In the world of maritime engineering, propulsion is everything. Whether you are designing a stealth vessel, a deep-sea explorer, or a rapid-response rescue craft, the ability to move efficiently through the water is the primary challenge.
At EnDTaS, we believe that high-end engineering shouldn’t be locked behind corporate walls. To push the boundaries of the maker community, we are introducing the SolaRay Drive Unit—a versatile, 3D-printable propulsion system designed for the next generation of aquatic projects.
Continue reading for links to download this product free for your hobby uses.
From Sea to Shore: Exploring Mechanical Kinematics
At EnDTaS, our passion has always been the intersection of complex design and additive manufacturing. While our primary focus lies in the depths of the ocean and the stealth of naval architecture, the core of our philosophy is the same: Functional Engineering.
Engineering isn’t just about massive hulls or tactical propulsion systems; it is about the elegant movement of parts. It is about how a simple linkage can translate a human gesture into mechanical work. To explore this concept in a more accessible, tactile way, we are excited to introduce our 3D Printable Toy Front Loader.
Continue reading for more info and renderings, we also have a free sand buldozer model, download it at the end of the article.
For those who have followed our journey at EnDTaS, the Lun-Class Ekranoplan has always been more than just a model to us—it is a symbol of audacious, boundary-pushing engineering. In our previous release (click here to open it in a new tab), we focused on capturing the sheer scale and imposing presence of the Soviet “Sea Monster,” providing a high-fidelity 1-meter replica for collectors and historians.
But for us, a static model is only the beginning. As a studio dedicated to Experimental Naval Designs, we asked ourselves: How do we move this behemoth from the shelf to the water?
From Display Piece to Dynamic Platform
The challenge of the Lun-class is its inherent contradiction: it is a massive, heavy-looking vessel that must remain light enough to exploit the ground effect. To translate this into a successful RC project, we couldn’t simply use the same geometry as the display model. Weight is the enemy of performance.
We are proud to introduce the Lun-Class Ekranoplan RC-Ready Lightweight Edition. This isn’t just a refinement; it is a complete engineering overhaul designed specifically for the motivated maker and RC enthusiast.
Continue reading for more information and renderings,
When the Civil War broke out, the U.S. Navy was forced to rethink warship design. Traditional wooden hulls could not survive the new, high‑powered guns that were being fielded on land. In response, designers began experimenting with iron‑clad hulls that would shrug off cannon fire and resist the very bullets that had once devastated wooden ships. The USS Keokuk, launched in December 1862, was one of the first of these experimental “casemate” ironclads.
the scene is AI generated but the model is ours, made by human hand every curve and point.
With a 159‑foot length, 36‑foot beam, and a displacement of 677 long tons, the Keokuk was built from a solid iron hull, with a wooden deck and a thin layer of filler armor that protected the gun positions. Powered by two 250‑hp steam engines that drove twin 7‑foot screws, the vessel could reach 9 knots – a respectable speed for a warship of its time.
Armed with two 11‑inch Dahlgren smoothbore guns and a ram bow, it joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in March 1863 and saw action in the Charleston campaign. Though its operational record was brief, the Keokuk’s design paved the way for the next generation of iron‑clad warships.
Our 1:48‑scale file pack brings the historic ironclad into the hands of hobbyists and RC enthusiasts alike. The design has been carefully optimised for 3‑D printing while preserving the ship’s iconic profile:
the scene is AI generated but the model is ours, made by human hand every curve and point.
The SMS Sachsen was the lead ship of the Sachsen-class ironclads, a group of four armored vessels built for the Imperial German Navy in the 1870s. Alongside her sister ships—Bayern, Württemberg, and Baden—she represented a distinctly different approach to naval warfare compared to the ocean-going ironclads of Britain and France. Rather than projecting power across distant seas, these ships were designed with a more focused mission: defending Germany’s coastline and controlling the confined waters of the North Sea and Baltic.
This role shaped every aspect of their design. The Sachsen-class ships were relatively compact but heavily armored, with a low freeboard and a strong emphasis on protection and firepower over range. Their layout reflected the transitional nature of naval engineering at the time—positioned between earlier broadside ironclads and the more advanced turret ships that would follow. Central battery arrangements, thick armor belts, and powerful main guns gave them serious defensive capability, even if their seaworthiness in rough open water was limited.
Although not as famous as later battleships, the Sachsen-class played an important role in the early development of the Imperial German Navy. They embodied a strategic mindset focused on coastal defense, deterrence, and controlled engagement, rather than global reach. Over time, as naval doctrine evolved and larger, more capable ships entered service, the Sachsen-class became less central—but they remain a fascinating example of a navy defining its identity during a period of rapid technological change.
Continue reading for more info about our 3d printable Sachsen model,
When the United States Coast Guard began planning its next generation of large ocean-going cutters in the early 1960s, the service had been operating converted World War II-era Navy vessels for nearly two decades. The ships were aging, increasingly difficult to maintain, and unable to fully meet the demanding operational requirements of a modern Coast Guard. What emerged from that planning process was one of the most successful and enduring cutter designs in the history of American maritime law enforcement — the Hamilton-class High Endurance Cutter, a vessel so capable and well-conceived that it would serve the Coast Guard for nearly half a century.
The initial contract for the lead ship, USCGC Hamilton (WHEC-715), was awarded to Avondale Shipyards in New Orleans, Louisiana in January 1964, with construction beginning shortly thereafter. Hamilton was launched on December 18, 1965 and commissioned on March 18, 1967, named for Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, the first United States Secretary of the Treasury and founder of the United States Revenue Cutter Service. She was the first genuinely new high-endurance cutter the Coast Guard had received in more than twenty years, and from the moment she entered service it was clear she represented a significant leap forward in capability. Originally envisioned as a large-scale procurement, long-range plans called for up to 38 cutters to be constructed over the following decade, but budget constraints and the wind-down of the international ocean stations program reduced the authorized number to just 12 ships, all built at Avondale between 1965 and 1972.
When the United States Navy introduced the Littoral Combat Ship concept in the early 2000s, it represented a fundamental rethinking of what a modern surface combatant could and should be. Traditional warships were large, heavily armed, and designed for blue-water operations far out at sea. The LCS was conceived for an entirely different environment — the littoral zone, the shallow coastal and near-shore waters where conventional warships struggle to operate effectively, yet where a growing number of real-world threats were emerging. Fast, nimble, and built around a modular mission system architecture, the LCS was envisioned as a vessel that could be rapidly reconfigured for entirely different combat roles depending on the threat — surface warfare one week, mine countermeasures the next, anti-submarine operations the week after.
The Freedom Class is one of two LCS variants developed for the US Navy, built by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine at their Wisconsin shipyard. Where its sister variant, the Independence Class, adopted a radical trimaran hull form, the Freedom Class took a more conventional semi-planing monohull approach — sleek, fast, and remarkably capable for its size. Displacing around 3,900 tons at full load and stretching just under 116 meters in length, Freedom-Class ships are powered by a combined diesel and gas turbine propulsion system driving quadruple waterjets, allowing them to reach speeds well in excess of 40 knots — making them among the fastest warships of their displacement in any navy in the world.
Continue reading for more info or here are the purchase links of the model.
From World War I Torpedo Raider to Modern 3D-Printed RC Model
Origins: A Bold Idea from Junior Officers
Few naval weapons have such an unlikely origin story as the Coastal Motor Boat (CMB). In the summer of 1915, three junior officers of the Harwich Striking Force — Lieutenants Hampden, Bremner, and Anson — hatched an audacious proposal: could a small, fast motor boat, armed with a torpedo, travel over enemy minefields and attack Imperial German Navy ships at anchor in their heavily defended bases?
The Admiralty gave tentative approval, and a Staff Requirement was issued for a new type of vessel to serve in the North Sea. The specifications were demanding. The boat had to be capable of at least 30 knots when fully loaded, carry enough fuel for a meaningful radius of action, and be armed with torpedoes, depth charges, or mines, supplemented by light machine guns. Several established shipbuilders were approached, but only one company believed the requirement could actually be met: John I. Thornycroft & Company.
The Most Detailed RC-Ready Coast Guard Cutter Ever Designed for Home Builders
About the Legend Class National Security Cutter
The Legend Class National Security Cutter represents the pinnacle of the United States Coast Guard’s deepwater fleet capability. Built by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Pascagoula, Mississippi, these formidable vessels were designed to replace the aging Hamilton-class high endurance cutters and bring the Coast Guard’s operational reach firmly into the 21st century. Stretching over 127 meters in length and displacing more than 4,500 tons, the Legend Class is a true oceangoing warship in everything but name — capable of operating in the most hostile sea states on earth while conducting the full spectrum of Coast Guard missions.
Named after legendary figures in the history of the United States Coast Guard, these cutters are built for endurance, versatility, and projection. Their mission portfolio is extraordinarily broad: maritime law enforcement, counter-narcotics operations, search and rescue in open ocean conditions, fisheries protection, defense readiness, and even support for national security operations alongside the US Navy. Each vessel carries a sophisticated sensor suite, communication systems, and weapons fit including the Mk 110 57mm deck gun and the Phalanx Close-In Weapon System — making them among the most capable cutters ever operated by the service. USCGC Bertholf, the lead ship of the class and the primary photographic reference for this model, was commissioned in 2008 and has since logged thousands of operational hours across the Pacific, Atlantic, and beyond.
About This Model
This 3D printable model brings the Legend Class to life at 1:96 scale, producing a finished vessel approximately 1.3 meters long — a genuinely commanding presence on any shelf, display stand, or waterway. The model was developed using extensive photographic documentation of USCGC Bertholf as the primary reference, capturing the real ship’s proportions, deck arrangements, superstructure geometry, and surface details as faithfully as possible. Where classified or simply unavailable official blueprints left gaps, available technical drawings of similar vessel types were used alongside photographs to reconstruct accurate hull lines and structural relationships. The result is a model that is not merely inspired by the Legend Class — it is shaped by it, photograph by photograph, frame by frame.
Continue reading for more info and renderings, and possibly a free version.
Speed, Innovation, and Our 1:16 Scale RC-Ready Model
At the dawn of modern naval warfare, speed became a weapon in its own right. Among the earliest and most daring embodiments of this philosophy were the Thornycroft Coastal Motor Boats (CMBs)—lightweight, high-speed attack craft developed by John I. Thornycroft & Company during the First World War.
Designed for surprise torpedo attacks against much larger enemy ships, CMBs were radical machines for their time. Built with lightweight wooden hulls and powered by powerful petrol engines, they achieved remarkable speeds while maintaining a shallow draft suitable for coastal and confined operations. Their missions required precision, courage, and mechanical reliability. These boats were not built for comfort or endurance—they were built for speed and impact.
