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Chock · 11-20-07, 12:58 PM

Basically, most of the work is going to be achieved with the putty, so it initially just had a piece of that added, however, as you point out, it does appear to me that the very top of the front of the sail just in front of the cockpit requires a bit of minor shaving of the plastic original bit too. This is why I filled the inside of the sail with putty, so that if this proves to be the case, there'll be plenty of spare material underneath the plastic to allow that to happen.

Just before typing this, I added another very thin layer of putty over the thing to smooth out the reprofiled bit and allow it to blend smoothly into the deck, the more I can get this blending into the deck to work without having to sand and file it, the easier it will be, so that took a bit of deft work with the old fingers! Basically that was done in a manner not dissimilar to placing a pastry 'lid' over a pie in its dish, then smoothed into the deck and sail with fingertips. Messy on your fingers, but it looks pretty good so far, I'll post a picture of that when it has dried and hardened a bit so I can wash all the crap off it and make it easier to photograph. I also corrected a couple of molding sink marks in the plastic toward the back of the sail whilst I was at it.

I agree, the trailing edge of the sail does indeed need some work, as it it does not portray the attractive sweep downwards that the real thing displays, this is even more apparent upon removing the oversized antenna/mast doors that were on the original kit, but to correct this is going to be simpler than correcting the front, as it is not a compound reversing curve like it is at the front, which is quite good news!

In addition to these inaccuracies, when viewed from the front and rear, the cross section of the sail is in fact more akin to the Gepard than earlier versions of the Akula (i.e. not so blended into the decking, although still incorrect) so that's going to need sorting out too, as it is rather different from the pictures I have where the safety rail meets the termination of the sail about halfway along its length.

I did phone Vladimir Putin and ask him to sail one of his Akulas up the Mersey so I could get a good look at it, but for some reason he hasn't returned my call, so I'm stuck with Wayne's book and pictures off the 'net!

Guess I've opened something of a can of worms in attempting to make it more realistic, but then again, if it was easy, it wouldn't be a challenge, and I think it will be worth the effort. Of course one of the nice things about doing all of this is that the Akula (like many modern subs) actually does look rather lumpy and bumpy with its anechoic covering, so any very minor imperfections in all this tweeking will be okay, but at the scale it is depicted here, I can't rely on that too much to cover any sins. There is one big plus point to this kit over the more expensive resin kits though; It's a hell of a lot easier to open up the vents in the hull on a plastic kit than it would be on a resin one!

Thanks again for posting the link to that source for the replacement props by the way Bill, it seems they are on the ball when it comes to completing orders, as they are apparently on the way.

Chock

11-20-07, 12:58 PM	#4
Chock Sea Lord Join Date: May 2005 Location: Under a thermal layer in chilly Olde England Posts: 1,842 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Basically, most of the work is going to be achieved with the putty, so it initially just had a piece of that added, however, as you point out, it does appear to me that the very top of the front of the sail just in front of the cockpit requires a bit of minor shaving of the plastic original bit too. This is why I filled the inside of the sail with putty, so that if this proves to be the case, there'll be plenty of spare material underneath the plastic to allow that to happen. Just before typing this, I added another very thin layer of putty over the thing to smooth out the reprofiled bit and allow it to blend smoothly into the deck, the more I can get this blending into the deck to work without having to sand and file it, the easier it will be, so that took a bit of deft work with the old fingers! Basically that was done in a manner not dissimilar to placing a pastry 'lid' over a pie in its dish, then smoothed into the deck and sail with fingertips. Messy on your fingers, but it looks pretty good so far, I'll post a picture of that when it has dried and hardened a bit so I can wash all the crap off it and make it easier to photograph. I also corrected a couple of molding sink marks in the plastic toward the back of the sail whilst I was at it. I agree, the trailing edge of the sail does indeed need some work, as it it does not portray the attractive sweep downwards that the real thing displays, this is even more apparent upon removing the oversized antenna/mast doors that were on the original kit, but to correct this is going to be simpler than correcting the front, as it is not a compound reversing curve like it is at the front, which is quite good news! In addition to these inaccuracies, when viewed from the front and rear, the cross section of the sail is in fact more akin to the Gepard than earlier versions of the Akula (i.e. not so blended into the decking, although still incorrect) so that's going to need sorting out too, as it is rather different from the pictures I have where the safety rail meets the termination of the sail about halfway along its length. I did phone Vladimir Putin and ask him to sail one of his Akulas up the Mersey so I could get a good look at it, but for some reason he hasn't returned my call, so I'm stuck with Wayne's book and pictures off the 'net! Guess I've opened something of a can of worms in attempting to make it more realistic, but then again, if it was easy, it wouldn't be a challenge, and I think it will be worth the effort. Of course one of the nice things about doing all of this is that the Akula (like many modern subs) actually does look rather lumpy and bumpy with its anechoic covering, so any very minor imperfections in all this tweeking will be okay, but at the scale it is depicted here, I can't rely on that too much to cover any sins. There is one big plus point to this kit over the more expensive resin kits though; It's a hell of a lot easier to open up the vents in the hull on a plastic kit than it would be on a resin one! Thanks again for posting the link to that source for the replacement props by the way Bill, it seems they are on the ball when it comes to completing orders, as they are apparently on the way. Chock __________________ Last edited by Chock; 11-20-07 at 01:28 PM.