DO you wonder what,s inside?

[commodore4]

That is the question I find myself being asked at model shows and meets.I had never given much thought to doing the inside areas in any location on the 1/350 NORTH CAROLINA. I surprised myself then when I built cut-away windows in the 1/700 model of the carrier ANTIETAM .They did supply a clear deck, BUT,when I tried buffing it out to a clearer standard it got fuzzier. So I took the solid deck and carefully laid out my jagged edged windows. I put them in areas where detail COULD be seen from outside to a point as well.The model has a full hangar deck so why not? This led me down a road I haven,t traveled in over forty years.I took a 1/16 scale model car years ago,and created clear parts so you could see things that would be partially or completely hidden, you know ,kinda like the "ghost" drawings seen in magazines. This works well with model airplanes and if you really want to get dollar value out of that expensive kit ,try it . It will lengthen the build time but you will surprise yourself with how inventive you had to be to pull it off! I am now almost constantly figuring out ways to cut-away certain shipmodels. I believe I may try it with the 1/302 ROGER B.TANEY model from REVELL. In this scale even a bump somewhere can be something. Imagination is the key ,good luck commodore4

[noplate]

I understand exactly what you mean. I work doing engineering and that carries a certain fascination with machinery and structures. I find it a little frustrating, though, when I do see a "cutaway" or clear skinned aircraft... so often what's portrayed inside is far, far short of the real thing. Ah, therein lies the challenge! Is it possible to be sufficiently "anal" (excuse me) to satisfy yourself and others with a truly complex interior? At least for me, simply asking the question demands one try!

[commodore4]

I understand exactly what you mean. I work doing engineering and that carries a certain fascination with machinery and structures. I find it a little frustrating, though, when I do see a "cutaway" or clear skinned aircraft... so often what's portrayed inside is far, far short of the real thing. Ah, therein lies the challenge! Is it possible to be sufficiently "anal" (excuse me) to satisfy yourself and others with a truly complex interior? At least for me, simply asking the question demands one try!

YES! You can get reasonably complex if that,s your choice.I did a TITANIC years ago and it had real detail in the engineering spaces.That consisted of the boilers and the engines.I even figured out how to take crushed charcoal(from a fish tank filter) and show part of a coalbunker.The real challenge is doing the multiple levels in the engine room.I have an old "LIFE-LIKE(old brand name) paddlewheel steam towboat with a detailed engine room with an actual two piston engine that the parts move in when you turn the paddlewheel! Try it ,you,ll like it. commodore4

[DrPR]

Somewhere on the Internet I came across a 3D CAD model of the INS Yamato showing all of the frames, longitudinals and decks inside the ship. It was pretty cool, so I decided to do that with my USS Oklahoma City CLG-5 CAD model.

Wrong! Working from the original blueprints, after several weeks I got about 1/4 of the 150 frame outlines done - at least on 4 foot intervals. Below the waterline there were additional half frames at 2 foot spacing, and no two are alike. With all the holes, flanges and brackets the number of details is huge! And that doesn't include any of the longitudinals, machinery, plumbing or internal bulkheads or fixtures.

Someday I may resume the project, but I am not sure I will live long enough to finish it. I guess this is where the "anal" part comes in. The desire for accuracy has to give in to the reality that one person can't build an entire ship right down to the last detail.

I do want to model the machinery spaces, magazines and ammunition handling sysems, and the missile house. That will take years! And someday I would like to build a physical working model of the missile house. Don't hold your breath waiting for that!

[commodore4]

You can do this . Take a moment and think , which are the most interesting spaces overall ? It,s true that there is just to much of a ships framing and support structure to do it all . So , what I do is isolate those spaces that will draw the viewers eye . On the TITANIC I did do the staircase and the portion of the hull and decking that covered it in a way.I cut anything out that obscured the view and did this by just making a big hole and representing the decks and bulkheads with clear and slightly frosted clear pieces covered over by the hull ,deck and deckhouse in clear . It worked ! In the engine room and boiler room I just cut a hole slightly larger than the area that I needed and did the same thing , Just around the edges ! Then I built an engine room area as a stand alone three dimensional model and slid it in . I hope you can visualize the areas done this way because that is the main part of it . Also use a lot of lighter colors deep in and darken it to scale colors as you come to the opening . This helps create more depth . good luck! Commodore4