Pocket Battleship Graf Spee (IRCWCC)

Discussion in 'Warship Builds' started by Fridge, Jan 30, 2021.

  1. Fridge

    Fridge Active Member

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    Gonna start a post to show my next build. Lutzow was the first boat I'd ever battled, and now I want to build my own pocket battleship with the techniques I'd learned from my first build. Also going to try some new ideas and experiment with things that I hope to use later on in future builds. I'm hoping to have it ready by summer.
    CKAjaX2d2WriC1UW4eMapKB2aHLLN4aZJCpWea1FUzU.jpg
     
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  2. Fridge

    Fridge Active Member

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    Started with a fiberglass hull from the final Strike sale. It felt like a feather compared to other hulls I've handled, checked it with calipers and the walls were 1/32" to 1/16" thick. Took the better part of a few of the hotter winter days down south to add fiberglass mat strips to the walls and base of the hull. Hopefully, this will increase the lifespan of the ribs and lessen the chance of them getting blown in.
    IMG_20210104_130809509.jpg
    Played with some flapwheels to smooth the interior work I'd done, sanded the exterior lip created from merging the two halves from the hull's construction, and taped rib guides for the hull. Same idea as Prinz, quarter inch ribs, eighth stringer.
    IMG_20210104_130843886_HDR.jpg
    Oscillating tools are awesome, took two afternoons to rough cut the entire hull.
    IMG_20210107_154144773.jpg
    Another day of sanding and hand filing gave me the finished product. Really happy with this one so far.
    IMG_20210116_144759289_HDR.jpg
    Currently I'm working on making the subdeck while waiting for parts to arrive. Since it's all scratch-built, I'm going to try some different methods to make the rim. I'm also incorporating the screwdowns and magnet locations into the subdeck, no chance for tabs to fall off from use over time.
    IMG_20210130_191131552.jpg IMG_20210130_191137655.jpg
    Until parts arrive, I'll keep constructing the deck, rib backers, and after that's complete, drawing and printing superstructure projects I'm working on. Once shafts arrive, I'll start playing with mounting ideas. Gonna try something new in this build.

    View: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p_UyM78TW1khR6GFz-_lWVeDhrlY0GEo/view?usp=sharing
     
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  3. bsgkid117

    bsgkid117 Vendor

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    Looking good @Fridge . Keep up the good work :)
     
  4. Mad_Modeller

    Mad_Modeller Active Member

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    I'll be watching your thread sir for I also have the Graf Spee. Very nice deck work.
     
  5. Fridge

    Fridge Active Member

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    Thank you! I'm putting a lot of time and effort into the woodwork to get it both nice to look at and as functional as I can. Speaking of the deck, I just got done at my uncle's woodshop and have a completed deck made, but ran out of T nuts and don't have enough magnets on hand. It'll probably be ready for epoxying this weekend.
    IMG_20210201_152552_01.jpg
     
  6. Fridge

    Fridge Active Member

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    The woodwork for the subdeck is completed, all the rib backers are made. All the T-nuts are in and hammered down, all the magnets are in place, and a ton of hand filing has made the subdeck and deck the best I feel that they will be.
    IMG_20210203_163531_01.jpg
    Work's going slow with Texas freezing over this week and prepping for next month's battle. My garage isn't heated, so I've been working on 3D printing superstructure designs. Have about the front half done, will work on the rear superstructure throughout the week.
    SpeeFwdSuperstructure.PNG
     
  7. Mad_Modeller

    Mad_Modeller Active Member

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    Hope everyone is ok down there. We just finished a week of -40 to -50 Celsius weather in Edmonton. Liking the looks of the superstructure sir. (rubbing hands in anticipation, evil grin)
     
  8. Fridge

    Fridge Active Member

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    I haven't played in snow since I was a kid visiting family in the north states around Christmas, so I tried sledding down an uncovered parking garage ramp, but it wasn't steep enough to get speed. Went all of Monday without power and without heat, I only have electric heat, but the water stayed running and didn't have any pipes bust. Other than slipping down the stairs this morning, catching myself on the handrail, and mildly cutting my hand, I've been alright. I have a lot of food and water, I've just been cold and bored otherwise.

    This morning we've had power back on at the apartment complex, so I cooked hot food and doodled on F360 pretty much all morning. I'm happy with the results so far, but don't trust the power to stay on enough to start printing. Gonna probably be at a standstill till the weekend once I feel good about it. Not sure I'm gonna print all the bits and bobs, it's just fun seeing everything on the drawing so I made unnecessary details and objects for fun.
    spooperstructure.PNG
    I wasn't sure how to incorporate a float into a covered funnel like this, so I'm gonna try having the funnel separate at the spotlight deck with a loosely-fit rim, and have two screw eyes with line inside each end tether them together. Gonna fill in the empty space inside the funnel cap with either cork board or some sort of flotation foam to get it to pop off if/when she goes under. Gonna have to test it to make sure it'll work right.
    Funnel Float Idea.PNG
     
  9. Mark41

    Mark41 Active Member

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    Looking good! Keep up the design.
    Be safe, and hope the electricity and heat stays on.
    -15 to -20C here in Ontario.
    Had over a foot of snow last night and calling for more.
     
  10. Lou

    Lou It's just toy boats -->> C T D <<-- Admiral (Supporter)

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    Hollow the funnel and put a fishing bobber in it with string. Once it goes under, the bobber will float out (easy-peesy)
     
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  11. Mad_Modeller

    Mad_Modeller Active Member

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    Looking great. So will you be adding it to resources or for a nominal fee sell the file. I have friends with 3D printers.
     
  12. Fridge

    Fridge Active Member

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    Okay gotcha, I figured I'd have to do something similar to how I have a hook in Prinz's funnel for a float, I'll mess with the drawings when I know power will be on for more than an hour.
    Unsure currently, the problem with my drawings right now is that I don't know how well a printer will take to the more complex pieces. The Pyramid has an issue I dealt with when printing, where I had to separate the rear mast level from a side wings level to get it to print without warping the outside edge in the rear. Afterwards, I had to very carefully cut down the top lip as they didn't align quite properly. It was a pain to get the pyramid together. After I print all my prototype parts and figure out what goes wrong, I'm gonna go back and simplify unnecessary stuff and make adjustments after the build is done. I'll probably either put it here or send the files to people that ask for the STLs.
     
  13. Mad_Modeller

    Mad_Modeller Active Member

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    Hope everything gets back to the normal as soon as possible for everyone down there. Again great work.
     
  14. darkapollo

    darkapollo Well-Known Member

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    I had to cut up the Bismarck super structure to get it to print with reasonable speed and consistency. It is a lot more work to create but I made it hollow with inset lips so if your printer is well tuned everything snaps together.
    Just something to think about if you release the files.
     
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  15. Kotori87

    Kotori87 Well-Known Member

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    Emergency floats are a very tricky topic. Ideally you want something that will deploy 100% of the time when you sink, but will NOT be deployed by enemy fire, incidental hull contact, or other non-sink-worthy events. Which float design is best depends a lot on HOW your ship sinks. If it likes to roll over, you'll need a very different float than if it dives down bow-first every single time.

    A bobber-in-the-smokestack float is one of the most simple designs, but also one of the least reliable. Since floodwaters often trap the bobber in the smokestack until the ship hits the bottom of the pond, it can potentially fail if the ship capsizes, or if there are weeds on the bottom or a mast or rigging to get hung up on. See example on page 1 of This Thread. The major benefit is that the float is protected by the smokestack: it cannot be damaged or deployed by hostile fire, leaving a potential entanglement hazard for you or others. It is also very simple and unobtrusive to install. This type of float is perfectly fine for the shallow ponds that most Fast Gun clubs use, as a backup to the common "drive towards shore if you're sinking" method of recovery.

    If you're expecting a pond that averages 5 feet depth or greater, let me know. I can write up an article about emergency floats and their various designs.
     
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  16. Fridge

    Fridge Active Member

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    I've hollowed out all of the walls of the base pieces and the pyramid to be about 1/8" thick. For the pyramid, I made little bitty alignment pegs to help keep the thing aligned, and it worked well but the insert holes I drilled to be a looser tolerance because I guess my holes were too small to fit the pegs I drew. With the deck, most faces should align on certain parts. Stuff that doesn't will get either holes to tap screws into or pegs like the pyramid.
    Only battle I've done that I've sunk at was at Wade's, it's shallow throughout and I could walk mid-thigh throughout it. Easy enough to find my boat floatless. I don't know what nats' pond is like, so I'm gonna prep for the worst and incorporate a float. If Spee handles like Prinz when I'm done, she's gonna sink roughly level. I'll read what gets posted and try to design around it.
     
  17. Kotori87

    Kotori87 Well-Known Member

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    Cool. Give me a few days to gather photos. I'll post a dedicated topic, then send you a link.
     
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  18. Lou

    Lou It's just toy boats -->> C T D <<-- Admiral (Supporter)

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    Wades is a great battling pond, worst thing there is an occasional log with teeth.
     
  19. Caractacus Patt

    Caractacus Patt Member

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    That's pretty "worst"...
     
  20. kgaigalas

    kgaigalas Well-Known Member

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    The NATS pond in NC has deep spots 8-10'.
    Also it is muddy. You may have to search for a boat in shallow water.
    I have been to battles where we searched for an hour for a boat in 4' of muddy water.