JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
I'm looking forward to getting my instructions!
Nautilus Kit
- Thread starter JonScott53
- Start date
I'm looking forward to getting my instructions!
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
I recieved shipping notification. I can't wait to start this kit!
Will decide later.
I lile to do something like a Drydock or similar, like it is under construction.
I will definitely sand some parts and will determine if I paint it based on how these parts look.
But I will put some tiny lights in it to accentuate some areas. It is much to nice to let this chance pass ...
I lile to do something like a Drydock or similar, like it is under construction.
I will definitely sand some parts and will determine if I paint it based on how these parts look.
But I will put some tiny lights in it to accentuate some areas. It is much to nice to let this chance pass ...
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
I don't plan on painting the structure. The laser cutting gives the MDF a great antique look. I'm still torn on the idea of skinning one side only so I can display it in one direction to show a completed sub, or turn it around to show the substructure.
Carnet
Well-Known Member
Indeed.
I would think there is a happy middle ground somewhere in there. Maybe instead of paint, perhaps using different wood stains? Something very subtle. I don't know why I feel the need to do something to it?
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
MDF is a material that's difficult to paint. It needs to be sealed or the paint/stain gets absorbed into the material. I'm sure there will be a lot of excess material to experiment with.
Let us know what you decide and what your results are.
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
The Nautilus has docked in St. Louis! My brown box arrived today and boy... does this kit have a lot of parts. It also comes with beautiful, fully illustrated instructions suitable for framing. Cog 'O' Two went all out and produced an amazing kit that I can't wait to get started on.
The only bad news is that after this initial inspection, my wife is putting her in dry dock until my birthday so I won't be able to start building for a couple of weeks. This will give me the opportunity to gather supplies and study the build instructions so I can hit the ground running.
Thanks Jon and I look forward to posting progress pics and to see others as well.
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JonScott53
New Member
It's incoming.
- - - Updated - - -
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
I look forward to seeing your build!
JonScott53
New Member
Well it's been a while guys but I'm in over this bank holiday weekend and with no nagging boss, "my wife", I managed to get a bit done yesterday.
Managed to drop my dive chamber and found an ideal opportunity to do what Jim is going to do and have a cutaway or in my case a broken in half dive chamber showing the interior of the dome.
I'm not going to do the interior as Jim is going to as this is just the display model for putting on show at events we attend.
More to do today as I'm in on my own again so hopefully some more pics later.
I can't wait to see your builds and what you do with the kit.
Managed to drop my dive chamber and found an ideal opportunity to do what Jim is going to do and have a cutaway or in my case a broken in half dive chamber showing the interior of the dome.
I'm not going to do the interior as Jim is going to as this is just the display model for putting on show at events we attend.
More to do today as I'm in on my own again so hopefully some more pics later.
I can't wait to see your builds and what you do with the kit.
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
I've started my Nautilus kit and thought I would share some tips and observations as I go.
It's easy to remove each individual piece from their sheets by snapping the attachments with an X-ACTO knife. Be careful not to pry or twist the pieces out of the sheet or risk delaminating the MDF (lesson learned the hard way).
Then I filed the attachments off to keep a nice clean edge.
When gluing delicate pieces together like stairs, be careful not to apply too much pressure to seat the tabs in the slots. I already crushed two steps by over squeezing them (I hope there are spares). I've since started to dry-fit the details together and file as needed for ease of assembly.
ALSO... always think a couple of assembly steps ahead. I glued the stair wall down first which made the forward wall difficult to fit into place.
To keep the clear plastic details from getting adhesive on them, don't glue them if you don't have to. These two details are held in place nicely just by the tabs and slots.
By far the most difficult part of the kit so far is putting angles on the panels so they fit together nicely with their mating panels. In this back corner I over-filed and had to shim the resulting gap. Take your time, file a little at a time, and trial fit over-and-over until the joints are right.
CAUTION: These steps MUST be flush with the bottom of the side wall of the chart room when you glue them together. I didn't realize this until I assembled the chart room onto the salon floor and it didn't sit flush. I had to pry the assembly off the floor and use a sanding block to reduce the thickness of the step assembly. I almost sanded the lower step completely off before it was flush.
The chart room is now flush with the floor after sanding the steps down.
That's it for now. If I notice any more helpful tips as I go, I'll post them here. So far this is a really fun kit to build!
It's easy to remove each individual piece from their sheets by snapping the attachments with an X-ACTO knife. Be careful not to pry or twist the pieces out of the sheet or risk delaminating the MDF (lesson learned the hard way).
Then I filed the attachments off to keep a nice clean edge.
When gluing delicate pieces together like stairs, be careful not to apply too much pressure to seat the tabs in the slots. I already crushed two steps by over squeezing them (I hope there are spares). I've since started to dry-fit the details together and file as needed for ease of assembly.
ALSO... always think a couple of assembly steps ahead. I glued the stair wall down first which made the forward wall difficult to fit into place.
To keep the clear plastic details from getting adhesive on them, don't glue them if you don't have to. These two details are held in place nicely just by the tabs and slots.
By far the most difficult part of the kit so far is putting angles on the panels so they fit together nicely with their mating panels. In this back corner I over-filed and had to shim the resulting gap. Take your time, file a little at a time, and trial fit over-and-over until the joints are right.
CAUTION: These steps MUST be flush with the bottom of the side wall of the chart room when you glue them together. I didn't realize this until I assembled the chart room onto the salon floor and it didn't sit flush. I had to pry the assembly off the floor and use a sanding block to reduce the thickness of the step assembly. I almost sanded the lower step completely off before it was flush.
The chart room is now flush with the floor after sanding the steps down.
That's it for now. If I notice any more helpful tips as I go, I'll post them here. So far this is a really fun kit to build!
Last edited by a moderator:
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
A couple of more tips for the day.
I started to use my disk sander angle guide to better control the edges. It worked much better than just using a hand file.
I also found that using the angle gauge that comes with the kit is a good tool for making sure a panel is square when you're gluing it down and there's no mating panel.
I think I got a good bit of work done in two days!
I started to use my disk sander angle guide to better control the edges. It worked much better than just using a hand file.
I also found that using the angle gauge that comes with the kit is a good tool for making sure a panel is square when you're gluing it down and there's no mating panel.
I think I got a good bit of work done in two days!
JonScott53
New Member
Jim that's looking really nice Sir.
Any feedback is welcome also.
Thanks
Jon
Any feedback is welcome also.
Thanks
Jon
ww12345
New Member
First off, great kit!!! This is so much fun! Would it be possible to buy a second one at that preorder price? (Didn't see an option to buy two initially) I want to do two, one skinned, one skeleton.
Quick question - so the dive chamber (the large grey part); is that supposed to be translucent or filed in any way? I can't really tell from the instructions.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quick question - so the dive chamber (the large grey part); is that supposed to be translucent or filed in any way? I can't really tell from the instructions.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
JiminSTLouis
Sr Member
I think this detail is transparent on the instructions for clarity of assembly. I haven't gotten to this part of the assembly yet, but I think you're right, the bottoms will need to be trimmed away to clear the vertical rib details.
Jon... could you verify this?
I'm cutting my dive chamber away so I can detail the interior. Here's a progress pic, I'll be painting it soon.
