thibaultron

So my next big build for 2022 will be the USS Thetis Bay with a full work up. I found this image on the internets and wondered if I could replicate this point in time, a bunch of worn out aircraft being retuned to the US for overhauls. 
 

Thetis bay was Casablanca class carrier and full plans and colour schemes are all available online free of charge. I will of course add them to this log with references. 

I have been working with an Anycubic Photon Mono since Christmas and thought I would pass along a few things I have learned.
 
I have used the CAD program "DesignCAD" since 1988. It is a surface/mesh program with true 3D solid capability, but most of what I have done has been just planes and meshes (grids) that have zero thickness. I combine these to create the 3D object but they often have leaks and are unsuitable for 3D printing without some "repair."
 
Microsoft's "3D Builder" program is free for Windows 10/11 and does (almost) perfect repairs. The only catch is that it will place a surface over any closed opening in a single plane/grid. So I have to be sure I create separate surfaces around holes. I don't know if this is a requirement for STL files that some programs do automatically. It is not a problem for solids that I have "drilled" by subtracting a tool solid, so it is just a problem with the way I made some of the objects.
 
I use the Chitubox slicer program, and it does a pretty good job with the default settings. More about this in another post.
 
Here is a link to a 3D model I created. I am now printing many of the parts you see on this ship.
 
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/19321-uss-oklahoma-city-clg-5-1971-3d-cad-model/?do=findComment&comment=590228
 
https://www.okieboat.com/CAD model.html
 
I started a 1:96 scale physical model about 16 years ago but stopped until I finished the CAD model. I have started the build again and am 3D printing parts for the model.
 
https://www.okieboat.com/Ship model page.html
 
I have been amazed at the resolution I can get with the Photon Mono printer! Here are a couple of examples of 1:96 scale parts. These are straight off the printer (after curing) without any touch-up.
 

 
The CAD model was created 1:1 scale from the original blueprints, including all the proportional angles and dimensions of the real thing. At 1:96 scale the blades are only 0.25 mm (0.0095 inch) thick. This is far too thin to try to machine and much too thin to try to cast. But I just scaled the file to 1:96 and printed it! The diameter of the propeller is 1.46 inches (37 mm). They printed perfectly the first time using the default supports added by Chitubox. For this print I used a vertical step of 0.01 mm, 0r 0.0039 inches. The surfaces are smooth to the naked eye, but with 10X magnification I can detect a hint of the digital "jaggies."
 

 
The anchor was also created 1:1 in CAD from Navy drawings. It is made up of dozens of individual complex curve surfaces. I figured if this would print anything would! It also came out perfect the first time! This was a 0.05 mm vertical step and some slight jaggies are visible on the bottom surfaces of the flukes.
 
So this was the result of my first attempts to print with this printer. It just seemed too easy, especially since I already had all the CAD files prepared!
 
But this was just beginner's luck, as I will explain in another post.

Sometimes glue is just easier....
 
Beautiful work Aydin...

If they drop some day, then I think I will just glue them back. When it comes to soldering, although I am familiar with soldering electronic parts, I still don't dare to do it in this model. For the purpose of the handles, it would also create other challenges such as isolating the handle while painting the bar in blue, since any soldering should be done before paint. 

Do you think that glueing the handle bars will provide a sufficiently strong bond ? Not that anyone would hang onto them, but glues may fail over time. Perhaps (hard)soldering would have been a more durable and (almost) invisible option.
 
The coach continues to come on nicely!

Figures 429-432: Several photos showing today's output. Handles, doorsteps, side roofs.

 

 

 

 
That's all for now.
Thanks for watching!

Figure 428: All parts ready for paint. I labelled the color not to make a mistake. I will start with white and proceed with blue and finally black, so that I won't need to clean the airbrush in too detail between the color changes.
 

Figures 421-427: Doorsteps. You will note that when assembled the two steps are not parallel to each other. It is very easy to confuse the parts as they are very similar, I keep the technical sheet handy as reference.

 

 


 

 

 

 

BUILD DAY 41 / 2 hrs / (TOTAL: 104 hrs)
Rooftop on both ends. These ones will remain fixed on the wagon, while the middle section will be removable. 
 
Figure 418: Roof parts.

 
Figure 419-420: Roof steps.

 

BUILD DAY 40 / 1 hr / (TOTAL: 102 hrs)
Handles on door sides. They are to be installed without any painting. There is also an additional handle in body color on the ladder side. 
 
Photos showing my way of gluing the handles. 
- First I glue one of the "hinges" on its place. 
- Then I insert the handle to other hinge
- Then I glue the handle at both ends.
- Finally I move the second hinge and glue it in position.
This way all three parts are aligned perfectly.
 
Figures 414-415:

 

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Figures 416-417: Parts ready for paint and in place.

 

Hull is fully decked and has the waterways added.  Transom is shaped with integral "fashion pieces", and the hull now has its third coat of primer.  .  
 
Deck planking.  I used about one hundred fifty 1/16" sq. x 24" basswood strips for the deck.  

 
Transom fitted.  Deck planks inside the waterways are masked.

 
Third coat of automotive rattle can primer.  That's a 12" ruler on the hull bottom to give you an idea of scale.

Finished planking the deck today.  There are about one hundred fifty 16" square x 24" basswood planks, plus ten 1/16" x 3/32" x 24" basswood mast partners.  If a modeler is ambitious and wants to do scale length planks (let's say 40' as one member suggested), it will take about 700 of them.  I wiped on and steel-wooled a couple coats of shellac, then added the laser-cut waterways.  Tomorrow, I'll finish fairing the hull and maybe put on the keel, stem, and rudder post.
 
The waterways actually fit the hull with just a tiny bit of tweaking!

 
After this photo was taken, the transom was shaped to match the curve of the waterway.

Cut the six lower masts to length and squared off their heads.  Made the first topmast, as well.  The latter is made from 3/16' square stock that has to be rounded and tapered.  It will have a slot for the fid.

WYOMING hull is planked and broken free from the building board.  I've laid the ten 1/16" x  3/32" mast partners and am now planking the rest of the deck with 1/16" square basswood.  It'll take about 200 strips to plank the deck.  The hull took about one hundred 3/32" x 1/4" strips.
 
My bench is about 36" tall, so...  This is just after I broke the hull away from the building board and sanded the subdeck and bulkhead extensions  flush.

 
Laying the first planks of the mast partner.  They need to be absolutely straight along the centerline or the rest of the planks aren't going to come out right.

 
Mast partners on and the deck houses and hatches just set in place so I can see where to end the plank strips.

Fascinating to see the development of these new kits, thanks for shring.

The garboards are two laser-cut pieces per side.  The aft portion in particular takes quite a twist, so soaking and clamping is pretty much necessary.  Because of the relative symmetry of the curved portions, each garboard has a small "k" lasered into the edge that meets the bottom of the keel.

Work continues on the WYOMING kit.  I finalized the shape of the laser-cut garboard planks today, soaked them, and clamped them in place to dry.  Will start planking tomorrow.  Here are a couple more of the 11 x 17 plan sheets for the plans booklet.

Initial assembly of the wheel box, hoist house, and one of the main hatches.

So far this morning, I've attached all of the bulkheads, subdecks, filler blocks at the bow, and the keel stiffeners for the pedestals.
Bulkheads and subdecks in place.
.
 
Bow filler blocks glued in place.  Stern will also have them.  They will be faired with the bulkheads once the frame is glued to the building board.

 
The mast slots are boxed in with 3/32" strips and scrap 1/16" plywood.  This just prevents sideward movement of the masts once they are stepped.
 
A mahogany cradle is included, but for those wanting to use pedestals, 1/2" square stiffener blocks will be glued to both sides of the profile at the desired position of the pedestals.

I should have been more clear in my initial post.  Modelers Central is OFFERING the kit, not making it, as the above comments indicate.  I was excited and posted the first news I heard about a James Caird kit, without digging into the details about the kit manufacturer.  Sorry about that.
 
james
Maine

To repeat: Modellers Shipyard makes the kit; Modeler's Central is the soft-on-piracy vendor. It's confusing, but don't mix up the two -- as far as I know (for now), they're not the same entity.

Interesting subject, I must say.  I saw the James Caird in Sydney many years ago where it was on loan from England.  It would make an interesting model.  Too bad it's this company making the kit.
 
 
Dan

To be clear, the kit is being produced by Modellers Shipyard, not Modeler's Central. The latter is a vendor who also operate a FB group. And to be perfectly frank, I would not do business with Modeler's Central, since they do not share the NRG/MSW stance on model kit piracy. Their FB group does not allow any criticism of any manufacturer in any form, and that policy is extended to copycats such as ZHL. I just left the Modeler's Central FB group yesterday because of that very fact.

Modelers Central is coming out with a James Caird model kit in 2022.  Details (although not many) can be found at https://www.modelerscentral.com/modeling-hub/james-caird/.  Looks like a good, realistic representation of the Caird, with a cutaway hull to show ballast, crates, supplies, etc., in the crowded boat.
 
james
Maine

There is a gent in UK by the name of Russ who does videos on Youtube on [mostly] CO2 [read Chicom] lasers. Very smart and helpful.
Sarbarmultmedia
He has all the info and knowledge you need.