I think its a smart option to look at. If you look at what the tripple vs dual stern cannons do point wise in a single gun load, with a average of 12% hits, really not much difference, 60 points on average. But that extra pump will keep you afloat. If you follow the MWC at all, its what Jeff L did in his Nagato, 3 side mounts, one off the bow at 15 deg with no stern guns at all. The boat is very very effective. Eats NC's for lunch and spits them out. And I just sold him 2 of my newest outlets, he thinks it is pumping well over 6 gallons a minute now with both pumps on. I sent Curt early last year, or late the year before, 2 or 3 of my outlets for him to try out, so he has a couple of them. Never heard back from him if he had ever given them a try, but they will work real good for these 2 boats if he still has them. I'm to the point that I have to agree with Tim K, we really need to tripple the individual ship sink points, so that the ships that are tougher to sink are worth going after.
I didn't install them in Bismarck during it's refit but saving them for the Missouri and if Tom wants to try one I have the 2nd one for him to install. Looking forward to seeing how these work.
Hey All, Iowa now has her A and B turret hatch cut out. This hatch was a but harder to get done for reason I don't really understand but it done and looks pretty good. One last hatch to go and then I will get some photos an move onto the final fitting and resining of the deck. Thanks for the input on the weapons set up djranier. I tend to agree with your assessment. I also see the other side of the coin which is the increased severity of the damage inflicted by triples over duals. However, I personally prefer the peace of mind provided by the two pumps while I am really slugging it out with sidemounts over that increase. As for these outlets, I would love try one. Care to describe the principles of their construction which causes this significant increase in performance? More to Come! Tom P.S. Curt are you free Friday?
I am off Friday Tom but need to get to the hobby store to get glue and extensions, then to the paint ball store to fill up a co2 bottle. However I need to get to your place to finish up Yamato and drag that hulk out of your garage. Thinking of taking it up to GF's Parents Cabin and attach the Go Pro Hero there. What time do you want to get together? btw You can have the spare Nozzle to try out. I am installing it in Missouri.
Hey Curt, I am free all day anytime after 9:30 or so. I also need to go to the paintball shop to price bottles for Iowa. Maybe we can do that run together. Tom
Sounds good lets do that and the hobby store and the electonics center. I am going to check and see what other types of resistors they have. Then head back to your place and finish up Yamato and mark out Missouri.
Curt and I got together again today to work on our ships. Curt hasn't begun on the Missouri as he has prioritized completing Bismarck's refit and the minor refurbishment of the Yamato. Further more we are both awaiting a shipment from Strike Models to allows us to move forward. Today saw Curt repaint the Yamato to cover up some damage he inflicted while testing Bismarck's new guns. While Curt worked on the big bad Y boat I concentrated on Iowa and cut out the third of three deck hatches and shaped the forward most section of the deck to better fit the hull. With this complete I then installed cross-members under the deck to increase the overall strength of the hull and deck. With both of us meeting our goals for the day Curt and I then spent some time playing around with possible internal setups for new ships. I will try and get some photos of the deck hatches and a few of the setups we have been considering. My next goal is to install bracing to the back of the midships ribs, fabricate motor mounts and install the rudders. When that is complete I will begin resining in the whole kit and kaboodle. Tom
Hey All, Here are a few quick photos showing the hatches and deck as they are now. If the weather is decent tomorrow I will try and resin everything inplace. Comments and questions appreciated as always. First, two shots of the hatches Shot of how tight the hatches are (midships, port) Superstructure put in place for fun.
Thanks Paul. It would be great if next year you, Curt and I could take an entire American fleet down to NATS. Tom
I might cut a bit more channel in there before you resin it for the deck seal. It seems a bit small at points. It looks very nice. It's good you are all building allied as I think they might need a bit of help.
Back at the stern where it curves in, your inner channel (where the popped out deck sits on) goes to 1/8 th or so. Seeing as this is the area that will be low or under water during battling or backing, I would want a little bit more sealing there. It does the same in the front but not as drastic.
Oh the sub-deck. I may add some additional strips of wood to bring then in a little farther but I want get everything resined in and then see how all the hatches fit. I am also going to experiment with a gasket making trick that a friend of mine taught me. More on that later. Today saw the first steps towards completing the drive systems. I fabricated two motor mounts out of balsa which will act as cradles for the motors. These will be resined into the bottom of the hull and then two pipes clamps will be embedded into them and will also be resined in place. I used a similar system on my first Nagato with great success. I also drilled the holes for the rudders but have not installed them yet.
Good work Tom. Sorry about today. I forgot to let you know I was working. Those early morning workouts can make you forget later on. I am off Thursday though.
Hello All, Just a quick update on Iowa. The deck has been resined in place with pretty good results. Now that everything is dry I plan to install the barbets and then begin the process of sanding and filling everything to get a nice smooth surface. I have also roughed in the motor mounts and those will soon be resined in place.
