CSS Texas how to with Google Sketch up.

[Paperwarrior]

Ditto, Knife. Thanks.

Corey, as I stated earlier, this is much appreciated. As always I'm looking forward to the next installment. When finished I'll utilize Word and copy-paste and make my own instructional manual.

Jeff

[ct ertz]

If you do that Jeff You should re-post it in the downloads!

As for those gun-ports I had done them wrong on a number of my first models! That is why there is some mis-alignment on the CSS Palmetto State's bow gun port. With the Texas we are going to click on the back wall and then go to "hide" so we can see into the casemate (pic 26). Then I make some temparary virtical lines as in pic 27, and these form temporary vertical walls as in pic 28. Pic 28balso shows the reminder window that will pop up because you have that hidden wall.

Sorry to leave you hanging but I have to go to work. I will post more tonight, along with links to get Gimp 2.6 and Google Sketch Up 7, both free!:D
CT

[ct ertz]

Google SketchUp
Google SketchUp - Download

http://uberdownloads.net/apps/gimp/index.php?brand=uberdownloads.net&s=google&country =US&c=uber.net_gimp&k={keywords}&pk=7000

Download The Gimp 2.6.11 - FileHippo.com

So there you have a couple of links to gimp and sketch up. I have not tried these downloads so...

OK, pic 29 shows how I clicked on the rest of the angled casemate walls and then pushed the "hide" button. This way we can see our temporary vertical walls. Pic 30 shows my gun ports. On the Texas they were quite small and higher on the casemate wall then on my other ironclads. My gun ports are 2x3 feet. The opening will be bigger because of the slant of the casemate walls. These ports are 2.5 feet off the deck, so we may end up making the rails on the pivot guns thicker.

In pic 31 shows how I used the push-pull button to draw out the gun port shapes to the outer edge of the casemate.

Now I pushed "Un-hide all" and the casemate walls pop back. Then to make the gun ports hold their shape, we do the intersect with model button just like for the hatches. See picture 32.

more later!
CT

[Knife]

I'm doing a "test build" of CT's instructions, and have ran into a roadblock. I'm using the latest version of Sketchup (8.0.3117) from the links above. I import my top and side view drawing, but when I go to rescale the image using the tape measure tool I'm unable to get the window where I can edit the length. I left click at the bow, get the measurement when I put the end of the line over the stern, but when I click to fix the length the line measurement just disappears. If I don't click then the line just moves with the mouse input and there's no way to get to the edit box. I tried this on two different computers with the same results. Anybody else having this problem, too?

[ct ertz]

picture 33 shows the gun ports after erasing all of the extra stuff and coloring them black.

The next step is to open a second sketch up window and draw an out line of your paper. In this case, I want the ship to be 1/250 scale so my paper is 229 feet by 177 feet. (11 by 8.5 inch times 250). I already have the template, compleat with a scale bar. I also imported some common parts I use on my models, such as the guns, and davit, anchors and so on...

Now we are getting ready for unfolding. I use the "ghetto" version of the unfolding tool because I have good control. I do not use wayBe. I think you can find it here:
Jim's SketchUp [Plugins] Blog: Plugin: Unfold Tool

CT

[legion]

Knife, when you click for the second time while measuring, type the new length immediately, without moving your mouse.

[ct ertz]

How frustrating Knife. (it took me forever to get it to work as advertised) You click, draw out the measurement, click a second time at the end point, then without moving anything, start typing in the measurement and push enter. That is the way it works for me. I do not know what to tell you. Remember, click, drag, click-then do not move a thing, just, start typing. If that still dose not work, try using the pencil, but I am sure it is the tape measure, but may be the something changed in the upgrade.
CT

[Knife]

Nope, that doesn't fix it. Doing everything just as the "instuctor" shows, but immediately when I click the second point, the measurement disappears. I'll keep playing around with it, I was just wondering if anybody else has had the same problem.

[Knife]

Just after posting the above message, I went back and now it's working normally, with the pop-up message about resizing. I swear I'm not doing anything different, except posting messages that make me look dumb. Anyway, back to work!

[ct ertz]

I believe that Knife, as I said, it took me forever to get it to work as on the video I was learning from. If you do it just a bit off, it will not work. Touchy. Luckily, you only need to do it once.

OK, pic 35 shows how I extended the smoke stack down to the deck. Next I will "hide" all of the angled shield and casemate sides so I can click on the deck parts. This way we can select all of the main deck, the copy it, and paste it onto our other sketch up window (pic 37). Notice that the deck parts are white. These for some reason are upside down. Don't know why. I will highlight them and push edit, then reverse the faces. You probably do not need to on the deck, but later when you use the unfold button, any backwards faces through a monkey wrench int the works! Anyhow, pic 39 shows the result I was looking for.

More soon! Time to cook.
CT