All right let's do this thing... PB4Y-2 Privateer conversion

[titan]

Gun port complete.   This took waaaay too long.  There are around 12 hours in this part.  

 

There are some extra black lines.  That's just a Sketchup artifact.  Shouldn't affect the printed part.

Siting window next.  Hopefully that will go faster.

Edited November 27, 2018 by titan

[Out2gtcha]

Wow that is a lot of time on such a small part!  Here is definitely hoping other parts go faster

[titan]

Siting window in.  This went considerably faster, even with multiple layers.

For those who care, the siting window seems to have changed vertical position slightly somewhere along the production line.  The position shown seems most consistent with WWII-era turrets.  I've found several images though showing the window a little higher up vertically from the lower edge of the glass.  Interestingly, even when the window is higher up the lower corner of the window frame is still clipped at an angle even though it would no longer touch the diagonal turret frame (in white).

Regardless, the configuration shown below seems to be common on Privateers during WWII.

Edited November 28, 2018 by titan

[AnthonyWan]

Alright I'm here. 

Don't let me down! <3 

[Out2gtcha]

At some point are you going to need the kit itself for fit purposes considering the potential for inaccuracy of the HB airframe?

 

 

Also was meaning to ask you, would you have any serious thoughts on selling this as a conversion?

I dont really have room for a ton of 1/32nd 4 engine heavies, so I'm going to have to be mindful of which ones I choose to make.

I'd be very interested 

[titan]

On 12/21/2018 at 2:27 PM, Out2gtcha said:

At some point are you going to need the kit itself for fit purposes considering the potential for inaccuracy of the HB airframe?

 

 

Also was meaning to ask you, would you have any serious thoughts on selling this as a conversion?

I dont really have room for a ton of 1/32nd 4 engine heavies, so I'm going to have to be mindful of which ones I choose to make.

I'd be very interested 

Yes, the end goal is a marketable conversion.  Maybe with a wing correction. 

I've been distracted of late with holiday planning but I have the Hobbyboss kit in hand and amhoping to jump back in on the 3d design over the next few days.

[AnthonyWan]

On 12/25/2018 at 2:57 AM, titan said:

Yes, the end goal is a marketable conversion.  Maybe with a wing correction. 

I've been distracted of late with holiday planning but I have the Hobbyboss kit in hand and amhoping to jump back in on the 3d design over the next few days.

 

I would buy a PB4Y conversion. 

Keep us posted... Would be willing to contribute a kit if it'll help get that on track. 

[titan]

Started in on the instrument panel for fun.  First step was to scan the kit part.  This is fairly imprecise but it does help me with matching the outline contours.  This in turn will make installation into the HB cockpit easier.

 

And started adding instruments.  There are actually two types of Privateer instrument panels, an early type for the first 274 aircraft, and a late type for all subsequent airframes.   Below is the start of the late type.  I've still got a lot of buttons, lights, etc to add but progress is good.  The Ginter book has been an invaluable reference. 

 

 

Also, a thousand thanks to Peter from Airscale for his insight on the correct diameters for instrument faces.  Most instruments came in a few standard sizes but until today I had no idea what they were.

[LSP_Ray]

Awesome!

[Out2gtcha]

14 hours ago, LSP_Ray said:

Awesome!

 

+1!

 

This is getting good! I'd really love a -2 conversion and this is coming along swimmingly

[gregv]

Wow, awesome project! Long been a fan of the Privateer. Can’t wait to see how this progresses.

 

I’ve often contemplated designing my own conversion parts in 3D and having them printed, but SketchUp is the only 3D design software I’m decently familiar with. I’ve got enough hours in SU to know that spherical and especially compound curve surfaces are sometimes troublesome, and the shapes you’re making look great! What’s your secret? Are you using a plug-in of some type? What sort of facet count are you using for your circles? Are you designing full-size i.e. 1:1 actual aircraft size or at 1/32?

 

Sorry for all the questions! But if SU can be used to make decent curved aircraft shapes then I’m going to stop wasting my free time on World of Tanks and start designing up parts!

 

 

cheers

 

GV

[titan]

21 hours ago, gregv said:

Wow, awesome project! Long been a fan of the Privateer. Can’t wait to see how this progresses.

 

I’ve often contemplated designing my own conversion parts in 3D and having them printed, but SketchUp is the only 3D design software I’m decently familiar with. I’ve got enough hours in SU to know that spherical and especially compound curve surfaces are sometimes troublesome, and the shapes you’re making look great! What’s your secret? Are you using a plug-in of some type? What sort of facet count are you using for your circles? Are you designing full-size i.e. 1:1 actual aircraft size or at 1/32?

 

Sorry for all the questions! But if SU can be used to make decent curved aircraft shapes then I’m going to stop wasting my free time on World of Tanks and start designing up parts!

 

 

cheers

 

GV

 

The secret is that I've made every mistake possible.  After making all the mistakes the only possible course of action left is to finally get it right.  Usually.  

 

I do use a variety of plug-ins.  I honestly can't remember them all but here are a few:

 

Curviloft by LibFredo - great for generating complex curved surfaces as long as you can define their boundaries

Curvizard - good for joining, smoothing, exploding curved lines

BezierSpline - Great for creating splines that you can then smooth out with Curvizard

Mirror - Makes a mirror image of your selected line, face, part, or model.  Absolutely invaluable

RoundCorner - Makes round corners, chamfers, and bevels along any edge

ToolsOnSurface - Allows you to draw on curved surfaces

tt_solid_inspector2 - Makes sure that your part is actually solid.  Mandatory if you're trying to create a printable object.

 

I've got a few others in there but those are the main ones I've been using.  

 

When modeling for modeling I create the part at 100x final size.  Sketchup doesn't like to create high-facet small circles so if I try to make a 50mm circle with 360 facets it will throw an error.  If I make a 5,000mm circle with 360 facets it handles that no problem.  Weirdly, I can then scale it back down to 50mm also with no problem.  

For most circles I try to do 360 facets.  For large circles or clear parts like the turret I'll got to 720 facets.  For small holes I'll do 120 or even less.  48 facets is plenty smooth for a 1mm hole.

 

I'll maybe try to post up a circle tutorial soon.   There are some extra gotcha's  you can run into if you're not careful.  Hope that helps though.

 

 

[MikeMaben]

43 minutes ago, titan said:

 

The secret is that I've made every mistake possible.  After making all the mistakes the only possible course of action left is to finally get it right.  Usually.  

 

I do use a variety of plug-ins.  I honestly can't remember them all but here are a few:

 

Curviloft by LibFredo - great for generating complex curved surfaces as long as you can define their boundaries

Curvizard - good for joining, smoothing, exploding curved lines

BezierSpline - Great for creating splines that you can then smooth out with Curvizard

Mirror - Makes a mirror image of your selected line, face, part, or model.  Absolutely invaluable

RoundCorner - Makes round corners, chamfers, and bevels along any edge

ToolsOnSurface - Allows you to draw on curved surfaces

tt_solid_inspector2 - Makes sure that your part is actually solid.  Mandatory if you're trying to create a printable object.

 

I've got a few others in there but those are the main ones I've been using.  

 

When modeling for modeling I create the part at 100x final size.  Sketchup doesn't like to create high-facet small circles so if I try to make a 50mm circle with 360 facets it will throw an error.  If I make a 5,000mm circle with 360 facets it handles that no problem.  Weirdly, I can then scale it back down to 50mm also with no problem.  

For most circles I try to do 360 facets.  For large circles or clear parts like the turret I'll got to 720 facets.  For small holes I'll do 120 or even less.  48 facets is plenty smooth for a 1mm hole.

 

I'll maybe try to post up a circle tutorial soon.   There are some extra gotcha's  you can run into if you're not careful.  Hope that helps though.

 

 

 

                               

 

 

[gregv]

Great, thanks for the info! Will definitely look into those plug-ins; the solid inspector sounds especially useful. Good info on facet size too. And yes agreed, I’m very used to modeling in larger than “full size” for smaller objects, SU doesn’t seem to like working small scale. Thanks again, this has given me long overdue impetus to re-evaluate & update my current SU “tool kit”. Almost forgot, does the “mirror” plug-in/tool allow more versatility than plain old “flip along red/green/blue axis?

 

thanks!

 

GV