My X craft

Hi Tom. Interesting model. What are those tube on top of your WTC? Do you have photos/ info about the ballast system you are using.

I'm planning of RCing a 1/35 Merit plastic model kit of the British HMS X-craft. Can you post photos of how you did the stern plane linkages specially the ones for the dive planes.

Thank you.
Romel

redboat219 wrote:Hi Tom. Interesting model. What are those tube on top of your WTC? Do you have photos/ info about the ballast system you are using.

I'm planning of RCing a 1/35 Merit plastic model kit of the British HMS X-craft. Can you post photos of how you did the stern plane linkages specially the ones for the dive planes.

Thank you.
Romel

Romel,
When I became owner (in name only) of this forum, it switched all the original owner (Richard H.) to me. Richard passed away and cannot answer your question. Hopefully one of the longtime members can help.

Peace,
Tom

If the model had an original Darnell ballast system that would have been a bag pumped up by a reciprocating steam engine used as an air pump.

So I'm guessing a bit about the tubes on the top but one problem with that system was that air leaks from the pump pressurized or pulled a vacuum in the WTC.  Some people put float valves to equalize pressures when the boat surfaced. So it may be a float valve? Sadly Richard died recently so there is no way to ask him, as Tom says. Richard did sell most of his models on.

I've just been having a look at the X5 to X11 drawings in the Norman Lambert book (British submarines in Two World War ) and that shows the stern dive plane linkages coming out of the starboard side using a "control horn" arrangement, rather like a model aircraft. You should be able to find plenty of photos online because there are several X craft in the Imperial War Museum.

David

Could it be that green thing is a combined vent/blow valve for the ballast tank at the other end of the long tube? The short tube supplies compressed gas to blow the ballast tank. A single servo operates the vent/blow valve. Move it one way vents the tank. Move it the other it trips a a gas release valve.

Maybe similar to this https://youtu.be/IvXXtxJ52w0