Taking up the challenge: Any advice?

[dakwinner]

Hello,

After toying around with card modeling for a number of years I have decided to try it out with more serious attention. Most recently I have been building wooden sailing ships, mostly plank on bulkhead and a few solid hulls. However, I first ran across paper models at a hobby shop in Southern California in the 80’s. I picked-up a copy of Wilhelmshaven’s USS North Carolina started it and promptly discarded it!

Since then I purchased a copy of Wilhelmshaven’s ex-Fletcher destroyer Z1. I completed that about 85% in 2000. (Unfortunately, it did not make it in a cross-country move in 2001.) For not knowing what I was doing it came out pretty good.

I recently ordered a copy of DN’s Takao. I have used the free DN downloads of the sub chaser and the torpedo boat as experimental “learning toolsâ€. Using those experiences and the info I picked up from this and other forums, I am ready to start on the Takao.

I printed it out with a color laser printer on cars stock of about 84 lbs. I also have a stock of 0.5 and 1.0 mm matt board. I plan on using Elmer’s glue and both liquid and gel CA clue (all standard wood ship glues).

What I need is advice on getting started on the right foot. I really want to create a museum quality model comparable to the wood ships I have done. Thanks for your assistance.

Dave

 

[barry]

Hi Dave

You could not have started at a better time follow Ron and Scorpio they have just started ships with almost the same construction methods.

One tip on Takao join all the sides together in one strip and reinforce the joints with 80gm paper be careful of the stern piece if building a waterline model cut it slightly too deep at the waterline.

With DN if you cut it right it will fit

barry

 

[wunwinglow]

Be careful with laser images, they can be a lot more fragile than inkjet print-out. The toner is heat-fuzed on to the surfaceof the paper and can crack away if you fold or roll it tightly, leaving a ragged white line where the paper shows through. Inkjet prints are much more robust because the ink soaks into the paper slightly.

You made an excellent choice with a Digital Navy product, work carefully and it will fit really well. Any problems ( sorry, oportunities... ) just ask on the forum; you will be deluged with advice! And of course, with a digital rather than printed product, if you do want to try again, just print out the page!

Welcome to the forum, by the way!

Tim P

 

[Sticky Fingers]

With color lasers it is a good idea to seal the surface with some kind if matte or satin finish depending on the type of model. If you were to look at a laser print under magnification it would show up as coloed dots. One advantage of sealing the surface is the solvent in the spray will slightly soften the toner and slightly blur the surface. Not enough to lose details though. A week or so back there was good thread on this and some of the tricks for edge coloring and fixing color flaws.

 

[dakwinner]

Thanks for the advice. I would have thought that a laser image would be better. OK! Lesson no. 1: Use Ink Jet!

By the way, should I seal the paper before or after thr images are printed on it?

 

[rickstef]

Dave, most people seal it after they have printed the kit.

Mark, inkjet printers also print dots, I know that HP printers(inkjets) per pixel can drop about 29 drops of ink, to get the right shading/coloring.

but you are right, inkjets tend to blend/bleed the ink a bit so they fall away.

Rick

 

[Gil]

Hi Dave,

DN is the correct choice if you are after "museum scale" quality. As has been said earlier, if you mess up just print out another sheet or two and start over again. I like to think of it as a practice session in preparation for the real build. It takes the pressure of getting it right the first time away allowing for a more enjoyable modeling experience somewhat akin to scratch building in wood.

The difference between ink jet and Laser printers is fairly mute as the ink jet technology has improved to the point that governments need to keep improving their currency just to keep ahead of the printer technology..., can't get too much better than that. In either case it is a good practice to seal the surfaces with a clear matte acrylic sealer helping to fix the color and prevent water and glue from marring the surface during construction.

Best regards, Gil

 

[Maurice]

The difference between ink jet and Laser printers is fairly mute as the ink jet technology has improved to the point that governments need to keep improving their currency just to keep ahead of the printer technology...,

This may be true in the case of some primitive societies, however for the situation in the more advanced cultures of Oceania, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe see -
http://www.noteprinting.com/innovation.html
http://www.noteprinting.com/showPage.cfm?pageId=14

Maurice
BTW I suspect DN really stands for Devilish Neat.