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USS Crockett, Finishing the USS Crockett
devans
post Dec 2 2007, 03:10 AM
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Sounds like an odd title for the topic doesn't it. It fits in this case however as I'm not the original purchaser of this kit, as a matter of fact I'm at least the third or forth owner.
I will try to document what I'm doing as well as throw in some questions here and there and wait with baited breath (no that doesn't mean I had sardines for lunch) for an answer. If you haven't guessed by now I'm a bit of a wise acre and I like to have fun so don't take it seriously if I fire one across your bow and I'll do the same with you. Now for a small bit of history as to how I ended up with the ship. The last owner, a very good friend of mine, plays host once a month to the model club I belong to The Subcommittee. Yes this club is about R/C submarines but some of us do like to play with targets as well. I would go over to the shelf it used to sit on and check it for progress and at first there was some but as time went on he eventually started loosing interest in the Crockett and focusing on his other boats. On one particular day while I was looking it over he said if I wanted it to get it out of there but there was two conditions for me to take total ownership. One I had to finish it, two I had to let him drive it when it was done. I'm now working on part one and as for part two he can drive her anytime he wants. So in true warner brothers cartoon fashion the ship left the shelf so fast there was a dust cloud outline in the shape of the Crockett as I took it to my car. He also gave me a Dumas PT 109 (built) that I want to add more detail to, but thats another thread for later after I finish the Crockett.
Now, the Crockett was at about 90% complete when I got my hands on it,the hull is all but done and painted I will post a picture when I get one. The super structure is built with the stacks in place, the hand rails done and doors installed. I sent to Dumas to get a copy of their plan for the kit (the ones that came with the kit were long gone) this is when I noticed that the details that were done so far were not exactly right or at least per the plans from Dumas. So I stripped the super structure back down to the basic shape and started redoing most everything. I don't want people to think that the previous owners were dopes, the items I am redoing are just me being perhaps more nit picky than I need to be.
Note: I had a picture inserted here but upon further investigation I set up an album with all the pictures I have so far.
The pictures in my album show where the super structure stands to date. Notice you can still see where doors and ladders and such were. I rebuilt the 15 man lifeboat stowage using 0.020" styrene but I kept the rails from the original attempt. The first attempt was done with 1/8" plywood and the rails poked through the bottom, what I did was use one piece of styrene and placed the rails on location and glued them in with ca, then I carefully ground the ends flush and glued a second piece of styrene to the bottom thus hiding the ends of the stantions and cut the deck to size. The two rear funnels were next on the list. I photo copied the print and cut out the templates, glued them to wooden blocks and sanded them down to size using my disk sander. I then drilled out the tops fixed my ooppses with putty and now I have something I'm happy with. The next item on my hit list is the mast. This is something I've never done before so after a lot of thought I dove in. I want the mast to have working lights and radar, there are a lot of lights on this bad boy so I decided to try hollow brass tubing for the vertical portion and for the yardarm. I managed to find brass tubing in the diameters needed at the LHS by starting from the smallest size and progressively going larger until I met the size called out for on the plan. Now you may be thinking oh man is he stupid, that brass is going to be heavy. Well your right... (wait for it..) it would be heavy. I saved on some of the weight by only using enough brass stock to solder to the next bigger piece, in other words the smallest diameter per plan should be 6 3/8" long, but I only made that section a little over 2" where it attaches at the very top and so on for the rest of the mast. Time will tell if it was enough and if not well I'm not afraid to say I was stupid. The next installment of this thread I will go into more details on how I decided to construct the mast based on wanting to have all the lights, oh and working radar.
Before I close this session I'd like to ask anyone that has built this ship what they used for lighting, where you got it from and what part number is it. The same for the doors, did you buy or build them?
Till next time.
Don
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rktman56
post Dec 2 2007, 02:23 PM
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First, I saw your pictures of your USS Crockett in your Gallery, great pictures. smile.gif From what I read and saw, you will give this model a much better home. Offten we all loose interest in some of the models we build. I like to see that you are going to redo some of this model, you'll be busy this Winter. Now before I comment on what I saw or what you asked I need to ask you a question. How accurate are you trying to build this model? Would you be happy with a "sport scale" model or you looking for a "true scale" model?

The masts I have made have been made from both brass and styrene. The brass masts where a bit heavier than the styrene one. But if you remember to keep the weight low in the hull the mast being made from brass will not be a problem. As for the lights... ALL of the lights need not be able to work! On this class of ship several of the lights on the mast are TOWING lights. The number lit reflects the length of the tow. The two lights on the yard arms are "blinkers" used to send signals to other ships. If you don't plan to set these up to blink or flash on and off, just model them as no-working lights. The two red warning lights at the top of the mast should be made as working lights. wink.gif Plus if you use brass tube it's easy to hide the shaft that turns the RADAR swing arm.

What paint was used to paint your model? One thing to remember, the center of the mist eliminator duct is round. I got this wrong on my first Crockett.



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devans
post Dec 2 2007, 08:09 PM
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Roger,
The vague answer to your question of how accurate do I want the model is some where between sport and true scale. My first mission is to get her water borne for next season with at least some degree of a wow factor. The hull for now will stay as is because as I stated, it's done and even painted. As for what paint was used, I have no idea I'm waiting for an answer from my buddy on that. Knowing me I will probably sand and repaint the entire boat so everything matches. I debated changing the struts from the kit one to something more along the line of your build but for now they will remain. If I have time this winter I may go ahead and change them. Thanks for the heads up on the mist eliminator duct I missed that one. I can see I will have to get better plans. Any recommendations? I just checked out the Dumas plans and even they don't say a thing about the center being round. After measuring the space I have to work with it would seem there isn't enough room to make a new mist eliminator duct per the dimensions given, decision time, cut the main funnel loose or live with the distance. For the lights, I may not do the blinkers but I do want to make the other mast lights. I plan on making the light foundations from sheet brass and using some small LED's, as a matter of fact I'll probably do all the lights in small LED's (deck lights and such). Speaking of which I found at my local Walmart a three foot string of battery operated small LED's. They have all red, all green and all white. I have yet to find the white ones. they are in the Christmas section. Well back to the mast.
Later and thanks.
Don
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rktman56
post Dec 3 2007, 09:33 AM
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You can take a look at this link: USS Crocket Build. It from my website and will help you with plans and fittings. Knowing what paint your friend used will help with color match. Although I can see you giving the hull a fresh coat of paint. If you want to redo the Dumas decals, you can buy them direct from them. Just make sure you apply them to a "gloss" surface and then apply some dull-coat over top of them to remove the glass. Makes your model look real and not like a "toy".



In the picture above of your model, we can see where the mist eliminator duct was built. I have never seen one this shape ever on this class of ships. If I were you, I would remove the main funnel and the mist eliminator duct. Check the angle of the main funnel... The plans from the Floating Drydock will help you out. The Dumas plans are not what I would call "scale" but will only give you a general idea of the layout of the ship. Look through the first USS Crockett area on my website. Then look through the "extras" area. Study the pictures and look where I changed the model. Sounds like you want a happy balance between true-scale and sport-scale. It all boils down to what you are happy with.

The doors... make one from styrene and then cast the others. This is what I did. Although I no longer have the masters or the molds from the first build. I even sold the first USS Crockett I built. ohmy.gif So now I have to build new masters here in a few months. The ammo lockers, I built these from styrene. wink.gif

I understand about leaving the struts. If the stern tubes are in place, no need to rip all that stuff out. Best to leave it in place. Although there is something you need to check.



The rear storage lockers, the corners are rounded. On the real ships the superstructure was made from fiberglass and most all of the corners are rounded. This is stronger than a 90 degree corner. If you need a picture of my latest build to help you out, let me know and I'll post one here showing the details.

Hope this information helps and good luck with your build. I know you will WoW them this Spring. biggrin.gif


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devans
post Dec 3 2007, 07:23 PM
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O.K. so the funnel and mist eliminator duct are coming off, bummer. I realize the Dumas plans are merely a guide, I used the dimensions from that plan to locate the hand rails and to see if the main funnel fell at least about where it should and it appeared to be at close. I will go and visit the floating drydock soon. I want their new gato plan book on CD rom anyway.
You said to check the angle on the main funnel, I assume you mean the top. I know about this one, it was worse when I got it. I built up the top but the angle still isn't there so it's a work in progress.
I've spent a lot of time reading your original Crockett site and even saved some of the pictures to help, I hope you don't mind, It's answered some questions and brought up more. As this thread progresses maybe they will come out.
I know about the corners on the aft stores just haven't gotten there yet. And the doors I made all from styrene from the plan and doctored them up to look like something I'm used to seeing. I used to work in a shipyard. The escape hatch is a little on the small side but not by much, I have a gasket punch tool I bought at harber freight and just punched out the closest size and added the hinges.
Well off to go do some destruction tongue.gif .
Don
Quick update. The main funnel and the mist eliminator duct are off. YOU HAPPY NOW!! just kidding, I wouldn't have done it if it didn't make sense. Now for the clean up and rework. pics to follow soon.
O.K. all the cleanup is done but I have a question if I may. What is the distance from the back edge of the funnel to the edge of the super structure? I also noticed I need to put an angle on top of the stores sections. Oh joy!
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rktman56
post Dec 5 2007, 01:22 AM
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Don,

Yep I'm happy... (I know you were kidding). wink.gif I will get an answer for you soon. I'll be busy the on the 5th... so you will have an answer before you go to attach your funnel. I will also take a few pictures of mine and post here for you. I am glad that my first build is a help to you, thank you for using it to help you build yours. What you have done for your doors and escape hatch looks great. I am looking forward to seeing more pictures.


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devans
post Dec 18 2007, 01:24 PM
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O.K. sorry about no updates lately and no pictures, my camera is officially dead. I'm working on some of the refinement details while waiting for the plans to come in before I commit myself to something I'll have to tear back out again. Does anyone have a source for good information (pictures, books) on the Crockett? I mean besides what Roger has put here. I've tried Navsource but the pictures leave a lot to be desired as do so many pictures deemed appropriate for release by the Navy.
Thanks.
Don
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rktman56
post Dec 18 2007, 10:52 PM
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No worry about not posting pictures and about the camera, sorry to hear about that. I mayself need to post a few pictures of my Crockett. I've been very busy with other things... you know how that is. My CG-54 has been taking allot of my free time. Looking for information other than what I don't have for other's here is hard to come by. I've sent many emails to crew members, then posting what I've learned on the website. I would say to follow the links I have posted and then review the plans you get. This will put you on track. But remember, no matter how you build your model... no one will say anything. It's your model and the key is to have fun, enjoy what you are doing and learn. If you can do that, then it makes the work that I put into my website worth it. Don't worry about redoing your Crockett... cool.gif Good luck with your camera and your Crockett.


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devans
post Dec 19 2007, 08:33 AM
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Thanks for the encouragement. Yeah the camera was old (1.3 mp) and hey it is Christmas after all maybe I'll find another one under the tree. As for information your right there isn't much out there, I primarily build subs and I thought info on those was hard to come by. I'm not a rivet counter per say but I do try to do my best and some times that means pushing myself towards trying new techniques and learning new ways to do things that I've never done before. Take the mast for instance, I don't have a lot of experience soldering a bunch of small pieces together like that and not having the whole thing fall apart so after some thought I just did it and it came out pretty good and it was easier than I expected. The main thing I'm not going to do with this ship is to make it baby smooth all over. I worked in a shipyard for a lot of years and ships don't have smooth hulls, there are dips and uneven spots all over the place and thats at the new construction stage never mind the oopses during the ships career. That to me is more representative of what a model should show. Not that I'm bashing those that choose to make theirs absolutely perfect and smooth. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of your Crockett, there won't be any updates on mine till after Christmas. Too much to do and as usual I haven't even started shopping yet.
Take care and Merry Christmas.
Don
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rktman56
post Dec 19 2007, 10:29 AM
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No problem about the encouragement. Sounds like you are going in the direction you feel best with. I do agree with what you said about the hull for example. Welds, uneven plates and the effects of that "smack" from time to time give the hull a bit of character. Modeling these irregularities can be extremely difficult to do and then to have them "look" right when you are done. Although these kinds of details do make the ships look more realistic, if done wrong can have a negative effect. Using a body filler like Bondo and modeling irregularities in the hull is one of the easier ways to do it. You can call on your years of experience of working on a shipyard. With the work you have done on your mast, it tells me you are willing to try new techniques that are new to you. Great Job! biggrin.gif


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"Over the years I have spent nearly all of my money on my Harley-Davidson, my model boats and women. The rest of it I just wasted!"


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rktman56
post Dec 24 2007, 12:42 PM
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Here are a few pictures of my Crockett. smile.gif
Attached File(s)
Attached File  IMG_4888.JPG ( 765.55K ) Number of downloads: 13
Attached File  IMG_4882.JPG ( 771.94K ) Number of downloads: 9
Attached File  IMG_4886.JPG ( 726.35K ) Number of downloads: 11
Attached File  IMG_4881.JPG ( 803.32K ) Number of downloads: 10
 


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Roger

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"Over the years I have spent nearly all of my money on my Harley-Davidson, my model boats and women. The rest of it I just wasted!"


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devans
post Dec 25 2007, 11:43 PM
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Sweet! I did one thing on mine a little different around the aft stores. Instead of cutting the soft patch area to allow the walls to sit below flush I trimmed the bottoms of the walls and left the soft patch intact. I was concerned that if enough water washed over the deck then it could get to the R/C gear. I'm still trying to get the hang of driving. More than once I have turned my PT boat around on it's transom. biggrin.gif
The plans from Floating drydock came in Saturday, I ordered the ones for the Tacoma because they were 1/96 and right away I found out that the mist eliminator on the Tacoma is completely different. As are some other details but they are still usable for most of what I need. I know they were called the pirate navy because they were not standardized but oh my god.
I hope your Christmas was good and the coming new year even better.
Take care.
Don
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devans
post Jan 20 2008, 09:27 PM
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O.K. Roger I'm at my wits end here. I've been trying to make the mist eliminator duct (a lot of my tries went to the dump) mostly based off the Dumas plans because the plans I bought don't show this. Well dimensionally it doesn't work! The Dumas plan has the length at 2 11/16", the distance from from the funnel to the turbine intake is about 2 1/16" as measured on the deck. Talk about 10 pounds of .... in a 5 pound bucket! Do you have any better info or suggestions for my problem? I think one mistake I made was I bought the plans for the Tacoma because they are 1/96 and the ones for the Crockett are around 1/192, not thinking there would be that big of a difference within four boats. By the way I had an idea while typing this and checked the actual dimension on the Dumas plan which is 1/81 scale and converted the number to 1/39th scale and the distance should be 2.080", so my placement of the funnel is good. The plan dimensions Dumas calls for on the mist eliminator duct need to be adjusted. I could still use the help though.
Don
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rktman56
post Jan 21 2008, 10:11 PM
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QUOTE(devans @ Jan 20 2008, 10:27 PM) *
O.K. Roger I'm at my wits end here. I've been trying to make the mist eliminator duct (a lot of my tries went to the dump) mostly based off the Dumas plans because the plans I bought don't show this. Well dimensionally it doesn't work! The Dumas plan has the length at 2 11/16", the distance from from the funnel to the turbine intake is about 2 1/16" as measured on the deck. Talk about 10 pounds of .... in a 5 pound bucket! Do you have any better info or suggestions for my problem? I think one mistake I made was I bought the plans for the Tacoma because they are 1/96 and the ones for the Crockett are around 1/192, not thinking there would be that big of a difference within four boats. By the way I had an idea while typing this and checked the actual dimension on the Dumas plan which is 1/81 scale and converted the number to 1/39th scale and the distance should be 2.080", so my placement of the funnel is good. The plan dimensions Dumas calls for on the mist eliminator duct need to be adjusted. I could still use the help though.
Don



Don,

For this, I wouldn't worry about it as much as you are. Sorry to hear that you have tired to make this part allot of times and have not come up with one you like. Here is what I would do. Just make one to fit your model. Don't worry about the size, just make it look right for your model. wink.gif The plans Dumas provides are not worth... well you know what I mean. So just build one to fit your model and you will be happy with it. I wish you luck.

Roger


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Roger

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"Over the years I have spent nearly all of my money on my Harley-Davidson, my model boats and women. The rest of it I just wasted!"


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devans
post Jan 24 2008, 02:38 PM
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Well Roger you won't believe this but... After dumping here on my earlier thread it gave me a couple of ideas and I found one I'm pretty happy with. Unfortunately it's based off the Dumas plans and Yes I know they are not worth a tinkers you know what. But so far it's coming out to look like what I think it should based on seeing similar ventilation setups on various boats. And I'm making it to fit the area I have so your reply is kind of backing up what I'm doing. When it's done and I'm happy with how it comes out I'll post here what I did step by step so that someone else can maybe benefit from my learning curve. And as for how many times something went to the trash heap, I don't really care. I didn't fail six times, I merely found six ways how not to do it. I have it on the run though.
How's your coming?
Thanks.
Don
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devans
post Jan 26 2008, 01:46 PM
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O.K. small update. The mist eliminator duct is complete and I'm pretty happy with it. I'll hold off on installing it until the super structure is painted out. The main funnel is reinstalled and everything seems to line up really good. I cut the tops off the aft stores and did the best I could with putting in the proper roof angle, I shored up the corners with 1/8th" bass square stock so I will have something to sand my way into when I round off the corners and reattached a new roof. I've started building up the taper on top of the main funnel in order to establish the angle required. Just for grins I set the diesel funnels, the 15 man life raft decks and the mist eliminator duct into place and I'm pleased. It looks so much better. I will post pictures as soon as I can.
Don
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devans
post Feb 17 2008, 04:29 PM
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Well the camera is still dead but I'm making progress and will post pictures as soon as I can. The gun director is done and in primer. The mast is now 80% complete. the two diesel funnels are done, smooth and in primer and the main super structure is fixed, smoothed out and in primer. I've got enough of the small detail parts done so when I'm happy with the finish on the super structure this thing should start going together pretty quick. Good thing too cause my March deadline is coming fast.
that's it for now.
Don
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rktman56
post Feb 18 2008, 02:02 PM
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Don,? I am looking forward to seeing pictures of your Crockett.?? biggrin.gif?? Mine has been setting for sometime now, waiting for my return.? I've been spending my time working on my CG-54 USS Antietam!!!? wink.gif?? I will be working again on my USS Crockett in a month ot two.?


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Roger

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"Over the years I have spent nearly all of my money on my Harley-Davidson, my model boats and women. The rest of it I just wasted!"


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devans
post Feb 18 2008, 04:35 PM
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O.K. boys and girls with the generous help of Roger I have an album started and I've uploaded what I have to date for pictures. I swiped the micro SD card from my wifes cell phone and used the camera in my cell phone to do this. Some are a little blurry, sorry. I put the ones in before I started fixing things to give you an idea what I was up against and brought it all up to date. Gotta get ready to go home and the boss is in tomorrow so nothing until some time in the afternoon.
Don
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devans
post May 17 2008, 07:36 PM
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Sorry for the long break. Things got real nutty at work so no working on the boat there and at home I had to get ready for show season. I have an alpaca farm that the wife and I own and run. Fun little creatures but some times they can be a lot of work, thankfully not too often. Since things are finally calming down at the job and the farm I will be building and posting my progress soon.
Don
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