Titanic CAD Plans by Robert Hahn
With special assistance by Bruce Beveridge

Review by Scott Andrews

"The first thing a modeler must do before embarking on any potential project is to obtain as many pieces of reference material on the prototype as possible. This material may be in the form of photographs, written documentation, and most importantly, drawings. A good set of drawings to follow is vital, whether these drawings are copies of original construction drawings, commercially available drawings intended for use by model makers, or of the modeler's own making. Perhaps it is no where more important than in the making of a model as complex as a ship.

If you are trying to model a subject that is in the mainstream of ship modeling, you will have little difficulty locating good reference material to follow, particularly drawings. HMS Victory? USS Constitution? Cutty Sark? No problem. Warships? Name your war/navy/period of service! Americas Cup yachts? Sure! Tug boats? You betcha! Ocean liners? Well....

Surprisingly, the least amount of good information readily available to the scale ship modeler is that most majestic of the works of mankind, the ocean liner. There are a number of plans available of a few of the best-known liners of the late twenties and early thirties and even some of the modern cruise ships. Yet, there is very little available on the great Edwardian giants, ships that were household words during the golden age of ocean travel. To add further to this paradox, included in the ranks of these ships which have been largely ignored by model plan sources is the most famous ship to sail since Noah's Ark - RMS Titanic.

To be sure, there have been a few commercially available plan sets out there in the past for the Titanic and there is still at least one set currently available from the venerable Taubman Plan Service, but most of these previous plan sets have suffered from the same problem. They are little more than warmed-over copies of plans of the Olympic, Titanic's elder sister, often copied from contemporary texts such as "The Shipbuilder" or from reproductions of period deck plans. None of these previous plans had much to offer to the modeler other than the most general of exterior views, and almost nothing of the differences from the Olympic, which made the Titanic unique.

Well, folks, this situation has finally changed. There is finally a complete plan set for the Titanic modeler, freshly created by Robert Hahn of Berlin, Germany. Mr. Hahn has produced these highly detailed drawings with the aid of CAD (computer assisted drafting) software. Mr. Hahn has been ably assisted in this effort by the research of Mr. Bruce Beveridge, Chicago, IL. Mr. Beveridge's large photographic collection and keen eye have resulted in many never-before discovered features being added to this plan set, making it equally valuable to the modeler and maritime scholar alike.

This plan set is a no nonsense compilation of hundreds of hours of tedious research. Want to see how the furniture was arranged in the First Class Dining Saloon? Sorry. Want to see EVERY side of EVERY Boat deck ventilator? You've come to the right place!

The first sheet contains a full starboard profile of the vessel from truck to keel, a plan view of the complete vessel, and very unique fore and aft end views, all chock full of splendid detail. Things like the portholes, shell doors, coal bunker doors, bilge keels, propellers and shaft bossings - even the condenser intake and exhaust openings - are shown. This sheet alone is worth the price of admission, and is in fact available as a separate sheet by itself for those who do not intend to construct a model, would like a very unique example of the draftsman's art to display at home or the office.

The second sheet dissects the superstructure into it's component parts, giving the modeler a plan view and four projected views of every deckhouse and funnel and clearly locating every window, door, ventilator, rail and deck light. In several cases, several areas have been sectioned or revealed to clearly show details that would be otherwise obscured and yet still visible from the exterior from odd angles or through open passages or protective glazing.

The third sheet contains similar detailing, this time of the forecastle, poop and well decks. This sheet also gives details of the interior walls of the ship's several protected promenade decks which would be visible through the exceptional large rectangular windows in the superstructure, features which most modelers would want to add, and which are difficult to decipher in even the best photographs.

Also on the third sheet are details of the details - every ventilator, winch, windlass, bollard and fairlead, lifeboats and davits, deck benches and hydrants - most shown in plan and three or four projected views as necessary. These are the sort of details that bedevil a serious modeler when trying to get things right. If you've ever spent hours squinting at blurry photographs in an attempt to get some little detail correct, you'll appreciate the effort that went into accurately portraying these features. Most importantly, every effort has been made to insure that the number, placement and configuration of all of these details are specifically "Titanic".

The fourth sheet contains what I would call a framing drawing. A true lines plan is not provided with these plans, but rather there are 39 transverse half sections drawn in a format to allow them to be cut out and used as templates from which a modeler can cut and shape bulkheads for use in plank-on-frame construction. These could easily be used as templates for any other form of construction a modeler may choose. A longitudinal profile is also given as a guide to produce the central member of the structure and to properly located the transverse bulkheads.

The print quality and scalability of this plan set is another big plus for the modeler. On the typical plan set, the clarity and accuracy of the copy depends upon both the condition of the original and the care taken in producing the print. In the typical copying process, a certain amount of "stretch" or "shrink" is introduced as a normal and unavoidable part of the printing process. If the copies weren't made from the original but from a second, third or fourth generation copy, the error is compounded making it all but impossible to take direct accurate measurements from the face of the print. In the case of Mr. Hahn's plans, which were drawn and stored electronically, plots rather than prints are made, insuring the accuracy of each plan set. Since each set is produced from data, there is no "original" to degrade and print quality is always crisp. Requests for special scales also produce better results than traditional photo reduction methods.

The result of this collaboration between Messrs. Hahn and Beveridge is a Titanic modeler's plan set without equal and which instantly renders all others obsolete. This set is a must-have for the scratch builder, and should be at the top of the reference materials wish list for those want to super-detail any of the various plastic kits available." - Scott R. Andrews