Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[wartsilaone]

I'm planning to make a fibre glass hull for my next project and as I've never done this before I wanted to practice making a plug. As you will see I got a bit carried away.

I decided to go through the whole process to learn how to convert a G/A plan into a 3D form.



I simplified the layers of the G/A plan and combined them into one.
   


The layers were then cut ready for glueing.



It would need a bit of tweaking for the full size model but I was confidant that I could do it again for real.
 


Trouble was I couldn't stop there.



And after a few hours I ended up with this.

[Bryan Young]

Just how big...or small....is this thing?
I would guess that it's pretty small.....so why do you need to make a GRP mould/hull? Fine if you're thinking of going into a sort of batch production I suppose. But if your hull is as small as it appears to be, then why not just have it vac-formed?
Larger hull plugs are really wasteful of timber and are much easier/cheaper to make using the the old tried and proven plank on frame method. Then wreck it when removing it from the mould! BY.

[wartsilaone]

It was just to practice making the shapes for the hull plug which would be made from foam and be about a metre long. The next thing I have to try is making a mould. If you read the post and looked closer at pictures your questions would have been answered.

[Bryan Young]

Oops, sorry. All I could see was a model about 70 cm long.
If you want to "practice" making a proper "plug" may I kindly suggest you make something a bit bigger.
Part of the "art" in making a plug for making a GRP moulding is to get the smaller details incorporated. Can't really do that on what appears to be a 500ft long ferry/liner.
As I said. At that scale vac-forming is probably your best bet. BY.

[wartsilaone]

I do feel you are missing the point slightly. The object of the exercise was to learn how to go from a 2D plan to a 3D plug and to do it without spending lots of time and expense. I posted my findings as to help other people who are new to the hobby get a taste of what's involved in making a plug. It would be silly making a mould in such a small scale and I never planned to. The mould will come once a full scale plug is built using the lessons learnt while making this practice piece.

[wartsilaone]

I know this seems like a pointless exercise but at the end of the day I had made a model boat and I enjoyed doing it. Isn't that what this forum is all about? 

[richald]

Wartsilaone I follow your logic here . . .

I'm just waiting for you to get it hollowed out, and a motor, battery and RC gear fitted! 

Richard

[wartsilaone]

Another reason for doing this was that I'm am going to casting small ships like these. Hopefully sell a few.
Ali.

[Bryan Young]

So, not to put too fine a point on it....you aren't really making a plug for a large model, but want to make small scale resin miniatures. Right? If so, why didn't you say so in the first place. BY.

[wartsilaone]

Bryan. Yes I will be making a proper full size plug for a proper full size boat with all the proper detail but that will be way off in the future and at least now I know how I am going to do it.

Ali.