Three island cargo ship, 1/700

[Frank3k]

This three island cargo ship is not based on any real ship, but I used photos of early 20h century tramp steamers to design it. I don't know a lot about ships, so please point out any obvious failings. Air vents, smoke stack, etc. have been left off:

Basic model:



I want to print this on Shapeways (eventually) but since I have a spanking new 3D printer (a Monoprice Select mini 3D) I thought I'd do a test print first. The model is designed to the limits of the Shapeways printers I want to use, so many of the details are below the resolution that the Monoprice printer is capable of achiving. Still, it did remarkably well:



The material on the base is just a support layer. It comes off.





I minimized the need for PE railings (except for the main island) so it won't be a pain to build. Doors and hatches can be any generic PE as well. I'm not sure what to do about the ship vent cowls and other small details like winches. I'm not sure of the type of cranes, either. Maybe just old-style boom cranes. I think many of the details will be at or below the Shapeway printer limits, so I may just buy the parts from Battlefleet Models.

[Kerick]

That is really cool! Could you make it bigger by doing it in two halves? Then the resolution would be better. Keep it simple and add the details later.

[Frank3k]

That is really cool! Could you make it bigger by doing it in two halves? Then the resolution would be better. Keep it simple and add the details later.

It's already a big ship - 350 feet IRL. If I made it in 1/350, I would definitely have to cut it in half.

Looking at the printed model, reaching and painting the bridge windows would be difficult with the walkway bulwarks in place, so I'll have to break the middle island bridge structure into three parts. I also forgot the add the frames along the hull bulwarks.

So overall, this has been a good way of prototyping a model before it gets printed. Not bad for a printer that was not meant to make model parts!

[Story]

As with all of your work that I've seen, looks great.  Those were about 250-275' in beam, yes?

https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/18528/lot/3122/

[Frank3k]

That's a good link! Almost $20K is a bit too much for my wallet, though.

I pretty much eyeballed the LOA; this one is 259', so not too small and not too big.

My Shapeways prints came in yesterday; I'll post pictures of all three prints - FDM, Frosted Ultra Detail and High Definition Acrylate. Even through the Acrylate is the cheaper of the two Shapeways products, it has the better finish.

All the other fittings came from Battlefleet Models - J vents, winches and PE. I still haven't figured out what to do about the cargo cranes.

[Story]

Almost $20K is a bit too much for my wallet, though.

The link was meant only to illustrate how I calculated scale, since that model looked like it was 1/4 (48th).

[Frank3k]

The link was meant only to illustrate how I calculated scale, since that model looked like it was 1/4 (48th).

You're right - it's probably 1/48 (twice the size of the standard 1/96 naval scale)

[Frank3k]

Here are three versions of the same ship (sort of...)

Top to bottom: PLA (gray - printed by me) and two Shapeways prints - Frosted Ultra Detail (in clear) and High Definition Acrylate:


Top view. The "deck planking" in the FUD (clear) are printer artifacts:


Side view (the clear ship is hard to photograph next to the black one):



PLA detail. This was printed with a 0.4mm dia. head (400 microns):


FUD detail. The sawtooth pattern is courtesy of the printer. The printer resolution is 29 microns:


HDA detail. The pips along the bottom and on the sides are leftover sprue attachment points from the printing process. Even though the layers are 50 microns thick, the surface smoothness and details are far better than the FUD. It's also cheaper. The hawsepipe printed in HDA, but didn't print in FUD or PLA (see first photo):



I bought some fittings and PE from Battlefleet Models and I'll finish the HDA first. The FUD version will require a lot of sanding and primer to hide the printing artifacts. I'm pleased with the PLA model - it came out OK, considering that the smallest details are 5-14x smaller than what 's capable of printing.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Have to say that the High Definition Acrylic in that gray color is easy on the eyes when looking at the images on the computer monitor.  Is it that way when you have it in your hands? 

[Frank3k]

Have to say that the High Definition Acrylic in that gray color is easy on the eyes when looking at the images on the computer monitor.  Is it that way when you have it in your hands?

Jeff, The High Definition Acrylic is the black one, the Fine Ultra Detail is in clear and the PLA (from the Monoprice printer) is in gray. The first image is exactly what they look like in person.

Why are there cat hairs in my picture? Espresso, my modeling assistant decided that my light box was a great place to supervise my work. I had to take the ship pictures on my desk.

[Story]

I can see where the 700th scale modelers and 1250 scale war gamers would find these highly desirable. Do you have a specific Shapeways page with your creations?

[Jeffry Fontaine]

Do you have a specific Shapeways page with your creations?

Clear Air Turbulence - Designs by frank2056 - https://www.shapeways.com/shops/cat