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A collection of archived images useful when building a ‘Kilo’ model. (If you are the owner of any of these images and wish to have credit or have them removed from this posting, please contact the site Admin: webmaster@hamptonroadsscalemodelers.com)
A Report to the Cabal:
Here’s a brief article on how to use small gauge brass rod/wire and a purpose built assembly jig to form railing elements unique to this little submarine model. For those of you wishing to subject yourself to a Graduate course in brass work and soldering, I refer you to the work of Ron Perrott.
The Revell 1:72 Type-7C plastic model kit is nearly perfect for conversion to R/C operation. However, with all the little plastic do-dad’s on deck and hanging off the hull, care has to be taken not to damage the model during handling and operation. Styrene plastic is not GRP! [glass reinforced plastic, also known as ‘fiberglass’]
Surprisingly, the majority of the plastic parts on that kit are robust enough to lend themselves to practical operation and to ward off damage encountered during the normal handling and operation experienced by an R/C model submarine.
However, after three years of use of the first Type-7 as an R/C submarine, I have identified the deck railing pieces, ahead and behind the sail, as the parts most likely to break off – and that’s not much of a surprise as these four pieces (two opposed gun-crew railings, and two opposed railing supports) are subject to damage after experiencing even a light lateral sheering force. After breaking off one of the railings last year (a kid at one of the shows I attend grabbed the model to show his Mommy! … WTF!!), I finished the job by snapping off the other three railings just for symmetry’s sake. I was surprised – alarmed actually – at how easy that task was. Obviously I would have to make replacements out of brass wire.
Recently, I did just that:
In foreground are the broken off, kit supplied, styrene plastic railings. Fine for static display – which is after all the intended use of the kit – but were found to be fragile and easily broken when subject to even a very light lateral touch. I punched .032″ holes through the broken stubs in the deck left by the original railings and, as you see here, test fit the just completed brass railings.
Being a practical R/C model, I make as many of the sub-assemblies removable as possible to ease transportation and maintenance tasks. Note the snorkel induction valve and float housed within the sail sub-assembly. 
The sail attaches to the deck with the aid of embedded magnets as does the deck gun. I’ve been using this particular model as a test-mule for the semi-aspirated ballast sub-system being refined, and when ready will become an important element of a reconfigured Type-7 SubDriver (SD) we will offer to those wishing to R/C their Revell 1:72 Type-7C kit.
(Caswell-Merriman is in the process of converting our SubDrivers (SDs) over to the semi-aspirated system (SAS), from the gas type ballast sub-system. Part of the SubDriver package in the newly configured product will include the snorkel head-valve and safety float valve elements that will permit use of the SD in the SAS mode)
The key to good brass work is coming up with a means of holding the wire or sheet parts in the desired arrangement as you apply solder to make up the unions.
This holding fixture, or jig if intended for a specific purpose, can be made of anything that can tolerate six-hundred degree temperature, will not off-gas when heated (which can contaminate the metal-solder union) and can be machined to accommodate clamps, pins or whatever type securing fixtures you employ to hold the parts in place.
This particular jig is designed to fabricate the gun-crew railing and life-line stanchion assemblies. Note that I employ brass strip strong-backs, jacked down onto the work with machine screws. 
I drilled and taped holes in strategic spots on the jig to accept the 2-56 X 1/4″ SS, round head, strong-back hold-down screws.
Not shown is the 25 Watt soldering iron used to melt the 60/40 (lead-tin) solder. Other than that, this shot illustrates most of the tools and consumables used to assemble a railing part – those completed assemblies seen in background. The brass wire is .032″ in diameter – a perfect match for the plastic kit parts.
A just soldered gun-crew railing strapped down on its assembly jig. In the foreground I’m holding a filed, sanded, and ready-for-pickling railing. As you can see, the strong-backs hold down the pre-formed horizontal wire elements. The vertical elements are cut out, held in place with a modified Popsicle stick as solder is applied at the unions. Work goes very quickly with a properly designed jig – I can make an entire gun-crew railing assembly in ten minutes! Damn, I’m good!
The new brass railing elements were removed from the jig, pickled, primed, painted and glued permanently to the 1:72 Type-7’s deck. Note that I’ve sanded the areas of the deck under the railings – there was some repair work done to the deck, filling holes and scratches, then wet sanding things down with a stiff piece of #600 sand paper. I’ll spot paint the deck with the same color used on the prepared metal railings. Once I’m done you won’t be able to see the repair.
Any fool can color-match gray! Black and white: how do you screw that up?… Watch me!
Before priming the metal parts, in order to make them receptive to the primer, I pickled the brass with ferric chloride acid. This pits the surface, which produces the mechanical ‘tooth’ to the surface of the brass and solder that will better grab the primer. Such metal conditioning is called ‘pickling’. Copper bearing metals, even with the grease and oxides rubbed off, do not stick well to primer or paint, so this sort of preparation has to be done … unless you like chipped paint on your work!
To the left are unpickled brass assemblies. To the right, pickled parts. After the acid exposure, the parts are rinsed in fresh water, dried, and are then ready for primer.
Automotive primer was applied to the pickled brass railing assemblies. The two darker assemblies atop are well etched and pitted, which is the intent of the acid pickling. The foreground railings have just been hit with the primer.
(Visit David at the Sub-Driver Forums for more submarine related modeling fun. Click HERE to see a portfolio of David’s work.)
Here are the Club Officers for 2012 as of the June meeting:
President: Mike Nerino
Vice President: Mike Eberhardt
Treasurer: Gary Telecsan
Secretary: Ed Rose
Chapter Contact: Robert Beach
Club also voted on and accepted Ken Patrick as the club ‘Webmaster’.
Most things folks do will have a cost associated with them although ‘cost’ does not have to be solely defined as monetary in nature. For example, the time and effort expended on taking in a movie is not available for building a model. In this context, the cost of participation in club activities may encompass time, effort and even sometimes money. For HRSM, the cost is most often simply time spent supporting club events through participation. In effect, ‘showing up’ is the price of admission.
However, mere presence is not really enough for the club to stay ‘hale & hearty’. Taking the lead on a project, running for – and fulfilling – a club office, giving a technique demo or writing up the latest kit all represent how members can keep their club vital and frankly, interesting (aka “fun”) both for the individual and the group. Since a modeling club is not really intended to be a venue for social change (unless ‘personal fulfillment’ counts), ‘participation’ is often taken less seriously than, say, the standard used for PETA. Yet, active support to the best of one’s abilities should be given serious consideration or else the club will fail to prosper & thrive. As is said, “cancelled due to lack of interest”. 8^(
For HRSM, there is a monetary cost in the form of annual dues, on order of $10 [$20 as of October, 2012 by club vote – Robert], primarily to pay for the meeting hall and to provide sponsorship to various show competitions. Also, there must be participation in the annual ‘required events’, namely officer elections, annual muster and approval of the Club Calendar. Everything else is optional, but if that were all the members did, it would be pretty dull (sort of “club for a club’s sake”.) Fortunately, this is not the case as organized events are envisioned each year, the success being dependent on the members and their collective will to see things happen. That will is, in truth, the ‘price of admission’ for HRSM where shared time and experience constitute the real strength of the club.
In short, not everyone has to swim in the deep end, but everyone has to get wet.
Over the years, I have found that the ‘Web’ has grown into an indispensable modeling tool, particularly with regard to research. But the “networking” aspect has also grown and matured as better, more intuitive tools and venues have come online. Where once upon a time, news groups (aka ‘USENET’) ruled, forums now own the field. Similarly, blogs have taken the place of “BBS” or ‘bulletin boards’. Lastly, social media such as Facebook has expanded into the arena of ‘group’ interactions. Each iteration of these communication mechnaism has provided different, sometimes superior, functionality to promote communities within the larger crush of information flowing across the Internet.
Once, it was ‘de rigueur’ for organizations like our little modeling club to establish a web presence using some form of static website. Surveying the sites of various IPMS chapters, you might wonder at the purpose or message of some. For HRSM, the purpose is simple – share relevant information related to our club and the modeling pastime in general. What is ‘relevant’ is of course colored by our own personal perspectives but in ‘leading the charge’ in establishing this site’s content, I’m drawing on my own 55 years of modeling experience to provide what I hope is a useful framework to support that goal. My aim is to support HRSM’s web presence as it evolves without losing sight of the underlying mission to promote scale modeling as a worthwhile pastime for young and old alike.
