Another Campbell Shovel begins assembly

[doering1]

Here we go. A lot of planning has been worked through and lots of stuff ordered. This hydro will include a fair bit of detailing (the aspects that I enjoy most in building). Planned features include a detailed upper deck "real mahogany veneer decking", scale wires and turnbuckles, scale engine and a lucky driver! Thought I'd better start photographing the progress.
Laurie

[Kmot]

Laurie, where did you get the fantastic looking scale engine?

[DJ Campbell]

Nice start Laurie. Good luck on the build. I'm interested in how that mahogany works out and gets glued on.

[doering1]

Originally Posted by Kmot

Laurie, where did you get the fantastic looking scale engine?

Tom,
The engine is from
http://www.lousfastrc.com/
Just click on RP Boat Parts store. I'll take some close up shots of the Allison tonight in between handing out the candy.

Doug,
I'm having a blast with this and really enjoying it. So nice to set the hull true and straight and that's it!. Unlike aircraft where you have wings, flaps, ailerons, tail, rudder, stab and elevator to contend with.
I've got some great finishing touches in store.

Laurie

[DJ Campbell]

Originally Posted by doering1

Tom,
The engine is from
http://www.lousfastrc.com/
Just click on RP Boat Parts store. I'll take some close up shots of the Allison tonight in between handing out the candy.

Doug,
I'm having a blast with this and really enjoying it. So nice to set the hull true and straight and that's it!. Unlike aircraft where you have wings, flaps, ailerons, tail, rudder, stab and elevator to contend with.
I've got some great finishing touches in store.

Laurie

I thought that was Lou's engine. It will be a great scale combo with the hull!

[doering1]

Here is a better shot for the engine "buffs"
Laurie

[Kmot]

Thanks for the extra photo of the engine. The detailing is very nice!

[doering1]

Initial modifications to the cowling. This involved cutting out the desired size and building a balsa inset to match the inner contour of the cowling. This brand of mahogany veneer is a dream to work with! I still have the option of making this scale engine insert inter-changable with the original section of cowling.
Laurie

[AndyKunz]

What brand is that, Laurie?

Andy

[DJ Campbell]

Originally Posted by doering1

Initial modifications to the cowling. This involved cutting out the desired size and building a balsa inset to match the inner contour of the cowling. This brand of mahogany veneer is a dream to work with! I still have the option of making this scale engine insert inter-changable with the original section of cowling.
Laurie

Hi Laurie.Well too late now. I could have sent you a retrofit cowl with an open engine base. Probably would have been easier to start going. Looks like you don't need any help though!

[doering1]

Originally Posted by AndyKunz

What brand is that, Laurie?

Andy

Hi Andy. It is flexible veneer from Rockler. Incredible quality. Cuts with an X-Acto knike with amazing accuracy. You can cut fractions of a millimeter (even cross-grain) for fine adjustments without any splintering. The secret is in the material (heavy paper-like) applied to the back of the veneer. I'm using African mahagony. It will take any type of stain or finish desired. This is the link:
http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=2216
Laurie

[doering1]

Originally Posted by DJ Campbell

Hi Laurie.Well too late now. I could have sent you a retrofit cowl with an open engine base. Probably would have been easier to start going. Looks like you don't need any help though!

Doug,
In the back of my mind I wondered about contacting you. Thanks! Everything is well under control.
Laurie

[AndyKunz]

Thanks. I have used something very similar to that in the past, and it was quite nice to use. The paper backing prevented it from working well on compound curves (lots of slicing) but the boat is still operable. My biggest fear was if it would hold together with multiple wet/dry cycles but that turned out to be unfounded. It was actually the first design I published, the Slo-Mo-Shun IV, in 1992 or so (in Flying Models).

Andy

[DJ Campbell]

Laurie, what kind of glue are you going to use to laminate the veneer to the plastic? I saw this neoprene based contact cement on the rocklear site. Don't know if that would work.

[doering1]

Originally Posted by DJ Campbell

Laurie, what kind of glue are you going to use to laminate the veneer to the plastic? I saw this neoprene based contact cement on the rocklear site. Don't know if that would work.

I will be using good old CA! I tested a variety of glues. With thick CA, I could not pull the veneer off the plastic without destroying it. You need a glue that penetrates the plastic, gives you a little working time and then sets up quickly. Maybe give that neoprene contact cement a try? If the glue takes time to set though, you will have trouble keeping the veneer flat on the front of the deck with clamps, tape and likely headaches. You don't want the solvents in the cement to penetrate too deep into the plastic either. I will be working with the veneer in sections that are sized to allow me to apply pressure with my hands over the entire piece ie. immediate pressure and control over the entire piece being applied.
Laurie

[DJ Campbell]

Originally Posted by doering1

I will be using good old CA! I tested a variety of glues. With thick CA, I could not pull the veneer off the plastic without destroying it. You need a glue that penetrates the plastic, gives you a little working time and then sets up quickly. Maybe give that neoprene contact cement a try? If the glue takes time to set though, you will have trouble keeping the veneer flat on the front of the deck with clamps, tape and likely headaches. You don't want the solvents in the cement to penetrate too deep into the plastic either. I will be working with the veneer in sections that are sized to allow me to apply pressure with my hands over the entire piece ie. immediate pressure and control over the entire piece being applied.
Laurie

I am interested in trying this out on a spare hull. I have some extra styrene ones and thought it would be cool to try it on. Probably reinforce the styrene on the inside with some light kevlar I have, then laminate the outside with the mahogany.

Would be interesting to see the technique used when you get to that point of applying veneer over plastic.

[AndyKunz]

Instead of clamps, try sandbags.

Andy

[doering1]

I don't know if you guys have used this stuff, but I think this product is amazing! Poly-flex is glazing putty used by the autobody industries to repair plastics. Here are a few shots of adding ride pads and how to achieve excellent edges. Glued the ride pads to the bottom of the sponsons with medium CA. Masking tape was then added to all sides of the sponsons right up to the edges of the pads. Sand the edges of the pads till you touch the surface of the tape. Remove the tape and sand the areas with 220 grit where the Poly-Flex is applied. Mix up a batch of Poly-Flex and apply all the way around the edges of the pads. Sandable after 20 minutes! Rough sanded with 150, then 220, then 400 grit.

This stuff sands like a charm with unbelievable feathering. It does not chip or crack. It feels harder than the plastic when cured, but you can cut still cut it with a razor blade! It also feathers into metal surfaces. It sticks to plastics better than any other body fillers I have tried. This is chemical engineering at it's best! Guess what I will use at the deck/hull interface?
Laurie

[RvE]

Beautiful work Laurie. Careful, she may be too nice to race.

Please, keep the progress pics coming, they are great.

RvE

[chuckc]

Laurie, can I buy Poly-flex at a local auto parts store ???