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Post by garrisonchisholm on Dec 10, 2019 18:59:19 GMT -6
Happy December Akosjaccik; we hope all is well? :]
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Post by akosjaccik on Dec 11, 2019 16:54:03 GMT -6
garrisonchisholm : Thank you, I have no (legitimate) reason to complain, all is well (enough)! I hope you are alright as well and the festive season is promising to be peaceful? I had to appear a bit busy IRL, though I still took some time to screw around with... screws. For no particular reason other than that I was curious about the possibility and the quality of the printed thread. As for the project however, I am planning on posting about the birth of the Third Cruiser Divison and specifically the new cruisers in a step-by-step manner somewhere in the upcoming weeks, so I can carry on with the game properly and by the (rule)book. After all, the screws are not the only thing I spent some plastic totally environmentally friendly polylactic acid on. So plastic.
I'd also like to thank all of my readers for participating in the poll regarding the cruiser-issue! The majority of you advised a cautious offensive stance, so in accordance with the staff's proposal, the Second Cruiser Division - once both ships will be undoubtedly ready and fit for the mission - will be relocated to Northern Europe, leaving the Mediterranean under the Kriegsflagge for the first time under wartime conditions:
If nothing more, this ought to shake up the french ally a tad bit from their slumber...
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Post by dorn on Dec 12, 2019 9:39:32 GMT -6
This is the most beautiful picture of ship in game.
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Post by akosjaccik on Dec 12, 2019 10:22:28 GMT -6
dorn : Glad you like it! Funny thing is, I was kind of forced to change softwares, so I had to switch styles a bit - as such, if this is better than the former renders, that's almost unintentional. I'm still unsure about the new """art""" direction, as feels like dipping into "uncanny valley", but I'll give it some time. These are the original resource renders for the two new ships in full size:
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Dec 12, 2019 11:03:22 GMT -6
That is a fair image, but - alas - for personal preference I preferred the previous renditions. However, given you are taking this to an exalted and glorious level that no-one else is attempting, I can live with it. :]
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Dec 12, 2019 11:05:21 GMT -6
I TAKE IT BACK. My Word, the "Kaiser-raw-source" image is so beautiful I may use it for Desktop Wallpaper!!!!
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Post by dorn on Dec 12, 2019 12:16:55 GMT -6
dorn : Glad you like it! Funny thing is, I was kind of forced to change softwares, so I had to switch styles a bit - as such, if this is better than the former renders, that's almost unintentional. I'm still unsure about the new """art""" direction, as feels like dipping into "uncanny valley", but I'll give it some time. These are the original resource renders for the two new ships in full size: I think it is colour of the ship and background, it makes it much more real. The white colour is more real than the grey of previous rendering and much more realistic sky and water.
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Post by mycophobia on Dec 13, 2019 11:01:59 GMT -6
Yeah the water and the sky simply looks amazing and really made the ship look much more realistic. Can’t wait to see More of these
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Post by akosjaccik on Dec 13, 2019 15:29:40 GMT -6
I checked if I can sort-of recreate it with the Admiral Wir, but I probably fumbled while updating the homepage and I can't find the model in my home directory on my PC (which explains why one can't download it from the homepage either). I am fairly sure that I still have it on my laptop though, so I'll try to do it in the future. I still find the new software (or the images I can produce rather) a bit hit or miss, but sometimes the fact that one doesn't have a choice can actually be a good thing perhaps, as it forces me to learn and press forward. ...which is kind of what this whole thing is about.
Speaking of "this whole thing", as I've mentioned earlier, currently I am residing in the "construction-phase". Although the original rules would not ask me to do so, I am modeling the rebuilt, up-armed Donau-class as well in honor of the sisters' impressive work during the ongoing war. Shoutout to the Zentas too, who did and continue to do what an aged 3000-ton cruiser can be expected to do and perhaps even more. Right now they will help me to show that might not be entirely apparent on the picture unfortunately, which is just how massive the new Admiral-class cruisers are proving to be. In overall length I believe only the Budapest-class battleships are topping them. Altough the Donau still sports the strongest engine in the Navy with ~22,9k hp, the Admiral class is equipped with a similar engine producing 22,3 hp, capable to propel the longer, sleeker hull to a speed of three knots more - to be fair, the Donaus' additional bulges gained in the extensive refit of 1901 certainly did not help in this regard. Interestingly however, the Admiral-class' engines weight just a tad bit more overall, despite the 600 hp difference. Domestic heavy industry still has some ways to go...
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Post by akosjaccik on Dec 16, 2019 9:36:33 GMT -6
I promised you gents a post about the construction of the Esatz Zenta – now Admiral-class in (soon to be) active service – cruisers, so time for me to deliver on that promise. To recap the circumstances of the birth of the new ships, the cruisers were born out of abdundance rather than necessity, as oddly as this may sound. The elevated level of funding during the wartime incorporated the danger of officials noticing that the Navy is sitting on a noticeable sum of - strictly speaking not currently needed - money. The problem is that this could've resulted in the unwanted repercussion of the government diverting said funds, even portions that the Navy actually needed for day-to-day operations. In short, this money required a decent form of investment but one without burning the reserve funds up entirely. The issue was that - up until the MTK's willingness to adapt the 10" wing turrets, leading to the prospective Kaiser-class semi-dreadnoughts, currently 'Ersatz Erzherzog' - the war pointed out that building more of the same warships for a sizable investment could be expected to bring only marginal results. On the other hand, the possibility for building better warships was severely hindered by technological reasons. In this environment attention was brought to the cruiser force, even right then handling most of the tasks of the ongoing war despite their limited capabilites and numbers. In this direction, two particular paths seemed to be viable: - Trying to compete with the numerous forces of expensive >10.000t first-class armored cruisers around the world seemed to be a depressing aspect, especially now that the italian armored cruisers were proven to be less of a frightening and unstoppable opponent than they were originally thought to be, fortunately.
- When it came to the protected cruisers however, broad assessment seemed to indicate that we could supplement the aging First Cruiser Division with an entire, newly organized (third) CRUDIV consisting of four new cruisers for a very reasonable amount of effort.
Thus, work on the "replacement Zentas" has begun to ultimately produce a 5000-ton ship capable of 23 knots and carrying 12 x 15cm (6") guns.
One of the best cruisers of the era - although not without some controversy.
Building the Admiral-class
When I originally started the project back in the summer, I simply aimed to print some rather small, 1:1000 scale miniatures, and that's about it. Later I realized that with some silly rendered images I could illustrate the AAR, but this could use a tad bit more detailed models for them to look somewhat less like a brick. The issue is, I can't print those "tad bit more detailed" models, which required me to esentially have to versions of each ship: one for the "show", and one for the "work". So - let's dumb down the thing above!
The CAD software I am using (SE 2020) has some fancy new tools implemented for 3D printing, capable for example to check for wall thickness. Truth be told however, it is somewhat wonky:
Given the meshing I would not be surprised if this would be "just" re-painted finite element analysis sold off for commercial purposes for a different task. That's just a guess of course, in anycase, can't say it's horribly useful. Fortunately...
...fortunately the CAM software does the trick well enough - well, I mean, that's kind of the whole point, so it isn't that big of a surprise I admit. Here I can check for errors or necessary adjustments. This should be good to go.
...and it was. As far as polymers go, PLA can act in a surprisingly brittle manner - coupled this with the fact that the FDM technology doesn't exacly produce the most homogenous structure, all this often leads to parts not breaking where I want them to break and vice versa. For this reason, I tend to use as little supporting material and "scaffolding" as possible, but in some places it can't be helped:
Perhaps different pattern, settings, software etc. could've give a better result, but oh well! Nothing a bit of superglue can't fix. Speaking of glue:
Whatever's missing I tend to build with wires. Wires are simple, elegant and love us unconditionally. Generally speaking, anything that's thin and vertical beam-like geometry is a no-go with the printer. Now, if you check back upon the first image, you can notice that the boats are still missing.
This is where I grab this eldritch abomination I lovingly call as "boat-wafer." Not to be confused with boat-waifu. Boat-wafers are simple, horrible and hate us unconditionally. Here is the result:
For the painting I most often use brush - simply due to financial reasons. I do not own a spray gun, and spray cans are fairly expensive. Regardless, I spray painted the superstructure.
...then I masked the bottom and brush-painted the belly of the beast red. Originally this was exactly my idea for the Donau-class as well, but halfway across I had that smart idea that I want to retain a white strip at the waterline (which at this point, after the black paint - originally intended to be overpainted - was already in place also had to come out a bit lower than I originally intended). Since I was sure to fail tape masking on this surface such a ridiculously thin line, I made an attempt at freehand painting. Well... Then again, I guess once you almost burn down to a floating barge you get to learn to value the smaller things in life, like a questionable paintjob or hamburgers with goose liver in them. In anycase, painting the Admiral-class at least went according to the plan (I know, it's wild ), so just about the only thing left was to detail it up:
Things I learned that day: - Besides other things, I can't take photographs really well either
- I especially can't take photographs really well left-handed.
So, after these images of the finished ship, I am by my own rules officially allowed to commission the new cruisers, and with effect from the November of 1905 they are forming the new Third Cruiser Division.
Interestingly, tuning back to the AAR, the new cruisers brought up some controversy: they are undoubtedly capable units even with some of the teething problems. The most glaring issue is - on the Mediterranean, and only on the Mediterranean. They are short ranged. To be fair, this wasn't a serious regard (in fact, quite the contrary) up until very recently, when the Second Cruiser Division embarked on a mission to France, and some voices raised questions about why the Navy can't send out it's brand new cruisers on a similar mission - especially so that our french allies were and are acting much more passively than it was anticipated from them. Well, the answer is that because the K.u.K. Kriegsmarine is a defense force - the potential for incercepting italian ships in the Channel or near the coasts of East Africa however showed that in this day and age "defence" can be interpreted in many ways, and once the Kaiser-class touches the water, perhaps the international scene will interpret it differently as well, whether we like it or not. The concept of "coastal force" is starting to get dismantled brick by brick . The Admiral-class was accepted as a ship not being suitable for long-term operations without basing in the near area.
The next vessel, should we survive the war, may not be.
But well before that, the "old" guard of cruisers still have some stories to tell.
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Post by garrisonchisholm on Dec 16, 2019 17:06:19 GMT -6
Really enjoyed this peek behind the curtain. You are a wizard indeed sir!
Someone should start a gofundme page so you can buy whatever tools you need, I bet you'd have your airbrush ducats in a twinkling.
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Post by mycophobia on Dec 16, 2019 18:01:28 GMT -6
this was honestly the most impressive piece so far, the paint job is very nicely done and I think the colour scheme works very well. While I personally can appreciate the utility of airbrushes, I’ve been painting by hand since forever and found that works quite well in most case, if a bit slower, and you are definately doing a pretty good job here Until you decide to do dazzle camouflage or something.... then an airbrush will save lives.... Also, seeing the ship going up from ground up in the program is really almost awe inspiring in a way great work you doing here!
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Post by akosjaccik on Dec 19, 2019 19:03:40 GMT -6
Truth be told, I have no "guts"(? - probably not the best word) to accept money for what's basically my own entertainment. I can see why crowdfunding is a cool thing, plus I do believe that people should pay for whatever they feel like, yet I don't know, I would feel uneasy, because after all, what the hell am I giving in return? Of course, I still appreciate the thought! Should I get to dazzle camos, we'll see how dreadful that gets with brushes. For now, I brought you gents the next update of the AAR, steering back to the old guard of cruisers a bit more. It's kind of ironic that the last month of the AAR was published well... last month.
July, 1905 Bon voyage!
Losing the Leonardo did not cripple the Regia Marina to a dangerous extent - but it did mess with it's psyche. Under different circumstances perhaps the italian spirit would've become vengeful and determined, but witnessing the loss of a major warship up close after months and months of different setbacks, right at their own coast was a numbing sensation. Even at Lissa reporting victory was a baffling idiocy, but after last month's battle the govermnemt did not even make any attempt at hiding the fiasco. There was nothing to talk about: people for nearby villages flocked to the beaches, and the photographs taken there were on the way to the press shortly after that. The austro-hungarian destroyers got into the living room of the italian homes, with images of their sons, given that they surived, swimming toward the coasts. That was not what was agreed upon. That was not what was promised.
Thus happened that at the next morning we - figuratively speaking - opened the door and there was noone outside. The k.u.k. Kriegsmarine found itself to have free, though temporary, reign over the Adriatic. The italian High Command had to repair and restock their eqipment and take up a much more cautious stance for the time being - less so because of the strategic situation and more so to avoid public uproar over further potential losses. The only notable contact of the month was when the armored cruiser Francesco Ferruccio, a proud member of the well-known Marco Polo-class stumbled upon a couple of the ships of the Österreichische Lloyd carrying rubber and other goods. Fortunately for the capitano, besides five destroyers only the First Cruiser Division was tasked with escorting the merchants, and the two Zenta-class cruisers togerher were still no match for the lone armored cruiser.
On the other hand, unfortunately for the capitano, just a couple days beforehand the RM lost yet another armored cruiser, this time the Varese, which was forced to scuttle herself during her raid, partly due to the austro-hungarian blockade. Overall, in this general situation the conservation of his ship was of the highest priority, to put it lightly. Not that the Zenta and the Aspern were aware of this, and the crew of the 1st CRUDIV, after a quick overlook of the situation, decided to stand their ground and try to win just enough time for the convoy to arrive to the safety of Pola harbor, barely 20 nautical miles to the north. To be quite frank, they did not expect that they'll survive this day.
And yet, fortune favoured the bold that day. The italian captain had to choose between reason and obedience, and after the first 15cm shell somehow managed to find it's way into his ship, he - most likely while using words not quite gentlemanly in nature - decided by the latter. The sight of the massive armored cruiser breaking off instead of running down the convoy and organizing a massacre in broad daylight was nothing less than surreal, and the austro-hungarian crews started cheering. Not without good reasons. The small cruisers' resolute behaviour was-, and is still necessary. Although the Second Cruiser Divison consisting of the Donau-class vessels is once again fully combat ready, the staff decided to relocate the formation to Northern Europe once they are fit for the mission - which by this month they are.
Results of the voting - thank you again for participating!
This is notably the first time the Navy's warships leave the Mediterranean under wartime conditions. Officially, the main task for the Divison is to aid the french allies in locating and hunting down the italian armored cruiser reported in the area - possibly the Vettor Pisani. Unofficially, they task is to make our french allies to do, well, anything; give Italy one more problem to deal with and not least make a statement for the neutral states: we are able and willing to get out of our bathtub, should we need to take the fight elsewhere. Even then, the Zentas will not remain entirely on their own. Soon enough, by late autumn at most the Third Cruiser Divison - sailing the new Ersatz Zenta-class - is expected to join up with the operations with their full force. Due to their short range, exclusively in the Mediterranean theatre. This fact, coupled with the veteran armored cruisers just departing for France ignited some heated debate about the different capabilities of our ships and more importantly, the capabilites of future units. Although it is not yet entirely clear, it is reasonable to assume that in the future every newly built ship will be expected to conduct combat operations globally. Should this decision crystallize, that would mean a massive change in the doctrine and we have to think carefully about it's pros and cons. ...or that we are ready for it's implications.
Bound for France - the "phoenix" and Saint George underway Photograph taken from the aft 7cm quick-firing gun platform of the Donau
For now, the commander of the armored cruisers was jokingly asked to bring a trophy home - a few bottles of wine. Italian, if possible, french otherwise. Make sure to make them space in the magazine with appropriate method.
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Post by mycophobia on Dec 20, 2019 0:12:54 GMT -6
I've just realized that the ship's log section of the website had been pretty thoroughly updated to reflect the exploits of your active ships. That works out really well and its cool to see some ships already started to make a name for themselves. While some ship does get remembered by the end of a playthrough, having the log to track some "Silent workhorses" are very cool as well. It makes for a very fun read, and I do look forward to see the list grow longer
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Post by akosjaccik on Dec 22, 2019 17:13:01 GMT -6
Well, yes, buuut I had to decide to ditch the destroyers. :\ After a large battle it legitimately took me ~45 minutes even just to comb trough the logs and the tables to clear up what happened with who, take the hit data etc. and then log it on the mess of a website, and even then I had no crystal clear vision of what to do with it apart from seeing that even just barely the "starter" ships clutter up the entire section, let alone any additional new ones. Plus, I did it in a fairly half-assed way I think, practically as a chore. So, long story short, I axed the destroyers; I have to cut some corners if I ever want to retain some momentum unfortunately. I feel rather bad about it, because I've witnessed even on Discord people talking about the big bad battleships and CVs, maybe, maaaybe some cruisers, and noone really seems to give a damn about smaller combatants - although I guess that's fairly universal unfortunately to a point in military history. Still, these smaller combatants, in my case, are actually fighting the war while the B-s are sitting at home looking pretty. This is partly why I am such a fan for example your Sept-Iles class as well - not a flashy, gigantic novelty but a destroyer that can put in the competent work day after day. And yet, I have to admit first and foremost to myself that there are limits, and a very niche section barely anyone visits is probably one of the sides that could take some "reorganization" - otherwise other segments will suffer. As long as I can give proper emphasis to their importance and work in the main text however, it should be okay. I guess this is once again one of those projects where "I could do this the second time better", and "the third time would come out better than the second" etc., but oh well. It is about walking the path after all.
I also brought the next two months to present!
August, 1905
This month marks the first action for our freshly-minted AMCs. While the de-facto blockade leaves relatively little to do for them regarding their originally intended tasks, which is raiding; AMC Konstantin did switch the roles and managed to incercept an italian armed merchant in turn - both ships damaged each other and forced mutual retreat, which is an austro-hungarian victory in the operational sense. That is, as long as the rather fragile blockade of the italian trade routes hold up.
Still, to its credit, the Regia Marina did not give up and instead tried to press trough with a concentrated group of transport vessels, escorted by our old friend, the armored cruiser Francesco Ferruccio and perhaps a pair of destroyer groups. From our side the First Cruiser Division was tasked with preventing the arrival of the cargo by any means necessary, given their speed and avability. Not a task anyone should envy, given the disparity in capabilities. However, the Zentas had a very simple trick up their sleeves still - they were two cruisers versus one. And sometimes, this is all it takes.
The S.M.S. Zenta flanking the merchants
Destroying or even scattering the italian screen was completely outside of the realm of possibilities - then again, that was not the operational aim either, so "simply" diverting them was good enough. Preferably in a way where the diversion actually survives the encounter. To do so, the Aspern gave the italians something to care about directly, while the Zenta gained free reign over the merchant ships. Ironically, last month the Francesco Ferruccio screwed up by being overly cautious, this time the ship screwed up by not being cautious enough by sticking to the convoy and instead went on a wild goose chase. This worked surprisingly well, perhaps too well right up until the point where a large-caliber shell flew trough the curved edge section of the Aspern's armored deck effortlessly and ravaged her engines behind that. Aspern stopped immediately and the Francesco Ferruccio closed the distance for the kill, now that she finally swatted this irritating fly of a cruiser.
At about 17:00 (GMT) a lookout on the Zenta reported that their sister ship slowed down significantly and is seemingly in trouble. A good 9000 tons of trouble. In reaction - after a fairly arguable decision - the austro-hungarian flagship turned around and doubled back, leaving the merchants for the destroyers to deal with. Zenta then promptly charged the entire italian screening force head on. The sole reason that this maneuver had even just a whisker of a chance for a success was because of the fact that the Sun was about to set, but even then there was a very good chance that the entire First Cruiser Division will perish here today, and the glorious Francesco Ferruccio will be showered by flowers in the morning by fair italian maidens upon her return. Fate however - and perhaps not less importantly, the unorganized italian formation coupled with their unimpressive gunnery performance - pulled a different outcome.
The italian commander, sensing his formation breaking into all kinds of unrecognizable mess and fearing perhaps the underwater torpedo tubes of the small austro-hungarian cruisers, decided to pull back a bit and reorganize. To be fair, he might have thought that he had all the time in the world. He would've thought otherwise, if he had allowed a glimpse inside the machinery room of the Aspern, where the crew managed to kick and hammer the engine back into shape just well enough for them to report to the Zenta: "Good for seven knots!" By the time the italian destroyers arrived back to sweep the crippled ship off the sea with their torpedoes - they found nothing in the darkness.
This was not something that applied to their austro-hungarian counterparts as well, who continued to harass the merchants well into the evening and did not forget about the parting gifts either. In a fair assessment however, once again Italy had the means to deliver not only the cargo, but also a victory. A victory that might not strictly speaking worth much strategically (given that the Third CRUDIV is just about to enter active service), but one that is badly needed for the spirit of the homeland - and once again, this battle was not hinged on austro-hungarian "brilliance" but our opposition's misjudging of the situation. Most importantly, this is how everyone, including the Zenta and the Aspern were able to get back home with surprisingly moderate damage.
In short, nothing happened. A whole lot of uneasy nothing. According to intelligence reports, the italian battle fleet perhaps isn't entirely ready for combat, for example the Regia Elena just arrived back after being refitted to central firing. Interestingly, it also seems the case that our AP shells show a somewhat better characteristics than our counterparts' - well, not that it matters a whole lot, given the imparity in calibers and armor layouts unfortunately.
The blockade is still in effect, but the ships enforcing it are spread thin, handing the RM an irritatingly good opportunity to concentrate it's forces. For some reason (perhaps partly due to the aforementioned refits), such attack was never realized in this month. Truth be told, it would probably be a hard task to find just one man in the Kriegsmarine who was disappointed over this. Despite all our luck so far, Italy is still a fearsome and capable opponent in a fleet engagement.
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