Designing a kit - 17th Century Pinas Cross-Section (Kolderstok) [COMPLETED BUILD]

[matthiasnoback]

Hi everyone!

So far I've been quietly reading and watching some of your awesome projects, in both the scratch and kit section. Today I'm starting a thread about a project that's finished by now, but I think will be of interest to some of you. The original build log was published on the Dutch ship modeler's forum (see https://www.modelbouwforum.nl/threa...rsnede-van-een-17e-eeuwse-koopvaarder.286012/) but I'm sure it's a good idea to provide a "log" here as well, sharing the design process and explaining some of the decisions, some more technical background information, etc.

Starting with the end of the log; the model has been successfully turned into a kit, and is currently available via @Kolderstok models. It was mentioned in the Ship kits section: https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/...as-cross-section-kolderstok-scale-1-50.13224/ and @pingu57 is already logging the build here: https://shipsofscale.com/sosforums/threads/cross-section-of-a-17th-century-pinas-by-peter.13246/

I'll first attach some pictures of the final result, after which I'll make a start describing the development process.

 

[matthiasnoback]

Readers who are familiar with Dutch 17th century ship building, already know that an important source on this topic is Nicolaes Witsen's contemporary book "Aeloude en hedendaagsche scheeps-bouw en bestier" ("Ancient and current ship building and management"). It describes many aspects of an example ship, of the then common type "pinas". It was used for trading, so it has a lot of room for cargo, but it's also relatively heavily armed.



Here's a picture from Witsen, showing the ship as a whole:



Initially, my extremely ambitious plan was to design a kit of the complete ship, incorporating as much as possible the parts that were used in the real ship. So no simplified hull whatsover. I guess some of you would call it a Plank-On-Frame model.

Witsen's writing is quite obscure, but @Ab Hoving wrote this extremely useful book on the topic, rearranging the original text, and explaining the whole build process:



This turned out to be very useful, and was an important source for the design. Still, I really struggled to get to a point where I could make some parts in wood. The idea was to put everything in the computer first, because each part had to be reproducable. So first I needed a solid drawing.

This got me into CAD, and I settled on FreeCAD. It doesn't look great, but it can do a lot. I followed many tutorials from MangoJellySolutions on YouTube (a great resource!), and managed to design the keel and stern parts. Every part based on the descriptions and formulas from Witsen.



Next step was to produce a shape for the hull, which was to be used temporarily as a way to get the planks in the position, following the correct curve. I used Witsen again as a source for the hull shape, walking in Ab's tracks because he did the same thing years ago. I was able to reproduce the shape in FreeCAD:



These shapes aren't enough though to determine the full shape. Given that Ab's drawings are based on the frame shapes provided by Witsen, I started using his drawings as a source. Finally, I could make the complete inside of the hull (so, the hull minus the planking) in a traditional way, using bulkheads.



In the meantime my new "superweapon" arrived: an Ortur Laser engraver/cutter machine. It's a "budget-friendly" laser cutter that I could use to do simple cutting work. It's not ready for production work, but good enough for now.

Again, lots to learn, but eventually I was able to cut some real wood (well, plywood):



And in the end, I was able to produce this shape, scale 1:100, just for fun.



Combined with the keel and stern this seemed like a promising start:



Unfortunately, things quickly became too complex. I needed to find a way to generate the shape of the floor timbers first. I used FreeCAD's curve workbench, which kept crashing regularly, and there wasn't an easy way to do what I wanted.



I'd been working on the design for 2,5 months by then, and of course a lot of the time went into learning FreeCAD and becoming familiar with laser cutting, but still, I had to conclude that it wasn't going to work the way I started it.
I also realized that I couldn't keep spending so much unpaid time on this project. I had to get back to regular work at some point. So it was time to pivot, and radically so. To be continued...

 

[pingu57]

Welcome Matthias, great to see you here as wel.
I hope i can match your end product after my false start.

 

[Maarten]

Hi Mathias,

It became a very nice kit. I'd love to see the proces it took to create it.

 

[shota70]

Dear Mathias
thanks for sharing this with us, looks great

 

[matthiasnoback]

Thanks @pingu57 @Maarten and @shota70 for your kind words, and others for reading and like-ing!

As described in the previous post, designing the entire ship seemed too complex a job for a first project. One major issue is the fact that all the parts have to be (slightly) different. Considering alternative projects that would have a higher chance of succeeding, I considered just designing a capstan. With its separate parts, it could be a nice little project, similar to kits that depict only a canon, or a canon with part of the ship's wall. But I really wanted a project with actual frame parts, since I think the way a hull is constructed is such a beautiful thing to look at, as well as work on as a kit builder - or at least that was my guess...

Soon I started considering the cross-section-style model. Browsing through some examples from companies like Amati, Artesania Latina, etc. it seemed like quite a doable project. It has several advantages: you can show many internal details that aren't visible in regular plank-on-bulkhead kits. These details remain visible when the build is completed (as opposed to full plank-on-frame kits), since the result is much like a doll house with an "invisible wall". In fact, you should be able to put little figures in it.



The best place for a cross-section would be the middle of the ship, the part around the main mast. The ship is at its widest here, or in fact, it's already becoming smaller towards the back. Anyway, for cross-section-type models it seems to be tradition to make all the frames equal. I decided to do this too. It greatly simplifies the design process, and will make it easier for the builder to reproduce the right hull shape.

This of course is a trade-off between realism and feasasbility. In general, I find that model design is about balancing these (and other) factors: does it look real, like a smaller version of reality? But also: can we expect to finish the design of this project, and could a future builder manage to build this same model and enjoy the process? We have to consider the economics too, like is it possible to reproduce the model, are the parts and materials even widely available, and for a reasonable price, so the final kit doesn't become too expensive, etc.

I decided to focus on the design process for now. In the computer I worked my way up from the stand, to the floor timbers, first futtocks and keelson.



For every part I use the "spreadsheet approach", also known as a "parametric workflow". In his book, Witsen provides calculations for finding the dimensions of each part, but also provides concrete dimensions. The CAD model is in scale 1:1. This allowed me to switch to a different scale later on, though I quickly settled on 1:50. This scale is comfortable for the builder, and allows for many details to be added (if not by me, then by the future builder who can extend this model in any way they like).

From the start I decided to apply some best practices that I learned as a programmer. To iterate as quickly as possible. So, don't make the full design upfront. Instead, get real, and materialize the design as soon as possible. Figure out early if what you imagined will really work. In my case this meant: design an element, and cut it in wood with the laser cutter. Scary at first, but it turned out to be a good idea.





Inspired by the first tangible results, I added futtocks, top timbers, deck beams, knees, etc.



This started to look like an exciting model to work on and have on display!

The process for each part thus became: design it based on the dimensions provided by Witsen, put it in the 3D model, then flatten the 3D part into a 2D drawing that can be exported as a vector image (SVG). Open the image in Inkscape, scale it down to 1:50. Open it in Lightburn (the software for the laser cutter), configure the lines based on the material type and thickness, and then let it cut out the parts.



The laser cutter takes about 20 minutes to finish, but then you have a nice bag of parts:



Speaking of feasibility, looking at the intermediate result I got very motivated to complete this project. After ~3 months of struggling, there was some light ahead...

 

[matthiasnoback]

In the previous photos you already saw the garboard strakes, which fit in a triangle-shape groove, often called rabit. Originally, garboard strakes and the following planks would not be tightened against the frames, but only against each other (as shown in various build logs, like the ones by Dutch model builders @‌Steef66 and @‌Maarten. With this so-called shell-first approach, frames are only added afterwards. They are not connected to each other, but only to the keel and the hull planking.



For a kit of a cross-section, I thought it'd be better to simplify things. So as you saw in the previous post, I started with building the full first and last frames, then planking the "floor", then adding the floor timbers. Soon I realized that those complete frames were quite fragile and would end up breaking. In the final kit version I the first and last frame consist only of the floor timbers and the first futtocks, which makes the model look like this picture from Witsen:



Another decision I made was to simplify the keel. In reality, as you can see in the pictures above, it would be a single piece, with the groove cut into it from the sides. This is hard to do, in particular for a novice kit builder, but on top of that: I wanted to standardize the thickness of the laser-cut parts so I wouldn't need to have many different sizes in stock. Most parts can be made from 4mm planks, a few need 6mm and later on in the process it turned out I needed 2 and 1mm/1,5mm as well. The keel would have to be about 8mm high, so I decided to make it of two 4mm planks glued together. Naturally, in the middle there would be a great place to "cut" the groove, for which you don't need any special tools, just a sanding block which you can even create yourself from one of the laser-cut accessory blocks for clamping that are in the kit.



From the start I knew I had to make good photographs. For every build step, there's only one moment in time when you can make good pictures. So I bought a few lamps that could be adjusted in brightness and temperature. I took the photos with my Samsung phone, which has a great camera. I was also fully aware that every step in the build process needed to be documented when it happened, so I started writing a construction manual in Dutch, adding the photos, and if relevant, some drawings from Witsen.



When the build was completed, I still spent several weeks improving the manual, and translating it to English and German, with the help of Deepl.com.

The next design challenge was the deck. A deck beam shelf has to be attached to the inside of the frames. The shelves support the deck beams. Between the deck beams, would be the carlings, which are let into the beams, for proper support. On top of the carlings (d), we'd find ledges (c), which are running parallel to the beams (e). They are let into the binding (a) and nibbing strakes (b).



At scale 1:50 it would be somewhat doable to replicate this construction. However, it might be hard to recover from a mistake, or to get it just right. It would also take a long time to complete the work, because it has to be repeated many times for the two decks. So to simplify the process I decided to make holes in the beams into which the carlings could be inserted. The ledges are only supported by the carlings, not by the strakes.



In the hull a few things were still added: the knees supporting the deck beams, planking for the inside of the frames (called "ceiling"). But also the mast track, which later supports the main mast and keeps it in place.





Reaching the orlop deck, we also reach a part of the ship where many activities takes place. So next up: cannons and ports, galley, and capstan.



Thanks again for reading! And I wish you lots of fun with your own projects

 

[matthiasnoback]

It may be nice to start with a few drawings from Witsen, to compare with the actual model.

E.g. the different parts of the frame:



The model clearly has all these parts, e.g. the deck beam shelf, deck beams, the floor timbers, first futtocks, etc. You'll notice that the "flat" is really flat, and the bilges are quite sharp. This is not the case in the model (as they are in many models of 17th century Dutch ships, regardless of the way they have been built), where they are more rounded.

Here we get a nice view of the hold, where we see the knees, and the mast track (albeit the one of the foremast).



Finally, a nice cross-section, which includes a gun and its carriage, and also shows one of the trusses, large vertical knee-like supports.



On the orlop deck we find a simple hatchway:



Which allows you to descend in the hold using a step stanchion:



After adding the top timbers it was time to cut out the gun ports:



It was time to try a canon.



This always involves quite a bit of fiddling to the the "rigging" right: But finally, some really nice details were added to the model!



The situation shown here led to many comments over at the Dutch forum. Very useful comments, which required several changes later on... The point was that the canons were too big, which meant the space behind them was too limited for them to get rolled back and cleaned, etc. Also, the distance between both decks was too large. This led to a revised design, more about this in a future post...

For now finishing with the galley, which has "copper-plated wall", and a "brick-built" fireplace:





The galley also needed a revised version (the picture shows version 2). Ab Hoving had pointed out that galleys weren't built tightly against the ship's wall, but some distance apart, probably to reduce the risk of fire. The second version is also a lot simpler to build, since it's basically a box.

Thanks for following along! Next time, more about the main deck, the capstan, and the knights.

 

[matthiasnoback]

Around this time in the design process, Hans van Nieuwkoop, founder of Dutch 17th century ship model production company Kolderstok, also present on this forum, reached out to me. A meeting followed, and he proposed to add this model to the Kolderstok portfolio. He gave me total freedom in the final design choices, but was at the same time incredibly helpful, providing lots of suggestions, also about the production process.

On September 30th, 2023 the Dutch model maker's society (NVM) organized a day at the Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam for model builders of historic ships. I had signed up to show the Pinas model, in an "almost done" state. This kept me going. I really wanted to present this model there, and find out what people would think of it.

So I worked on the model for several more weeks in a row, finishing the upper deck, with eye-catching elements like the capstan:



Also, a couple of knights, a pin rack, two hatches with gratings, and a pump:



Next, the main mast with the top, and the channels. By this time it was possible to add some "white stuff" to protect the part of the hull below sea-level.



One side will remain "open", showing internal construction details. The same goes for the deck. The orlopdeck is open on one side. The main deck is open on the other side.



Of course, shrouds were added from the top of the mast to the channels:



Having edited all the parts in FreeCAD, I was able to create one complete set of all the parts, for display purposes. I also collected some other parts, strips, and rope, so they could be displayed during the exhibition as well.



I made a box for transport...



And drove to Amsterdam. It's an incredible location for displaying model ships, with lots of related history attached to it...



I was really happy to be able to show the model, in its more or less finished state, alongside another recent project, the Statenjacht (a Billing Boats kit) from the 1970s.



There was also room to give a presentation about Witsen, the Pinas, and designing the kit:



It was a really nice day! And feedback was very positive.

After the exhibition though, some issues surfaced, that needed addressing before finalizing the design. This led to the development of Prototype 2, which offered some interesting alternative designs as well. In short: lots of learning going on, also at this later phase of the design. But this really makes the whole process worthwhile.

Thanks for reading, and have fun with all your nice ship model projects!

 

[matthiasnoback]

Having spent hunderds of hours on the project, I really wanted to finish it soon after its first presentation in the Scheepvaartmuseum in Amsterdam. However, there was a design issue that really needed fixing. The orlop deck was too high, the canons too big. The first was a mistake I made because I used information from two different reference drawing, and forgot to cross-check with the measurements described in Witsen's book. As for the size of the canons, I wasn't aware of the calibers used, nor how to transform them into a reasonable size at scale.

Both problems were fixed with the build of second prototype, prototype number 2:



Compare this (from the other side) with the first version:



And in the computer: The difference is quite significant!



It was great to have another opportunity to check some things, and to add some more photos to the manual, based on the second prototype. This increased my confidence that this model was ready for production and could be successfully built by others as well.

With the model in shape, I was able to send the drawings to a laser cutter company that created the first 20 sets:


While waiting for the parts to arrive, I spent many more hours perfecting the manual, as well as translating it to English and German. With 135 pages it's quite elaborate, but I think it's important for the builder that everything is as clear as possible, reducing the chance of making a mistake.



With Kolderstok as the main supplier for most other parts, I was able to fill a drawer with all the necessary things, like wire, canons, blocks, dead-eyes, etc.



Meanwhile some helpful tools were created or bought, like something to assist with unwinding rope from its spindle and winding it back to a smaller one ready for packaging:



Brass eye-pins and nails are hard to count, so instead I use a small-weight high-precision scale, as suggested by Hans from Kolderstok.



Around this time, Hans also sent me the freshly designed box for the Pinas, this really was the finishing touch!



With everything in place, it was time to ship the first boxes to the people who had signed up for the pre-sale. Very quickly, build logs appeared on the Dutch forum and here at SoS as well. This was an amazing experience!

Meanwhile I continued adding some details to Prototype 2, just for fun. E.g. some scaffolding on the outside, as was common practice after launching the ship:



I also wanted to show that the model could be used as a platform for your own modeling ideas, like "exploding" some parts, allowing for a better few on the internals, or adding accessories like a ladder.



I also wanted to share some images from Hans Groenenberg's build log over at the Dutch forum (https://www.modelbouwforum.nl/threads/dwarsdoorsnede-zeventiende-eeuwse-pinas.287914/), because he also added some more details that aren't in the model. I think this is great, a model should always allow for builders to add their own favorite details:





I hereby like to conclude this build log. If you want to know more, see particular details, have questions, etc. just let me know! Thanks for following along, and I wish you lots of model building fun.

 

[dockattner]

Thank you for sharing this journey with us!

 

[Uwek]

Many many thanks for the the inside-view of such a project - a like this model very much

 

[matthiasnoback]

Thank you, @dockattner and @Uwek
For the next project, I'll start sharing sooner, although I must say: it's also interesting to do it in retrospect, since that definitely adds a different perspective.
Response from friends and family was like "so when are you going to add the other parts of the ship?" Building a cross-section doesn't make sense to them. In the end, I'd really like to make a kit of the full Pinas (whether that be plank on frame or plank on bulkhead), but first I want to get some experience designing a smaller ship. To be continued!

 

[Herman]

Hello @matthiasnoback
I wish you all the best and a very happy birthday .
Btw, thank you for sharing your design process.

 

[matthiasnoback]

Thanks @Herman, that's very kind!

 

[Uwek]

Sorry for beeing late with the Birthday Greetings
Happy Birthday