New SketchUp 3d web plugin

Google have released a new tool for SketchUp that lets you share your models on the web in a different way: try clicking on the image of the two barrel raft above and dragging your mouse left or right to watch the model rotate on your screen. This new plugin for SketchUp lets you export a 3d animation of your model to a website. Unfortunately the exporter only works with the PC version, but you should be able to view the results on any computer. A youtube video here explains how to use the exporter.

(If you are having trouble viewing the rotating model please let me know in the comments)

Bowline in 3 strand rope- as a SketchUp model

Browsing the 3D Warehouse the other day, I found an incredible model TaffGoch posted - a bowline made entirely in SketchUp. This is a pretty impressive piece of modelling work, and complete instructions for modelling a knot are included. The first file shows how to model the shape of the knot, while the second one shows how to make a three stranded rope following the shape of the knot(see this thread from the SketchUp help group for more information).

So modelling of knots is possible in SketchUp- are there any volunteers for the rest of the six basic Scout Knots?

Model Pioneering from Malaysia

Keat Lee is a former Scout from Malaysia who has shared some model pioneering photos with me. The five models featured in this post are all of Keat's own design- thanks for sharing them with us!

Keat uses cotton thread to tie the lashings, and uses real square and diagonal lashings, not the elastic band cheat version. Working on his own, the models above took around 2 weeks each to make, while the detailed model below took about a month.

...blogging again

Things have been quiet around here since October. I'll be posting regularly on this blog again in the next few weeks. The final term of a Master's degree, followed by a new job have been keeping me busy since October but I'm going to try and post regularly here- starting from tomorrow I'm going to be posting some projects that have been sent to me over the last six months.


But first, a follow up on the post that has been at the top of the blog since October. If you follow rugby union, you may know that South Africa won the World Cup final against England, and this is how we watched the match that night: with a pioneered screen, under the trees at our campsite, during the Jamboree on the Air/Internet