The Ship Model Forum

Oooops. Sorry for the delay. I need to find out how to get this forum to notify me when there is a post.

Mostly I used Tamiya extra fine + some drops of Gorilla super gel. Where I needed extra strength, or I was bonding non-like materials together, I used Araldite Rapid epoxy. It is all still intact with no signs of weakness. I did tape up the bow and stern whilst I was sanding down the waterline to re-enforce them against lateral stress.

I am now half way through airbrushing the hull after some sanding and filling. I though it best to paint each section before adding it to the assembly to avoid accidents with areas already painted.

Sounds good. What did you use to bond it all together?

[quote=Killerbeans post_id=1101478 time=1777131724 user_id=464648]
Sounds like good result greybeard. One cheap way would be to use cut sprue for stiffeners
[/quote]

I did use sprue to reinforce the (very thin) supplied crossbeams by gluing the sprue to the side of each beam. But in general I thought the sprue had too small a cross-section for a hull of this size. I ended up using balsa and MDF to get something wider, stiffer and with a bigger area to glue to the hull each side. Bit heavier than plastic, but I do need some ballast down there anyway.

So, hull is now pretty level and down to where I want it without anything's falling apart. Result! :smallsmile:

Are gou wanting to sand the entire hull down to the bootstripe, or thereabouts?
Sounds like good result greybeard. One cheap way would be to use cut sprue for stiffeners

do you know anybody that has either a portable or stationary belt sander as I use my stationary belt sander to sand the bottoms of my 1/429 scale Arizona's flat for my OBB build?

I have in mind to site it on a shelf in my office, with no base at all.

So, ever impulsive, I made up a quick jig to hold a marker pen at a fixed height above the workbench. I temporarily fitted the hull sides together in the supplied display stand, and marked a waterline all the way around with the jig and pen. Having taken the sides apart again, I used a bandsaw to cut off the hull bottom. The waterline hull is now re-assembled as I add extra cross supports as you suggested. When that is completed, I will level the final structure using sandpaper taped to the bench. That's the theory anyway.

Many thanks again for your advice.

Any thick stock can be used, I have some on hand. Have you decided how to fix the hull to the base?

Many thanks KB.

So, you went for an accurate cut up front rather than a rough cut and sand. I am afraid some of the technical terms were lost on me, but do I gather that you did reinforce the structure in some way at the newly-open waterline base. (with Plastruct I beam). I will look into that product, which I have never heard of before :cool_1:

Best wishes, Ray

I just did this to a 1/144 Fletcher. I checked my refs, and applied tamiya tape (1/4" approx) to the top of the bootstripe, let the botton run wild. I then checked, and pressed it down firmly. I scribed to that bottom edge, lightly to start, (4-5 passes) then deeper. I then used my xacto saw to cut, going slowly. 3/4 of each side, then tied the ends together. Patience counts here. I intend to JB weld some plastruct I beam at two points to screw the hull to my base. Those will line up to the holes under turrets, or house, whichever works best.
HTH,
KB

Greetings one and all.

I have acquired a copy of the old Revell 1/72 Flower Class corvette. As you may know, this is a full-hull model, but I need to build it as a waterline in order to fit and be visible in the space I have for it. Has anyone tried this?

In the old days, I would just hack off the hull bottom roughly, and then rub the assembled hull against sandpaper taped to a workbench. But this is a large model that may need additional reinforcement around the waterline to withstand such treatment. Any suggestions gratefully received.

Many thanks, Ray in Nottingham UK