Update from the Drydocks - January 8th, 2022

The holidays are behind us... back to work!

Last week saw a lot of progress on the first of the production-ready MKIII SubDrivers. The ones pictured here are not indicative of the standard units, as these were ordered with custom battery and motor compartment sizes (HUGE! I have no idea why...).

As opposed to the initial vision for the cylinders we were hoping to ship in kit form, I've decided all cylinders will only be sold in fully assembled and tested condition. Too many customers have, in the past, received kits and then inundated me with questions, requests to build them up anyway, and generally been unable to complete the assembly in the proper manner.

Cylinders will now be tested for linkage movement, motor function, and for watertight integrity prior to shipping. Yes, they're going to need to be priced accordingly, but the value is 100% there. More details coming soon. I have another 15 units to complete from the pre-orders, then we will be opening up sales to the general public, hopefully in a few weeks.

We finished testing and upgrading the next of the RTR subs that I got from Dwayne up in Canada. This one was the massive 1/48 scale Astute. I have a full walkthrough video with pond trials on my YouTube channel here. It is a really awesome boat, and did well during initial trials. All it needed was some additional drain holes, some trim tweaking, a bit more weathering, and it was ready to go.

Shipping a boat that size is an undertaking, rest assured. The rear surfaces were encapsulated in hard core foam sheet, and we built a custom wood shipping crate for it. The box was 89" long and it weighed 125lbs!

I managed to score one of the coveted Thundertiger Seawolf subs that I've been looking for! This is the follow up to the awesome Thundertiger Neptune submarines that I've had run through the shop before, including this one that I upgraded and redid the cosmetics on.

Aside from having to tear into it to re-assign the channels (it was set up in a pretty funky manner), it doesn't look to need any work. I'm anxious to take it to the pond for trials soon! Stay tuned for photos and video!

Every second Friday is cleaning day at the shop. It's amazing how dusty everything can get. Jason, Logan and I knocked out a good cleaning (with Gracie's help, of course).

Last, but not least, Jason is undertaking his first solo RC sub build with a kit I gifted him for an end of year bonus. It's a 1/48 Type VII, and I'll be documenting his trials and tribulations on a YouTube series I'm calling, "Jason's RC Sub Journey". Part One is already up and posted. Be sure to check it out!