Hey Kev,
My project is far from being ready to share its progress im afraid! I found a set of deck plans, and a few other plans a few years ago, and over the last couple of years have been very slowly (very time consuming, and I really have a lot more important things in life to do!) drawing up on a CAD program (mostly on nice quite night shifts, which I no longer have) the plans for my model.
I am initially drawing the ship in all its details, last time I spent much time on it was putting the position of the windows and portholes in on the side view, and started to scale up the hull lines from the model makers plan of them I have. Eventually, information from all the different drawings of the ship I have, shipyard drawings and model makers plans will come together on this one master plan on the CAD, from which I will be able to build. Seeing as I am very fussy about getting things as right as possible, this is expected to take quite a good few months yet, and much pouring over thousands of photos for all the bits the drawings don't show!
The model, once started, (which will not be in the immediate future!) will probally made from glassfibre with a mixure of plasticard and brass overlays, all laser cut from the CAD drawings, to give surface detail, windows, doors, openings etc, with real teak (from veneer suppliers) for the decks, and a mixture of cast metal and photo etched brass for the small fittings. Scale was originally going to be 1:96, but I am now considering enlarging to 1:72 as there are some other ships I wish to built in the even more distant future which are smaller, and would much better suit 1:72 scale then 1:96. This is as yet undecided. The CAD drawings can forunatly be resized precidely to any scale from the base scale I am drawing them to. The other reason for interest in 1:72 is 'Task Force 72' who operate and display a whole fleet of large models all built to that scale in several countries around the world, the idea of a fleet to join might be fun?
Either scale makes a pretty large model which has its own problems, am thinking a long estate car with a roof rack and a specially made carry box are going to be needed!
Whichever scale I use the model will be fully operational, possibly even with steam propulsion if I choose that period of its life to model....
Due to the size and cost of the project, it is going to take ages, and at some later stage in the project, ie once the hull mouldings are finished etc and I have something physical to show, I may seek orders for drawings/hulls/fittings or maybe even a complete kit etc from others wishing to build the ship, to help fund the project, I have not tried selling parts like this before, but have read of others who have, would seek advise first etc, but, all that is a loooong way off!
Wow, that was ment to be a quite response, I get carried away....
Thansk for the interest, Cheers!