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Flagship Models 1/72 USS ALLIGATOR - FINISHED


dnl42

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Thanks @Alan P! There are certainly many problems to solve. The most daunting is what to assemble before painting. Given the simple paint scheme, green, I'm tempted to assemble all and then paint. But, well, I'm quite the clod, so that might end badly for the more delicate parts I've been building...

 

Here are the oar guards. The kit includes a template, but I used that more figuratively than literally.

alligator-guard0.jpg

 

And here's the approximate placement

alligator-guard1.jpg

 

Hm, it's a wee bit wide...

alligator-guard2.jpg

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More work on the oars. I built a jig to assist in scoring the center "hinge" line of the oars.

alligator-oars4.jpg

 

This made for quick and consistent work.

alligator-oars5.jpg

 

I originally intended for the score line to face aft, opposite the spine (as shown earlier). Thinking about this more, I decided to partially feather all the oars and fold away from the score line. This allowed me to attach the spine more or less centered.

alligator-oars7.jpg

 

My current intention is to paint the basic hull without the appendages, place it one the finish base, then attach the oars, oar guard, and snorkel. We'll see...

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  • 2 weeks later...

@Alan P, thanks! That paint did help quite a bit.

 

I made a jig out of scrap material to hold the hull in position while I drilled the oar shafts. That quad index card was next also use to trim the shaft to a consistent length.

alligator-assembled0.jpg


All the bits are on! Woohoo!!! A bit of touch-up is needed in several areas and then some black and clear for the glass ports.

alligator-assembled1.jpg

 

alligator-assembled2.jpg

 

I'll make it yet! :penguin:

 

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Gidday, this is looking very good, although a rather strange looking craft. What is the angled pole for - a breathing tube, or mast for the GPS and satellite dish? Regards, Jeff.

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@Andwil and @ArnoldAmbrose, thanks!

 

She is a strange beast! Her top speed apparently doubled from 4 to 8 knots when the oars were replaced by a proper screw. That's a snorkel! It turns out this beast was actually quite advanced. Snorkel, air filtration, diver egress. The weight is some manner of depth control device; I'm not clear how it would work absent floodable ballast tanks.

 

And here she is completed!

alligator-finished0.jpg

 

alligator-finished1.jpg

 

Thanks for watching! :bye:

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Really well done, this was a brilliant example of taking a base kit and using skills and ingenuity to turn it into a unique result. 

 

Alan 

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Gidday Dnl42, I've probably said it before but I think these underwater thingies are un-natural, a passing fad, nothing will ever come of them. 😁

 

Seriously, these are very good models. I'd heard of the Hunley before but not the Alligator. The two together make an interesting comparison of two different approaches to a same type of vehicle with almost no fore-runners to set a precedent as to how they should be developed. A 'David' would be a good addition to your underwater fleet. Is there a kit of Bushnell's 'Turtle' available?

 

Well done with them. Regards, Jeff.

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Very nice. As to the suspended weight I would suspect that is used to keep it down, and could be released for an "emergency surface" if it started sinking..

 

Pete

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