gieb8688

At this point I decided to take a break from the body of the ship and work on some smaller things.  The kit just called for gluing the rudder in place but I saw some other model ships with really cool strap hinges where the rudder could actually move back and forth.  So I created some hinges out of the excess photo-etched framework around the chain plates.  For the skylight glass, I used 4 layers of wax paper to give it an opaque, smoked-glass look.   
 

Next step was the deck.  I borrowed a tip from somewhere to use a carpenter pencil and rub it over the edge of each deck plank to give it a dark accent between the strips to simulate caulking.  I thought it worked quite well.  However, as you can see, as I glued the planks on the 1-piece deckboard, the whole thing began to bow upwards.  So when I went to glue the whole thing onto the boat, I needed some weight to hold it in place hence the assortment of every small, heavy thing I could find in my garage.  

The second layer of planking was applied to the upper half of the hull starting slightly above the water line using darker wood.  The color does not matter since it is painted black later.  It was quite a chore for me to get all the pieces fitted smoothly (sort of) around the stern.  I really struggled with the angles and curves and transitions.  Copper plates go below the second planking layer down to the keel.

First layer of planking done and sanded.  It went ok but was incredibly tedious taking a couple of weeks of repetitive work.  There are probably better ways to bend/mold the planks.  I soaked them in warm water, clamped them in place, let them dry, then glued 'em up.  Rinse, repeat, rinse repeat...  I also used some wood filler to cover some of my bad technique since it would be covered later with another layer of planking as well as copper plates.

Quick update: the Hull is now finished !!! Portholes have been filed and markings added. I am just missing the measuring ladders and will probably go with the decals recommended by an earlier post.
 

 

 
I need to work on a display board, to present the model and protect it, at the same time.
 
Yves

A quick update on the portholes and hull. As mentioned before, when the hull is printed, the portholes are solid since the kit is created for RC usage and navigation. In my case, I drilled all the ports with a 4.5 mm bit. Now has come the time to fill them up. I am using an almost magical chemical, that has the capability to fill up a hole up to 6 mm diameter with a white goo that turns crystal clear after a few hours.
 

 
You also need a tooth pick and with a rotation of the hands, you create a ring of the goo, inside the portholes. Below you can see one that has dried and one porthole that was just filled up: 

 
Because the hull is very thick, I used a second application of that magic goo, after the first application dried. It filled up quite well the holes and looks a lot like the heavy glass used on the real ship.
 

 
Finally, for the decals, I went with one of the suggestions and printed the decals on thin paper sheets, carefully cut them, soaked them in PVA diluted with water and applied them carefully to the hull. A little sponging on top and voila.... It is not too bad overall.
 
Yves

In regards to the above comments about 3D machines taking away from the "building" of models then you could say the same of people who use power saws or sanders or a lathe or milling machine as used by so many modelers on  this forum. At one point in time all of the functions were done by hand, now days most modelers would never even consider building ships without these "essential" tools. I look at the modern day laser cutter or 3D printer as just being another "Power tool" that will expedite the builder's abilities.
 
Case in point. This build by Yves is nothing short of fantastic, and I am truly envious of not only his apparent native ability to make use of the machine but the results as well. As an old time RC boater and one that has MANY hours on the water with the old Matchbox model, (That I thought was big back in the day)  Clearly one could do amazing things with a 1/48th scale version. But In order to carry even this ("kit?") to the next level then the hull would have top be smoothed and an attempt made to replicate the hull plates from the real ship. Yves, while I am certain is able to do this extra work has chosen not to. I am certain there are computer enhancements, machine refinements, and old style hands on work that could be used on this depending on what one would expect from the finished product, but the product so far is just been the making of a model much as one would with any other tool. The only "kit" aspect to it so far as I can see has been the using of someone else's developed plans for the print Vs. creating one's own. But even that has parallels in the more traditional modeling world and is still referred to as a scratch built model. 

I agree with you: 3D printing material is very tough and the welding with MEK, may not withstand the impact of a 3 feet high fall. But then again, it is not really designed for that. I have used CA to position the hull sections and then MEK, which takes a long time and lots of liquid to insure a strong bond. So far, I am quite happy and hope to not drop it....
 
So, at this stage, we have finished the hull (still some details to paint) and all decks have been printed and positioned on top of the hull, with numerous strips for shimming and precise positioning.
 

 
I still have to print the propeller and assemble the rudder, to call it completed.
 
Yves

Here are the updated pictures of the Victory:
 

 
It looks like the rigging sprung on a carronade and the figurehead needs some minor work.  Otherwise, the Victory looks like she’s in good shape.

James did an article in the latest Tamiya Model Magazine, for anyone that's interested.

OK, we have released the final 5 Sphinx kits to stock. Once these are gone, that is it for this production run. I will not be able to get more PE until next month at the earliest, as Italy is now on holiday. And I thought I had enough to last a while!
 
I think I have already mentioned this, but the photo etched sheets were changed at the very last minute to include all PE part numbers etched on the sheet, which should make identification easier..

Yves
She is looking spectacular as the paint and details are added. Its an inspiration for me flailing around in the trenches.
Alan

A bird's eye view of the decks system: 
 

 

 

 

 
Yves

From these: 
 

 
To this: 
 

 
It is literally amazing. The hull as you see it, has a total cost of $45 plus $3 for the pedestal. Once the license has been purchased ($50), you could print out as many hulls and parts as you want.
 
A few more picture of this behemoth: 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
This last picture gives you an idea of the size of this hull: 
 

 
Next, is the delicate application of acrylic putty and some sanding, before a first coat of primer. Originally, this kit is intended for navigation and Radio Control and as such the designer is suggesting to cut the inside frames to gain access to the RC equipment, batteries and motors. I am going to keep them all, as they will be perfect to support the decks and cabins. Hull is very stiff and would not require them, but they will make my life so much easier for what is to come.
 
Yves
 
Yves

More progress on the decks: 
 

 

 
I still have to raise and position Decks C, D-E (now glued together) in the hull. Deck F is the vertical wall of the engine room. The goal is to have a perfect fit for each of these decks, and be able to work on them as separate module, paint them independently and minimize the masking of such a large model.
 
Then it will be time to pull out the airbrush, with the large nozzle....
 
Yves

Mike, 
 
You will find most answers to your questions in the previous posts. The license depicts a typical "Generic" Corvette (after retrofitting = long Forecastle). The designer also created another type of Corvette: The Castle Corvette (see picture below). No, I am not planning to show any inside. My goal is just to finish the hull.
 

 
Yves

Steven here is the 1mm deadeye up close. It seems to have come out pretty good with the smaller support. I printed 128 of them. I dont envy you trying to thread them.

Steven, here are the 2mm deadeyes a little more rounded on the corners and some 1mm efforts that are fair but i think we can do better. The deformity on the vase if the supports is due to the build plate coming a little loose. I also think i can try a smaller support on the 1mm deadeye. What do you think about the shape? Are they closer to what you wanted?

Well I guess it's time for an update on my galleries.  As a reminder, this is my first build so I can't give a lot of good suggestions, but perhaps I can point out a few errors to avoid.
 
First, the practicum recommended setting the roof 25/32" higher than the gallery floor.  That really worked well for me and I milled a block of basswood to that size for placement of the roof.  I could also slip that block behind the windows to help support them in place as I was gluing them in place.  Benefit was that for the height I could use the same size wood as the practicum.
 
For both the roof and lower gallery pieces I followed the plans and per the practicum I needed to extend them to align with the gun ports.  Picked up some extra sheets of thicker basswood as the kit didn't supply enough and I had to remake them several times.  Cut them using my scroll saw (had one that I had purchased when I was milling wood with the intention that I would use it for modeling, but it was still in the original box moved from Ohio).  Used my Byrnes disc sander to do fine shaping for the profiles and a Dremel to shape the roof.  Everyone probably does this, but whenever I make a part and have the sizing completed, I always mark off another piece on the raw stock assuming that I may need to create another part.
 
With respect to the windows and the remainder of the gallery build, I had the same issues as everyone else...
 
I was also intimidated by trying to add the styrene strips using CA directly on the model.  So I started out by trying to build the pieces off of the model and then gluing them in place.
Here are some of my early attempts.

 
It was good for some practice.  Found that by placing a drop of CA and anchoring one end of the strips works really well.  Wait a minute and by just taking a toothpick and touching the backside of the strip I could direct and put the other end in place.  Will use this technique for all of the styrene trim.  Before the CA dried I used another toothpick to wipe up any excess glue.  This really worked well.  When you trim the strip always cut it a little long because you can come back and trim it again.  Only took me 4 tries to figure it out that too short really looks nasty!
 
I also wanted to use the kit supplied windows and here is an early attempt to build off of the model.

 
The problem with the windows is that the angle of the windows is wrong and it is not consistent between windows, especially with the forward smallest window.  It has very different slants on fore and aft portion.  So this makes it tough to determine size and shape of the pilasters.  The changing angles also plays havoc with trying to align the simulated column pieces off of the model.  The windows are laser cut from 3/32" stock, which make them a little too thick.  That does help if you want to add some curvature, but they are too fragile for much sanding.
 
Here is an early attempt to make the pieces off model and then adding them.
 

 
In the first pic the brown interior is some support pieces inserted to help with placement and gluing.  It looks pretty rough and what you can't see very well is that there are a number of issues with that forward window.
 
So after several attempts and almost giving up here's what I came up with:
 
1)  If you use the kit supplied windows, make the first 3 pilasters a little smaller.  I used 3/16" and having all of them the same size made the proportions come out a little better.  The 3rd pilaster needed to be trimmed a little at the top...1/64+" starting at the base of the window to the top.  The 4th pilaster just filled the area to the hull.
 
2)  There is a lot of rounding needed for the 4th pilaster so I needed to use my Dremel on the inside top of that piece and just round the edges on the exterior.
 
3)  Wait and place the styrene trim until the after the pilasters and windows are in place.
 
4)  For the columns I didn't try to add the extra pieces at the top.  On my final build, I created a little template and cut all of the column tops and bottoms the same size for symmetry.
 
5)  I picked up one of those AL scrapers for shaping the .060 x .080 styrene trim.  Suggest pre-bending that piece over the edge of your workbench as its a little too stiff for the CA to hold it without some pre-shaping on tight bends.
 
6)  Started to mill some new windows from holly, but the odd angles were going to be an issue for me.  If I had started initially making my own windows it may have about as fast as redoing this multiple times.  Didn't think that I would like building them from styrene, so I never tried.  The white would match better with the styrene.
 
7)  There needs to be some rounding, especially at the top with the horizontal pieces.  In some cases I went with 3/32 stock so that I had more thickness to work with to do the rounding.
 
8) On my last attempt, I added a 1/16 insert on the floor to have something to support from the inside.  Could do the same at the top, but I just used the roof edge and thinned the pilaster tops.
 

 
And some closer pics...really ugly.
 

 
Overall I wouldn't give myself high marks on the galleries, but hopefully my experience will help someone else.
 
While I was waiting for things to dry I started to add port lights and sculpers to one side.  Suggest waiting until you have sealed the hull and at least extend the black paint below them as it makes everything easier to paint.

Moving on with the hull. Insertion of the coupling part between section 8 and section 7: 

 
You can appreciate the finesse of the fit.
 

 
This model is designed for Radio Control but will be assembled as a static model, in our case.
 

 
After a few hours of drying, I am starting to print some deck parts to see how this whole kit is fitting: 
 

 
The little bottle of Ambroid, gives an idea of the size of the hull: it is massive !!
 

 
Yves
 

Starting with the Stern. As mentioned, I am using CA glue to secure the very large coupling part to the hull shells:
 

 

 
Overall, it is not too bad. I will have to put some acrylic putty in some places, sand and I hope that after a couple of primer coats, the hull will be presentable. I will try to be more careful for the other sections.
 
The trick is to lightly sand the inside surface of the hull shells and the contact surface of the coupling part, to make sure that the glue can adhere well. The fit of the coupling piece to the hull shells is amazing.
 
Yves 
 
 

A quick update on the Corvette Hull: 

 
As you can see, all the parts for the hull have been finally printed. We are talking of 2 weeks of non-stop printing. The hull is comprised of 9 vertical sections and one horizontal piece at the stern. They are labelled 1 to 9 from left to right. The section 3, 4 and 5 took between 36 hours and 41 hours each !!! The other sections have been detailed in previous posts.
 
Overall, close to two spools of light gray PLA and 25% of the White PLA went through that process. If we calculate the cost of this massive hull, it comes to close to $45, for a 1.25 meter long hull. This technology, obviously, allows the realization of models at a low cost.
 

 
I have started sanding very lightly the various sections and drilled the portholes. It is a lot easier to work on one section at a time, rather than on the entire hull.
 

 
It is now time to assemble that behemoth. To glue the PLA, I am planning to use the special soldering cement available under the names of Plastruct or more economically the MEK (Methyl Ethyl Ketone), available at certain hardware stores or online for a fraction of the cost of these Hobby Shops little bottles. A Plastruct bottle is about $7 for an ounce, whereas I can get half a litter for less than $20, including shipping. The old Ambroid bottle has been refilled with the pure MEK. Same consistency, same smell, same gluing power.
 

 
Yves

Quick update: printing of the hull couplers (8 of them) is done. Each took between 1:30 and 5:00 hours to go....
 

 
I am currently printing the pedestal (2 x 7 hours) and still have four major pieces of the hull to go through: another week of non-stop printing. With Virtual kit, you either need multiple printers or build two kits at the same time... :-)
 
Yves

Time consuming progress.....
 
28 hours.... Hull_2 section: 

 
Even better....33 hours !! Hull_7 section: 

 
The positive side of these virtual kits, is that while the model is building itself, you can get a life !!!
 
Yves
 

Great project Yves! My best wishes for your success.
A few years ago, I got into the printing of a six foot wingspan F4U Corsair R/C model aircraft kit that I purchased to plans/code for online. After about 25% through completion, I learned that the software I was using needed to be upgraded as the airframe shapes were so complex, my software could not handle it. At that point I became distracted and boxed everything away, never got back around to finishing the project. Amazing technology and lots to learn. It's a steep learning curve really IMHO.
 
Notice with my project, the entire inner airframe is printed inside the outer skin.