Thread: Gatto plans

Hi Mike,

I have never used them but I went online to check them out. They look a good plan - pretty detailed.

I would say - give them a go - they don't appear to be too expensive

All the Best

Keith

Originally Posted by greyspider56

Hello all. I'm just getting started and wondered what you feel about Gatto plans. I 'm torn between toys and joys models and gattos. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you
Mike

both of them are good ... i have a few of both .. the toys and joys plans are easier to follow .. i think the gatto models are a bit more detailed as well

if you are just starting, maybe the earlier toys and joys ... i did 53,55 and 59 and felt they were easy ones ... i have also done 95 and 115 and am currently doing 129 ... they are a level more difficult but still quite achievable for a mug punter like me

regards david

PS just remembered that i also did 91 which was in between ... not simple by any means but well within the capacity of a novice like me

regards david

Gatto plans are definitely more detailed than T & J. I would start with T & J before upgrading to Gatto.

Hi Mike, Both plans are great but consider the following.

T&J plans come in a blue-print format and on a 1:1 scale (except for an occasional sketch usually build of wheels). They are much less detailed than the Gatto plans with virtually little or no explanation and the build is predominantly based on visual representation and actual measurements both documented and measurable.

The Gatto plans come in an A4 booklet and have no semblance to scale. Different diagrams on the same page may not be to similar scale ratio and are provided for visualisation and the individual sketches are not necessarily proportional. However, the narrative is very detailed down to the order of the build/cut, define the measurements with a reference to some visual diagrams. All parts have to be measured and manually laid out and I don't believe the plans can be used as templates. They include a lot of hints on how to make small parts easily and repetitively. They even go to the extent of recommending timber for each individual part.

I have imported both the T&J and Gatto graders into SketchUp. Not that that explains much, but the attached picture will give you a visual idea of the difference in the detail between the two models. The T&J is on the left and it doesn't take too much imagination to realise the Gatto must be the one on the right.

With the Gatto, you can always cut corners and leave out as much detail as you like, however, to me that's like buying a Roll-Royce, taking the wheels of and just rolling them around the freeway...

Combined 01.jpg


I've built the T&J mode and still psyching myself up to tackle the Gatto.

G'day Great comparison but please tell me how you import the images into sketchup.
I have tried to do it without luck
Garry

Originally Posted by Alexkara

Hi Mike, Both plans are great but consider the following.

T&J plans come in a blue-print format and on a 1:1 scale (except for an occasional sketch usually build of wheels). They are much less detailed than the Gatto plans with virtually little or no explanation and the build is predominantly based on visual representation and actual measurements both documented and measurable.

The Gatto plans come in an A4 booklet and have no semblance to scale. Different diagrams on the same page may not be to similar scale ratio and are provided for visualisation and the individual sketches are not necessarily proportional. However, the narrative is very detailed down to the order of the build/cut, define the measurements with a reference to some visual diagrams. All parts have to be measured and manually laid out and I don't believe the plans can be used as templates. They include a lot of hints on how to make small parts easily and repetitively. They even go to the extent of recommending timber for each individual part.

I have imported both the T&J and Gatto graders into SketchUp. Not that that explains much, but the attached picture will give you a visual idea of the difference in the detail between the two models. The T&J is on the left and it doesn't take too much imagination to realise the Gatto must be the one on the right.

With the Gatto, you can always cut corners and leave out as much detail as you like, however, to me that's like buying a Roll-Royce, taking the wheels of and just rolling them around the freeway...

Combined 01.jpg


I've built the T&J mode and still psyching myself up to tackle the Gatto.

Hi Garry, For T & J plans it is quite "simple". I used to scan each page to JPG format in 6 overlapping passes. I then use Thumbs Plus to square the image using straight lines in the picture and then Corel Photo-Paint to seamlessly stitch them together. I have licenses for these two programs but there are quite a number of freebie programs out there that will do the same (Inkscape first comes to mind as a Corel substitute). However, I found that time consuming and lately I have placed $20 an hour on my ever decreasing life time and found that the $1.30 per page at Officeworks is worth it. Having said that I have just purchased a new A3 Multi-Function machine so with the increased scan size I might start re-scanning myself. The secret is to square up the image and ensure there is an adequate overlap at the edges so that the stitching software has something to work with to make the finished product appear seamless.

I then import the resultant JPG file into SU. I take a physical measurement from the original T&J blue-print and after setting markout lines in SU for the same line I use the "scale" tool to resize the SU model to 1:1 scale. Then its a matter of tracing over the parts using the tape measure to layout layout-lines to exact measurements and then the appropriate SU tools (and imported plug-ins) to draw the part (but then that's just a case of SU familiarity). I do this for each page and then combine all the individual pages into 1 "build" SU model I usually call "Page 00". The hardest part of T&J models in SU is to contend with the bloody imperial measurement that those Yanks insist on persevering with.

The following are samples from a Page 00 of the Logging truck,
Logger Page 00.skp - SketchUp Pro 2016-001292.jpgLogger Page 00.skp - SketchUp Pro 2016-001293.jpg

Now for the Gatto plans... Again I scan each page into JPG format. As the instructions are in A4 size already there is no need to stitch. It is just a plain case of bloody hard slow and perseverance for each page. As the plans are not to scale, however they give precise measurements and visual sketches of the parts it is just a case of drawing the parts. I often export the page into a standalone SU model resize it in accordance with stated measurements, sketch the part to scale and then import the parts into the original "page".

The following is a sample page(s) of the Gatto's grader,
Page 00 (with plans).skp - SketchUp Pro 2016-001294.jpgPage 00 (with plans).skp - SketchUp Pro 2016-001295.jpg

The T&J SU models should be available using the following link. I have removed the plans' scans out of most models due to potential copywrite issues,
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nntbpd1yx...TkD920Kua?dl=0
The following link should take you to the 2 Gatto plans I have imported. I have removed the scanned pages for the same reason.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/44kwn2z8p...4pjlpO3Wa?dl=0

If you would like to take this further, feel free to email me and maybe we can get more detailed "offline" (unless others may be interested in which case we probably should open a new thread).

Thanks for that ,
I have no desire to get into strife over copy right issues
as regards using sketchup I will start another thread and continue there