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

[billn53]

35 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Just don’t put it on a shelf underneath any Soviet helicopters...

 

 

 

 

Haha! I do have kits of Hormone and Helix ASW helos in my stash. When those get built, I’ll be sure to keep proper distance!

 

 

[billn53]

You learn something new every day!

 

It seems Nautilus's stern was modified sometime between her early years, and when I was aboard (1977-1980).  Compare these two pics (taken late in her service life)

 

 

 

 

 

With this one, taken sometime in the 1950s:

 

 

 

Points of difference:

 

A. The early stern does not come to a point behind the rudder and dive planes. On my build, I correctly added the pointed tail.

 

B. On the old stern, the base of the rudder starts off horizontal, then takes a kink toward the boat's centerline. The newer rudder does not have this kink. I'm going to have to re-scribe my rudder to be correct.

 

C. The fillet on the old stern is very thick. The newer stern shows a very small fillet, if any. I, fortunately, noticed this difference before adding my fillet.

 

D. This plate is not present on the newer stern.

 

The screws are also different, both in number of blades and their shape. None of these photos show the screws we had when I was aboard:

 

 

[billn53]

A bit off topic, but...

 

This is why submariners get special hazard pay:

 

https://www.navysite.de/ssn/ssn571.htm

 

 

[billn53]

Now comes the part I've been awaiting with trepidation: the deck.

 

Nautilus had a teak deck, so I think it important for my model to represent the planking.

 

 

 

For this, I am using this model railroad product:

 

   

 

Scale-wise, these planks come out a bit wider than Nautilus's teak, but it's the best I can do.

 

There are lots of details that will have to be added to the deck: access hatches, the emergency buoys, the torpedo loading hatch and various storage locations, the safety track that runs fore and aft, etc. The scale drawing I have, unfortunately, is mostly incorrect as far as showing these details. After studying bunches of photos, I penciled-in some corrections, which you might be able to see in the photo below:

 

 

 

I also have as a reference my original model, for which I was literally able to "walk the deck":

 

   

 

The first thing I had to do was prep the my model for the planking sheet. This meant sanding away the primer I had applied, and using a scraper to ensure the deck area was as flat as possible:

 

 

 

I measured and cut the planking sheet, and glued it in place with Tamiya "orange top" cement:

 

 

 

Here's a close-up. There are 28 planks from side to side, which is a bit fewer than on the actual deck (36, if I counted correctly on the first photo of this post).

 

 

 

The planking sheet is 0.020-in thick, which works out to about five inches in scale. Quite a step! The planking does not run the entire length of the deck (the deck at the bow and stern is metal), so I had to do something about this step. I elected to add 0.020-in styrene sheet:

 

   

 

That left the step along the edge of the deck to deal with. I plan to use Bondo to get the correct curve between the deck edge and the side of the casing. However, I didn't think it wise to Bondo directly to the deck edge (small chance of me getting a clean, straight edge). Thus, I added styrene strip to the deck edge. I'm hoping I can establish the initial curvature by sanding down the outer edge of these strips, and use Bondo to continue the curve down to the casing.

 

 

 

I used thinner strips at the fore-end of the deck and at the rear turtleback:

 

   

 

I have to admit, I'm improvising here! My modeling intuition says this is a good approach. Let's cross our fingers and hope it works out.

 

The deck is already looking pretty good. It should look even better once the edges are smoothed, and details added.

 

 

 

Oh! I nearly forgot... The stern is done (except for some minor scribing needed on the rudder)

 

 

 

 

[billn53]

My approach for getting rid of the step around the deck seems to have worked!

 

   

 

   

 

With that done, it's time to detail the deck with the various hatches, emergency buoys, etc. To help with the detailing task, I'm using this product:

 

 

 

Which is paper-thin plastic sheeting: cuts like paper, glues like plastic. What's not to like?

 

Here's where I am thus far:

 

On the fore deck I've added the forward messanger buoy, the forward escape trunk hatch, the torpedo loading skid, and the officers' hatch to the wardroom:

 

 

 

Aft of the sail is the engineroom hatch. Just above it in this photo, you can see a scribed-in hatch for one of the casing's many under-deck storage areas. Most of these were for the mooring lines.

 

 

 

At the stern are the rear emergency buoy and the rear escape trunk hatch:

 

 

 

More yet to do on the deck detailing, but thus far everything is going smoothly!

[AdrianMF]

Looking good with the deck and fairing in! Plapaper is I guess pretty much the same as 5 thou plastic card (~0.125mm).

 

Regards,

Adrian

[billn53]

2 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looking good with the deck and fairing in! Plapaper is I guess pretty much the same as 5 thou plastic card (~0.125mm).

 

Regards,

Adrian

Yes, the 0.1-mm PlaPaper works out to 4 thou.  It is also available in 0.2-mm thickness. 

[GMK]

The decking really adds to the look. Maybe something adding a sense of scale as plank width is a common/known quantity?

 

Regarding your PLA paper, what glue did you use to attach it?

 

Cheers 

[billn53]

20 minutes ago, GMK said:

Regarding your PLA paper, what glue did you use to attach it?

 

Tamiya green cap.

[billn53]

I'm calling the deck finished. I could have added more details, but I'm trying to reserve my mojo for the finish line.

 

Fore deck: Added the foldable bullnose, safety track (made from 0.4-mm masking tape), and re-did the forward escape hatch:

 

 

 

Here's a detail shot of the forward hatch area. I added handwheels to all the deck hatches. These are re-purposed 1/144 carrier deck tiedowns. Nit-pickers will notice that there should be more spokes on the handwheels 

 

 

 

Rear deck details:

 

 

 

These outlets are for the diesel exhaust and engineroom seawater cooling:

 

 

 

It's probably wise to give the deck a coat of Future, just to get everything set in place. I'd hate if, a few years from now, the safety track masking tape begins to come loose.

 

 

 

We're getting very close now. I have just couple more detail items to add before I start painting!

[Bandsaw Steve]

Great job.

 

It never would have occurred to me that a nuclear submarine would have a wooden deck.

[billn53]

4 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

 

It never would have occurred to me that a nuclear submarine would have a wooden deck.

Remember that Nautilus was the first nuclear sub, so she inherited a lot of diesel boat design characteristics. We even had some old fleet boat equipment on board: our two emergency diesels had previously been the auxiliary engines on a decommissioned WW2 sub.

[billn53]

My last detail to add to Nautilus's deck is the small DUUG-2 sonar, seen here just above the number "5" in 571:

 

 

The DUUG was a French-built active intercept sonar, tuned to detect and give a very rough direction for active-homing sonars on threat torpedoes. It was designed to help us evade torpedoes in situations like these:

 

 

 

Here's my scratch-built DUUG dome:

 

   

 

With that done, it's just about time to put some paint on this boat! I want to match the colors on my original model, as those were selected based on how Nautilus appeared in her final years when I was aboard. Those consisted of black upper surfaces, dark red lower hull, and a reddish-brown stripe separating the upper and lower hull colors:

 

 

 

After painting a bunch of plastic spoons in various shades of red...

 

 

 

I finally settled on Model Master British Crimson for the lower hull, and Tamiya XF-9 Hull Red for the stripe. For the black upper hull, I will be using Mr Paint (MRP) Tyre Rubber black. The planked deck will be a slightly lighter shade of black, to represent its non-skid surface.

 

I also need to decide on what paint to use for simulating the well-weathered brass propellers:

 

 

 

More spoons were sacrificed:

 

 

 

The Model Master and XTreme Metal products had the closest color to what I'm looking for, but both have discernable flakes when viewed up close. The Mr MetalColor brass looks great in that regard, but is too yellow and "bright"for my needs. I decided to try toning it down with a smidgen of black -- the result is much better, so that is what I'm going to go with:

 

Mr MetalColor brass: unadulterated on the left, black added on the right:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FlyingSpanner]

1 hour ago, billn53 said:

 

 

 

Is the guy on the left a giant, or is the guy on the second left a midget?

 

 

Edited to also say; I really love your work, and I am excited to see it in paint. I am continually surprised how interesting I am finding a submarine build.

 

Apologies for the ridiculous question

Edited June 28, 2020 by FlyingSpanner
Posted too soon

[billn53]

9 minutes ago, FlyingSpanner said:

Is the guy on the left a giant, or is the guy on the second left a midget?

 

This photo was taken following a re-enlistment ceremony while we were at Mare Island for decommissioning. The tall officer on the left is the CO, Commander Richard Riddell. 

[billn53]

Got the under-hull colors on (dark red and hull red-brown). Looks kind of like Operation Petticoat, doesn't it?

 

 

 

 

 

The colors don't look as deep as on my original model, but I expect that will change when I apply the final satin coat.

[billn53]

It's well past my bedtime but I couldn't resist working late to get the upper hull black color on. Only a few more things to do and Bob's your uncle!

 

Port side overview:

 

 

 

Bow planes and anchor are on the "to do" list:

 

 

 

I intend to print up some decals for the torpedo tube doors, as well as the ballast tank floods along the keel:

 

 

 

I'm really pleased with how well the deck detail turned out! It will look even better with once I've painted the planking and done some highlighting.

 

   

 

   

 

The sail needs some little sailor dudes to give a sense of scale:

 

 

 

The two 3D-printed screws are still to be added, as well as decals for the ship's markings. I've commissioned a set of decals from Mika, at Arctic Decals, who does really great work (shameless plug follows) 

 

https://www.arcticdecals.com/

 

I also need to make an appropriate base, and then she'll be ready for an RFI.

 

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Wow Bill, this is looking great. It is great to see so much detail on your build that you have created impeccability.

 

I got interested in you build as I built the same kit OOB some years ago and was curious how much different you end result would be, well chalk and cheese actually.

 

Thanks for taking us along on the ride. Can't wait to see it finished! (no pressure  )

[Terry1954]

Looking absolutely superb Bill. This build has made me hungry to do a submarine build. I have two in the stash, both 1/350. An Astute class and a Chinese 039 Sung class. Having never built a submarine apart from a scratch built RN Oberon in my youth, it might be wise to start with the Chinese's boat.

 

Looking forward to the RFI.

[GMK]

Bill, fantastic work. The time you’ve spent building up some really complex shapes, then fairing them in & finishing them has paid off. 
 

Looks sweet as a nut. 

[billn53]

6 minutes ago, GMK said:

The time you’ve spent building up some really complex shapes, then fairing them in & finishing them has paid off. 

 

Bondo: Nectar of the gods -- you betcha!

[sithman]

AWESOME!........sofa king AWESOME!

[billn53]

It was a long day at work today, but this evening I took time to paint the deck a slightly darker shade of black, to represent the non-skid on the actual deck.

 

It's not an "in-your-face" effect... I simply added a few drops of matt black to the MRP tyre rubber used on the hull:

 

 

 

The darker deck is more noticeable when compared to the emergency buoy, torpedo loading skid, and hatches, which I left in the original color:

 

 

 

After finishing with the deck work, I was test-fitting the anchor when my tweezers shot it directly through the hole of the anchor housing. I now have an anchor rattling around inside the hull. Chances of it ever coming back out are slim to none. Fortunately, there were three in the set, so I painted up another and weathered it with a bit of rust pigment powder:

 

 

 

I don't want this one to join its predecessor, so I added a couple of styrene rod posts to help block the opening for the anchor housing:

 

 

 

which are, in fact, accurate to Nautilus's anchor housing:

 

 

 

(The mesh screen in the anchor housing and the rubber seals along the bottom of the casing, visible in the above photo, were added in preparation for Nautilus becoming a museum ship. They were not part of her operational equipment)

[billn53]

Today, I drew up and added decals for the main ballast tank floods, various seawater inlets and outlets, and the torpedo tube outer doors. I used my original model for reference, which in turn was based on sketches I drew while inspecting Nautilus in drydock.

 

Forward main ballast tank floods:

 

 

After main ballast tank floods, and engineroom seawater inlets/outlets:

 

 

These two little openings are for the torpedo tube ram system:

 

 

Speaking of torpedo tubes, this is the business end:

 

 

Here's the belly of the beast in all her red glory:

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

She is really looking stunning, Bill.  BZ