by Dan K » Fri Apr 24, 2015 9:57 am
It seems like a good idea to have a FAQ on this, given that questions come up fairly frequently about whether or not to add tie-down strips to one's model, particularly in 1/350 and 1/700. It's an interesting feature and can certainly make the decking of an IJN model stand out. It's also the trend these days to add the linoleum tie-down strips, though from a scale perspective, it's generally a very over-scale feature. Of course, it's your model to build as you please. It's just nice to have some facts down on the table for comparison's sake.
The tie-down strips were made of brass, and used to secure the edging of the linoleum sheets to the deck with screws. They could be of varying lengths; width is constant at 30mm, height is 5mm. I should point out that these measurements come from Skulski and his AOTS IJN ship books. I've not seen width measurements for the tie-downs anywhere else. Januz Skulski is generally acknowledged to be a leading Western IJN expert and model-builder extraordinaire.
In 1/350 scale (and converted to inches), 30mm works out to 0.0034". It's half that in 1/700. Below, I've posted some photos that I believe help give one a sense of perspective on their size. Best to try and compare the width of the strips to the size of the shoes worn by the various deck personnel. Admittedly, without a true close-up, it's hard to say that the strips are as narrow as claimed. However, if, for instance, the strips were actually closer to, say 50mm/1.9" in width, that would still only work out to 0.0055" in 1/350 scale. (Think .006" brass rod.) So, I think one can see why I feel that this feature is difficult to replicate in 1/350, and truly over scale for 1/700.
Still, these strips seem very prominent in photographs. Keep in mind that it was the practice to keep them polished in peacetime, and that when the light hits them at the right angle, they tend to pop out in appearance. FWIW.
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It seems like a good idea to have a FAQ on this, given that questions come up fairly frequently about whether or not to add tie-down strips to one's model, particularly in 1/350 and 1/700. It's an interesting feature and can certainly make the decking of an IJN model stand out. It's also the trend these days to add the linoleum tie-down strips, though from a scale perspective, it's generally a very over-scale feature. Of course, it's your model to build as you please. It's just nice to have some facts down on the table for comparison's sake.
The tie-down strips were made of brass, and used to secure the edging of the linoleum sheets to the deck with screws. They could be of varying lengths; width is constant at 30mm, height is 5mm. I should point out that these measurements come from Skulski and his AOTS IJN ship books. I've not seen width measurements for the tie-downs anywhere else. Januz Skulski is generally acknowledged to be a leading Western IJN expert and model-builder extraordinaire.
In 1/350 scale (and converted to inches), 30mm works out to 0.0034". It's half that in 1/700. Below, I've posted some photos that I believe help give one a sense of perspective on their size. Best to try and compare the width of the strips to the size of the shoes worn by the various deck personnel. Admittedly, without a true close-up, it's hard to say that the strips are as narrow as claimed. However, if, for instance, the strips were actually closer to, say 50mm/1.9" in width, that would still only work out to 0.0055" in 1/350 scale. (Think .006" brass rod.) So, I think one can see why I feel that this feature is difficult to replicate in 1/350, and truly over scale for 1/700.
Still, these strips seem very prominent in photographs. Keep in mind that it was the practice to keep them polished in peacetime, and that when the light hits them at the right angle, they tend to pop out in appearance. FWIW.