OT: 1/700 water line ship models

[wdolson]

My area of interest has always been WW II, but I have gazed at the occasional sailing ship kit.

I bought kit collections and parted them out on Ebay for a few years when the "day job" was slow. My selling was about 50% aircraft, 30% armor, 15% ships, and 5% everything else. I few gorgeous ship kits did pass through my hands like three of the large scale Heller ship of the line kits that currently retail for around $200. I looked them over and pondered keeping them, but the thought of doing the rigging gave me nightmares.

Bill

[TOMLABEL]

ORIGINAL: Symon
My back-room hobby is building late 17th and early 18th century wooden ships. We try to make every timber be historically accurate in shape, size, and placement. There’s a lot of incredibly good info on just about everything relating to model building at http://modelshipworld.com/ including sections on modern ships. People will show how to make accurate miniature double cheek blocks, so a fighting top shouldn’t be much of a problem.

The people, there, are from around the world, and are the nicest and most righteous folks you would ever want to meet. They are the folks whose models grace museums around the world. But they are always available to help a noob with blivets on a commercial kit. There’s threads on tools, and materials, and techniques, and bears, oh My !!

Ciao. John

Hey Kelley - GO GATORS !!

Howdy buddy!! Whoa those are some tedious incredible builds over there. I looked at several in the completed gallery and works-in-progess. Now that's the type of work that is way out of my skill set! They are nice to look at and see how they build those.

I think I'd better stick with plastic....[X(]

TOMLABEL

Oh, and John - ROLL TIDE ROLL, Uncle Henry and all that stuff!!!

[dwesolick]

Sorry to bring back an old thread but I'm thinking of getting an airbrush/spray paint gun and was wondering if anyone had any recommendations? I've always used brushes in the past but would like to try a spray painter, especially one that is easy to use and easy to clean afterwards. Thanks!

[TOMLABEL]

No apologies necessary. It isn't that old of a thread anyway.

Personally I use Iwata Eclipse series airbrushes and an Iwata compressor. I'm very pleased with versatility I get with it as I build 1/48, 1/35, 1/700 and 1/350 scale models and have found it suitable for all scales I work with.

TOMLABEL

[wdolson]

I've always used Pasche. My father had a couple of them when I was growing up and he gave me one about 20 years ago. He standardized on that brand because it was what all the professional graphic artists he knew used. They are still a major brand, but I don't know what graphic artists tend to use today.

In any case I have been very happy with Pasche. Mine is an H model, which is the single action brush. I have thought about getting a V double action, but it takes some practice to use correctly. My father never mastered his V.

I think the finish from an airbrush is so superior to hand brushing I'll never finish an exterior with a hand brush again.

Bill

[dwesolick]

Thanks for the responses! I'll check out both brands. I need to finish my Prince of Wales model and my daughter wants a Titanic model for her B-day so it'll be seeing use soon!

[nashvillen]

I need to dig out my airbrush before I start on my 1:350 Independence. It will be needed.

[Lokasenna]

ORIGINAL: nashvillen

I need to dig out my airbrush before I start on my 1:350 Independence. It will be needed.

I need to buy one before I start on any of mine. Even though It's only a $100 or so expense for a basic airbrush, I just haven't been able to get it yet .

[dwesolick]

One other quick question, can you use the regular (testors) enamel model paints with an airbrush or do I need to buy specialized paints (hope not)?

[wdolson]

Enamels work well, better than acrylics in my experience. I thin them with acetone which helps bond the paint to the plastic well and it speeds up the drying of the paint.

Bill

[dwesolick]

Hi Bill,

Great, I have a ton of enamels. Would Testors paint thinner work as well as acetone?

[wdolson]

I've never used it, but it probably would work OK. Using acetone allows me to spray multiple colors in one session. I usually have a few models ready to paint at once and with ones that are getting multiple colors, I paint one coat, move on to another model and by the time I'm ready to paint the next color, the paint is dry enough on the first one to paint the second color. I'm not sure that would be possible if I used the mineral thinner which is the Testors' thinner. It dries more slowly.

Of course you also have to make sure you are in a well ventilated area or have a paint booth. Even if using fairly safe thinners you will get over spray and your SO might have a problem with battleship gray spots on the walls. I want to make a spray booth one of these days, but I currently just work in the garage with the door open.

Bill

[dwesolick]

Hi Bill,

I went with the Paasche H model airbrush. Got the airbrush kit and a compressor from Amazon for $129. Iwata's looked great but they are pretty pricey. Thanks again for the advice!

[TOMLABEL]

Glad you went ahead and got the airbrush and compressor. With a bit of practice, you will begin to wonder how you ever went without one. Paasche airbrushes from what I hear are very very good. My first Iwata was a gift so I've always stuck with that line. The only other airbrush I've used was that old Testors airbrush that required a can of compressed air.

The fun begins!!!

[wdolson]

One thing to keep in mind when using an airbrush is to make sure you completely clean it after use. Take apart the needle assembly and soak everything in solvent (I use lacquer thinner). If the paint is allowed to dry in there, you will probably need to replace the needle assembly.

Bill

[John 3rd]

Our Fleet in LaSalle continues to grow. The boys and I just finished CA Tone. It joins several Japanese DDs, CL Jintsu, and Bismarck.

My Easter present to my eldest was the USS Indianapolis. John went through the roof. Grammy asked what was the Indianapolis and John gave her chapter and verse about her carrying the bomb, the sinking, story of her crew's horror on the water, and, of course, the story of Quint in Jaws. Damned 10 Year-Old was able to describe the specifics of her class as well. SHOW OFF!

We are nowhere near the airbrush level but the work done has been pretty fair. The boys and I are getting better with each model.

Have to admit that I did not like the Fujimi kit of Tone though. Had some serious issues with it but we got her done.

Like to formally thank Bill for the models we have bought from him in the last year or so...

[nashvillen]

Found my airbrush last night. It is a simple single action Paasche. Need to get a compressor now that my CO2 tank is gone with the death of my friend.

[MikeS4269]

Hi all! This thread comes at a good time for me as I recently did some historical diving which kicked off my interest in ship modeling again. It's been seven years (roughly) since I have attempted a kit and it wasn't as easy getting back into the saddle as I first had thought. Last night, for my second night in a row, I sat in the study with my wife and worked on a 1/700 Japanese submarine (RO-35) while my wife used the computer. It's about a 17 piece kit which the model shop owner dubbed a nice 'Saturday afternoon build'. I was convinced it would be a good confidence builder as I'm rusty as heck. Unfortunately... by about the second hour my wife had to stop what she was doing and remind me that "modeling was supposed to be a RELAXING hobby". Apparently, my number of expletives had doubled since I had started and were getting worse as I went.

I am having major issues with my gluing and getting the pieces to stay long enough in place to build a firm bond. To give you an example, the serrated section of the bow (net cutter?) is a piece only a few mm long with two tiny individual triangular supports that are very roughly about the size of Washington's nose on a quarter. Simply cutting them out safely took delicate work, and then when it came to assemble them in their proper form, it all went out the window very quickly. I tried to glue the supports on first (to align them with some grooves) but they wouldn't stay in place and after a while got so sticky (from repeated attempts) that they clung to the tweezers with a tenacity that was impressive. I then gave up and tried to glue the supports to the deck first. Again, they only roughly got in the right vicinity and then slide around like they were on ice skates. Eventually, I did get them to stay, but then I tried to lay the serrated main section on and they would not line up correctly. It looked as if the poor sub had been in a fender-bender with an American DD or something. I did (after almost 15 minutes!) get these three pieces to roughly take their places, but by this point the itsy bitsy drips of plastic were so covered / disfigured / melted by glue that it looks really rough.

I currently have four glues to use:

1) modeling cement - melts everything / strong bonds / has a brush applicator making it next to impossible to get into small spaces / dries up so quickly if I use another applicator that I have to rush to get a piece in place / doesn't bond quickly so the moment the tweezers are away the part leans like the Tower of Pisa

2) modeling cement (needle applicator) - similar to above but gets into tiny places well / floods out so quickly that those same spaces become ponded in glue / my conning tower deck is melted away in one section when control was impossible to maintain and it bubble out with the gentlelest of squeezes

3) white craft glue - not a very strong bond / dries clear and doesn't damage surfaces / can get goopy / takes forever to dry so we get the Tower of Pisa effect again

4) super glue - dries really really fast / very strong bond / little to no room for error when applying pieces / dries so quickly that minor adjustments become impossible and pieces often end up at rough angles or not perfectly aligned


My question for the collective is:

What can I do for those teeney weeney bits (flag poles, tiny guns, propellers, rails, pretty much everything on a 1/700 kit!) to get them in place properly and have the darned things stay with a strong bond and little to no mess?

(For the record, despite the struggles, I really want to stay 1/700 for a wide-variety of reasons.)

Thanks!

MikeS

[wdolson]

Different types of cement are good for different jobs. Sometimes if an attempt fails, it's a god idea to let glue dry before trying again. White glue is good for temporarily tacking something down, but shouldn't be used for anything intended to be permanent. I've found the liquid glue with the needle applicator can be good for small parts.

It's also a good idea to have some kind of magnification for small parts. You can use a headband magnifier or a magnifier on a stand. As I've gotten older I find I need the magnifier more and more.

Bill

[nashvillen]

I use Faller Expert Plastic Cement, it has a fine applicator and bonds plastic very well. For other quicker gluing or for EM parts I use Gorilla Glue AC. I put a dab on some spare cardboard and use a pin or dental pick to apply a small amount for what I need.

I use white glue for wood on wood or as a mask for clear parts while painting.