I was getting at working from drawings and converting that to 2d CAD, then working out tabs and slots, how everything will fold, the order it should be built, that sort of thing. But I guess most of that comes with experience.
I don't convert drawings - I only use them for reference and you should NEVER scale drawings anyway. Its the first rule of engineering. I draw everything from the ground up [obviously you then build up a library of completed parts which are often used over and often over again]. I have absolutely no game plan beyond vague ideas at the beginning of a project. It is designed 'on the hoof' and I only really have around a 10-15% clear vision of how the thing will look. I just go along using serendipity [the process of happy discovery] and then back-revise as I need.
Parts are drawn and oulined and tagged as I go and then revised as ideas come - courtesy of Miles Davis [or whichever jazz musician is on the CD player] dictates! I hear of people who plan their kits out in advance but I feel that just gets in the way of free-thinking and I would hate that. Thats why I try never to look closely at other peoples work. I use a stripped down ancient CAD programme with only the features that I use showing [probably less than 2% of those available] as I don't want anything getting in the way of my mental processes [such as those my brain is still capable of!!!]. I never understand the complexity of the pocesses some of you guys go through to prepare etching design work - just seems like overkill to me - or the discussion about whether Version 123c of some software is better than 123d. Its all more than capable of doing what you want and its the Mk.1 human brain that designs the kit.
As for 'lead time' - seven years for some of the Mk.1 coaches [if its what I think it is] - I don't really know what a lead time is [it sounds like some kind of modern day buisness-speak thing] - I don't work to any deadlines, shows or pressures. I have 30+ projects on the go at any one time and move between them as I feel like it - so I do not work on things in a linear fashion. I might be working on a set of rifle bayonets or ship parts one day and a BAe Hawk Detail Set or a wagon the next. I think I drew the body for out Mk.1 RB in 2003 - and its still not out. We made the casting masters for our Sprinter kits in 1988 and those aren't out yet either!
When something is finished it is finished and some things I work on never get released as I lose interest. I understand that Leonard Cohen wrote over 90 verses to Hallelujah but only regularly uses eight in two versions of the song. Sometimes projects just don't seem to wok out. I certainly do not rush to get a new project in for etching. Some sit there for a year or more. I like to live with them and make sure they ARE finished. It also depends if there are buzzards & bats or other interesting things to watch outside!
We also don't have test etches as such, as prior to etching the fit has already been tested with 28mm:ft card assemblies - so we go straight to initial stocking quantities [and among manufacturers I know I am by no means unique in this regard]. We put in batches of around 30-50 new photo tools across the ranges at once for plotting, to get the max. price advantage and these come back to us for review prior to forwarding them to the etcher - this is not the same company as we then retain full ownership of the films and so can move them to be etched by someone else if needed.
So there you have it - I think I have answered your questions but anyway I have no more answers to give!
Regards,
DJP
I should have seen that coming!
