HMS Sovereign of the Seas - Bashing DeAgostini Beyond Believable Boundaries

DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
There are very few reliable sources for 17th century vessels. So cross comparison of sources is difficult. McKay's book does not contain just a few errors, there are many, and several of them are major hull features. The beautiful artistry belies the amount of incorrect information, and as a result, the book and has great potential to lead many modelers to assume that McKay's interpretation is accurate. Many newer newer builders will look to it as a primary source of information, trusting the research and assumptions within. Please read the reviews of the book at the beginning of this build log. They support the conclusion that if one is trying to build a model of the Sovereign with historical accuracy in mind, it should not be used as a guide.

This should serve as an example that sources should always be compared, and the builder needs to chose carefully between conflicting information, and apply good judgement.
Click to expand...
That’s kind of like reading the Bible. You can’t just take one verse out of context and build a religion on it. You go with preponderance of evidence.
 
Vfordyce said:
That’s kind of like reading the Bible. You can’t just take one verse out of context and build a religion on it. You go with preponderance of evidence.
Click to expand...
Absolutely! Examine all references critically. All have their own prejudices and have some problems. Similarly, some have their strong points (albeit that there are some problems found in all).

Bill
 
I am starting my clumsy attempts to learn 3-D modeling using Blender 4.1. I have years of experience modeling in LightWave by NewTek, but that experience is 20 years old, and it's time to use more modern software. So, it's back to basics learning 100 new keyboard shortcuts. Things will speed up as I get used to the new interface, and the thousands of tools and features in this software make it very difficult to locate and use the basic tools for sculpting. I started using bezier curves to model the first of many vinework decorations, plus a few primitive shapes. Payne's engraving is used as a background image. After a few hours, this is how far I got. This small bit is barely started as far as shaping goes, but it's a first step using the tools.
1719648427298.png
 
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
I am starting my clumsy attempts to learn 3-D modeling using Blender 4.1. I have years of experience modeling in LightWave by NewTek, but that experience is 20 years old, and it's time to use more modern software. So, it's back to basics learning 100 new keyboard shortcuts. Things will speed up as I get used to the new interface, and the thousands of tools and features in this software make it very difficult to locate and use the basic tools for sculpting. I started using bezier curves to model the first of many vinework decorations, plus a few primitive shapes. Payne's engraving is used as a background image. After a few hours, this is how far I got. This small bit is barely started as far as shaping goes, but it's a first step using the tools.
View attachment 456355
Click to expand...
good luck my friend Thumbsup:)
I will learn from you
 
Vfordyce said:
Details, details! Do you have a picture of the decorations received with the kit o we can compare? What are they made from? Metal?
Click to expand...
I am away from home, so I don't have access to the parts at present. They consist of white metal figures, and the icons are not correct for the Sovereign. Plus, they are overly thick and lack detail. The Amati decoration set is better, but is in some artistic pattern that doesn't match the ship either. and many of them also do not match the Payne decorations. The sad fact is, if you want to copy the ship accurately, you have to make the decorations from scratch. So, that's what I starting to do.
 
Ahoy!

DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
I am away from home, so I don't have access to the parts at present. They consist of white metal figures, and the icons are not correct for the Sovereign. Plus, they are overly thick and lack detail. The Amati decoration set is better, but is in some artistic pattern that doesn't match the ship either. and many of them also do not match the Payne decorations. The sad fact is, if you want to copy the ship accurately, you have to make the decorations from scratch. So, that's what I starting to do.
Click to expand...
We keep our fingers crossed for decors for SotS. Good luck Kurt.
 
Learning Blender 3-D software is slow, but progress is being made in re-teaching myself modeling with a zillion new keyboard shortcuts and a zillion more functions on the screen that hide the basic ones. Twenty-five years ago I could really kick polygons in Lightwave 3-D, and now it's back to basics. Plus, my topology sucks. Below is the first object, a viney decoration using Payne as a background. The object is fraught with uneven polygons, interior polygons, and other basic mistakes, but hopefully it will print. I abandoned the Anycubic Photon Mono 3-D resin printer, which is still in the unopened box. It was only a 2K resolution printer. So, in order to guarantee these tiny ornaments preserve the detail of the computer models, I purchased a new Elegoo Saturn 4 12K printer. Huge upgrade in resolution. It should work much better for tiny parts for the Sovereign. The old unused Anycubic printer will be sold off dirt cheap ($75). The next step will be to either make some more models or attempt my first printing of a couple test objects, then print this first decoration.

1720240279051.png

1720240024855.png

1720240212788.png
 
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
Learning Blender 3-D software is slow, but progress is being made in re-teaching myself modeling with a zillion new keyboard shortcuts and a zillion more functions on the screen that hide the basic ones. Twenty-five years ago I could really kick polygons in Lightwave 3-D, and now it's back to basics. Plus, my topology sucks. Below is the first object, a viney decoration using Payne as a background. The object is fraught with uneven polygons, interior polygons, and other basic mistakes, but hopefully it will print. I abandoned the Anycubic Photon Mono 3-D resin printer, which is still in the unopened box. It was only a 2K resolution printer. So, in order to guarantee these tiny ornaments preserve the detail of the computer models, I purchased a new Elegoo Saturn 4 12K printer. Huge upgrade in resolution. It should work much better for tiny parts for the Sovereign. The old unused Anycubic printer will be sold off dirt cheap ($75). The next step will be to either make some more models or attempt my first printing of a couple test objects, then print this first decoration.

View attachment 457524

View attachment 457522

View attachment 457523
Click to expand...
Loving it, Kurt!
 
As Chris said, there's a lot of work ahead of you. You have experience, so it's just a matter of de-rusting it. But can you fit it into the degostini hull? Will there be no discrepancies between the ornaments in the paintings and the amount of space for them
 
WojtasS said:
As Chris said, there's a lot of work ahead of you. You have experience, so it's just a matter of de-rusting it. But can you fit it into the degostini hull? Will there be no discrepancies between the ornaments in the paintings and the amount of space for them
Click to expand...
Since the distance between the 2nd and 3rd gun decks is a bit out of proportion, the decorations will need to be adjusted to fit the proportion of the model. After printing the first decoration in a variety of lengths and heights, I will make a set to fit each rectangular space dedicated for each decoration on the hull. Hopefully, size adjustments of the decorations will not be too noticeable when all is said and done. There is only one option at this point, and that is to fit each decoration individually to the space alotted to it on the hull.

Working on the second decoration, using a different approach to generating the meshes.
1720415620386.png
 
Since the first decoration is only going to be 3 cm long, I drastically reduce the amount of polygons in the model, and fixed many errors in mesh cleanup. There are still lots of flaws and you can see below in the analysis section, but these are minor and the object should print out just fine. If any of you 3-D modelers out there see anything wrong or risky before I send this to the resin printer, please tell me.

1720434761781.png
 
Work continues on making 3-D objects for the Sovereign's decorations. Since the 3D printer will create the parts in faceted form, models in Blender 3D will not have smooth shaders applied, so what you see is what you get. Since this decoration is less than 25mm wide, any facets in the surface of the computer model should be smoothed when printed. The decoration below is actually three parts, and the center part will be scaled horizontally to custom fit to the model variances in spacing between gun ports. That way, everything should line up visually on the hull.

The 3-D printer originally purchased for this work was an Anycubic Photon Mono, which prints in 2K resolution. However, in the year since I bought that printer, which hasn't even been removed from the shipping box, better printers have been made available. So, this printer will be sold to a co-worker for $75.00, and a new printer has been bought. The new printer is a 12K Elegoo Saturn 4, which is a substantial upgrade. Small objects like these decorations need to have a printer which can create fine details with minimal facet edges and other flaws.

1721123694048.png

1721200777067.png
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top