I've never built a sailing ship. I started the old Revel pirate ship, but never finished it. I'll be watching this.
England Expects...
- Thread starter Cybergrinder
- Start date
those sails are vacuformed, not injected moulded, which lets them get a thinner profile, but at the cost of detail.
cutting them out is a pain, painting them to good effect is difficult. I always try my best, sometimes end up just doing the standing rigging.
cutting them out is a pain, painting them to good effect is difficult. I always try my best, sometimes end up just doing the standing rigging.
That's why I'm using cloth @Bill Nelson .(see my earlier pictures) The first time I built it I was able to get the sails looking decent, but you can still see they're plastic, never mind the furled sails not looking nice.
One thing I've noticed, there is a lot of "flash" on the parts, clearly the jigs are getting old, and sure enough, on the bottom of the stand, 1965....
One thing I've noticed, there is a lot of "flash" on the parts, clearly the jigs are getting old, and sure enough, on the bottom of the stand, 1965....
- Apr 5, 2013
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These ships can be made to look fantastic as the original were wood, and didn't look like a brand new car or boat. They had a lot of character. If you look on the web, you can find scale rope. I used that when I built my Constitution many years ago. It makes a big difference. 
An old diorama builders trick might be used to make realistically thin sails. take tissue paper, wet with a mix of glue and water, then form it to shape and leave it until the glue dries. I am going to try this to make the cover over the back of the MF when we first see it in SW TFA.
@micahrogers , I've used a thin cloth (rayon if I remember) with modge podge to stiffen
OK, suggestions please! The instructions stipulate to paint the windows black, which I'm not prepared to do. Suggestions the paint colour? (I'm not drilling through for the windows)
What a pity. This would look nice with some flickering lights inside. Maybe you could simulate this by painting some windows with a mix of white, yellow and brown to tone it down a bit and others with a darker brown. Pearlascent colours or a glossy finish might simulate window glass. I would paint a strip of paper first, cut it to the size of the windows and attach the pieces to the outer hull non-permanently to see how everything looks.
Never use straight white for lit windows, use a tan or blue or even light grey to make lit windows, and also don't go straight black for dark windows, use a very dark grey or Indigo blue.
The thought crossed my mind of trying to light her up... That would require a lot, I mean a lot more work... Yellow LEDs.. hmmmm...
Nope. I would have to basically construct the entire interior from scratch and I don't have the tools, or the money to buy...
The frames are white, based on these suggestions I'm thinking a pale blue?
Nope. I would have to basically construct the entire interior from scratch and I don't have the tools, or the money to buy...
The frames are white, based on these suggestions I'm thinking a pale blue?
Not necessarily. Just block the view inside with a piece of semi-transparent / milky / frosted paper.
I agree with Micah's paint tips. As I said, just make some coloured shapes and put them on the outer hull to see the effect and go with what looks best for you.
- Apr 5, 2013
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They would look good with llight grey, or tan, and if you light them up with very yellow lights, that would like like fire used for light.
It's been a while painting off and on and finally got around to a bit of construction.
First the boats
Next the beakhead
The upper deck
Between decks
And the guns
So the way these guns were in the sprue meant there was no opening at the barrel end. And after drilling them all out (and a few puncture wounds) here's what they look like
Sorry, it's a bit out of focus, but you can see the effect I was after. Still some touch-ups to do, but overall I'm quite happy
First the boats
Next the beakhead
The upper deck
Between decks
And the guns
So the way these guns were in the sprue meant there was no opening at the barrel end. And after drilling them all out (and a few puncture wounds) here's what they look like
Sorry, it's a bit out of focus, but you can see the effect I was after. Still some touch-ups to do, but overall I'm quite happy
Good idea with the drilling. His/Her Majesty would not be amused if the cannon balls get stuck in the barrels during a fight.
One of the joys of modelling is drilling your finger out to match the cannons
" remember try to keep the windows from becoming an 'odd shape', and your fingers as well." I always hated drilling on models.