Thanks for the sentiment, but as I have never built a wooden ship model before, and have yet to lay my first plank, it would be unseemly to have such an exalted rank.



I am merely adapting modeling techniques and approaches learned from other, related disciplines and applying them to this build and, if I happen to find ways of improving on the kit parts, I shall continue to use this thread to pass them on.

Damn fine piece of workmanship Capt Stedders..a master gunner's dream...perfect ordinance...look forward to more of the same in the near future...top marks sir!!

Seriously nifty news there Capt...i always prefer to use daylight to paint by .....rather than the R-50's in the kitchen...many thanks..

@ Johnny E. Small strips* of Greenstuff can be purchased from any Games Workshop store but, in case you don't have one locally, you can order some from 'Gifts for Geeks' at the following address (I have found them to be reliable)

http://www.giftsforgeeks...-Modelling/2/page_view/

They also stock Vallejo paints.

Do let me know what you think of the bulbs.

thanks for info skipper always found myself sitting at window for natural light im knackered during the winter months

S 100 is that the schnellboot by italiteri very popular model as can be fitted out for r/c

sorry bout that
model boat mag did an an article on it realy tempting but still working on vosper perkasa

Whilst compiling a selection of photo's of my launch build MK II (unpainted), the following technique and tips may come in handy for those who intend to paint their models.

Whilst attempting to build the issue 6 launch as per the mag instructions and mimic Tomick's official build diary - avoiding getting anywhere near a tube/pot/tin of filler in the process, things didn't go entirely to plan and I discovered some areas that did, actually need a dab of the splodge.



Filling and Fillers

Now, whilst it isn't too hard to identify areas that need filling, (using a combination of sight and touch), there are a couple of details that need bearing in mind before reaching for the filler. Firstly the material you intend to fill needs to be considered before reaching for an appropriate filler, in this case, very thin wood.

Ideally you need a relatively soft and easily sanded product, (preferably one that will respond to sanding faster/more readily than the surrounding material) - I tried looking for some balsa filler but the Dorchester Art/hobby store didn't have any, I even toyed with the idea of making my own (mixing Aliphatic glue and talcum powder), but settled on some Super Fine, White Milliput (not the best choice but I find that wood fillers are messy and annoying to use on models - furniture repair isn't scale modeling) - next time, I'll make my own as milliput cures to a stone-like substance (but can be softened before applying it, making it easy to apply accurately).

Secondly, it helps if the surface to be filled is prepped first, in this case with sanding sealer, as it helps give the filler something to stick to as there's nothing worse than chunks of filler falling out (creating more craters and therefore more work). Un-prepped wood is kind of 'fluffy' and, unless you are using a 'wet' filler like glue (which will grab the individual fibers) , one can easily be fooled into thinking that everything is fine.

When filling, I try to make the surface of the filled area slightly proud (raised) of the surrounding surface (this saves me from needing to make a second pass of filler when using products that tend to 'sink' when curing)

Once the filler is cured, a gentle sanding with a relatively fine abrasive paper and sanding block to comply with the contours of the model. The exact grade of abrasive depends on many different factors including surface area, material and what I think I can get away with, but generally speaking it is far better to lean toward finer grades when working with delicate subjects as one is less likely to make any mistakes - it might take longer to do, but you'll only have to do it once.

Once one is satisfied that the filled area conforms to the lines and contours of the model (looks right, feels right) you might be under the impression that you have finished and reach for your paints...

Nine times out of ten this will not be the case.. There could easily be small scratches or an 'edge' to the filled areas. Sometimes a coat or two of an aerosol Filler Primer (look in car accessory shops) is all that is needed to sort this out but I find that it always pays to give a model what is known as a Dust Coat a technique that I picked up when working in a spray shop.

Dust Coat
In the following photo, I have given my MK I launch a couple of 'thin' coats of filler primer (Yellow) and the suspect area/s a dust coat of Black Primer (the speckles) - this is done by barely pressing down on the nozzle of the spray can (if you haven't done this before, practice on something) - air brush users can achieve this by lowering the air pressure feed dramatically. It's not too essential to get this speckled effect so don't worry if you just get a normal patch of spray (it just needs more gentle sanding to remove it)



As you can see, the surface looks nice and smooth, no?

Actually, it isn't

In the next photo, I have gently sanded the dust coat back to the filler primer with extremely fine W&D, P1000 (you are only sanding micron thin paint back after all) which has revealed my filling activities in glorious relief!



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

The area's that remain black are low spots (The black paint remains in these areas since the W&D paper can't actually get to them until the surrounding areas are reduced to their level) and the paler areas are, logically enough, high spots (these are areas that are proud of the surrounding areas and are revealed since they are the first areas to come into contact with the W&D paper). Special care needs to be taken with the high spots since these are areas where it might be easy to accidentally sand through the wood.

The low spots can either (depending on how deep they are) be either filled with a tiny bit more filler - in the example above it would be sensible to simply use a bit of Aliphatic glue - or, as I did, gently feather the area back (very light rubbing with fine W&D until the surface is perfectly smooth), until the lat traces of black paint have disappeared.

As you can see, this process provides some really helpful visual information as to what is actually going on on the surface of your model.

In the next photo, I have finished feathering the surface back, applied the keel and gunwhale (?) strips, filled the gap between the keel and the hull and given the whole thing another couple of coats of filler primer.



If it were not for the fact that there is still plenty of construction work to be done to the launch, the exterior would now be ready for painting.

I was rather afraid that this would happen..

Still, it keeps me on my toes and stops me from slacking off - so it's not all bad.



Thanks Colin.

Now, hurry up and complete your launch so that I might borrow some ideas for detailing the interior

Piot007

Ooops.. The paint colours which I listed were for the crew figures that we will be getting later on in the build (my deepest and most sincere apologies for not being any clearer on this subject).

Full details on painting the gun carriages can be found in post 53 on page 3 of this thread. The post details the colours I used. (you should already have some of the colours).

As for the barrels, I merely detailed them up, sprayed them with matte black primer and then applied a coat of satin varnish to give them a soft sheen).



Firstly, the glaze medium should not be confused with a varnish - the glaze medium allows you to pretty much make your own washes when mixed with the paints as it provides an excellent carrier for the pigment, dispersing it far more evenly than water alone.



I hope you haven't gone shopping just yet as we can kill two birds with one stone (so to speak)..

The GW paint range contains a couple of colours that will be perfectly adequate substitutes for the Vallejo ones..

Namely..

'Bubonic Brown' and 'Tau Sept Ochre' (in their one-coat range of paints) are both yellow ochre look-a-likes and either of these colours are similar to the Vallejo Yellow Ochre. They also mix perfectly well with each other.

Don't forget to pick up a couple of cans of White and Black Primer while you are there.

I'd also reserve your W&N brushes for the crew mini's (the W&N series 7's are, in my opinion, too high a quality for the task of painting your gun carriages - a size '2' GW brush will be more than adequate for such a task.

If you have any questions, you will find that the guys at your GW store will be only too happy to help - they are generally very keen hobbyists and know one end of a paintbrush from the other - just tell them what you are doing and I'm sure they will explain anything that you might want to know.

Happy shopping!

Thanks for that cautionary bit of advice Ian, I had never heard of it happening (like you say, folk have been bleaching cotton for years), but I will avoid using it.

It doesn't really apply anymore since I am considering making my own, eminently paintable rope by twisting strands of soft, narrow gauge copper wire together(thus avoiding fluff, adventures with runny superglue and decomposing cotton).

Nevertheless, I appreciate your word of warning and will remember that one for the future.

Cheers.