The Ship Model Forum

Fantastic work and photos Tom! This will be great when (and if) I start my Achilles project. From the one or two photos that I have found of her, she does not appear to have the A frame. Maybe that was a lesson learned after she was initially converted and was incorporated into the ARLs converted stateside.

Have enjoyed the posts and information. Keep 'em coming!

Dave

Dave:

All of her photos I have seen are still in LST configuration. If you get started on that project I'll help in whatever way I can. She saw some combat, being damaged twice, it would be a fitting subject! There has to be some inadvertent photos of her at some of the beaches she serviced. The profile would be unique. Did she make it back to States or Pearl for overhaul? It wouldn't surprise me if at the time of her ARL designation that she received the A frame etc. It would make sense if all the ships of a designation would have a similar set of capabilities. The A frame adds a lot to the capability.

Today working on O1 deck rails and small whatnots.

Regards: Tom

I've been to the dockyards in Sydney, not a huge facility, so any wartime project there would have to have been a high priority for needs and materials. It would be increasing to find photos of Achilles in her pre Achilles days. Certainly some exist somewhere as at least a ship in the background which would show general configuration.

Cheers: Tom

Today's progress! Poseidon with LSM alongside, a common adopted stepchild. Added rail to the O1 level and some padeyes and shackles to the deck, some details involved with the A Frame Derrick etc.

The hull red is a mixture of Oxide Red and a small amount of black.

Tom

The Boot top scales out at 38". The waterline is properly located on the bow doors and at the turn of the stern.

T

Tom,

The two models really look great!!! You've come a LONG way on the ARL - it's got quite the distinct look of all-business. Your paint job also adds to the neatness of both models.

Hank

Hank:

It is at that shipshape point and all the photos I have seen it was kept that way, the photos of her returned to SanDiego at the end of the Pacific War she looks brand new out of the yard. But seeing the bridge crew, including the Captain shirtless underway, the presence of the sailing sloop and the jeep won in a poker game suggest it wasn't all "Sweepers man your brooms".

However I'll add enough neat ship clutter as I can find evidence for. Still a lot of small vents and tackle to add, some awning frames and of course (ugh) rigging. I have found a couple of photos of the stern anchor winch, enough for a reasonable facsimile. Making of course the erroneous assumption that all the LST stern winches were the same.

Tom

In way of insuring the arrival of missing information, I have designed and am printing the LST Type Johnson 50 HP electric stern Winch. Three sides had reasonable photo views to allow construction of a reasonable image. There was some tempting hints at further information, somebody on E-bay was selling the manual for the winch. So having a winch, printed out will make sure that this missing information comes to light. There is an existing drawing of this winch from the back quarter. Just to fine it!

Cheers: Tom

It's really great, Tom, both are impressive with details, and it's not finished!

Thank you Pascal!

As you know as well as anyone, turning even the best 3D drawing into a real 3D object has it's uncertainties. So far I am mostly just taking individual items and adding them a piece at a time to a traditional builders body. It's a good way to work with my level of experience and the size of my equipment (small).

The trial stern winches are curing and they printed well. I know that do to a lack of information there are some errors on the back side (like sketching the dark side of the moon). But it's worth while to fine tune what I do know and check the size and fit on the model.

I'mnot sure as yet how to proceed with the two masts, one midship and one abaft the bridge. Both are pole masts and with my current experience would be a little rubbery if just printed. I did have good luck with one of the booms, printing hollow and inserting a thin wooden dowel. The Kingposts, large diameter, worked well, especially when hollowed. Again, wooden dowel inserted to the middle stiffened and allowed a secure fitting to protrude into the deck.

Cheers: Tom

Todays minor progress: Attached the forward most king post and some of it's miscellaneous associated blocks and sheaves. Some of these are on the deck to feed the running cables up the posts and out to the booms. I painted and set on deck an aft anchor winch. This will not be the final version as the aft end with the controls and motor transmission equipment remains mostly unknown. On Item I did discover is a handbrake wheel on a horizontal shaft that controls the brake drum for the spool. There may be a platform extending toward the back (forward on the ship) of the winch holding some of this unknown machinery. There is an advertised manual for this Almond Johnson 50 HP winch on Ebay with a cover showing the winch, but it's too fuzzy and indistinct to divine anything useful. Just lets me know this part of the winch isn't correct.

Cheers: Tom

The trial version of the stern winch, Almond-Johnson 50 HP electric model as used on a thousand or so LST's. The front which you can see here is pretty accurate as I had good photos from the front and both sides from the front. The back which you cannot see, is subject to supposition currently!
Cheers: Tom

I am two generations of stern winch further along, but still missing some information. The latest version, along with some improved inclined ladders, has not yet printed. I went down yesterday and the printer was stuck with the motor trying to grind away. Cleaning of the shaft, re taping and cleaning of the LCD eventually restored this capability. A Z axis calibration was necessary, which apparently didn't work out as the print mostly didn't stick to the platen, leaving only one mostly OK rail at one end.

Hopefully this will get back in service soon. A very long period of trouble free printing till now, so gratitude for that!

Cheers: Tom

Sometime fate smiles in small ways and the printer returns to satisfactory service. I printed some updated inclined ladders, the ARL only has four external ones so I wish them to be as good as possible. The new ones are finer in detail and the hand rails a little taller.

Second batch, a pair of shields for the quad 40's, a starboard bridge wing rail and a third generation stern winch. The reason for the quad shield is that some of the shields that printed integrally had some undesirable curvature. The independent shields have been beefed up a little and removing the old ones (easy) allows more detailed painting. The idea is to attempt elimination of almost good enough items.

Perhaps not so far away from attaching the O1 deckhouse though a degree of reflection is necessary before this step.

Tom

Noel had posted photos of USS Orestes, which I had mis identified as a French vessel. It's not French... To Dave H, check out the Navsource AGP photos, I suspect that Achilles looked very much like some of the early AGP's converted from LST's with the low original LST bridgework though she may have carried bridge wings. Researching the dates and places of construction may suggest if the ARL's were an offshoot of these PT boat repair vessels. As an offensive weapon the PT's (especially in the Solomons) proceeded the large scale use of landing craft.

Tom

A benefit or curse of 3D printing is the ability to go back and modify and change (improve?). I can print the quad 40's complete with base, barrels and shield as one piece and mostly this works OK. For Alaska where I printed a dozen and a half of the little gentlemen in 1:192, it worked very well. In 120 perhaps the achievable standard is a little better. While the finished Quad is OK, certainly, by printing it as separate parts, better detail painting and support removal is possible. So here are the barrel assemblies, base unit and shield.
The barrel units snap into their trunnions and the shield attaches to the loaders platform.

Tom

Awesome

Are you making the files or getting them online?

Tom,

Very nice on the 40mm parts! I may go ahead and remove my 4 mount parts from their supports and go ahead and assemble them just to see how they fit together. Will paint prior to assembly! I don't think my mounts incorporated the shield.

Hank

Mike:

All of my 3 D items are personally created except a few files for chocks etc which Hank and I share. Hank: As far as the twin mounts, I don't believe that they were commonly shielded.

Tom

Not too much ship model work today, maybe some this evening. I was mostly involved in replacing the starter contacts on my 1:1 Land Cruiser model. The starter is conveniently hidden under the intake manifold between the cylinder banks, at the back. Replacing the contacts, starter in hand, is a five minute job. Tomorrow I get to put it all back together. All this requires finding a comfortable perch inside the engine compartment. I was a little more flexible in the "Got Gammel Dags".

After dinner I'll work on designing and printing some small items, of which there are endless numbers.

Cheers: Tom