1/350 KGV & Warspite with 3D printed Drydock

[Tinners]

I have been pondering this whole drydock idea for quite a while now, so this is as much a KUTA for me as it is a build blog.
It won't be fast: I'm back at work, and that means little free time for a while, but I'll keep working on it whenever I can.

So the specifics: I have a Tamiya 1/350 KGV with a Big Ed PE kit (so much brass!), and thanks to fellow member and all-round good mate AndyP, I now have a Trumpeter Warspite to play with.

Originally I planned just to have the King George in Drydock, looking all messy and tired at the end of a long spell at sea. All of the buildings and fittings will be 3D printed with FDM being used for large components and resin for the small stuff.

With the addition of Warspite, I have decided to make it a bigger diorama, so I now need to make a sea wall on the outside, so much 3d sculpting will be needed for that, so ZBrush will become my friend in the near future...

So here's where we are so far.

kuta_render by DaTinz, on Flickr

dock_render by DaTinz, on Flickr

The models were made in 3ds Max. I usually use Maya, but I tend to get better quality STL exports from Max. I am not using Fusion because I usually need an in-built UV map what will literally allow me to sculpt detail into the surface, so bricks, rivets, etc.

The components were modelled seperately, with the main dock structure being printed on my trusty Anycubic Mega-S, and the stair sections on my Photon resin printer.

An Ikea picture frame made the ultimate sacrifice for the base, and I got my print on!

boat2 (2) by DaTinz, on Flickr

 

boat3 by DaTinz, on Flickr

 

As you can see the print process wasn't entirely successful, but it works for me. I slapped some paint on and have put a really grungy wash on the surface ( don't worry, I will tidy it up a bit!)

 

Here's the layout as planned: 

boat1 (2) by DaTinz, on Flickr

boat4 (2) by DaTinz, on Flickr

 

I have already started on the KGV, but she's been through a couple of moves, so she's a bit the worse for wear. Some of the railings have been crushed, so I will have to either print replacements or but some new railing PE. Also, the deck is lifting, so I may bite the bullet and remove it, clean up underneath it, and put a new one down. None of the superstructure is glued down, so disassembly will be easy.

So that's where we are at right now.

And yes, the steps really are that tiny.

steps by DaTinz, on Flickr

 

[bootneck]

That's amazing and I really like what you have done.  I hadn't heard of 3Ds MAX but I shall go have a looksee.  I have been scratchbuilding dockyards in styrene and that can be sooooo  time consuming and painful on the fingers, pressing onto knife handles for so long.

 

Great work!

 

Mike

[Tinners]

I have the STL's already made, so scaling up to 1/200 or down to 1/700 is just a case of changing the multiplier in the slicing software. I might make them available to everyone, so if they want a drydock, or drydock section, they are ready and waiting.
 

[bootneck]

That would be very helpful, and kind of you.  I would like to volunteer to be the first in the queue please! 

What's the point of having a 3D printer if I cannot put it to use?

 

cheers,

Mike

[Tinners]

Right then, I'll get everything zipped up and type a quick readme file.

[Tinners]

Here you all go: 3D printable STL's!

Enjoy!
Linky thing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QDUVayMMiXOlIwQR7OFyCXf7POxz8SOK/view?usp=sharing