The Ship Model Forum

This is starting to turn out great! :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:

Almost finished! I made three castings from ceramic plaster which turned out pretty well. Tonight, I am going to finish two of them: one with the wrecks and one with some ships in peacetime livery

[attachment=2]All photo_2022-05-27_20-05-30.jpg[/attachment]
Here is the almost finished display. Still some stufff to do that has to be done in a rush as I want to sell it tomorrow

[attachment=1]Bajan photo_2022-05-27_20-05-29 (4).jpg[/attachment]
Unfortunately, I couldn't built "Bajan" into her wrecked state as my thumb is injured, so I moored her undamaged

[attachment=0]photo_2022-05-27_20-05-29 (3).jpg[/attachment]
It was great fun to reduce the ships to their wrecked appearance. My favourite is "Retvizan"

I have been absent for a long time but haven't been inactive. Though I wanted to, I just can't manage to do a full documentation. But nonetheless here's the recent status:

Here is the full work. All ships have been added, plus I have done the master for "Bajan", seen in the eastern bassin in the background
The casted wrecks have been sanded to their appropriate waterline as grounded
[attachment=1]photo_2022-05-21_10-51-10 (2).jpg[/attachment]

All 3D-prints habe been put in place and glued on (white glue). I added some texture with plaster and smaller bits and pieces an applied a coat of Mr Surface 1000
[attachment=2]photo_2022-05-21_10-51-10.jpg[/attachment]

"Pallada" and "Pobeda" have been readily wrecked down: removal of al boats, turned-in turrets, some damage (drillholes and glued-on drilldust)

Sorry, I misread indeed!
Well, then superglue is possible too... ;)

Thanks Marijn!
[quote="marijn van gils"]I wouldn't trust superglue on styrofoam, even when it is primed.[/quote]
Oh no, there is some misunderstanding: the baseplate is a piece of MDF which is "Mitteldichte Faserplatte" in german, basically sawdust and glue.

[url]https://www.google.com/search?q=medium-density+fiberboard&client=firefox-b-d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjpkOLsyPP1AhW9S_EDHUbJB3gQ_AUoAXoECAIQAw&biw=1366&bih=643&dpr=1[/url]

That looks great! :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:
Very nice composition. I think this scale is perfect for modelling this type of large views.

[quote="1:6000"]I’m not quite sure which glue to use for the attachment of the printed parts onto the primed surface. Any guesses?[/quote]
I wouldn't trust superglue on styrofoam, even when it is primed. So I think you have two options: 2-component epoxy or white glue. White glue is less messy and should be strong enough, but you'll need to clamp the parts down until it dries.
I feel it would be safer to glue them to unprimed styrofoam though, to prevent to potential problem of the primer bond to the styrofoam failing.

Progress! I received the printed files and I’m quite pleased with the result! After cleaning and some sanding, I cut a block of MDF (159 x 68mm), painted it with a roll and sanded the faces. I then primed the printed pieces and the block with Mr Surface 1000.
I’m not quite sure which glue to use for the attachment of the printed parts onto the primed surface. Any guesses?
[attachment=1]2022-02-06 10.24.15.jpg[/attachment]
Still, some corrections are necessary, plus sculpting (mostly around Tiger’s Tail) and the distribution of bits, pieces, boats, coal piles, some bushes and the like. I plan to use this display as a master to maybe cast a small series of it in plaster.

The second picture, although blurry, nearly shows the perspective from Gold Hill as in the historical picture above.
[attachment=0]2022-02-06 10.26.10.jpg[/attachment]

[quote="Keven"]Is there some technique to capturing the complex hull form of the ships, the many intersecting curves, or is it just eyeballs and patience?[/quote]

I try to stick as much as possible to plans available, but to be honest this is to some extent nothing but an alibi for eyeballs and patience as You correctly supposed.
My regular method is
to cut a block in the correct dimensions,
take a measurement as to where the hull is nearly boxlike in the middle,
roughly cut and sand the whole thing to finally meet the shape as seen from top,
cut off and redo the fo'xle to generate the overhang needed and
add sheer / tumblehome by sanding and carving where it happens to fit

Is there some technique to capturing the complex hull form of the ships, the many intersecting curves, or is it just eyeballs and patience?

Awww, nice - thanks Marijn! This is high praise, I really appreciate it!

What a great project! You are really making the best use of the possibilities of this tiny scale! The result should be wonderful :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1: :thumbs_up_1:

The detail on the ships is fantastic, and even more important their shapes and proportions look very good. That is not so easy when scratchbuilding in such a small scale, because I'm sure a lot has to be done 'by eye' because it simply gets too small for accurate measuring.

Hello all!

When I restarted modelling after some years of other interests, I took the chance to think about doing absolutely every project I wanted to built for years. One of my dearest projects was a display of Port Arthur at the start of 1905, as seen here. It must be 25 years now when I first saw a colored picture of japanese soldiers standing on what seems to be Monument Hill, looking at the battered russian ships down in the mud... and dreamed of doing a display of this picture.
[img]https://imagizer.imageshack.com/v2/800x600q90/923/NsFZSQ.jpg[/img]

All my work is done in 1/6000 scale exclusively, this spares a lot of room / time / money /detail and still (with some exaggeration) catches everthing I want to depict. This way I have the possibility to really do all this stuff (well, over quite a long period of time... as I have kids and work and a live completely independent from modelling) without having to think much about storage place. Most of the scenery above will fit into a smal display case of 159 x 68mm.

I like to combine different forms of modelling. On the ship building side, I can't think of working any other way than with my hands. I have not the slightest interest of doing my work digitally as I like the physical work way to much. So, every ships is done using classical scratchbuilding and is then cast in resin. For now, I have done the large ships except for 'Bayan'. I have a large collection of smaller boats and tugs, so I will have no problem putting together a lively scene. For the depiction of the wrecks I plan to remove the boats, turn the turrets (and depict them exploded!) where needed and add damage and wear. Plus, I have to rework the rear decks of 'Pobeda' and remove the aft fighting mast.
[attachment=0]Port Arthur 01.jpg[/attachment]
For the harbour scene, I chose a whole different approach and do everything digitally. I had too many projects that died of a work overload, so I took my CAD-Tool and worked some 10 hours to do a complete file to simply print it. I used a large collection of images and maps, thanks to the russian internet where 'digging through the archival crates' seems to be a common pastime. Later, I will arrange the single pieces on a textured waterbase and add the coastline by sculpting and carving. I plan to add detail and structure where needed, lets see what the printing company provides me with. And then, I will have a steep learning curve with all those techniques of weathering and shading...
[attachment=1]Port Arthur 02.JPG[/attachment]
Cheers! Christian