R/C Naval Combat

Too bad you can't use the batteries like a sailboat keel down the bottom center of the ship. That would help with the stability.

This week I replaced the copper mag with a lighter aluminum version.  Last night the gun was test fired at the Hayes test facilities in Annapolis MD and I'm happy to report the new gun fired on the first try and consistently throughout the testing.  Ran four or five magazines worth of BB's through without a hitch.  Also tested the composite Genuine Innovations reg for the first time.

Detail of the magazine connection.

The fill end was fabricated from this cool blue anodized aluminum 1/8" NPT fitting.  It was drilled out  to 1/4" and the tube was red Loc-Tited into place.  The blue anodizing decreases fill time by .026 percent.

Once tweaked, the cannon blows through a Coke can like it wasn't there.  The gun consistently put BB's an inch or more into the foam block (an inch was the maximum measurement of the Hayes testing tool ;-).

The below-decks magic...

After testing off of Marty's big bottle, we tested the Genuine Innovations composite reg.  This reg takes 16g unthreaded capsules and is adjustable from 0 to 150psi.  After twenty or so shots and adjustments, the reg settled down providing consistent pressure and recovery after each shot.  One 16g capsule provided enough juice for one and a half mags of BB's (75 rounds or so).

This hobby is all about camaraderie with like minded individuals.  Here's Tommy fabricating the test CO2 rig.

 Next is final wiring, sheeting, and a super structure...

 Hey Steve, nice build..  Are folks still meeting up at Marty's place anymore?  That photo almost looks like Martys place or at least the same things, stuff everywhere and captains having a good night chatting and building.....  I miss those ole days

Posted By McSpuds on 19 Nov 2011 11:30 PM

 Hey Steve, nice build..  Are folks still meeting up at Marty's place anymore?  That photo almost looks like Martys place or at least the same things, stuff everywhere and captains having a good night chatting and building.....  I miss those ole days

Yep, that's Marty's garage.  I get up to his place every so often.  That night it was me, Tommy, Marty, and a new guy who's name I forget but he's rebuilding a VU.

Steve

 If you dont mind, ask Marty and Steve when they will be holding a get together in Dec sometime.  I will drive up from Kentucky to enjoy the night with you all.

Opps sorry for derailing the thread..

The Tyng Mogador gets a skin...

I tried something a little different with this skin-job and used a 50/50 Titebond2 and water mix.  The job starts with application of the silkspan onto the balsa with an initial coat of the glue/water mix.  After about an hour when the first coat was almost dry I applied a second light coat of the mix to make sure I had good coverage.  After about another hour or so, the panels were ready to go onto the boat.

The balsa was temporally taped to the hull and the windows were traced onto them.  This provided a guide to trim to a final shape.  This pic also shows that I "pre-formed" the panels to the hull shape by wetting them and massaging them over the hull.   Some of the hull curves were so extreme the balsa would have cracked without doing this.

The panels are attached using E6000 adhesive.  A bead was run on the hull and then the panel was placed into position and pressed into place to transfer adhesive to the balsa.  The panel is then pulled off, glue spread around by finger were required, wait a few for the glue to tack, then press the panel back in place.  Worked quite well.

The hull was skinned in four sections.

The Mogador has some tight curves on the aft end.

Overall I'm very happy with the Titebond2/water method.  It was easy, cheap, low odor, and hopefully will hold together under battle conditions.

Posted By Skippy the Iron Dog on 24 Jan 2012 11:39 PM
Hey Steve,
The sheeting looks great, but have you used the E6000 before for sheeting? That stuff works great just wonder how easy it will be to get the old sheeting off when the time comes to replace it?
Skippy

This is the second boat I've used E6000 to sheet with.  I haven't tried pulling a E6000 sheeted boats sheeting off as of yet. 

With E6000 I've learned that once you get "under it" it can be pealed off with relative ease in long sections.  I suspect it will be easier to pull off than superglue and maybe a bit harder than contact adhesive.

Hey John, welcome to the hobby.

I concur with Rick at BC, it will be very difficult to get two cannons into the Mogador and still make weight and have it float upright.  For a first boat, the Mogador is a big challenge.  It will take double the effort to get it on the water compared to a cruiser.  If your boy is gungho on the two cannons, consider saving the Moggy for your second boat and do a father/son cruiser or a dreadnaught.

Steve

Posted By Kerndog on 26 Feb 2012 04:33 PM
Hello Steve,

Complete newbie here. My son would like to build a Mogador with me, and your build thread is a complete jackpot of help. Answers about a hundred or so questions right out of gate. Thank you!

He's pretty keen on both fore & aft cannons, but we jumped the gun and already bought the Mogador hull from BC. I've since learned that the rules call for a single cannon for this class (doh). So... from a purely physical space & weight point of view, would you think it is out of the question to try and add a second cannon up front? Rick at BC thought it would be very tight if at all possible, and only one cannon could be loaded for battling. The added weight would certainly be a handicap, but I think my son might make that trade -- assuming we can actually do it. What do you think?

Again, awesome thread.

Thanks,
John

Honestly, bow guns should be avoided for a beginner.  While they can be fun, a bow gun is likely to get you sunk.  For a cruiser or destroyer, speed is life and if you have your bow pointed at the enemy, you can't escape in a hurry if you need to.  While you turn to try and escape, that battleship will be closing with speed, and will very likely get his forward sidemounts on target and put serious pain on you.

If you keep your bow pointed /away/ from the enemy you can try to run from trouble.  Just practice playing angles and getting in front of people, then blasting away with the stern gun and accelerating away and your ship will live long and prosper.