For you pre-Dreadnought-era fans who never find your way over to the ‘Paper Models’ section…I’ve scratchbuilt the coal-fired Torpedo Boat design originally slated to be carried by the armored cruiser USS Maine in the 1890s.
More photos of the 1/72 paper/card build and a short history may be found here:
Since it was a small project, I did it sort of ‘by eye.’
I’ve never lofted hull lines before, but I’ve done a fair amount of drafting and orthographic layout over the years. When I started drawing up my hull sections I had large and fairly precisely-measurable plan and profile drawings, and a good-quality illustration to gauge the contours. I actually used the plank lines on the profile as my datum lines for various measurements, and left them visible on the sections themselves.
When I started putting the frame together, it was easy to do quick sight-lines along the exposed section-edges to check that the contours were right. (They weren’t all: I had to do a bit of fettling and trimming, mainly with the sharply-undercurved contours at the stern.) Similarly, when I started skinning the hull, the marked lines on the sections were there as a guide to each planking line.
It worked well on a simple and small-scale model where nothing was longer than the ruler I was using for measuring. I don’t think it would have been quite as easy on a larger and more complex design.
It was also made easier by the fact that I wasn’t laying out lines for someone else to use. If a section needed a bit shaved off while building, I didn’t have to go back and re-draft my drawings…I just trimmed and plunged ahead (sometimes remembering to go back and make a pencil correction on my reference set.)
Next paper will probably be some WW1 aircraft…maybe the odd-duck Albatros Triplane.
But first is a dip into plastic airliner territory: the Glencoe Vickers Viscount 700 in home-made Trans Australia Airlines markings. Beware the flying 'Roo!