Over the last week I have been doing more research on the bomb factory so that I will have an accurate description of it before I begin modelling. I feel that I now have enough information to start. I have to arrange to meet William Fitzgerald so that I can collect the grenade and the moldings off him so that they can be scanned using the 3D scanner.

I have also been doing some research on three.js along with other technologies that I could use. I have decided to use three.js and have been getting familiar with it over the last few days. I am going to do the modelling in blender as I am already familiar with it. I looked into using 3D studio max but decided against it as I have used blender before and it was the best option.

Tomorrow I plan to get started with blender and begin with some of the modelling. I will also spend some more time getting familiar with three.js as well as doing some additional research.

Yesterday i met with William again and he gave me a copy of the drawing of the factory. It is on a A1 page and it is much clearer that the pictures I previously posted. We are trying to source a A1 scanner so that it can be digitized. I must also get the grenade and the castings off William so that we can scan them using a 3d scanner. The drawing paints a clear picture of what the factory may have looked like and the layout seems to be realistic.
At the moment, I am doing as much research as possible on the factory and trying to get as much detail as possible before I start modelling. The dimensions of the factory differ slightly from the different sources. Over the next few days, I will also have to decide what I will use for the modelling. At the moment I am thinking of using 3d studio max. I will also have to decide what format I want to use, whether it will be a serious game etc.

These are drawings of what the factory possibly looked like. We cant be sure of what exactly it was like as we are only going by a written description of it and one drawing by Ned Fitzgerald.

On either side of the furnace two household fire machines were placed in order to generate more heat. A short pipe was then placed from these machines into the furnace approx 1 foot from the bottom. The normal wheels were taken off these and two wheels off furze machines were used so there would be sufficient air blast to generate the heat needed. These wheels were approx 4 feet in diameter. A big pulley was then inserted at the foot of the machine and a belt placed from those right around the wheels of the furze machines. This meant that the big wheel of the furze machine was driving the small wheel so that great speed was achieved.

A small oven was then placed in the corner of the dug out which also had a pipe to allow smoke out. This oven was used to bake the cores for making the bombs. Chills (which is pictured below) were also needed for the moulding and making of bombs. The chills were in two parts, it is a block of iron approx 9 inches long by 5 inches wide by 4 inches deep. One half of these chills were fixed permanently to a sleeper on the side of the factory. The other side fitted in over the bolt and would have been kept in place using a pin. In the factory there was also a ladle which was used for pouring the molten material into the chills. The ladle had a three foot iron handle with a ring on one side, into which was places a metal pot which could take approx 1 gallon of liquid and had a spout for pouring. The operating of the factory took six men, one on each fir machine, one placing the cores in the chills, one tapping the barrel into the chills and a man for sealing the furnace when the ladle was full. In one night it would have been possible to make ninety bomb castings.