Building the IMARA TUG

[Sky Raider]

Well you dont waste any time Andy,i thought you were having a break after building the Hunter so this was a nice suprise and shame on me for not noticing this earlier.Looking very nice as well Andy should keep you busy for some time eh,i see that your not happy with some of the kit and read your comment that caldercraft are not very good at producing instruction manuals and things but having never had one of their kits it has come as a bit of a suprise that a company such as them are lacking in certain parts its a shame that we spend alot of money buying these kits only to find inferior fittings and poor instructions as you said in an earlier post a person with lesser skills would have been stumped but glad to see you are cracking on and looks like this will be another educating thread for me anyway (learning things all the time).cheers steve

Glad you caught up Steve, i did intend a break but like most people, having the kit sitting there and no project on the go is torture and i had to give in lol. I am disapointed with the instruction and some of the build. The Hunter had three manuals, three drawings and a parts listing, one manual was all pictures that related to the main manual so everything was clear and precise. The picture manual was so good you could have built the boat from that alone. The drawings were to scale and all measurements could be checked very easily.

It is certain that i wont be buuilding another of these kits and thats for sure.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Sky Raider]

have i been in a coma?andy this is great,you havent wasted any time have you lolmobear

Cheers Ole, i did wonder where you got to my friend.

Andy

 

[noble]

Andy i have to say you have a fine set of skills there i would not have the nerve to have a go at anything this complex especially with the electrics an excellent job so far.

Scott

 

[Sky Raider]

Cheers Scott though i must say it isnt really as hard as it looks. If you have the correct detailed instructions you would find it as simple as building one of your scale kits, i think it is easier building larger scale a little less fiddly and easier on the eye.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Sky Raider]

Day 14

Well today has been a day of fixing problems, im still coming across issues with this build, it seems never ending. First off i had to fill and sand the gaps in the decks as i mentioned earlier, these were that bad i didnt even need to sand/trim the decks to get them to fit in the hull.

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That complete i thought the next stage of fitting the strips around the openings would be a peice of cake, lol, how wrong was i. The rear cabin was a joke. The longer strips fitted exactly where the shorter strips go and the shorter strips were too short, by a good inch would you believe. Luckily the shorter strips for the front section were 2 inches too short but long enough to fit in the aft cabin section.

This then meant that i was 2 sections short for the front. I used the 2 short peices from the aft cabin and glued them together to make the missing section for the front of the forward cabin and laminated some strips to form the front rear section so that it would bend round the curve. There was no way the stock supplied would have formed this curve anyway, God knows how they thought you could do it. To make it look a little neat i used some thin stock and lined the inside.

The openings are way way too small for the cabins and will need some packing to get them to sit snug.

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Happy building

Cheers

Andy

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[CDW]

Nice recovery Andy ... looks ok in the photos, in fact if you didn't mention the issue i don't think anyone would have noticed.

Also ... if this was a nice straight forward build you be too bored and want it finished and out the way wouldn't you

 

[Sky Raider]

Thanks Colin. I must say that it is challenging to say the least.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Sky Raider]

Day 15

Here we go again onto the next problem. When fitting the capping rails to the hull i have found that so far the front rails are too short. This kit is really a load of rubbish and has been thrown together. I DEFINATLY WOULD NOT RECOMEND THIS COMPANY TO ANYONE wanting to build a boat. I will have to make some parts now to make up for their stupid mistakes yet again.

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That said i carried on regardless as you do and managed to fit the bulwark stansions, washout hatch rails, fitted the combing at the rear deck above the rudder and marked out the main planking area. The planking area was marked so that it could be identified and the stansions fitted in place without fouling.

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Cheers

Andy

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[Ian M]

Nasty or not you are making a great job of it Andy.

Unfortunately there are a good few boat kits out there that are more a guide than a total solution. That is where people like you come in. The skills to beat the challenge and the good thoughts to warn others.

The most important is that you are solving the problems.

Ian M

 

[Sky Raider]

Thanks Ian. As Colin said it wouldnt be as much fun if it fitted like a kids jigsaw but i do get frustrated over the thoughts that they have made many of these kits and failed to identify the issues. In my opinion with respect the lesser man could make a bodge of a fantastic end result through lack of skill and ability. This would be a great shame for the builder as he had spent a lot of money on the kit and after all as you know, kits are sold on the image of the final result. Only the other day someone came into the model shop while i was there wanting to find some information on someone who could shape the nose of his plane because he was stuck and had been for months. Calving and shaping balsa can be a nightmare if you dont have the tools and the know how. Why do they do this to people?.

Cheers

Andy

 

[CDW]

I agree with Ian, despite the issues you're progressing nicely, and as said .. a lot of that is due to the fact you can think "outside the box" and overcome problems through experience.

Going on what you've said i feel sorry for the people who have bought a model kit costing, maybe, thousands and get stuck on the first hurdle.

It's not so bad if you're a member of a forum like this and can post a "help, i'm stuck" thread but i wonder how many people have no access to, or haven't joined, a forum and have just given up?

 

[Sky Raider]

It is a problem that exists, this should be a straight forward build, the first stumbling block is the instruction, if I'm having problems with them how must the others have got on. Some people will admit defeat and give up but its a shame that that has to happen. These people who sell these things need to get their act together. I did get my pal from the model shop to tell them about the motor mount problem but I bet they do nothing, I haven't heard anything back as yet. I could write a list but I would be wasting my time.

 

[Sky Raider]

Day 16

Another stupid mistake by the manufacturers. You can not bend compound curves from sections of ply that are cut from material that runs across the grain. I soaked these for 9hrs in rubbing alcohol while I went to work and they still snapped when I tried very carefully to bend them. Idiots!!!!. So I cut new ones from stock and made sure they bent with the grain, very simple but effective. I also cut the pieces that were to make up for yesterdays blunders.

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With this done I then proceeded to fit the rest of the capping rails.

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And here is one side of the capping rails profiled.

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Cheers

Andy

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[Ian M]

Hmm Rubbing alcohol? You would be better of drinking that and using Ammonia instead.

I have seen beach wood tied in a knot after a soak in ammonia. Soak it, any thing from a couple of hours, to over night, rinse it off, bend it cramp it and leave it to dry. jobs a good one.

Ian M

 

[Sky Raider]

Never tried that Ian, I have always used Isopoly. I have ammonia, thanks for the tip, I will try to remember that one.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Sky Raider]

As long as I remember to swig the alcohol and not the Ammonia while I'm doing it lol. I'm happy with the result at the end of the day so things did get sorted in the end.

Cheers

Andy

 

[Sky Raider]

Day 17

A problem free day today for a change, not much going on though really. Well I say problem free.... I have fitted some metal parts but the bags aren't numbered so you have to trawl through them and find the parts that you need and hope you get the right ones because there are different parts mixed in some of the bags.

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I've been working on the rear grating also. the drawing got the parts upside down would you believe but I sussed it out, im getting good at this now!!. Cant work out though yet why the thin ply laminate has gratings in it when they are supplied in white metal. Strange.

Cheers

Andy

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[Sky Raider]

Day 18

I spent this time on spraying the hull with primer. I still have the deck to do and the Bulwarks. I got back home too late to get some more primer so I will get to it probably tomorrow or the day after.

 

[Sky Raider]

Day 19

I still haven't got back in time to get some primer before the shop closed. I will make sure I get some for tomorrow. In the meantime I have shaped the rear cabin to fit the deck curve, once I did this I then set to making it look something like decent. Usual standard of this model there was a really terrible seam all around the cabin that needed to be cleaned up. Just another sub standard piece of the kit.

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After some time sanding.

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In Position

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Cheers

Andy

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[Ian M]

This is a kit that fights back. You are however beating it into submission..

Ian M