Submarines

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KenP

Guest
Anyone built a sub from an Engels kit?

Any feedback re the kit?
 
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ajg141

Guest
Currently building an Engel Typhoon. Superb kit and Engel's service is excellent. A lot of hard (but enjoyable) work is involved - and a lot of head scratching. Building instructions could be a lot more detailed but there are some excellent web sites giving information and photos on other people's builds. Can thoroughly recommend the Engel experience.
 
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adzam

Guest
i have a review for the engle typhoon, what a superb piece of model engineering it appears to be. but very large . to big for my modest workshop and i dont think i could hide the cost from the good lady either. ;)

nice tho, very nice
 
K

KenP

Guest
Hi, think I'll build an Engels sub when I've saved up the pennies. ( not before Xmas, I guess !!!)

Fancy either the U177 or the Gato over the Nuclear jobs ( a little more fancy detail )

Any thoughts on one over the other, price is identical.
 
F

fpb

Guest
Hi, think I'll build an Engels sub when I've saved up the pennies. ( not before Xmas, I guess !!!)Fancy either the U177 or the Gato over the Nuclear jobs ( a little more fancy detail )

Any thoughts on one over the other, price is identical.
Click to expand...
Ken,

Just bumping this up again as I too would love some infor/opinions about Engels subs and the U177 and the Gato in particular. I am leaning toward the Gato, but have reservations about getting it out of the water when it comes time to leave the lake. It seems to me that these things would be really heavy!

thanks in advance,

Paul
 
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ajg141

Guest
You're right about the weight Paul. My Typhoon currently weighs in at about 17kg and that's without batteries, periscopes and wtc lid. Engel's literature says its 'emerged displacement' will be about 21kg. I don't think the Gato would be quite as heavy. The lifting problem at your lake shouldn't be too much of a problem. There's always a band of willing helpers in my experience. The real problem is finding someone to help load it into the car at home. Wives never seem to be available to help! You also need a fairly substantial trolley - and a suitably sized car! But don't be put off - it's all worth it.

Andrew
 
K

KenP

Guest
Hi Paul,

I got, and am building U177. Haven't weighed it but I think it's about 25 lbs, it just feels bloody heavy to pick up. I can do it OK though but would't like to carry it far.

The Gato uses exactly the same diving system as U177 and weighs just about the same.

I have't floated mine yet as I still have to finish off the upper deck.

To lift it out of the water, one way is to have a couple of strapping pieces with a bar/handle at the top so that the strapping hangs in a loop. Then just float the strapping under the boat and lift it out by the handles.

Ken
 
B

Bluewavestudios

Guest
To lift it out of the water, one way is to have a couple of strapping pieces with a bar/handle at the top so that the strapping hangs in a loop. Then just float the strapping under the boat and lift it out by the handles.

Ken
Click to expand...
I have seen variations on this using nothing more than your average pull along shopping trolley with the basket bit removed and then straps added as described above by Ken...quite a few guys at my local club use these for putting their boats into the water and recovering them after...some of these guys are knocking on a bit but this works very well and doesn't put your back out !!

At 42 yrs old I am one of the young whippersnappers at the club !!! :hehe:

Regards.........Mark
 
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M

Mankster

Guest
Engel Typhoon / other subs

Hi, I just found this site and its my first post. I have just restarted building my Engel Typhoon and was wondering if anyone was building an Engel sub, and those of you with Engel subs, how do you find their performance and if you had any pointers setting it up.

I started on my Typhoon in Winter 2002 and came to an abrupt halt in summer 2003 when I got married! A baby daughter later, I have just restarted buliding and hope to get it in the water in 2006. I am at the stage of installing all the innards at the moment. I used to post a lot on the now defunct MarineRc forum. There were loads of pictures and valuable information on Engel subs which I was hoping to refer to but are now lost :bash: . I have made some mods to my boat including a clear lexan lid, Stern trusters, operating missile doors and under water camera, supported prop shafts, external switches; if any one need any info to doing this for their boat I'll be happy to help! Oh anyone know any suitable place to operate the Typhoon say around 1hour drive from London (model friendly, more than 10 feet, jetty or something to drop and recover the sub - its heavy and I'll be doing it myself!)?

Cheers
 
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new to trains

Guest
we have 44 subs in our model boat club, one member of the club also used to run a business called subway designs, he manufactured watertight chambers, produced waterproof propshaft glands, push rod glands and in addition he supplied many model sub kits, including the old darnell stuff when it was around ! also both engel and the other german made sub kits by norbert bruggen,

i have personally never build an engel kit, but we have a gato and a typhoon in the club, both models were also used during the filming of the model subs section on discovery channel's supermodels programme....

the typhoon is an awesome model and its size greatly increases the wow factor when the model is in use..... the 'bow wave' is also unique, there is nothing like it when it moves through the water with decks awash.... it is an incredicble kit, but alot of work to do, but woth it in the end....

The gato in the club is also a fine bit of work, my one comment about the gato i know in the club is it is overpowered, it is incredibly fast underwater, only powered by 2 standard 540 motors..... but again a fine fine model,

at the end of the day its your choice, i doubt you would be dissapointed with either kit...but both will be a rewarding build......

good luck, will be great to hear what you finally choose to do !
 
M

Mankster

Guest
So have you have you finished off your Typhoon yet Andrew? Do you have any pics?Yes I know about Bo@ti's site. He actually was kind enough to sent me the lexan for the lid and even had it engraved 'TYPHOON' as well. His Typhoon construction stalled at about the same time as mine. But I have got more done in the last week than in the last 2 years so other distractions withstanding I will get this in the water next year!

New to trains - what model club to you belong to - sounds ideal if its not too far off? I did buy a few bits off Subway Designs and still have his catlogue
 
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new to trains

Guest
the club is black park model boat club near slough ( we actually back onto pinewood studios) and you could probably whizz up the M4 on a sunday morning in under the hour !- the lake is pretty damm big, the water is pretty clear ( however if you go to deep there is the risk of some weeds) however most weekenda you will see subs and surface craft sailing with no problems....

for more details PM me or see www.blackparkmodelboatclub.co.uk

there is some pictures of some of the subs that gathered for the discovery channel filming too.....
 
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ajg141

Guest
Ramesh

No - the Typhoon is not yet finished! It's been a steep learning curve and that's without your opening missile doors and camera etc. I must admit I also miss the old Marine RC forum too. Just following all the Typhoon building on there gave me great heart. I learned a lot from that! I've had various 'challenges' on the road to completing the model including getting the front retracts to operate properly and a continuing tendency for the periscope shafts to bend. The rear dive plane & rudder linkages still do not operate as smoothly as I would like but seem to be serviceable. The main problems are (touch wood) now solved but I am still worried that should a motor fail I haven't a clue how I'll be able to get it out now that everything else is in. I'm hoping to do a watertight test shortly although our usual upstairs test tank is too small! Fortunately a professional one at a local university has been offered when I've made a few final checks. I'll let you know the outcome in due course.

Andrew

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Mankster

Guest
Hi Andrew, is that your Typhoon? I haven't got paint on mine yet. I had problems with my front planes too. If I got one to work the other would jam. This is caused by measurement from the plan being ever so slightly off. I solved it by using different attachment points for the left and right planes (ditch the Engle tiller arms and get plastic ones with a few different holes) . This means that the planes don't work exactly in sync but hardly noticable. Are you using the rubber band/o-ring periscope? The main problem is the the rearmost non driven spindle. It is only supported by that brass bushing on the lid which is a long way off from the line of tension at the pulley attachement. This causes the rear spindle to bow towards the front spindle and jam in the brass bushing. To solve this build a support plate that joins the 2 spindles and keeps them a fixed distance apart, just below the pulley. I am posting some pics here http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=60 as I don't need to host my pictures. I'll get to the periscope system at some point!
 
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ajg141

Guest
Ramesh

Yes - that's my Typhoon sitting beside the Ohio and U-boat. The Trafalgar class is also mine. The pictures were taken at the Edinburgh Model Boat Club annual regatta in September. It was a great day but the level of the pond was so low we didn't dare to sail our subs. Looks like we had similar problems with the front planes - my initial problems were also caused by measurements being fractions out! They're working OK now - although not quite in sync - after much fiddling. Your comments re the rubber band/ O-ring drive for the periscopes are absolutely right. Again my measurements were a fraction out and I also found the drive band slipped which didn't help. I like your idea of a support plate and will probably do this. Better safe than sorry! I have also fitted flashing LEDs to the top of the rear fin and sail/conning tower. Really to try and prevent being hit by 'targets'. The LEDs are both separately powered by those flat batteries you get in computers etc and the batteries/on-off switches are wrapped in balloons. I must say your solution is a lot neater. Your pics are very helpful and it's good to see you are making progress again after your lay-off. Like you - and because the Typhoon is such a long build - I've found myself doing other things and this has only prolonged the day when this project sees the water.

Andrew
 
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jagdpanther

Guest
sheerline submarines

I have found lots of information on both engle submarines and the 2 that are produced by robbe. Unfortunatly there would be a lot of work involved to make their new sub static dive . Its known that the engle subs are possibly the best as far as quality and reliabilty is concerned, but before i go and buy one , does anyone have any comments on the sheerline submarines. I have serched the web for info and am drawing a blank. what dive system is used and what else besides batteries and r/c gear is needed to complete one,

Any feedback on this would be appreciated
 
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adzam

Guest
Hi and welcome jagdpanther, i`m sure ajg will agree that teh sheerline models are an excellent alternative to an engels kit , and even have some advantages !

first of all the hulls split in half right along the water line, inside is teh WTC , which is split into three sections, fore section houses pump,receiver and switching for pump operation, also front dive planes depending on the model,mid section is the tank, and aft section houses motor/gearbox speed control and servos for rear planes.

sheerline models use a pump system of diving, a (car?) washer pump pumps water into the tank,wjich will dive the boat. to surface air pressure in the tank ( slightly compressed due to water displacement) is allowed to force the water back out of the tank and hence surface , simple !! but it does work, access can be made to all parts of the system i required.

another good point is that the hull on sheerline models is a wet type, this means that the whole hull (apart from the wtc) has water in and around it when running, teh benefit of this is overall a much lighter model,

Engels use dry hull configuration, which means the hull is ballasted down very finely, when the tank draws water in ( like a big syringe) the weight of teh water again dives the model, however because teh hull is essentially a big bubble of air sealed in it`s very bouyant, and to take it to the correct level for diving takes a lot of ballast,

typically the Engel patrick henry has a starting ballast of 19 Kg ( inc all gear) !! this is before adjustment weight is added for fine tuning, in comparison the sheerline ohio ( a much bigger boat) has a start ballast of 1kg then fine tuning afterwards ( overall weight i think is about 12 kg)

Engels kits do seem to manage to have more detail on the hulls than the sheerline, but this doesn`t mean the sheerlines are devoid of detail, far from it .

There is a relative high degree of prefab work done on the sheerline models, about a weeks work is req`d for sailing, rc gear required .........

2/3 servos depending if model has front dive planes or not

Esc

6v/12v SLA depending on model

fail safe unit

2 0r 3 servo extension leads

tx/rx

no other special eqipment is required .

if you do go for one, you certainly won`t be disappointed .

Adz..
 
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