HMAS Sydney II

[mabrown]

Hi everyone,

I've reduced the number of formers down to the images attached. I'm going to go with this scheme for the first test build.

I think my fanfold stern is a little like the stern of Digital Navy's new model of Carl D. Bradley. However, whereas I was going to use additional horizontal framing at the stern to glue the open edges to, DN's model appears to have another hull skin underneath to which the outer hull skin is laminated. I'm guessing that the inner skin is glued to the frame first and then the outer one is layed on top.

I'm really impressed with the "Carl D Bradley". When I first looked I thought the images were computer renders. I think it will be a very fine model.

[mabrown]

Has been a week or so since my last update. Not much design work done but I have been learning how to get the model into a printable form. Thanks to a forum post somewhere on the web I now know I can 'print' a pdf to file to a particular scale and import direct to Inkscape, so I've been able to ditch the long method above. I printed out a test turret on plain copy paper and put it together with sticky tape. I'm surprised how well the shape came out.

I'm very close to a test build now but I am stuck deciding on card thickness for the frame and how I should handle scaling of the sheets where the slots are concerned. I would like to make this user scalable but re-scaling by a builder will also re-scale the slots.

So, I have a few questions:
1. What scale should the model be released at and how thick should the card be for the frame parts (2mm?) at that scale? (I was thinking 1:200 for a release which I guess would scale to 1:400 with 1mm slots. Would that work OK? Seems though that most models are 1:250?)
2. I have considered releasing at a couple of set scales, say 1:250, 1:400 and perhaps 1:700. This will be additional work but it would allow me to select card thickness for the frame which is appropriate to the scale. Is this necessary?
3. If I release only at say 1:400, when you guys re-scale a model, how do you go about dealing with changed scale for slotted parts? Do you just cut the slots via careful cutting to match your card thickness?

Again, any advice from designers and builders alike is greatly appreciated.

[mabrown]

Some substantial progress (although it may not look like it). I've decided to provide my 3d wire frame with marked lines (red in the attached images) where slots are to be cut. This will allow me to use pre-sized slot cutters at various thicknesses (eg 1mm, 2mm etc) to match whatever thickness of card I am using and just "snap" the cutter onto the markers. I can then use the cutter to boolean subtract (or perhaps merge) the slot from the underlying surface.

I'm hoping that the advantage of this will be that I will be able to scale the parts independently of the thickness of material being used for slotted parts.

I bought some materials today in anticipation of a test build, a ream of 200gsm paper, some sheets of 450 & 600 gsm card, some hobby glue and a can of the 3M 77 spray adhesive (that stuff is expensive!). Seems the more design work I do though, the further away I am from actually building something

[APA-168]

Looks excellent, can't wait for more!

With regard to your question, 1mm seems to be common for 1:200-1:300 scale models, however I've only built and designed ships much smaller than Sydney. She's much larger and I'm not sure how thick the frames should be. However she seems to have a great many frames so 1mm might be ok? And as for scale, I would vote for 1:200 as you can always scale down.

Maybe someone with more experience in large ship construction can chime in here!

[barry]

Tarawa and Richelieu have frames made of 140gsm + a cornflake packet = about 0.85 mm and as long as you keep the frames not greater than 2 inches apart it seems ok. Hullsides are between 140 and 200 gsm. Use superglue to stiffen the pointy bits. In the end it's down to what you feel comfortable with.

[mabrown]

Thanks Avery and Barry. I'm going to go with 1mm slots. I'm pleased that I seem to have purchased paper which is suitable. That is down to having viewed a lot of build and design threads on the forum here over the last many weeks. Something must be sinking in.

Fingers crossed, at the very least the next images I post should be of printable hull frame parts.

Avery, how are your projects coming along? Sydney is a minnow when compared to Battilus!

[B-Manic]

I look forward to seeing the first build pictures of this very interesting subject. I have been reading about her duty in the Med and unfortunate demise.

[Rick Thomson]

Originally Posted by B-Manic

I look forward to seeing the first build pictures of this very interesting subject. I have been reading about her duty in the Med and unfortunate demise.

Unfortunate demise is perhaps understated, the RAN seems to have been a bit of a hard luck outfit at best. No disrespect to the valour of the RAN tars intended.

Rick

[CharlieC]

Originally Posted by B-Manic

I look forward to seeing the first build pictures of this very interesting subject. I have been reading about her duty in the Med and unfortunate demise.

The demise of the Sydney is an on-going debate in Australia. With the discovery of the wrecks of the Sydney and the Kormorran off the WA coast there has been an inquiry running to look at the loss of the Sydney again. The weight of evidence seems to be that the Sydney's captain brought the ship too close to the Kormorran after challenging it.

Regards,

Charlie

[mabrown]

Originally Posted by B-Manic

I look forward to seeing the first build pictures of this very interesting subject. I have been reading about her duty in the Med and unfortunate demise.

Sydney II is possibly our best known warship (although here in Australia that title might be held by HMAS Voyager, tragically cut in half by our own aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne). Because of the way she was lost, her fame probably exceeds that of the WW1 Sydney, well known for her destruction of the German raider Emden.

Following the recent discovery of Sydney II and the German raider Kormoran by David Mearns (of HMS Hood discovery fame), there is quite a lot of info on the web related to the ship. The following links might be of interest:

This site is for the documentary relating to Sydney's discovery. The 3d representation of the battle in the video gives some idea how unpleasant it must have been on Sydney when the Kormoran opened fire:
The Hunt for HMAS Sydney

HMAS Sydney II, Finding Sydney Foundation

An excellent summary of Sydney's career here:
HMAS Sydney (II) - Royal Australian Navy

All three modified Leanders had a tough war. In addition to Sydney, HMAS Perth was sunk at the Battle of the Sunda Strait (as was USS Houston) and Hobart narrowly avoided the same fate following a torpedo strike.
Australian Navy Ships--HMAS Hobart (1938-1962) -- World War II Actions and Activities