SS Michelangelo 1962 by shipmodel - FINISHED - 1/350 scale

[hexnut]

Here's a quick experiment:

[shipmodel]

Bob - 

 

That looks well nigh perfect.  The only thing that would have to change is that the staves meet dead center at the lower forward edge, not on either side.  Is that a big deal?

 

Dan

 

 

[hexnut]

36 minutes ago, shipmodel said:

Bob - 

 

That looks well nigh perfect.  The only thing that would have to change is that the staves meet dead center at the lower forward edge, not on either side.  Is that a big deal?

 

Dan

 

 

Thanks.  This is just a test run, to see if the method I had in mind for constructing it worked, so it is all changeable.  In looking at the photos, the intermediate ring should also be higher up, as well as straightening out some of the struts.  I'd also like to get a more accurate cross-section for the strut members.  With a higher- resolution elevation drawing and a bit more time studying the drawings, I think it should be fairly straight-forward to tweak it in the right direction.

 

[michael mott]

That looks pretty cool Bob, The group on this forum never ceases to amaze me.

 

Michael

[BANYAN]

Following along on this very interesting build.  It is also great to see the various types of new/newer technologies being considered for this build.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[druxey]

Nicely rendered, Bob. My suggestion was merely for a lo-tech method to arrive at a similar conclusion.

[shipmodel]

I have always said that I am a medium-tech sort of guy.  I tend to cobble something together that does the job, like my ropemaker.  But I am fascinated by all the things that the new technologies promise.  I have seen some really excellent examples of 3-D printing at various meetings and conferences, and the products are getting better all the time.

 

That said, I have yet to see the actual production process master a smooth curved surface without a lot of effort = time = money.  But I am prepared to be convinced that it can handle these cages with their diagonal edges.   I can always fall back on the lo-tech methods if needs be.

 

Bob - would be very grateful for your help in working up the learning curve.  I have all the plans at high resolution, and several other close-up photos to answer questions of detail.  Let's talk.

 

Druxey - am I really that old?  When did photoetching become "lo-tech" ! !

 

Dan 

 

[druxey]

Well, Dan, photo-etching has been around for quite a number of decades now....

[shipmodel]

Build Log 3 – Shaping the hull

 

Hi all –

 

Thanks for the likes and comments, devilishly clever as some of them are. . .

 

And thanks to Druxey, Michael, and especially Bob for helping me with the funnel cages.  It looks like I will be working with Bob to have them printed in 3-D.  I’ll report back on the progress and results. 

 

Leaving aside the issues with the funnel cages, the next step was to shape the hull.   The first problem was that the plans did not have the specifics of the lower deck spaces, just a drawing labeled “steva” or bilge.  It covered much more than the lowest two lifts, so the outline of the hull shape for these lifts was impossible to determine.  I had to go back to my high school class in engineering drawing to plot them.  I took the station lines plan and drew the horizontal lines for the locations of the tops of the first two lifts.

 

Plotting the distances from the centerline for each station gave me the offsets, which were laid out on the bilge plan and joined by smooth curves.  Here they are shown in red for the lower two lifts.

 

The paper lifts were cut out and laid down on basswood planks along a drawn centerline.  They were affixed with spray adhesive for photo mounts, which can be repositioned as needed and then removes easily.  The lifts were cut along the plotted lines with the band saw.  In the lifts plans you can see two black dots along the waterline.  These located holes for the captured “T”-nuts which will be used for the future mounting hardware.  The nut goes into the hole in the lower lift and its flange is then trapped by the upper lift.  The hole in the upper lift allows free movement of the mounting bolt to any depth.

 

At the bow some extra material was left on these lifts to build up the bulb that increases efficiency at high speeds.  Here are the first 4 lifts laid up but before shaping.

 

Above the second lift I made the hollows in the hull.  This was first of all to lighten it a bit, but primarily to give any stresses from wood movement somewhere to go rather than deforming the exterior of the hull.  Here are several lifts in the process.  I first select basswood planks that are half the width of the overall model.  Two of them are clamped side by side and the paper plan glued to them along that line.  A sharp knife is run along the seam and the port and starboard sides are separated.  The lift is sawn along the exterior line, and two large spaces are cut from the middle.  A bar of wood is left amidships for strength.

Sharp eyes will notice that these are not the lifts for the Michelangelo, but reprised from the Doria.  I did not think that I was going to post this portion of the build, since the techniques are the same as on the Doria.  But I decided that to tell a complete story I had to show how the hull was built up.  Unfortunately, I had missed the chance to document the process, so I am using the old illustrations.  

 

As with the Doria, I used black glue to join the lifts.  This is nothing more than a few drops of black acrylic paint mixed into the glue.  It starts out messy, but gives an indelible line between the lifts and, because of the split lifts, along the centerline at the bow and stern.  Here are the first 4 lifts of the Michelangelo glued up.  You can must make out the location of the mounting hole in the aft hollow chamber.

 

Later in the process the hull block is almost complete.  The next lift to be added is cut short at the stern to make the space for the open working deck and fantail deck.  It is also solid, to make a continuous surface that can be sanded to the curve of the sheer.

 

Once the block was fully laid up the shaping process started.  Using powered sanders and grinders the hull was brought to approximate shape.  

 

Where there were concave areas, such as under the stern fairing into the rudder post, or under the flare of the bow, various hand held curved rasps and sanders were used.   Here you can see the benefit of the split lift and black glue.  No matter how much material I removed, the lines always remained.

 

Next time I will cover the final shaping of the hull block and the beginning of planning for the upper decks.

 

As always, be well

 

Dan

 

 

[Jim Lad]

From a concept to a ship!

 

John

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Dan

What an intriguing and a brilliant way to create the hull.

Havagooday 

Greg 

[shipmodel]

Hi all -

 

When the last segment ended I was doing the initial shaping of the hull.

 

Using the station lines plans I made some templates for the hull profile and worked the wood down to the proper shape.  That lengthy and tedious task was made faster with power sanders, both belt and orbital.  A light touch is needed, but after getting used to the weight of the tools they let me remove wood in a very controlled and delicate way.

 

One thing I learned from the templates relates back to a discussion we had during the Doria build.  There, I did not have the station lines plan until quite late, and even then they were from a commercial model kit, so I did not trust them.  They seemed to show that the hull was narrower amidships just under the promenade deck than it was at the bilges.  But after carefully examining a photograph of the Doria on the launching ways I did not see this at all.  Others, who were more familiar with Italian liners, said that there was a tumblehome, just not much.  It turns out that, for the Michelangelo at least, we are both correct, sort of.

 

Here are the station lines, with a vertical guide line drawn from the top of the hull down on both the bow and stern views.  Clearly, the lower hull is wider at its greatest breadth than at the sheer line.  The difference is about 30 inches actual or 3/32” on the model.  Not very large, but certainly some tumblehome.

 

But when I lined up the station numbers I found that it only affected the center 20% of the length of the ship.  Both ahead and astern of that area the hull either came straight down or started to curve the other way.  In essence, what the hull has is not really tumblehome, but a pair of bulges amidships and just at the waterline.  Saddlebags, really.  Were these to get some more ballast lower down in the hold?  Were they to artificially lengthen the waterline and increase speed?  I have no idea. 

 

Nonetheless, this was noted and I tried to get the wood to take that shape in the carving process.  Here is the hull taken down very close to final dimensions.

 

At the bow you can see how the lifts had to be cut and pieced to achieve the line of the sheer.  The third one down is that wedge that was mentioned in the last segment.

 

At the stern the upper lifts have been cut short and pieced in.  This block is secured with a screw and is removable.  It holds the place of the deck houses and open decks that will be fitted later.  I had an idea that I could drape form some plastic around this plug for the window units of these stern decks.  Ultimately this did not work.  I will discuss it and my solution in the next segment.

 

The tapered propeller shafts and their webbing are being pinned in place. Having the black glue lines between the lifts was a particular help here near the rudder, where it showed me problems with symmetry as wood was removed.

 

During breaks from sanding and shaping the hull I roughed out the superstructure.  The plans were attached to basswood sheets with the photo spray adhesive as before and rough cut on the band saw.   Deckhouses are cut from ¼” thick basswood, while the decks are 1/8”.  The total from deck to deck is 3/8”, or just under 11 feet.   

 

Stacked on each other where they fit, there is a palpable feeling that a ship is starting to rise from the building board.

 

Next I start the final finishing of the hull, and contrive a solution to the problem of the open decks and windows at the stern.

 

Be well

 

Dan

[Omega1234]

Hi Dan

 

You just can't beat beautiful hull design when you see it, can you?  This hull is just utterly beautiful; from the fine lines at the bow, to her curavaceous stern.

 

They knew how to design them in those days, didn't they?

 

Very nice!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

They sure did Patrick. 

Beautiful work on the hull Dan.

The open hull design might be a problem, but I'm sure you can get around this matter. 

Havagooday 

Greg 

[Mirabell61]

nice progress Dan,

 

the propshaft arrangement looks nice, quite a task at that small scale, well done !

 

nils

[rwiederrich]

Wonderful construction...and smooth lines.

 

Rob

[Jim Lad]

She already looks like a beautiful 1960's Italian lady!

 

John

[KeithAug]

Dan.

 

this might be one option for constructing yor lattice. http://www.albionhobbies.com/connecto/. Although it might be a bit expensive.

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Keith 

That looks bloody amazing. I think that you are on the right track with Dan's funnel's lattice problem.

Havagooday to all 

Greg 

[shipmodel]

Kieth - 

 

Thanks for the link.  I took a look and there might be something there if 3-D printing of the funnel cages does not work.

 

I also looked at your Altair.  Very impressive.  I truly envy people who have such brilliant metalworking skills.  Bravo.  I will be following along from now on.

 

Dan

 

 

[dvm27]

Really enjoying this build, Dan. I really admire those who can build ships of any era with equal excellence.

 

Great link, Keith! Don't believe I've come across micro brass tubing that small before.

[shipmodel]

Hi all - 

 

Well, we can't all live on ocean liners alone.  In some of the down time, I tried my hand at a little diversion.  I recently watched "The Hunt for Red October" and was once again impressed with how far out of the water a submarine can get.  A little internet research, a 1/350 model of USS Dallas, some experimentation with how to model water, and here we are.  The base is 12" x 7", for a sense of scale. 

 

The caption, of course, is "FLY! big D!"

 

Enjoy.

 

Dan

[Sailor1234567890]

I must admit, I haven't done that in a submarine before. Surfacing is always a very dangerous time and blasting up from the bottom and practically leaping into the air like that can be a very risky thing to do. Our navy would never allow that. We come up slowly to PD, look around and THEN ease up to the surface. The feeling of going from neutrally buoyant to positive buoyancy is neat though. Suddenly you're floating on as opposed to just suspended in the water. Your interpretation of the photo is very cool though.

[shipmodel]

Hi sailor -

 

This does not happen often, probably because it is so dangerous.  It's called an 'emergency blow' or 'emergency surface'. They do train for it, though.  A friend of mine used to call the exercise 'angles and dangles'.  I'm sure you can imagine what they were referring to.   As for leaping out of the water, I'm not sure if it was even possible before the newer classes of sub, but I was intrigued when I saw it in the movie.  There are some cool YouTube videos out there too.

 

Thanks for the compliment.  I had fun doing it.

 

Dan

[Sailor1234567890]

I've done angles and dangles. There's a reason it's called that too.  I sailed diesel boats so we didn't have the unlimited power of a nuc like that one but we always came up slowly. Emergency surfacing happens from time to time (clearly, they got a photo of it so it must be true, right?) but in our navy, in our submarine service it's rare as hen's teeth. We've only got four boats so only one or two operational at any given time. We can't risk them training for that. There's little training required really. It's kind of like falling down. Once you blow your main ballast tanks, you're on a one way trip to the roof and there's little that can be done to stop it. 

Dolphin 38

 

[shipmodel]

Hi all - 

 

Bob Marvin has come through in fine fashion, as has Shapeways.  Here are photos of the funnel cages made with the 3-D printing process.  I will get them in hand to examine at the New London conference, but they look great.  Now I have to build the internal structures with a quality to match these pieces.

 

Thanks, Bob.

 

Dan

[shipmodel]

Also - 

 

I have been spending most of my time working on the second edition of the Queen Anne's Revenge.  Click on the QAR link in my signature, below, and go all the way to the end for some progress photos.

 

Dan

 

 

[Omega1234]

Hi Dan

 

Dang!  Those funnel cages looks fantastic. 

 

Very nice. 

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Greg the peg leg sailor]

G'day Dan 

the cages are brilliant!  Bob you deserve gold medal. It's amazing what can be done on computers now and some know how!

Havagooday to all 

 

Greg 

[druxey]

See? Now those lattices were not so difficult after all, eh, Dan?