I want to build a liberty ship after the Tirpitz is done ...mostly because I can get a hull really-really cheap. Anyway, I decided I didn't want to unpack anymore so I thought I'd practice playing with my new CAM-modeling software in preparation for my new CNC that I will order on the 1st (provided it doesn't get woman-veto'd). So I set out online to find a free set of liberty plans. And wouldn't you know it! I found one! (or so I thought) I got cracking on it, and set up the 3D plans environment just the way I wanted... lined everything up, learned a lot in the process. Then tonight I finally started shaping it. An couple hours or so later, I started thinking it looked a little funny. SO I found some Jeremiah O'Brian photos online & still it just didn't look right. Nothing really matched up, I really couldn't see the Jeremiah coming out in my model, and I started wondering if I had bum-plans. Throughout my research trying to figure out if liberty superstructures had different configurations, I ran across the Victory class. Now I'd not heard of the thing before... but apparently it was the successor to the Liberty class (something about the hull breaking apart for no reason... sounded insignificant to me! To make a long story short, I modeled a Victory superstructure. So if anyone has a Victory, wants to build a Victory... or knows how to convert a Liberty hull to a Victory... Please speak up!
Doesnt look too bad justin. Doesnt look to hard either, just try again with some LIBERTY plans. But, other than that, i have nothing to say.
Just out of curiosity, Justin, how on earth did you plan to machine that? It's not physically possible unless you've got either a square mill bit or a zero-diameter mill bit. Looks good, though. if you COULD machine it, it'd be awesome in aluminum!
I though Vicotry ships were almost as famous as Liberty ships. You didn't know that they were built because the front fell off"/>Visit this site a few liberty ships?
That's what the different axes of the mill are for. Turn the head so that the shaft is horizontal, then move it vertically, for the sharp inside corners. JM
Yes My Uncle Was on them and he said by the end of the war they had straps around them to hold them together for the most part he said when it got rough (not that it ever dose in the North Atlantic) you could watch the welds separate and the plates shifting if thats not enough to scare the BaJesus out of you to hell with worrying over the German U boats []
I guess what you mean is the squared inner angles? Or do you need to know it comes apart in 5 places? My plan is to find/buy a liberty mold, shape it up then keep working on it adding details until I had a nifty little piece then create the master out of metal, create a standard mold from RTV, then cast it into plastic, resin, or if I could find the recipe.. termite armor. & Tuggy, sure I can send you the plans..
Remember guys, these ships were designed to survive one cross-Atlantic voyage, no more, no less. Thus, quality takes a back seat to quantity.
BC has the Liberty hulls... And then you could stick your work of art on top of it I look forward to more plans Just wait till I get enough of them ready to do a DVD!
I tried to send you the plans b4 I left this morn.. If you didn't get them I guess your email (or mine) couldn't handle their size. I'll break them apart into smaller chunks. I know someone who is selling their uncut Liberty hull for $35+shipping. I can't pass up that deal! If I do it right, I'm hoping to be able to sell liberty superstructures on the new rcnc site. BC and no one else I can find sells them, so no conflicts. Who knows... depending on how easy this whole process is (so far its very easy & fun) maybe I'll start making superstructures!
Superstructures are a good business to go into. Most people don't have the time or resources to make a really good light detailed superstructure. I would certainly consider buying a full complete indestructable one if they were available. It really would advance the ready to run concept.
That's what I thought too. When I chose the T, I just wanted a nice looking ship and didn't want to do all that detail work. Greg's T served that purpose. Donno if I'll actually follow through an become a SS factory or not, I'll just take it a day at a time. I'm certainly going to try making a couple and see where it all goes. First the Liberty... Just for practice. Then who knows? As a side note.... I brought up the CNC Mill again to the little woman & it didn't get Vetoed!...! She almost sounded like she knew it was some form of inevitability. Perrrfect! I will not mention it again until Jan 4th, when Taig re-opens their doors for business.... when I'll buy it!
The Victory's were bigger and faster than Liberty's. A Vic is 455 feet long and 62 feet wide, and the Lib is only 442 feet long and about 56 feet wide. The Lib could do only 11 Knots where a Victory could get up to 15! The early Liberty ships were riveted together. During the war the ship yards had competition to see who could build the ship the fastest! Welding and pre-fabrication, reduced the construction time greatly. Please do not ask me what the record time was. I had read about it once, but have forgotten it now. That would be an interesting Trivia question. Which ship yard had the fastest build time, and how long did it take to build a Victory. To me there is a vast difference between the two hulls.
According to: http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/WW2LibertyShips-TheBridge.html Fastest Built Liberty Ship This title goes to Robert G. Peary, launched from No 2 Slip at the Permanante Metals Corporation at Richmond California on the 12th. of November 1942, but 4 days, 15.5 hours after her keel had been laid. In a further 3 days she had been fitted out for sea.
For that reason, I'd take a Victory over a Liberty if given the choice (but most especially if the speed tables were to be extended down to slower speeds at scales larger than 1/144).
Wow, 4 days. I would not want to be on that ship, given the choice. --> Maybe I should modify the Liberty with a slice through the hull, held together with not but dope & silkspan... Just to simulate the real deal.
SS Robert E. Peary was the Liberty ship which was built in the shortest time. Named after an American arctic explorer, she was launched just 4 days and 15 hours and 29 minutes after the keel was laid as a publicity stunt at a time when most ships of this type took around two months. She was launched on 12 November 1942 & survived the war until scrapped in 1963.
Either way... still looking for a free set of Liberty plans, if anyone knows of any. I emailed BC & BDE for pricing & if they sold digital copies. So if no one has a freeby for me by the time they respond, I'll just have to buy one.
