# My first RC Submarine... The Seaview



## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

I have been wanting to do this for a while but previous sporting activities and costs precluded my entry. But with a change of life style after an accident I can sail on, as it were,

Being a long sci-fi fan I had to get this as my first build and radio control sub. The entire kit, sub driver and fitting came from Caswells Inc with he sub driver ordered as a completed unit minus the snort pump assembly. I have already built one of these kits as a static display back when they were first released but the rc conversion will make for an interesting challenge. I am also be adding extra detail with the pe set from Paul at Paragrafix.

To date I have completed most of the main hull sub assemblies and have the deck superstructure removed. apart from the rc conversion the kit has thrown up a couple of little challenges at me. The biggest and most annoying is the slight miss alignment of the main hull pieces and the window insert. It is not grossly out of sync and the parts still pretty much snap together. It certainly doesn't detract from the kit it just means I have to work a bit harder on the seams... Because this a different kind of build for me I have been taking notes from the DVDs that came with the kit. They help me get my head around stuff that is a bit out of my comfort zone. So far it is proving to be a fun and challenging build that has taught me a couple of things on the way as well.

I will also be adding lights to this as well as the pe

Some out of scale mods need to be done to the thruster tubes with corresponding openings in the main hull and grinding out a well to take the dive plane bell crank...


Cheers,
Alec


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

*Continued*

Once the axle and bearing holes were drilled and the thrusters glued in place I the glued the four main hull sections together. Again there was that gap thing with the forward and rear hull sections but again some repeated fillers, sanding and spot priming sorted that out. 

After fixing the window and hull joins I removed the superstructure, then I started adding the pe limber holes after they were marked out for removing the areas behind them before gluing down the forward deck/sail piece and the missile deck piece.

Test fitting the 90% completed superstructure I realized I buggered up the port side by getting the angle wrong during the scribing & removal process. I inadvertently filed away too much of the main hull piece where the superstructure sits back on so I had to add styrene strips and filler to build it back up...
. I would have liked to be further advanced with the build but I can still only sit for a few hours at a time. But hey I'll take that as good over what could have happened with my accident last year... Sorry I digress. With how things are going I reckon I'll have the flying sub bay and forward dive plane assembly done by this coming w/end, well that is the plan anyway...

Cheers,
Alec.


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## fxshop (May 19, 2004)

Sick Alec! Good luck with this project! Randy


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Thanks Randy 

Since my last pics I have managed to get a fair bit done... Including some of the best seam work I have ever done. I can say this as I usually suck at them.

It's been an up n down couple of weeks. The worst downer was the bow planes supplied were both the same profile i.e two left ones. At first I thought I had screwed something up but then realized the problem. However David Merryman posted two new ones out within a couple of days. 

But I reckon I have nailed it to a good start for the finish line. All the electronics are done n dusted and I've indexed the sub-driver. As I said I have installed the LPB(snort) system for which I tried to mount the inlet through the bottom drain holes but I had issues getting the sub-driver to sit level so I ended up running the inlet tube along the top and mounting it through the top of the ballast tank and then plugged it with copious amounts of rtv to stop any air leaks. I then ran more dry dock tests and testing getting the Tx tuned as best I can so I knew it all worked. I have also set and zeroed the ADF(auto pitch control and fail-safe) and I reckon I have now gone through more checks and rechecks than the crew of the shuttle before liftoff...

Last night I pulled a late one (actually early am) and glued in the lower bow assembly after I made and mounted all the push rods earlier in the evening. I'm not sure it was entirely needed but I also drilled some small holes in the roof of the fs bay in the corners to help with freeing trapped air bubbles, I'm probably being overly anal about stuff like that.... Another thing I did was make a separate battery source for the leds. I took a 9v battery with a snap clip and inline switch wrapped the battery in electrical tape sealed the little push button switch in some heat shrink. But only heated the ends so the switch was sealed but free to operate. and then sealed it with liquid electrical tape and rtv silicon attached some Velcro to it and the back of the FS bay and bingo one removable power source. As it is only running 9 micro leds I reckon I'll get several god long missions before I need to slice of the tape and knock up a new one. I know it sounds crude but hey it works. I also mounted the kit stands to a piece of Merbau decking which I will use as a stand on mission days as well as it will be a good display base when its painted & stained. For the observation lounge I used the decals that came with the pe set from Paragrafix. Normally would paint the detail but having used Paul's stuff before I had to use them now. I also used some of the pe furniture that came in the kit and they really do add the extra as well. After it was over coated with a clear I waited about a week and then gave it a good coat of dull-coat so now it should be nice and waterproof. I gotta say it looks good behind the windows. This morning after the wife went to her rehearsals I tested the sub-driver in the tank (aka-bath tub) for leaks and basic operation. I have still to get the propellant for the emergency blow system but every thing else went off like a dream. I ran the motors at 3/4 forward throttle for five minutes and mixing that with reverse running too, whilst going through all the servo motions and running the vent and blow system several times too. I was actually surprised that the battery end was heavier then the motor end? Out of the water they don't seem that different... Nervously I waited to see any air bubbles escaping from where they shouldn't but after the five minutes not a one was to be seen. Just to make sure after it came out of the water I dried down the entire outside and the only water to be seen inside was in the ballast tank...Whoohoo!!! Somethings I will still add the the sub-driver is some of those silca pillows that you get in medicine and vitamin bottles just as a precautionary measure. Today is a bit of a rest day before I start on the seam work around the underside of the forward hull. The replacement bow planes should be here in a couple of days so I may even wait till then.


Cheers,
Alec


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

A couple more...

I never tire looking at bow shot of the Seaview.

Cheers,
Alec


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## fxshop (May 19, 2004)

WOW, you have been busy! Looks great! Cant wait to see her in the water.... Keep up this amazing build... Randy


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## AJ-1701 (May 10, 2008)

Thanks Randy.

Well it has been several weeks of ups n downs. At one stage I thought I was going to have the most expensive decoration in my garage but I persisted through the leaks, shorts blown pump controllers etc. To the point where I actually had a fairly good open water test run. I still had a leak issue and one of the drive shaft heads became unstuck but on the whole I was pretty happy with it all. Oddly one of the less trouble some parts was trimming her... It doesn't sit as high as we have seen in the show and when I tried it became a little to unstable but where she sits at free board height now I am very happy with.

And a small video 
http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/...el/?action=view&current=Seatrials05-04-12.mp4

Cheers,
Alec.


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## fxshop (May 19, 2004)

Nice job Alec! Glad to see she made her first wet test. There is always bugs to work out with subs... Nice job...


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## Barrymartin (May 17, 2013)

Great Job, your project is really amazing and RC Submarine is looking very nice , but i think you would have to share video of that submarine i really looking forward to see that.Thanks for sharing.


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