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PostPosted: Mon Feb 18, 2019 7:45 am 
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Posts: 76
Hi,
yes, I know, the 1/72 HMS Rodney and others are not finished yet, but I can't help thinking about the next one and start playing around with the ideas and concepts.
I'm nevertheless faithful to what I've written somewhere regarding the two main projects I've got in mind : a "functional" 1/10 ELCO 80 or similar, and a 1/72 carrier.

I've so started the definition of a fantasy (or "what if") aircraft carrier, that has evolved slowly into a mix between a LPD and an aircraft carrier, as I'm convinced that they will merge in the future to become some kind of multifunctional multipurposes platform.

The fact that one of my son is a young officer aboard French Navy BPC (French equivalent to LPD) Tonnerre helps for sure : I will just be flying this coming friday to the French Mediterranean base at Toulon to visit his ship (excitation ahead).

As usual I'm been gathering for years photos and drawings of all concepts and details I find "interesting" around the project, and gradually the concept grew in my mind. These last days I've done a few sketches for the GA ("General Arrangement") and dimensions, until satisfied with the concept and overall looks (remember I'm an industrial designer by trade, so it has to look good, at least to my eyes !).

This time I've decided to go another way and build a quick and rough 1/700 mock-up (quick to build and easy to duplicate to 1/72 scale later on). It took less than three hours to build, paint included, and I will modify it in the near future if necessary or if further ideas break through.

So now for the main specifications and inspirations :

- 210 m long (that'll be 3 meters at 1/72 scale, as the Rodney, but this time I'll build the hull in two separate modules for easier handling)
- ability to carry troops and armoured vehicles (hence the raft - not sure about the English word - at the back)
- ability to carry helicopters, short takeoff/landing jets like F35, and of course unmanned aircrafts
- heavy twin railgun turret at the front under the cantilevered flight deck
- twin control towers (one for the ship, one for air warfare control) as on the latest british carrier QEII, treated as separated modules
- "double deck" flightdecks concept, and globally a very "three dimensional" approach of all shapes and volumes
- deep inspiration from the incredible Japanese carriers of WWII (Akagi, Kaga and the like) and the fact that they were built on battleships hulls, hence unique and striking architectures that fascinated me from childhood indeed, as HMS Rodney/Nelson did

A few photos of the "thing" down there (plus one before painting, for those interested) : just keep in mind that it's just a very rough mock-up for concept and proportions appraisial (it has to look good from every angle): the "real thing" will be 1/72 scale, and will be spread along a few years as all my other models...

Please don't expect progress every day for sure, but it will be built, no doubt !


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 11:21 am 
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Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:41 am
Posts: 76
Hi,
couldn't resist starting the "real thing" : dead easy, just get the 1/700 mock-up and enlarge it scale 10...
As usual, cheap wood and offcuts from DIY stores, and as explained this time it will be built in two halves (roughly 1.50m each) to avoid the chore and constraints of handling a 3 meters one piece hull as HMS Rodney.
Nothing special, just great care to be dead straight and square everywhere, as to avoid painful and irritating adjustments all along the building process later on.
I intend to move one step beyond regarding the 1/72° Rodney in terms of details and finish, and anticipate that with great pleasure !
Funnily enough, the real last generation of French LPDs were built this way, in two halves in two different shipyards 200 miles apart, then reunited with - hopefully - adequate soldering : see one photo below.
When visiting BPC Tonnerre two weeks ago, I couldn't resist to ask my son to show me this very specific part of the ship : you can see very clearly the local reinforcements and soldering lines all around.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 03, 2019 3:51 pm 
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Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2018 7:39 am
Posts: 107
Getting interesting!

_________________
Mike Perry


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:55 am 
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Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:41 am
Posts: 76
Thanks Mike ! I was quite sure you would be interested with this one...
What about your next "what if" project ?
Don't pretend you don't have anything in mind right now !
Stephane


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 19, 2019 11:03 am 
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Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:41 am
Posts: 76
Hello everyone,

spring at last, and 75th D-Day Anniversary celebrations coming soon here at Omaha beach, with our narrow Normandy country lanes clogged with vintage GMCs, Jeeps and Dodge command cars, notwithstanding the main events gathering up to seven Shermans in working order through Isigny and Bayeux : great !

Alongside the 1/72 Rodney, the Carrier project is taking - big - shapes as can be seen on the few photos below.

I just recall that the name of the game is using the 1/700 mock-up enlarged x10, and that the model is cut in two halves : here of course the rear half (you can see the 1/700 mock-up on some of the photos).

I'm starting detailing a few areas in order to define the "standard" I want to achieve, and then stick to it throughout for consistency all over the 3 meters model.
May I recall that this project is 100% pure fantasy ?

Again the goal is my very own personal mix of futurism (yet no spaceship, it's still a floating boat), tribute to 20th century warships (hence intricate structures and that wonderful feeling of "add-on" equipments everywhere), industrial design (my business for 40 years until very recently).

For those interested, I can't really explain why I'm doing this this way : you can find it crazy, childish, unrealistic, whatever...

My own attitude towards such work from other people is interest (and of course full respect) and curiosity : it's so much fun to witness so many interpretations of the same "model warships" base concept !

Enjoy your Easter week-end : we've got a cathedral to fix somewhere here in France...


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PostPosted: Mon May 13, 2019 4:01 am 
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Posts: 76
Hi from Normandy,

some visible progress on the photos below, detailing of the rear left corner of the ship, in order to fix the "detail standard" that will be then spread all along the 3 meter model (I just recall that I'm just working on the rear half for the time being).

Again 100% my own fantasy, yet with some kind of logic and realism : I could explain - more or less - the presence of every bit of equipment (ventilation/filtration units, main and secondary railgun weaponry, holographic imaging for aircraft, etc.).

If you have a look to the 1/700 original mock-up, you'll see that I'm sticking with the idea of the very visually "busy" layer between hull top and flight deck, as on the WWII Japanese carriers I like so much. I want to emphasize the contrast between this over-crowded slice sandwiched between the comparatively simple and bare flightdeck and hull.

The flightdeck is not cut yet, but - as visible on the small mock-up - its cutout will be very important as to show, or partially hide, the middle "slice" equipment.

Obviously the area is not finished, and many surfaces and areas are yet to be detailed : faithful to the "model in the model" philosophy as to avoid boredom, I still strongly believe into concentrating on small areas, bringing the satisfaction of something "finished" almost every day.

Sunny springtime here though, so time to get into the garden now !


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PostPosted: Sun May 19, 2019 5:03 am 
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Posts: 76
Hi,

more details added, and, more importantly, the main top flight bridge has been partially cut and adjusted into position.

It's a major visual point as its profile give the full three-dimensional effect of all other volumes and equipments below.

What I'm looking for is to give "depth" to the whole assembly, providing different levels of visual interest whatever the distance you're looking from : it's something I have developed all along my career as an industrial designer.

To express it another way, it has to be interesting to look at from five meters, or from fifty centimeters : you don't see the same things obviously, but there is no disappointment looking closely or at a distance.

This means trying all the time to keep the balance between main volumes and proportions (hence the original 1/700 mock-up always in the scenery), and detailing.

Again and as ever, all that's explained above is my strictly personal choice, point of view... and pleasure !

Please note that the grass seeds bag visible on the third photo will not be part of the model...


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PostPosted: Thu May 30, 2019 5:23 am 
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Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2018 2:41 am
Posts: 76
Hi,
more details a bit everywhere, and of course still plenty to be done wherever you can see a bare surface, something that doesn't exist on these ships !
That's all the pleasure of modelling them for sure (at least for me)...
Some areas close to completion though, I try to keep a consistent scheme all over : surface animation (joints, raised surfaces, panels, doors, hatches, anti-slip patches), electrical wiring and plumbing (plus many small cabinets of all kinds), handrails and handles, etc.
Some trade accessories (staircase for example) bring nice touches to the whole thing, and I don't intend to go into photoetching at home : a bit beyond my capabilities... and will !


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PostPosted: Wed Nov 06, 2019 4:50 am 
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Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:18 am
Posts: 5
Hi,
most obvious progress so far is the wood structure and general volumes of the front half of the ship.
Everything can be separated within seconds into easy-to-handle sub-components, allowing comfortable detailing work everywhere.
Still a faithful enlarged copy of the initial 1/700 mock-up, adjusted here and there for best visual balance, of course to my taste, as always...
Main missing volume yet is of course the twin islands arrangement, that will be a model by itself, which building I anticipate with great pleasure.
Many hours of detailing ahead (yum) everywhere, currently the side panels of the inferior flydeck.
Dear Belgian neighbour Neptune, if I've had only half of your skill I would have gone on detailing the 1/700 model instead !


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