I'm still working on that area in Sketchup. Very tricky but it will be very rewarding to see it when done (for both of us) I'm doing the Walruses (Walrii?) separately. My hangar is going to be at least 3 pieces due to limitations on how much overhang I can do with the printer.
I am creating the gun tubs as separate pieces that I will glue on. This section has indeed been "tricky". Let me know about the Walrus, I would possibly like to buy one if I could cast my own personal copies (I expect them to get shot off a lot)
Working on the hanger doors, this will be cast as a separate piece. Work continues on the aft superstructure. Funnel is covered with plastic, and the top has been milled out. Will be making a top cap and grill to fit in. Found 1/8th thick tubing which brings the turret base out to the correct dimension. Started the vents on the side, using a candle to melt the plastic. The turret housing really needs some TLC with the sandpaper....
Completed a few more shapes on top of the hanger. Oval base for locating the funnel, will make it easy to properly place when the funnel gets shot up and needs to be replaced. Work continues on the top deck, still need to add the wind deflectors and the radar housings. Started the templates for the capstans and anchors, will cast this from termite armor. Also worked on the breakwater, the plates behind it are a little thick, but they need to be in order to be cast and withstand hits (the bows always seem to get the most attention from enemies). Another bow on shot, the turret base is just sitting on top of the inner sleeve. Funnel cap in place and the dividers are in. Aircraft catapult, still not sure if I am going to add the cross bars like you see in the top and top right track. Thoughts? Aft superstructure is coming along.
For those that know me, electrical is not my strongest ability. So, I have outsourced a very unique solution to a professional. Below is the teaser shot of the WTC (water tight cylinder) that are used on RC subs, the attachment piece is inside. This will be attached to the cap after I drill and tap it.
Had to make the splinter shields a little thick, any thinner and they will break just from handling on the bench. Did make them one piece, so I can detach them and simply add on a new one after excessive battle damage. This is the initial primer coat, still lots of sanding to get to the shape correctly, and a little filler as well. Anyone make the British pom-poms? Thinking of doing all the splinter shields as separate pieces, easier to mold and replace. I fully expect this ship to be in the middle of the furball later this year. The goal currently is to keep the top weight to a minimum. Casting everything means I don't care about getting shot up, I just simply replace pieces. Wanted to mock up the aft mast, so I used plastic to get a feel for how to travel with it. Will probably make the entire assembly from brass and solder it together. Not much in weight, and should not be susceptible to breaking. Hopefully the worse it just having to bend it back into shape. Another tactic is to cast out of termite armor with a wire core, might give that a try as well.
Lets build the funky guns, these appear short as they are actually underneath the deck. You would usually see this type of gun on carriers. Got lucky and found a large dowel at a big box store that was the correct diameter, #winning. Put it on the lathe and cut the angle. Marked out the area for the guns and cut them on the mill. Cut the base to the correct height. Next, details and barrels.
Lined the cut with plastic and created the gun barrels and sleeve. Would like to go thinner, but no way to cast and be durable enough in my experience. Guns installed Primer paint and green filler stage, yet more sanding.The hatches are a little proud (height), but any less and the casting doesn't look all that great. Installed on the ship. We are going for stand off scale, so everything will look great from 5-6 feet away from the shoreline. I could spend a lot more time creating perfect masters, but there is no point and there are a ton more boats to build.
Plan is to get all the smaller pieces started at the same time so I can production line sanding and finishing of all the pieces on the same days. So, here is the main director. Basic shape cut out of pine. Added the profile. Starting on the interesting "wings", if I was to do this again I would do each part as its own assembly and then sandwich them all together. Lots of filler to hide the wood grain. First coat of primer.
Building the largest launch. Starting with pine and the top side cutout. Cut this in half, then insert the profile (done in plastic) and glue both halves back together. Now to start the sanding. These cutters had bulky shapes to them as they were meant more for capacity than cutting the waves at high speed. Marked out the inset areas, all this will have a cap on it but you will still be able to see inside. After cutting, since this is going to get lined with plastic this is good enough. Everything in plastic, will still need to sand. Leaving the forward bay undone at this time until the cap is installed. Located on the hanger deck, there are two of these boats.
Foam superstructure, level 01 and the top levels. First pull from a new foam is always the worst with leftover oils and junk, so the top of the deck is not as smooth as it should be but it is good enough. Some green putty will help an area where there was an air bubble. Turrets are cast and being fitted to the barbet. You can also see on the haymaker (turret X) that the termite amour has been fitted. Trying two different methods of casting, two-piece mold versus single with scratch built barrels. Will detail more of the molding process in another post.
