Ironclad USS Chickasaw, 1/200 scale, from CAD model

[Devin]

This is a 1/200 scale scratch build. I am cheating a lot on this one, though, as the bulk of the framing was done in a 3D CAD program by Dean Horvath. He broke the 3D model down into kit components and we had it laser cut from thin plywood for me to assemble. The process of the 3D design can be found here on the Modelwarships.com in the Virtual Ship Modeling forum.

At 1/200 scale the hull will be right at 14? long. We split the hull into upper and lower parts, so that it can be built full hull or waterline. I still haven�t decided yet if I�ll just build this as-is, or seal it up and cast resin hulls for the actual detail and finishing portion. I�m leaning towards the latter.


This is the 3-view (and then some) from the 3D model render, and what the finished ship will look like. I'll most likely use the same color scheme.


One sheet of kit components, as delivered from the laser cutter. Very minimal attachment points were easily cut through with a flat-blade X-Acto knife.


The upper hull frames cut and laid out.


The pieces are slotted and fit together like LEGOs. It literally took me 10 minutes to have this assembly put together.


The pieces are snug. I still haven't applied glue to anything at this point, but I could pick up this framework and move it about with no shifting in the parts.


To counter some warping from humidity, I attached the hull bottom sheeting to a flat building board with thumb tacks. I then went over every seam and joint with drops of superglue to fix it all in place.

[Dan K]

Looking good. Almost like building a Guillow a-c.

[Roscoe]

Looking at those thumbtacks really puts the size into perspective. Really good start Devin, you'll have this all framed up in no time. But like they say, the devil is in the details, which I'm looking forward too.

Great job so far!

-Dean

[tea monster]

That went together quickly!

As Dean said, looking forward to the more involved stages of construction.

Owen

[JIM BAUMANN]

Very cool indeed!



JIM B

[Guest]

The advantage of getting something done CNC like the laser cutting is that you can scale it up or down to make a bigger model if you want. She looks great as a static scale model, and should you decide to make (or sell for a kit) a larger scale one, it should be easy to get it made larger. I have always had a thing for the double turreted monitors (especially Chickasaw, with her fine record in action) and now know that it is possible to build one should I so desire later on. Thanks!
Foo

[herrmill]

Looks fantastic Devin!

If you'd be interested in selling a 1:72 laser cut kit, let me know since it would look great besides Canonicus.

[Devin]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I'm entering new territory with the build now as I have to start soaking wood in water to get it to bend around curved sections. Wish me luck.

[herrmill]

Don't forget the ammonia, tea kettle &/or steam iron. Can't tell you how fun that was to find in my local supermarket a few years back.

[Timothyo]

Any progress to report? I have been checking in, as I am planning a build of the Milwaukee and am looking to this as inspiration!

Thanks,

Timothy

[Devin]

I've progressed a little, but haven't had time to snap any photos. I've got half of the sheeting on, and am ready to go onto the next bit. I started a new job a couple of weeks ago, and am still sorting out all of that. I've also been putting more time into my USS Luzon build (viewtopic.php?f=59&t=106271) as she'll be making the trip to the NATS in two weeks, so she got bumped up in priority.

I'll do my best to get an updated posted this week, though.

[Roscoe]

It's Alive!... just kidding.
Well, I should have another project or two ready when your done with this, if your interested. Like you, I haven't been able to do a whole lot lately because of work, damn real life keeps getting in the way.

-Dean

[Devin]

Yup, still alive! I got sidetracked getting USS Luzon ready for the NATS, and with her done, now I can spend some time with Chickasaw.

The deck of Chickasaw has cutouts for the turrets. The thin ring in this shot is to sit lower than the deck on frame cutouts so that the turret is supported, but it penetrates the deck, as it did on the actual ship.



Here you can see the rings sitting in the notches cut into the frames.



I've decided since starting the build that I want to make this so it can be used as a master for resin casting. As such, I can't leave the open framework here.



I used sprue cutters and snipped all of the raised portions. The thin ply cuts easily and straight. No sanding required to get the full platform to sit level.



The decking applied. The base of the turret has small gaps around the edge, but wood putty will fill those. Notice the notches in the deck that correspond to tabs on the framework.



There's a serious camber in the deck. I first glued down the flat portion, let it set up, then ran glue along the tops of the frames and clamped them down with superglue. I've already removed the clothes pins from one side and most of the @#$*@#*!! joints popped. If it does it again, I'll remove the whole thing, toss the super glue, and use Gorilla Glue.

[Roscoe]

Good to see you back on this, it must look HUGE compared to the Luzon, and I thought this was small.

I've had the same problem using super glue, unless you really saturate the mating parts with it, curvy sections sometimes just won't hold well like wood glue does.

Looking good,
Dean

[Devin]

I spread the pieces apart and ran a bead of superglue along the entire surface area, then clamped it down again. This time it held. In the future, though, I'll go with wood glue. Would have done so this time, but I'm out.

[herrmill]

Looking great, Devin! I'm a huge fan of Gorilla Glue, as well, & use it on all but the small fiddly bits where CA shines.

[mcg]

This is fascinating to watch, Devin. Sorry to lose sight of that elegant framing, but.

On rc sailboats with curvy surfaces I have used thixotropic epoxy with good success. An advantage is that it stays right where you apply it, rather like peanut butter.

Hobby Poxy used to make it but it is difficult to find now. A good commercial substitute is PC-7 thixotropic epoxy from the hardware store. An hour of working time, and 24-hours to total solidity. Michael

[Devin]

Thanks, guys. Michael, I'll keep an eye out for that stuff, sounds interesting.

[Devin]

Still recovering from the NATS, but got plenty of inspiration there to get back to building.

When it came time to sheet the lower hull, I came up against this. The red line is where the top of the hull bottom (is that confusing?) is supposed to be. Nearly flat. The wood warped when I soaked the bottom portion to glue it.



To recitify the curve, I coated the frames with Gator Glue, sprayed the sheeting with water (Gator Glue is water activated) and then clamped it down with a metal plate to distribute the pressure.



After the lower hull dried, I was able to stack the two pieces for the first time, and just stuck the turrets on there to see how they looked. I also realized that while I was so proud that I figured out I needed to blank off those turret holes, I forgot about the holes for the stack and pilot house. I guess I'll punch out thin styrene or paper of the right size and seal off the openings.



At this point all of the parts of the "kit" are together, except for the keels and rudders. I'll add those after it's either cast or sheeted.

[Dan K]

Cool construction.