Montana Project

Brrrrrrrhhh. Even colder today but I did manage to secure the 2nd motor mount and test run it . Then I ran both engines along with the drive shaft and props all together in forward and Reverse and I am quite pleased how smooth it is running. I installed the rudders and they will catch the prop wash nicely from the 5 blade 25 pitch props. So the pump is being mounted between the drive shafts next to the motor mounts. I need to build a platform for the servo operating the rudders and a mount to secure the pump . Once that is done I can then build the battery tray and install the pump outlet. Still too cold to epoxy resing the drive shafts and skegs in place along with the rudder platform so I hope it warms up at least in April so I can get these done.

 

Mar 16 2015. Blizzard has socked us in. Shed is buried. Be a week before I can get in there and continue work with Montana.

 

Driveway cleared for now. Some snow got through the shed doors but the fleet is fine.

 

Well were expected to get more snow today and tomorrow. I had to climb over a 6ft mound of snow that was blocking the shed door. Going down now in a few minutes. Need to warm up the shed , get a coffee. I will be taking pics of the Parts and layout of the Missouri Superstructure for a fellow member who asked if I could assist with identifying the foam blocks and how they fit together. Well I have 3. One partially detailed from my MO. The 2nd is partically assembled and the 3rd is unassembled. Going to try and video or take pics or both to help out. Will try to get more progress done on Montana as well.Think I will weigh the model and find the center of gravity for main battery displacement and start building the battery tray. Or I will build the mount for the rudder servo. Maybe I will do that instead for the rudder mount. I normally don't build boxes to enclose the rudder servo. I like to leave them open . I haven't had issues with that setup as I waterproof the servo. The cold temperatures is inhibiting and limiting my ability to get more down at this time but hey that's how it was with the NC last year and look how that one turned out after. So I am hopeful.

The poor VU is just sitting there waiting to be constructed. . When I get that I am itching to work on Tirpitz and Konig. Nagato I may just remove the deck after I clean it up and start from scratch again. Well too many ships ahead of me need to focus on what I got now. Would like to repaint the Roma and finish off the Missouri by getting it armed with BB cannons. I need an Allie ship that can shoot BBs.

I been posting on my FB site Titans Of The Sea: RC Warships and that has been going along well also.

On a side note I been getting to know the fella who has been flying his drone around here and we have agreed to meet up when the weather is better so he can motion capture the models on the pond as they are maneuvering and sailing. Should be able to get unique videos and perspectives that we have not seen yet related to these models.

 

After Sunday's massive snowstorm (the one that hit you yesterday) another is just starting in Halifax and is to drop another 30cm (1') of snow on us. Another storm is forecast to hit us on Saturday. It's impossible to shovel the snow any higher - the mounds are too high for their base area and it just slides down again onto the streets and sidewalks. You can walk down the sidwalk and not know if there are cars parked next to it because you can't see over the 7-9' snow piles between sidewalk and road! Neighborhood roads are down to one lane because the city's contractors have done nothing since winter started to remove the accumulated snow. I've never seen this accumulation of snow in my life. My home town of Saint John, NB is approaching 3 meters (over 10') of snow since early Feb. far surpassing the historical record of ~2m in that period.

Needless to say this is preventing any fiberglassing on the covered front deck (which was buried under drifting snow Sunday) and with Kim back from work in BC I can't glass in the basement! Gotta get the fiberglass decks bonded to Vanguard's and Rodney's hulls!

 

I hear you on that. Were going to get 12 - 15 cm tomorrow.

The Rodney hull is that one of Ralph's?

 

Remind me again about how that Global Warming Climate Change is working?

 

Yes, it's Ralph's second version of the Nelson Class hull. He had poor quality/inaccurate plans for the first one. I found an accurate set of plans and we both built the new hull plug. I'm having trouble finding plastic pipe that is close to the barbette diameter - might have to make a barbette and take a mold from it.

Re global warning, when I was first taught the theory as an undergrad student in the 70s it did not predict warming everywhere but emphasized that a major result would be an increase in severity of storms in most places. Can't argue with that!

I spent more than 5 hours today digging out the cars and driveway from drifts 2'-4' high. I was still unable to get to work because the residential streets remain impassable except by 4-wheel drive vehicles. In the last 3 days we've had nearly a meter of snow, on top of the piles of snow from about a dozen storms in the last 6 weeks. Never in my life (even in St. John's Nfld.) have I seen such an accumulation of snow, and there's another storm due in 3 days. Temperatures remain below normal so unlike the usual pattern there has been no daytime melting of snow in March and it continues to pile up. The city officials are saying it would take more than 5 weeks just to deal with the amount of snow we got today. It's likely there will still be lots of snow on the ground in May.

 

I hear you on the weather issue Bob. We are going to see a lot of ice around the Island and of course spectacular Bergs again.

I worked on the Montana but the wind picked up and the wind chill was penetrating the Shed. I managed to swap out the makeshift rudder linkages and installed a stronger set. The rudder throw is excellent so I expect Montana to turn as well as Missouri. I started work on a aluminum steel battery tray that will be welded together and will hold the 4 batteries. Space will be allotted for the Smoke generator betweem the pairs in the Tray. After the battery tray is installed I will be working on setting up the rotating system for the forward turrets first. If that is a success then I can duplicate for the aft set of Turrets. I will be using a micro servo to operate the elevating barrels .

 

Well the battery tray is in place for now. Made a Pump hold down plate and I have a bottom plate of the turret floor made. Will post pics sometime next week to the album and here.

 

Well due to budget contraints for now the rotating system is on the backburner. So is the smoke generator. However these things I can install at a later time when the budget is more flexible. In the meantime I started marking the hull out for the wing shaft placement and wing struts. I also drilled out the barrel entry holes in the main turrets. Weather is still too cold to resin or use other mixing materials and I can't do any putty yet till the temps begin to come up more. So I will be working on the main , secondary, AA and superstructure elements to get that rolling.

 

Made a little progress today Installed the dummy drive shafts and tried different props to mount on them. They are lined up well. Just need to make the wing struts to secure them to the hull exterior .

 

Wing struts made and installed. Next to mount rhe Bilge pump outlet.

 

Well the weather still sucks. I started installing the stern gun tubs and in Installed the bilge pump outlet

 

Today I picked up supplies for Montana such as sheet styrene to cover the foam rubber parts, brass shafts (using these to replace Missouri's drive shafts} and other little bits.
While I am waiting for temps to rise so that I can begin the hull putty and sand work the Missouri is getting it's drive system replaced. I have a 3 ESC's on their way as well as detailed parts for the Montana. The ESCs will go in Montana, Missouri and Yamato. Eventually I will get another one for Roma. Not sure if I will get one for Bismarck as it probably needs a very high amp ESC.
I hope to be able to bring the 6 beasts to the pond all at once for display and operation later this summer. So that would be 3 BB firing combat ships and 3 non combat ships. Well it woild be 2 non combat as I plan to install Missouri's Cannons. So one table will have Montana Missouri and North Carolina, and the other table will have Yamato , Bismarck and Roma.

 

When do you plan to attend IRCWCC Nats again? I should be able to in 2016 and it would be great to team up. Attending Nats, or going to New England for battles if the NETF revives, is likely the only way I'll be able to use my models in competition. Nothing's happening in Nova Scotia but perhaps Paul would attend NATs again - he has at least a couple of completed ships.

The temps are finally above freezing at night so I can install the fiberglass decks on the Vanguard and Rodney hulls and let them cure outside (such work being forbidden in the basement!).

 

update. Varnished the hatches and wood areas of the hull. Applied marine resin to the skegs and strut tabs inside the hull.
ALL DRY! Ready to seal the skegs and stuffing tubes and struts outside of the hull.

 

The Montana's looking great Curt.

 

Thanks Bob. It is slowly moving forward in the construction. I need to update this thread with new pics.

 

Finished sealing the struts and skegs on the outside of the hull. Just need to sand , bondo sand and then I can work on repairing the damaged sections of the armor belt and clean up the hull exterior. The deck hatches have been waterproofed with varnish. I am going to seal them with epoxy resin as well. I did this for the NC and it made the deck very hard but totally waterproofed. If I can get this done I can begin to wire up the internals and start building the superstructure and main and secondary turrets.