Don9of11

I agree with Rich, it's good job. You put a lot of work into your model so I would plug the open seams with wood putty, sand it down a little and then move on, it will look just fine. In time it will become a conversation piece not because of the planking but because of your attention to the rigging, sails, deck fittings. Of course you could always paint it, paint hide a multitude of sins

It looks like a pretty credible planking job for a first timer. Planking is one of the hardest things to do on a model. The best advise I got was from an old hand who said "....treat each plank as if it's its own model."  With a little filler yours will look just fine. You could also cover the first layer with a veneer. Don't forget...when your ship is finished only you will be looking at the bottom. All eyes will go to the deck and rigging. 

I had these sitting in my arsenal on cannon carriages. They were handed down to me so I hand them off to you. I don't recall the source but perhaps there is some information you can use.
 

 

 

If you have an office supply store near by check out the packing tape supplies to get anything bigger than 1 inch; there are some low tack - not so sticky packing tape that pulls off very easily or look around in the painters area of the hardware store.

I was on a drafting table for about 6 years as a die designer in the forging industry then switched over to a 2D program called ANVIL 1000; it's still around but a little pricy. Then we migrated to SolidWorks which I prefer to use. Each one of these programs has a learning curve but it is easier to grasp the fundamentals and get up to a production level if you have previous drawing board experience. (IMHO)
 
I found the best way to learn SketchUp was to start modeling some of my old high school vocational projects . Simple geometric shapes at first then gradually working into something more advanced. Even if you're just going to trace over an existing design, it still helps to have a good knowledge of the basic tools and what you can do with them under your belt.
 
If you start out with "lofty" ideas (no pun intended), your CAD program could end up in the closet along with your model ship. Like anything else it takes practice, practice, practice.
 
Some examples of SketchUp work I have done in addition to what I have posted already.
 
 

 
-----added----
 
If you're looking for a good SketchUp learning source I found the tutorials at the Chiefwoodworkers Blog to be excellent http://www.srww.com/blog/

Hi everyone,
 
I am slowly working up some CAD drawings of the Bellona, to consolidate all of the changes I made over the years to the original hand drafted drawings. I thought some of the more obsessive of us out there might enjoy seeing how I finally figured out the geometry of the scrolls or volutes at the fore edge of the quarterdeck.
 
My architecture background came in handy, because I believe the geometry in the Bellona's volute is the same construction as that used to make an Ionic volute capital in Classical architecture. I hope the enlarged geometry is self explanatory, but just in case, a square on a 45 degree angle is inscribed within a circle. The mid points of each side of the square are projected out as shown. The compass point is first placed on upper end of the 6 o-clock line, and the pencil end goes down to the end of that line. A compass arc is then drawn to the 9 o'clock position, and the compass point is then placed in inner end of the 9 o'clock line. A compass arc is then drawn to the 12 o'clock position, and so on.
 
You will notice that the square inscribed within the circle is not the same diameter as the final central circle that shows in the volute. It took me a long time to realize that these did not have to be the same size, and indeed cannot be if the scroll is to take its final shape. I had to experiment with how big the construction circle needed to be, to make the volute fit in its proscribed space. Finally, the circle at the fore edge of this construction does not have the same center as the volute; its center can be seen at the lower end of the vertical line which intersects the topmost line to the upper left, and the beginning of the outer circle.
 
Many wasted--I mean happy--hours were spent figuring out where the centers are for all of these constructions, to match the appearance of the scrolls in the Admiralty drawings.
 
At this point, is anyone wondering if I am procrastinating about starting working on the model itself again?
 
Best wishes,
 
Mark
 
 
 
 

A piece of safety equipment that I haven't seen mentioned is "hearing protection"; Table saws and similar machines are very noisy and can damage your hearing over time. Safety glasses whether they are goggles, side shields or prescription safety glasses are also very important.

A piece of safety equipment that I haven't seen mentioned is "hearing protection"; Table saws and similar machines are very noisy and can damage your hearing over time. Safety glasses whether they are goggles, side shields or prescription safety glasses are also very important.

Alan, I've been giving some thought to your work and not to through a monkey-wrench into your thought process but consider my hasty attempt to produce the stern of my ship. I have produced three images which I hope illustrate my idea.
 
Consider how the transoms are shaped as they come up the stern post and using water-lines connect them. In my images I actually went above the wing transom, stop short of the keel and carried my imaginary transoms to the middle line vs. ending right on the stern post. I know the transoms don't go that far down but I did this to illustrate my idea. I used frame 36 as a guide curve and I have a little gap in my surface-lofts.
 
Is this not what you're trying to achieve?
 
 

 

 

I was on a drafting table for about 6 years as a die designer in the forging industry then switched over to a 2D program called ANVIL 1000; it's still around but a little pricy. Then we migrated to SolidWorks which I prefer to use. Each one of these programs has a learning curve but it is easier to grasp the fundamentals and get up to a production level if you have previous drawing board experience. (IMHO)
 
I found the best way to learn SketchUp was to start modeling some of my old high school vocational projects . Simple geometric shapes at first then gradually working into something more advanced. Even if you're just going to trace over an existing design, it still helps to have a good knowledge of the basic tools and what you can do with them under your belt.
 
If you start out with "lofty" ideas (no pun intended), your CAD program could end up in the closet along with your model ship. Like anything else it takes practice, practice, practice.
 
Some examples of SketchUp work I have done in addition to what I have posted already.
 
 

 
-----added----
 
If you're looking for a good SketchUp learning source I found the tutorials at the Chiefwoodworkers Blog to be excellent http://www.srww.com/blog/

I think it looks good Alan.
 
I was looking this over and maybe you have thought about this yourself but here's a suggestion, I was thinking it might be easier to loft the section from the last frame to the blue line then loft the lower section of the stern. Of course that would leave you with a sharp edge which then all you need to do is add a corner radius.
 
I am learning not to spend to much time making it perfect the first time because in the end you need to check it with the diagonal lines and buttock lines as druxey suggest and the lines on the drawing while necessary to start, will not be the lines you actually end up with.
 
 

 
 

Spent some time away attempting to put my work room back into order and while engaged in that I had another thought about this extended corner issue on the lower wing transom.
 
I have always attempted the lofting of the stern hull from the top down, doing the upper wing transom with the corner first.  The computer completes the calculation for this first and blends it into everything else afterwards.
 
I wondered what might happen if I reversed it; did it from the bottom (keel) up.  Then the computer would not calculate the corner until the very end and it might not blend the same way eliminating the extended corner.
 
I tried this and it seems to have made a difference.  I am happy with the results and so I am considering this task completed.
 
On to the next!
 
PS: You will note the short vertical guideline I added in the "top level last" image. This line is a curve (adjusted by eye) and eliminates the undercut I was experiencing in the corner.

Regarding the shaping of the upper wing transom:
 
I have been working on the final shape of the top side of the upper wing transom and the blending into the hull... checked with sections at various elevations.... and I believe I am getting quite close to the proper shape. It seems to match the plan more closely and looks to me like the images I see in Ree's Plates and approaching the likeness of the photos that have been posted.
 
I inserted a guide curve 1 foot below which represents the underside of the upper wing transom timber.  It took some time but I've almost got it blended properly.  The corner between these elevations has a wee bit of an undercut to it.  I can see it as I spin the model slowly around.  If I knew how to 1) make a movie with this program (which it can easily do) and 2) post an avi attachment, you could see it too!  You can see it a bit in the third image in the shadow of the reflected light on the shape.
 
We have a new kid (less than half my age) starting at work on Monday and if I am lucky he just might be able to teach me!
 
I need to insert a few additional guide curves below the underside of the upper wing transom to eliminate the corner seen below the 1 foot elevation guideline.... so try to ignore the fact that remnants of the corner are still there.
 
Please critique the images below and let me know if, in your opinion, I need to clean my glasses and possibly book an appointment for an eye alignment.  

Then I did my lofting in batches.
The wing transom has the corner at the top and the round just below it
 
I admit the shape is not right, the profile of the hull is incorrect, BUT I GOT IT!
 
I should mention I had to draw a shorter lofting guideline line on new planes that were directly over top of the established waterlines
The loft feature recognizes the shorter line to create the shape.
The longer waterlines confuse it.
 
When I section the loft horizontally I can see the shape is wrong.
I will have to redo it all properly

Hi,
 
no, it's a hobby not related to my daily work. Want to mention that there are fantastic tools that do alot. The character itself is generated within the software DAZ 3D. So is the transfer of the motion capture data on the character. The garment layer below that is tightly attached to the character is animated likewise by the mocap data in DAZ. As of now most of this is 3rd party content that I adapted to my needs. Will replace this in the near future. All the dynamic clothing of the coat (modelling and animation) I did create within the program "marvelous designer".
 
As already mentioned above the parts are finally put together in cinema 4D. However, there is quite some effort and know-how in mastering the workflow and transfer of data ... there needs to be some crazyness involved to go on all this learning curves.
 
Meanwhile I found out how to coordinate the hands with an object like a spy-glass. First testrender goes here:
 
http://youtu.be/EkM_-3j58lE

I know that my transom lines are not correct. I took my inspiration from Goodwin's, English Man of War pg. 24, top left illustration which shows the disposition of the cant frames. Also, I've been following and studying the HMS Bellona by SJSoane - Scale 1:64, 1760 English 74 gun, as designed, build log and paying special attention to the NMM model of the Bellona and the early stages of the SJSoane's own model where the transom pieces are added.
 
The transom and fashion pieces all curve inward to meet last frame and as Druxey pointed out the contours change rapidly. I simply drew a curve at my water-lines and connected the dots so-to-speak. I made no attempt to do it accurately but simply to illustrate. If you look at the stern view, the corner you refer to I think is going to naturally develop and as Hexnut suggest a variable round will be needed after everything is knitted together. 
 
It took me about half-an-hour to produce the stern surface, no lie
 

Alan, I've been giving some thought to your work and not to through a monkey-wrench into your thought process but consider my hasty attempt to produce the stern of my ship. I have produced three images which I hope illustrate my idea.
 
Consider how the transoms are shaped as they come up the stern post and using water-lines connect them. In my images I actually went above the wing transom, stop short of the keel and carried my imaginary transoms to the middle line vs. ending right on the stern post. I know the transoms don't go that far down but I did this to illustrate my idea. I used frame 36 as a guide curve and I have a little gap in my surface-lofts.
 
Is this not what you're trying to achieve?
 
 

 

 

You're farther along than I am Alan but I given this some thought and here is what I come up with, forgive the crudeness of my sketches :
 
A) lower left, draw in phantom stations (red) after frame 36 making sure they follow the wing and deck transoms and tie everything together at the keel with guide curves, then trim away what you don't need
 
A1) upper right, draw in the counter timbers, wing and deck transoms and then "flesh" it out from there.
 
 
After the last frame, the ship is basically open and now you're trying to "cap" it and I think you're going to need the counter timbers and transom geometries to do this or perhaps a combination of both ideas.

I know that my transom lines are not correct. I took my inspiration from Goodwin's, English Man of War pg. 24, top left illustration which shows the disposition of the cant frames. Also, I've been following and studying the HMS Bellona by SJSoane - Scale 1:64, 1760 English 74 gun, as designed, build log and paying special attention to the NMM model of the Bellona and the early stages of the SJSoane's own model where the transom pieces are added.
 
The transom and fashion pieces all curve inward to meet last frame and as Druxey pointed out the contours change rapidly. I simply drew a curve at my water-lines and connected the dots so-to-speak. I made no attempt to do it accurately but simply to illustrate. If you look at the stern view, the corner you refer to I think is going to naturally develop and as Hexnut suggest a variable round will be needed after everything is knitted together. 
 
It took me about half-an-hour to produce the stern surface, no lie
 

Alan, I've been giving some thought to your work and not to through a monkey-wrench into your thought process but consider my hasty attempt to produce the stern of my ship. I have produced three images which I hope illustrate my idea.
 
Consider how the transoms are shaped as they come up the stern post and using water-lines connect them. In my images I actually went above the wing transom, stop short of the keel and carried my imaginary transoms to the middle line vs. ending right on the stern post. I know the transoms don't go that far down but I did this to illustrate my idea. I used frame 36 as a guide curve and I have a little gap in my surface-lofts.
 
Is this not what you're trying to achieve?
 
 

 

 

Had a moment before breakfast so I gave it a go and all lofted easily except the last bit left undone which gave me grief
 
As there are no timbers in this area from which this loft would be used for the templates I am considering leaving well enough alone and attacking the stern top half

almost up to date...

and beams and riding bitts

And then inboard...
and a jig.
 
Mark

Hi everyone,
 
And here are the drawings I created from the Admiralty draughts of HMS Dragon, The Bellona's sister ship (the NMM could not find the Bellona drawings when I ordered these back in the 1990s; I don't know if they ever turned up).
 
The xerox copies showed that the original 250 year old drawings were quite distorted and therefore not able to be built from. Also I did not know how I would ever fit a 1/4" scale model of a 74 in my house. So I drew these at 3/16", or 1:64. The Admiralty drawings were very schematic, and so I had to develop all of the details from other standard sources.
 
Mark