AON

It has been a few weeks since my last post.
I had suffered back problems and couldn't get anything done.
A lot has happened since.
Not sure if I mentioned my Bellerophon and Elephant Build Contracts and Elephant framing drawing came in from NMM.
I also received the copy of the Ship Modeller's Shop Notes Book 2 from NRG... and I was assigned a mentor from the NRG program!.
 
Now that my back is back to (ab)normal and I can sit for prolonged periods I've finally got the fairing completed.
It was a long, nit picky process.
The hull at the bow kept buckling on me because of the sharp change in form at the timberline.
I had to insert a third intermediate 3D guide curve below the upper most one at the topside.
This took care of the problem.
 
Below are the results.
Next I want to get 3 or 4 of the frames done up in 3D at midships just to see how to do it.
Then I will draw and model the keel stem and stern post assemblies.
 
I will have another project to distract me though, designing and building a modeling work station just outside my work (play) room down in the basement.
I may be posting elsewhere on the form to solicit ideas and comments on my plans for this.
 
Alan 
 

Very slight but very important progress has been made this week, the buildboard has had all the frame lines scribed into it and the acrylic frames and keel holders have been screwed on.
I used the plan to mark points at all the frame intersections with a sharp awl, the the plan was reversed to do the other side. Then the points were joined using a steel rule and a sharp exacto blade, then graphite was rubbed into the scores and then cleaned off and the surface scraped with a razor to leave a smooth surface. It took several hours but came out matching the plans really well with little deviation.
 
Ben

And today, I glued them in place.
 
(Not 7, but 8 parts. There is a black paper behind to simulate the dark hole.)
 
Dražen

Last Update:  
 
I have made an executive decision and am nixing the rigging this build with option to at a later date.  This month marks the beginning of my fourth year on this build and I just need to start something new.  I have added stubs for the masts and bow (not glued in).
 
Since my previous update, I have added the stunsail booms to the channels, repainted and mounted the figurehead, bumpkins and safety rails, assembled and mounted the three stern lanterns.
The figurehead I have deviated from the plan suggested colors and tried to duplicate the colors of an actual Bellerophon figurehead from a web site that shows the head.
The stern lanterns needed an addition modification.  The cast cap was too small to cover the five sides therefore I added 1/32" piece of wood and trimmed.  The bottom cast piece was ok.  I also cut clear plastic windows on each side. 
There's a few additional details I wanted to add, but not at this time.
It's been a long mostly enjoyable ride and not sure I could ever attempt such a long build again.
Thanks for all those who looked in and will in the future.  Hopefully, something useful was picked up positive or negative on how to.  Will probably post additional pix in the gallery.
 
Mark this project as complete.
 
Take care and happy modeling,
Len

Completed two of four sections ... I think
After I get the last two sections cleaned up I'll join them all and see if it's true!
 
PS - In the middle is a reference grid I created to help me eyeball how far to move things
 
PPS - Hexnut.... this was faster and cleaner
                         My computer thanks you                       

1:60 HMS Naiad 1797
Part 184 – Case Base
 
First let me thank those of you who commented on the last post and all who have commented in the past.  Your thoughts have been very much appreciated.
 
Having started this log with the drafting of the plans, It seems reasonable to continue to the very end with the construction of the display case.  In this part I will discuss the base, which I needed in order to take final photos of the model for Volume II.
 
The case is designed so the model can be displayed on the base with the top removed.  The top will later be made, glazed with cell-cast Plexiglas® sheet.  The corner posts will be installed in square mortises in the corners of the base, screwed from the inside and will be removable..
 
In the first picture, the long wide 4/4 K/D cherry plank shown in the last part has been cut in two.  It will be edge joined to form the base panel.  This piece was left over from the material for the Victory case.
 

 
The pieces are oriented so the grain will hide the center joint line.  The faces to be joined are not quite straight and will need some work to fit neatly.  In the next picture the joint edges are being squared and straightened using a 22” joiner plane.  This long plane will straighten the edge, but care (and patience) is needed to make it square.
 

 
Finally after a fair amount of test fitting and planing the two pieces are matched and ready for gluing. 
 

 
Titebond dark glue has been applied to both edges in this picture and the pieces will next be positioned and held in place with pipe clamps until dry – as shown in the next picture.
 

 
This picture shows the top of the base panel.  It is still damp from washing the excess glue from the surface.  Most of the joint will later be covered with wood chocks to simulate a shipway of sorts. 
 
In the next picture the top panel has been cut to size and sanded.  Side rails have been molded and are being fastened to the top panel using corner pieces that will also hold the vertical case stanchions, plus glue blocks along the inside corners.  Since the inside corner pieces are glued on their end grain, they are also screwed to the sides.
 

 
The next picture shows the case posts being fit into the corner mortises.
 

 
These posts will later be cut to length and slotted to fit the glass.  Note in this picture that the side rails were rabbeted on the inside top edge to form the base slots for the glass.
 
In the next picture wood chocks for the shipway are being installed down the center.
 

 
 The blue tape defines the line for these and the pieces at the sides set the spacing.  In the next picture the model has been brought back to mark the holes through the base.
 

 
Holes were then drilled to accept the original bolts used to hold the model to the building board.  The model was then set up and aligned so the side supporting struts could be fitted and glued between extended chocks as shown.
 
In the next picture the base has been lightly stained and a polyeurthane wipe-on finish is being applied in several coats.
 

 
Finally, a picture of the model on the finished base.
 

 
Later, when I complete the case I will post that construction.
 
 
Ed

Fairing is much like Whack-a -Mole: correct one thing, and another pops up! Eventually they'll all keep their heads down….

Thank you Druxey.
 
I did a couple other diagonal sections to get a different perspective ... and of course you are correct!
I've learnt so much already and haven't built anything yet!
 
Joined the NRG and just rec'd my Model Ship Builder's Book 1 .... wasn't able to put it down last night.
 
Still waiting to receive my copies of the two Build Contracts (HMS Bellerophon and Elephant) from NMM.
 
Tried nudging station lines in my model and the existing Loft Feature is making things difficult.
I will have to work from a copy of the file, delete the loft feature, make mods suggested earlier by hexnut, adjust one station line and loft that small section alone to see results, then repeat as necessary.
Once that station is faired I will move on to the next station of concern.
Just realize that not only may the station identified be the problem for the section, but the adjacent stations may be part of the problem also.
 
It is difficult to make progress but if I don't get this part right anything after will compound it.

To help identify areas that likely need adjustments I created sections from the top of the keel upwards at 1 foot intervals and then marked the stations.
The PDF below is a select few of them.
 
I've made screen shots of my station sketches with dimensions visible so I do not loose the original dimensions as I nudge things back and forth and then view the results.
 
I am also presently thinking ahead to how to build the station frames.
I am leaning towards making each frame as one piece and etching the chocks and scarf joints into them rather than building each piece individually.
This will make them stronger and piece alignment will not be compromised.
 
I am also considering  hollowing (shelling) the 3D model to the moulded depth (thickness) of the frames and then putting the 1" gaps (slices) between teach frame and cutting out the futtock steps to create the templates.
This would have the bevel in the 3D model/templates and reveal the maximum/minimum outside/inside sizes to which I can mark off and pre-shape to before the assembly.
 
My thoughts at the moment, possibly the description isn't clear but as I develop the plan I will reveal it ... if it continues to make sense to follow this thought.
 
Fairing the Hull - ship sections.pdf

Good evening Bob (hexnut)
 
Just visited your build and have to say that before I did I realized you had much greater 3D CAD talent than I, seeing your work just added proof.
 
I understand your point 1, don't know what Hahn method means in 2 but do understand the rest, do not understand what lofting surfs are (will have to exercise my Google fingers on this).
 
Thank you for the tips. I will try these out through the week JFTHOI.
 
Alan
 
PS: Google revealed your lofting surfs was an abbreviation for "lofting surfaces", and also what the Hahn method is....DOH !

CREATING BUTTOCK LINES TO FAIR THE DRAWING
 
I created BUTTOCK LINES on vertical planes through the hull from stem to stern because I wanted to see how she faired as the original draughtsman might have done.
 
BUTTOCK PLANES
• I  created a second plane by offsetting the shear plane 0.56 feet which happens to coincide with most station line termination points in the rabbet
• I then created additional planes by offsetting them at 10 feet each
• I then sketched polylines on each individual plane (buttock lines of my own making) and locked them (pierce mate) at each point they intersect with a station
o Peirce mate by picking the station line, hold down the “Ctl” key and pick the polyline point (*) I want to mate to it, then pick “pierce” mate.  The point then locks to the line where they intersect on the plane.
o While doing this I found two errors in my sketches and as importantly can easily see irregularities in my lines!
 

The following three groups of images explains the process I am using to fair my lines.
 
You might ask why am I creating a new lofted hull?
 
Although my first attempt was very clean (see image below with all connectors showing (those are the light blue points the computer tacks to the model to connect everything) I could not get my first or last station in the model.  I needed to add guide lines and didn’t know how. Three plus years ago I couldn’t model a simple pencil in 3D so I’ve come a long way.  The guide lines help the computer connect the various sketches (frames) made on all the different levels. In the end the stern sketch would not connect because the lowest guide line did not extend to it.
 
While learning how to do this I discovered my first lofted hull was easier than when I added the guide lines. Without additional mirrored guidelines on the other half the computer seemed to be confused and inserted connectors in the oddest places creating artificial wedges and twists in my model.
 
When I right click the mouse and pick show all connectors I can see connectors out of alignment and need to manually move them.  My final attempt (yes I had to do it more than once) had only one connector out of alignment…. As you will see.
 
Even though I have the lofted hull I think it is important to visually inspect Breadth and Buttock lines as they are more revealing than the lofted hull.  I could turn on what is called a Zebra line view to reveal pattern issues on the 3D image but it seems too much information confuses this old man

CREATING BREADTH LINES TO FAIR THE MODEL
 
I didn’t actually create lines. I created planes through the lofted model by offsetting the Breadth Plane (lowest plane) and then while looking from above, sectioned through each plane to see the hull outline.
 
Although I only created four at 5 foot intervals I can easily create as many as I feel I need.
 
Having done all the above I could see where things did not flow smoothly. These areas shouldn’t exist and will need to be cleaned up.
 
I will now take my time to make adjustments and then see how she fairs!
 
To recap, I think it is important when making a 3D model of the hull to inspect Breadth and Buttock lines to help identify areas of concern.  I should create a few breadth sections in the upper half of the hull to see what is happening in that area.
 
 
As always, I hope those in the know will point out my errors and keep me from straying too far.

USING THE SOLIDWORKS LOFT FEATURE TO CREATE THE SOLID HULL
 
This is my second (or really fourth) go at this.  I admit that even after having received good advice from forum members I still had to watch three videos to “get it”.
·         Created four guide lines using 3D sketch
·         Locked the lines to points on each section using “coincident” or “intersect” type mates
·         Opened the Loft Feature and picked four station outlines and all four guide lines
·         When these resolved I rebuilt and saved the file, luckily as my computer crashed twice near the end. Without the saving ritual I would have lost everything.
·         Note that the starboard side does not have guide lines and so has some extra waviness to the hull.  I had manually made some adjustments for show afterwards but mainly I am just looking at the port side (with the guide lines).
 
Although I can see the divit in the hull at the stern the bow seems good ... not so in the earlier Buttock line review.

The following three groups of images explains the process I am using to fair my lines.
 
You might ask why am I creating a new lofted hull?
 
Although my first attempt was very clean (see image below with all connectors showing (those are the light blue points the computer tacks to the model to connect everything) I could not get my first or last station in the model.  I needed to add guide lines and didn’t know how. Three plus years ago I couldn’t model a simple pencil in 3D so I’ve come a long way.  The guide lines help the computer connect the various sketches (frames) made on all the different levels. In the end the stern sketch would not connect because the lowest guide line did not extend to it.
 
While learning how to do this I discovered my first lofted hull was easier than when I added the guide lines. Without additional mirrored guidelines on the other half the computer seemed to be confused and inserted connectors in the oddest places creating artificial wedges and twists in my model.
 
When I right click the mouse and pick show all connectors I can see connectors out of alignment and need to manually move them.  My final attempt (yes I had to do it more than once) had only one connector out of alignment…. As you will see.
 
Even though I have the lofted hull I think it is important to visually inspect Breadth and Buttock lines as they are more revealing than the lofted hull.  I could turn on what is called a Zebra line view to reveal pattern issues on the 3D image but it seems too much information confuses this old man

CREATING BUTTOCK LINES TO FAIR THE DRAWING
 
I created BUTTOCK LINES on vertical planes through the hull from stem to stern because I wanted to see how she faired as the original draughtsman might have done.
 
BUTTOCK PLANES
• I  created a second plane by offsetting the shear plane 0.56 feet which happens to coincide with most station line termination points in the rabbet
• I then created additional planes by offsetting them at 10 feet each
• I then sketched polylines on each individual plane (buttock lines of my own making) and locked them (pierce mate) at each point they intersect with a station
o Peirce mate by picking the station line, hold down the “Ctl” key and pick the polyline point (*) I want to mate to it, then pick “pierce” mate.  The point then locks to the line where they intersect on the plane.
o While doing this I found two errors in my sketches and as importantly can easily see irregularities in my lines!
 

The following three groups of images explains the process I am using to fair my lines.
 
You might ask why am I creating a new lofted hull?
 
Although my first attempt was very clean (see image below with all connectors showing (those are the light blue points the computer tacks to the model to connect everything) I could not get my first or last station in the model.  I needed to add guide lines and didn’t know how. Three plus years ago I couldn’t model a simple pencil in 3D so I’ve come a long way.  The guide lines help the computer connect the various sketches (frames) made on all the different levels. In the end the stern sketch would not connect because the lowest guide line did not extend to it.
 
While learning how to do this I discovered my first lofted hull was easier than when I added the guide lines. Without additional mirrored guidelines on the other half the computer seemed to be confused and inserted connectors in the oddest places creating artificial wedges and twists in my model.
 
When I right click the mouse and pick show all connectors I can see connectors out of alignment and need to manually move them.  My final attempt (yes I had to do it more than once) had only one connector out of alignment…. As you will see.
 
Even though I have the lofted hull I think it is important to visually inspect Breadth and Buttock lines as they are more revealing than the lofted hull.  I could turn on what is called a Zebra line view to reveal pattern issues on the 3D image but it seems too much information confuses this old man

CREATING BUTTOCK LINES TO FAIR THE DRAWING
 
I created BUTTOCK LINES on vertical planes through the hull from stem to stern because I wanted to see how she faired as the original draughtsman might have done.
 
BUTTOCK PLANES
• I  created a second plane by offsetting the shear plane 0.56 feet which happens to coincide with most station line termination points in the rabbet
• I then created additional planes by offsetting them at 10 feet each
• I then sketched polylines on each individual plane (buttock lines of my own making) and locked them (pierce mate) at each point they intersect with a station
o Peirce mate by picking the station line, hold down the “Ctl” key and pick the polyline point (*) I want to mate to it, then pick “pierce” mate.  The point then locks to the line where they intersect on the plane.
o While doing this I found two errors in my sketches and as importantly can easily see irregularities in my lines!
 

USING THE SOLIDWORKS LOFT FEATURE TO CREATE THE SOLID HULL
 
This is my second (or really fourth) go at this.  I admit that even after having received good advice from forum members I still had to watch three videos to “get it”.
·         Created four guide lines using 3D sketch
·         Locked the lines to points on each section using “coincident” or “intersect” type mates
·         Opened the Loft Feature and picked four station outlines and all four guide lines
·         When these resolved I rebuilt and saved the file, luckily as my computer crashed twice near the end. Without the saving ritual I would have lost everything.
·         Note that the starboard side does not have guide lines and so has some extra waviness to the hull.  I had manually made some adjustments for show afterwards but mainly I am just looking at the port side (with the guide lines).
 
Although I can see the divit in the hull at the stern the bow seems good ... not so in the earlier Buttock line review.

2012-02-20 to 25: working on the steering gear










 
2012-02-25: changed the color scheme


 

2011-12-09: internal planking of the Lower Deck, elm tree pumps, chain pumps, upper deck beams, carlings, partners, and upper deck hook

 
2011-12-09: coamings of the upper deck hatches

 
2011-12-09: assembling all parts



 

Jingyang,
 
I played around with 3d years ago and never came close to the skill you are showing. Well done.
 
David

2011-12-04: First rendering attempt. The material was too reflective.


 

2011-09-19: Longitudinal section







 

2011-09-19: Putting all the parts together.




 
Midship section