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Revell Cutty Sark 1:96 with 3D printed modifications

Kevin the Lubber said:
A while back I posted a log on the Heller HMS Victory I was working on, which I then parked in order to make the Revell Cutty Sark 1:96. The idea was to take a break from Vicrtory and work on something easier, preferably building more or less straight out of the box and being done and dusted in maybe 3 - 6 months. Well, it hasn't turned out quite that way and in the following posts I'll try to give a summary of what I've done and where I'm now at.
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Hallo @Kevin the Lubber
we wish you alll the Best and a HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Birthday-Cake
 
Thank you, much appreciated. It's certainly been an unusual birthday - my main present has been three 6mm X 70mm titanium screws through my ankle, I've had it fused today to deal with the consequences of a rock climbing accident some 35 years ago. This getting old business isn't all good, is it .

Hopefully the enforced layoff ahead will give me time to get over the hump of modelling and making the remaining masts. They have been proving tricky to the point of becoming a bit boring, and I'm eager to get beyond that so I don't stall. All of which has been made trickier as I have two lovely vintage motor car kits and a ww2 bomber kit that came as presents, which I'm drooling over. (Or maybe that's just another age thing, the drooling that is ).
 
It's been quite a while since I posted but I've now picked up where I left off, so here's a brief update.

I've remade all the masts, yards, bowsprit, jib boom etc. At the moment it's still the case that the only parts I've used from the revell kit are the two hull halves and rudders halves. I still have a lot of work to do on these and will do detail photos as and when. Right now the white is too white, I need to paint the tops, make a decision whether to copy the real thing and red ochre the topmasts, etc etc. And then rig them. I'll be doing all that off the ship, I have a dummy rig that helps avoid me breaking bits every 5 minutes.
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I've continued to add detail - here, it's the salt water pump on the side of the port WC. Tricky to print!
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New bower anchors. As with most things now, my new parts are a mixture of resin print, brass or steel wire, carbon fibre and whatever else I need to achieve the objective.

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Bumpkins. Mostly because the revell one's are too simplistic, when you look at the real thing you realise the lugs are orientated to their respective tie points.
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Davits. These are made using 1mm brass wire, I found the kit parts too chunky. I'm working on the philosophy that, if I reduce everything I can to be more in scale, there will be a greater sense of how large the ship is and how enormous are things like the lower yards
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jackstays on the main and mizzen masts. 0.2mm brass wire running through miniscule brackets. I've used much the same approach on all the yards.
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A random shot of the wool bales in the main hold. The plan is to, in due course, rig one being lowered into the hold via a hoist .
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A shot showing the re-profiled foredeck and more imposing capstan, as I don't think I ever showed that in situ. I have work to do on the fore rails, one of many outstanding jobs.
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See the crack in the crane below? If you look very carefully, you'll see a tiny pinhole in the centre of the crane, this is where a brass rod runs through both crane and mast as the crane breaks so easily. Consequently it doesn't matter that it got broken, the yard is supported by the pin. The yellow stain is some super phatic glue, I'll cover it up when I finish the paintwork. I've used this method in quite a few places. Resin is good, but resin stiffened by CF or brass rod is better.
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Here's a case in point: this dolphin striker is made as two almost mirrored halves, glued together with a 0.5mm brass rod in the middle. The overall diameter is 1mm and less chunky than revell. I found it impossible to print a 'tube' of these dimensions, but two halves was okay - you just have to have the lightest imaginable touch when handling the prints, until everything is glued up. (I was very glad to have some acetone to hand when doing this - I needed to 'roll' the parts between my fingers to get a nice tight joint, using CA glue, and of course managed to well and truly glue my fingers together in the process).
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As ever, 3D is great for adding micro-detail. While I haven't yet started to count them, I do like to add rivets every now and then

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So, that more or less brings me up to date. There's not much 'making' left to do now, it's mostly small fiddly bits and blocks, but there is still a lot of finalising / finishing off and then phase 2, the rigging. I found it very necessary to make more or less everything before I could confidently screw or glue things in place. Re' rigging, I suspect that will be a long job so I might pace myself and start another model to avoid boredom.
 
It’s funny how you can think there’s almost nothing left to do or make and then that ‘almost nothing’ takes weeks and weeks to complete. It turns out I have a whole list of small but essential jobs to do before I fit the masts and start rigging. I’m now well and truly into the ‘fix one thing, break something else’ phase of this model. I seem to break something or other every couple of days and I’m becoming quite good at running repairs. Yesterday, I decided to remove the bowsprit assembly while working on the fore railings as I could foresee the dolphin striker getting broken (again). Of course in the process I managed to catch a whisker boom on my sleeve and snap it clean off, beyond all repair. I've been fearing this since glueing the catheads in place so I’m kind of glad that’s out of the way. It’s given me enough reason to remake the fore rails, which were always a bit wrong, sort out the knightheads, which on revell are a bit strange, and change the design of the catheads so the 'sticky-out' part can be added only when necessary. This allows me to fit and finish the rail and add the outer section of the cathead when I start rigging.

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Otherwise, I'm working on the railings. This photo is from a few days ago and is a trial fit, while I shape the wire, especially those end bends. It helps that I can easily make formers, which means all of the ends are identical. At this moment in time I'm intending to use brass-coloured stanchions and leave the wire unpainted, as I like this look. However I could easily change my mind by tomorrow and make it all white!

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(A day later)
Quick question, friends: what would be the 'correct' or, from a modelling perspective, nice way of tying on the boats? As you can see, I have provided a generous number of rings to tie to (tiny twisted wire rings), as I'll be adding boat masts, spare yards etc presently, but I'd like to use a pretty method for tying on the boats rather than completely fudge it. A sketch, however crude, or link to a build log would be appreciated. Obviously it doesn't have to be a CS. I know how I'd do this when tying a load onto my roof rack, though I don't know the name of the knot! (I believe it's usually known as a truckers hitch)

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In other news, yesterdays damage repaired, complete with detachable whiskers. I also dug into my reserves of courage and applied the draft decals. I have been ducking this for ages as it's one of those things I felt sure I'd mess up, but I just about got away with it. Once the railings are fitted I should be able to fit the anchors and do away with those loose chains ;)
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Very kind words Max. No, I suppose I'm not really a beginner any more. Although I still haven't finished a ship, in some ways I've made almost every part of the Cutty Sark 5 or 10 times and have learned a lot - but my knowledge is still nothing like the masters of the craft. Visiting the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich earlier this year was both a wonderful and sobering experience. The skill of the model makers in years gone by was breathtaking.

With reference to your own work, at 1/64 you could create something incredibly detailed, especially through the combination of CNC & resin. I'm aiming to, at some point, create a ship entirely in F360 and then build it at 1/48 or thereabouts - large enough to avoid the endless headaches of trying to make paper-thin objects!
 
Kevin the Lubber said:
Hi Jim, apologies for not explaining the tech at the outset. Here’s a brief trot through 3D as used by me.

I do all my design work using Fusion360. This is not very different to traditional pencil and paper component design, except f360 enables you to turn the digital drawings into (virtual) 3D parts. I occasionally use other software such as Meshmixer if I need to sculpt something but this is rare. Turning objects from the virtual to real requires converting them into a printable format, commonly called an .STL file.

I have both resin (SLA) and filament (FDM) printing gear and use this according to whichever I think is best suited to the task. Resin printing basically uses a laser to cure tiny layers of liquid resin; filament fuses thin layers of melted plastic together. Most people start out buying an FDM printer as it’s cheap, clean and fun. Resin has a slightly unwarranted reputation for being more expensive, smelly, messy and hazardous.

As a very general rule, my default is resin, as this gives the best finish and is much better for detail. All the deck furniture including the cabins is printed in resin. I am still experimenting with resins, in a quest for the ideal, and these days I mostly use my own blend of Elegoo ABS-Like and Syratech Fast at a ratio of 50:50.

However, resin tends to be brittle and lacking in some other material properties. Filament can be much better in this respect and I tend to turn to it when I’m making parts, tools or equipment for the home and garden, or anywhere that I can compromise on finish or detail. For this model all three decks were printed using FDM. There are loads of different filaments available for FDM, such as ABS, PETG, Nylon, PLA. Each has slightly different properties and requirements. For instance you can smooth the surface of ABS post-printing with acetone, making it very popular with people who make war gaming miniatures, but it needs to be printed at a particularly high temperature and I’ve never got on with it so far. The ‘standard’ material is PLA, this can be printed at lower temperatures, comfortably within the capability of the typical hobby printer, but it’s a fairly rigid material. I prefer PETG, which is halfway between PLA and ABS; it’s also easy to print, but has the flexibility of ABS, however it has to be sanded by hand if you want a fine finish.

I hope that’s shed a little light on the basic 3D tech.
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PC or MAC? "SLA"??? "FDM"?? Can I do what you are doing on a Crealty Slicer 3D printer? I really would like to learn how to do this but have no clue as to where to start. Suggestions/advice would be most helpful and greatly appreciated.
 
Brewerpaul said:
Your build so far is nothing short of incredible. So much attention lavished on a plastic kit really raises it up. Keep at it!
Where do you live? If you could possibly visit Cutty Sark in Greenwich, you'd be blown away. I literally shed tears when I first laid eyes on her, having built that same kit as a pre-teen. Nothing like your build of course, but it hooked me on sailing ships.
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I wold agree. Saw the ship in 1975 after having built in the Revel kit my early 20s. Don't have it any more as it did not survive three moves.
 
uncchains said:
PC or MAC? "SLA"??? "FDM"?? Can I do what you are doing on a Crealty Slicer 3D printer? I really would like to learn how to do this but have no clue as to where to start. Suggestions/advice would be most helpful and greatly appreciated.
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I use PC but PC/MAC, no difference. You're just going to need processing power to use CAD. However, rather than get into long and complicated explanations about the different printing methods, can I signpost you to here all3dp.com. This was my go-to site back when I was trying to figure it all out. Most of my work is done using resin printing (SLA) and you won't be able to get the same quality using the Creality Ender, (FDM), excellent though it is. That's simply a function of the different technologies. In simplistic terms, SLA can nowadays lay down layers 1/8th the thickness of the thinniest layers practically possible in FDM. I'd also point you in the direction of TinkerCAD, it's a great entry point for CAD design - and that represents 99% of what you're seeing in my log.
 
I managed to grab an hour today to work on the anchor chains. I have to say I'm deeply unconvinced by the chain running to the bollard; would any self-respecting sailor ever trash the rail or stanchion like that? I don't think so. I'm not going to move the bollard or rail now, but I might yet put an eyebolt in the hull aft of the aft of the flukes as that's how Campbell has it. Half the problem is that plate where the fluke sits (I've forgotten the proper name). When I altered the foredeck to match Campbell, I ought to have also moved that. Such is life.

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Hello all, checking the log, it looks like I've been working on the mast assemblies for around 9 months now, though a fair chunk of that time has gone on other, non-modelling things. No wonder I'm beginning to feel bored, though not yet to the extent that I'd park the model. I ran into difficulties with version 1 of the mast assemblies: some of the more delicate parts proved too fragile and I needed to find better solutions. To cut a long story short that's led to redesigning the way a mast assembly fits together and I'll post on all of that eventually. Meanwhile, redesigning has sometimes led to an incidental improvement, one of which I'll post on today, just because I feel more like writing than thinking!

Tops
While re-working these to accept a square carbon fibre mast stiffener, rather than round CF rod (hence the square holes in the white frames), I realised I would get cleaner prints and sharper paint lines if I made these as a two-part sub-assembly. Once the parts are painted, the white 'iron frame' sits snugly within the wooden platform and, with a few dots of glue, the whole has fairly good rigidly.

Why so many when I only need two? Because these are extremely thin and a small lapse in concentration or even just a bit of bad luck can see them break at any point. I dislike having to stop and make a new item from scratch so I often make extras to begin with. It takes the same time to print 6 as 2, the cost is relatively insignificant and I also tend to do each operation ( cleaning up, painting, glueing) a little better as I work through the collection. It's a shame the spares end up in the spares bin but that's the nature of the beast.
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Current builds:
1) HMS Victory 1:100 (Heller)
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/23...eller-1100-plastic-with-3d-printed-additions/

2) Bluenose II 1:100 (Billing) - paused, not in the mood
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/30694-billing-bluenose-ii-1100-no600-by-kevin-the-lubber/

3) Cutty Sark 1:96 Revell
https://modelshipworld.com/topic/30964-cutty-sark-by-kevin-the-lubber-revell-196

Stash:
Revell Cutty Sark 1/96 (a spare for later)
Revell Beagle 1/96 (unlikely to ever get built!)
Revell Kearsage 1/96 (can't wait to get started on this)
Revell Constitution 1/96

If at first you don't succeed, buy some more tools.
 
Great work, coming along very nicely. My own little brain (and world) have opened up with 3D printing. It's the tool of the future. I now do both resin and FDM, and clunk along in Blender. You've got great details, very fine work (literally!). She's beautiful, and will be even more so when you display her.
 
Fusion360 is an excellent tool. I'm using Blender because it's FREE, but also pretty powerful. I'm messing around with it like a damaged, trained monkey, but making parts. One day I hope to play around with the photo realistic side (note - IKEA catalogs have been 70% 3D for 7 years! Not much actual set photography anymore.) You're making beautiful details, so F360 and Meshmixer are working. The greatest tools you have are your brain and creativity! I anxiously await the next installment.
 
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