Printing fuselage of Latham 47

[kkarlsen]

Hello. I have been asked by the Roald Amundsen Museum if I would be able to make a 1/32 model of a Latham 47 a French twin-engine flying boat designed

and built by Société Latham & Cie. It was the plane in which Amundsen disappeared in 1928.

Drawings are almost non-existent, I just have length and wingspan, so I would have to scratch built it from photos.

 

 

After some time searching everywhere, I've managed to get hold of a 3D model of a Latham 47 from a Norwegian guy who was willing to share the model he had made.

It's not 100 % correct but it's a start. Unfortunately I don't know enough about 3D printing models to know if it can be used for printing a 1/32 model.

 

 

So my question is, if it possible to convert/change the 3D model into something that is printable? I think I would really just need the fuselage because of it's complicated shape.

The fuselage would be around 50 cm's in length in 1/32 scale..

 

Please if you think it can be done without too much trouble, and it's worth the time..

 

Cheers: Kent

 

 

[wunwinglow]

Content not viewable in your region......

 

Ah well.

[Hubert Boillot]

As Kent and I have been exchanging on this topic for some time, I can repost the pics he sent me., without the photo-hosting site issues …

 

 

 

Hubert

Edited August 3 by Hubert Boillot

[AlexM]

That seems feasible. Given the size of the fuselage, I would recommend a FDM printer. The fuselage should then be printable upright in two parts, maybe at the typical step on the lower side of a flying boat.
Typically, a fuselage is divided into left and right halves. With a flying boat, however, this could result in a ‘stubby’ keel, which is why it might be better not to divide it into left and right halves. If necessary, the front upper section of the fuselage could be printed as a separate part to be able to detail the cockpit.

The tail fin should be cut off at the point where, when viewed from the side, the angle reaches 45 degrees. This should allow the rear half of the fuselage to be printed without supports. 
Holes for spars could be marked out in the wing area. Perhaps even recesses matching the wing profile could be made on the left and right, so that the lower wings can simply be slotted into place at the correct angle. 

 

 

Cheers

Alex