The venerable Bentley Blower in 1/12th

[nickedw]

WELL Guys thinkin this through i aggree with Steve an i'll proberly get shot for this from you guys esp the guys who have bad aritise in their hands but yes this cad thing is great but here we go i dont think its modeling as such as the machine is doin all the building an not the moddeler like i like to scratchbuild the part that i need an not just let the machine do it Aaaaaaccchhh there ive said it now so all feel free to have your say

I take your point, but I think you are overlooking the fact that I drew all this stuff in the first place in CAD which actually requires far more research and effort than scratch building.

Why? You can 'guess' in scratch building, and have some sort of physical object to start with. You don't in CAD and have to account for every surface or it just won't work.

To get an apprecation of this here is my CAD work for my F40 engine. This took about 4,000 photos from a guy in Belgium who had one disassembled and could not have been more helpful.

I didn't record my CAD hours, but it's in the hundreds.

Click this and you well get an idea of what goes into it:- F40 CAD Drawing

( click + Drag to rotate, scroll wheel to zoom if you're unfamiliar with 3D stuff)

You might be surprised to learn that I broadly agree with you, and have little time for the guys that google an stl file and then just press print.

I was scratch building stuff before all this so I can do both, infact that is what led me to it.

I just know I can achieve far more (and make it repeatable) with these technologies, yes its a different skill set, I wouldn't say it was easier though.

It's just another (extremely powerful IMHO) tool. If you choose not to use it that's fine and up to you.

Some people won't use an airbrush.

Same thing.

Happy to have the thread hijacked BTW this is a discussion that needs to be had I think :smiling3:

Nick

[Tim Marlow]

Not sure where this discussion is going to be honest, but it’s no less interesting for that.

The design and printing you are doing Nick seems to me to be an exercise in producing your own “kit” to your own specification. To me, that’s pretty much the definition of scratchbuilding. After all, a kit is just a set of parts that are assembled to produce a physical object, and scratchbuilding is the process by which the parts are generated.

The difference between your approach and Chris’ approach is just in the tools and materials used to produce the end result. The ethos of producing a miniature object that satisfies you using techniques that you are comfortable with is the same in both cases.

Disclaimer…..what follows is more my opinion of myself, not my opinion of anyone else….it is not supposed to criticise or denigrate anyone that posts on the forum.

A different question is “what is modelling”? Most of what I post is the painting of miniature figures. Though there is some rudimentary assembly required, it’s mostly an exercise is painting. Personally I’m not sure that’s really “modelling” in the true sense. Doesn’t stop me enjoying it, but does it make me a modeller? I was a serious scratch builder up to about twenty years ago, producing railway stock and buildings from basic flat material stock (plastic and metal), so I’m happy to be thought of as a modeller. However, the continuous search for improvements in my technique drained the enjoyment from the hobby, so I took a hiatus for a few years. Since I came back to it I’ve changed my focus and subject, mostly building “out of the box”, putting more effort into finishing than into the pure detail of the build itself. To me, that makes me more of an assembler than a modeller though……but as I’m someone that doesn’t really care about labels I’m not worried as long as I enjoy the process.

[boatman]

ANYWAY Nick carry on Sir with you brilliant models for us to enjoy
chrisb

[Neil Merryweather]

I have to agree (no surprise) with Nick's post above., although obviously I am already converted to the church of CAD.
Since learning my CAD skills (which took me a LONG time, unlike Nick) I have found it no less satisfying to build things virtually than I do to make things physically. But I do like the fact that I can reproduce them and in different scales, which I obviously can't with building a thing physically.
I imagine there must have been some carpenters back in the day who said "Oh I don't hold with this electrical trickery circular saw malarkey -it takes all the pleasure out of cutting a straight line".
This just a new tool. The same with the laser cutter and CAM.
I enjoy the researching and estimating measurements from pics on the internet, it's just I am creating my model in virtual 3 dimensions to start with in the same way I would have made myself a 2D drawing before CAD.
My two penn'orth!

[Gern]

What's the betting you could find very similar discussions from 60 - 70 years ago when airplane modellers started switching from balsa and tissue to ready-made plastic kits? And years before that when traditional wood carvers switched to ready-cut sheets and strips. It may well have started when flint knappers started moaning about these new-fangled metals.

Like Tim, I don't think it matters how we end up with our finished models. It's our own hobby to pursue as we like, whether we use traditional tools and materials or state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, but it's still nice to see how the other guy does it.

[nickedw]

If anyone would like to see it (after all that! ), here is the CAD drawing I'm still working on for the Bentley Engine :- Bentley Blower CAD

[boatman]

WELL Nick had a look an glad you know whats what an i hope you are enjoyin it but TBH its way over my head as gettin an ole codger now an dont understand things as i have a job even workin my p/c out but i'll watch you as you go to try an understand what you are doin enjoy your self on this wonderfull forum
ATB to you Sir
chrisb

[Tim Marlow]

If anyone would like to see it (after all that! :smiling3: ), here is the CAD drawing I'm still working on for the Bentley Engine :- Bentley Blower CAD

Very nice work Nick.

[nickedw]

Here’s some updates on the Bentley,

I’ve decided to tackle the 30 gallon Le Mans petrol tank next. I’ve opted to draw from scratch and print the mesh for various reasons, insanity being one of them. I did stumble trying to curve a ‘sheet’ of mesh in fusion 360, but tackled it a different way in the end.
Currently I’m planning on CNC cutting thin ali to make the tank sides and wrap around, formed and held by the 3D printed sides/mesh. Watch this space, I just need to finish off the fuel filler and the CAD is done.







Finally a quick render of the latest CAD drawing



And here’s a picture of a real one for good measure



Thanks for looking

Nick

[minitnkr]

Just magic to my old eyes.

[Ian M]

That fuel tank is a work of art.

[langy71]

That fuel tank is a work of art.

Totally agree with Ian here.. there's nothing more that words could add to this.

[scottie3158]

I wish I had the skills to do this.

[Jim R]

Definitely a work of art.

[nickedw]

Thanks for all the kind comments and support.

So Here's the Petrol tank's first excursion into the 'real world'. This is my favourite bit to be honest, where all the stuff that has thus far only really been in my head and on a screen, becomes a physical object (or quite often not, as the case may be)

So this is one of those 'successful operation/dead patient' jobs, Although it looks pretty good (IMHO) it's impossible to separate the mesh from the support stuctures because it's so fragile.



The CNC bit isn't bad, although I need to review my tool choice, it's not a great edge. So back to the old virtual drawing board then :smiling3:

Shouldn't be too hard to fix by orientating the print vertically. I thought I would try this first as a vertical print will take a hell of a lot longer.

regards

Nick