Roger Pellett

One of the key things that 3D printing and CAD bring to the table is the ability to generate what is effectively a 'kit' from a set of plans for a ship that no company will ever produce a model of for you to build.
 
Usually we call that scratch-building.  
 
The thing about doing it with 3D CAD though is that you can generate a model...and another model, and another...just by clicking print again.
 
So, you can build yourself a fleet - or you can offer the model for others to build so they can have a model of your favorite ship as well.
 
I have a plan in mind to help the local museum - I am working to do a 3D design of a ship they have in their collection, and I'm hoping to get the design workable for print in a couple of variations.
 
First as a highly detailed model that is a great replica of the ship that I can produce in a suitable scale for floating in a pond myself as RC.
 
Second, as a lower detail model, smaller in size, that can be fairly easily assembled by students doing a summer camp or March break program at the museum.  My hope is to have that 'March break camp' something that the model club can contribute to, and do a presentation with the campers about 3D design, and then have each of them design an 'accessory' for their ship - something like a bollard, an anchor, a funnel, or whatever, using TinkerCAD, and we then print that item for them by the end of the week for them to assemble it onto their individual model boat.
 
That's my concept. 
 
I'll see how that works out. 

So after the experimentation its time to get the nerve up and start putting some or the results onto the seascape. I used the teddy bear material and worked it into the wave crests and wakes using diluted white glue. It seemed to work better than gloss medium.
This is the first pass. It looks a bit overdone but thats becuase the glue is still drying and makes everything look whiter


After drying it tones down a bit 
 

And with long suffering Zinnia
 

This will be tidied up and then the bursting wave will be added. So far it looks as if I can do most of the seascape without irretrievably installing the ship which will help with morale.
So far I am happy with the progress and no teddy bears have been hurt in the process
Thanks for looking in and for the likes and comments
Alan
 
 

These 2pm to 2am shifts are really beating me up so not much else is getting done at the moment. Hopefully only another week and then back to something a bit more reasonable
I have been using the limited spare time available to experiment with ideas for spray and wave tops. 
I played with clear silicone sealant but it didn't really dry clear and was hard to work. I had read that it could be diluted to a jelly consistency with IPA but mine didn't seem to do that. I tried Lexel clear sealant which does dry crystal clear and glossy but didn't really provide any better options for the seascape.
Next up was gloss medium mixed with micro balloons. The micro balloons gave the medium a white colouring and stiffness to create dimensional wave tops. Curiously it dried matt. Initially I thought this might be the way forward but looking at the results for a few days I am not so sure.
Then I tried cotton wool teased apart and coated with dilute white glue. This provides something that can be worked with a brush into approximate shapes and further moulded by hand as it dries. I think it might be possible to make candidate shapes on a temporary base and transfer to the diorama for final shaping and installation when dry. That would avoid getting medium all over places it shouldn't be. The following photos show the micro ballons and medium, cotton wool spray and Lexel sealant.


More cotton wool experiments looking at creating the skeins of bubbles seen in turbulent water and more spray
 


I like the surface bubble effects. The spray looks promising. Not all results are good but they are quick to create and working off model means the best can be picked.
 
I got some polyester cotton wool material used for stuffing teddy bears and tried that. It is a little stiffer than cotton wool so the results have more depth which I like. It is whiter than the cotton wool and it has a bit of a sparkle to it. I tried spray, bubbles and wave caps and I think with a bit more work they may be the best option
 


Thanks for looking in and likes and comments.
 
Alan

Quick update - the Santa Maria won 1st place in its category, and also best ship of all 3 ship categories.

Thanks, everyone. When my customer picked it up, he was very happy. And I learned why he wanted this particular model. His older brother by 13 yrs built one as a young adult. His brother passed away, and the model was lost. So this has a lot of sentimental value. I'm so happy I could do this for him

Definitive answer from a flag company. Double sided not recommended for outdoor use.
 
https://auroraflags.com/2019/02/singlevsdouble/

If you are going to buy plans get the best.  David MacGregor was a serious student of sailing ships.  You can rely on his work.  His Thermopylae drawings are reproduced in one of his several books.  His lines drawing beautifully captures the ship’s shape.
 
Almost 15£ Spent on Conwall’s drawing just allows you to reproduce the Sergal kit model with whatever limitations it has.
 
Roger

Micha, et all:
 
Some thoughts from a modeler who doesn’t use CAD.  CAD is not necessary for building ship models.  There are 1000’s of lovely accurate ship models built before CAD.  
 
The basic scratch ship modeling drafting task is to convert archival information into patterns that define the shape of the hull.  This information comes from a drawing, a half model, or a table of offsets.  For Nineteenth Century vessels and ships built to about 1970 hulls were not designed using simple geometric shapes.  Curves are the result of two different drafting techniques; ships curves, and splines.  Splines work by the rules for deflection of beams; a cubic equation.  Ships curves are standardized drafting tools created using different mathematical functions.  How well a particular CAD program mimics these manual drafting tools well determine the accuracy of the model.  As a Naval Architecture student a long time ago, I watched a visiting Professor from a Major Japanese university test several hull forms modeled from simple trigonometric shapes, sines, cosines, parabolas, etc. in our large towing tank.  They looked nothing like real ships.
 
All ship hull lines drawings are “faired” at one time or another.  In other words, plotted points often do not line up to allow a fair curve to be passed through.  Manual drafting requires the draftsman to use his judgement to correct this.  CAD requires either manual intervention or a mathematical algorithm.  There is therefore, no definitive example of an old ship’s hull, only different interpretations.
 
To me CAD is just another ship modeling tool.  If you enjoy working with computers and are willing to spend the $$$ and especially time to learn the program that’s fine.  On the other hand, beautiful models can be built using manual drafting techniques, or purchased plans.
 
Roger

Haven’t visited for quite a while.  Outstanding work and nice progress.
 
Roger

As co-founder of the Trireme Trust USA, leader of Olympias' repair and modification team for her sea trials, and a friend of John Coates (note the spelling) I can say your work is extraordinary. Thank you so much for this. Keep us posted!
 
Lots of info and photos here: https://www.wolfson.cam.ac.uk/library/archives/trireme-trust
 
Respectfully,
--Paul Lipke

I managed to get a bit of time yesterday and today and got out the colours. About five coats of yellow on the tunic and I am not sure if its too much. I'm feeling my way with the glaze technique. Not too terrible so far. The first coat on the red parts of the turban and some black details.
I'm still learning how to use the wet palette so this is all a bit learning experience.
The paints are Vallejo Model paints and the BBs really make a difference to mixing them. The face and hands are using Mig Ammo flesh tones which I think are very nice. He may be a bit dark but I will see how he looks with the beard filled in. 
I'm a bit leery of the clamps after the earlier problem so I think I will glue him to a temporary base of some sort for the remainder of the work



Thanks for looking in and all teh helpful comments and suggestions
Alan
 
 

I'll toss in my 2 cents on this... consider the NRG's Half Hull Model.  It's rather inexpensive and will give you a solid foundation for future models.   

If you are going to buy plans get the best.  David MacGregor was a serious student of sailing ships.  You can rely on his work.  His Thermopylae drawings are reproduced in one of his several books.  His lines drawing beautifully captures the ship’s shape.
 
Almost 15£ Spent on Conwall’s drawing just allows you to reproduce the Sergal kit model with whatever limitations it has.
 
Roger

I just stumbled on to this; an interesting project that I’m looking forward to seeing nicely done.
 
The US Navy had some specialized and interesting small boats outfitted to service their fleet of flying boats while still in the water.  If you look in their 1955/1954? Boat Book you will find drawings of these craft.  One could make a great companion to your model. A copy of their Boat Can be found on the Navy’s history site.  Or Google Navy Aircraft Refueling Boat
 
Roger
 
 

John, Roger, Ian, Veszett and Druxey thank you for commenting.
 
Just a brief update:- 
 
I got to the 3rd row of planks before the planks began to run out at the stern. This necessitated a wedge being inserted. Just visible between the second and third planks in the next photo.

I did however continue with parallel planks.
 
In the boiler room area I needed to start aligning the plank edges using stainless steel clothes pegs where alignment proved to be unsatisfactory.

Having included the wedge between the 2nd and 3rd planks the 4th plank went on as a parallel plank without a further wedge.


I am now on layer 7 and probably near the end of parallel planking. At maximum beam I am going to have to start adding more width (which in practice means narrowing the planks at stem and stern).

I am checking the symmetry of the planks (with callipers) on an ongoing basis. The green lines also help me judge the symmetry. As yet everything is looking good. 
 
 

Piping has a certain logic.  High point vents, low point drains, bypasses around some eqipment and valves, and loops to absorb expansion and contraction in long runs.  There are industry standards for fittings like elbows, tees, flanges, etc.  Long Radius ells are formed to a radius of 1.5 nominal pipe diameters, eg a 4in nominal sized elbow is formed on a 6in radius although the outside diameter of the fitting and pipe that it welds to is 4.5in.  Metric pipe sizes while specified in metric dimensions usually correspond to American pipe sizes.  Pipe bends are usually specified in nominal pipe diameters too;  3 dia, 5dia, etc.  Unlike fittings, which are purchased from a manufacturer, bends would be made at the shipyard or by specialized pipe fabricators (where I worked for most of my career).
 
Roger
 
 

The inner planking of the bulwarks ....

The picture posted below hangs in my living room and was painted, supposedly in Venice, in about 1898 by the relative of a family friend.  He gave it to my parents in 1932 as a wedding present.
 
I thought that I would post it here to see if you could identify the type of watercraft.  It might be what you are building.
Roger

Our local Solid Waste Disposal Site, aka “The Dump” has a large section where visitors can take away items thrown away by others.  The stuff is free.  They have one entire building full of furniture.   Next time I go there I’ll have to see if I can find any mahogany.  It’s probably all veneer but Duluth does have a large number of old very large homes, once residences to wealthy families, so maybe I’ll strike gold.
 
Roger

How can those of us who aren't piping engineers know for certain that all that piping wasn't just added to the ship in random patterns? 🤔😉

Thank you for the intervention, I hope to make you have fun with my sailing ship ..

Thanks Maurino.  I’m enjoying watching you build this model.
 
Roger

I was invited to take the almost-complete 1:50 model along to the meeting of the Golden City Paddle Steamer Museum Society (the group of volunteers who own and run the Golden City) so they could have a look at it.
 
They were all very chuffed with it, thought it was brilliant, loved the idea of selling 1:50 models to visitors as a fundraiser. And wanted to know if the big (1:25) model would be ready to display in time for the "season" (they only run the full-sized one on the lake from October to April due to Australia being upside down and having winter in June.) I wasn't able to give a definite undertaking because of uncertainties in what problems might arise in building the big one, but just between you and me I think it's quite possible.
 
They even have a big glass display case (museum-sized) which they recently acquired and in which they plan to display it.
 
All rather positive. Now I actually have to deliver the goods!
 
Steven

Some different advice:
 
Assuming that you have access to a basic collection of hand tools and know how to use them, your first model should be the one that you really want to build; kit or scratch it really doesn’t matter.  Plodding thru a beginner kit that does not interest you will not increase your interest in the hobby.  It is my opinion that .most ship modeling projects are abandoned when the builder loses interest not because they are too difficult.
 
I likewise, do not see plastic modeling as an entry to building wooden models.  Plastic modeling appears to have reached a level of sophistication where it can stand on its own as a separate modeling experience.  While I don’t personally build plastic models, I enjoy scanning the threads posted for both ship and aircraft plastic models.  Much of the work is incredible.
 
Another entry point would be the series of kits developed and sold directly by the Nautical Research Guild.  So far they offer three modeling kits:  A planking model, A capstan model, and coming soon a rigging model.  These are short term projects that would give the novice builder a taste for ship modeling without a making a major time or cost commitment.
 
Roger