Hello Everyone,
I am now finishing the sanding on my Yankee Modelworks Akula sub. I am now wanting to mount it to a wood base and like the idea used on the box top. The sub mounted on brass pillars on a wood base. So I am wondering how to mount the sub onto the pillars. Is it as simple as drilling two equal spaced holes in the sub hull and glueing two metal rods into the holes and covering the rods with the brass pillars and then the whole works to the base? I hope this makes sense. It is a resin kit as I said and have never mounted anything to a base let alone something with a curved surface. Any help or how to articles would be greatly appreciated.

Best Wishes,
Walter

... get a couple of threaded brass inserts from the hardware store. These are fixtures for attaching machine screws to wood. The have a coarse thread on the outside surface to drill into the wood and a fine machine screw thread on the inside to accept a bolt.

Drill a couple of holes in the underside of the hull. I use a drill press to ensure holes which are centered and vertical. The hole should be a bit larger than the outer dimension of the threaded insert. Do not attempt to drive the threaded insert into the resin. Resin is brittle and will break in unexpected ways. Wipe some Vaseline/lubricant on the end of the bolts and epoxy the inerts into the drilled holes. Use the protruding bolts as handles to adjust the alignment and ensure that they are sqaure to the hull bottom.

When dry, fill and sand around the inserts with your favorite putty. The bolts are removable (since you used the vaseline) andallow the model to be attached to a temporary building board. Complete the model as normal.

I use brass lampshade finials as brass pedestals. Again using the drill press drill a through hole up from the bottom a bit larger than your bolt. Cut off the top knot. Polish and seal with a coat of Krylon clear to prevent tarnishing.

Stain and finish your wooden base. Drill a couple of holes as wide apart as your holes on the bottom of the hull. Countersink the holes on the underside of the base. Insert the bolts up through the base and pedestal and into the threaded inserts in the bottom of the hull.

I have tried other methods, including soldering brass rod to the tops of a finial and drilling appropriately sized holes in the bottom of the hull. It will work but the fixture is a bit more fragile and may need to be cemented for a secure fit. That means that that the idea of using a temprary base as a building board is out.

I have also drilled the holes in the bottom of the hull and tapped a thread into them. This has worked well, but care must be taken to avoid overtightening the bolt. The resin threads strip easily.

Generally attaching a round (hull) to a flat (pedestal) has little surface area for secure attachment. Some mechanical attachment means is preferable.

I laid out scale timbers like ties on a railroad track; superglued them to the base. My 1/72 UBoat rests permanently on those timbers.

I don't know why they call them "toggle bolts", the bolt does not toggle, the nuts do. Anyway . . . .

Here's what they look like:





You'll need to drill appropriate sized holes in your wooden base first, to accomodate the bolt diameter, and countersink the underside of the board to accomodate the bolt heads.

Push the bolts thorough the holes (obviously w/o the toggle nuts), and tape over the heads to keep them in place.

Place the board on your work surface so the bolts are upright. Place the hull of the sub over the holes and mark appropriate locations for the holes in the hull with a permanent marker.

Use those marks and the 1/8" bit to get a pilot hole going. You'll need to wallow out the holes with an Exacto to accomodate the "toggle nuts".

Test fit the whole thing without the nuts on the bolts to see if the bolts will bang against the underside of the decks. If they do hit, spin the toggle nuts onto the bolts, making sure the wings fold in the proper direction.

Then trim as much of the bolt as possible above the nut.

Make sure the bolt is long enough to allow you to complpetely fold the wings of the toggle nuts.

Push the toggle nuts through the wallowed out holes into the hull. The wings will spread out (spring loaded). Pull the hull away from the base so that the wings are locked against the inside of the hull. Have a buddy remove the tape from the bottom of the board and gently tighten the screws until the hull is snug.

--Jon

I forgot to add that it is a solid resin hull. I may just drill and epoxy some post into the hull.


best,

Walter