Trumpy's HMS Belfast 1/350 with 3D-printed gun barrel mounts

[PiperMat]

Hello,

I started on HMS Belfast a couple of weeks ago, and as many of you on this forum, I was not happy with all three barrels of the big guns being mounted on the same axis. As no aftermarket upgrade seems to tackle the problem, I decided to do it myself. After giving it some thought, I decided to sketch out mounting plates for brass barrels and have them printed in 3D.

I started by making a sketch and taking measurements:



I the sketched out the four plates on a sprue in Sketchup, a free 3D drawing program:



I then drew a sprue with 12 cilinders to attach the brass barrels and mount on the plates:



I had the items printed in 'frosted ultra detail' by Shapeways, a 3D-printing company in The Netherlands. They were delivered today:



Next step was cutting the mounts and attaching the brass barrels I ordered on Ebay:



I then mounted the plates on the base of the guns (somewhat damaged as I already had the trumpeter barrels mounted and had to pry open the glued guns):



End result on a 95% painted hull and deck (deck is loose dry fit, hence the 'slope' on the picture):




I'm pretty happy with the result. It's not 100% perfect but it looks a lot better than the kit guns. The distance between the barrel mounts is just a little bit off. Also, it's difficult finding the 'sweet spot' when gluing the plate to the gun base.

[PetrolGator]

My god. This is awesome.

You wouldn't be willing to let Shapeways print off a few more of these, would you? I'm sure many of us would willingly pay for them. The Belfast can be a lovely kit, but the dang barrel issue really limits what you can do with her.

[PiperMat]

Thank you!

I am willing to make it public, so anyone can order it from Shapeways directly, but first I want to adjust the plates a bit so the distances are 100% correct and the line up to the gun base easier. I'll try to do that this weekend.

[tko24]

Count me in for a couple of those sets. I plan on building 2 kits, one in her WWII fit and one modified to her early 1960's mods. Please post the link to this set when it's ready.

[PiperMat]

I made a couple of changes to the design. First of all, I moved the two forward gun mounts 0.2mm to the outside, and the middle gun mount 0.55mm forward, so it should now line up perfectly with the slots and the distance between the two forward guns and the backward gun should correspond with the 30" in real life. I made the plates a bit more into a 'T' so they will line up and glue easier. I made the hole in the barrel mounts a bit bigger, and most importantly, I combined the plates and mounts into one sprue, so it's a lot cheaper.

I ordered a set just now, and when it arrives and I'm 100% satisfied, I will make it publicly available to order from Shapeways, so anyone can get them.

[tko24]

Great news! Thanks.

[Dave Rowe]

Thanks for taking the time to do this

[PiperMat]

The 3D-printed parts are in:



They line up better than the first set I made. This is the final result:



As promised, I made them available for purchase @ Shapeways: http://www.shapeways.com/model/1818686/ ... ounts.html

To be clear: I'm not taking a markup on the orders so I don't make any money on this.

[BJohnson]

Thank you very much for this, mine on order.

Bryan

[MartinJQuinn]

My god. This is awesome..

Yeah...what he said.