How to mark a model ships waterline.

[ajaycad]

Hi all,

I am an aircraft modeller normally, however I have chosen to build the Trumpeter 1/200 Bismarck. The last ship model I built was when I was a kid, and was wondering what the best technique is for marking and masking the hull boot topping and waterline. I have a few ideas, just throwing it out there for other ideas.

[Darby]

Have a look at photos of the real thing on the interweb or of other builds of the same subject to give you some idea. Once you've decided where it will be what I do is cut very thin strips of masking tape (not black maskers). Sometimes the boot topping edge is marked by a very faint line on the hull. if not then I start at the bow and stick that end down. Then I start moving aft and try to keep it straight. repeat with next strip of tape until you reach the back end. You can use the deck edge level to give you some idea of how straight you are. Repeat process for upper or lower edge. I never paint it black either. Generally a dark grey and then weather it with light pastels. Well, you know what they look like on a Pusser's grey so it will give you some idea of what I mean.

That's my method. I'm not a ship modeller generally either.

There are better ship modellers out there and they may be able to give you a better alternative

Darbs

[Shar2]

I usually spray the black of the boot topping first, once ascertaining where it should go. Then mask off before painting the anti fouling, which is then masked up before paint the rest of the hull.

[Darby]

I usually spray the black of the boot topping first, once ascertaining where it should go. Then mask off before painting the anti fouling, which is then masked up before paint the rest of the hull.

Why are the simpler options often the best? I'd never even thought of that one.

[GrantGoodale]

I agree with Dave. I have tried doing it the other way but that gave me nothing but grief.

[davecov]

I do it another way - each to their own!

Spray the upper hull:


Mask off the upper edge of the boot topping line and seal the edge of the masking tape with Klear:


Then I spray the lower hull colour (H70 Brick Red in this case)


Mask off the lower line of the boot topping, seal the edge of the masking tape with Klear and spray it black:


Then that wonderful moment when the masking tape was taken off and reveals a nice neat black line:

Doing it this way allows you to line up the lower masking tape more accurately as you use the upper masking tape as a guide. Sometimes I reverse the spraying of the upper and lower hull colours depending on the situation but the black boot topping goes on last whichever way I go.

Of course, others may do things very differently......!

Dave

[grahamwalker]

Or like the Master JB said to me Decal strips

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

As with everything there are loads of wrong ways to do it, but plenty right ways too!

I do it the same way Shar2 does it.

If the OP was asking about literally marking where to mask it, or in other words how to get a level line around the hull, then I pinched a technique from someone else a while ago:

Set the model level on a flat surface. Fix a pencil atop a block of balsa or similar such that the height of the pencil point matches the height of the masking line on the hull that you want. Then merely slide the balsa block on the worksurface all around the hull and provided the hull stays put - you have a level line marked around the hull! Just do it twice at 2 heights for a boot topping line.

[Mike McCabe]

Decal strips are ok until it comes the the stern, where usually there is some curvature that the strip won't go around. That will need to be masked off.

Mike

[Alan P]

I use Dave's technique. Especially sealing the masking tape with Klear. Straight clean line every time!