Scratchbuilding a 'Nam era, Program IV, Armored Troop Carrier, "Tango" boat

TB, as the photo shows, your hull sealing method wouldn't really be effective on this hull. The 'nooks and crannies' that make english muffins so great for holding butter or jam, would play hell on getting resin to flow, especially behind the side walls of the well deck. I could go through three cans of resin and still not seal up the hull.

I do thank you for the suggestion, as I am open to fixes of my screw-ups. As I said before in this thread, prior to starting this project, it had been literally decades since I'd built a wood, RC intended hull, and this one is my very first scratchbuild, ever. So, end result, it goes at the head of the list as to "Lessons Learned".

Here she is, ballasted, sitting slightly deeper than spec. At this point she didn't leak, so I'm calling it good to go.

And below is the ballast configuration. The ingots vary from 14.5 to 16 ounces, so that's about 20 pounds total.

I Have an idea;

       I did this with my 1/96 scale Canadian Corvette . I too, had a leakage problem after the build was 90% finished. Soooo! I took some resin and mixed it thin. Then I turned the vessel every which way but loose. It took one Quart of clear resin, But the whole inside was adequately coated to stop these pesky leaks.Plus I didn't have to take anything off the hull

 I used two lead plates ( Or the equivelant, in bendable plate form). 20# and the rest was a Motorcycle 12 volt gel cell turned on it's side to ride lower in the hull inside it's waterproof box, with all the radio gear in a tray above it. There were plugs that went from the servos to the box. She rides at the designed waterline with a war loadout! 

Have a guy in Powell Butte I serve with on a BLM advisory council.  He works at the museum in Prineville.  Has written 3 books on place names in central part of the state

If local history intrigues you, he's the man.

Been buried in smoke for a week, with at least a couple more days at least. With the wind shift and die down at least they can start to cut lines on this side of Beachie and holiday.

Fantastic job. My older brother helped build some "unsinkables" in San Diego during the conflict.

Thanks for the concern; we are well away from the fires (Powell Butte, between Bend and Prineville), just dealing with the smoke right now. Been heavy for the past two days but starting to clear a bit today, which unfortunately means that the wind is not favoring the firefighters again.

When were you in SoCal; I was there from 1988 - 2008, and some time earlier than that. Saw a good number of fires there, but lived near Imperial beach so I was fairly clear of most of them.

Oh she sails all right, but takes 25+ lbs. of ballast. The weight resides in the inner bottom below the tank decking. Actually runs pretty good; I can walk her sideways like a real LCM-6, but with all the side armor and tankage space, she's a bit of a pig. Still fun. 

As I was saying, I just need to finish up on her armament and a little more side bar armor and she'll be done.

If you thought she should sail, you could attach a removable weighted keel for pond patrols.

Wonderful project.

Bill

As if it were not already obvious, one of the things I've learned by building this beast, is to take great care in what scale you work in. The boat itself was not the issue, the issue come in procuring accessories, as in 'the guns' and peripherals (helm, fittings, etc.). 1/12 scale is real short of things like this, especially if you're looking for metal parts and such.

Wow! What a project. Looking fantastic. I haven't the nerve to try scratch building, too much math and hard thinking involved. Its also been a great thread to read. I am looking forward to seeing the finished project.

So, here we are, several months later, still waiting on production of barrels for the .50 caliber machine guns. It is a bit of a process so that's half of the problem. Unfortunately, the only complete 1/12 scale Browning M2 heavy barrel out there is the Tomytec kit, and I need something a bit more substantial. 

So, between the 3d stuff and the kit, the plan is to get one gun completed and then try some lost wax brass casting and manufacture several of them for this boat and possibly others. We will see. I'll keep you all posted.

So, with the ballast issue taken care of, we move on. One of the things that has concerned me through this whole project is the lack of 1/12 scale pieces /parts. Through help, I found 1/12 scale .50 BMG bodies from Shapeways, but unfortunately they are for PT boats and of the wrong configuration for 'Nam era boats. None-the-less, I will probably use them. Again, with help, I am trying to get barrels made; (the correct model) and then looking at getting several cast in bronze or some other metal, using the lost wax process. As for the 20mm, I will scratchbuild it using brass tubing. That part is already started.

As for ballast, when she is done, she will sit light. Unfortunately there are some leaks that I can't get to for repair without pulling the armor back off. I should have done the float testing much earlier in the project. Therefore, I will be running the boat sitting a bit higher in the water than spec. As she sat in the operational test pond, there was over 25lbs. of weight in there beyond the weight of the boat itself.

My plan for today is actually casting at least 26, one pound ingots that will sit in the inner bottom. That way I can spread them out and get the hull trimmed correctly.

HooYah Deep Sea

 .  .  . not sure though. Can't find any pictures that show that type of arrangement. 

 

You sure are right about that. Reminds me of how there are a lot of photos of steam locomotives from the front 3/4, but try to find one from the rear.

The rear view T boat photos I could find were (A) grainy, and (B) most have what looks like a fold down grating across the central part of the transom top edge. Cleats towards each rear corner.

Bunch of civilian ones, same viewpoint issue. I found one good photo of the stern of a LCM out of the water, but it was an online bankruptcy auction and the fittings were all stripped.

Fairly common practice would be to put the light on a little staff. 

Sorry, no help. I really like the project you are doing. Test tank was great. I assume she needed ballast.

Bill

Well, alrighty then, All of the RC components are basically in and functional. Motors run independently and electronically tied together, both forward and astern. Rudders work, and my masthead and port and starboard running lights work. I still have to figure out how I want to put in the stern light, as I'm not installing the mine sweeping apparatus yet. I'm thinking a stern closed chock with the light on top of it .  .  . not sure though. Can't find any pictures that show that type of arrangement. 

It's just a single wire with enough current to tingle and persuade .  .  .

That'll do one of two things. It'll Send someone off, or totally ruin their day!

Oh, I know, but sometimes I wonder if I've got horses or beavers! Incidently, I'm adding electrics to the fence this summer.

Oh!

 In that regard, Horses are like parrots when they are bored .The whole world around them is a chew toy! You'll get there .patience!

And there she is, that shape, those lines, the fine detail .  .  . yes sir, there it is; four pieces of scrap 2x6, eight screws, four rocks and a tarp, and VOILA! a test pond.

Of course its been raining and breezy here so operational testing is postponed. And I'm chomping at the bit to get this puppy running while Mother Nature is messing with me. It's been like this for the last two weeks; on and off rain. Just when you try to get something done, the rain starts again. My horses are not liking it either as the whole corral is muck. I have to feed them in the barn, then they get bored and start to chew on the barn rather than run around in the cold rain. Wimps! 

Well, today's fun was soldering up connectors for the R/C electronics, and oh yeah, a good time was had by all. My wife, and the dogs and the cats all ran to the other end of the house .  .  . Yeah, it was scarey how much fun it was.

Honestly, I have not had to solder in literally years. It was not pretty.

and I used to be really good at it .  .  . DANG!!

Ya Know:

 It really doesn't matter. You seem to be having fun doing the build. That's what counts ! Right??

So, as I posted on the R/C site, I messed up and didn't do this test early enough in the build. I'm good up to the waterline, but have leaks in the top of the sponson / armor shelf, apparently. Should have done this test before installing the foam / bar armor assemblies. Yeah, my bad. The end result is that I can complete and operate the boat, just not load it too heavily (which I hadn't planned on anyway.) We will chalk this one off to lessons learned. 

Pawel;

 The only thing that didn't go there was smokes. We protected them better! Sad those days. Now I don't smoke and am better health wise for it!

Oho!

     A flotation test. Now here's a very important question BEFORE you get much further. Obviously we are talking R.C.Here. Have you done that test with operational weight on board?

    If you haven't, you have made a grave error that will Scuttle your plans.( Pardon the Pun) There is such a thing as a pressure leak. I have had them pop up without warning from unusual places. Make sure you do this. With the limited space below decks for wiring you don't want any water anywhere! Right? 

     Besides , based on your photos you haven't enough ballast. She's floating way to high.

Today brought a successful float test (after two failed ones and repairs) with the hull weighted and afloat for an hour without any leaks found. I actually should have done this earlier in the build as it would have been easier to locate the leakage points.

Then I brought her back inside, dried her off, and put all of the subassemblies in place.

Yeah, lookin good.

Thank you; how's life in the Pocono's, I used to go up there to ski when I was a kid.

And yes, it's been one heck of a project. Started out really short on reference material but knew LCM-6 boats so that helped a lot.

And speaking of LCM 6 boats, I got the well deck sections built and primed. I'm trying to decide on either screws or velcro to hold them in place so that I can access the space below for wiring and ballast. 

Wow this is an awesome project. I like the C-ration boxes and wooden ammo boxes? Your bow ramp came out perfect. Well done so far sir. BTW I have a similar ewer and bowl in my bathroom.