Charles Martel by Haze Gray - 1/72 scale - RADIO - 3D printed - French Battleship

[Haze Gray]

Hello Max,  when you are ready please share your you version of the Charles Martel - I will be happy to see how you design it and hopefully it will be more accurate than what I have ! - I really wish there more information available on this ship.  

 

Here's another French Ship relaxing on the table waiting for more parts.....

 

 

[mtaylor]

Putting a render here won't be off topic since it is part of the Charles Martel.  Also, it fits in with "methods" for building the model.

[Louie da fly]

I don't know if you already have this, but there's some wonderful contemporary photos of Charles Martel here - https://military.wikireading.ru/35533

 

Steven

[Haze Gray]

Thank you Steven,  some of those pictures I had but some were new to me - many thanks for the link (every photo helps!!). 

 

 

[GenPat]

I am very much interested in obtaining the Charles Martel. I have search the web for sometime and no kit model exist that I can find. How can I get in touch with someone who can help me. 

[JREEVES]

What a lovely ship you've created Haze Gray! I've just joined the forum due to your beautiful work here. If you consider offering this or a 1/96 static model of the Charles Martel for sale I would be proud to own one! You aren't alone in adoring a tumblehome hull!

Jim

 

Edited May 20, 2022 by JREEVES
photo

[Haze Gray]

On 5/20/2022 at 9:45 AM, JREEVES said:

What a lovely ship you've created Haze Gray! I've just joined the forum due to your beautiful work here. If you consider offering this or a 1/96 static model of the Charles Martel for sale I would be proud to own one! You aren't alone in adoring a tumblehome hull!

Jim

 

 

Thanks JReeves - good to hear from another tumble home adorer!   A 1/96th static model would be 2 inches shy of 4 feet long and ~ 8 inches wide.  This is something I could probably print but I need to make some adjustments to the model.  I'm going to be moving to a new place so 2-3 months before I even get things setup to make an attempt at that scale. 

 

I do have her sister ships in mind to do as well (Messena, Brennus, Bouvet, Jaureberry, and Carnot (yes...Carnot!.... this one will be huge challenge!).  

[Haze Gray]

Thought I would provide an update on the Charles Martel - been busy studying lots of photos since there's a lack of complete drawings (especially for structures above the deck).  Happy to report that I am starting to understand a lot more about the ship and making changes that the cad model reflects. 

 

 

Still much to do but here's a look at the actual model progress thus far:

 

[lmagna]

Amazing progress. She is really starting to show some of her over all design concept and how much of the old and the new were incorporated in the same ship.

 

Hard to believe you are able to create all this from photos!

Edited July 16, 2022 by lmagna

[Haze Gray]

I've been keeping the printers busy......... but I think I have about 100+ more parts to design and print (at least)...

 

 

 

[lmagna]

That is why your ships are so fantastic. When others would reach this point they would say that the 3D part was over and start the scratch building part. You just lean back and casually say "Only another 100 parts or so to go!"

[Haze Gray]

Thanks Lou - I think the term masochist applies in my instance 😃 

[lmagna]

Hadn't thought of it that way! Could be true, but either way you need to keep it up, you are creating some truly unique masterpieces.

[mtaylor]

3 hours ago, Haze Gray said:

Thanks Lou - I think the term masochist applies in my instance 😃 

If that's the case, then everyone here is a masochist.  

[wefalck]

Masochist, well that's probably true ...😈

 

It would take me years to get that far building it the traditional way ... I would probably give up, getting lost in the complexity of the project.

[Haze Gray]

2 hours ago, wefalck said:

Masochist, well that's probably true ...😈

 

It would take me years to get that far building it the traditional way ... I would probably give up, getting lost in the complexity of the project.

Hi Wefalck -  I will say that it's a lot easier to make mistakes in CAD but also much faster to correct them in CAD - sometimes I don't notice a problem until I actually print out the parts and realize they don't fit/look like they should...   While I've never had to re-print a hull (thank God) everything from the deck up has a strong chance that I'll need to re-print after correcting/modifying them.   I think that with a complete set of plans and traditional construction techniques could be just as fast or faster than what I'm doing.  While I've created 973 Bodies in fusion many have been combined so by my count, I've only actually printed out 112 thus far. 

 

Here's what the Charles Martel looks like at this stage....

 

 

 

[Haze Gray]

So, I really like how unique the French armaments are - here's the Canon de 65 mm Modèle 1891 - love it!   I can't design it exactly per its real configuration since even with resin printing some accommodations need to be made but happy with the result. The Charles Martel had four of these on board. 

 

[lmagna]

6 hours ago, wefalck said:

It would take me years to get that far building it the traditional way

I know as one of the proud owners of one of Haze's fantastic ships that it does take him years to build them. It just takes that long mostly on the computer before it is possible to make plastic dust!

 

They not only have incredible accuracy to the prototype but he has gone to considerable engineering effort in designing the attachment points and mounting areas that are needed to make the model. 

 

HG

The more you get done on this the more I like the ascetics of the ship. The real ship may have had its issues, but it still has a certain flow to it that is pleasing to look at. Kind of like a ship of the line. Slow and cumbersome in real life, but still possessing a grace and majesty and presence beyond the pure functional.

[Keith Black]

 HG, are you working on your knees on the floor? if so you're much younger than the most of us. Truly a lovey model. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Keith Black

[Haze Gray]

43 minutes ago, Keith Black said:

 HG, are you working on your knees on the floor? if so you're much younger than the most of us. Truly a lovey model. 

Yes, my knees are being "utilized" but at the moment I'm just placing parts one by one - so they only take abuse for 15-30 seconds.... My knees are in fairly good 'nick' but I still take it easy. 

[KeithAug]

I have always found these French ships to be a bit of a designer dogs breakfast. While not a fan of the aesthetics I do find them really fascinating. Hence I am enjoying your excellent build.

 

I see the big advantage of the printer approach -------- you are allowed to make it on the lounge carpet. My dusty wood approach would never make it to the lounge during construction.

[Snug Harbor Johnny]

  Speaking of floor games, I used to play Avalon Hill's game of the battle of Jutland in a large living room.  One maneuvered cardboard pieces of the British and German fleets with a ruler (and a radius piece for turning ships) - rolled dice for hits and damage according to results tables.  A game would take hours.

[Haze Gray]

Hello all, just an update - all I've printed all the major components I'm starting down the path of putting together the assemblies and getting things ready for painting.   Here I'm gluing the 3 parts of the spar deck together - the kitchen is a great place to do so since the granite countertop is quite flat and there's a wide variety of heavy objects that I can use to hold things in place  .... while the epoxy is curing I can also make a sandwich so kitchens are a real win-win scenario in my opinion!

 

 

and finally the completed part: 

 

[JoeSMG]

I loved the look of this ship too, I started my own Charles Martel about a year ago. I'm at about the same place you are in this post, so no doubt behind you by now. This ship sure is a fun challenge (mostly do to lack of good pictures!). Mine isn't RC or anything and only 1/200 scale so considerably smaller than yours. I'm using Blender and An Elegoo Saturn. Fantastic job so far eager to see the finished model.

Joe-

[KeithAug]

I think the gherkin clamps are particularly inspired. 😀

[Haze Gray]

Just an update - painted the hull back in October.   lots of parts not shown.... they are all stuffed inside the hull while I wait for warmer weather to paint more. 

[yvesvidal]

Incredible shapes! I like that steampunk look.

 

Yves

[Michael Mash]

Great fun watching you develop this behemoth 5ft rendition of Charles Martel.

Mike

Edited December 14, 2022 by Michael Mash

[GreaverBlade]

I absolutely love this project, and joined just to comment on this. Though of course now I've got a place to start posting my (very basic, wargamer perspective) builds.

 

I actually want to attempt printing this myself, specifically at the current massive scale.

My wife and I just had our first child a couple weeks ago. I would love to build this as he grows up, and when he's old enough, it would be something we could enjoy together!

If you are considering offering/selling STLs, please let me know!

[Haze Gray]

On 4/27/2023 at 6:15 AM, GreaverBlade said:

I absolutely love this project, and joined just to comment on this. Though of course now I've got a place to start posting my (very basic, wargamer perspective) builds.

 

I actually want to attempt printing this myself, specifically at the current massive scale.

My wife and I just had our first child a couple weeks ago. I would love to build this as he grows up, and when he's old enough, it would be something we could enjoy together!

If you are considering offering/selling STLs, please let me know!

Hello GreaverBlade - I do get inquiries from time to time about the 3D/STL files but at this time I don't have plans to make them available (maybe some time after I finish the ship!)  I will say that the major sections of the hull are fairly large, the stearn section is 375mm in height and maybe 290mm at it's widest....so typical printers like Ender 2/3 are not going to work.  

However, for those of you that are interested in building some of the ships I design I usually print a 1st draft to prove out everything fits, etc.  I do sometimes make those drafts available to interested modelers provided they cover whatever the cost of the filament & shipping of the components would be. 

I have this ship that I've been tinkering with but it's been slightly challenging.