Nothing earth shaking tonight, I installed the skylights in the cabin roof, and the window frames in the cabin proper. I didn’t paint the frames, they’re molded in with, some guys paint them, some don’t, I elected not to. The windows supplied with the kit are tinted and laser cut, but still have to be trimmed as they are a mite oversized.
Going to see how they fit in the window frames, if I don’t like how the fit I’ll cut windows from clear and make my life a little easier to boot.
By the way, I use RC56 to do all my glazing, it’s designed for plastic canopies and dries crystal clear. It’s not waterproof but it is water resistant, had several planes get pretty damp flying in misty weather never had the glue let go.

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I’m happy for you, that’s a neat transmitter! If I didn’t have so many of my models using a FrSky transmitter and receivers, I’d think about going that route myself.
Anyway, good call on the F14 and the Smit Nederland!

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Nice! Well done, I’m amazed at your work. She’s sweet!👍

So, my lovely spouse and I went to a function at our Church Friday night..it was a lot of fun, called a “Getaway”..it’s primary function was to have couples young and old to rediscover each other, both spiritually and secularly. Anyway, by Friday I’m worn out, work takes its toll. I’m paid well, but I think some of my soul is stripped away each week. Long story short, I told her if I go to this shindig I’ll probably lay off service Sunday. When Teresa and Grace left for church, I went out and did a little painting. That’s the way the day went for me..paint a bit, go get groceries..paint a bit, do the dishes..paint a bit, watch the Cowboys. I got a bit done, however, I just realized the aft part of the deck is mostly white with green panels. I may or may not “fix” that, as the deck and hull are joined from the factory, and I think I have stock in masking tape corporations by now.
Came out pretty good, did a little touch up and I need to do a bit more, but it’s looks ok. Next up is trimming and detailing fittings for the superstructure, windows, add rudder linkage, then glue in the aft deck insert and start to finish her up.
BTW, thanks to all who have posted so far, I appreciate the kind remarks and input!
Cash

Did some painting today and added a..I don’t know what you’d call it, but it’s a rail that runs around the deck just inboard by 12 mm or so. I’m using some Home Depot rattle can white and Tamiya orange and green, with some leftover appliance epoxy for the hull below the waterline. Going to try to do a bit more tomorrow.
Cash

Congratulations to Sub Lieutenant Nerys on her new rank!!! A big Huzzah from the Texas Squadron!
Although most patrols are off for the weekend, LT JG Errol is still at his post tonight, no, belay that he just came into the wardroom with me. All clear from the Gulf to the Red River, so we are standing down also. The San Jacinto is undergoing maintenance for the weekend, should be on station 0500 Monday.
CPO Hargett

CPO Hargett reporting-evening patrol uneventful, save for one report of a good old boy fishing with dynamite, we investigated but the Game Warden had him rounded up by the time we got there-patrolled the Red River up into Lake Texoma, stayed on the Texas side. Investigated an older cabin cruiser we thought might be in trouble, young couple on board waved at us while Bobby Ryder’s “Sway” was playing from the boats sound system, we let them be.
Might have to requisition a new boat for the patrol, it’s been brought to my attention that we really don’t have a military vessel in the fleet. Rumors that one of the last remaining Japanese Maritime Defense Force PT boats from the early 70s has come up for sale, will investigate further and make full report.

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Hope that gets you up and running, let me know if I can be of further assistance. 😊

Fleet, some of the pensioners are asking for Irish coffee in lieu of hot chocolate, your thoughts sir?

Hobby king had a good pic of the module in the Ff1 kit, looks like I have the same module-hope this helps

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Colin, do you presently have a Frsky module for your Futaba? If not, I might still have the one I was using in my Hitec optic 6. They use the same module. Let me know I’ll look for it, can’t remember if I gave it to a buddy or not, but I’ll check

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On modding transmitters to 2.4, remember that every different manufacturer has thei own proprietary 2.4 code, so if you have a 2.4 brand in mind, make sure the transmitter module matches the receiver. I use Frsky, and I think they make plug in modules to replace the transmitters frequency module if it has a plug in module in the back. If not, some manufacturers have a “hack” module that you solder in and also drill a hole for the bind switch. I converted one of my Multiplex Cockpits to 2.4 using a Frsky module, works great!

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A wooden dowel for the rudder post? Seriously? That’s a pretty good sized model, that just sounds sketchy as all get-out. I’m with you, I’d send her back.
When I read your first report after you unpacked the kit I looked for any links or PDFs for instructions, came up with zilch.
Yep. Ship it, get something else. The lack of measurements I could almost deal with after building the Taucher but a wooden rudder post? Makes me think what else did they scrimp on.
Cash

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CPO Hargett reporting for duty. Alls calm, LT Errol Cat and I practiced some hand-to-hand before he set off to train the Red River squadron.
Weather officer reports clear and hot for the next several days.

I decided to do a bit this afternoon, got the motor mount/stuffing tube assembly completed and installed. The stern tube is glued to the mount then goes thru the bottom of the hull and out the rear of the keel. I did a quick lash up to check fit, and started to tack the keel on, when I found the keel was twisted to the point the boat would have a permanent trim to port. I was able to get the keel off, thought I could tweak it straight, but found there was a molding error that could only be fixed by cutting the lower part of the keel. This allowed me to assemble everything straight, then I glued the cut piece back on and filled the cut with scrap plastic and filler, then sanded it smooth. Before I shut down for the day, I gave the superstructure a light coat of primer so I could better see what I needed to sand or fill on my repair on the fwd window section.

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Dang it. Gonna have to build a riverine gunboat now🤣

Real quick update. I built up the stuffing tube and rudder post. Both are made from 6mm brass tube in which you install flanged 6x3 mm bushings. They’re a tight fit, but I soldered themin just in case. I installed the rudder post tube into the hull, followed by the ply bushings that are glued in place over the tube and against the hull, then slathered epoxy over the joint. I also started test fitting some of the motor mount parts to get an idea how this will all fit.
Hopefully I’ll get more done this weekend, once the power system is in, I can concentrate on finishing up the upper superstructure, then, it’s time to paint and detail. Thinking about either airbrushing her or Tamiya rattle can. The Tamiya paints aren’t cheap, but they cover well and dry fast.

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Hi Ed, sorry for the late reply. Both the Taucher and my Springer Tug are running a little planetary gearbox I’ve found on both EBay and Amazon. It’s about 25 dollars, quality seems ok. The ratio is 3 to 1.

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Must forward this to the Fleet admiral-a dispatch was received from PO Errol Cat who is in command of the Texas Navy’s flagship San Jacinto while CPO Hargett is on leave following the skirmish with the Oklahomans-message reads “meow, meow, meeeowww, hiss hiss purr meow” translation follows:
“On last watch noticed rogue Oklahoman rabbits of their Second squadron assembling what appeared to be a an unauthorized shore battery of unknown size, probably 3 pounder. Tried to contact to no avail. Later in the watch the battery was turned against the San Jacinto, but their aim was high and they missed our fwd bow and mid ships. I then ordered the fwd batteries to open fire. Result, rabbits retreating north to Oklahoma, shore battery destroyed. Signed, Errol T Cat, PO, temporary commander San Jacinto”
Respectfully requesting shore leave for my crew and an increase in the catnip ration for PO Errol Cat upon my return from leave, which should be this weekend.
CPO Cash Hargett, Texas Navy western squadron.
😀

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No need for requisitions on the pizza and bourbon, we have plenty as we were able to acquire large quantities from an Oklahoma convoy trying to invade Texas. We kept their liquor and pizza and sent them packing!🤣

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Hi Doug..I’m using 3000 mah nimh 6 cell packs. I’m pulling maybe 3.5 to 4 amps under way, she tested about 4.5 at full chat while being held steady. Once under way the propeller should unload a bit lowering my amp draw. We drover around the lake for real close to an hours running time and the packs were showing about 7.5 to 7.6 volts no load.im running a simple y harnes wires in parallel feeding the esc.
I’ll look at that circuit, might be something I need.
Cash

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CPO Hargett reporting. New fleet tug Taucher has passed sea trials and is berthed with other Western Fleet vessels and the staff Studebaker. No problems here with the Hurricane this far north, however, HQ was invaded by daughters sleepover with 2 of her friends. Also, since the Commodore was celebrating her 50th at a downtown Dallas hotel on an overnight with HER friends, (think slightly inebriated Baptist middle age women😂) I pulled rank and had some possible recruits over for movies and pizza. I had the watch Sunday night till 0330 hours, when I succumbed to too much pizza and a little bourbon. PO Errol finished the watch.

Seriously, I think I could have been less tired if I had been at work. My body keeps telling me I’m not 25 anymore.

Weather officers telling me the high pressure ridge is back again, will be high 90s and dry next few days..skies clear, boats docked, swabbed, all maintenance complied with, logs complete. CPO Hargett hitting the sack lights out in an hour.

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Okay, so I’ve just finished the Graupner Taucher Wulf, and I’m one of those modelers that likes to have the workbench..ahh..working. Now, the Wulf was a bit of a pain in the rump to build, mainly because the instructions were almost non existent. There were pictures, mind you, lots of pictures, some even contradicted each other..but precious little info, measurements, that sort of thing. Anyway, I swore up and down that I would never build another modern Graupner boat again. I have a small stash of kits and a couple of boats to restore..nope, not doing it.
Then, that little voice in my head returned..same voice that tells me it’s okay to drop the hammer at a red light because that voice didn’t see the police cruiser in the parking lot..same voice that says “you’re not THAT full, one more slice of pizza wont kill you”. That voice. The one that said..”Look! The little Hertha Jeep is on sale! You’ve already seen the worst with the Taucher, go ahead and buy it. You KNOW what your getting into this time...ahhhhahahahahaha!”
So theres a Hertha Jeep on my bench. And, again, lots of pics, a little more info this time, some things that make me scratch my head and some that make sense. The hull is blow molded..I think it’s ABS but it just looks different from any plastic I’ve ever seen. Nicely made though. The kit parts and fittings looked good, so I dove in.
I decided that this time, I was going to build everything as sub assemblies and make sure everything fits to my satisfaction before I build myself into a corner like I did with the Wulf. The first thing I started was the cabin. It’s built from some very thin laser or machine cut abs. Much thinner than the Wulfs pilothouse. The cabin roof is molded in either resin or plastic and primered, and I used that and the hull to jig up the cabin. Everything fit okay until I got to the forward windscreen. The oblique angles and the way the darn thing fit had me stumped. Then I trimmed it, which was a mistake. However, it started to look decent when I realized that some of the ca had dribbled down and glued the bottom edge of the windscreen to the hull. !!@&&%!!!!
I had to break the bottom edge of the windscreen to get it loose from the hull. However, I was able to fix the damage with some scrap plastic and a little “modelers bondo” (Tamiya plastic filler). This was a rookie mistake, I was thinking of protecting the hull with wax paper, but I didn’t heed THAT voice, and got burned in the process. Lesson learned.
Once the cabin was done, I built the insert that goes into the aft part of the hull. I don’t have pics of that yet but I’ll post them soon.

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Hi y’all, quick vid on the Taucher, took her out this past Sunday. Ran her for one 15 minute cruise and then another 30 minutes or so on the Sam charge on 2 3000 mah packs wired in parallel, had plenty of power left. Motor got a little warm but not unreasonably so, she didn’t take on water, and she didn’t release any magic smoke, so alls well that ends well😁

Graupner Taucher Wulf maiden run

▶️

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That’s going to be a sweet tug, enjoy the build!! Please keep us posted on her progress.
Cash

I’ll buy what I need, but I am a CASO at heart (Cheap *** Studebaker Owner) so I will recycle things such as pushrods and clevises. When I flew RC combat I built models en masse, so once I was done with that I found myself with a lot of cut down pushrods around 5-6 inches long. I’ll take those, cut them in half and use small carbon fiber or fiberglass tube cut to length and ca the cut pushrod halves into the tube, making a very stiff, strong light pushrod. If the pushrod half’s slip too much in the tube, then before gluing, I’ll tweak a slight bend or nick the metal so it gets a good purchase inside the tube then run thin ca into the joint. Never had one fail.
Also, baking soda and thin ca acts like concrete, makes a decent filler but can be ugly if over done. Don’t breath the fumes!!!
Sometimes I’ll have small parts that need to be painted, and my lack of patience makes want to paint the thing in one shot. If it’s a part where the bottom is glued down and won’t be seen, I’ll tack glue a scrap piece of balsa stick to the bottom,
paint the part then gently put the stick in the vise to keep the assembly upright while the paint dries, then break off the stick and glue the painted part in place.

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CPO Cash here, all’s quiet from the Trinity River down to the Gulf. Transferring watch to PO Errol T Cat, he will take the watch from here.

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——-flash traffic to RNinMunich——-for your eyes only——
Ships cat name is Errol
Raised from feral kitten, now ships cat Texas Squadron
AKA “Errol the Feral”

All kidding aside, he’s a good cat. Saw him the back yard when I used to smoke (switched to vaping) and you couldn’t get within 20 feet of him he would run. I kept sweet talking him, he got curious, then we started feeding him, and one day he rolled over and showed me his belly and I knew he would be part of the family. Hes a big boy, 16-17 pounds, gentle as can be. He’ll roughhouse, but he doesn’t bite or scratch.
He’s the cat on “lookout” in my avatar.

I like to mix baby powder into my epoxy. I’ve used that on roughened up abs and haven’t had an issue yet. That I know of, that is.

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Balsa!!! Luv me some balsa! For most of my modeling life, dating back to when I was 11 or so, I’ve built airplanes. Got pretty good at working with the stuff. About 1/2 of the planes I built over the years are considered old timers, or vintage. Learned to build light and strong.
There are different grades of balsa and different weights. A grain is the softest and most flexible, while C grain is the least flexible, and within those grain types you can have varying weight between very light to something resembling basswood or light pine.
If you find it hard to find aircraft dope, there’s a place online by the name of Brodak manufacturing. Their main trade is control line aircraft and parts, with a bit of free flight and rc thrown in. They have their own line of dope and it works well.
There are a lot of tips and tricks out there for working with balsa, do a little googling and you’ll find a ton of info. I like to take 2 pieces of light thin stiff balsa and laminate them together crossgrain to make a lite ply, then cut bulkheads and formers from that. You can also cut a crossgrain slit in a piece of thin sheet, then slide thin carbon fiber in the slit and CA it in place, sand it smooth and it’s stronger than you would imagine.
Building boats is little different skill set, especially working with fiberglass and abs, or resin fittings. Wish I’d paid more attention to detail painting plastic models when I was very young, would have paid off now. But, life’s a learning process, ain’t it?
Night y’all
Cash

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