Model Monkey Sneak Peeks

[Mark McKinnis]

Hi Steve,


The Saratoga Island looks great! I think that version works for 1956 to 1966 when the Forrestals started getting SPS-43 attached to the starboard side of the island.

I will definitely want one in 1/700 scale, not 1/720 and eventually 1/350 scale. A set of plans and either the Fujimi or upcoming Trumpeter Kitty Hawk Kits will provide ample seed corn to create a 1/700 scale Forrestal Class. The Kitty Hawk Class and Forrestal Class shared the same hulls. The good news is that if you can get it to print in 1/720 then scaling to 1/700 should be straight forward. It would be nice to have 3D Forrestal Class sponsons to go with it but as I recall there are some limitations to doing that.

Keep up the great work!!!!

Mark

[anj4de]

..."upcoming Trumpeter Kitty Hawk Kit"...

Has that been confirmed any where already? Any links...?

thanks
Uwe

[ModelMonkey]

Thanks, Mark!

I hear you, a 1/700 island will be offered, too.

Got a lot more done on it today, mainly correcting some dimensions and adding detail. Here's a teaser of the 1960s version at 50% complete (some features will change, most noticeably the funnel cap and the aft radar platform):

And here's the starboard side of the 1990s version at about 60% complete:

Regarding the sponsons, Mark and I and a couple others talked about them privately. For anyone else interested, the sponsons are problematic. Generally, no product sells enough in any one scale to pay for the research and design time. A single 3D design has to be able to produce products in more than one scale (preferable 3 or more scales). That means that the design for a set of sponsons must be easily adaptable to be made available in several scales.

Making a 3D design adaptable for printing in more than one scale is normally not too difficult if the design has a flat surface where the 3D-printed product meets the plastic kit's parts, like the Saratoga island's bottom.

But curved mating surfaces are a different animal. For Forrestal sponsons, the mating surface where each sponson meets the hull is a complex curve, and the curve on the hull of each Forrestal class kit in the various scales they are available is not the same. Heller's hull shape is different than Revell's is different than Italeri's, etc. So to achieve a good fit to the hull, I would have to design the four portions of each kit's unique hull first, then design a unique set of sponsons to match each kit made by each manufacturer in each scale. So to produce sets for four different kits in four different scales, for example, requires 16 designs. That is an extraordinary amount of design work.

Additionally, it would be prohibitively costly to obtain a kit from each manufacturer in each scale from which to measure and design the 4 hull sections for each kit. Sales data indicates that there is unlikely to be enough demand for a set for any one kit in any one scale to pay for the donor kit, research and design time, let alone sets for more than one kit.

It has been suggested that a suitable solution might be to design a generic set of sponsons, with a relatively flat mating surface, and ask the modeler to gently sand or shape the surface to fit their kit's hull. But the sponsons will be big, therefore very expensive as a 3D-printed product. Probably expensive enough to kill any sales.

So, the short answer is no, sponsons are just not practical or economical to design.

Mark, glad you like the island! For the 1990s version, the starboard side will be loaded with features, including a CIWS platform. For those that like the clean looks of the 1960s appearance of the ships, I'll include Mk.56 directors on the island where appropriate.

[Timmy C]

..."upcoming Trumpeter Kitty Hawk Kit"...

Has that been confirmed any where already? Any links...?

thanks
Uwe

Only in their catalog for this year: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37762

[ModelMonkey]

Here is the late Vietnam War-era (1972-1974) Saratoga island at about 75% complete.

[Mark McKinnis]

Nice work Steve!

What goes where the CIWIS Station will be by the 80's?

[ModelMonkey]

Thanks, Mark!

I believe it to be an early form of self-defense station, a CHAFF Rocket Launcher platform. The platform appears in high resolution photos from Ray D. Bean's photo CDs (highly recommend them). I don't have his permission to share the photos.

[Mark McKinnis]

Hmmmmmm....

I have the Forrestal CD from Ray so I will go look it up.

Thanks for the heads up.

MM

[ModelMonkey]

Mark, I hope you are on the road heading out of Florida as I write this. Stay safe!

Here is the 1958 Saratoga CV-60 island at about 90% complete. This design has the raked funnel cap the ship was built with. Saratoga lost her raked funnel cap sometime later that year for a flat-topped cap.

I hope to have the 1958 design released within the next few days. The 1970s and 1990s designs will follow in that order. This gives the modeler the ability to build a Forrestal class ship during three distinct periods including Vietnam and Desert Storm. Imagine the aircraft possibilities!

[Mark McKinnis]

Hi Steve,

Looks awesome! I went to Orlando. It was a good move when the eye of the storm was on the east coast. Kind of jumping out of the pan an into the fire now. Nothing that a couple of scotches won't fix!

Keep up the good work!!

MM

[ModelMonkey]

Please be careful, Mark!

Looks like the storm is going to pass largely to the west of us. Hopefully all in its path will be safe.


Making the final "printability tweaks" for the 1958 design to be released in the first of probably four or five scales (1/542 scale, for Revell is first, then they get progressively smaller, 1/600, 1/700, 1/720 etc.).

The renderings below are essentially the final 1958 design for 1/542 and 1/600. It should be done Monday, pending any "life happens"/Irma events. I think Shapeways will want solid windows in 1/700 scale and smaller for this design. For the 1970s and 1990s design, they may be able to be open in all scales (since the upper windows are solid with those designs, the window framing is supported differently - better, stronger).

As you can see, most doors are open and the doors of the correct type are included (2 door types are present in the design). Open doors help with printing; when the part is put in a low temperature oven to melt away the supporting wax needed during printing, openings help the wax escape. Modelers also seem to like open doors on carrier islands because it is accurate. Most photos show the real doors open. It is a win-win.

[jpeeler]

Incredible work, Steve! Just incredible.

Jodie Peeler

[Mark McKinnis]

Hi Steve,

All is good. Just got back into the house and it all works. All of the pieces are here and OPS Normal.

Did you get the package I sent you?

Keep plugging away. Looks great!

MM

[ModelMonkey]

Thanks Jodie and Mark! Hope you are both safe and sound.

Just got back from an unscheduled 5-day hospital stay and the sponsons were waiting for me. Thanks!

It'll be a bit as I get back into the swing of things. Working on getting the first Sara island released today. I hope you will all find the design very pleasing and out just in time for free shipping.

[Mark McKinnis]

Hi Steve,

All is safe here. What is this about a hospital visit? Hope all is good there!

[ModelMonkey]

Thanks, Mark! Getting better.

The design for the Vietnam War-era Saratoga CV-60 island is nearing completion. Some of the features you see here will be adjusted, most noticeably the rear-most portion of the splinter shielding on the aft radar platform will be removed. The island's features best match how the island looked circa 1970-1975 with CVW-3 embarked during Mediterranean Sea and Vietnam deployments.

[edit: done! viewtopic.php?f=16&t=163596&p=725860#p725860]

[Admiral John Byng]

Steve, sorry to be a pain; I have all the Portland bits (they look great! ) but I can't find the thread with the video about them that you posted. Please could you direct me to it?

[ModelMonkey]

Hi and thanks for your patronage!

I don't have a video posted but there are threads by two modelers making the conversion. Here they are:

1/350 scale: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=162943

1/700 scale: viewtopic.php?f=59&t=162753

Hope this helps and thanks again!

Steve

[Admiral John Byng]

Thanks! I don't know why I thought it was a video, it was of course Taskforce 48's great build log that I was looking for.

[ModelMonkey]

Happy to help, Admiral!

In other news, the design for the circa 1968 island of USS Yorktown CVS-10 is nearing completion. Here's the design at about 90% complete:

Compare to the rendering of the previously released circa 1967 island of USS Intrepid CVS-11 below. The two islands are significantly different in detail, most noticeably bridge window configuration, camera station window configuration, structures forward of the funnel, catwalk and splinter shielding shape, porthole number and position, exterior piping configuration and SPS-30 radar antenna platform shape.

It is hoped that Yorktown will be printable in 1/700 scale.