Gregory

Most important, is the time spent to develop the plans and create a workable prototype.. Hours and hours with people being paid a livable wage. When you just scan someone else's plans and start cutting out parts, you have not shared the cost that was incurred by the original artists.

I agree with David. A very nice build so far..

Any idea how the Black Pearl plans came into being? I know there is a plastic Revell(?) kit. Is there a legitimate wood kit out there?

The upper image looks like slats were used, rather than rods. They ( slats ) might be a little easier to model.

What they ( the Chinese ship model pirates ) are doing is so obvious and blatant. The SOS guys are ignoring the elephant in the room, while praising the Emperor for his stylish new outfit. When I see the Chinese kits, I assume they are copies of someone else' work unless proven otherwise. Consider the Trident Alert. It looks like a lot of original work was put into that by the guy that is building the model and putting a kit together. But, what is the source of the plans. It looks like the Anatomy of the Ship book.. Aren't there licensing considerations when using that book for commercial purposes?

I didn't question for a moment that ZHL is engaged in piracy, and would never do business with them. Nor do I suggest that producing a kit with pirated plans is OK. I just noticed they sell other products that do not seem to be made in house. Interesting to know about The Rattlesnake kit and some other plans from the 70's. It is a ship I have done a lot of research on, and have acquired several sets of plans; Hahn, ModelExpo, Mamoli and NMM. I also have the Chapelle book " The Search For Speed Under Sail " which has plans derived from the NMM plans. I would imagine that any plans of Rattlesnake, developed for commercial purposes, would require licensing from the NMM.

That Rattlesnake kit appears to be an original design based on the NMM plans. That may be a problem in that it is doubtful they made any licensing arrangements with NMM, which is unfortunate, as it appears to be a very well designed kit. ZHL Appears to be more of a distributor than a fabricator. They even sell CAF ( an MSW approved manufacturer ) kits and parts, although at a higher price than you would pay to CAF directly.

It would really help to see what you are working on.

Have you considered having some wood strips that are not visible from the outside, holding the pins on the underside of the frames? If what I say is not clear, maybe i can come up with an illustration.. A picture of what you are working on might help provide more info.

You would need a 4th axis that rotates the piece. Otherwise, what you are doing is the way to go. What design software do you use? It looks like you are off to a good start.

I think you will find most of the CNC work in the scratch build topics. I think the biggest challenge for kit builders, for me anyway, regarding CNC, is getting the design of the part from the kit plans to a cutting file to drive the machine. This has been true for me with my laser cutter. I have spent more hours than I want, learning to use the software to get the kind of precision and results I want. I have one of those little CNC machines that I haven't got out of the box yet. Instead I went ahead and focused on my laser work, and it has kept me busy enough, that I haven't been in the mood to tackle a new learning project. While most members here are always happy to help, they also want to spend their time building, and not teaching CNC or laser cutting techniques. They may not get past the point where they talk about their $2,000 machine and software that is $100 monthly subscription. A great example of the high end of CNC work is from a member here, HJX, is doing the CNC work for the Winchelsea kit, group project. Your best resources may be another online group that is focused on CNC work. Just because they may not be building model ships, the technique would be the same. Welcome to MSW!

I would really like to see an update on how it goes with the CNC machine..

Thanks..

Great advice wefalck and YT! I realize now, I should have mentioned the template.. Getting a consistent shape would make it necessary.

Hard to believe it's been over two weeks since an update, because I have been doing some work almost every day, if it has only been to lay a plank or two. As I mentioned, I'm spiling the planks that are curved and it takes some tweaking to get a good fit. The scrap bin has grown considerably. Here is the last plank for the port side ready for gluing. The finish on the bow, while not perfect, is not as lumpy as it appears in the photo. The grain of the wood and lighting create a look that is somewhat unflattering.. But I know you all know how that goes. I'm Satisfied with the fit. I decided to go with one drop plank on the bow. While they usually show up higher on the bow, I said " what the heck " . Being close to finishing the side at this point, my laziness got the better of me and I decided to make one plank instead of three. Port side done. Not a lot left to do on the starboard: ... and I'm looking forward to working on the other aspects of this build, that aren't as repetitious as the planking.