I got this collection of images from Rob Weilacher, a friend of some relatives who is a model builder. He also sent me a copy of some blueprints he purchased, but I haven’t posted them for copyright concern.
Archive for category Blueprints
I somewhat crudely pieced together the partial scans of the ship’s blueprint. Here it is in totality, though the scans given to me where warped in places, so the measurements are likely not quite perfect. These came from copies of what appear to be microfiche film.
I plan to try and get my hands on better copies of these plans from the National Archives in the near future. Click through for as high of resolution as I have thus far.
I tracked down the source of a digital 3D model of the YMS-304 this week. The artist was gracious enough to give me a copy of the file, as well as copies of some blueprints for the YMS-135 subclass that came from the Naval archives!
I’d give personal credit to the artist, but I need to clarify if he would like me to, as the model was put together for a paid project. If I end up using it for anything commercial, I’ll have to get permissions.
So, what do I plan to do with such a great find?
Well, at the moment, not too much. The 3D model lets me pan and rotate the ship so I can get more intimate with its layout, but it is only an exterior model at the moment. I’m in the process of scheduling some Naval archive visits to get more blueprints, because I’d like to add more detail to the 3D model, then build out the interior for some digital walk-throughs. I can’t imagine how amazing it would be to virtually walk around inside of the ship, eventually even adding textures and materials to make it seem life-like. Time to sharpen up those rusty CAD skills!
Here is a quick screenshot of part of the model:
The YMS-304 is a near sibling of the YMS-299. Of the same subclass, the same blueprints were used in their manufacturing. The only differences between them would be minor in the construction process, as only YMS-299 to YMS-302 were built by the same builder.
Here is a sample portion from one of the blueprints:
Update: I added the full, stitched-together set of blueprints to this post.