealing. The lower hull plug is in worse shape, requiring complete skim coating and resanding. On the positive side the molding flanges were made by Jay and Dave so as soon as the plugs are repaired they can be attached and molding can start. Bob
I don't think you'll have any problems making your money back on this mold Bob. I definitely want one hull myself. --Chase
Progress is being made. The upper hull plug repairs will be finished today and the molding flange added tomorrow. Repair of the lower plug started after lunch with filing the hull frames flush with the hull. Most of them were protruding 0.5 -1.0 mm due to swelling. Some small areas of loose plaster were patched and numerous small cracks and dings filled. I hope to have the lower hull plug sanded and resealed this evening. Unfortunately it's impossible to restore the plugs to their June condition but they'll be close The gelcoat layer of the mold will be made thicker than usual so the remaining minor surface defects can be sanded out. Bob
The upper and lower I-400 hull pligs have been repaired. The lower is back to original (June) condition and the upper is almost as good as it was. It's few remaining surface imperfections over some frames are small enough to sand out of the mold. (They can be felt but are hard to see.) The upper plug's deck is slightly (~1.5mm) too high just aft of the hangar location. This is due to one of the frames being too tall or maybe warping over the summer, so it can't be corrected without digging out the foam in the middle, sanding down the frame and rebuilding the center. This is a relatively minor defect so I'm not going to delay the project again after the unexpected 4-month delay this summer. Tonight the plugs will be rewaxed and the centerline molding flanges will be test fitted. If they're accurate enough they'll be siliconed on and the mold lay-up will start this weekend with application of two thick layers of gelcoat. That'll ensure it's thick enough to sand away imperfections without reaching the fiberglass. Bob
The molding flanges haven't been fitted yet. Instead, both hull plugs got more fine sanding and a couple of extra coats of Zinsser sealer. The lower hull plug is actually better than it was in June and the upper plug is almost back to pristine condition. They'll be waxed and the flanges will be installed this evening. If the flanges are a good fit I'll gelcoat half of each plug during tomorrow's Remembrance day holiday. If the weather stays above freezing overnight I can complete the molds and leave them outside to cure and off-gas over the weekend. With a bit of luck the I-400 molds will be done next week. Bob
Awesome Bob!! Is there a somewhere we can buy gelcoat for hulls still? If you could post a list of what we will need to make the hulls (so others can see too) I'll make sure I have it on hand when to comes time to make the hulls. J
Jay, I have enough gelcoat for the I-400 molds but there will be little left for hull production. It's over a year old but still usable. Ralph has been looking for alternative sources since the supplier we bought from (UP) went out of business during the summer. With Eric no longer working at Ashland Chemicals we can't get the wholesale stuff either. I have enough fiberglass matt (3/4 oz.) left for the molds and maybe a couple of hulls, but it's available at Canadian Tire. I'm out of the high quality molding resin I prefer. All that's available at the moment is the Bondo stuff that's thick and doesn't flow well, resulting in excessively heavy molds and hulls and short working times. Again, Ralph has been looking for another source. I believe he located another retailer in Burnside a few weeks back so I should be able to buy superior materials after Remembrance Day. I have plenty of catalyst (methylethyl ketone) which is readily available from Canadian Tire Corp. stores, and a nearly full can of mold release wax. Bob
If you need let me know and I can pick up some resin and ship it out to you Bob and friends out east! Bryan OAF
Jay, I was just on the Environment Canada weather page. The overnight temps will be above freezing from Saturday through Monday nights. Providing the molding flanges fit well enough and don't have to be remade/modified I can gelcoat the first half of each mold early tomorrow afternoon. The gelcoat solidifies quickly so I can probably apply a second coat and let it off-gas outside before the temp goes below freezing. Fiberglass can be laid over the gelcoat Saturday AM. By late afternoon I can remove the wooden flanges. If there's no surface damage from the silicone that held them in place the remaining half of the hull plug and exposed side of the now gelcoat/fiberglass flanges can be waxed. On Sunday AM gelcoat can be applied for the second half of each mold and a second coat can be added in the evening. Monday evening I can glass the second half of each mold. By Tuesday night we may have our molds. Bob
Another delay! When I made my last post I expected to be applying the first layer of gelcoat to the plugs this morning. Unfortunately the centerline molding flanges I received don't fit the plugs well enough. They're a critical part of the molding process and should be an almost exact fit, with no more than a 1mm gap between flange edge and plug surface. It appears that the individual parts of each flange were fairly good matches to the plug contours, but when they were glued together the allignment to the plug surface wasn't maintained. For example, when I tucked the bow piece into position on the upper hull plug, contact between flange and plug stopped after only 2", at the front of the catapult, and 6" further back at the end of the catapult the gap was 3mm (1/8"). The gap continued to increase all the way to the stern. The lower hull plug's flange is a pretty good fit except at the stern where the last piece doesn't match the keel contour well enough, leaving a short but too wide gap. Unlike the other flange it has no balsa blocks glued on at right angles to allow it to be tacked to the plug's base. I've cut the upper hull flange into its original sections and started reshaping each of them for a more exact fit before gluing them back together in correct allignment and siliconing them to the plug. The stern section has to be cut off the lower hull plug's flange and reshaped, and balsa blocks have to be added to attach the flange to the base of the plug. The flanges won't be fixed today because I'm about to leave for the Remembrance Day ceremony and guests are coming over after lunch. This means at least another week's delay. Will this project never end? Bob
Work on the molding flanges resumed in mid-afternoon. Except for the bow piece I redid the entire upper hull plug's flange, which is now a tight fit all the way along the plug. It's siliconed in position and will be waxed after the silicone has hardened. The lower hull plug's molding flange also had to be cut into smaller pieces and each section reshaped for a closer fit. All of it except the bow section has been reassembled and siliconed onto the plug. The bow piece will be reshaped and attached this evening. The revised schedule is to gelcoat the first half of each hull mold Friday evening, add another coat of gelcoat Saturday morning and fiberglass them Sunday morning. The wooden flanges will come off Monday morning and the now exposed gelcoat/glass flanges that were laid up against the wooden ones will be given several coats of wax. The second half of each mold will be laid up on the weekend of the 20th-22nd, weather permitting. After removal from the plugs the molds will require fine sanding with #400 and #600 wet and dry paper to prep the surfaces for waxing. Barring any more unexpected problems we should be ready to make hulls in early December. Bob
I won't be taking deposits because I won't be involved in I-400 hull sales. The molds are a joint project by four local modellers. I'm going to make a hull for myself and the other 3 guys will make their own. After that, unless Jay or Steve want to make and sell hulls, I recommend that we sell the molds to Strike Models or BC, along with the hangar and conning tower molds I made in 2003 to replace the less accurate Battlers components. Either way I expect hulls to be available early in 2010.
If theres anyway a hull can be made before it ships out to the US I'd appreciate it. I don't really like paying for shipping from the US, as well as the customs duties. Either way, glad to hear the the project is coming along fine --Chase
Chase, Where are you located in Canada? When the molds are done you should ask Jay if he and Steve will make a hull for you. I have no idea what the price will be. It's a 4 part set: upper and lower hull, hangar and conning tower. Bob
I'm in Southern Ontario, about an hour from Toronto. I'd be very happy if somebody would make me a hull. --Chase
