Name:  RMS Titanic
LOA:  30"
Beam:  2.8"
Draft: 1.3"
Sinking time:  3 min.
Compartment count:  8, plus buoyancy capsule
Manufacturer:  Academy-Minicraft
Builder:  RapidNadion W&M Shipyards (Norfolk Division)
Built: 2007
Status:  Active

After a long model-building hiatus, the college-aged half of the RapidNadion team decided to dust off the Academy-Minicraft model that had been gathering dust for years.  Originally intended to be a static-display Britannic, this model was repainted and re-purposed to become the largest sinking Titanic model in the RapidNadion inventory.

Construction in Michael's college town took approximately one month and was accelerated by a helpful and understanding girlfriend, who took some of the work load off by painting all of the ship's tiny benches and ventilators.  (Keep the faith, kids - you can still have girl/boyfriends even if you're a scale model geek.)

This model's watertight bulkheads number seven and are constructed from retail electronics plastic packaging, sealed in place with waterproof caulk.  Remembering the lessons of the Revell 18" Titanic's too-fast sinking, special care was taken with this model to seal the stern section as tightly as possible to prevent air escape during the final plunge (thus prolonging the descent).  In addition, a special air capsule was installed in the stern to provide even more reserve buoyancy.  This took the form of a vitamin bottle with a tiny hole drilled in one end.

Test ballast for this model was slightly less than a dollar's worth of pennies, which were later removed and replaced with lead fishing sinkers.  

This model was first sunk in Norfolk, VA, under day- and night-time conditions, and immediately proved itself a superior model, with a much longer vertical "hang-time."  

When this model returned to the Northeast in 2008, it was filmed sinking in an ice field in rather ideal conditions by the RapidNadion team, and the new "flagship" video was dubbed "Model Titanic Sinks 2 (Bigger Model, More Angles)."  It has since been featured in many RapidNadion videos (including several employing on-board cameras), and continues to be a valuable contributor to the fleet.