USCGC Bertholf (WMSL-750) � A CAD Design for 3D Printing

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 25

Hello Guys!

It�s been a productive day on Bertholf, as I have spent most of the day on her and in my latest session made the Towing Bitt. I had only marginal pictures of it, with the picture below, clipped from a picture Pavel sent me, being the best shot of it.



Fortunately, the plans show the vertical parts of the towing bitt to be the same diameter as the 10� double bitts, so I used this fact to my advantage and started by copying the tops of one of the 10� double bitts to the location marked for the towing bitt. In the pictures the tops of the towing bits appear to be a little more than 2-1/2�, which is the height shown in red in the image below.



I raised the top up to the line (in the end I moved it slightly higher, but not by much), and created the lower part in two parts for coloring the virtual model.



I then copied the 3 parts to the location of the other vertical part of the bitt.



To make the horizontal part I rotate/copied the upper two sections of the port side post 90 degrees, picking a point slightly below the mid-point for the axis of rotation.



In the few pictures I have, the horizontal post appears to be slightly smaller diameter than the vertical posts so I scaled the entire horizontal post assembly 90%...



�Moved it up slightly, then mirrored the end piece to the other side, because although I can�t see the other side good in any of the pictures, it seems reasonable that the bitt is symmetrical.



Last I extruded a circle to complete the horizontal post and joined it together.







That�s it for now, but I�m on a roll, so there may be more to follow shortly.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 26

Hi Guys!

My roll was interrupted but I was able to add the 6 Deck Mounted Chocks. Although this may change depending on printability, for the time being they are just the towing chock reduced to 56%.



I was also able to complete the 50 Caliber Ready Service Lockers (RSL). Once again the plans identified the location, and I had a couple of really good pictures of it (after zooming and cropping), so I had a decent idea of what it looks like.





Note that the RSL is lifted off of the deck by thin transverse plates. I elected not to try to model this precisely, because I thought it would be too fragile. Instead I made a recessed base using an extruded rectangle.



I then drew rectangles for the base and top�



�And lofted them.



The part is too small to model the top precisely, so I adlibbed it by modifying the previous top to include a smaller rectangle positioned between the top 2 rectangles, and extruded between the 3 rectangles to create a recessed area.

I also filleted the corners with a radius of 0.04� and extruded a 0.004� radius circle between the top 2 surfaces.


I then copied this extruded circle multiple times around the top of the RSL. Again, it�s not exact, but it gives a decent effect and should be printable.





After giving it some thought I decide that I didn�t like the sharp point on the top edge so added a 0.0035� top�



�And copied it to the starboard side.



CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 27

Greetings Everyone!

My latest labor of love was making the 12� Rope Scuttles, which I again had the location of from the plans. I also had one decent picture of a 12� rope scuttle�



�And another of an 18� rope scuttle.



The 12� scuttle from the plans has a radius of 0.034�, which is 1�. In the pictures, it looks to be as tall as it is wide, so I extrude the circle up 0.034�.



Once again, due to the small size, I can�t detail it exactly as the pictures show, so I had to approximate it. To separate the lid and the body, I sliced it twice 0.010� apart and extruded a slightly smaller circle in the space to leave a gap while still keeping the parts connected for support.



Next, I added the hinge (or whatever that is that juts out at the top), first using an extruded rectangle slightly smaller than the diameter of the body. I also prepared to make the arms by drawing a polyline.



Before making the arms, I sliced the extruded rectangle as I did the extruded circle and filled it by extruding a slightly smaller rectangle.



I also extruded a circle on the top end of the extension and joined it. I then moved the polyline up�



�Extruded it through the extension�



�And subtracted it.

For the handle, I quickly abandoned any idea of making it open because it is simply too small. My guess is that this part will eventually be made in PE, but for completeness, I made a makeshift handle by lofting two different sized circles offset visually. Then, as I did with the 60 caliber RSL, I added a short (0.0012�) straight section to avoid the sharp point. However, this is below the 0.0034� limitation of the printer, so I don�t know how it will come out, if it will even print.



In any case I joined the extension to the body then sliced it at the bottom edge of the gap to create 3 pieces so I could give it the 3 tone color on the virtual model. This provides more printing options as well.



The last step was to copy it to the other side.



CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 28

Goof Afternoon Guys!

Before proceeding any further, I decided to make the connections for the parts that I have made but not prepared for attaching to the model.

I started with the 50 caliber RSL.



I drew two rectangles, one is 0.0178� x 0.0396�, and the other is slightly larger at 0.0184� x 0.0410�. Both were extruded 0.010� down from the RSL, into the deck.



The smaller one was added to the RSL�





�And subtracted the larger one from the deck.



Before subtracting however, I copied the larger extruded rectangle to the other side and subtracted it too.



?
I then moved to the 10� double bitts, to which I added a couple of 0.0250 diameter spheres on the bottom.



From the deck, I subtracted 0.0263 diameter spheres.



This was essentially repeated for the other three 10� double bitts on the port side of the fantail and mirrored to the starboard side.

.

Next I did the mooring capstone, using a 0.0794� diameter circle that I extruded 0.0120� into the deck, and joined to the capstone.



Following this, a 0.0818� diameter circle was lofted into the deck and subtracted from it.



Essentially the same thing was done for the other side.



Next I did the towing bitt, again using 0.025� diameter spheres attached to the bottom�



�And 0.0263� diameter spheres subtracted from the deck (the two lower right holes in the image below).



Next was the 12� rope scuttle which was also had a 0.025� sphere added to the bottom of it�



�And a 0.0263� diameter subtracted from the deck for it to mate to. Although not shown, this was done to both sides.



Next I turned to the boat retrieval system, where I started by copying the top (or forward) support bracket to the side and subtracting it.



The aft end of the support bracket had 0.0263� diameter spheres subtracted from it. I think this is a bit too big for the upper track and later redid it.



The upper (forward) side of the tracks connected to the boat retriever had 0.0250� diameter spheres added to them�



The lower (aft) end of the boat retriever, as with the lower ends on the remaining tracks, had a 0.0203� diameter sphere subtracted from it.



The upper (forward) ends of the remaining tracks have 0.020� diameter spheres added to them.







Finally, 0.020� diameter spheres were added to the model, and 0.0203� spheres were subtracted from the tracks. In the image below, you can also see the tabs added to the lower boat retriever pulleys�



�And in this image you can see the notches cut in the model to mate with it.



Now for more detail features.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 29

Good Afternoon Guys!

Although it may have been an exercise in futility (except for the fact I got to play on AutoCad some more), I made a 50 caliber machine gun last night. I have a few good photographs of the gun in action on Bertholf, including the two shown below.





I also went on line and found the following images that were extremely useful in the design. The last one was particularly helpful, as length dimensions were also provided.







Before starting on the gun itself, I first made the tripod it sits on. Looking at the pictures of the tripod, it appears that the real deal is made out of sheet steel and due to the scale making it like that is not possible. Instead, I made it a solid piece with flat edges. The polylines I created are shown in the image below. The blue line is the base the green line is the top.



Also in the pictures, it appears that the top of the base is about 2-1/2� tall, so I made mine 0.086� tall. The image below shows the top moved up 0.086�. The shapes were then lofted together, although it is not shown until later.



At this point is when I did my net search and found the drawings. As I said, length dimensions were provided, so I scaled the drawing to size (even though it says �Not to true scale due to warp in photographs) and added my guide lines and circles. The total length of the gun was provided as 1656mm (65.2� =5.43�) which at 1/350 scale is a mere 0.19�. That is small.



I didn�t, and still don�t, see how this can be printed, but I opted to go ahead and build it, if for no other reason than the challenge and fun of doing it. And, who knows somebody might want one at 1/144 scale or larger. The biggest (or smallest) problem is the barrel, which drawn to scale, has a diameter of only 0.0045�. Anyway, I next rotated the circles 90 degrees and lofted them together.



I next extruded the rectangle to make the main body of the gun.





I then decided to add the breathing holes to the barrel, first drawing circles in the correct locations.



The top circles were then rotated 90 degrees and they were all extruded through the barrel.


?
Next, I subtracted the horizontal lofted circles (those jutting out of the image) and changed the color of part of the barrel to red, so the effect could be seen.



I then subtracted the vertical lofted surfaces and rotated the barrel 45 degrees.



After this, I started on the sites, tracing the location from the plans (red line) and drawing what I thought the section should look like (green polyline).



The green polyline was then rotated 90 degrees and extruded.



At this point I switched back to wire frame view and drew some polylines for detailing the body.



These lines were then extruded and additional lines were extruded through the body�



�And subtracted.



Next, I added handles, although I didn�t document the process, and joined everything together.


?
With the gun (mostly) completed, I rotated and moved it in position over the tripod (which you can see has been lofted).



The support tube was extruded next and I hollowed out the area around the handle.



I next made a support bracket, which I totally winged, because I have no idea what this feature looks like. Note that I also added an ammo box to the left side.







I later realized that I hadn�t added a couple of cylindrical objects, one on the side and one on the aft end, so I added them.



After saving the drawing, I copied the gun to the ship, in the two places I have encountered thus far. Note that I have changed the basic ship color from gray to white, after all that is what color it is.





My Independence Day holiday has started, so I will probably be playing with it some more later.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 30

Happy Independence Day Everybody!

I did get to play with Bertholf a little bit yesterday, adding tanks, not on the plans but seen in photographs, to the fantail.







Obviously, the reason these tanks aren�t shown on the plans is because they are moveable. To include them where they are in the pictures, I started by drawing a line approximately at the location of the double tanks. (Does anybody know what they contain? Oxygen? Natural Gas? Propane?) The tanks appear to be about 2� in diameter, so I drew a circle with a 0.07� diameter. I also drew a 0.07� sided square in the approximate location of the vertical tank rack. (Does anybody know what these are? They look like welding (Acetylene) tanks to me.)



I then rotated the circle 90 degrees, extruded it to the other end of the line and added two 0.07� diameter spheres to the end and joined them together.



Although I can�t see a base for the tanks on the pictures, for the model�s sake I added a rectangular shaped base to the bottom. I tried to make it small enough that it wouldn�t stand out too much.



I then joined the base to the tank, copied the whole thing up for the other tank and joined the two together. Once again, on the real deal the base isn�t present, but the model needs it for support.



Next, I cut out the mounting point in the deck by copying the tank assembly to the side and subtracting it from the model. I had previously extruded the rectangular base such that it was 0.008� into the deck. Subtracting the tanks therefore left a 0.008� deep recess in the deck. Although not shown I later expanded this recess by 0.001� on both sides so that the tank base would slip right in. Note that I left my construction lines on so you can see the relative positioning of the recess.



Here are the tanks recolored gray.



After this, I change to the vertical tanks, first drawing circles for the various gas cylinders. I would guess that in real life these cylinders are 6� diameter, but I drew them at 0.022�, which would be almost 8� diameter, for extra strength.



I then extruded one of the circles up�



�And added the top with a series of extruded and lofted circles the top one which was rounded.



I thought it was a little tall, so I shortened it a bit.



Next, I joined the parts together recolored it olive green and copied it to the other four locations. I also prepared to make the shorter tank.



Then I extruded the larger circle up to the height of the main body of the tank�



�And the smaller circle up past that to make both the base and the top part of the tank. In real life these are hollow, with holes through the side, but this isn�t practical at this scale.



Although not visible, except from the top, I also gave the entire assembly a little more support by extruding a polyline in the middle of the cylinders up to break on the shorter tank. The shape I extruded is shown in the image below (red pentagon).



At this point I joined all of the tanks and bases into one unit and saved it as a separate part I named �041a-AcetyleneTanks-ForPE� anticipating that we will probably use PE for the frame on this feature. The PE sheet for the frame would look something like this. I guess I should have turned it around, because the top is the bottom.



Just in case PE isn�t used, I went ahead and made one and created another file with the tank/frame assembly and named it �041b-AcetyleneTanks-noPE�. In any case, I will use this one for my virtual model.







More on the Fantail later.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 31

Happy Independence Day again everybody!

The next leg of this adventure found me making the Astern Refueling Rig.



Like several items already made, it had to be modified somewhat due to scale. For one, the small bent pipe at the top is just too small to make. Perhaps it can be added as PE, but I just excluded it in my design, which I started in the familiar way, by drawing circles. In this case, the main vertical pipe appears that it is 4� diameter (maybe slightly less), which at 1/350 scale would be 0.011� which would not be durable enough, I don�t think. I therefore more than doubled it to 0.025� because that is the diameter I think it needs to be to be both printable and durable enough for handling (especially considering that the top pipe has a smaller diameter, which I will set at 0.020�). The larger, upper circle is 0.032� diameter.



I extruded the smaller circle up for the pipe, then the larger circle up for the flange.



I then copied the small circle up and extruded it up for the next section of pipe.



Next I copied the flange up to the end of the new pipe segment�



�Before rotate/copying the upper pipe segment and flange 90 degrees�



�Moving them up to the center of the upper pipe segment and adding a 0.032� diameter sphere to the middle of the segment.



Next I added the handle, which due to the small size, was just made using lofted circles with no cutouts. This part will probably be made out of PE on the final model. I also created the taper on the top pipe, narrowing it as I said before to 0.020�.



The small straight section was added next, followed by the elbow, which was created by revolving the circle 90 degrees.



Next was the horizontal pipe section�



�Followed by the 3 flanges seen in the picture, which were all created using extruded circles.



The handle was last and consisted of a larger circle extruded out from the pipe between the flanges and a smaller (0.010� diameter) circle for the handle. This handle will probably not be printed and could be added as PE.



At this point I added a 0.012� long segment to the bottom of the upright pipe, for attaching it to the deck, and colored everything white.



For the hole in the deck, I extruded a 0.0263� diameter circle 0.012� into the deck and subtracted it from the model.



The two handles are orangish-yellow in the picture so the last thing I did was color mine as such and join everything together. Although the diameter is a bit big, I think it looks good on the model.





Still more on the Fantail to come�

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 32

Happy Independence Day yet again everybody!

In the picture below (that has been posted before) you can see another tank against the bulkhead under the stairs.



I can�t tell what size it is, so I assumed it was the same size as the two stacked tanks previously drawn. With this assumption I could use the double tanks to speed up the process of making this single tank. If I would have planned better I could have saved even more time, but such is life. Anyway, I started by copying the double tank to what looked like the proper location, rotating it and moving it around until I was happy with the location. The image shows the final positioning. The upper tank intersects the wall but it will be gone, so it doesn�t matter.



With the tanks positioned correctly, I used the bottom tank to create the new tank using an extruded circle, two spheres�



�And an extruded rectangle (for the base) and joining them together.



I then recolored it gray�



And enlarged the rectangle by 0.001� on each side, re-extruded it and subtracted it from the deck, to provide the attachment point for the tank.







Still more to come�

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 33

Happy Birthday Tammy!

I was able to get quite a bit more done last night, but when I finished, I was too tired to post it. I added detailing to the aft bulkhead at the forward end of the fantail and here is what I did. Detailing the bulkhead was somewhat complicated by the fact that I had limited pictures showing the area. I had one decent picture that Pavel sent me, showing part of it�



�And a couple that I obtained by pausing and doing a screen dump of the Bertholf�s website Virtual Tour showing other parts of the area. None of the pictures show the area very well, but using them together I was able to replicate many of the features.





There are items in these pictures that I added, but that I don�t know what they are, including the silver box in the lower right corner of the first picture, the cylindrical shaped object in the left-center of the second picture, and the small (what appears to be a) bulkhead mounted tank just to the right of the acetylene tank tops in the picture in Post 32. If anybody knows what these features are, please let me know.
The first thing I noticed is that there is an alcove on the starboard side that I hadn�t noticed before, so I cut it out using a lofted rectangle�



�That I subtracted from the model.



The pictures seem to show a short wall extending part way across the cutout, so I added it, again using an extruded rectangle. I also used modeler�s license and extruded a couple of rectangles on the back (forward) bulk head to add some relief, even though I don�t really know what it looks like in the alcove. These items were later joined to the model.



The next feature I added was the item I am calling the �Bulkhead Mounted Mini-Tank� until I learn what it really is. To make this feature, I copied one of the single tanks to the side, scaled it 50%, rotated it, and positioned it to what I thought looked like the correct position next to the bulkhead. I made the base using an extruded polyline.



The next thing I did was add the tank in the passageway seen in the third picture above. I�m not sure exactly what size it is but I assumed that it was the same size as the single tank previously made, so I copied it over, rotated it, and then positioned it in the correct position adjacent to the port side walkway bulkhead.



To add the door, I opened the door file I had previously saved�



�Copied it to the correct location on the bulkhead, and joined it to the model.



Next, I added the unknown object seen in the second image. The body was made using an extruded circle and the support brackets were made using an extruded polyline with rounded edges. I also added the drain pipe by copying the entire model to the side and slicing off the pipe from the port side (unfortunately I had attached it already). I copied this sliced off pipe to the starboard side as per the pictures and extended the piping along the underside of the flight deck extension. In the real deal, there are two downspouts but due to size, I opted to just include one. This may change later.



I then added the silver control box(?) on the bulkhead (I failed to mention that I don�t know what this item is either), using two different size extruded rectangles. This feature was also joined to the model.



The ext item I added was the large silver box to the port side of the door. I don�t know what it is but I am calling it the �Utility Box � Aft Bulkhead� until I learn what it really is. This again was an extruded rectangle. I also added the duty roster or checksheet (or whatever it is) next to the door.



At this point I prepared the connection points for the parts created. In the image below, with the model layer turned off, you can see the attachment points I created on both the Utility Box and the mini-tank�



�And in this Image, you can see the cutouts in the model to mate with them.



At this point I noticed a small silver box on the starboard side passageway bulkhead that I decided to add.



After adding this feature, I both cut out a spot in the bulkhead (female connection) to attach the unknown object�



�And added the male connector to the unknown part.



Once again, it doesn�t perfectly match the real deal, but I think it gives a fairly good representation of the area. I am considering adding the piping seen on the port side bulkhead in the passageway, seen in the third picture, but it will be so far hidden that I don�t know if it is worth the effort. In any case, I think I am finished with this area, at least for the time being, unless somebody points out something that would make it better. I think the new parts should print and function as planned with the possible exception of the bulkhead mounted mini-tank. The base and attachment points are pretty thin. It might be better to join this part to the hull rather than have it as a separate part, but we shall see.

In the meantime, here are a couple of images of the fantail as it now stands.





CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 34

Good Morning Guys!

I returned to the boat hoist last night, planning on preparing the connection points. I started with the vertical beams (the aft beam on the starboard side to be precise) but I�m worried about printability of the �I� beams, so I decided that I needed to change the vertical beam design a bit to strengthen them up. To do this I made a modified �I�, making it wider at the base and tapering to the end. In the image below you can see the new cross-section lines as well as the extruded rectangles I used to make the attachment pin and receiving hole.



To make the beam I extruded the red rectangle and green polygons, and then subtracted the extruded polygons from the extruded rectangle. It�s not an �I� anymore, but it still looks like one.





After I made the beam I subtracted the larger of the two extruded rectangles in the first image (blue) from the model�



�And joined the smaller extruded rectangle in the first image (yellow) to the beam.



Next I made the connections for the top of the beam to the cross beams. I�m not sure if it will work, although it seems to me that it should, but I made �pins� on the top of the vertical beam by joining three 0.0040� radius spheres to the end�



�And receiving holes on the cross beams, one on the fore-aft beam, and two on the cross ship beam. I should perhaps mention that I did not alter the cross beam designs. Hopefully they will print.



The vertical beam and extruded rectangles for the deck cutout were copied to the other three corners and the extruded rectangles were subtracted from the model. The pins on the forward beam on the starboard side were used to cut out the receiving hole at the other end of the fore-aft cross beam.



The cross ship cross beams are split into three pieces. I joined two 0.0040� radius spheres to the inboard end of the first (starboard side) beam.



I then subtracted two 0.0045� radius spheres from both ends of the center beam.





Next, I joined two 0.0040� spheres to the inboard end of the port side beam�



�And using the pins from the copied vertical beam for location�



I subtracted two 0.0045� radius spheres from the underside of the port side cross ship cross beam. (Good shot of a 50 cal too)



Last, the four beams made (blue, red, green and magenta in the image below) were rotate/copied to the other side.

You can see that the hoist support consists of 5 different part types with a total of 12 parts.



CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 35

Good morning again guys!

Everything I have made so far now has connectivity, as I just finished making the connection points for the boat hoist parts. Even though I haven�t completed it yet, because I stopped in hopes of finding better pictures of it, I started with the aft end hoists, first joining the parts I had made together to form the assembly (green).



Although I didn�t document it, I copied all of the monorail components to the side and then subtracted the aft hoist assembly from the monorail beams. I then created a connection for the two by joining a 0.015� diameter sphere to the hoist assembly�



�And subtracted 0.016� spheres from the beams. (Note the notches the holes are in created in the previous subtraction step.



Next, I moved to the forward hoist. At first I was considering making this into two parts, so I united the bits I made into two parts as shown below.



I then gave this end the same treatment as the other end. The image below shows the pinholes cut in the beams�



�And the pins on the underside of the hoist assembly are shown in this image.



At this point, I decided to join the two pieces on the end to make just one part out of it.



The last thing I did was to join the pieces of the moveable hoist platform to make a single part out of them. As I think I said before, this part may end up being PE on the final model, but for now, I made it anyway.



Now I am going to try to finish the hoist, even though I still don�t really know what it looks like.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 36

Still Good Morning guys!

Well, I went through my pictures of the aft hoists and came up with a couple that I based a rough design on. Both have been clipped from the originals.





So, here�s what I did to make my rough approximation�

Using the box and guide circles I had previously created, I started with the center hub circle that has a support bracket around it�



�That I made with an extruded polyline.



I then extruded the upper circle to the end of the support structure.



I extruded the other large circle only part of the way.



Next I created the housing the shafts go into by extruding a rectangle�



�And filleting the corners at 0.008�.



On the back (forward) side, I extruded a rectangle around where the upper shaft would be and extended the extrusion of the lower one.



I lofted a triangle at the top to slope it down.



To provide an opening to the pulleys, I shelled the box at 0.020�.



Next, I joined it all together�



�And mirrored it to the other side�



�Before joining both subassemblies to the assembly.





Once again, it isn�t perfect. In this case, far from it, but it is a fair representation of the real deal and could always be modified if necessary.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 37

Good Evening Everyone!

The last thing to do on the fantail is complete the mobile hoist portion of the boat hoist. Unfortunately, the best pictures I have leave much to be desired.







I still don�t feel like I have a good grip on what this hoist really looks like, so I decided just to totally wing it just so something is in that spot. About the only thing close to reality is the guard rail upfront, but in my design, the tubes are 0.010� square which could probably print, but would be too delicate to do anything with. Because I just threw something together and I don�t anticipate it staying, I didn�t document the process. Here are some images of the ad hoc design. It�s better than nothing.



















CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 38

Hi guys!

Last night, on a whim, I decided to add the stairs to the model. Although they will not be printed, because they are too small, and almost certainly will be made with PE, I added them anyway, to make the virtual model look better.







This morning, I thought I would do something quick and easy, so I started on the Helicopter Assist Track. Unfortunately, things didn�t turn out quite as planned. I have a good picture of the track�



�And the �01 Level� plan sheet shows it too, so I stared by drawing a polyline of one of the tracks on the plan sheet. The splits at the aft end are just lines.



I then mirrored the polyline and lines to the other side�



�And then copied them to the model. In this image you can see the tracks going into the hangar.



With the hangar layer turned off, you can see the all of the tracks.



?
This is when my easy morning took an unexpected detour. Looking sideways I noticed that the deck wasn�t level. There was a 0.018� dip in the deck, as can be seen below. I have no idea how or when this happened. I�m blaming the CAD gremlins.



The image below shows where the deck is at the correct level (green) and where it dips (red).



So, I sliced the hull into 4 pieces�



�And deleted the two uneven segments.



At this point I turned on the structure and mast layers and moved everything up 0.018�.



Unfortunately, the hangar part was out of whack, so I quickly redid it, using the profile outline to draw a polyline starting at the edge of the deck, extruding it past the deck�



�And sliced even with the sloped side of the hull.



I then turned the Bridge/Pilot house structure layer on and you can see in the image below that it lined up nicely on the starboard side.



Not so on the port side, so I sliced it even with the sloped side of the hull�



�And moved it in.



With the structures right, I traced the effected hull sections, starting with the aft most two�



�And lofted them together.



I then did the same with the forward two sections�



�And joined all of the hull sections together.



?
Now I was back where I started, with the track running into the hangar.



Since I hadn�t done it yet, and Pavel and I have agreed that the larger parts needed to be 3/64� (0.046�) thick, I decided to shell the parts before proceeding. I did the hangar structure part first�



�Followed by the stack structure part.



I tried to do the same for the bridge/pilot house structure part, but AutoCad couldn�t do it. That means I�m going to have to dice and slice it, or subtract features to get the correct thickness. I�m going to have to do the same with the hull sections I fear. Oh well, it is what it is, and I�ll deal with it later.



For now, it was back to the track, where I started by drawing a 0.010� square on the end of the track�



�And rotated it 90 degrees. (Note that I had to turn the hull layer off so it could be seen.)



From experience I have learned that subtractions don�t always work like they should when two surfaces are at the same level, so I stretched the top of the rectangle up�



�Then I swept the rectangle along the polyline, and extruded it along the lines.



Then I joined the solids together�



�And subtracted them from the model.







I think the hangar doors are next.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 39

Greetings All!

I made some more progress on Bertholf last night, but it was too late, and I was too tired to post it. The focus was on the hangar door and bulkhead. I had a few pictures to go on. Three are cropped from pictures sent by Pavel, and one is a screen dump from the Bertholf web site Virtual Tour.









The plans also show some of the features, and I traced the ones needed for this phase, first from the plan view�



�Then from the profile.



For no particular reason, I started with the platforms on the upper corners of the bulkhead. The lines traced from the plans were copied to the model�



�Then extruded.



The platform was then copied to the other side of the bulkhead.



Next I created the outline for the Aviation Control Station.



As with almost everything in AutoCad, there was more than one way to make this item. I opted to draw triangle polylines�

[URL=http://s1352.photobucket.com/user/rdutnell/media/USCG%20Cutter%20%20-%20Bertholf/USCGCutter-39-
pix_Page_07_zps6a51f018.jpg.html][/URL]

�Loft them�



�And slice it.



Next, I shelled the part to 0.046�.



To create the main window, I used a trial and error approach and ended up with the polyline shown below�



�Which I extruded through the part�




...And subtracted.



Next, I prepared guide lines for creating the side windows�



�Created a polyline using these reference lines�



�Extruded it through the part�



�And subtracted it. In the image below, I have refilled the space created, and colored it blue to represent the windows. In the model this will be vacant.



With the Aviation Control Station completed I laid out the doors using polylines�



�Which I rounded the corners of�



�Before extruding it through the model�



�And subtracting it.



Next I made doors, using the same polyline. First I made a set of closed doors�



�Then a set of open doors.



The last thing I have done to this point is to add the lower platforms. The plans show them to be higher than the pictures, so I went with the pictures.



CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 40

Hi guys!

Using the images posted in my last update, I added numerous details to the aft bulkhead of the hangar. I started with the doors in the middle. The plans show there location and that they open from the middle out, but it is unclear how they are attached to the bulkhead, because as you can see, the bulkhead is sloped and I doubt very much that the doors are, although I guess they could be. In any case, I am not joining it to the model until I get some clarification on it.



Next, I added the windshield guard and wiper holder (or whatever it is called). I started by drawing the outline as best I could determine it from the pictures.



Then I rotated it 90 degrees�



�And since I did it in the middle of the control station, to allow for easier reference frame management, I moved it to one end, copied it to the other�



�And lofted between them.



Then I joined it to the control station.



Next I added what appears to be an electrical box of some sort next to the control station. I started by drawing a rectangle, using the pictures to both size and position it�



�Then extruded it 0.020�.



I then mirrored it to the other side of the control station.



I then noticed that these boxes are on all four upper corners of the hangar doors, so I started to mirror it again when I noticed that the platform in the pictures did not match the plans so I redid the one I had made previously to match the pix. Then, I mirrored the box�



�Before mirroring both the box and the platform to the other side of the ship.



Next I decided to add the two boxes (again they appear to be electrical boxes of some sort). One is bigger in all dimensions than the other and the smaller one isn�t square, having a smaller top than bottom. In the process of doing this, I noticed that the lower platform was still too high, so I lowered it, to accommodate the two boxes.



I extruded the top rectangle 0.035��



�And the lower one 0.025�.



I then rounded the edges of both boxes to 0.004�.



At this point I realized two things, there is no lower platform on the port side and on the port side the small box is above the large box, so after I mirrored the two boxes to the port side�



I rotated the port side one 180 degrees, and repositioned it slightly.



That�s all for now.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 41

Greetings Everyone (Anyone?)

In one of the pictures I clipped from the Bertholf web site virtual tour, there are some containers, which look like turbine engine containers, but who knows what they are on the Helo Deck. They aren�t shown on the plans, but you wouldn�t expect them to, because they aren�t an integral part of the ship.



In any case, I decided to make them. I started by drawing a 0.1� (3� in reality) diameter circle and trimming part of it off, connecting the ends with a line and, joining it together to make a polyline. I then drew a 0.2� line perpendicular to the polyline�



�And extruded the polyline to the end of it.



Next I prepared for the horizontal �rib� seen in the photo, drawing a rectangle that is 0.005� out from the container, on all sides.



I then extruded it and positioned it so that it was centered on the container.



Next I filleted all of the edges at 0.005�.



After that I prepared to make the indentions that go around the container. Although not shown, the first thing I did was scale the original polyline to 85% and extruded it the length of the container. Then I sliced the container�



�And deleted the small sections, leaving the inner extrusion showing.



Then I filleted the remaining edges at 0.005� as before�



�Joined everything together and recolored it white.



With it completed, I copied it to a blank drawing and named it �058-HeloDeckContainers(5)�. I then copied it to the Helo Deck in the position seen in the photo.



To validate the position, I started to draw the helo deck lines, and decided, what the heck, and drew them all, tracing them with polylines and hatching them white.



Obviously they won�t be part of the model as drawn, but may be used later to add that detail and improve the look of the virtual model.

CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 42

Good afternoon guys!

As long as I am putting objects on the virtual model that will not be on the model, at least as 3D printed parts, I decided to go ahead and add the Helo Deck safety nets. Once again, these will likely be made in PE, and although what I made will not be used on the final model, the design should help with making the PE when we get to that stage. As usual, my design is based on a combination of the plans and photographs.

Before doing this however, I modified my Helo deck lines, because one of the pictures I have appeared to show them different than the plans. Other pictures however showed them to be the same as the plans, so I changed my design to match the plans, like I should have done in the first place.



The pictures I used to add the safety nets, some of which have been posted before, are shown below.









The Outboard Profile plan sheet shows the netting size and locations, so I started my design tracing plans, in this case starting with an extruded circle for one of the posts.



The attachment points aren�t shown clearly on the plans, so I based them on the pictures. I started by lofting a rectangle from the bottom of the post, and drawing a polyline for the hinge.



After extruding the polyline, I joined it to the extruded rectangle and rotate/copied the polyline 90 degrees for the ship side of the hinge, and extruded a circle through it all for a pin.



I then copied the pole and hinge parts to the other side of the safety net.



Next I lofted circles for the cross posts, that are located differently in the pictures than on the plans, so I followed the pictures.



I then added the netting, which run vertically and horizontally as opposed to diagonally, as shown in the plans�



�And joined all of the parts together and recolored it white.



My intent is to put the safety nets in the deployed position, but just in case I change my mind, I made one in the down position too.



After this, I copied the deployed net multiple times to match the plans�



�Then copied them to the model.



The aft most net however, is not the same size as the others, so after copying one of the nets to the correct position, I sliced it and moved the end to more or less where I thought it should go, and drew a line between the two parts.



I then moved this line to the end of the forward part of the sliced net.



Note that the forward end of the line ends a bit too far back, so I shortened it a bit so that it would end on the forward side of one of the vertical netting bands.



I then sliced the net again and copied the end piece to the end.



This left a small gap, which I remedied by moving the end piece forward and joining it to the rest of the net.



The next netting is on the other side of the stairs and is at an angle. I copied the second from the rear net (because the last one is too long) to the approximate location of the angled net�



..And rotated it into position, and then copied two nets to just off center at the aft end�



�And rotated them 90 degrees.



Last, I mirrored them all to the other side of the ship.



Here are some images of the model as she currently stands, with all of the layers turned on. Enjoy!







CHEERS!!!

[Rdutnell]

UPDATE 43

Good Morning guys!

Busy day yesterday. I did some modeling but didn�t have time to post it. I didn�t do a lot, but I did prepare some of the latest additions for attaching to the ship. Other parts, I simply �Union�-ed with the main model.

First, soon after making the safety nets, I saved them to a separate file and deleted them from my model. They used as much file space as the rest of the model, and when the file gets too big, it really slows the program down. I can always simply copy them back for �photo ops� and delete them again for working on the model.

Anyway, on to yesterday�s modeling. I started with the Helo Deck containers. Since these are not permanent fixtures of the ship, I do not intend to provide a mounting place on the deck for them, so that the modeler can do with them as they please, but I wanted to provide a base so that they would be easier to mount upright and not slanted. I did this by extruding a rectangle out of the container, flush with the bottom. I didn�t want the base to be obvious to the viewer, so I made the base fairly narrow. Still, I think that some base is better than no base.







To mount the Aviation Control Station (ACS), I again used extruded rectangles, I don�t know why, I just did. In hindsight, the spheres I used for objects on the deck would have worked just as well, but so be it. I used three rectangles, two shorter ones at the top, and a longer one at the bottom. All three were extruded 0.020� out from the surface. The top two are 0.054� long and 0.02� wide. The bottom one is 0.108� long and 0.02� wide.



All three extruded rectangles were then joined to the ACS.



For the ship side I extruded rectangles into the surface 0.020�. The rectangles I extruded to make the cuts into the model were 0.056� long and 0.022� long. The bottom one was 0.110� long and 0.022� wide. These are green in the image below.



At this point, it occurred to me that the 3D printer would not like the sharp point at the bottom of the ACS, so I sliced it off.



I then joined the bottom part to the hangar part and subtracted the extruded rectangles.



After much thought, I decide to make the other features part of the hangar part, so I joined them. I did not join the door and frame however, because I am still not sure if I have it correct.



Anyway, here is what it looks like with the doors in the open position.



Note that the inside is incomplete. That�s what I�m going to play with next.

I want to know though, is there anybody out there following this build? If not, I am considering not posting it any more. I post mostly for feedback and since I haven�t been getting any, I�m thinking that I may be wasting time that I could spend modeling. If I don�t hear anything, it�s been fun.

CHEERS!!!

[Brian Dale]

Yep I'm following.....There is so much information plus I have only dabbled in CAD. I may have missed it....what scale were you going to print this out in?