September 2018

I am very pleased to add a new name to my Model Makers Showcase this month, James Craggs, and a new set of techniques - to this web site - that may well be the coming trend for the aspiring model makers of the future - 3D printing.  The process has now been around for quite some time, albeit very expensive to get involved with and purchase the equipment.  However as with all new technologies, if it has promise, and this one surely does, then prices will come down to what the little man can just afford in due time.

With the computer now in almost every home and the younger generation brought up on them like mothers milk, it has not been long before many got hooked on using the graphics now available to start creating 3D models on the screen.  I had many requests for classic car data for just such a use.  So the next logical step was to see what would happen, if one tried to turn the completed 3D graphics into a solid 3D representation, that one could handle.

However the step is an exceedingly large one with a thousand and one pit falls, and a steep learning curve, that can be costly, but as can be seen by this work from James, if the subject is right, and with perseverance and great skill, exceedingly acceptable result can be obtained.  I see nothing in the finished result that would indicate that it was created other than by the traditional methods, and I think this is the key to the craft, what you create should be of itself - the subject - how you got there should in no way be apparent, and the 3D printing process used with skill, would appear to offer this way forward.

The main limitations would appear to be with the materials, although there is a vast range now available, and several different techniques out there to use them, most are still prohibitively expensive, as are the machine that use them.  With those that are available at affordable prices, machines and materials, the limiting factor would appear to be the strength of those materials - none being a substitutes for brass, or metal in general, so at this time, some general model engineering know-how and machinery is still going to be essential to be able to make a miniature of lasting quality.  How one incorporates the metal parts to strengthen the whole will depend on the ingenuity of the craftsman.

------------------------

Next month I return to the third and final model of the Falls of Clyde - a waterline model fully rigged with sails furled and at anchor. Watch this space.

                                                                                    --------------------------------

One more month - it is holiday time after all - and I will return in October with a start on the third of the Falls of Clyde models - OK auto enthusiasts, it is a ship, but as my regulars will be aware, my emphasis is not so much the subject, but the answers as to how to make it, ie - materials and their manipulation - and this is common to all subjects.

The model is of the waterline type, of an iron ship, with brass taking the place of the iron.  The half model and the centre section model of the same  subject can be seen HERE, together with the many tools developed to complete them, several being of interest generally to all model making.  So it will be with this final model - two of the more elaborate examples of the new tools are shown here - they will be covered in great detail when I get to that stage in the building program.

When the ship model is completed I still have several more  car models to complete for my collection, as can be see  HERE, each with it’s own set of techniques, many of which have not been covered in the past, so stay with it, and ‘watch this space’

------------------------------------------------------

An After Sales Service to my book readers

Should you have found inspiration, ideas, or just picked up new techniques from my books, plans, and/or web site Galleries, and have photos of your work built as a result, and would like to give me the honor of showing them to others here, please drop me a line, and I will let you know how to proceed.

***********************************

NOTE - Very poor photo copies of some of my books (among a number of others) have been sold on eBay as originals, and eBay, up to this point in time, are protecting the criminals, even though they have ample evidence of my copyright infringement. Should any one have had dealings with- Nicholas Thomas alias - phantomoftheauction09 - and/or  Michael Thomas alias plaininspain9 - or anyone else passing off fake copies of my books, I would be most pleased to hear from them.  eBay UK have now removed both of the above individuals, from their web site, but will not, as yet, provide me with the details I need to put them permanently out of business.  Until they do my advice is DO NOT SHOP FOR BOOKS ON eBAY-UK - Go to AMAZON and get satisfaction.

***********************************

I am often asked about the availability of plans.  The following web sites have been brought to my attention, and I am pleased to pass them on here. Some of my own plans are available in my books.  For details, click on the ‘Books’ button on the ‘Home Page’

<http://www.carblueprints.narod.ru>

<http://www.the-blueprints.com/>

http://www.smcars.net/

http://leander.mutsaers.us/

< https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Balclutha_Deck_Plans-_Poop_Deck,_Forecastle_Deck,_Main_Deck,_Main_Deck_Structural,_Tween_Deck,_Tween_Deck_Structural_-_Ship_BALCLUTHA,_2905_Hyde_Street_Pier,_HAER_CAL,38-SANFRA,200-_(sheet_4_of_69).png#filehistory >