I would suggest a creamy white or very pale yellow. The decks would have been holystoned daily while she was in service. They would not have been allowed to weather to a silver grey. Nice build, I have allways been a fan of the Bellona.
HMS Bellona
- Thread starter pashlispaht
- Start date
Leave the decks as they are already now. They should be yellowish sort of. You will never get that grey colour which comes naturally after contact with water over time. Normally for decks in models white woods are being user i.e. birch, holy, avodire... and others, but we are getting into wooden ship building. You made it with bright plywood. That is fine.
The only thing which is missing to me (sorry to mention) is luck of culking... those black lines between the planks, insulations.
The masts, I would make also from some bright wood. In reality masts were made of pines so yellowish. But pines do not look too good on models, neither oak. On many replicas you will see them quite dark because of treatment and water. Perhaps you can get some nice pieces of walnut or alder. That would give you nice colour. Should they be yellow - go for cedar or avodire.
The only thing which is missing to me (sorry to mention) is luck of culking... those black lines between the planks, insulations.
The masts, I would make also from some bright wood. In reality masts were made of pines so yellowish. But pines do not look too good on models, neither oak. On many replicas you will see them quite dark because of treatment and water. Perhaps you can get some nice pieces of walnut or alder. That would give you nice colour. Should they be yellow - go for cedar or avodire.
I already have the masts and they are some kind of light colored wood. Kind of crazy for a paper model so much of it is made from wood, but then card is made from wood too isn't it? I am starting the carriages now and I need a source for all the myriad ropes and lines that are used on a ship of this type. Any ideas?
If you want to get plenty of rigging line on the cheap, head for one of the big craft stores, like Michael's or JoAnne Fabric. They have large selections of sewing thread, some types of which are largely fuzz-free and look fine at smaller scales. On-line suppliers of model ship supplies also have rigging line. Try Model Boat Kits -- Blue Jacket Shipcrafters, Inc. or Model Expo - Historic Wooden Ship Kits, Airplanes, Hobby Tools, Shipmodeling Books And More. For more realism, you can try Morope, which is made in Germany but available in the US by contacting Curlee11 (at) aol.com. Or, you can build your own rope walk and try making your own line -- that might be a bit much, but some modelers do this.
Cheers,
Cheers,
You took it out of my mouth
This is my primitive ropewalk:
And one of the ropes:
There are 20+ methods of making your own ropes... I really recommend to do so
More FUN!!!
I am still working on the model of HMS Bellona after a long absence. Taking care of my young son and getting ready for a long deployment have taken what little free time I have. I am currently deployed to Camp Victory in Baghdad for the next 15 months. I just started working on the model again and I will post progress as soon as I can find a camera to take photos again. Does anyone know of a source that sells cannons and the figurehead for the Bellona? I think Scorpio had purchased those items for his model of the Victory but I do not know where from...
I have attached a few photos of my progress. I am starting to make some headway and soon will be done with this hull so I can build something interesting!!!
Here is the second photo of my recent progress. The gunports have been quite a pain because of the little pieces you have to add to the inside to simulate the wall thickness. If you don't put them in as you are building the sides and wait until they are done then pain in the b*tt factor increases exponentially. I have finished one side and swore that I would not do that again but I still have the other side to do! Oh well, I should be done in a day or two...
Hi pashlispaht,
Just found your Bellona build and looks like you're doing a great job. I started building mine this past weekend. This is my first card model but I've been building wooden model ships for over 20 years and have a small business called the Lauck Street Shipyard LLC which specializes in detailed instructions for wooden model ships. I've also designed and produced wooden model ship kits.
If you should have any technical questions regarding model ship construction, I'll be happy to help any way I can. I may want to tap into your knowledge on card modeling as well. I haven't completed the basic framework on mine yet but hope to have it finished by the end of the week.
Take care,
Bob Hunt
http://www.lauckstreetshipyard.com
Just found your Bellona build and looks like you're doing a great job. I started building mine this past weekend. This is my first card model but I've been building wooden model ships for over 20 years and have a small business called the Lauck Street Shipyard LLC which specializes in detailed instructions for wooden model ships. I've also designed and produced wooden model ship kits.
If you should have any technical questions regarding model ship construction, I'll be happy to help any way I can. I may want to tap into your knowledge on card modeling as well. I haven't completed the basic framework on mine yet but hope to have it finished by the end of the week.
Take care,
Bob Hunt
http://www.lauckstreetshipyard.com