Anyone ever build the Leon

I just built mine to the same scale as the Underhill plans - 8 feet to 1 inch, as far as I can remember. If I had wanted to make a bigger one, I would just have had the plans enlarged in a print shop.
Bob
 
I would be very sceptical and surprised that the plans from the model dockyard include enough information to be able to build a true plank on frame model.By true,I mean individual futtocks to build up each frame as in the original ship,or stylised framing Harold Hahn style.That level of information comes at a price and it is an awful lot more than what those plans sell for.Plank on bulkhead yes.
Regarding scratchbuilding as a dying art Bob,in the UK,yes I agree,but then again model ships in the UK has never really been big since we stopped making models for the Navy board.Look further a field to France,Poland,Lithunia,Croatia,Ukraine,US and Russia and things are very different.It is actually considered a sport in Russia.I remember when Dimitry Shevelev and his friends came to the International model boat show in the UK from Russia and wiped the floor of gold medals in the competition classes.

Regards

Nigel
 
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It just does not add up for me. The majority insisting that plans are not good enough, and only CAD plans should be considered, and then on the other hand concentrating on kits where most of the hard work has been done by someone else. Incidentally, the Underhill books do tell you how to build up the individual frames exactly as they were in the real ship!
Bob
 
The general opinion seems to be that these plans are not good enough, although I have always thought they were extremely detailed, and when used in conjunction with the two books, you couldn't ask for more!
 
The general opinion seems to be that these plans are not good enough, although I have always thought they were extremely detailed, and when used in conjunction with the two books, you couldn't ask for more!

Because today you can put them in Cad and enhence them ,why not??
 
In my case, I do not want to spend vast amounts of money on purchasing CAD software, and do not want to spend months, or even years learning how to use it. I know several model shipbuilders who use CAD, and admit that it took them about two years to learn to use it properly. Underhill built his Leon from his plans (as did countless others) without any problem. Why does anyone need them to be enhanced when they are perfectly clear to start with?
 
In my case, I do not want to spend vast amounts of money on purchasing CAD software, and do not want to spend months, or even years learning how to use it. I know several model shipbuilders who use CAD, and admit that it took them about two years to learn to use it properly. Underhill built his Leon from his plans (as did countless others) without any problem. Why does anyone need them to be enhanced when they are perfectly clear to start with?

Because its possible,
 
It is also possible to build model ships from scratch with normal plans. Lots of things are possible, but the vast majority restrict themselves to kits where CAD is not needed. We find people hoping that China will produce a kit of the Leon, and I really wonder why they need a kit at all. It also seems to be commonly accepted that you need a very expensive and comprehensive workshop to even contemplate scratchbuilding, but this is not true. If you plank-on-frame, each frame is made separately by hand at virtually no cost and using cheap hand tools only. The length of the model does not matter, because each frame is set up on the keel, and when fully framed, the planking does not need expensive tools either. In the past, I built plank on frame models three feet or more in length with simple hand tools. Could not make a solid model of that length with small hand tools though!
 
The best CAD plans in the world don't make for a good model. Ultimately, its the skill and knowledge of the modeler that dictates that.

Check out this build of the Bluenose II that is under way. Started with traditional hand drawn plans.

That is true ,without skill the best plans will not make it up ,but much easier to work with good ones than some hard to read or understand plans.
 
Hi, All something just came to my mind, we have such FANTASTIC MODELERS ON THIS SITE can anyone do a tutorial on how to read and interpet modeling plans, would be a great help to novices and intermediate modelers, any help to this group(THE BACK BONE OF THIS GREAT HOBBY) will be another tool to want to keep them in the hobby, just my thoughts, anyone want to comment on this topic. Don
 
The best CAD plans in the world don't make for a good model. Ultimately, its the skill and knowledge of the modeler that dictates that.

Check out this build of the Bluenose II that is under way. Started with traditional hand drawn plans.
Very true.
Another mistake some beginners make, especially the ones who have a lot of spare cash, is that you need a large and expensively fitted workshop. I have known several would-be shipmodellers who have said that before they start, they plan to set up their workshop with all sorts of expensive machine tools. But after it has all been purchased, set up and laid out, expensive and detailed plans purchased, they can't understand why they have not been able to produce high quality work! They then tend to declare that they don't possess the necesary skills, and give up. The secret is to practice and learn as you go. Skills can be learned, but it often takes a lot of time. The Underhill books on the Leon are so clear and concise, as are the plans, that I would go as far as saying that if you can't produce a reasonable model from them, it would be best sticking to kits.
Bob
 
I built Leon from the plans in the Underhill book many years ago while I was at university. I used box which was roughly sawn at a local sawmill in Norwich and used only hand tools as I didn't have a workshop. The model is not complete for many reasons mostly to do with derelict houses, jobs, and a youngest daughter who, aged about 3, knocked her onto the floor with a cushion and broke the bowsprit and other bits and pieces! There is a picture of her (Leon that is) on my Introduction page. Personally I like commercial and fishing vessels rather than warships. Having discovered this superb site I am fired up to re-start my shipyard - I'm looking at plans of Colchester smacks at the moment which, being small craft, I can build to a large scale while ending up with a model I can handle.

leon 003.JPG
 
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