Mogador - IRCWCC

Hello, all. Thought I would start posting progress on my first ship - a Class 1 Mogador. The hull is from BC, along with the deck, cannon, and hardware kits.
After ordering & receiving the hull, I learned that this is unfortuately not a beginner ship. Respectfully declining sage advice offered, we have decided to press on and give this our best shot. We're planning to use more than a few of the tips in the other Mogador build thread here as well, so thank you in advance to Mr. Tyng for posting everything that he has so far.
Laid out the hull panels with 3/8" ribs, 85% open space, 2" from bow, 1" from stern:

Cut the panels using a Dremel with a very nice wheel -- actually a diamond cutting wheel that I had no idea that they made. It's very thin, and kept the dust to a minimum. Not too cheap ($15), but I've always managed to chew through the stone wheels pretty fast. Didn't seem to bother this wheel at all, like a knife through butter.

Plan next to sand the interior, and epoxy in the sub deck. Also accumulating the rest of the guts. I know that weight & stability are going to be a challenge, so we'll try for the lightest stuff we can find, and put it as low as we can. I'm thinking ESC for the motors and Team Delta for the cannon. Steve also shows a composite CO2 regulator, so thinking that will be a good way to go...

 

I know she was tiny, but Man!!!!! She a neat little ship, I hope you have fun with her!
Nikki

 

Good luck with your build, and remember, topweight is a small ship's deadliest enemy.

 

What kind of ESC?

 

Thanks, gents. Definitely going to keep things as low as I possibly can.

As for the ESC, I'm considering a small Mtroniks Viper, but have yet to decide the specific rating. The basic motors that came in the kit have no markings or data sheets. So I'm thinking I'll measure the motor current draw under load (hooked to the shaft & prop in a bucket of water), and then go with the smallest ESC possible. I would guess the Micro 10 will cut the mustard, but will have to see...

 

With the Mtroniks ESCs, they all wiegh pretty much the same until you get up to the 40 amp version. I doubt you'll need a 40 though.
Make sure you get the instant reverse version.

 

I bought a couple of Mtroniks Nano's from Caswell for my Moggy.
http://www.caswellplating.com/rc-mo...oller.html
After some testing I found they did not hard brake going from full reverse to neutral. They would hard brake going from full forward to neutral. I thought this was odd in an ESC so I am now using the Wasp ESC from Robotpower.com.
http://robotpower.com/products/wasp_info.html
The Wasp is built using drivers built for automotive applications and doesn't have any fussy programming requirements, a truly plug-and-play and hopefully bullet-proof brushed ESC.
If anybody wants a deal on a couple of Mtroniks Nano's, drop me a PM.
Steve

 

Thanks for the insights, Steve. You got me thinking and digging into this more...

 

Rudder & screws last week.
Drilled the slots for the stuffing tubes. Got them a little longer with a knife. Symmetry is hard. So is centering the rudder post hole, apparently.


Expoxied in the tubes & rudder post. Not the best alignment. Apparently parallel is hard too.


Motor locations, not yet glued in, just sitting there. They spin well.


Later cut down the rudder post and attached the tiller arm.


And from the stern. Looks like it just might work.

 

My son has been dying to try the BC cannon since the regulator came in last week. We're a ways off from mounting it, but it was a good idea to try it out.
The regulator is the same one from Genuine Innovations that I saw on Steve Tyng's build (thanks!) They offer it on their website, but don't list a price and had to call to order. The regulator, cap, and three CO2 cartridges in kit were $55 + $10 s/h.
The regulator is advertised to be adjustable from 20 to 150 psi. I need to get a gauge to check the pressure, but fully screwed down is supposedly the top end.
Anyway, after fixing a blown off hose with a zip tie and some trial and error, we got it firing well. Very cool.

 

looking really nice and clean, quick question what is that gray thing coming off the push button, this is the 3rd one Ive seen on post and i heard you saying regulator and gauge so what is it?

 

yea i kinda of thought that, and i understand the psi but a small co2 cartage like the ones you put in co2 pistols? if that's the case, doesn't it run out quick and sorry for going somewhat off topic its just new to me.
and Thank you Nick

 

What model is that regulator? Looks like a good fit for Le Terrible.

Thanks, Bob

 

The regulator (spring loaded gray cap), the dark gray cup, and three CO2 cartridges are part of kit #32100 from www.genuineinnovations.com. Also comes with a very small valve (that I could not find a good use for). Need to call to order, can't do it online.
Yes, the CO2 does run out fast. Pretty much wasted the first two cartridges due to leaks from the 1/16" barb connection within the gray cap; line blew off immediately one time. And this was their supplied line. Needed a small zip tie to keep the line connected to it, then it held fine. All the connections will get zip tied eventually.
On the third try things went much better, though we still lost some gas and didn't get out a full count of 50 BBs. Need to get more CO2 to verify, though others have posted and said it will go the distance. This was our first time ever messing with one of these cannons. I don't think it's going to be a very forgiving setup (just barely enough gas), but we'll see how much better we get at it...

 

You can use 16g cartridges as well, they should have the same thread pattern as the 12g. I routinely get 60-65 shots out of them using a rock the boat regulator with a Strike solenoid. I've gotten as many as 72 shots when I dial down the pressure a little bit. The fill in the 16g cartridges varies a little more than the 12, but with a combat tweak and no leaks i've never had a problem yet emptying the magazine.

I don't know if your shafts are resined in permanently yet, but you really should get the props as close together as possible. Almost touching is perfect. If the shafts aren't paralell, a little bit of toe-in is ok (the motors end are further apart than the prop end of the shaft). Get the props as close to the rudder as possible. Some people even grind down the hub to get a little bit more. Might not go that far, but a little closer wouldn't hurt. Might not seem like a huge deal, but with a very narrow boat you're fighting a bit of an uphill battle with turning to begin with. Speed is awesome, but you might have to turn at some point

I'm pretty sure I forgot how to put pictures in posts, but I can email you some pictures from inside the Emden (a mighty 4.3 lb WW1 cruiser).
Hope that helps, or at least confuses you more. BANZAI!!!

 

Thanks for the insight on the shot counts, very good to hear. I didn't mention it, but the cartridges that came with the kit are also 16g (though unthreaded for this regulator & cup.) Good news.
Yep, the shafts are in for good. In truth, I would have liked to get things in tighter and straighter. But full disclosure, I was trying to knock out some progress before leaving on a trip for work. Shoulda posted pics, THEN glued. Lesson learned here...
Would be great to see your Emden pics. Will send a PM. Thanks!

 

OK, I'll send an email when I get home from work in a bit.

 

To all interested in this regulator.
It uses 16G unthreaded cartridges. The advertising for it says it comes with a "Multicup" that will take 12 or 16g cartridges. This is not true, only 16G will work as is. I have successfully used 12G in this reg using a spacer at the bottom of the cup.
On mine, I was getting excessive CO2 leakage after the first couple of cartridges were run through it. The fix was to replace the hard rubber cartridge O-ring with a softer silicone one. No leaks after that.
When loading a cartridge, a quick final twist when puncturing the seal will minimize leakage.
This reg can be purchased cheaper through a couple of UK suppliers (including shipping).
Steve Tyng