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Patrick Matthews

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  1. Patrick Matthews
    Tinning: You should try it! Much more durable than paint or blackening, and if the parts should be galvanized, this is your best bet! You are looking for "Tinnit", and easy to use solution, that normally is used to apply (electrolessly) a tin plate onto PCBs' copper traces. It works quite well on brass too. http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/er-18/tinnit-bright-tin-plate/1.html Find an example here: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=967801&page=9#post11881171 where I used it on large scale brass rigging fittings.
  2. Patrick Matthews
    Thanks; it is listed there now.
  3. Patrick Matthews
    I'm happy to say that I now have the full kit in hand, no missing installments. I could build it... if I had the time. But I may need to let all 40 pounds (including the 135 "magazine" instruction booklets) of this kit go. Postage might be a bit, it'll be a big carton, for the 135 packets and the partially assembled framework (bulkheads and keel assembly). Yes, it's expensive to obtain through the DeAgostini parts work plan, currently comes to about US$1250 at the current exchange rate, and more for getting it across the pond if you could find someone to gather and ship it. Maybe I should just let ebay work its magic... Looks more impressive when all 135 packets are laid out on the floor! But see all of them and their contents at: https://yankeesots.wordpress.com/
  4. Patrick Matthews
    After having my article on 3D printing published in the NRG Journal last summer, I was pleased to see some actual parts show up in the Spring 2015 issue. Hubert Mallet's article on an RNLI lifeboat includes a pair of engines which are 3D printed. And I think this is an excellent example of using the best tool (or process) for the job. The engines are "modern" mechanical items that lend themselves to modern modeling techniques. On the other hand, I would usually avoid 3D printing a part which simply needs, nay, demands, to be shaped from wood. And Mssr. Mallet has done the right thing here by shaping his model's wood hull from ... wood. Nicely done, Hubert...
  5. Patrick Matthews
    Thanks, but I wouldn't touch it. This is another example of a cutely packaged machine which can make NOTHING of use to the maker of fine models. This is a "fused deposition machine", basically a computerized hot glue gun. It builds parts in squiggles, melted noodles of plastic. Instead, the modeler is well advised to spend the money instead at a commercial house which has invested hundreds of thousands (if not millions) into the finest industrial 3D printers available. THESE machines can make the parts that we modelers need.
  6. Patrick Matthews
    Interesting, but I call BS... we here should stick to reporting practical and real applications of the tech for our modeling needs. Shoes: Just look at the complexity of materials and assembly in any desirable modern shoe... tough but cushioned soles, sides with appropriate support and tensile strength (leather or fabrics), soft cushioned and absorbent linings, extremely strong closure systems (metal eyelets and strong laces), all tied together with binding materials that withstand the continued pounding from our significant masses... and now replace all that with a single printed material? Even if the printer can deliver variable densities (e.g., foam), is this something you'd want to wear? Or pay for? (Think of shoes currently made with minutes of low cost Asian labor, vs. HOURS on a 3D printer)... There's no end to the 3D print hype out there...
  7. Patrick Matthews
    I list a number of R/C and model ship books at my blog (an Amazon list actually): http://astore.amazon.com/modelmarine-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=4 John Cox's book is my number one recommendation if you want just one R/C beginner's book, readily available through Amazon and Traplet pubs. BTW, I also hang out and contribute heavily at RC Groups (Boats)... there is even a section dedicated to "Scale Sail". We model FUNCTION as well as FORM! If your ship doesn't move or get wet, you've left out a major part of the model, eh?
  8. Patrick Matthews
    What, this? See more on the construction at RC Groups: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=694350
  9. Patrick Matthews
    The most likely cause for lack of heat is a loose tip. Many screw into the holder... grab it with pliers, loosen it, then snug it up again. I have a cheapo iron that also had a grub screw close to the handle... loosening and retightening this regularly was also needed. Finally cured all these ills by getting a decent iron: http://modelshipworld.com/index.php/topic/8698-recommendations-for-soldering-equipment/page-2
  10. Patrick Matthews
    A friend lucked into a gross of stainless Swiss-made watch screws that were just right for finishing his 1:8 scale Chris Craft. All the rub rails, cutwater, and hatch strips are "secured" with these little guys. The rub rail in this image is about 1/8 inch high...
  11. Patrick Matthews
    Torches: For big stuff, and for true silver solder. I've given up (mostly) on jewelry grade silver solder, as it requires such high heat, and it always anneals my brass dead soft. Instead, I use TIX, a lower temp silver-bearing solder, but it's still much stronger than electrical solder. It's been great for all my modeling needs, and I can work it with a soldering iron. Iron: Best buy I ever made was a good (not great) quality digitally controlled iron from Radio Shack. See my commentary at: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1372225&page=14&highlight=radioshack+soldering#post18112560 The iron has good quality tips, heats up VERY fast, is easily adjusted, it's been a wonder and a huge improvement over the cheap pencil irons I've used in the past... yet quite a bit less pricey than good quality pro equipment. http://www.radioshack.com/radioshack-digital-soldering-station/6400053.html#.VJ3PWl4AHA
  12. Patrick Matthews
    I needed some in 1:48 too, so I designed and 3D-printed them. An anchor windlass too. And the stud link anchor chain. Not having any reliable drawings or images to go by, they had to be figments and overly simplified at that. But good enough for this job, a waterline model on a railroad layout. I do wish I had access to good drawings of such gear, would love to work up some better designs.
  13. Patrick Matthews
    Instead of paint, you may want to try "Tinnit" http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a-store/item/er-18/tinnit-bright-tin-plate/1.html This is a simple dip which "plates" tin onto the copper traces of printed circuit boards. Use brass or copper sheathing and coat it with this stuff. If the copper is rough (sand blasted), it might avoid a too-bright finish... or coat it with matte lacquer. Photo shows Tinnit applied to machined brass fittings.
  14. Patrick Matthews
    I've used iMaterialise, but don't care for their near exclusive use of stereolithography for detailed parts... the process leaves little nibs all over, from the support structure made of parent material. I've had very few delivery issues with SW, other than their tendency to jam delicate parts into stiff poly bags...
  15. Patrick Matthews
    I design in 3D with all the parts in context of one another... so not too many oopses get past that stage for me to correct later. But the best laid plans... let's just say that every build is full of learning opportunities!
  16. Patrick Matthews
    Inability to see might be related to having one's blinders on! Seriously (and again as I've said elsewhere), if your goal is to make a wood model of a wood ship, then by all means that's the best thing to do. But not all ships are wood, and neither must all models be wood, and not all modelers are limited to age-of-sail. Is wood the best medium to recreate the Bell Mk17 carriage for the twin Browning 50 caliber machine guns on my 1942 PT boat? Maybe not! Care to form the air cooling holes around those Brownings' barrels by whittling a twig? Yikes! How about recreating the conical sheet metal surrounds with their beaded lips from a block of burl? I think not. Also, not all builds are the leisurely exercises of hobbyists with infinite time on their hands. The PT boat above was a commission, and 3DP helped enormously in its rapid completion- 4 months from laser cutting the first hull frames to the posting of these images of the finished model. There are reasons enough, believe me...
  17. Patrick Matthews
    As posted in another thread here, there are places where 3DP works, are there are processes that are usable... and some that aren't! Virtually no printer that you or I can afford will be satisfactory, and most all printed parts (for now) require a lot of surface clean up to remove the visible layering. But it is possible. This 1:24 PT boat is 3D Printed from the deck up (all cabin parts, weapons, deck fittings, even the glazing), less a few bits of string, tissue, and and a few whittled parts.
  18. Patrick Matthews
    Fletch, thanks! And see my comment above about desktop printers... I don't own a printer and likely never will; my parts all come from places like Shapeways.
  19. Patrick Matthews
    Sorry that I didn't find this thread earlier. A few quick comments: 1. If you want to make a wooden model of a wooden ship, that's perfect, and don't let 3DP annoy you at all. Do what YOU want to do. But do avoid being a wood-ship chauvinist! Not all ships, nor their models, nor their MODELERS, are age-of-sail-ers, and not all of such parts are best whittled from sticks. 2. If you DO want to use 3DP, "too old" is no excuse! I'm pushing retirement age myself. 3. For the time being, DON'T waste time and money on any "affordable" desktop printer... the machines that can do work suitable for decent models have many many zeroes in their price tags. Go to a shop like Shapeways instead, let them take the depreciation on their capital investment. BTW, here is my latest 3DP model, PT-61 (a late Elco 77 footer). In 1:24 scale, it's large enough for R/C, but this copy is for display only. The hull is wood, because sometimes wood just makes sense! (PT hulls are quite easy to build up with dual-diagonal planking). But virtually everything else is printed, from the cabin to the weapons, and even the window glazing. Kurt likes to remind us that "if you have to hurry, it ain't a hobby". Well I had to hurry, as this was a commission, and tools like 3DP helped a lot. From the first laser cut frames to the final photos: 4 months. Pat M
  20. Patrick Matthews
    I'm in the US and have the first 70-odd installments of DeAgostini's SotS (and it's almost unstarted, most parts still in their bags). I do not expect to obtain the rest of the installments. I'd be happy to part with what I have, but the purchaser would need to secure the rest of the installments. > If you are in the UK, I think you can do this... maybe someone can confirm-- can one start a subscription at installment #74, for example? Note that this lot of material weighs a good 15 or 20 pounds, so shipping from the US will have a noticeable cost; > If you are in North America, the shipping will be better, but as far as I know, you cannot order the kit from DeAgostini USA, and I do not know if you can order it at all from the UK.. anyone know for sure? Either way, I'd be happy to talk to anyone on either side of the pond who might be interested... feel free to contact me offline. Pat M p.s.: Photos aplenty at: http://yankeesots.wordpress.com/ ... the long sordid story might be discussed later...
  21. Patrick Matthews
    Woo hoo, five copies for my mother! (in re: My article on 3D Printing). I'll also be giving a talk on 3DP at the NRG conference, October in St. Louis. See you there.
  22. Patrick Matthews
    I'm interested in constructing a larger Pilar, working perhaps from Constructo's basic design. Question: How does Constructo represent Pilar's stern post or skeg? A standard vertical design, or one of these extended skegs, as seen in the linked image? (These were apparently all the rage in that time period). Extended skeg: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=6303763 EDIT: Nevermind! I see it in this photo of the real Pilar-- it should be the extended skeg (regardless of what's in the Constructo kit): http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/77/Pilar_%28Ernest_Hemingway%27s_boat%29_Cuba.jpg/800px-Pilar_%28Ernest_Hemingway%27s_boat%29_Cuba.jpg
  23. Patrick Matthews
    there's an old story somewhere about the buyer of a ship slipping into the shipyard one night and replacing the shipbuilders measuring stick with one that was stretched by 10 percent. Of course he ended up getting a ship 10 percent bigger!
  24. Patrick Matthews
    Some more professional grade parts just received in the last few days. One item is 1:9 scale outdrives and trim tabs for an offshore racer display model. The rest are parts for a 1:72 scale Canadian Coast Guard patrol boat, also a display model.
  25. Patrick Matthews
    Hi Kurt- If a library is buying it, it's for sure a consumer level FDM machine... see my posts above about THAT trash. But also see my post above about very fine stud link anchor chain made on higher capability printers. Pat M

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