"Minairons: 1:600 Spanish Galleon Design Update" Topic

That looks so cool!

I was just wondering how this project was going.

Please keep us posted!

It looks like I'll have to buy at least 4 hulls to get all the combinations of bow/stern pieces. :-)

Separate bow and stern sections are an awesome idea. I hope the reality matches the potential… <fingers crossed>

Is the final product going to be 3D printed, or will the prints become a master for making molds? Or… something else?

Also, are the sails separate from the masts, or molded (er, printed?) together as one piece?

If it's not too late to make a few suggestions:

• Make each sail (and it's spar) a separate piece. Individual sails would allow maximum flexibility in configuring the sail plan, including the ability to show the spritsail deployed or furled. FWIW, neither of the depcited sail plans are a typical 17th C. combat configuration, so I personally would want to change them.
  
• Sell the masts/sails separately from the hulls. There's a hole in the 1/600 market for separate masts/sails.
  
• This ship needs stern lanterns! They were ubiquitous on large ships in the 1600s. If you make stern lanterns as separate pieces, several more configurations of galleon are possible (1-5 lanterns, depending).
  

I can't wait to get my hands on this. :-)

- Ix

It looks like I'll have to buy at least 4 hulls to get all the combinations of bow/stern pieces. :-)

That was the idea behind, certainly

Is the final product going to be 3D printed, or will the prints become a master for making molds? Or… something else?

3D prints will be used as masters. Hull sections will be cast in resin, while mast/sails sets are to be white metal cast (well, it will depend on my ultimate decision, for the designer-and-caster believes such sets could be cast in resin but I'm skeptical about it).

Also, are the sails separate from the masts, or molded (er, printed?) together as one piece?

They'll be cast as a single piece. Maybe I'm wrong (and I assume this), but as the wargamer I am too, I tend to believe that 1:600 scale requires not too many separate parts.

Make each sail (and it's spar) a separate piece.

I'm afraid it falls beyond our plan. However, I'm persuaded juncture points will be handsome and acceptable enough.

Sell the masts/sails separately from the hulls. There's a hole in the 1/600 market for separate masts/sails.

Certainly we're going to do it.

This ship needs stern lanterns! They were ubiquitous on large ships in the 1600s.

True, I'll remind the designer to draw them as agreed time ago.

Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to prepare a lanterns sprue, to be sold separately.

(I know my answers aren't going to please you at a 100%, but I hope the ultimate satisfaction % is OK enough)

Lluís

Muchas gracias, señor Lluis.

Good news about the lanterns. If I can buy them separately and they'll work on my other galleons, I may buy a pile of them. :-)

I hope the best for the resin casting, but if you have to merge the pieces to sell four separate hull versions, I'll still buy them all. And maybe duplicates, so I can have different lantern configurations. :-)

- Ix

I still don't know exactly what I'd use these for, just that I really want to buy some.