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seraphim

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Sep 1, 2023
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:wink: have no fear, tis I, your local friendly question asker lol
So i know im pottering away at my Titan project, but as you know, being at a distinct disadvantage of being male, i thought one project, pfff no way and have started a 1:200 destroyer/minesweeper that was featured in the 'Greyhound' movie - USS Leutze. Ive done mainly scifi and have acquired a range of different subjects so decided to have a go at this one - ill get some pics of my progress asap - my question is this:
For those of you whove built papercraft ships - do you do the detailing such as railings etc - and if so what dyou use? Ive done plastic kit ships before so have used the P.E (photo etch) detailing parts but didnt know if there were any tips for making detail parts of your own - P.E can be quite expensive and these days its alot - more so this is my first papercraft ship so i wanted to stick to that side of things more if possible. I know things like cables etc will be cotton/thread etc, my question is more for those 'fine detail' metal parts such as railings, pillars, barrels for AA guns etc
Cheers all
Az
pics to follow :cool:
 
Even though I have never built a "modern" ship model, I do understand the wanton desire to add fine details and greebling (which is something that I (attempt to) do to the models that I build). Ues whatever material best fits your needs and building skill level (and affordability). You can even use thin hair bands or plastic wire covering (or the wiring itself) for conduits, piping, or railings (depending on the scale that you are building in). There is no real rule that states that a model must be built of a set percentage of a particular material to be considered a model made from that material. However, most people have agreed that anything over 50% is acceptable for consideration.
So, with that being said, use whatever you wish, and have fun and enjoy this hobby!!!
 
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Stanchions can be made from wire, Bits of stretched plastic, even turned toothpicks. Same for gun barrels and antennae. other bits get harder, just use what looks and feels right.
 
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thanks guys, got some great ideas and thankyou @Chuffy70 for the link. Hers a few starter pics, the ship is about 45 cm long at 1/200 scale. Im starting on the deck fittings before moving up the structures. If i can ill do the antenna cables etc as well down the line. As i said, this one will be to showcase the anti submarine destroyer seen in the movie 'Greyhound' by Tom Hanks.
 

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flpaperguy said:
I have not tried this technique for making ship railings, but I remember reading that thin thread can be coated with wood glue, laid out in the desired shape and set aside to thoroughly dry. The glue is supposed to stiffen the thread.
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I have heard that CA (super) glue is also used for this technique of making railings.
 
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flpaperguy said:
I often use CA (super) glue to harden fragile parts on paper models I build.
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I do the same thing as well. Especially when I am building a Viper or Thunder Fighter. I will coat the joystick (and other fragile components) in CA (super) glue. I will also use it to help reinforce area for the joints are fragile.
 
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ive done the Black Pearl (a while back) as a plastic kit, but did as much detailing as i could - when i did the rigging i coated the cotton with pva once i put it in place, which helped some. ill try this again with the railings i think, and see how a trial run goes - failing that im thinking fine wire. The last time i did a warship was manyyyyyyy moons back when i did a 1/350 IJN Yamato from WW2 (plastic kit) that had P.E detailing. Unfortunately it met the same fate as its real life counterpart and was destroyed (accidentally) which kind of put me off for a long time, hence this being my first real crack at a modernish ship since lol :hammerhead:
 
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bit more of an update, lots of VERY small parts added to the deck, slowly starting to work my way up the structures. Still plenty to add yet trying to keep it as tidy as i can (paper ship newbie) but its slowly coming along :bulgeeye:
 

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If you get some Piano Wire, the gauge you need, you secure one end to a very solid mount, and pull on the other end till it "stretches". It kinds of lets go and what you have done , in essence, is hardened it. You can then shape it however you want and it will stay very rigid. You can make sections to make the guard rail, and glue little pieces for the intermediate support posts.

I used to make analog gauges for aircraft, and when a gauge went bad, a little red flag would drop into the front of the dial face to let you know the gauge was not functioning correctly. The wire to hold that flag was made in the fashion I described. :)
 
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hey up all, apologies for being offline for a while, both myself and my wife are recovering from covid (of all things) and with our health being naff anyway you can imagine its fun stuff. Ive not made any progress as yet since my last work, but will hopefully be posting some updates soon. Cheers all, stay well :toast:
 
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I am sorry that you had to go through COVID. It can be very be very nasty indeed (especially if you already have health issues. My wife and I have had it four times now.). With that being said, I hope that you make a strong and speedy recovery.
I am glad to see back! :toast:
 
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Rhaven Blaack said:
I am sorry that you had to go through COVID. It can be very be very nasty indeed (especially if you already have health issues. My wife and I have had it four times now.). With that being said, I hope that you make a strong and speedy recovery.
I am glad to see back! :toast:
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wow im quite happy with keeping covid to a once in a lifetime experience, ironically we picked it up at a hospital appointment lol - we were lucky/careful enough to avoid it for the past 4 years but copped the variant that is currently rife in our area. Im in a bit of a catch 22 with the vaccine as there is a possibility that it has caused me other health issues - and being immune compromised its not fun, but what can you do :bulgeeye: get better and get back to what you enjoy lol ill be posting some pics of where im currently at with the 'Greyhound' build soon.
 
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Stay safe they say, drink more alcohol 'I' say! ;)

Hope you both have a speedy recovery, its no fun being ill - looking forward to seeing more of your speedy builds
 
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