chris1966

I think my wife has bought me the new tool Tamiya Yamato for Christmas. If she has, I would like to build the model and set it in a sea diorama. The last time I did a sea diorama was almost 25 years ago, and back then, I used exterior and interior polyfiller, and sculpted the sea before it set. Is there now a better (less messy) way of doing this now? Thank you, Chris

Hi, Never use gloss or satin - always matt - although I use Humbrol 85 for black, but always spray varnish the finish with a matt polyurethane varnish. For the white, I have found the best white to use is the spray can type (Plasti-Kote or similar, found in DIY stores). use white brush paint (Humbrol or similar) to touch up. Cutty Sark in plastic was always a pig to model.

I would take an educated guess and say that the Yamato class was the most stable big-gun platform design ever - so sea-keeping would be exemplary. They were wider than the US Iowa Class too (I think the US ships were restricted in width due to the Panama Canal – not sure if Yamato would have ‘fitted’ through there – but it wasn’t designed to…) It was also one of the first ships to have a bulbous bow - which helped.

I have just converted from enamels to Vallejo, and I am impressed. I trust them enough to use on prototype models with £30k insurance values..

I know Hachette very well. It does get frustrating that all mag part works get lumped together with De-Agustini and others, as I know Hachette are quite a few cuts above the Spanish based firms. The Hood and Bismarck (and Stuka) are well worth it, and to buy a kit with that amount of parts and detail (a lot being PE - way above anything found even on the most expensive of plastic kits), it would cost thousands more. If built properly they are real 'museum standard' models, and I know first hand that Hachette insist on the highest quality - they use AMATI for most developments. Chris

That is very cool, and very realistic. Well done!

Deon, the rigging is quite easy. for example, the Vanguard, the large 74 gun ship takes about three weeks. It depends on the instructions and plans. I draw them so that it is broken up into many stages. Most of the blocks are applied to the masts and yards before rigging begins, so it's just a case of 'joining the dots' Old wooden kits can be a nightmare, as some give you blocks of wood for some parts (even for the ship's boats!) and expect you to carve them yourself! The kits I design are a world away from that. I try to make them as easy as a Tamiya kit, with every part (apart from the hull planking) being laser cut shapes. in some ways, the models can be easier than plastic equivilents - Vanguard for example. If this were a plasic kit, you'd have a lot of moulded in detail, a nightmare when it comes to painting the yellow and black lines on the side and masking. however, you can add the paint before applying anything else to the hull, like here (Vanguard next to the Prince) And how the finish is achieved is entirely up to you, just sanding and slight filling is required, nothing more - not unlike the conversions you guys do with the plastic kits - same principles apply - it is certainly no dark art. Here is a set of pictures to show how easy some wooden models have become - and at the same time, more detailed. This is the Revenge (The actual build manual has hundreds of pics and drawings): Even the tiller works, operating the rudder: The side walls are laser cut plywood, but I sprayed them white, as the tops of them will be white when finished, and it's easier to get a base coat done at this stage: Even added the lanterns - in photo etched brass: So, when they're broken down into little stages, they're really not that difficult - I make a lot of mistakes when building, and I am not the cleanest builder in the world, but am quite adept at hiding the mistakes...... Once the hull is planked, then it becomes no more difficult than any plastic kit, as everything is pre cut for you - even the deck hatches are laser cut, and in the newer kits, the gratings photo etched to exact scale and shape - getting too easy...... Thank you for all of your compliments, as I said, I am just as in awe of a lot of the other work on these forums. Genuinely. I love plastic kits, but am a little 'rusty', as I haven't made any for years - can't wait to get started on the Mosquito, Mustang and Spitfire (Just had some new decals, PE parts and resin parts come today for the Spit and Mustang...) Cheers, Chris

Yes.... And thanks - I am also in awe at a lot of the work I have seem on these forums, the attention to detail from you guys is simply stunning - I joined to learn new aspects to modelling and this site seems to be one of the best for that.

What inspired me to try plastic modelling again was an original kit of the 24th scale Airfix Stuka (1976), that a work colleague brought in one day:

This is Golden Hind at 64th scale (quite tiny in comparison to Revenge) I worked closely with an Tudor ship design expert for this one, and it is about as close as we can realistically get to show the Golden Hind as she actually looked, based on contemporary written and pictorial accounts: And finally, a super detailed future kit of another British 74 gun ship of the line in 72nd scale. It will have full deck detail for the orlop, lower gun deck and above – this is what I am working on right now (and using Vallejo paints for the first time) Cheers, Chris

Hi, After being inspired by some of the plastic-based models on here, I thought I'd join. I will be looking for advice regarding finishes and weathering. To help me with this, I have bought the Airfix 24th scale Mosquito and Tamiya's 32 scale Spit and Mustang. The models I design and build the prototypes for usually have to be pristine, for box art and advertisement purposes - so my foray into plastics will hopefully be a nice diversion and maybe learn new skills regarding finishing. Anyway, this is what I normally do (my job). The first pics are of HMS Vanguard, a British 74 gun ship of the line in 1:72 scale (1.2 metres long) All the models below are plank on frame wood construction with copious amounts of photo etch (my speciality..) These pics are of Prince, 1670. At 64th scale, it’s huge, with the hull over a metre long – am still working on this one… This is HMS Fly, a 64th scale ship-rigged sloop of war: Cutty Sark – 1:64 scale, again, huge. It includes inner cabin detail for the main deck cabins and the rear cabin, and all mast fittings are photo etched parts (making them stronger for the rigging) This is the Russian Brig Mercury at 64th scale: This is a 32nd scale Scottish Fifie fishing vessel, which is designed for RC as well as display: This is the Elizabethan race-built galleon Revenge at 1:64th scale – very detailed and lots of research required for this one..: