Modeling non-skid...?

Jason M. · Post by **Jason M.** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:37 am

In my constant quest to make my models look more realistic, I have thought of doing something with my 350 Trumpy Nimitz that I have never seen done before. I used this technique on my practice 800 scale and liked the results. However, my fellow modeling friends at the local IPMS chapter seemed to NOT like it. Now I am coming to all of you for advise.

What I am thinking of doing is instead of just painting the flight deck and hanger decks the appropriate colors, I want to create a non-skid deck, paint over it, then decal it. I know it can be done, but the question is about scale. Does it look realistic, or just way out of scale?

Here is the product I am using, it is a very fine sand:

What I do is paint the entire flight deck in a dark gray. Then, I spray some spray adhesive lightly across the entire area. Once it becomes tacky, I poor the sand (actually black not red) onto the adhesive. I wipe away the remaining sand. Once it's dry, I mix some good dark gray, flight deck colors and spray over the top of this. The result is a non-skid looking flight deck, rather than a smooth one.

What do you guys think? Be honest, as I only have one chance at this.

johndon · Post by **johndon** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 2:16 am

I would gues it may be a little out of scale.

How about using a sheet of wet and dry paper cut to shape and glued down? As it comes in various degrees of courseness, you should be able to get some that looks in scale with the added advantage of course that, as it is a dark grey colour, you may not need to paint it.

John

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 8:16 am

yeah, i would test it on something else first. either cutting out something to put on the deck, or an old kit you messed up and didn't finish or something.

but definently an interesting idea!

Jason M. · Post by **Jason M.** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 9:42 am

kennylibben wrote:yeah, i would test it on something else first. either cutting out something to put on the deck, or an old kit you messed up and didn't finish or something.

but definently an interesting idea!

I tested it on my 1/700 scale nimitz flight deck. I liked the result, but I am in the minority. Perhaps if I try and take some good pics of what it looks like, I can better show what it looks like. THe other thing I have to take into account, is that it would be filling in the padeye's a bit.

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:09 am

you could put something in the padeyes then do the sand and pull them out. Its your model, i say forget what everyone else thinks and do what you want to do, if you like it then why shouldn't you do it? Everyone tells me models are a waste of money, but i still do them because i like to....

Jason M. · Post by **Jason M.** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:21 am

You make a VERY good point sir!! Thanks

Here's a pic of what this effect looks like on a 1/800 scale model. Keep in mind those planes are only the size of a penny.

Here is a pic of the same 800 scale flight deck with a 350 scale Tomcat on it....:

What do you guys think???

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:28 am

Well if the planes will be bigger than i think it looks fine, i mean at that scale it looks like a rough landing up close but i still think it looks cool.

my only suggestion is to not put it down where you are going to paint small details. The white looks fine but i would put tape down where you have the yellow/red and not put sand there.

Jason M. · Post by **Jason M.** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 11:44 am

I agree. I think it will be a lot of work, but will be worth it in the end. I just am not a big fan of the smooth flight deck look on model carriers. I'm gonna stick to this technique. I really like Johndon's suggestion as well. However, if I did that, it would completley cover all of the flight deck pad-eye's, and other deck details...Thanks for your input guys, I appreciate it.

johndon · Post by **johndon** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:08 pm

Jason M. wrote:I really like Johndon's suggestion as well. However, if I did that, it would completley cover all of the flight deck pad-eye's, and other deck details...

Forgot about that

I'm planning on doing it for the flight deck on the New Jersey - I'll post some pics once it's done.

John

Jason M. · Post by **Jason M.** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 12:13 pm

Awesome, looking forward to seeing the result

Jason M. · Post by **Jason M.** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:40 pm

UPDATE: I have decided to jettison the fine sand idea. Instead, due to a suggestion I recieved, I am going to use baking soda. I just got done applying it to a small section of the hanger bay, and it looks much more to scale It allows for the padeyes and other deck detail to be seen clearly, while still giving me the non-skid texture I'm looking for. Pics soon to follow, if anyone is intrested..

kennylibben · Post by **kennylibben** » Fri Mar 30, 2007 10:43 pm

yes, very interested!

Edward Pinniger · Post by **Edward Pinniger** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 3:56 am

What about fine wet+dry sanding paper? This has the right texture, and it's about the right colour too. It'd be a difficult job to cut it to the right shape for the flight deck, but it looks a lot more even than actual sand.
You can get it in all sorts of finenesses - the finest would probably look OK in 1/700 or 1/800!

Jason M. · Post by **Jason M.** » Sat Mar 31, 2007 11:15 am

EPinniger,
This was mentioned earlier in this thread, and is a very good idea. However, I don't think it would work well on this 350 carrier because it would cover the Padeye's (Tie-downs) and other deck details. Howerver, I think it would work well on less detailed decks.