Allright, here goes…
Let’s make something clear. I wasn’t overwhelmed when I saw that Mitch was starting all over again with the LCF. The original one was a perfectly good starting point as far as I’m concerned. Mitch claimed he could do a whole lot better, especially as he looked at the ship every day. I disagreed.
WORDS were exchanged, and we both went our separate ways with the drawing.
I was wrong about the size of the S1850M. What emerged was a more accurate drawing of that radar that both Mitch and I now use. I guess the RN Darings will have to be updated too.
The shape of the lower hull was something I originally had little too do with. It’s Vossiej’s doing. It was updated (including those wonderful props from Mitch’s drawing) but it’s a tossup as to which one of us two has the shape better: the only reference is a 3D drawing which has it’s own problems.
Some differences in drawings are down to artistic interpretations: The lamps attached to the superstructure, for example. I think the more angular approach I took with them works better. The way portholes are shaded, and their exact size. Mitch did an excellent job on including some of the joints of the superstructure: I included those in my drawing. Please note that it’s impossible to do them all. They’re not really on shipbucket scale any more. Mitch included a ladder on the face of the cannon: I left it out. It’s so close to the surface that to be faithful to the original you have to layer it on top of the outer lining, and I think that’s ugly, even though it’s correct.
The APAR faces are up too the individual artist. It should be noted however, that the bulb protrudes, and requires some shading.
Likewise there might be some coloring differences. All of that is up to the individual artist.
I’ll be honest and admit that I completely reworked the midships crane in my latest drawing. If you’re going to go for a rework, might as well go all-out.
Having said all of this, upon Mitch’s revelation of his “ultimate” LCF drawings, I’m rather disappointed. There are not only some VERY easily avoidable mistakes in the overall shape of the ship, plus some detail errors, there are also some Shipbucket Rules violations.
Before I start my critique, I do want to note that I fully expect Mitch to comment on MY drawing as well: ultimately this will lead to a much better overall effort.
First off, some excellent links to good views of the LCF.
http://kr.blog.yahoo.com/shinecommerce/8332
http://marineschepen.nl/marschepen/zeprov.html
http://de.academic.ru/dic.nsf/dewiki/308793
Now, for a list of problems with Mitchell’s LCF, and a numbered drawing. Please do note that below this is my own LCF. Some elements are Mitchell’s, some Vossiej’s, and the overall ship is definatively my base.
These are simply taken bow to stern.
Now, my numbered critique of Mitch's drawing:
1: That solid railing is a lot more slanted. It does not end in a vertical line.
2: The platform for the ECM has a outwards slanted forward lip, not a vertical one. The eye on the railing is actually extended outwards. I’ve tried to depict that with shading in my drawing.
The lip above the windows is the wrong shading. It’s not overhanging, it should not be dark.
3: Problems with shading in the tower. There is no overhanging piece in the circled part. This is a leftover from my original drawing; I got it wrong all the time, and only now it’s been corrected.
The stand for the Mirador does not have that shape. It is made up of simple slabs. Mirador has a symmetrical housing.
The Satcom support has the wrong shape. Also, there is no sprinkler rail there, and the overall shape of the tower is incorrect in that area. The indentations in the corners of the tower are not colored black. They have a grey color, like the rest of the hull.
4: The Harpoon canisters do not protrude above the superstructure. The exhaust is incorrect: It’s the aft part of a blast deflector normally seen on Harpoon deck mounts.
The walkthough underneath the Harpoon installation is too low.
5: The antenna extends much further aft.
6: Shading error on the radar support: there are no overhanging parts there.
All those fiddly bits on the railing aren’t actually there in photographs.
The aft set of grills has the wrong shape. It looks that way on the OTHER side of the ship.
7: The shape of the fire hoses is wrong. They extend from the superstructure as simple tubes. That fiddly bit above them might not actually exist. Difficult to make out.
8: The hole above the waterline does not extend all the way to the aft of the ship.
9: Those might be portholes, but they’re too big, and the wrong color. The inner appears to be so dark as to be black.
10: The sudden change in angle between the drive shaft and the casing into the hull is jarring. There’s an angle there that you simply can’t have.
The shading in the drive shafts is wrong: Dark should be at the bottom.
My own drawing:
Let's hear it.