40-Years on the Shelf of Neglect -- USS Nautilus SSN-571

[billn53]

Over 3000 views, and 100 replies, since I started this project five weeks ago. I truly appreciate the interest and positive comments from everyone. Thank you all!

 

p.s.  I own a webpage for Nautilus with lots of pics. You can view it here:

 

http://subguru.com/nautilus571.htm

 

 

[billn53]

A bit more work today on my Nautilus.

 

I installed the bow diving planes and anchor:

 

 

I wasn't totally happy with my 3D-printed screws (their blades are too thick), and since I accidently ordered a second pair, I tried thinning those down. This looks promising (at least, better than what I had before):

 

 

There's not much else I can do until my decals arrive from Finland, so I finished building my out-of-the-box comparison kit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Nautilus never carried anything like what's in the above pic. How could anyone think that adding a huge structure behind the sail, creating all sorts of drag and noise, would be a good idea?

 

Oh, wait. I take that back....

 

 

 

My mods to the bow and stern are apparent below. In the bow-on pic, you can also see how much slimmer in beam my Nautilus is (compared to the OOB version):

   

 

This is probably the last you'll see until I can do a proper RFI. Thanks everyone for following this build, I found it very enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

I’d be hard put to say that those were supposed to be the same boat, had you not told me; the OOB version is just ‘generic submarine’, but yours is unmistakably Nautilus.  This has been a fascinating build; I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.  Thanks for sharing.

[John_W]

Regarding the innacuracies in the kit, how much of the design would have still been classified at the time it was produced? I am thinking of the "artistic licence" regarding the early kits of the  US Stealth Fighter, and kits of USSR aircraft during the Cold War.

[billn53]

14 minutes ago, John_W said:

Regarding the innacuracies in the kit, how much of the design would have still been classified at the time it was produced? I am thinking of the "artistic licence" regarding the early kits of the  US Stealth Fighter, and kits of USSR aircraft during the Cold War.

Certainly, anything having to do with the nuclear propulsion system... that stuff is still classified (which is the main reason why you can't go "back aft" when touring Nautilus today). 

[billn53]

The case I ordered arrived today, here's a pic to show how I'm thinking of displaying Nautilus. The decals are still in the mail, when they do I'll finish off this build and give you some better photos:

 

 

 

Ron from Grandpa's Cabinets ( www.grandpascabinets.com ) did the case per my specifications. His price was a bit more than others I've bought from, but the case is excellent and took only a week to get here from when I ordered it.

[uncletommy]

What a terrific build.  And a great primer for modifying plastic kits.  

Thanks for the history too!  I was 4 years old when Nautilus was launched and as a kid, it always fascinated me.  

 

Just an FYI.  Don't know if you're familiar with it but  for sculpting bits like you did in this build, rather than wood, you may want to give Balsa-Foam a try.  Very close grained foam that carves and sands like balsa.  Great stuff.  

[billn53]

14 minutes ago, uncletommy said:

 

Just an FYI.  Don't know if you're familiar with it but  for sculpting bits like you did in this build, rather than wood, you may want to give Balsa-Foam a try.  Very close grained foam that carves and sands like balsa.  Great stuff.  

Thanks, I hadn’t heard of balsa-foam before. I’ll check it out and buy a bit for my hoard of supplies. 

[Dancona]

I think the best thing you could do with the OOB one is to paint it yellow as a Beatles tribute, it does look a little similar to the one in the film !

Cracking job you are doing on this by the way.

 

Cheers

 

David

[Terry1954]

Superb build and a nice touch to see the original model as is. Remarkable difference!

 

Thanks for a very informative and interesting thread. You have inspired me to build a sub!

 

Terry

[Chewbacca]

 

On 15/06/2020 at 13:24, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

That MACS contraption is bonkers; even when not transmitting noise of hundreds of miles (Russian subs had ears too...) surely those damn great lumps of scaffolding made Nautilus as noisy as an underwater freight train, and therefore massively vulnerable?

Funnily enough, that was the first thought I had when I saw it!  

 

On 14/06/2020 at 18:38, billn53 said:

My most vivid memory of our time with MACS was the ability of the human body to adapt to the ear-splitting acoustic signals that were transmitted every few seconds. This went on for days and weeks at a time. Somehow, we learned to live with this noise -- to sleep, watch movies, and even play poker on Saturday nights."

 

I'd hate to think how you'd get that past the marine mammal protection legislation these days

 

On 21/06/2020 at 22:23, FlyingSpanner said:

I’m kinda with you there: I have practically zero knowledge of or interest in submarines [its just a long black tube isn’t it?], but something about this build really captured and holds my interest. I think the huge amount of work, varied materials, different skills in use, and first hand experience of the subject matter have made the difference.

Until I started reading this thread some weeks back, I had a similar view.  Despite joining the RN nearly 40 years ago with the intent of being a submariner having spent a few days at sea on board one of our SSNs as a Sea Cadet, I quickly dumped that idea after throwing up before we got the mouth of the River Dart owing to the smell of the diesel exhausts on board an Oberon class.  Thereafter, I spent most of the rest of my career chasing submarines and taking the view that any long black tube in the ocean was a target!  I've only ever built one submarine and that was the very aged USS Patrick Henry cutaway which I made in the 1970s but after being inspired by this thread, I could be tempted, especially if anyone brings out an A class at some point.  HMS AMBUSH was the first RN vessel of any type that I went onboard at Chatham Navy Days when I was about 6 years old!

 

On 03/07/2020 at 23:14, billn53 said:

I wasn't totally happy with my 3D-printed screws (their blades are too thick), and since I accidently ordered a second pair, I tried thinning those down. This looks promising (at least, better than what I had before):  

 

That thought has crossed my mind when I saw them but didn't like to say anything.  The thinned down version do look so much better

 

This has been a fascinating build.  I look forward to seeing it in RFI

[billn53]

4 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

 

I spent most of the rest of my career chasing submarines and taking the view that any long black tube in the ocean was a target. 

Ha ha! So true!
We once spent a very long night chasing a surfaced Soviet Foxtrot in the western Med. A P-3 we were exercising with had found it, done a low pass, and given a positive visual ID. 
In the dark, all we could see were her running lights. She was making a good clip and we could barely keep up with her.  Our periscope must have been putting up a huge spray every time we raised it.  
When the sun came up, we discovered it was a French diesel boat, returning to port. Doh!

[billn53]

Decals arrived last week, plus my third set of 3-D printed screws. These last ones were done in brass, which were made thinning the blades much easier than with the plastic ones. I'm calling this project a success!

 

The RFI photos are posted here: