Royal Navy Submarine C1 (1906) 1/48th scale

[PICKETBOAT]

Hi everyone

Since my last scratch build on this forum I have been thinking hard about "what next". I have always nurtured the idea of building a submarine model, but knew little about the subject, either in model form or even very much about the full sized vessels!

Rather than just build the first thing that came to mind, I drew up a check list of what I eventually wanted, then went off to research the possible vessels.

The check list:

The model would eventually be built at 1/48th scale, so size and transportability was important. Something seven feet long is fun but it is not going to fit in my car.

The original vessel had to be pre 1914 to fit in with my other models and plans and photos needed to be readily accessible.

A simple hull form with single shaft would be best. This would make the working model less complicated internally and the hull easier to build.

A reasonable internal volume was desired as I wanted the model to be "working" so space for a watertight compartment would be required.

A vessel with an interesting or novel profile and history would be an advantage.


A certain amount of research eventually whittled the choice down to just the British C boats and specifically the first group (C1 to C20). These were spindle hulled single shaft vessels and were the last of the "Holland" based submarines built for the RN. Their similarity to the previous class of B boats meant I was also able to use photos of these B boats to help research. I posted a question on this forum and several contributors very kindly helped by sending me off in the direction of books, photos and plan sources. Thanks chaps.

I opened a file and started to fill it with all the info I could find. A set of plans for C1 (unfortunately also showing the internal arrangements) was enlarged to 1/48th scale and printed out. This was then pasted onto a sheet of ply.

A visit to a stamp and post card collectors fair in the North of England turned up some excellent contemporary postcards of both C and B subs which were very clear and helped interpret the smaller hull detail. (Now there is a research source that is often overlooked).

This is the first time I have actually designed and built a model while posting the build onto the forum, so bear with me if it slows down at times.

[gingyer]

Will be watching this Steve

[Goodwood]

I guess you'll have to change your name to PIGBOAT then, eh mate?

[GazzaS]

Awesome! I've been waiting for you to start another!

[PICKETBOAT]

Thanks for the moral encouragement you guys.

I had already decided that I eventually wanted a moulded GRP hull, rather than a built up one. When I was at other model boat events I took careful note of how the other �model submariners� has split their hulls so as to be able to gain access to the internals.

The GRP hull was going to be made in two �clam shell� halves with the extremities (the nose and pointed tail section) being separate cast resin components. The raised deck/walk way along the top of the hull was small enough to be part of the GRP moulding. The conning tower and all the other fittings would be cast resin using techniques described in my other builds.

The next stage was to choose some wood to make the hull plug. I figured it would be easier to turn the whole hull plug on the lathe rather than building it up with bulkheads and strip wood. This was the other plus of modelling one of the early, simple, spindle hulled subs.

I found some lime (bass wood) in the workshop, popped it onto the wood working lathe and turned it into a cylinder. From the plans I marked stations on the cylinder, then using callipers on the plan, measured the diameter at each station. This was just like turning a table leg (my day job). I forgot to photograph this bit as it moved ahead so quickly. I had the whole plug turned up in about and hour! Adding the surface detail will take ages though.

The wooden plug was then taken off the lathe and carefully split length ways on the band saw. The sawn surfaces were smoothed off before thin ply was glued to each surface to replace the material lost in the splitting process.

The raised deck section was also cut from lime on the band saw and glued in place on to the top of the plug.

[GazzaS]

Will this sub dive, or will you be building for surface operation only? Plug looks great BTW.

I wonder how many other subs have enough of their pressure hulls exposed to make lathing them a useful starting point. I think some of those early UB and UC boats the Germans made might fit the bill.

[PICKETBOAT]

GazzaS

I think you could probably find a few subs which have this simple hull shape and could be turned on the lathe. It might be possible to turn the main pressure hull and add the saddle tanks to some other models with slightly more complicated hull shapes.

To answer you first question. I plan to eventually build the model with a "static diving facility". These early subs had very little (8%) surface buoyancy and I think the model will be similar. This means it should not take a lot to make it submerge (ie a small ballast tank). The model should lend itself to dynamic diving or just a surface running model too. As the finished model will be 36 inches long and 4 inches beam there will (or should) be enough space in the hull to accommodate a ballast tank along with all the other gear. Time will tell.

[PICKETBOAT]

Hi all and happy new year.

Having turned the very basic wooden plug and primed it. I next marked on the position of the joints in the hull plate lines. I wanted to eventually produce a GRP hull with much of the surface detail already moulded in, the same as the other GRP hulls I had previously made.

The next stage is to add hull plates.

To produce the plates I again resorted to adhesive aluminium foil tape. The rivets on these subs were countersunk flush, but were still visible. Experimenting I discovered that a very old marking wheel used on the reverse of the tape gave me raised rivets, but using it on the front gave the impression of flush rivets.

This picture shows the two processes, with raised rivets on the left and the flush on the right.

[doog_k]

Looking forward to seeing this one take shape Steve

[PICKETBOAT]

Thanks Doug. I thought with it being a sub you might be watching.


The aluminium foil tape is great stuff to work with. It has a very sticky adhesive and will stick like fury to any dust and grease free smooth surface. The huge plus is that with it being soft metal you can (with care) make it conform to curved surfaces, and in particular to surfaces with a double curve like this submarine hull. I cut the tape to shape first with sharp scissors then embossed in the rivets from the shiny side. Starting at one end I then laid the tape in place pressing it down along the centre line, while pulling away the paper backing 1cm at a time. I took care to exclude air bubble towards the edges. The riveted edges were not burnished down, but smoothed into place with a finger. Any slight wrinkles can be burnished out with ones fingernail but pressing the rivets too hard makes them disappear!

The odd tiny air bubble can be dealt with by pricking it with a fine pin to let the air out. Each foil strip has rivets embossed only on one edge and this edge overlaps the previous strip by about 3mm creating the plate line. I decided when I had finished that the rivets were a little too pronounced so I slightly burnished them down using my fingernail.

The plating process was fairly quick and stress free.

A word of warning. The foil tape is quite fragile and marks easily. Putting the hull plug down on the table on top of a discarded tool or pencil marked it and I then had to burnish out the marks. Painted over it would make it strong enough for a static model but it would be no good as plating on a working model.

[Dave Wooley]

Hi Steve an interesting subject and I like the idea of using foil tape I'll be watching this .
Dave Wooley

[GazzaS]

Brilliant! Definitely a technique to consider when working at larger scales. I never considered foil tape before... But a steady hand could use it for all kinds of details.

[PICKETBOAT]

Hi all

I for got to say that when embossing rivets into this aluminium foil its best done on a slightly soft surface. I used an old magazine. The marking wheel was very effective and single rivets can be done with a ball point pen.

Lots of other small surface detail can be made with this stuff too like door hinges, reinforcing straps,inspection plates etc.

When the hull had been plated all over,I moved onto the raised deck section. Photos show this riveted onto the top of the pressure hull, so I carefully applied the foil along the sides of this section with a small riveted overlap onto the pressure hull.

[Goodwood]

Looking really good so far, PIGBOAT!

[PICKETBOAT]

Thanks for that Goodwood. I must admit these vessels do look a bit pig (or walrus) like when beached on the mud.

Hi all

The main plating was completed before I used a sharp scalpel to cut along the centre line between the two wooden plug halves. The two retaining screws (underneath the hull) were uncovered and removed and the plug was split. It was easier to plate the hull with it whole. It will be easier to add the additional surface detail to the individual plug halves, as the thing keeps rolling around when both halves are fastened together!
You can see that I have started to prime some of the hull. I wiped it over with white spirit to remove greasy hand prints first. Car aerosol primer sticks to the aluminium foil well and also forms a good surface to CA glue on any addition detail. The CA glue melts the paint and drying time is quick whereas the bare shiny foil can sometimes slow the adhesive down.
The next question some one will ask is why bother painting it at all if it�s just a plug to manufacture a mould? Well the paint fills any surface scratches and gives a good matt finish which will eventually show up clearly where mould release agent has been applied. Miss a bit and getting the mould off becomes very difficult and will damage either the plug or the mould. Why red? Well it�s easiest to see faults and imperfections. I tried both grey and white but both were hard on the eyes.

[Goodwood]

American submariners had bestowed the not-quite-affectionate nickname of "pigboat" upon their vessels pretty early on, because they tended to build up a certain...quality...to the air within that never went away. Of course, forty to eighty men living in such tight quarters, for such durations, it's to be expected, hence my jest in altering your screen name.

What are you going to do with the plug once the mould-making process is complete? Decorate it up as a static model or what?

[PICKETBOAT]

Hi Goodwood

Now I understand your "pig boat" comment.

I believe the submariners of the time always complained that when ashore (and washed) they could never get rid of the smell of petrol and "compressed humanity".

I always hang on to the mould plugs just in case I have to make up another mould. RTV rubber lined moulds (which this will eventually become) do not last forever and can degrade after a certain amount of use.

Below is one of the contemporary postcard images that I picked up at the UK postcard fair. It shows C5 running on the surface at a fair old speed. A bit crowded on the bridge!

[PICKETBOAT]

Hi all

At this point I turned my attention to the bow and stern pieces. As I have already said, I thought it best to cast these as separate pieces. The stern is very pointed and will have to carry a prop shaft and 8mm dia casing, so needs to be drilled and I thought this would be difficult if it was part of the GRP hull. Similarly the bow has some fine detail and if it was GRP and there was a seam running horizontally through it, it would spoil the detail.

I used a piece of cast resin "model board" for the bow, turning it on the lathe so that it matched the front of the two plug halves (I also added a register to eventually fit inside the front of the hull mouldings). The plates, rivets, bow torpedo doors and other fine detail were then added. Studying the excellent contemporary photo of C1 in dry dock was invaluable. I cut the aluminium foil to shape then carefully teased it around the double curve of the bow to produce the plates.

I used fine brass wire, 0.25mm plastic card and two thickness of aluminium foil to create detail like the hinges. I know all this will reproduce well in resin.

[doog_k]

The Auminium foil looks like a great idea, far better detail than my plastic sheet or old business cards!! Until you make the point about damage, knowing my seamanship.
Will she be a kit? I could be tempted!

[PICKETBOAT]

Doug

Yes I think even a carefully sailed model would risk damage to this quite thin imitation hull plating, however, you could use it on any deck structure, bridge, etc where plating might be required and it would hopefully be far less likely to be knocked. It has other advantages. If you are constructing in wood, after one coat of sealant or primer, the aluminium foils sticks well and obliterates all wood grain and texture. Subsequently painting onto the aluminium is easy.

In answer to your question, I hope to add this to my other kits, but don't hold your breath, and believe it or not there is already a waiting list!!!!. If we both had one we would have to come to an agreement regarding identification numbers. We can't both have C1 and sail at Glasgow. Of course there is great potential to modify this first batch C class hull into either a B boat or one of the second batch of C boats. I suppose I should eventually consider casting the different conning tower for the latter.