All -- especially Mikey --- The French Defense website, which archives many French ship and sub construction plans, has sometime in the last few months added the plans for the submarine Surcouf in 1929! There are plans and over 60 photos of the Surcouf available for download. Here's the link to the archive: Visit this site The plans are in alphabetical order. Just scroll down until you get to Surcouf. Carl
Already been there Anyone who is actually planning to build one: A properly-scaled set of hardcopy plans can be theirs for only $15 including shipping. The drawings are cleaned up, scaled to 1/96, and include the frames, the overhead and profile views, and the overhead profiles view (one shows top deck, then upper level, lower level, and then battery level). The frames drawing and hangar drawing are on regular copy paper because 1) it's cheaper and 2) it's easier to fit in a copy machine. The profiles page and overhead cutaways page are on 2' x 4' paper. I also have the Jean Bart mostly done, but I won't have copies made till I get done painting the house. I want to do a Surcouf (someday), so I got these done first and have a few sets. When house and moving crap is done, part of the forthcoming parts and plans business will include 1/96 and 1/144 parts and plans. And lollipops in the mailing tube/boxes.
I got the idea from an electronics place I used to order from, the lady who packed the parts threw them in every box, and it was nice to have a lolipop while I sorted through my order
Speaking of the Surcouf I'm awaiting Ralph Coles' return from Darfur later this year to buy the first 1/72 scale Surcouf from his new mold. I was a frequent observer during construction of the Surcouf plug and mold, and also of the British WWI sub M1, built simultaneously. Both hulls are very nicely done and come with conning towers. After my failed attempt to build a 1/144 combat I-400 that could static dive and shoot BBs, I need to build a larger R/C combat sub to take on a local 1/72 british DD. The 1/144 I-400 was able to static dive with a CO2 ballast system and fire a BB cannon after resurfacing, but was unstable due to the mass of the BB gun in the hangar. It is now an unarmed convoy model that can dive but not shoot. After seeing Ralph's 1/72 M1 I realized its internal volume wasn't much bigger than the 1/144 I-400's. The Surcouf is much larger with plenty of displacement and can easily be made to dive and shoot. Bob Pottle
Absolutely, especially in 1/72! The nice thing with Surcouf is that you can stick some lightweight items in the hangar area (like the air tank for blowing ballast overboard, or the receiver, etc), saving space in the main hull for batteries and other heavy things I expect that you won't have nearly the stability issue that you had with the 1:144 I-400. Brian K is buying my Argonaut hull in order to try a functional 1/144 sub. We will be testing it in my pool so that if it sinks, he won't be out a sub, and I won't cry over my pretty hull being lost Side note, Bob... What the heck is Ralph doing in _Darfur_ of all places? I hear it's dangerous over there!
As I understand it...he is contracted to the United Nations Observer force to mantain their armoured vehicles. This is what he did when he was in the army and the company that got the contract looked him up and offered him the job....
Ralph is servicing the heavy machine guns and turret mechanisms in surplus Canadian armoured cars given to the multi-national African force that's trying to defend the area from the Janjaweeb (sp??). His contract is finished in about 3 months. I'm in contact with him almost weekly. He's debating whether or not to continue to produce hulls for 1/144 scale R/C combat. The strong Canadian dollar (almost equal to the U.S dollar now) and increased shipping costs made it hard to stay in business. I hope he continues to pursue his new scales: 1/24 WWII PT boats and Soviet WWII gunboats with T34 turrets (all molds were finished before he left), 1/72 scale subs, and 1/72 scale American Civil war ironclads. Bob Pottle
I know someone who might be interested in the 1/72 ACW ironclads. His name is Dan, and he has several that are built for combat, though not all are armed, and I think they are 1/48 scale. He even has a set of rules for armament (Big Gun style, with different calibers and armor thicknesses). I'll ask him for more details tomorrow. I personally think the Age of Sail is a bit more cool. 1/36 scale 24-gun frigates (only arm around 3 guns per side) with some smoke guns would look very neat blasting each other to toothpicks from a foot or two apart. Not too different from what we usually do, but a bit more historically accurate.
Well if you're gonna arm them ALL then I'll take the Seven Apostles. Its a ruskie ship with 120+ guns, most of which are either the big 64-pound long guns or the lighter 32-pound carronades. Of course, that would take some seriously tricky machining to get all the guns in such a ship, with a decent amount of ammunition, and decent reliability. Once I have my own garage workshop with quality CNC machine tools, then I'll consider it. Until then, its 4 gun corvettes and 6 gun frigates.
I've got too many hobbies as it is I'll stick to building parts for people and making my Tirpitz. Glad the lawyer-wife is doing my incorporation stuff for me. I would say it's for free, but I've been renovating the new house for a freaking month. Once I get done with the renovation, the tools start arriving Had long working lunch with Brian (of Grey Wolf Sqdn) yesterday. Worked out details of collaboration and such. We got an idea from Greg (Master of Basin Shipyards) and will be producing a beginner's kit to simplify building for new guys. Greg, if you're reading this, it's going to be exactly like we talked about on the phone. Still deciding on which hull to use for the first one. Might be the German BC Seydlitz, as I don't have a full plan set for Invincible. Could also be CL Agano, they're reasonably roomy for a light cruiser. Greg, we might need to talk ont he phone again... since I'm not making pumps or gearboxes and we'd need them for a beginner's kit...
Tugboat, I sent you an email a while back but haven't heard back from you. Guess it got lost in the bit-bucket somewhere... I'm interested in your offer of 1/96 plans of the Surcouf from the French archive. Please contact off-list if you're still interested. Thanks, Carl
Mikey, Wanted to give you a heads-up. Be careful when using the Surcouf plans from NAVYPLAN. The NAVYPLAN blueprint had the Surcouf with an asymmetrical hull. When I questioned the owner directly, he insisted that the hull was asymmetrical, and that he had based it off the Surcouf plans in the French archive. Well, now that I've looked over the plans from the French archive online, I don't see the asymmetry in the hull sections that the NAVYPLAN Surcouf has! The propeller shafts are staggered, but there's no bulge on the hull like shown in the NAVYPLAN blueprint. Just wanted to warn you before building from the NAVYPLAN drawings... Carl
Carl, I'm sorry, I didn't get it I am interested, it's kind of my businesses' raison d' etre. (or however that's spelled I am in Statesboro for a few days watching the cable and carpet get installed, and I will be going up to Waynesboro (where plans are) Friday. I would be thrilled to sell you a set More than thrilled, even, cause you're the first actual customer since I incorporated RC-Artwerks
Tugboat, Just send you another email thru the forum. Hopefully you'll get this one. If you don't, please try and email me thru the forum and we'll see if that works. Many thanks, Carl
