The Ship Model Forum

very impressive evolution of construction

the CNC parts look very sharp and crisp indeed
Hut ab!

Jim B

Hi,

was absent here quite a lot. I am presently still busy with the foreship and coating the parts. Still experimenting with different makers of paints. Some parts I have to paint prior assembling. Then beside this project I did some trial and error with negativ-positiv forms out of epoxy.

The 3D software I use is MOI3D v3, NURBS based and really easy to use without long and intense studies in becoming a 3D design expert. I can only recommend it and the support is great. If I remember correctly, there is a 30 days trial period without restrictions.

For unfolding parts I use Rhino4/5 but might be there is another program that can do it instead in a cheaper way.


Cheers,

Axel

Wow!! I'm impressed. I'll be following this thread closely to see how this turns out.

Hi,

Perfect job which program you use for 3D Modeling?

Brgds
G.S

Now busy with the fore part...

Few parts which I find to be difficult to be airbrushed later once assembled are now applied with the typical blue bands.

Thanks Stefan, indeed I cut the copper plates with CNC. I am going to photo-etch later, parts which cannot be cut with CNC as relings, stairs, meshes. The templates I will do, but the photo-etching will be done externally.

That's a really outstanding project.
Your techniques are very impressive, looking rather professional than hobby.
The copper parts are not cnc-made aren't they?
Did you use photo etching?

Brgds
Stefan

I decided to begin with the aft part. It seemed to me much more complicate than the fore part of the superstructure.

So I constructed the decks from 4 to 8 and had to attach the stringers below the deck 5 which is visible from the aft mooring winch deck. These stringers are glued with instant adhesive only. 2 part glue would destroy the whole very filigrane parts. I had to airbrush this area already, later once assembled no chance to reach any longer.

Next pictures show the cut parts for the superstructure, assembled, as well as the 3D modelling. Material is copper plate, frames 0.5mm, outside boards 0.3mm.

I glued them temporary with instant adhesive and for permanent with 2 part epoxy adhesive, but still not really convinced. All copper parts are treated with airbrush sandblast apprx. 0.06mm grid size which gives a rough but very smooth (satin) surface. I will find an alternative adhesive...


Cheers,

Axel

Once the hull I completed in the software, I converted the file to an STL and completed the file in a prototyping software finally for the CNC. I had to subdivide the hull in several parts since my CNC machine is rather a small one.

I attached the parts to each other, then some corrections followed manually by grinding paper from 200 up to 8000. The final surface is not finished yet. Still few spots where I have to do some grinding again.

By the way, the material is block material of PU foam, which is commonly used by the industry for prototyping forms. I purchased some pieces from a vendor in Germany that sells some rest material from their production to private persons. The block material is available in different densities. This beige one is about 0.67; foam sounds soft, but it isn't. Of course you can scratch it, but once you applied surfacer, it becomes much more harder. You can even take material of higher density, but logically the weight rises.

Still I haven't decided if I will go for a negativ-postiv-form or I just keep this one from "scratch".

Depending on the strategy you use for CNC cutting, the surface anyway is brilliant and even doesn't require any further long treatment. Slight layer of a sprayed surfacer I used and grinded (wet) and small amount of filling polyester resin.

Indeed, but she was short time only there, never materialized as a hotel ship then sent to Italy to become the Mega Andrea.

Cool project! She served briefly as an accommodations ship in British Columbia, my home province: http://ferriesbc.proboards.com/thread/8 ... lTo=166853

Hi,

I am new here and was looking for a good forum to post my scratch build projects so I came to this one here, though it seems it is rather favorite for the grey fleet. I am going to place some pictures with my comments and you are welcome to add your remarks in between.

The Silja Festival is a car- and passenger ferry, built in 1986 at Wärtsilä, Helsinki, Finland as Wellamo. In 1992 she received her new name Silja Festival after a refit at Lloyd-Werft, Bremerhaven, Germany. Now trading as Mega Andrea in Mediterranean Sea.
The model is in scale 1/250, constructed in 3D software and then mostly machined with CNC cutting. The model has still not been completed and it will take a couple of months more until completion.

Let's start now with some pictures.