Ship Model - Made with Epilog

[Larry Folk]

I thought that I would post some photos of a project that I am currently working on.
Last year I posted some photos of some architectural models that I do and this project is along those same lines.

Back in September I was commissioned to build a “generic” model of a modern cruise ship for a unit of the U.S. Coast Guard.
Their specs were 1:100 scale, 8 foot long, must come apart for transportation to conferences and could not be a copy of any existing cruise ship. This unit is in charge of training inspectors and inspecting cruise ships.

There were no plans to go by and the only thing that they were able to give me was a pdf file of a cross section of a ship so I could establish deck heights.

I have designed everything in 3d with SketchUp and then exported .svg files to Corel for laser cutting. Almost the entire ship's structure is made from 1/8” Baltic Birch with some balsa. The left side is open in certain areas to show details on some of the decks.

Attached are some screen shots of the SketchUp file and some under construction photos.

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[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Larry,
Very cool. Thanks for sharing. Out of curiosity, why did you choose Sketchup over Rhino to design it? How are y planning on making it to breakdown and be transportable? What type of joinery did you use for it? Butt or mortise and tenon or other?
Thanks and ...

[Dan Hintz]

That must have taken a boatload of time (hah, there was truly no pun intended on that one... realized after I wrote it) to create the files.

[Neil Pabia]

That is very cool.

[Larry Folk]

Michael,

I have used both Rhino and SketchUp but I like to use SketchUp for my architectural practice. Before I started this I considered myself a casual user of SketchUp but now I have a good understanding of how it works and I am liking it more and more. There are plugins that allow you to draw almost anything and the user interface is user friendly.
All of the pieces are slotted and tabbed with hardly any surface gluing only. We have used about 3/4 of a gallon of Titebond glue so far.

I have engineered a separation point half way back from the bow. At the very bottom and at the cabin decks I have dowels to align things up. I have (3) 4-40 socket head bolts on each side that are accessible to pull the halves together.

I have two wood boxes made that each half goes into for transportation.

Dan,

Yes, this has taken a lot of time. This project has been worked on almost every day since getting the contract. 3/4 of the time has been designing and engineering. The benefit of this is all of the pieces fit and the actual construction has been easy.


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[Frank Corker]

That's a super job you having going there and so far it's looking just like the real thing. Well done you!

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Impressive.

[Dee Gallo]

Hi Larry and Judy,

It's great to see you what you've been up to - very ambitious! What I find most amazing is that you basically designed a whole cruise ship! Nicely executed, as usual.

cheers, dee

[Sotos Patistas]

Awesome craftsmanship Larry! I'm sure your client will be thrilled.

How much longer till your deadline? Also, does Sketchup Pro allow you to extract the curved "skin" from the bow and flatten it?

Yup, the better you draw it, the easier it is to assemble.

Sotos

[paul mott]

Excellent work Larry.

Paul.

[Cassondra Bennett]

Awesome work!!!! very impressive!!!

[Rangarajan Saravana kumar]

Really very nice to see and thanks for your sharing

Regards,
Saravanakumar

[Bruce Boone]

Very nice! I see it's a cargo vessel that transports large bricks. :)

[Chris DeGerolamo]

Holy Ship!

I am sure in these tough times this job helped to keep your business afloat.

[Daniel Wolanski]

Upon close examination of your pictures I see a 2.5" or 3" white Du-Bro / Great Planes spinner hanging on your pegboard along with several other RC products. You must be into RC airplanes as well!!! The thick CA and accelerator are another dead give away.

[Dee Gallo]

I just have to mention that your workshop is WAY too clean and organized.

[Philip Richardson]

I thought the fuselage in the center of pic 5 gave it away, but then again it could be the avatar. :)

[Larry Folk]

Daniel and Philip,

I am into Scale R/C with both feet. I design and build my own scale planes. I typically try to get copies of the actual full scale aircraft plans and use them to create my r/c plans. This is one reason for having the laser. I also use it for the architectural models that I make in my architecture practice. This ship project is just like doing a big building model.

Dee,

The shop is a dusty mess right now and even though my shop is of good size this ship is taking up a lot of space.
Planning on being finished with it by the end of next week.



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