So, whaddya think about using 3D printing for making model boat parts?
I've been drooling over the thought for ages, and finally obtained access to a capable 3D CAD program (Catia V5, eat yer hearts out)...
Some would argue that it's cheating, because I haven't whittled the parts out of wood I grew in my own backyard, using a knife I forged myself with ore dug with my bare hands. I say, get over it... and anyway, I still needed to research the part, draw it up in CAD (not trivial!), and then source the bits from a reliable shop.
My first exercise was a large Hall anchor in a size not readily available from any shop. Probably not the best example, because one could reasonably expect to whittle such a part... but I wanted to experiment with the process.
As expected, the parts came back with a stratified surface that needed sanding, but that went easily enough. And no, the parts aren't weak or brittle... pretty darn tough, actually.
Next, I'm ordering ship's cowl vents. I'm excited enough about these that I made a number of models in different sizes, and made them available through the vendor- Shapeways in the Netherlands:
http://www.shapeways.com/ You can read more about how that works at my blog:
http://matthewsmodelmarine.wordpress.com/writings/matthews-cowl-vents-for-model-ships/ <<<< WARNING WARNING: I'll admit, shamelessly commercial, but it's nothing I'll get rich from.
But commercial or otherwise, I'm curious-- anyone else making use of this neat tool?