Justin P.

Jorge, The Triton plans are part of the excellent resources here at MSW, go to the top of your page and select group projects. There you will find the “HMS Triton Group Project.” These are the same plans I’m using in Shapr3d. I’m not doing any original work. I’m using the Trtion plans to learn the software. Just for fun.

I wanted to put the iPad software through some more complex modeling of ship hulls. After my work on the NRG Capstan project, I was pretty interested in trying something a bit more complicated. This is in part an exercise to learn the full capabilities of the app. This model is still in early stages, but I think if one were to start from original plans on another subject, you could conceivably draft full plans for an actual build.

Hi All, Perhaps a few points of clarification.... Steve Davis turned the manuscript over to my care some time ago. I don't think he ever intended to remain a member of MSW, rather I think he was looking for an appropriate place to pass on a precious thing that he has cared for since his family retrieved it from the side of the road in the early 60's. It was/is important to him, and by extension is important to me. The story is too good, and whats more, the manuscript itself is marvelously drafted and highly detailed. Whoever the author was, they were very knowledgeable and highly detailed, and most definitely a draftsman/engineer or both. I haven't spoken to NRG about doing anything with it, nor had I intended to do so until I'd given a good effort at resolving the authorship question (for all the aforementioned reasons). I have communicated to several members using the PM system but never on the subject of distribution. Steve did have a mind to get it scanned and disseminated, and I think that would be reasonable at some point - however, as Kurt and Toni mentioned, it may not be appropriate until all reasonable effort has been made to establish authorship and copyright. I also have access to quite a few copyright lawyers (and their professors) and have been getting, I think, pretty satisfactory advice on the matter. I have spent considerable time and effort chasing down leads and still have a few open lines of inquiry that I hope will go somewhere. Some quite silly like the very random contacting of every "Hal" alive or dead in the ship modeling world that I can find (and their friends). Some others more in depth - to include the Hahn and Underhill legacy's and some very complex and ongoing queries to include M&H Valve Company, the University of Glasgow, a pre-WWII heating contractor and many, many emails with archivists in the corporate as well as academic world. I have no idea if this will go anywhere, or what I can legally do with the manuscript if I never track down the author (which is likely). However, it would be a terrible shame for it to go unappreciated. I apologize that I neglected to update this thread with all this since last October when it was transferred to me. Lots of plates spinning and all that... Anyway, suffice to say the matter is ongoing and if anyone has any ideas Im all ears! It currently lives in the book safe in my lab here in the Northwest, and Id be happy to show it to anyone who happens to be in the area.

Indeed.

Hi All, With a return to onsite work slowly approaching full-time, my modeling at home has taken a severe and gut-wrenching slow-down. For context, I commute 2.5 hours each way, 5-days a week. I take a bike, a bus, a boat and a train - so lots of down time just sitting. Ive been looking for ways to scratch that itch and express my interests in ships and ship modeling when I cant be at the bench at home and started messing around more seriously with available "soft-CAD" programs available on things like iPad. Some time ago I discovered Shapr3d and used it to design and build my home workshop and found it incredibly useful and very intuitive to use. This is not a full-featured CAD program, and it is likely that a seasoned CAD user will likely find it limiting. However, if you simply want to tinker casually without being bogged down by 1000 features you'll never use, and are looking for a way to build things when you cant be in your workshop than this is a great option. When I first picked it up I had ZERO experience and learned the program pretty quickly. The available online tutorials help a great deal. In the last week, I used the practicum designed by @tlevine available at NRG to build the British capstan project virtually. I did all of this work in 2 hour stints while traveling to and from work, using the pdf of the plans to model each component and then assemble. I still intend to build this project in wood very soon, but for the time being found this little exercise well worth it. In either case, its a great way to prototype ideas and work out designs. I tried to build as close to the specs and steps outlined in the practicum. In a way, I think Im better prepared to have a go at the real thing as now Im intimately aware some of the complicated aspects of the model design. Modeling the beams and carlings... Modeling the capstan step, marking out, bolt holes and brakes... Grate ledges, grates.... Barrel, Drum Head, Welps, Chocks, Chains Final Assembly, Completion

If anyone is willing to part with Volume 1, or part with the complete two volume set - please let know. Thanks.

Hi All, Just a quick question about the recent update to the Capstan documents. It isn't immediately clear to me which part was updated, and as Ive already printed everything out Im wondering which part was updated so that I can simply reprint the effected sections. Thanks, and apologies if I missed the update notes somewhere.

Ive been spending the last few weeks working on stanchions and the upper deck beams. I probably turned about 20 of these before I settled on something I liked and could reasonably repeat. I dont have a lot of turning experience so it took some time get into a rhythm. Otherwise, I'm happy with progress.

To each his own I guess. There are a few items in that listing that I consider to be indispensable and are used frequently. The rest, would just take up valuable real estate. But for my $1000, the Byrnes Trifecta is a no brainer, toys they are not. That said... my wife only accepts "Model Machines" on our card statement every couple of years, ha. After 6 years, Im 2/3 of the way to completion! I think the fellow might have done better to make it an auction rather than try to unload the whole lot for such a steep price (not including shipping).

That is a lot of stuff for sure. Wish I could make on offer on a few items and not the whole lot.

Can someone confirm that submissions as late as the evening of August 1st PST would still be eligible? Thanks.

I looked at this system as a way to produce relief carvings at scale for ship models. In the end I wasn't convinced I would get the fidelity I wanted and skipped the deep dive. I look forward to seeing what you can do with it!

Thanks Mark, Im happy with how they turned out - but like the knee's I can tell I might eventually NOT like them. I did mock them up on a smaller panel, but I wonder if my mock-up wasn't large enough to get a good feel. Ill just need to spend some time looking at them. Appreciated Matt, I am glad I went ahead and changed them out. Im not sure where my head was at when I first did them. Thanks Bob!

Thanks! I did use a thin brass shim for spacing (another trick purloined from Chadb's build). The putty caulking does give a great impression and provides a nice level of detail.

Progress! It has been over a month since I last posted, and Im glad to be able to report that Ive been able to make some headway, albeit at a much slower rate now that the post-COVID world is clawing back. In all Ive been able to get the outer planking and wales completed, gunports framed-in, the interior planking at the lower deck completed and treenailed, the gun deck beams made and simulated caulking done to a point. At this point Im not terribly convinced that I like the wales so hopefully time (or perhaps someone here) will point out if something is egregiously off. I opted to rip out and replace my lower deck hanging knees in favor of a more realistic shape and am much happier to have spent the time. They were really bothering me, and despite the pain-in-the-**** method of shaping them and fixing them after-the-fact I managed to do a reasonable job of it. (Left: Old coming out, Center: New template, with old knee removed, Right: Completed replacement) I also chose to give Chadb's method of using the putty for caulking a try as I like the effect he achieved and wanted to try something different. I did do a pretty extensive mock-up first to figure out the process. The result does look great, if perhaps somewhat out of scale.

Your work is beautiful and unbelievably fast. Ill be following along with interest, as I did with your Young America.

I don't know which part of the book you are at, but I would imagine that given the amount of coastal exploration and surveying they were doing at the time, they probably didn't bother pulling up the boats. Leaving them tied to the ship to expedite short excursions was likely just a practical choice.

I have the MF70 as pictured and would definitely be using it if I had to do what you are describing. I would partially wrap it in cling wrap and then use that engravers clay to mount it.

I agree with what everyone has said. @Chuck has a good explanation of his process in one of his many published tutorials and build logs - of which there are too many for me to dig through at the moment to find, but the essence is to thin out your paint and use many layers. My personal process is to first make sure I have a well sanded and sealed surface, and then to use a thin wash, almost 1:1 paint/water. I sand with fine sandpaper between each coat and apply until the color saturates to the desired level. I have used airbrushes in the past and do like their results, but find the apparatus and additional setup to be cumbersome and annoying.

I do basically the same thing. I make a dummy and tie to that, doing nearly all the work using that and a Quad-Hands.

Agreed! Looking more like it should now. Nice job identifying and correcting the problem.

Im wondering first if you used the templates provided in the kit for laying-out the lintels? That should have helped with some of the spacing. As well, the area at the bow seems to be sweeping upward where spacing should be uniform stern to bow. Cutting out the templates and comparing against your current state might help point to a few places where things are going wrong.

The next thing I started in on were the waterways. Fashioning the shape and style after details referenced by other builders and pursuing a few of the well-known sources I made a few prototypes using a micro-mill that just didn't really do the trick as well I wanted. So I pulled out one of the AL micro-scrapers I had and found a shape that actually matched what I was after pretty perfectly. I chose then to go ahead and make up the bitts and gallows as I wanted to be able to plank the lower deck up to the actual part rather than hope it works out later. I also chose to install the waterways at this stage as well, so I could pull a pattern off the subtle curvature of the install piece. This I imagined would better facilitate shaping the final deck plank (planked center outward). I turned the bitts from Cherry and then initially milled out the sheaves-ports before finishing them with a small file to square them up. I then turned the actual sheaves from Maple on a midi lathe. One fitted I used a cherry dowel to set them. I then tacked the bitts in place with their cross-piece using tiny amounts of glue and proceeded with planking. Thats where we are now. Im off to sail the Puget Sound for the next 10 days so that will be that for now.

Agreed. Anything smaller than say, 1:48, and they become even more distracting (and difficult). I think though, they do add something to a model of a certain type. On most kits they end up looking additive and unnecessary and ultimately contribute to the "messiness" of the overall result. On others though, even if not meeting the correct historical aesthetic (circles v. rings) they can communicate a level of detail that without might leave an otherwise well made model looking a bit bland or incomplete. I feel that ultimately they require a subtlety and finesse that only a few possess and can execute truly well - too many and you are lost, too dark or not perfectly laid in straight lines, etc. I personally love them on the right model, but also admit to still learning the art of using them, let alone making or installing them.

Hey Ainars, Can you share a bit more about your cannons and where/how you sourced or made them? They look great, and that surface character looks very real. Stunning work, and great finish on everything. What did you use?